Help Desk Customer Service Quiz #4(2)

*Customer Support Via the Internet (continued)* • Functionality and ease of use are the keys to a successful service desk web site • Well-designed web sites offer customers

- A variety of options - The ability to obtain assistance easily when they cannot obtain the information they need - The ability to personalize their support experience • Web sites enable companies to cost-effectively deliver support to their customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* Knowledge management systems gain flexibility and power from search retrieval technologies such as

- Case-base reasoning (CBR) - Decision tree - Fuzzy logic - Keyword searching - Query by example (QBE) • Search retrieval technologies have value only if the data is complete and accurate

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* Knowledge resources include

- Class notes - Internet sites - Online help - Product manuals - An incident management system - Co-workers and subject matter experts

*Technical Writing* Dramatic changes have affected how technical support organizations

- Collect information - Deliver support services • All have prompted the need for technical writing skills

*Tickets (continued)* Tickets are typically made up of two basic parts

- Data field - An element of a database record in which one piece of data is stored - Text field - A field that accepts free-form information • Text fields are used to collect detailed information • Reports are usually created from data fields • Many companies establish standards for how to enter certain words or phrases into text fields - Standards help analysts write consistently and minimize confusion caused by inconsistent terms

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* Many companies designate a knowledge engineer or knowledge base administrator (KBA) to

- Develop and oversee the knowledge management process - Ensure information is accurate, complete, and current - Ensure all information sources are added - Provide training - Develop documentation standards • In smaller companies, an analyst with excellent writing skills may perform this role on a part-time basis • Larger companies may have one or more full-time knowledge engineers

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Analysts must

Feel comfortable communicating via Telephone, IM, chat Email and Web-based services Possess or develop the different skills that each of these technologies require

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Technology-delivered support requires service desks to

- Diligently capture and deliver high-quality information - Rethink the skills that service desk analysts must possess - Rethink the skills and knowledge that customers must possess

*Using Instant Messaging and Online Chat to Facilitate Communication (continued)* To use IM and chat effectively, companies must

- Establish IM guidelines that address the cost, legal, security, training, and management challenges that companies face - Spell out the types of interactions that are appropriate for IM - Staff this channel appropriately - Ensure they can create a written transcript of communications between analysts and customers

*Using Instant Messaging and Online Chat to Facilitate Communication (continued)* • Service desks typically use IM to communicate internally (e.g., with level two service providers) • Many limit IM communications with customers

- IM does not provide many of the capabilities of an incident management system - There can be security concerns in terms of the data transmitted When IM is used, analysts are required to record status updates obtained in the service desk's incident management system • A variety of factors are causing an increase in chat use (see pp. 139-140)

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers* • Many service desks use email primarily for internal communication • Some companies use email to

- Inform customers about the status of outstanding incidents and service requests - Enable customers to submit incidents and service requests- Automatically acknowledge that a customer's email has been received, logged, and assigned a tracking number - Conduct customer satisfaction surveys - Simultaneously inform large numbers of customers about a virus, product change, or new release that might affect them

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* Organizations that have adopted Knowledge-Center Support (KCS) often establish roles such as

- KCS Candidate - KCS Contributor - KCS Publisher - KCS Coach - Knowledge Domain Expert • These roles represent increasing levels of competency and responsibility relative to the KCS methodology

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* Knowledge management systems

- Provide information online when needed - Can lead analysts through trouble-shooting steps - Free human resources to work on unique and complex incidents

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* People with good writing and keyboarding skills

- Quickly and easily capture needed data - Understand the importance of complying with documentation standards - Capture data that is accurate and consistent - May be given a wider range of responsibilities - Communicate efficiently and effectively with customers and management

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases* Few companies have the resources to:

- Re-create solutions - Give analysts adequate training • Analysts must help themselves by learning to use and create online knowledge bases • A knowledge base can be built using sophisticated technology or it can be a collection of books and documents

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* Analysts must continuously learn new technologies and adapt those technologies to their work

- Technologies extend the service desk's ability to gather, organize, and use data and information - Information is an extremely valuable resource

*Writing Service Desk Documents* • The amount of writing done by analysts varies • A number of documents are common • Each document has a different audience and purpose • Before writing, you must understand

