CIS 285 Lecture 9 (Ch 7 Textbook) PDF

CIS: 285: End User Training and Support User Support Management Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022 ...

CIS: 285: End User Training and Support User Support Management Mohammed Al Nakshabandi MBA, PMP 2 1 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 2 Review last lecture # 8 – Help Desk Operation (Ch6 of text book) Help desk operational procedures The multilevel support model Incident management workflow Best practices in help desk operations The physical layout of help desk work areas Job stress in help desk work Hardware and software tools used by support agents, managers,and end users Help desk industry trends 2 2 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management Outline (Ch 7 text book) The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 3 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management Outline (Ch 7 text book) The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 4 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 5 Reasons to Study User Support Management Applicants for support positions need to understand the perspectives of support managers Support specialists in small organizations often perform some management tasks – Project lead or coordinator – Supervisory or lead worker responsibilities – User support group management 2 5 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 6 User Support Management User support management includes a variety of positions, In many organizations, a help desk or user support manager directly manages the user support staff. Managers in-charge of support groups may oversee one or more supervisors or team leaders who, in turn, supervise a team of support agents Ex: Support Org chart 2 6 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 7 Managerial Concerns: Mission, Budgets, Staffing, Training and Performance – Mission statement – Support services budget – User support staffing – Training for user support staff – Performance measures The more support staff members know about their manager’s concerns and priorities, the better equipped they will be to understand the need for certain task assignments and to focus their efforts on completing them. Understanding the managerial perspective also helps prepare entry-level staff to advance into positions with more responsibilities and higher salaries 2 7 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 8 Managerial Concerns: Mission, Budgets, Staffing, Training, and Performance ❑ User Support Mission – Support groups often develop a mission statement, which is a set of guiding principles that communicates the goals and objectives of a support group Ex: 2 8 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management Outline (Ch 7 text book) The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 9 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 10 Budgeting (1-5) ❑ Budgeting for User Support Services Two important tasks for help desk managers; – A. write job description of the support Team – B. Budgeting: A financial plan a manager prepares to translate the goals in to strategy. Help desk budget vary depending on several factors,including: ▪ The kind of users the help desk supports (Internal/External users) ▪ The ways in which help desk services are provided (Web/ face-to-face) ▪ The range of services provided (full support/Tel). May include onsite training/ installation ▪ The number of support employees and how they are supervised ▪ The method of budgeting for facilities and overhead costs, such as office space, furniture, hardware, software, and communication costs supplies, and maintenance 2 10 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 11 Budgeting (2-5) – Budget categories: ▪ Revenue (income) ▪ Expenses (costs) – Personnel (HR) – Supplies – Services – Facilities The method of covering specific cost categories, such as: Capital costs—one-time expenses, such as the purchase of equipment or furniture Operating expenses—ongoing monthly costs of operation, such as salaries, office, subscription (SaaS) Help desk budgets maybe divided into two large categories (depends on organization business strategy: – A. Revenue – B. Expenses 2 11 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 12 Budgeting (3-5) Examples of categories included in a user support group budget plan 2 12 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 13 Budgeting (4-5) Examples of categories included in a user support group budget plan (continues) 2 13 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 14 Budgeting (5-5) 2 14 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management Outline (Ch 7 text book) The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 15 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 16 Staffing the Help Desk (1-3 ) ❑ Staffing the Help Desk: Based on the goals in the help desk mission statement, support managers are responsible for determining the number of agents required, writing position descriptions, and selecting staff members. Help Desk Staffing Levels: – One of the task of Support Manager is to know ▪ How many support agents are needed to meet the expected service levels. ▪ What skills and experience needed – Support managers must employ and schedule sufficient staff to meet the performance expectations detailed in the help desk’s mission statemen The Erlang calculation is used in a variety of situations in which queues (such as clients waiting on hold or customers waiting for grocery store cashiers) need to be serviced 2 16 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 17 Staffing the Help Desk (2-3 ) Recruiting Help Desk Agents: – Based on the mission statement, a manager writes one or more position descriptions – Write Help Desk Position Descriptions – The position descriptions are also based on an analysis of the Knowledge, Skill and Ability (KSA) needed in the help desk. – Screen applications received for best match with KSAs – Interview applicants with the best combination of KSAs – Check applicant employment references 2 17 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 18 Staffing the Help Desk (3-3 ) Screening Applicants: – First step of haring staff is Screening Application for potential interviews – Selection team can consist of current support staff or IT dept. , support management and human resources department. Selection depends on (KSA) of application and how close are they to the Job description (post) Interviewing Applicants – During an interview, managers may use a variety of selection tools, such as: ▪ Knowledge and skills tests ▪ Traditional interview questions (Directed/ Non- directed question) ▪ Behavioral questions ▪ Scenario questions ▪ Stress tolerance assessment ▪ Illegal question (Avoid !!)- age, religion, family status, ethnicity, disability.. 