building a service desk

8/8/2019 Building a Service Desk

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2006 ITSM Academy, Inc.

IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)

ITIL is a registered trademark of the Office of Government Commerce

Using ITIL Best Practice

Building aService D esk


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Agenda

Help Desk or Servic e Desk Wha t s the d ifferenc e?

The role of the Servic e Desk ac c ord ing to ITIL Making the transition from Help Desk to Servic e Desk

The c omponents of a World Class Servic e Desk People

Proc esses

Tec hnology

5 Steps to Jumpsta rting a Servic e Desk


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Why do we need a Servic e Desk?

Have you ever

Ca lled an organiza tion or dep artment and

gotten transferred a round until you find theright person?

Had to resta te your question or p rob lem

eac h time you were transferred? Been told the person you need to speak

with is a t lunc h, on va c a tion, or has left forthe d ay?

Reported an Inc ident only to lea rn la ter tha tit ha s been lost o r forgotten?


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The Support Cha llenge

Unstruc tured c ustomer support mec hanism

Low c ustomer c onfidenc e/ perc ep tion

Outg rown c ustomer support system

Under-managed support resourc e

Continua l fire-fighting , repetitive Inc idents

Overdep endenc e on key sta ff

Uncoord inated and unrec orded c hanges

Inab ility to c ope with business c hanges

Unc lear sta ff resourc e/ c ost requirements Inc onsistent c a ll qua lity and response times

Lac k of management information


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The Servic e Desk Solution

Most importantMost important

IT function toIT function toCustomersCustomers

WorldWorld--classclass

serviceservice

==CompetitiveCompetitive

AdvantageAdvantage

ImprovesImproves

ServiceServicePerception /Perception /

SatisfactionSatisfaction

Better managedBetter managedand controlledand controlled

InfrastructureInfrastructure

ValuableValuableManagementManagement

InformationInformation

ProvidesProvides

moremoreservicesservices

than athan a

Help DeskHelp Desk

What would we do withouta Servic e Desk?


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One Func tion, Many Options

Many Help Desks and Call Centers evolve into Service Desksto improve and extend service to customers

ITSM Proc ess Interfa c e

Glob a l focus

Integra tes ITSM and

business p roc esses

Telephone b ased

Commoditytelesales

Often outsourc ed

Ma nag es andresolves Incidents

Inc idents a re notlost o r forgotten

Relies on CMDBand knowled getools

Com mon Elements

Serves as the sing le point of c onta c t to the IT organiza tion Op era tes on the p rinc ip le tha t customer sa tisfac tion and perc ep tion

is c ritica l

Blends peo p le, proc esses and tec hnology to deliver valued servic es

Servic e Desk

Range of Servic es

Ca ll Center

High Volume

Help Desk

Tec hnic a l


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Servic e Desk Goa ls

Provide a sing le point of

contact to c ustomers Provide advic e, guidance

and the rap id restora tion of

norma l servic es Drive and improve servic e to

the business

The Servic e Desk enablesIT Service Management


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IT Servic e Management

DecreaseIT

Costs

DecreaseIT

Costs

IncreaseITSe

rviceQuality

Inc

reaseITSe

rviceQuality

BusinessAlignment

Do MoreWith Less

Delivering IT Servic es tha t meet c ustomer servic eDelivering IT Servic es tha t meet c ustomer servic e

level requirements a t a justifiab le c ostlevel requirements a t a justifiab le c ost


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Are Servic e Desks only fo r la rger

organizations? Servic e Desks benefit Customers

in anysize organiza tion

Basic p remise of provid ing c ost-effec tive support is the same

Issues suc h as resourc emanagement, sta ffdependency, doc umented

solutions and p roc edures c anbe signific ant in sma llorganizations


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Making the Transition

Und ersta nd business needs

Obtain ma nagement c ommitment, budget and

resources Align with Servic e Support stra tegy

Define c lea r ob jec tives and deliverab les

Cla rify ro les and responsib ilities

Plan a phased approa c h Identify quic k wins

Involve/ c onsult your Customers and Users

Market the benefits to support sta ff Tra in IT sta ff to be service sta ff

Educ a te Users about the new servic e

Advertise and 'sell' your service


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Advertising the Servic e Desk

