CIS 285 Lecture 6 - End User Training and Support PDF

CIS: 285: End User Training and Support Common Support Problems Outline Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  Last Lecture (5)...

CIS: 285: End User Training and Support Common Support Problems Outline Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  Last Lecture (5) Ch4 - Skills for Troubleshooting Computer Problems Review The troubleshooting process and the thinking skills required for successful troubleshooting Communication skills for troubleshooting Information resources to help solve computer problems Diagnostic and repair tools used to troubleshoot computer problems Strategies for troubleshooting How to develop your own approach to problem solving 2 2 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  Lecture 6 – Common Support Problems Outline- (Ch 5 textbook) Several categories of common end-user technology problems Examples of problem-solving processes applied to typical support problems 2 3 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 4 Common End-User Problems Although technology problems come in a variety of forms, most problems fall into one of eight categories shown below 2 4 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 5 Hardware Problems (1-6) 1. Hardware Installation and Compatibility Problems High % of hardware installation problem is due to Incompatibility with existing hardware or misconfiguration Hardware Problems: Main source of hardware problem  Hardware Installation and Compatibility Problems  Hardware Configuration Problems  Hardware malfunctions 2 5 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 6 Hardware Problems (2-6) Hardware Configuration Problems: occur when hardware (or software) options are set incorrectly for the environment in which a component must operate. Some hardware settings may be changed by adjusting preferences, settings, or options Example : installing Printer with duplex printing option. Unfortunately, after the printer was installed, the duplex feature didn’t work, even when users requested duplex printing in applications. Solution : A help desk agent researched the problem and discovered a printer setup option that enabled the duplex printing feature. Plug and Play standards: set of protocols and standard and communication method for hardware and operating system (OS) vendors relating to operating system uses to recognize and incorporate hardware components into an operational system (detect hardware and call driver from list of library pre installed). 2 6 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 7 Hardware Problems (3-6) Example : User want to change PC monitor’s resolution from 1280 × 1024 pixels to 1680 × 1050 pixels. New Graphics Adapter card added to the PC, the plug and play wizard added the driver but the display still original resolution. What is the problem? SOLUTION Technician instructed the user to right-click the desktop, choose the Graphics Properties option in the context menu, click Display Settings, and then change the Screen Resolution to 1680 × 1050 2 7 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 8 Hardware Problems (4-6) Hardware Malfunctions: Some hardware problems result from components that have either never worked or no longer work. To reduce the impact of this type of problem, a support staff may “burn in” a new device before installing it at a user’s workstation. During a burn-in test, a new PC or component is operated continuously over a 48- to 72-hour period in an attempt to discover obvious operational problems and to identify any marginal or temperature-sensitive components. A burn-in test gives the support staff the opportunity to identify hardware malfunctions Vendors that sell hardware devices and components often include a customized diagnostic utility to help users and support agents detect possible problems with their brand of hardware. Ex Dell Power Manager or Diagnose tool 2 8 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 9 Hardware Problems (5-6) PROBLEM: – A user called a help desk regarding a problem with an inoperative Shift key on his PC’s keyboard. The user wondered if the Shift keycap could have broken and asked if he could bring the keyboard in to the Service Department SOLUTION: Replace Keyboard 2 9 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 10 Hardware Problems (6-6) Effective Hardware Problem-Solving Steps 1. Check the hardware vendor’s website for updated drivers or reports of hardware problems 2. Use the Windows troubleshooters to help identify common problems (support.microsoft.com/fixit). 3. Look in Window’s Device Manager (control panel) for possible interaction problems between hardware devices and software drivers 4. Examine any applicable README files on the distribution with hardware 5. Search online for reports of hardware problems and possible fixes in forums, blogs, and technical support sites. 2 10 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 11 Group discussion 2 11 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 12 Group discussion (1-2) Scenario: A user purchased a refurbished desktop PC that included a 16 GB memory Module with Qty 2, total of 32Gb RAM. The user purchased Qty 1 (32 GB) to increase RAM to 64GB. So when user installed the computer it beeps several times and failed to boot up. – If the user removed the old 32 GB and keep only new 32GB; the computer fail to boot up – If user remove 32 GB and add only Qty 1 (16GB); the computer fail to boot up – If the use put back Qty2 (16 GB) back to the computer, the PC boot up fine. – How do you troubleshoot this issue ? 