TASK 1Write a letter of application for the following position:

Casual Help Desk Technician - Level 1

3 Days per week on average with award wage

Duties include:Assisting clients to remedy computer problems over the phone and face to face, carry out basic computer repair, diagnostics, installing hardware and software, record details of all jobs on computerised service desk system.

In your written application please address each of the following to demonstrate you knowledge, ability and experience.

Essential Criteria.

1. Understanding of the principles of service desk quality.

2. What legislation, codes of practice and other formal agreements, that directly impact on the

resolution processes, do you need to be aware of before you contact clients.

3. Demonstrated ability to communicate with the customer keeping them informed of progress

and advising on workarounds.

4. Ability to ensure data integrity.

5. Understanding of service management relating to service desk.

6. Demonstrated ability to use industry best practice in ICT service desk support.

Understanding of Quality Assurance of processes and procedures relating to service desk.

Foreword your application to:

The ManagerITHELP4UYOURTOWN 2300

Congratulations you have passed the first stage of the employment process, due to your excellent application letter you are now requested to undertake one week’s work experience to further assess your skills and possible employment at ITHelp4U.

TASK 2

1 Before you commence your work experience you are required to read and interpret and understand the ITHelp4U Policies and Procedures extract provided at the end of this document.

As you are on work experience your supervisor has informed you that you are not to deal with any issues that may impact adversely on the client’s computers without escalating the call to an experienced technician.

2 Your first duty is to familiarise yourself with the service desk system, and then open new service calls on the system for each of the calls below; or for three calls received by you at your work place. (You may use the ITHelp4U Web System, EasyDesk that can be supplied by your teacher or any similar service desk software eg Acacia Help Desk, Aegis Service Desk, Control-F1, Giva Inc, HelpMaster Pro, HelpTrac, Internet Software Sciences, iTrack, LBE Help Desk Software, NetHelpDesk, NetKeeper, Numara Trackit or the BridgeTrak Suite.)

Call Logging When the help desk operator takes a call, the first thing they do is ask for the client’s name and contact details. This is called call logging. The exact procedure and information required will vary according to the procedures used by different technical support organisations. Required information can include phone number, email address, location, machine number, type of machine, operating system etc. The majority of calls to a help desk are made by telephone. The advantage of this method of call logging, is that the client and the help desk operator can be located at their workstations and interactively communicate with one another to clearly identify and resolve client problem/s.

The use of phone menu and voice recognition systems allows users phone requests to be more efficiently directed to the correct skill

3 The following calls have been received at the help desk but have not been entered into the electronic system, please enter them now.

#Call-1183

Call No: 118329/8/20xxElla Williams0421 667 498ewilliams@bigpond.comKeyboard stopped working

Call No: 118429/8/20xxCharlie Nyugen charlie.Nyugen45@hotmail.com0435 249 268New printer not working

#Call-1184

4 When you have made the entries, you will need to research some possible solutions, this may include referring to manuals and specifications, add these details to the entries. What are the possible solutions to these problems?

Job # Date Logged Status User Phone

number Email Address Problem Priority Research

1183 29/8/20xx Open Ellan Williams

0421 667 498

ewilliams@bigpond.com

Keyword stopped working

medium Keyboard Manual

1184 29/8/20xx Open Charlie Nyugen

0435 249 268

Charlie.Nyugen45@hotmail.com

New printer

not working

high Printer Manual

Possible solution of #Call-1183

Possible solution of #Call-1184

5 Do you need to escalate these calls, or can you attempt to deal with them yourself?Why or why not? If either of the calls need to be escalated who will you escalate them to?

For Job # 1183 - The first call need not to be escalated since the problem is simple and it does not have not many causes of problem. So, I can deal with it myself.

For Job # 1184 - The second call also need not to be escalated. The working principle of printer is not simple. But since it is new printer its cause of not working will be less and can easily find out and solve it.

6 Now you need to contact the customers and commence solving their problems. a) List the questions that you would ask in each case.b) Forward these questions to your teacher who will act as the client and supply you with responses

to your questions.

Following will the questions that I would be asking the client for problem of keyboard stopped working: Job # 1183• Does your keyboard lights is on or off?Response: The light is off• When keyboard started no working?Response: When I turned the computer on this morning.• Before keyboard start not working did you performed any action?Response: No• Have you checked the wire of keyboard?Response: The cable is plugged in correctly if that is what you mean.

Following will the questions that I would be asking the client for problem of printer stopped working: Job # 1184• Have you bought the printer after testing it in dealer place?• When it started not working?

Response : The printer is new. I did not test it at the suppliers as it was shipped direct to us. It was installed this morning and has not worked at all.