Crea te a Servic e Deskmarketing p lan

Pub lish suc c esses Show savings throug h

improved servic e

Highlight improvements

and future ac tions

Invite Customers to visit theServic e Desk

Crea te advertisingmaterials/giveaways

Hold semina rs Crea te Servic e Desk

stationary

Get involved in company

activities

Have a User Handbook


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Components of a Suc c essful

Servic e Desk

TECHNOLOGYPROCESSES

PEOPLEPeople are by far the

most important andexpensive component


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The Peop le Component


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Servic e Desk Sta ff Profile

CustomerFocused

ProfessionalArticulate

Methodical

UnderstandsIT & Business

Objectives

Must be a ware tha t: Customers Inc idents a ffec t the business

Without Customers there is no support d epartment

Customers a re experts in their own field

Committed toA First Class

Service

AccountableResponsible


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Sta ffing Level Fac tors

Inc ident vo lumes Budgeta ry constra ints

Customer expectations IT Infrastruc ture sc ope

and c omp lexity

Number of c ustomers

General User skill levels Inc ident types SLA ta rgets Supp lier dep end enc y

Hours covered

Off-hours support

Time zones Location Sta ff ava ilab ility Methods of contac t

Self-he lp ava ilab ility Servic e Desk

technologies Telephony sophistica tion

Esc a la tion p roc edures


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Customer Servic e Tra ining

Servic e Desk Skills

Empathy

Teamwork Professiona lism

Ac c ep ting ownership

Speaking c ustomer s

language Seeing c ustomer s side

Active listening

Training Interpersonal skills

Telep hone tec hniques

Writing skills Ac tive listening and

questioning

Stress mana gement

Ma nageria l Foc us Provide tra ining

Encourage tea mwork

Walk in the team's shoes

Take ac tion!

First Impressions Count!


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The Proc esses Component


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The Servic e Desk Role

ITIL expands the role of the Help Desk

An ITIL Service Desk:

Extend s the range of servic es beyondhand ling inc idents and p rob lems

Provides an interfac e for other ac tivitiessuc h as: Customer c hange requests

Configura tion Management

Servic e Level Ma nagement

Availab ility & Capac ity Management

Fina nc ia l Management fo r IT Servic es

IT Servic e Continuity Management


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Inc ident Management Responsib ilities

Coord ina te o ther support groups

Communic a te w ith customers

Identify Problems

Identify customer tra ining needs

Provide management information

Be ava ilab le as the sing le point o f IT c onta c t

Registe r, c lassify and prioritize Inc idents

Own, monitor and trac k Inc idents Provide initia l support and a ttempt to resolve

Route to appropria te resourc es, based on SLAs

Close Inc idents based on c ustomer confirmation


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Classifying Inc idents

Classific a tion is one of the most importa nta ttributes of an Inc ident to get right

Classific a tion is used to: Spec ify the rela ted servic e or equipment Determine assoc ia ted SLA or OLA Selec t/ define the best spec ia list or group Define the priority a nd business impac t Define a workload estimate Define wha t questions should be asked Ac t as a matc hing c riterion for selec ting

solutions, Known Errors, and Workarounds Summarize and define the fina l ac tion taken (e.g .,

tra ining required , no fault found) Define a primary rep orting matrix for management

information


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Prioritizing Inc idents

Defining Priority is an importa nt aspec tof ma naging Inc idents

Priority identifies the rela tive importanc e of anInc ident based on Impac t and Urgenc y

Priority a lso d ic ta tes the amount o f effort p ut in to

the resolution of and rec overy from Inc idents Low impac t, average urgency Inc idents will be

resolved immed ia te ly in most organiza tions


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Owning , Monitoring , and Trac kingIncidents

