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Author	Subject: Help Desk Functionality/Design

j8h9
Member

Nov 28, 2001, 1:10 PM

Help Desk Functionality/Design	Quote \| Reply

Great website. Excellent forum for Help Desk issues. I have a suggestion.

On this site, I’d like to see detailed descriptions of the various Help Desk functionality. What is Help Desk software and what should it accomplish? The requirements are different depending on who you chat with.

For some web design/hosting companies, they want to track changes to their clients websites; they want to track billable hours, billing rates, task duration, etc. They’re interpretation of Help Desk software is more along of the lines of a Work Load/Task Manager. In this regard, I wouldn’t even classify it as Help Desk software. What they really need is project management software to manage their work.

Next, you’ve got companies/organizations that operate a true help desk. They receive calls from end users, and create the problem ticket. They may assign personnel to resolve it or turn it over to a team. On MVS, the failing process might be a batch job, program or CICS transaction. On a network, it could be a router or Novell connection issue. In general, it could be a printer that needs an LU bounce, or a missing report that needs to be re-printed.

The needs are comprehensive. How do you classify and/or categorize these types of issues in a neat and well-defined framework? By platform, whether the problem is hardware or software related?

In the truest sense, Help Desk software should record an instance of a problem. That record should contain the basics in regards to who reported the problem, what the problem was, details about specific hardware/software impacted, additional memos and a resolution. How about users? How does an organization define 1) an enduser, 2) help desk personnel, 3) technician/problem solver, etc. And what authority should each of these class of users possess?

It would be nice to see this framework described, in detail, on this website. Certainly, it would draw in some discussion. More discussion means the best ideas float to the top…

How about a basic list of functionality provided by the top Help Desk softare?

j8h9
Member

Dec 4, 2001, 9:54 AM

Re: Help Desk Functionality/Design	Quote \| Reply

A starting point might be to categorize different users of any Help Desk system.

Customers. Customers are clients whose systems my organization supports. They are external users who may be allowed to use the Help Desk software to 1) report a problem or 2) request an enhancement. Web design/hosting companies design/develop websites for other businesses. Their Customers would fall into this category.

- External users
- Limited access to the Help Desk software
- Are associated with an external organization/company

Vendors. Vendors are also external users but my organization/business is their client. They support my hardware/software. When a piece of hardware fails, for instance, the Vendor could be assigned to resolve the problem (ticket). They may be allowed to use the Help Desk software to 1) view the ticket (problem description, etc.) and 2) possibly status the ticket when the problem is resolved.

- External users
- Limited access to the Help Desk software
- Are associated with an external organization/company

Internal Users. Internal users are my organization/business members. They comprise the majority of users including 1) business end users, 2) help desk operators, 3) technicians, 4) I/T personnel assigned to processes, 5) operations staff and more...

- Internal users
- Access to the Help Desk software varies depending on user
- Are associated with an internal division, department, location, etc.

Feedback please...

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