A Guide to Service Desk Concepts,
Third Edition
Chapter
p 5
The Technology Component: Service Desk
Tools and Technologies
g
j
Objectives
In this chapter
p yyou will learn:
Common technologies found in service desks
The tools used by service desk managers
The relationship between processes and
technology
h l
The steps involved in selecting service desk
technology
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How Technology Benefits the Service
Desk
D k

A service desk can use technology to

Gather, organize, and use information

3
About its customers
About IT assets and how theyy are configured
g
To charge customer – where applicable
Monitor critical components and proactively detect
incidents
Eliminate manual, repetitive functions
Empower customers to identify and potentially solve
routine
ti incidents
i id t
Manage costs, optimize staffing levels, and provide
excellent customer service
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How Technology Benefits the Service
Desk
D k

Technology can be
Costly
A detriment when implemented without the
benefit of well-designed
g
processes
p
and welltrained staff

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How Technology Benefits the Service
Desk
D k
One-time
O ti
Costs
C t

5
Ongoing
O
i Costs
C t
Consulting fees
Requirements definition,
definition
design, and development
activities
H d
Hardware
and
d software
ft
purchases, including
licensing fees
Education, awareness, and
training programs
Additional staff

Maintenance fees
Upgrades and
enhancements
Consulting fees, such as for
i iimprovements
t
ongoing
Ongoing education,
awareness, and training
Ongoing system
administration and support
System integration activities
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Selecting and Implementing Service
Desk
D k Technologies
T h l i

Service desks choose tools based on

Size
Company goals
Nature of business
Customer expectations
All service desks can benefit from technology
gy
An effective approach is to implement
technology—even if only simple technology—
while the service desk is small
More sophisticated technology can be
p e e te as tthee service
se v ce desk
es grows
g ows
implemented

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Selecting and Implementing Service
Desk
D k Technologies
T h l i

Tools and technologies used in most service
desks include

Telephone, e-mail, fax, Web-based systems
Service desks must carefully manage customer
expectations of target response times for each of
these contact channels
Service desks also use tools to record customers’
incidents and service requests
Most use incident management systems that
g
with knowledge
g management
g
systems
y
integrate

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p
g and Services
Telephone
Technologies

Telephone is primary way most service desks
communicate
i t with
ith their
th i customers
t
Telephone will always play a role

During a typical telephone call, analysts

8
Some customers do not have access to e-mail or the Web
Some may be temporarily unable to access e-mail or the
Web
Some prefer to interact with a human being
Ask questions
E
Enter
responses into
i
a computer
Assist the customer, often while using information from a
computer system
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Telephone Technologies
Voice over Internet
Protocol
Voice mail
Fax
Announcement
systems

9
Automatic call
distributor
Voice response unit
Computer
telephony
integration
Recording systems

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Telephone
Technologies
Voice over Internet Protocol ((VoIP)) –
systems translate voice communications into
data and then transmit that data across an
Internet connection or network
Voice mail – an automated form of taking
messages from callers
Fax – an electronic device that sends or
receives printed matter or computer images

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g
Telephone
Technologies
Announcement system
y
– ggreets callers
when analysts are busy and provides
information when customers are on hold
Automatic call distributor (ACD) –
answers a call and routes
routes, or distributes,
distributes it to
the next available analyst

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g
Telephone
Technologies
ACDs determine what calls analysts
y receive
An ACD console enables analysts to

Log on at the start of a scheduled shift

Log off

12
Available state means the analyst is ready to take calls
When leaving desk for an extended period of time
At the end of a scheduled shift
Answer eachh callll within
A
i hi the
h number
b off rings
i
specified
ifi d
in the service desk’s policy
Correctly use wrap-up
wrap up mode
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Telephone
Technologies

Automated attendant – an ACD feature that routes
calls based on input provided through a touch-tone
touch tone
telephone
Skills-based routing (SBR) – an ACD feature that
matches the requirements of an incoming call to the skill
sets of available analysts or analyst groups
Voice response unit (VRU) – integrates with another
techn l
technology,
ssuch
ch as a database orr a network
net rk management
mana ement
system, to obtain information or to perform a function

