ITS 224 - Help Desk Midterm
Who would be best suited to receive and log contacts, answer questions, and resolve incidents and service requests when possible?
level one analyst
A user not calling the service desk and instead asking his coworker for help is known as ____ support
peer-to-peer
Certifications related to ITIL and project management are beneficial because they help service desk analysts acquire a broader understanding of IT industry best practices and provide a bigger picture perspective than technical certification programs tend to offer. T/F
True
Customer relationship management (CRM) involves using customer contact and relationship information to generate additional sales and increase levels of customer service and retention. T/F
True
When did customers increasingly begin to look for self-help services such FAQs and online knowledge bases?
2000s
Most people have about ____ hours each day during which they are most productive.
4
Of the service desks surveyed by HDI, ____ percent report that the monthly number of tickets they receive is increasing.
66%
Which is a primary responsibility of a service desk?
Acting as a single point of contact for support issues
Which would be the best way for an employer to assess someone's technical skills?
Ask the candidate questions about a particular subject or ask the candidate to solve a particular problem.
Which is the best position for a monitor?
At least 20 inches away from the analyst and directly in front of the analyst.
____ is the average number of minutes from when a caller is placed in the queue by an ACD until a live analyst gets on the line.
Average wait time
When considering VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems:
Benefits of VoIP include enabling of screen pops, the ability to link local service desks and analysts working at home, increased agent mobility, and reduced telephone company fees.
What is recommended for an analyst faced with a large task?
Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones and try to complete the task a little bit at a time.
The process of enabling beneficial changes to be made to the production environment while minimizing service disruptions is called ____.
Change Management
Becoming certified typically guarantees an individual will be promoted. T/F
False
By logging all incidents and service requests, the service desk causes the most common customer complaint, which is that incidents are lost or forgotten. T/F
False
Customer relationship management (CRM) focuses on performing customer satisfaction surveys and updating Service Level Agreements to reflect new service levels. T/F
False
Even a highly effective service desk cannot compensate for deficiencies, such as customer perception, elsewhere in the organization.
False
In a multi-level support model, service desks require three levels of support to be efficient and effective. T/F
False
Profit center service desks are under increasing pressure to analyze and control their costs, market the value of their services, and without alienating customers, charge a premium for "customized" services; however, cost center service desks are not under these same pressures. T/F
False
Service desk best practices state that headsets that cover both ears enable analysts to be most effective. T/F
False
Since determining an incident's priority is often difficult for a service desk analyst who is not experiencing the incident, it is best to let the customer set the priority. T/F
False
The benefits of certification include certificates never losing value over time. T/F
False
Tools are becoming so advanced that fewer people are needed on the service desk. T/F
False
Tools should be selected prior to defining a service desk's processes and procedures. T/F
False
Typically, the most efficient and effective approach to managing incidents is the first-come, first-served approach. T/F
False
With the increased availability of more complex service desk technology, service desks have decreased their reliance on e-mail to communicate internally. According to the Help Desk Institute, less than 40% of services desks use e-mail to communicate internally. T/F
False
Stress-management is considered a soft skill T/F
False - Problem solving
Internal service desks cost more to run than external service desks. T/F
False, They tend to be underfunded.
In an organization with level one specialists, they typically maintain in-house developed software. T/F
False, they may represent the service desk on process improvement teams.
____ is the best practice framework most commonly used to improve the quality of IT services. Its fundamental premise is that IT organizations must adopt a service-oriented approach to managing IT services.
ITIL
Processes - Common service desk processes
Incident management Request fulfillment Access management Service level management
In the 1980s, why did outsourcing have a profound effect on the support industry?
It forced companies to recognize and determine the real costs associated with delivering the support services needed by their customers.
Which is recommended when logging calls?
Log calls as they come in so that other analysts and customers can get ticket status online and not waste time.
What is a trend affecting how service desks are run?