2 12 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 13 Hardware Problems (2-2) SOLUTION: An online chat with the PC vendor’s technical support staff confirmed that: – The memory slot function in pairs ie slot 1 and 2 must be same memory capacity and slot 4 and 5 must be the same size. – User must buy another memory of 16 GB for slot 4. OR buy another pair of 32GB for slot 3&4 2 13 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 14 Software Problems (1-10) Many software problems caused from one or more of the following sources:  Software Installation and Compatibility Problems  Software Configuration Problems  Software Bugs  Software Performance Problems 1. Software Installation and Compatibility Problems: Software problems occur more frequently during the installation (or setup) process. Today installation process is usually automated wizard 2 14 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 15 Software Problems (2-10) An installation utility (wizard) is a special purpose program ( script) used by software vendors to help users install software packages. The script can perform steps such as: – Checking on hardware compatibility – Creating folders – Copying files – Updating the system Registry – Configuring the software based on the hardware config. Cleaning up temporary files created during the installation 2 15 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 16 Software Problems (3-10) Freeware, donationware, and shareware downloaded from the Internet can also be sources of software compatibility problems: Freeware is software that is distributed without cost or a licensing fee. Donationware is a category of freeware for which there is no set purchase price but for which a donation is requested by the author to support further development of the software. Shareware is commercial software that users can try out with the vendor’s permission during an evaluation period (usually 10 to 45 days; 30 is most common) prior to making a purchase decision. While some freeware, donationware, and shareware run trouble-free, users are advised to take precautions—such as making a backup copy of the system Registry (described below) or creating a restore point—prior to the installation of these applications. A restore point is a backup copy of the configuration of a PC system, which a user can revert to (reinstall) 2 16 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 17 Software Problems (4-10) 2. Software Configuration Problems: These problems may occur when users install or upgrade new hardware or software, its related to the way the software is configured to run on a PC. – Configuration problems result when software parameters, settings, and options are not set correctly for the specific operating environment or hardware – Another common source of problems related to software compatibility and configuration in the Windows operating system is the system Registry. The Registry is a database of configuration information related to a system’s hardware and software components that is maintained by the Windows operating system 2 17 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 18 Software Problems (5-10) PROBLEM A Windows user installed a new software application that makes use of a utility program called Word Viewer 2010. After the installation, the user could not open any Microsoft Word document by double-clicking it. When the user double-clicked a Word (DOC or DOCX) file, Word Viewer 2010 opened the document rather than Word itself. However, the user reported that if Word was already running, the File menu’s Open command would successfully open a DOC or DOCX document in Word. For convenience, the user would like to be able to double- click a DOC or DOCX file and have it open in Word. SOLUTION: On Windows Explorer window, right-click any Word file to select it, point to the “Open with” command, and click “Choose default program.” In the “Open with” dialog box, select Microsoft Word, and then click the check box in front of the option to “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.” 2 18 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 19 Software Problems (6-10) 3. Software Bugs: are errors in software application that occur when a programmer writes incorrectly coded instructions during program development. – A bug causes the software either not do what it is expected to do or to do things that it is not intended to do – Many bugs are eliminated during the testing period that occurs before a software product is released for distribution. However, even the most popular software products sometimes have known and documented bugs several years after their initial release. 