7 Contact the customers and attempt to resolve their problems. Your teacher will again act as your client, this can be via email or face to face.

Where is the possible solution?

8 When the problem has been resolved close the call on the service desk system, implementing service desk closure principles.

9 After closure, contact the customer to obtain their feedback, how will you contact them and what will you ask them?

After the closure I would contact the customer through the contact detail given by them while registering the problem. By email or phone? And I would be asking following question with them:

Hello, we are from ITHelp4U. Have you ever used our services? How was the experience while working with us? Have you found any difficulties or any issue while sharing problems? Has the solution provided has solved your problems? Is there any suggestion that you want to make for improvement of service?

10 Could you now please create a Glossary to add to our Policies and Procedures Manual. Please include the following terms and the definitions as they apply to a helpdesk.

Glossary• Business case: a reasoning for performing some task• Change types(normal, standard and emergency): priority for changes according to the situations• Resources, capabilities and assets: strategic assets of service provider• configuration management system : system to check the performance and make changes to it for better performance• definitive media library (DML) : library where confidential data are kept secure and only authorized person are given access to it• impact, urgency and priority : set the different level of priority on the basis of urgency and its impact• known error : error that are already dealt in past and have been recorded• known error database (KEDB): database that store and describe all the known errors• operational level agreement (OLA) : agreement that company defines for its customer to meet SLA• service assets : every aspects of service that service provider gives to customer• service catalogue : collection of services provided by service provider with their price• service change : adding new functions or make changes to service for improvement• service design package : documentation of services• service knowledge management system (SKMS) : system with tools and database for proper management of knowledge and information• service level agreement (SLA) : agreement made between service provider and customer that include level of services customer will get from service provider• service portfolio : repository which store all the information od services that are present in company or organization• service provider : organization or company that provide services to its customer as third party• Service request: request made by customer to service provider for services like password change, repair, installation etc.• supplier : organization that supplies services to its customers• utility : state of services being useful• warranty : guarantee given by service provider for any durability of services for some period of time• workaround: process of overcoming problems• single point of entry and single point of exit : means only one way of entry and one way to exit from system

TASK 3

The following call has just been passed to you.

1. Record this call on the service desk system. This should be added to the Service Desk application.

2. Research some possible solutions, this may include referring to manuals and specifications, and add them to the service desk system.

Call No: 119529/8/20xxGrace MartinGramartin78@yahoo.com.au0438 996 852Computer is slow

3. Do you need to escalate this call, or can you attempt deal to with it yourself? Why or why not? Who will you escalate the call to?

The problem of being computer slow might be occurred by different causes like above. The solution for this problem might be any of above defined solutions. It will take more time for me to solve this problem than the experience one. So, to solve this problem in less amount of time and increase productivity I would escalate the call to some technician having good experience in dealing with these problems.

4. If the call does need to be escalated, you need to inform the customer of the progress of their call.How will you do this and what will you say

TASK 4Review the Monthly Report for Level 1 Technicians below. Create a plan that could improve helpdesk performance. Write a brief report justifying your plan and email this to your supervisor (your teacher).

Job Number

Date Logged

Status User Problem

Ass

igne

d to

te

chni

cian

Date Closed Resolution

1160 30/6/20XX Open Alice Aquila PC is displaying the date as 01/01/2001. Has set date correctly, but when system is restarted, the incorrect date is still displayed.

1

1159 30/6/20XX Open Alice Tan Windows is misbehaving after Apsun L300 printer was installed.

2

1158 29/06/20XX Closed Ann Jones Access 2010 will not start 2 29/06/20XX Uninstalled and reinstalled Access 2010.

1157 28/06/20XX Closed Alice Tan Password not working again 1 28/06/20XX Reset user password.

1156 27/06/20XX Closed Wallace Adams Monitor is has lines running across it 2 27/06/20XX Replaced with spare monitor

1155 26/06/20XX Closed Adrian Mackie PC operating very slowly 1 26/06/20XX Advised user how to scan PC for viruses, None found. Got the user to perform disk cleanup and defrag. Problem persisted after this. Visited site, ran disk diagnostics. Found HDD fault. Replaced HDD drive. Reinstalled software.

1154 24/06/20XX Closed Marian Wilson Mouse not working well 2 24/06/20XX Replaced battery in mouse.

1153 22/06/20XX Closed Adrian Mackie Installed software for new HP L300 Laser printer. Windows 8 is now freezing up regularly.