The Service Desk owns and oversees the resolution of a lloutstanding Incidents, whatever the initia l sourc e

Ac tivities inc lude:

Chec king for simila r Inc idents

Monitoring the sta tus and progress towards resolution ofInc idents aga inst servic e levels

Noting Inc idents tha t move b etween d ifferent spec ia listsupport groups

Ma y be ind ic a tive o f uncerta inty, mis-c a tegoriza tion,possib ly, a d ispute between support sta ff

Giving priority to monitoring high-impac t Inc idents

Keep ing a ffec ted users informed of progress

ITIL assigns ownership of everyInc ident to the Service

Desk throughout the entire Inc ident lifecyc le


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Communic a ting Inc ident Sta tus

Keep c ustomers informed of progress

Inc ident has been ac c ep ted

Furthe r information is needed Tec hnic ian ha s been d ispa tc hed Software enhancement has been ac c ep ted Insta lla tion o r work is sc heduled

Request is c ompleted or inc ident resolved

If sta ff resourc es a re limited , use email

Create a persona l bond with c ustomers, eventhrough elec tronic c ommunic a tion

Speak the c ustomers language Communic a te SLA terms

Strike negative phrases. Tell customers what youcan

do!


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Prob lem Ma nagement (PM)Responsibilities

Rec ords Inc ident deta ils for trend androot c ause ana lysis

Matc hes and links new Inc idents to existingWorkarounds, Prob lems, and Known Errors

Submits p roposed Workaround s to PM for

approval Identifies trends tha t may prompt the need to

ra ise Prob lems

Communic a tes Prob lem sta tus to c ustomers Identifies the rec urrenc e of resolved Prob lems


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Incident

MatchingProc ess Flow

C fi ti M t (CM)


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Configura tion Management (CM)Responsibilities

Uses the CMDB (e.g ., to popula te Inc idents andassess Priority)

Collec ts information about a ffec ted CIs Assists CM by verifying CIs tha t c ustomers a re

c a lling about are rec orded in the CMDB

Detec ts inc onsistenc ies in the CMDB

Raises an exc ep tion report (perhapsautomatic a lly via the Inc ident Managementsystem) and informs CM when inc onsistenc ies a re

found

Ch M t


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Change ManagementResponsibilities

Proac tively c ommunic a tes the impac t and c ostof c hange (to the Servic e Desk)

Registers Requests for Change (RFCs) Serves as the Voic e of the Customer (when

needed) Issues the Forward Sc hedule of Cha nge (FSC)

Communic a tes the sta tus of changes Imp lements c hanges (e.g ., Standard Changes) Registers Inc idents rela ted to c hanges Registe rs Inc idents rela ted to una uthorized

changes Provides va luab le management information


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Release Mana gement Responsib ilities

Ac tively partic ipa tes in communic a tion, p repara tion, andtraining activities

Communic a tes the Relea se Ca lend ar

Communic a tes the sta tus of releases Communica tes Servic e Desk requirements

Provides support acc eptanc e c riteria

Prepares to support new releases Rec eives tra ining , rec eives/ deve lops doc umenta tion and

procedures, installs/modifies related technology

Partic ipa tes in User Ac c ep ta nc e Testing

Supports/ partic ipa tes in a p ilot release

Receives and reviews Prob lems and Known Errors identifiedduring development/testing

Provides va luab le management information


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Sup porting New Releases

Support is an importa nt deliverab le for new ITServic es

Inadequate support is a ma jor c ause of releasefa ilure and c ustomer d issa tisfac tion

New servic es a re opportunities to 'impress the

business Servic e Desk must b e aware of new releases via

FSC

Servic e Desk should be tra ined on new releases Release Management needs support

acceptance

Can we support it?