2 19 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 20 Software Problems (7-10) In order to fix bugs and provide new features, software vendors often distribute patches, updates, service packs, new releases, new versions, and upgrades: – A patch is a replacement for one or a few modules of a software application to fix known bugs. – An update is a bug-fix software distribution that repairs known problems in a previous version; some vendors include an automatic update feature that periodically checks the vendor’s website for updates that are recommended to solve specific problems and bring the version of the software up to current specifications. – A service pack (or service release) contains both updates and patches to fix documented problems with a version of a program. – A new release of a program is a distribution that contains some new features not found in the original program. – A new version of a software package contains significant new features and is usually the result of a substantially rewritten program. – An upgrade is a new version of an existing program that is sold at a reduced cost to owners of a previous version of the program. 2 20 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 21 Software Problems (8-10) PROBLEM A user experienced a formatting problem in an accounting program that occurred only with very large dollar amounts. SOLUTION When the user contacted the software vendor’s help desk, the user learned that the problem was a known bug, that it had been repaired, and that a patch could be downloaded from the vendor’s website. 2 21 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 22 Software Problems (9-10) Rental (or subscription) software is accessed from a cloud server (rather than downloaded to a PC or tablet). A user who rents an application uses the latest version of the software because the most recent updated version is always available from the cloud In cases where no patch exists for a software bug, a support agent or software vendor may be able to suggest a workaround for a problem. A workaround is a procedure or operation that accomplishes the same result as the original feature that currently does not work due to a bug or other malfunction. 4. Software Performance Problems: Occur when a computer is operational but is not operating as efficiently as it should. Although performance problems are sometimes due to excessive traffic on a network, also result from poor interaction between hardware and software – Example, a user may report that a PC’s hard drive light comes on more frequently and stays on longer than usual 2 22 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 23 Software Problems (10-10) For software performance issue; support agent may do the following: – The hard drive may be nearly full; the operating system may not have adequate unused space to write temporary files may need to back up and then delete infrequently used programs and data files, or install a second hard drive in the system. – The hard disk may be fragmented; files written on the disk in small chunks take longer to read and write than files in contiguous sectors on the disk. A defragmentation utility can often fix this problem – The hard drive may contain wasted space because links to free space are lost. Windows utility programs—such as Scandisk and Chkdsk—can often locate and reclaim lost space – The system may not have enough RAM, Add more RAM – The system may be infected with one or more kinds of malware, such as a virus, spyware, or a keystroke logger. Running a utility program to scan the hard drive for malware may improve overall system performance. 2 23 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 24 1. ____ software is accessed from the cloud so users always have the latest version of the software. – Answer: Rental, subscription 2. The adoption of _____ standards reduced the number of hardware configuration problems by allowing an operating system to recognize a new hardware component and select the correct configuration options. Answer: Plug and Play 3. A(n) ____ allows you to accomplish a result when a feature does not work due to a software bug or other malfunction. ▪ A. Patch B. Update C: Workaround D:Version Answer: C 4. (True/False) Freeware and shareware are not the same as open source software. Answer: True 2 24 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 25 Network Problems (9-9) Network Problems: Communication networks are a frequent source of problems encountered by users and support agents. Many network problems are caused by problems with – Hardware (Server, Gateway, Router, switches, WIFI, Cable, NIC – Software (installation, compatibility, configuration, Driver, performance problems Network problems are often difficult for a support staff to resolve because they frequently involve the interaction of hardware, software, and other technology components. 2 25 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 26 User Problems (1-3) User Problems: Users unintentionally cause many support problems Problems attributable to users include mistakes, misunderstandings about technology use, purchasing the wrong product for a task, inadequate training, a failure to read documentation, forgotten operating procedures or passwords, and a variety of security breaches  Mistakes: All technology users, including IT professionals, make mistakes. Example: ▪ Application Architect during initial design phase ▪ Programmers may make mistakes in the code they write ▪ Professional personal may enter wrong data User mistakes account for a significant % of common support problems. However, agents need to consider carefully how to handle these problems from a client service perspective 2 26 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 27 User Problems (2-3)  Misunderstandings: Other end-user problems stem from misunderstandings about product features or limitations – Users may expect a product or service to be able to perform tasks for which it was not intended  Wrong Products:Users may purchase the wrong product to accomplish a task. – For example, they may buy an application or hardware device that is incompatible with existing hardware.  