Multichannel and global support requirements
Decentralized service desks
Options include: Local service desks Regional service desks Follow the sun
Centralized service desk
Options include: Locate all analysts in a single location Use technology to establish a virtual service desk
____ is/are the most expensive component of a service desk.
People
Components of a Successful Service Desk: Four critical components must be considered
People Processes Technology Information
Which is a technique that service desks can use to ensure that e-mail communications are handled efficiently and effectively?
Provide analysts with e-mail etiquette training and guidance.
Which types of frameworks or standards focus on ongoing management and improvement of an organization's processes and performance and its ability to satisfy customer requirements?
Quality management and improvement
Resetting passwords, installing pre-approved software, and providing access to an IT service are examples of ____.
Service Requests
What is the importance of NIOSH and OSHA in the service desk environment?
They conduct research on work environments and provide recommendations relating to areas such as preventing work-related illnesses and injuries and creating safe and comfortable work spaces.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) ensure what?
They ensure that both the service desk and its customers understand their responsibilities, and they describe how service performance is to be measured.
Which is true about level one service desk analysts?
They provide updates to customers throughout each incident's lifecycle.
Which is a challenge that small service desks face?
They tend to be informal and therefore very reactive.
A poorly run service desk can make even the most effective IT organization look bad. T/F
True
After an incident is escalated to level three, any and all resources needed to resolve the incident work together until a resolution is reached. T/F
True
An extremely important part of incident management is notification. Specifically, notification refers to notifying management and other service desk analysts about the status of outstanding incidents. T/F
True
Analysts typically have higher skill levels and greater ability to resolve incidents. T/F
True
By logging all incidents and service requests, the service desk prevents the most common customer complaint, which is that incidents are lost or forgotten. T/F
True
CRM involves using customer contact and relationship information to generate additional sales and increase levels of customer service and retention. T/F
True
Even though customers' needs are constantly changing, once the service desk has developed effective processes, they will continue to be effective; analysts just need to focus on keeping their technical skills up to date. T/F
True
Headsets relieve stress and tension by freeing analysts' hands for typing. T/F
True
On a service desk with hours from 9am to 5pm, a voice response unit (VRU) could be used to give customers access to a reduced set of services during non-business hours.
True
One drawback to the service desk as a profit center is that the staff must account for every activity they perform throughout the day.
True
One method of reducing burnout and also increasing experience and skills of service desk analysts is to rotate them through other positions in the department. T/F
True
The service desk industry is growing and changing, but one size does NOT fit all. Due to the different types and sizes of service desks, there are a range of opportunities available to people wishing to enter this industry. T/F
True
The tools and technologies a service desk uses depend on the number and complexity of the processes being supported. T/F
True
There is almost an irreversible dependence on technology. T/F`
True
Where was ITIL developed?
United Kingdom
When a customer calls a service desk, and the customer's address and phone number automatically appear on the service desk analyst's monitor, this is an example of ____.
a screen pop
ITIL is described as ____.
a set of best practices for IT service management
Service desk
a single point of contact within a company for managing customer incidents and service requests
Cost center
budget items required to run the service desk are considered a cost (or expense) to the company
To be successful on a service desk, you need excellent ____ skills.
communication and problem solving
A ____ is a group of people who come together to share information, experiences, tips, and best practices. Goals of these groups are to avoid reinventing the wheel and look for innovative ways to overcome challenges.
community of practice
What may provide the ability to view and report on all of the incidents reported about or changes made to a particular hardware device?
configuration management system
A trend that is gaining wider acceptance in the 2010s is the ____ of IT, where consumer preferences drive the adoption of technology in the workplace.
consumerization
Data, such as a customer's name, address, or location is called ____ data.
customer
The most important goal for an entire company is ____.
customer satisfaction
The first step in selecting and implementing any technology for a support organization is to ____.
define the goals
If a service desk analyst is unable to resolve an incident, he or she should ____.