- The audience's needs - How they plan to use the information - Applicable documentation standards - The expected level of professionalism • "Chat speak" may not be appropriate • The goal of service desk writing is to accurately convey technical information in an interesting way that can be understood by readers

*Writing Service Desk Documents (continued)* Common service desk documents include

- Tickets - Email messages - IM and chat messages - FAQs - Knowledge management system solutions - Blogs - Scripts - Reports - Procedures

*Using Instant Messaging and Online Chat to Facilitate Communication* Chat

A simultaneous text communication between two or more people via a computer

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers (continued)* Many incident management systems integrate with standard email packages

Allows automation of common tasks

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers (continued)* Downside of email

Can be perceived as impersonal - Can elongate the problem-solving process • To minimize downsides, use common sense and courtesy

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers (continued)* Some companies use email response management systems • Email response management systems -

Enable service desks to manage high-volume chat, email, and web form messages in much the same way that ACDs enable service desks to handle telephone calls - Provide analysts the ability to search and review customer messages and view a history of customer activities on the support web site

*Using Instant Messaging and Online Chat to Facilitate Communication* Instant messaging (IM) systems

Enable two or more people to communicate in real time over the Internet

*Tickets (continued)* Accuracy is important

Entering inaccurate date and time data can make it appear that a ticket has missed an SLA or is late - Customers increasingly have the ability to check the status of outstanding tickets - Trouble ticket data is often automatically forwarded to customers via email

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers (continued)* Analysts typically log all email contacts in an incident management system

Including status updates

*Using and Creating Knowledge Bases (continued)* In KCS

Individuals assigned to any role can use and contribute knowledge • Knowledge is made available immediately in draft form • Knowledge may be improved as it is reused • Articles are subjected to formal reviews only once there is evidence of demand • Once reviews are complete, the article may be published to self-service and made available to customers

*Customer Support Via the Internet* The Internet has dramatically changed the way customers expect support services to be delivered • Some companies give customers access to secured information via an extranet

Internal service desks may enable customers to access a web site via their company's intranet • Service desks offer many self-services via their web sites

*Using Email Effectively to Communicate with Customers (continued)* Email does not provide the capabilities of an incident management system

It cannot be used to automatically create trend reports or as a knowledge base

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Web-based services

Provide customers with the ability to perform functions

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Telephone, IM and chat

Provide immediacy and the ability to interact with a human being

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Email

Provides the ability to send and receive detailed information

*Enabling Customer Self-Service* Self-services

Services that enable customers to help themselves - People have become accustomed to using self-services - Self-services benefit both customers and service desk analysts - Today's demanding customers have come to expect self-services

*Using Instant Messaging and Online Chat to Facilitate Communication* IM and online chat are

Surpassing email as a preferred method of communication - Cost-effective, simultaneous ways to communicate

*Technology-Delivered Support* Historically, customers called or walked in to the service desk when they needed assistance or information

Today, additional channels include - Email - Chat - Self-service via the web

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Technologies play different roles in

customer support

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* Information

data that is organized in a meaningful way

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* Data

raw facts that are not organized in a meaningful way

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Used improperly

technology can frustrate everyone and can alienate customers

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Used effectively

technology empowers both customers and service desk analysts

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* Knowledge

the application of information along with people's experiences, ideas, and judgments.

*The Service Desk Analyst's Role in a Technology-Centric World* Wisdom

the judicious application of knowledge

*Technical Writing* Technical writing

writing documentation that explains technical issues in ways that non technical people can understand

*Technology-Delivered Support (continued)* Technology-delivered support services enable the service desk to

• Anticipate and proactively meet its customers' needs • Accommodate its customers' preferences in terms of how they obtain support • Prioritize and manage its workload better • Improve service desk services • Reduce the overall cost of delivering support

*Tickets*

• Typically logged electronically at the time an incident or service request is received • Well-written tickets provide: - The information other analysts and service providers need to handle contacts quickly - A historical accounting of steps taken to solve a incident • Analyst should clearly record: - All of the information the customer provides - All steps taken to diagnose and resolve the incident