Chapter 6

Help Desk Operations

IFS410 End User Support

Porter’s Value Chains

Porter argued that firm’s opportunities to create competitive advantage occur at different steps in the value chainThe Margin is the value of the firm’s products and services less their costs, as perceived by the firm’s customersThe value chain is made of the primary and support activities that contribute to a firm’s margin value. Increasing that marginal value is the objective of the chain modelFirms can create value by performing activities, which Porter calls value activities

An organization that provides a single point of contact for users in need of technical support

Goal: To enhance client satisfaction by effectively and efficiently resolving problems and questions Alternate titles: hotline, information center, lab

assistance, tech support, client services

What Is a Help Desk?

Multi-level Support Model is a help desk structure Organizes support staff and services into

several levels (or tiers) Each level is staffed by a worker with different

skills Also called the frontline/backline model

Goal: to handle as many incidents as possible at the lowest level in the support hierarchy Save scarce resources for incidents where more

expertise is necessary

Multi-level Support Model

Multi-Level Support Characteristics Level 1 – Incident Screening

Creates ticket (logs incident) General triage Work From Scripts

Level 2 – Product Specialist More experienced helpdesk representative Typically hands-on Generalist (small depth, large breadth)

Multi-Level Support Characteristics Level 3 – Technical Specialist

MSCE CCSE Designers / Developers / Analysts

Level 4 – Supervisor / Manager

Incident Management is a well-defined, formal procedure that help desk staff use to: Handle problem incidents Get information to users Solve user problems Maintain records about the incident

Call Management is primarily concerned with handling telephone contacts

The Incident Management Process

1. Receive the incident

2. Prescreen the incident

3. Authenticate the user

4. Log the incident

5. Screen the incident

6. Prioritize the incident

7. Assign the incident

8. Track the incident

9. Escalate the incident

10. Resolve the incident

11. Close the incident

12. Archive the incident

Steps in the Incident Management Process

Sources of incidents:

Goals: Establish a relationship with end user Get basic information from user

Who is the user? What is the purpose of the contact?

May use a specific greeting script Warn that the call may be monitored Apologize for any delay or wait time

– In person– Phone call

– E-mail message– Web-based contact

1. Receive the Incident

Prescreening is a filtering process to determine how the help desk staff will handle the incident

Goal: Incident screener may be able to handle a simple request for information Product information How to order Where to purchase

2. Prescreen the Incident

Authentication determines whether help desk staff are authorized to handle an incident

Usually involves checking a product registration database a product model or serial number a warranty database a support service database of authorized clients

Goals Determine the status of each client Establish a billing procedure (where appropriate) Filter out unauthorized clients

3. Authenticate the Incident

Incident logging begins to document the incident and its related problem

Basic information about the incident is recorded Trouble report form Incident tracking database

Goal: Start a record of the incident

4. Log the Incident

Incident screening categorizes and describes the incident Common Incident Categories:

– Request for information (that could not be handled during prescreening)

– Question– Problem– Complaint– Work order

Goals: Define the category of an incident Capture a brief description of the incident

5. Screen the Incident

Priority code is assigned based on How serious the problem is for users How many users are affected Consequence of not handling problem

immediately Goals:

A priority code often determines the kind of attention an incident will receive from staff

Alternative to priority codes handle incidents on first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis

6. Prioritize the Incident

Priority Codes and Incident Handling

Example priority codes 1 – Urgent 2 – High priority 3 – Medium priority 4 – Low priority High priority incidents are usually serious problems that

affect the productivity of a large number of users Priority codes may be used to determine response time of

support staff Priority codes may change as an incident is handled

Priority Codes and Queue Management A queue is a waiting line into which incoming

incidents are placed when they cannot be answered immediately

Queues may be defined for Priority codes Different products Types of customers Levels of support

When a level 1 Incident Screener cannot respond to an incident directly, they assign it to another agent who has specific product knowledge has specialized expertise

Goal: Move an incident to a queue where it will get

appropriate attention

7. Assign the Incident

Incident tracking updates information• as an incident is processed• as new information is added to the incident log

Goals: Provides a record:

When important events occur A history of how the incident was handled

Provides data: Measure the quality of incident handling Evaluate support agent performance Identify support staff training needs

8. Track the Incident

Escalation is a normal process in which an incident is transferred to a higher level support agent who has greater ability or expertise resources to handle more difficult problems