determine how quickly the incident needs to be resolved, escalate the incident to the correct person, and communicate to the customer when updates will be given
How completely and accurately services are delivered is called ____.
effectiveness
A measure of the time and effort required to deliver services in relation to their cost is called ____.
efficiency
Certification, coupled with ____, is what is most valued in today's competitive job market.
experience
Proactive service desks ____.
have owners manage by exception and only follow up on incidents not being handled in a timely manner
Items such as incident type, channel used to submit the incident, and incident category (hardware, software, etc.) are examples of ____ data.
incident
If an incident that has been escalated to a second level analyst will not be resolved in the target time stated to the customer, a service desk analyst should ____.
inform the customer as soon as possible that the target time will not be met and, if available, give the customer an updated target time
Companies that need to provide global support but lack a large support staff and/or the finances often opt to use ____.
one global support desk
In most companies, the status of an incident is set to ____ when a level one or two analyst delivers a solution.
resolved
Multi-level Support Model
self-Help = Customers Level one Support = Service Desk Level two Support = field service, application support, technical support, network support Level three support = software vendors hardware vendors
Being able to handle multiple problems at the same time, having discipline to maintain personal filing systems, and adapting to change are all examples of ____ skills.
self-management
Who typically negotiates service level agreements?
senior management representatives from the service desk and the customer community
Experience with ITSM and quality management frameworks and standards such as ITIL, are examples of ____ knowledge.
service industry
The process of negotiating and managing customer expectations is called ____.
service level management
A service desk with eight people is considered ____.
small
Skills such as customer service skills, listening skills, and verbal communication skills are all considered ____ skills.
soft
According to a 2010 Help Desk Institute survey, 89 percent of companies have implemented ____.
systems to enable service desks to log and manage incidents
What influences the service desk's physical layout?
the nature of problem solving analysts do
Profit center
the service desk must cover its expenses and, perhaps, make a profit by charging a fee
The CompTIA A+ Essentials certification ensures that an individual ____.
understands computer technology, networking and security, and has the communication skills and professionalism required of all entry-level IT professionals
The ability to exercise, exposure to natural light, and access to clean air all contribute to ____.
wellness
A typical service desk manager ____.
works with other groups to ensure that the service desk's processes and technologies are meeting the company's needs
Service desks that enable analysts to interact more freely with level two and level three support groups are said to be ____.
accessible
When did US companies begin adopting ITIL and the service desk concept, versus the traditional help desk concept?
1990s
Companies typically pick one standard or framework to use when designing and improving processes; using more than one standard or framework causes conflicts. T/F
False
____ support is an effective way to manage customer expectations, as the service desk can charge a higher rate for premium or value-added services.
Fee-based
Which is true about level one analysts?
People who enjoy problem solving and helping other solve problems will find this role rewarding and challenging.
____ is considered a soft skill.
Problem-solving
____ can be used to spotlight desk areas and can also be used to reduce the high contrast of light and glare areas that occur in a workspace.
Task lighting
____ skills include basic computer and software literacy.
Technical
When hiring dispatchers, what skill is least important?
Technical Skills
The service desk model is requiring service desk analysts to have different skills in order to perform tasks such as system and network administration, remote diagnostics, network monitoring, and training.
True
In the 1990s, what led to an explosion of people using computers on a daily basis?
The rapid commercialization of the Internet
What is the service desk's role in the change management process?
The service desk tracks incidents caused by change via the incident management process.
After an incident is escalated to level three, any and all resources needed to resolve the incident work together until a resolution is reached.
True
Having 3 geographically dispersed service desks, providing 24-hour coverage, with analysts only working during the usual business hours for their location is an example of the follow the sun service desk approach.
True
A ____ is a set of tools and databases for managing information about configuration items and linking that information to related incidents, problems, known errors, changes, and releases.
configuration management system
The service desk is typically considered ____ support.
level 1
What role would typically have the least amount of interaction with the customer?
support group analyst