2 18 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management Outline The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 19 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 20 User Support Staff Training (1-2) User Support Staff Training – A well-trained support staff is a critical component of success for a help desk operation – Help desk managers need to provide training and professional development opportunities for staff members, including time away from routine responsibilities to participate in training activities Orientations for New Staff – Organization usually conduct one or more training sessions for new support employees, which often include topics such as: ▪ Organizational structure, culture, policies, and procedures ▪ Payroll and employee benefits ▪ Support group workflow, policies, and procedures ▪ Specific job skill training ▪ Help desk tools, including , phone system and incident management software ▪ Performance appraisal criteria and procedures ▪ Professional development and career path opportunities 2 20 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 21 User Support Staff Training (2-2) Ongoing Help Desk Training – Training programs for user support workers should help keep support staff current with changes in technology – Support managers and help desk agents should work together to identify appropriate training and professional development opportunities. The training should serve a dual purpose ▪ Address opportunities for improved performance ▪ Help the support employee grow professionally and career advancement Common ongoing training and professional development opportunities includes: – Attend an industry conference – Participate in advanced technical training – Read technical and trade publications – Study for and take a certification exam – Become active in a local chapter of a professional organization 2 21 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 22 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 23 User Support Performance Evaluation and Justification (1- 4) The performance of each help desk agent is periodically evaluated, and the services provided by the entire help desk staff may also be evaluated Performance Appraisals: is an evaluation of a user support worker according to established achievement criteria. The performance appraisal criteria should be based on: – Support group’s mission – Worker’s position description – Worker’s individual professional growth objectives – Specific goals and objectives from the worker’s prior performance appraisal Common performance appraisal tools – Performance statistics – Monitored calls – Results of user satisfaction surveys 2 23 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 24 User Support Performance Evaluation and Justification (2-4) Performance Statistics:data collected to evaluate a user support or help desk operation – Managers track performance statistics to measure their teams against specific goals, which are often stated in the group’s mission statement – Examples of common help desk performance measures include: ▪ Average time to respond to incidents (wait time) ▪ Percentage of incidents that were abandoned (user hung up) ▪ Average resolution time for incidents that required problem solving ▪ Percentage of problems that could not be resolved ▪ Percentage of closed incidents that had to be reopened ▪ Number of incidents currently in an unresolved status ▪ Cost per incident (based on support staff expenses and the number of incidents handled) 2 24 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 25 User Support Performance Evaluation and Justification (3-4) User Satisfaction Surveys: is a questionnaire that attempts to measure how satisfied users are with the support services they have experienced. Questions are often used to prepare a report card for the user support group by measuring its performance against its mission statement goals User satisfaction surveys may ask users to evaluate a wide range of issues, including: – Availability of help when it was needed – Responsiveness of support staff – Ability of support staff to communicate effectively with users – Usefulness of online information resources – Technical knowledge of support staff – Ability of support staff to resolve problems 2 25 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 26 User Support Performance Evaluation and Justification (4-4) 2 26 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 27 User Satisfaction Surveys User satisfaction survey: a questionnaire to measure how satisfied users are with support services Contents – General questions about support services – Questions about specific support staff members’ performance Survey methods – Follow-up phone call – Mailed questionnaire – Emailed questionnaire – Web-based survey Typical survey questions – Availability of help when needed – Responsiveness of support staff – Ability to communicate effectively – Usefulness of online information resources – Technical knowledge of staff – Ability to resolve problems 2 27 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 28 A(n) _____ communicates the goals and objectives of a support group to its staff and end users or clients. Answer: mission statement 2. A(n) ____ is a unit of traffic (or a user incident, in the case of support groups) processed in a given period of time. Answer: Erlang 3. Which of the following is NOT a tool used during the interview process? 1. Directed question 2 Knowledge and skills test 3. Scenario question 4. Position description Answer: D 4. (True/False) Wait time is a performance measure of the average time it takes to respond to incidents. Answer: True 2 28 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 29 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 30 User Support Certification (1-6) Certification is an assessment exam designed to measure and document a worker’s knowledge and skills in a specialized segment of the information technology field – Certification offers several benefits to both employers and support workers: A. Formal education that results in a certificate, diploma, or degree B. Vendor-specific product knowledge and skills certification C. Industry-standard knowledge and skills certification in a specific area, such as hardware, networking, or support D. Certification that measures the fitness of a support group against industry- standard criteria A. Formal Education Certification: ❖ Community colleges and technical schools have been in the certification business for many years. ❖ Many schools offer internships or cooperative education opportunities for students to gain hands on experience additional to the certificate document ❖ Employers are often interested in a job applicant’s specific expertise; eg Windows server specialist, or security specialist 2 30 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 31 User Support Certification (5-6 ) User Support and Help Desk Certification: This is Help Desk specific certificate. Help Desk Institute (HDI) is an organization that certifies the customer services skills of support professionals. Microsoft also have its own certificate 2 31 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 32 User Support Certification (2-6 ) B. Vendor-Specific Certification Many technology vendors offer a variety of certificates that assess knowledge and skills in specialized products. Some examples of vendor certifications 2 32 