Goal: Resolve a difficult problem effectively and

efficiently Escalation may be automatic if an incident is not

resolved within a limited period of time

9. Escalate the Incident

Resolution means that a user’s problem has been solved or information has been provided A complaint may be referred to product designers as a

suggestion for the next product revision cycle Caveats:

Not all calls can be completely resolved by the Incident Management Process

Resolution doesn’t necessarily mean the client is completely satisfied

Goal: Minimize the percent of incidents that cannot be resolved

satisfactorily

10. Resolve the Incident

Incident closing may include: Review the steps to solve the problem Seek mutual agreement (verification) that a solution has been

reached Thank the user for contacting the help desk Invite the user to recontact if not satisfied Make final entries in incident log or database

Goal:• Provide technical and interpersonal closure to the

incident

11. Close the Incident

Archive means to copy resolved incidents to a database of completed incidents Incidents are retained in an active database as long

as they remain relevant Goal:

Reduce the size of the active database by removing less relevant information

The archives can be searched if needed in future problem-solving situations can serve as a source of data for statistical analysis

12. Archive the incident

Desk in a cubicle Access to one or more computer systems Access to reference library Telephone headset permits freedom of motion Issues

• Job stress• Diversions for staff• Ergonomic work place

Physical Layout of Help Desk Work Areas

Help Desk Technology and Tools

Impact of automation on help desk industry Help desk software packages Computer telephony systems Web-based support

Popular Help Desk Software Packages Large-scale Operations

Remedy Help Desk Peregrine ServiceCenter Magic Solutions Service

Desk Clientele for Help Desks

Small or Mid-scale HelpTrac Track-It! Manage-IT! Soffront Customer

Helpdesk BridgeTrak

Computer Telephony Systems Computer telephony is the integration of computer

and telephone technology into a seamless help desk tool

Automated Call Distributor (ACD) is a computer telephony system that automates the first steps in incident management answer calls greet callers provide menus route the call to support agents

Computer Telephony Systems (continued)

Goals Reduce amount of time and cost to respond to calls and route

them to support agents Collect information about performance of help desk operation Monitor calls

Problems Reputation for poor customer service Poor design of menus Lengthy hold times Repetitious requests for information Dropped calls

Interactive Voice Response

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems let users interact with a database of information User presses keys on telephone handset User speaks simple words into telephone

IVRs can be programmed with decision-tree logic to ask and answer questions without a human agent

Web-based Support

Product information Order entry Rebate status Automated responses to

information requests Online documents Software downloads Troubleshooting wizards

Knowledge bases Search engine Chat rooms E-mail links to staff Submit problem reports Contact information Customer satisfaction

surveys Links to related sites

Web Support Advantages

Lower cost to provide support than other methods

Makes users more self-reliant Reduces errors due to misinformation and

miscommunication Eliminates user time spent waiting on phone

for help desk agent

E-mail Support Advantages

E-mail is asynchronous user and support staff do not have to be

available online at exactly the same time E-mail responses make more flexible use of

support agent’s time E-mail responses to frequent questions can

be composed in advance and then pasted into messages

Impact of Web and E-mail Use on Support Staff More efficient use of support staff resources Writing skills become more important for support staff

than telephone skills Quick recall is less important than ability to locate

information Ability to listen is less important than ability to read

and understand Customer service skills remain important

Impact of Intranets on Support Staff An Intranet is a network modeled after the Internet

with information organized into Web pages Facilitates communication between an organization’s

employees and support staff Uses familiar technology

Web browser Search engine

Provides better security for communication than the Internet

Trends in Help Desk Operations• Outsourcing

– will reduce need for telephone support agents who serve external clients in US

– will have less impact on support agents who serve internal clients

• Greater reliance on electronic mail and the Internet to provide support

• Increases in support staff productivity with remote diagnosis

– Remote diagnosis is the use of a help desk computer to connect to a remote user’s computer

Trends in Help Desk Operations (continued)

• Increased use of voice recognition and artificial intelligence in support products

• Help desk operations will become more proactive (anticipate user problems) and less reactive

• Help desks will play significant role in client relationship management (CRM)

– Client relationship management (CRM) is a business process that aims to meet the needs of clients by providing excellent client service

Trends in Help Desk Operations (continued)

Certification of help desk professionals and their knowledge and skills will become more common and an expectation in the job market

Future help desk managers will need better information for decision making