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Determining Support Requirements

Determine supportexpectations

Ma p supportexpec ta tions toc urrent c apab ilities

Determine sta ffing ,tra ining andtechnologyrequirements

Ca lc ula te estimatedsupport c osts

Support Considerations Business need / c ritica lity of

product/system Budget a lloc a tion Fit w ithin d efined Service Desk

scope User base size Skill requirements fo r Servic e

Desk Ava ilab ility of sec ond and third

line resourc es Existing rela tionships with

suppliers Prop er engagement o f p roc ess

Ava ilab ility of alterna tivesupport op tions

Should we support it?

Servic e Level Management


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Servic e Level ManagementResponsibilities

Must und ersta nd the Servic e Ca ta log

Must be proac tive ambassadors for SLAs

Monitors SLA a c hievements (e.g ., c ustomersperc eption of ava ilab ility and Inc ident responseand resolution times)

Ma nages servic e b reac hes Provides va luab le management information

(e.g ., fa ilure / potentia l fa ilure information,

Inc ident management ac hievements, resultsfrom c ustomer sa tisfac tion surveys)

Relies on e ffec tive OLAs and UCs

Customer and User support requirements are addressed in SLAs

Ava ilab ility Capac ity & Continuity


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Ava ilab ility, Capac ity & ContinuityManagement Responsibilities

Provides Inc ident d eta ils

Provides va luab le management information

(e.g ., sta tistic s and da ta used to reportachievements)

Proac tively and reac tively c ommunic a tes sta tus

to c ustomers

The effectiveness of the Service Desk and the Incident Management process canstrongly influence the overall recovery period when failures occur. Availability,Capacity, and Continuity Management methods and techniques may be thestimulus for continuous improvement activities at the Service Desk.


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Fina nc ia l Management Responsib ilities

Provides da ta used toc a lc ula te the c ost ofIT Services

Provides Incidentdeta ils used toc a lc ula te the c ost ofunavailability

Provides da ta used todemonstra te the ROIon IT Servic eManagement

improvements

Demonstrating ROI Improved c ustomer sa tisfac tion Improved IT Servic e ava ilab ility

Improved productivity Reduc ed Tota l Co st o fOwnership (TCO)

Red uced Inc ident volume Red uced c ost per c ontac t

Fewer IT Service Outages Red uced hidden c osts (e.g .,peer-to-peer support,unrec orded Inc idents)

Less Unplanned Work Bette r asset utiliza tion Red uced sta ff turnover Lower tra ining c osts


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The Tec hnology Component


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2006 ITSM Academy, Inc. V1.0

Tools Should Not Define Proc ess

Matc h tools to p roc ess,not p roc ess to tools

Good peop le, p roc esses andproc edures underp in tool suc c ess

Business size and c omp lexityd rives tool sophistic a tion needs

Small organiza tions simp le Large organiza tions robust

Ma nagement information needsa re a n important too l fac tor

Automated tools allow: Centra liza tion o f key

functions Automation o f

red undant ta sks Data ana lysis Trend identific a tion Preventive measures

If youre doing things wrong and you automatethem youll do them wrong faster!


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Servic e Desk/ ITSM Tools

Integra ted ITSM andOp era tions Ma nagementsystems

Advanced telephonysystems (ACD, CTI, VoIP)

Inte rac tive Voic e Response(IVR) systems

Elec tronic c ommunic a tion

(voic e, ema il, web-forms,mob ile and wireless, c ha t)

Fax servers tha t route toemail

Pagers or wireless PDAs

Knowledge, searc h andd iagnostic tools

Remote c ontrol systems

Password reset systems

Enterp rise monito ring andnetwork ma nagement tools

Self-he lp & self-hea ling tools Expert systems

Configura tion Ma nag ementDatabase

Change Ma nag ement

systems Relea se Ma nagement a nd

softw are d istribution systems

Reporting tools

Web forms Workflow Ma nagementsystems

Some Incidents need live Service Desk contact Many do not

G


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Gain Effic ienc y with Integra tion

C i i i h C


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Communic a ting with Customers

Diversify Servic e Desk c ontac t c hannels Voic e, ema il, Internet, web forms, mob ile, c ha t