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 33 User Support Certification (3-6 ) C. Industry-Standard Certification :An alternate kind of certification is one that is not specific to an individual vendor’s products but rather aims to measure industry- standard knowledge and skills. They are not vendor specific but rather industry standard knowledge and skills 2 33 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 34 User Support Certification (4-6) 2 34 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 35 User Support Certification (6-6) The Benefits of Certification ▪ A recognized benchmark of minimum-level job skills and expertise ▪ A justification for receiving higher pay ▪ Career advancement opportunities ▪ A way for an employer to document an employee’s efforts to keep up to date in the IT field ▪ A feeling of pride of accomplishment and increased job satisfaction upon passing a certification milestone Certification Exam Preparation – Many college and technical schools now match the curriculum in their courses with popular certifications – Others such as crash courses (boot camps) , e-learning tutorials, and self-study courses – E-learning tutorials: use computer-based (CBT) or web-based (WBT) training methods – Self-study courses: self-paced tutorials in book format ▪ Lowest cost ▪ Little help available 2 35 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 36 Employment Trends in the Support Industry (1-3) The number of user support and help desk positions in the United States and worldwide increased significantly in the 1990s. Below table shows comparison % increase form 2010 to 2020 SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012–13 Edition” 2 36 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 37 Employment Trends in the Support Industry (1-3) Net tech employment in Canada reached an estimated 1,235,692 workers at the end of 2021, an increase of nearly 9% over the previous year, CompTIA's "State of the Tech Workforce Canada" report reveals. CompTIA projects tech-related will grow by 1.5% this year – more than 19,000 net new jobs.* Most In-Demand and Highest Paying Jobs in Canada 2022 *Research by CompTIA Aug 2022 2 37 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 38 Employment Trends in the Support Industry (2-3) According to Statistics Canada, the number of available job openings throughout Canada reached a record high of 912,600 in the third quarter of 2021. According to Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice president and chief economist 2 38 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 39 Employment Trends in the Support Industry (3-3) The most recent salary info, as per the Canadian Immigration website 2 39 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 40 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 41 Professional Associations for Support Workers Professional association: a formal organization that represents the 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 email, websites, chat rooms, blogs, newsgroups, and local chapters – Encourages members to adhere to a code of ethical conduct Ex: 2 41 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  Lecture 9 –User Support Management The mission of a support group Items in a typical user support budget Staffing a help desk Support staff training programs Evaluations of support staff performance Industry certifications for support professionals Professional help desk and user support associations Ethical principles that guide the professional behavior of support workers 2 42 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 43 Ethical Issues in User Support (1-4) An important activity a professional association may undertake is to adopt and distribute a code of ethical conduct; principles to guide its members’ professional behavior. Ex: of ethical standards to which professional associations might expect their members to adhere 2 43 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 44 Ethical Issues in User Support (2-4) 2 44 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 45 Ethical Issues in User Support (3-4) A code of ethical conduct is a set of principles to guide a support worker’s professional behavior – Professional behavior may be ▪ Ethical ▪ Unethical (and unprofessional) ▪ Illegal 2 45 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 46 Ethical Issues in User Support (4-4) Example of ethical issues Unwilling to share information with coworkers Modifies weights on RFP Accesses information in human resources database Manipulates training result Makes training results public information Reports “Windows” certification Embellishes trouble ticket entry Disregard for nondisclosure agreement Reorganizes user’s desktop icons Offers free software for positive recommendation Offers to purchase website information 2 46 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 47 Group discussion 2 47 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 48 Ethical Issues in User Support (1-7) In each of the following scenarios, decide whether the behavior described is likely illegal, unethical (unprofessional), or acceptable; how you would respond if you were personally involved in the scenario, or one like it. 2 48 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 49 Ethical Issues in User Support (2-7) 1. 2. 2 49 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 50 Ethical Issues in User Support (3-7) 3. 4. 2 50 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 51 Ethical Issues in User Support (4-7) 5. 6. 7. 2 51 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 52 Ethical Issues in User Support (5-7) 8. 9. 2 52 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 53 Ethical Issues in User Support (6-7) 10. 11. 2 53 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 54 Ethical Issues in User Support (7-7) 12. 2 54 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 55 Chapter Summary(1-3) User support and help desk management positions: – Supervisors and managers – Lead workers – Project coordinators A mission statement defines guiding principles and goals of a support group – Serves as a benchmark for evaluating performance Managers develop a budget plan for support services that includes: – Revenues from fees – Expenses for staff and facilities 2 55 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 56 Chapter Summary(2-3) Managers use a mission statement and budget to: – Analyze the KSAs required – Prepare position descriptions – Write job ads – Prepare various types of interview questions ▪ Knowledge and skills test ▪ Directed and nondirected interview questions ▪ Behavioral and scenario questions ▪ Stress assessment situations ▪ Avoid illegal questions – Interview applicants and select staff 2 56 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022  11/4/2022 57 Chapter Summary(3-3) Training for support agents includes: – New employee orientation – Ongoing professional development Evaluation of help desk and agent performance based on: – Help desk mission statement – Performance statistics – User satisfaction surveys 2 57 Fall 21-22 11/4/2022