2 24/06/20XX Checked HP website. Downloaded a patch from this site and installed. This fixed the problem

1152 18/6/20XX Open Sharon Jones Need Office 2013 installed 1 Waiting on new software

1151 17/6/120XX Closed Alice Tan No sound 2 18/6/20XX Directed client to turn up volume on speakers

1150 14/6/XX Closed Adrian Mackie Cannot see top margin in word 2 14/6/20XX Directed client to restart word, this corrected the problem

1149 10/6/20XX Closed Jo Brown Slow Internet 2 10/6/20XX Directed client to clear temporary files and cookies

1148 8/6/20XX Closed Alice Tan Tool bar is not visible in Word 2 8/6/20XX Directed client to remove tick from Minimise ribbon

1147 5/6/20XX Open Jerry Miller Funny smell coming from computer 1 Waiting on replacement case fan, system was overheating due to faulty fan

1146 2/6/20XX Closed Sharon Jones Keyboard not working 2 2/6/20XX Connection had come loose

1145 1/6/20XX Closed Alice Tan Password not working 2 1/6/20XX Reset user password.

AST ICTICT422 Page 11 of 19Assessment Version1

Policies and Procedures ManualExtract

Creating a recordAll client contact should be documented using the organization’s standard procedures. The record is used to help track the progress of the problem resolution and record details as required by the organization’s procedures.Initial details to be recorded are:

Date and time

Client details such as: o Nameo Department or organizationo Contact details such as telephone and email addresso Location.

For external clients, the help desk operator may also be required to establish if the client is entitled to get help from the help desk and further details such as a user name and password may be required.Depending on the help desk procedures, entering the client or computer name may then display further details of the computer such as technical specifications and/or warranty details.Each new problem will be assigned a reference number that allows tracking of the progress of the problem. The client should be asked if this is a problem that has previously been logged and if so, what reference number was assigned so that the relevant details can be found.

Recording details of the problemThe next step is to determine the nature of the problem by asking the client appropriate questions. By carefully listening, you can then ask specific questions that will lead to solutions.Closed questions are those questions which can be answered by a single answer or yes/no response. They are useful to get a single fact or check if you have a detail correct. An example of a closed question is:“Are there any error messages displayed?”Open questions are those questions which require a longer response and generally start with What, When, Where, How or Who. They are useful to gain detailed information from users. An example of an open question is:“What applications were open when you received the error message?”Active listening: It is important to listen to the client and get a clear understanding of their problem. Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves your understanding of what the person is saying. Restate what the person has said to check your understanding of their problem.

Problems can be classified in several ways and technicians working on a Help Desk will be required to record details for each problem. The exact details will vary between organizations. These details may include:

type of problem

o softwareo hardwareo networko training

priority level of problem

o higho mediumo lowo request

status of problem

o openo pendingo closed

Providing client supportOnce all the details of the problem have been recorded, the next steps that are taken are determined by the organizations policy and procedures and by the nature of the problem. If the problem is to be passed to another technician, this is known as escalating the problem. Often this technician will have more experience with that particular type of problem and is commonly known as a second level support person. Some organizations may also have a third level of technical support. Possible scenarios include:

The IT technician will provide advice to the client to help resolve the problem immediately. The problem is resolved, resolution details are logged and the call is closed off.

The IT technician will need to gather more information about the problem and will organize to visit or call the client at a suitable time.

The IT technician will provide details to the client such as the job reference number and expected resolution time, then escalate the problem to another technician.

The IT technician will contact a third party such as a computer hardware supplier. This action will be taken if the computer system is covered by a warranty or service level agreement.

Usually the first level support person will remain the point of contact for the user. They will provide progress feedback to the user.

Closing the incidentWhen a satisfactory resolution to the problem has been reached, the help desk log should be updated with the following details:

Date and time the call was closed Description of the problem solution

Escalation Policy and Procedures

The person taking the call will own and manage all definitive sources of knowledge used to diagnose and troubleshoot incidents related to IT services this includes following up on escalated calls.

All level one client problems/incidents must be escalated to second level support if they have not been resolved within 30 minutes to ensure incident control using life cycle management of all service requests.

All level two client problems/incidents must be escalated to third level support if they have not been resolved within 30 minutes to ensure incident control using life cycle management of all service requests.

Any incident prioritized as Critical must immediately be escalated to the next level.

Application ExampleEach employee within ITHelp4U Service Desk has the responsibility to provide knowledge for diagnosing and handling incidents and maintaining that knowledge on a regular consistent basis to make sure it is timely and accurate and to escalate calls when required and according to the escalation schedule.

Rationale Rationales are:• Ensures up-to-date and accurate information is available to incident handling staff• Supports efforts to get calls handled faster and at first call more frequently

Implication Implications are:• We have roles and responsibilities assigned for each employee to input and maintain knowledge for calls• We have tools in place to capture and communicate knowledge • We handle knowledge changes through the Change Management process• We integrate with the Problem Management process to get information on problems and work-arounds.