Inadequate Training or Failure to Read Documentation: A high percentage of calls to support centers can be easily answered by simply referring to a user manual, a tutorial, or online help – users frequently do not know where to find the information they need, or they don’t want to take the time to search for it. – Quick start behavior: a tendency among computer users to: ▪ Skip the installation manual ▪ Attempt to get a new hardware or software component installed and operational as quickly as possible ▪ “I’ll read the manual later, if I have any problems...” 2 27 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 28 User Problems (3-3)  Forgotten Information: At times, users simply forget how to perform a task or find the information they need – single most common incident they experience is users who have forgotten are ▪ User names ▪ Passwords ▪ PINs ▪ Operating procedures – Solutions: ▪ Reference sheets are an effective aid to recall procedures ▪ Tip: Users should be encouraged to write down a reminder of their passwords instead of the passwords themselves 2 28 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 29 Security Problems Security Problems: Problems with information security and identify theft have become much more common. Common security problems are caused by a failure to take security precautions such as installing antivirus, antispyware, or firewall software; outdated software and password security Failure to Take Security Precautions: Common security precautions include:  Keeping operating systems and application software up to date (so that the latest security breaches are less likely to occur)  Running software to detect and remove malware such as viruses, spyware  Using strong passwords to guard access to accounts and information stored locally and on network servers. 2 29 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  Other problems 10/21/2022 30  Documentation Problems: Another source of user support problems can be traced to inadequate documentation and information. Documents that are poorly organized, contain inaccurate information, or omit important points are still the direct cause of much misunderstanding  Vendor Problems: Calls to a help desk or hotline may be related to vendor performance. – Some vendors consistently oversell their products’ features; they advertise or promise features that may not be delivered as part of the current version of the product. – Vendors may also release a beta version that contains known bugs that can put user data at risk or produce questionable results. – Vaporware refers to hardware or software products that appear in ads or press releases but are not yet available. A vendor may announce a product or circulate a rumor about a product that doesn’t yet exist in order to study market reaction or to confuse its competitors. A help desk that handles incidents for external users usually establishes a policy for its support staff 2 30 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 31 Facilities and Operating Environment Problems Problems with the computing facilities – Electricity, lighting, air conditioning – Office furniture and equipment – Workplace ergonomics and safety Problems with the computing environment – Data backup and recovery – Disaster and contingency planning and preparation – Security threats – Failure to perform preventive maintenance Tip: Learn more about these problems in coming lectures 2 31 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 32 Lecture Summary (1-3) Categories of common end-user technology problems 1. Hardware problems a) Installation b) Compatibility c) Configuration d) Malfunctions 2. Software problems a) Installation b) Compatibility c) Configuration d) Software bugs e) Performance 2 32 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 33 Lecture Summary (2-3) Categories of common end-user technology problems (continued) 5. Security problems a. Failure to take security precautions b. Vulnerability to scams 6. Documentation problems a. Poor readability b. Poor organization c. Inaccurate information d. Incomplete (omitted) information 2 33 Fall 21-22 10/21/202  10/21/2022 34 Lecture Summary (2-3) Categories of common end-user technology problems (continued) 7. Vendor problems a) Oversold features b) Misrepresented product features c) Deliver software with known bugs d) Deliver products late 8. Facilities and operating environment problems a) Electrical, lighting and air conditioning failures b) Inappropriate office furniture and equipment c) Ignoring workplace ergonomics and safety precautions d) Failure to follow data backup/recovery procedures e) Lack of contingency planning f) Failure to perform preventive maintenance 2 34 Fall 21-22 10/21/202