Manipulating Data in excel
Good and effective communications
It is important that the customer maintains in constant communication with the helpdesk so that they can be as helpful as possible to resolve the problem quickly, the customer is also responsible for effectively informing the IT helpdesk of the dilemma.
The impact of diagnosis and repair on the individual
The customer would need to explain what the problem is so that the helpdesk can give useful feedback to the customer that he/she can understand and therefore be able to act on it. Your customers will need to feel that a resolution is being sought, /a/nd even if your progress report does not always bear good news, the customer will feel more satisfied if you tell them what the situation is such as: replacement parts have been ordered.
Customer handover and acceptance process
If a computer is looked at and cannot be repaired it will be taken to get refurbished and transport to a warehouse.
Relevant legislation/ Legal Issues
The IT Service Helpdesk must comply to the Data Protection Act 1998, meaning they cannot copy, modify, or delete any files on any of the computers they fix. They must also abide by the Computer Misuse Act 1990, which means they must not use any computer system to perform any malicious actions.
If a repair is done for a fee then the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 will apply.
Service Level Agreements
A service level agreement is a negotiation between the customer and the provider of the service which sets out a standard that the customer can expect, such as
*Speed
*Maximum repair time
*Possible costs
*Penalties that can be inflicted if the service providers fail to provide an acceptable level of service.
Escalation Procedures
When customers call the helpline they are put through to a helpdesk operator, if they cannot resolve the problem, then they are put through to a higher person, this continues until the problem is solved. This can happen in a number of situations, such as
*Problem not being resolved in an acceptable time
*The fault is very difficult to diagnose.
Documentation and Reporting
Whether or not the problem is resolved the helpdesk operator must report the problem and document it so that it is on record, and the IT Service Helpdesk is covered. If the fault is on a home computer the repairs will be itemised on the invoice. If the fault lies within a large organisation or a college, they would have their own fault logging system, and so all the faults and replacement components will be recorded. The date will be logged so that a record can be kept of how long it took to complete the fault. A signature will be noted of the technician who attended the fault so it will be known who was responsible for the repair. All fault logging records will be kept for reference.
Security
The IT service organisation must protect itself from all the common computer security threats: viruses, adware, spyware, trojans, etc. Being a business it must use the most state-of-the-art security protection packages. They must have policies and procedures to prevent identity theft, phishing and hacking.
They must have procedures to minimise the effects of natural disasters such as flood, fire. They must ensure staff are aware of IT related legislation.
Costs
Costs are a massive consideratioThe organisation must set a certain budget, an amount of money they can spend on each machine they fix, preventing the company from suffering from decreased profits.
Disruption of normal working
If the system goes down or it is infected with a virus, then maintenance will have to be done to it, this will interrupt normal working procedures, and slow down service.
Contractual Requirements
If the computer system undergoes system downtime then certain services will slow down, some contractual requirements will have penalty implications. Therefore some organisations establish procedures that will help continue normal services.
Trend analysis of faults reporting
It is common for system faults to be analysed in order to identify any common themes or trends in the data � so that steps can be taken to pre-empt some repetitive problems or faults.