Principles of Service Desk Quality Assurance

Principle 1Client information will be kept strictly confidential within policies set bythe organization and regulatory agencies.

Principle 2The highest priority is to be given to keeping the customer informed of progress and advising on workarounds

Principle 3All client details and requests and solutions to problems and incidents will be stored and managed in a single data repository to ensure data integrity.

Principle 4End-user support will be provided by a single toll-free number to ensure ease of use for customers All clients and company ITHelp4U employees are to call 1-800-HELP-NOW to access the Service Desk.

RationaleEase of access to services.Promotes use of the service interface.Reduces the number of interfaces.Promotes user satisfaction.Provides single-point-of-contact for services and not necessarily the first point of contact (FPOC)Proves single point of entry and single point of exit

Principle 5All records will subscribe to a standard classification schema that is consistent across all of IT.

Application All IT client request/problems are logged to a common set of classification categories.These classifications are:

priority level of problem o higho mediumo lowo request

status of problem o openo pendingo closed

Rationale Provides easy access to incident work-arounds and troubleshooting information Critical for supporting Problem Management activities

Implication We have a well defined and communicated set of incident classification categories. It is impossible for anyone to enter non-standard categories for incidents Service Desk and incident handling staff are aware of what categories exist

Principle 6Every problem will have an assigned owner.

Application After identifying a problem that appears to be causing multiple incidents, the Problem Manager has assigned an owner dedicated to finding its Root Cause and coordinating activities to remove the error.

Rationale Ensures responsibility assigned to fix problemsProvides single point of contact for communications about problems

ImplicationsThe Problem Owner role is understood and communicated throughout the organizationProblem Owners have appropriate authorization to coordinate and take actions to identify Root Cause and remove the error

Principle 7We will take action to continuously improve service quality.

ApplicationOur management processes encourage personnel to perform root cause analysis when statistics show an increasing trend in any particular problem category.

RationaleContinuous improvement is an added value.Simply measuring and reporting does not ensure continuous improvement in our services.Objective measurement facilitates cost-benefit analysis of changes.

ImplicationsWe have objective measurements.We educate everyone involved in the improvement cycle.Our management processes are focused on change.We understand that improvement activities must be seen as an investment, they in cost time and resources, which are recovered later in terms of quality of service delivery.We communicate to all the benefits of continuous improvement.Our culture recognizes that continuous improvement of service quality is a key part of management’s role.

Principle 8 IT is responsible for the integrity of data associated with IT services, irrespective of technical platform.

ApplicationIT has implemented services and controls to ensure that data is secure and reliable.

Rationale Data is a corporate asset which IT is mandated to manage.Users will not do it.There needs to be separation between producers of data and those managing it.

Implications We make users aware of what data management IT will and will not provide through SLA’s.We are able to handle increasingly complex data management requirements driven through increased business demands and regulations.

Principle 9We will consider the benefit and impact on the customer of everything that we do.

ApplicationHousekeeping activities are agreed to and undertaken based on schedules that minimize the

impact on customer activity.Rationale

Assists ITHelp4U to understand customer needs.A customer-focused services organization ensures business aligned IT services.Enables a customer-focused culture.Increases customer satisfaction.

ImplicationsITHelp4U understands the implications of actions they take on them customer and business.ITHelp4U understands the business calendar.Understands legislation and other influencing standards.Activities are measured in terms that are relevant to the business

Principle 10We will regularly measure and report on the services we provide.

ApplicationBy measuring and reporting the performance of the Service Desk service, in the customer’s terms, we give ourselves the ability to:

Manage it.Improve it.Demonstrate its value to the businessDemonstrate quantifiably that agreed service levels are met.

RationaleIf we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it.Demonstrate the value provided by the services we offer so the customerwill understand the investment needed to improve the service.Enables timely, quality service provision.

ImplicationsA process is in place to capture the pertinent data and report it a regularbasis.Measures are agreed to with the customer.

We understand that measuring is not enough and we have the disciplines and processes in place to act on issues raised.We understand that measurement simply provides data and we have established methods to turn the data into knowledge (e.g. trend and threshold analysis).The proactive cycle of measure.

Best Practice

ITHelp4U will incorporate the following best practice and tools.

• Single point of contact (SPOC) and not necessarily the first point of contact (FPOC)• When choosing tools, we will look beyond the direct experience of personnel• Borrow and adapt best practice to meet our needs• Sound external advice is seen as an investment• Recognizing that research and innovation are part of our job• Before closing any Incident and Problem records, the question “what will prevent this from

happening again?” must be answered• ITHelp4U will be proactive rather than reactive, whenever possible• Promote the highest possible service levels