CHAPTER 6User Support Management

CTS 217:Computer Training

& Support

Chapter ObjectivesIn this chapter, students will learn about:The mission of a support groupSteps to staff a support positionThe contents of a training program for

support staffCertification for support professionalsProfessional associations for support

workersEthical conduct guidelines for support

professionals

2

Reasons to Study User Support ManagementApplicants for support positions need

to understand the perspectives of support managers

Support specialists in small organizations often perform management tasks Project lead or coordinator tasks Supervisory or lead worker responsibilities User support group management

3

Common User Support Management ConcernsMission statementPerformance measuresUser support staffingTraining for user support staff

4

Example of a User Support Mission Statement Mission statement: list of guiding principles

that communicate support goals and objectives to staff, users, and management

Example: The mission of the user support group is to: (a) maximize operational efficiency among users in an organization by providing timely resolution to technology use questions and (b) effectively manage problems to continuously improve the: Quality of support services to users Usability of information systems Effectiveness of documentation and training Users’ satisfaction with support services

5

User Support Performance and Justification Performance statistics: objective summary

information about user support or help desk operation

Examples: Average time to respond to incidents (wait time) Percent of abandoned incidents (abandonment

rate) Average resolution time for incidents Percentage of problems that could not be resolved Percentage of closed incidents that had to be

reopened Number of unresolved incidents

6

Use of Performance StatisticsMost useful when compared across

days, days of week, or months to display trends over time

Can be computed for an entire support organization, a help desk team, or to compare employees’ performance

Often used to justify the need and budget for support services

7

User Satisfaction Surveys User satisfaction survey: questionnaire

to measure how satisfied users are with support services

Contents General questions about support services Questions about specific support staff members’

performance Methods

Follow-up phone call Mailed questionnaire E-mailed questionnaire Web-based survey

8

User Satisfaction Surveys (continued)

Typical survey questions measure: Availability of help when needed Responsiveness of staff Ability to communicate effectively Usefulness of online resources Technical knowledge of staff Ability to resolve problems

9

Justify Support ServicesUser support in an organization’s budget

may be a:Cost center

Support budget includes only expense items Expense examples: payroll, benefits, taxes,

equipment, software, overheadProfit center

Support budget includes both revenue (income) and expenses

Revenue examples: income from service fees, contracts, and per incident

10

Justify Support Services (continued)

How to justify user support as a cost center Performance statistics User satisfaction surveys Sometimes difficult to justify support center

expenses when no direct income is produced How to justify user support as a profit center

Income based on level of support that clients need Free support (no income) Fee-for-service (pay-as-you-go income) Premium support (stable contract income)

Somewhat easier to justify support center expense when revenue offsets at least some expenses

11

Staffing a Help Desk Management challenge: how many help

desk staff are needed to meet the level of service demands efficiently? Need to have sufficient staff available to meet

the demand for timely responses to incidents Need to keep staff to a minimum to avoid idle

agents and unproductive expenses Erlang: a unit of traffic (such as user calls) in a

given time period Erlang calculations estimate the number of help

desk agents required to meet peak demand and off-peak times

12

Steps in Recruiting Help Desk Agents1. Use mission statement as basis for staff

planning2. Analyze knowledge, skills, and abilities

(KSAs) needed3. Write position description(s)4. Prepare advertising for open positions5. Screen applications received for best

match with KSAs6. Interview applicants with best

combination of KSAs7. Check interviewee employment references

13

Common KSAs for Help Desk Agents Hardware, operating system, and application

software proficiency Specific technical skills needed for position Network skills and experience Internet and Web expertise Troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities Communication, listening, writing, and telephone

skills Work experience as a project team member Understands information systems and business

perspectives

14

Example KSAs for a Help Desk Position Experience with Intel-compatible hardware

platforms Skilled in use and support of local area network

(LAN) in office environment Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system

experience Working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications Ability to troubleshoot technical problems Ability to communicate effectively with users,

other agents, and managers Ability to work as an effective member of a

support team

15

Categories of Interview Questions

Common categories of questions asked in an employment interview Knowledge and skills test questions Traditional interview questions

Directed questions Non-directed questions

Behavioral questions Scenario questions Stress tolerance assessment

16

Employment Interview Tools Knowledge and skills question: measure an

applicant’s knowledge and problem-solving abilities

Interview questions about applicant’s educational and work background and experience Directed question: determine whether applicant has

specific qualifications Non-directed question: give applicant an opportunity

to talk in general terms about their qualifications Behavioral question: asks applicant to describe

actions they took in a specific situation

17

Employment Interview Tools (continued)

Scenario question: gives applicant a specific problem representative of problems agents actually encounter

Stress tolerance assessment: interview environment designed to evaluate an applicant’s performance under pressure Noisy Interruptions Multiple interviewers Overly technical questions

18

Illegal Interview QuestionsQuestions or characteristics that it is illegal to inquire about in an employment interview Age Ethnicity Marital status (and family background) Sexual orientation Religious affiliation (and political beliefs) Disabilities (except to determine need for

accommodations under Americans for Disabilities Act – ADA compliance)

19

User Support Staff TrainingStaff training for help desk agents

includes:New employee orientation

Organizational culture, policies, and procedures Payroll and employee benefit information Specific job skill training Help desk tools used Support group policies and procedures Performance appraisal criteria and procedures Professional development and career path

opportunities

20

User Support Staff Training (continued)