Do not use as an elec tronic barrier Sta ff eac h c hannel appropria tely Promptly review and respond to messages Use SLAs to ensure a c onsistent and high-

qua lity servic e

S lf S i St t i


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Self-Servic e Stra teg ies

Self-servic e inc lud es Registering and c hec king on Inc idents

Sea rc hab le know led ge bases Downloa d ing updates or pa tches

Ordering goods and servic es

Primary c ha rac teristics: Customer determines the point o f entry

Direc t ac c ess to support information and knowledge

Customers manage support transac tions themselves

Inc reased ea se of ac c ess and speed of resolution

Reduc ed demand and lower c osts for support resourc es

Options outside support hours and for non-c ritic a l Inc idents

Supported by tec hnolog ies suc h a s Internet, IVR, mob ile andwireless


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5 Steps to Jumpsta rt

a Servic e Desk

Suc c ess Step # 1Suc c ess Step # 1


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Ensure business needs and Customer andUser requirements a re understood Customers satisfaction surveys, interviews, focus groups

Clearly define Servic e Desk goa ls, Critic a lSuc c ess Fac to rs, and Key Performanc eIndicators

Align w ith servic e levels tha t a re p rac tic a l,agreed upon, and regula rly reviewed Educ a te Customers, Users, IT Sta ff andServic e

Desk sta ff on the purpose and va lue of theServic e Desk

Ensure Servic e Desk imp lementa tion effortsp romote and support the vision


Define Your VisionDefine Your Vision



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Suc c ess Step # 1p

Define Your Vision (c ont.)Define Your Vision (c ont.)

The Servic e Desk provides IT c ustomers

with a single point of contac t forresponsive support. We a re c ommittedto qua lity help through tea mwork and

a p roac tive approac h to identifyingand resolving Inc idents and Prob lems.

We strive to exc eed our c ustomers

expec ta tions in our ongoing pursuit o fservic e exc ellent.



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pp

Rec ord and OwnRec ord and Own EveryEveryIncidentIncident

Every Inc ident p rovides insightful da ta Business p roduc tivity loss

IT Servic e performanc e

ITSM proc ess performanc e

IT Sta ff produc tivity and workloads

Unrec orded Inc idents: Will not b e c onsidered a t budget time

Will not b e sta ffed for Cannot b e p revented



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Crea te a n OLA temp la te to be usedduring negotia tions

Work with support g roup managers to : Develop sta ff resourc e use figures

Clearly identify what must be done to ac hieve

agreed servic e levels Define spec ific ta rgets for the Servic e

Desk and support g roups tha t und erp in

the ta rgets inc luded in SLAs Monitor, report, and regula rly review OLA

achievements

pp

Estab lish Effec tive OLAsEstab lish Effec tive OLAs



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Work with the Release Management Proc essOwner (and the PMO where one exists) toforma lize support ac c eptance

Crea te a Support Ac c ep tance Form

Crea te a Support Ac c ep tance Chec klist

Engage a willing Projec t Manager

Pilot the Support Ac c ep tanc e Proc ess

Show Proof of Concep t Servic e Desk prepared to support new releases

Fewer Inc idents upon release Red uc ed Inc ident hand ling time upon relea se

Customers sa tisfied with release

pp

Communic a te Your RequirementsCommunic a te Your Requirements



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pp

Leverage Tec hnologyLeverage Tec hnology

Proc ess should define tool requirements Tools should not d efine proc ess

Tools d rive p roc ess effic ienc ies New Inc ident rec ords (porta l, system a lerts)

Auto-genera ted events (ema il, esc a la tion)

Self-help , self-hea ling , knowledge b ases

Performanc e monitoring Metric s and reporting

Op timize what you have, identify what you need

Gain effic ienc y by integra ting ITSM tools Inc ident, Prob lem, Configura tion, Change, Release, SLM

Remember the Goa l


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Remember the Goa l.

building a service desk

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