Ongoing help desk training Requires scheduled downtime for agents Goal: keep help desk staff current with changes

in computer and help desk technologyProfessional growth and development is a

joint responsibility of company and help desk staff members Attend conferences, training sessions, and

workshops Read trade publications

21

Performance Appraisals for Support AgentsPerformance appraisal: process to

evaluate support agent according to established criteria Based on support mission statement Based on position description Related to employee’s professional growth

objectivesCommon performance appraisal tools

Performance statistics Monitored calls

22

User Support Certification Certification - assessment process to

measure and document employee knowledge and skills

Individual certification Formal education (certificate, diploma, degree) Vendor-specific product knowledge and skills Industry-standard (vendor-neutral) knowledge

Certification of a support group Evaluated against support industry best

practices, which are procedures, tools and methods that successful support groups use

23

Vendor-Specific Certification Examples Microsoft Office

Specialist (MOS) Office applications

(Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint)

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Cisco network

administration Apple Certified Support

Professional (ASCP) Mac OS X operating

system

24

Industry-Standard Certification Examples Comptia’s A+, Network+, Security+,

Project+ A+ covers hardware, operating systems,

configuring, installing, diagnosing, and maintaining PCs

ICCP’s Associate Computer Professional (ASP) Knowledge and skills earned in academic and

vocational degree programs Linux Professional Institute’s LPIC certificate

Linux operating system administration

25

User Support and Help Desk Certification ExamplesHelp Desk Institute

Support center analyst (SCA) For help desk agents

Desktop support technician (DST) For user support workers who provide face-to-

face technical support Others:

Customer service rep (CSR) Help desk team lead Help desk manager

26

User Support and Help Desk Cert. ExamplesMicrosoft

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) Windows Vista support

Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Configuring and supporting Windows Vista

and applications software that runs on Vista Microsoft Certified Desktop Support

Technician (MCDST) Configuring and supporting Windows XP and

applications software that runs on XP

27

Benefits of CertificationRecognized benchmark of minimum-

level job skills and expertise Justification for pay increases Justification for promotionsDocuments efforts to keep up-to-date

in fieldFeeling of accomplishment and

increased job satisfaction

28

Is Certification a Job Requirement?Some position descriptions and job ads

now list certification requirementFor other positions, certification is

optional Provides documentation of

knowledge and skills to supplement formal education

However, job requirements in user support vary; few agreed-on industry-wide standards

29

Certification Process1. Acquire knowledge and skills covered

by the certification exam2. Evaluate skills by taking a pretest

assessment exam (optional)3. Take certification exam

May include preparatory course to cover steps 1 and 2

4. Retake parts of certification test not passed

30

Common Ways to Prepare for Certification Exams College and vocational/technical courses

targeted to popular certification exams Crash courses: intensive exam preparatory

classes Expensive Time-consuming Sometimes called boot camps

Online tutorial courses: use computer-based (CBT) or Web-based (WBT) training methods

Self-study courses: self-paced tutorials in book format Lowest cost Little help available

31

Certification TestsCertification test formats Traditional fixed-length sequence of questions

and problems Adaptive test: method used in some

certification exams that asks selected questions from a computerized test database Questions are graded in difficulty to quickly

estimate a test taker’s proficiency Advantages

Asks fewer questions than traditional test Takes less time Reduces testing stress Reduces boredom from too easy or repetitious questions

32

User Support as a Profession2006 employment: 800,000 workers in

US employed as computer support specialists and system administrators - US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

33

Changes in EmploymentEmployment trends 2000s decade: some reduction in support

employment 2001-2003 recession Overseas outsourcing of lower-level support

positions 2010s decade: forecasted increases in support

employment Computer support specialist: average rate of

growth Network and computer system administrators:

above average rate of growth

34

Professional Associations for Support WorkersProfessional association: formal organization that represents interests of a group of professionals and provides services to its membership Publishes journals, magazines, and books Encourages professional growth of members through

seminars and conferences Offers training and certification programs Facilitates membership contacts via e-mail, Web sites,

chat rooms, blogs, newsgroups, and local chapters Encourages members to adhere to code of ethical

conduct

35

Examples of User Support Professional Associations

36

Example Principles of Ethical Conduct for IT Professionals

37

Example Principles of Ethical Conduct for IT Professionals

38

Chapter Summary A mission statement defines guiding principles

and goals of a support group Performance statistics and user satisfaction

surveys help evaluate agent and support group performance

Support managers prepare position descriptions and job ads based on KSAs for open help desk agent positions

Interviews for support positions include knowledge and skill test questions, traditional directed and non-directed questions, behavioral and scenario questions, and perhaps a stress tolerance interview environment

39

Chapter Summary (continued)

Project management steps for special projects Definition Planning Implementation Monitoring Termination

Automated project management tools help prepare Gantt Charts, participant assignments, and budgets

40

Chapter Summary (continued)

Training for support agents includes new employee orientation and ongoing professional development

Certification for support professionals includes college degrees, vendor-specific, and industry-standard certification programs

Associations of support workers address the needs of support professionals

Codes of ethical behavior and standards of conduct guide members of professional associations

41