13
Also known as an interactive voice response unit (IVRU)
A VRU obtains
b i information
i f
i bby hhaving
i the
h caller
ll use the
h keys
k
on their touch-tone telephone or, when speech recognition
is available, speak their input into the telephone
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Telephone
Technologies
Computer telephony integration (CTI) –
links computing technology with telephone
technology to exchange information and
increase productivity
Screen pop – a CTI function that enables
information about the caller to appear, or
“pop” up, on the analyst’s monitor, and is based
on caller information captured by the
telephone system and passed to a computer
system

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Telephone Technologies

15
If customer should be transferred, a
simultaneous screen transfer transfers
the call as well as all the information
p to that point
p
collected in the ticket up
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Telephone
Technologies
Recording systems – record and play
back telephone calls
Enable companies to

Monitor calls
Evaluate analyst performance
Record calls for security purposes

16
Companies typically inform customers calls
are being recorded
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Telephone
Services

17
Automatic number identification (ANI) – service
provided
id d by
b a long-distance
l
di t
service
i provider
id that
th t
delivers the telephone number of the person calling
Caller identification ((caller ID)) – service pprovided
by a local telephone company that delivers the
telephone number of the caller
Dialed number identification service (DNIS) –
provides the number called when a toll-free number or
a 1-900 service is used
Information indicator digits (IID) – identifies the
origin of a call from the type or location of the
telephone used, such as a pay phone, cell phone, or
hotel phone
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E-Mail at the Service Desk

Used byy most service desks to communicate

Internally

Wi h other
With
h support groups

18
To communicate schedule changes,
g , to promote
p
awareness of process or procedure changes, to notify
staff of upcoming system changes
To communicate the status of projects or changes to
existing procedures
With customers
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Using E-Mail to Communicate with
Customers
C t

E-mail is often used to
Provide status updates for outstanding incidents
and services requests
q
Deliver solutions and workarounds from the KMS
Conduct customer satisfaction surveys
y
Announce upcoming changes that might affect
customers
Distribute the service desk’s newsletter

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Using E-Mail to Communicate with
Customers
C t

Few service desks use e-mail as a pprimaryy wayy
of communicating with customers
Can be perceived as impersonal
Typically doesn’t provide the immediate,
interactive feedback customers want
Does
D
not provide
id many off the
h capabilities
bili i an
incident management system provides

Cannot be used to automatically create trend reports
Cannot be used as a knowledge management system

20
Sometimes prolongs the problem-solving process
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Using E-Mail to Communicate with
Customers
C t

Techniques
q
service desks use to ensure that emails are handled efficiently and effectively
include
Providing analysts with e-mail etiquette training
and guidance
g
Integrating e-mail packages and incident
management systems
Using forms and templates
Using
g e-mail response
p
management
g
systems
y

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The Web

Has been embraced by the support industry

22
Provides an invaluable source of information
Is an excellent vehicle for communicating with
coworkers,
k
vendors,
d
and
d customers
t
Has brought many companies new customers
Gives the service desk an alternative and less
expensive way to support customers
Enables the service desk to empower customers to
support themselves
Functionality and ease of use are keys to success
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The Web
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y
Incident Management
Systems
Used to log and track customer contacts
Prevents contact from being lost or
g
forgotten

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Incident Management
Systems

Many companies integrate systems with channels
(telephone,
(t l h
e-mail,
il fax,
f the
th Web)
W b) to
t

Others require analysts to log all incidents, regardless
of how the customer reported the incident
Enables the use of features

25
Consolidate incident data
Log incidents automatically
Status reminder alerts
Access to a service asset and configuration management
or knowledge
k
l d managementt system
t
Access to the information or systems used to manage
SLAs such as target response and resolution times
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y
Incident Management
Systems

Logging all incidents provides the data needed to

Analysts
y must ensure

26
Track (and when necessary, escalate) outstanding
incidents
P f
Perform
trend
t d and
d roott cause analysis
l i
Pass needed data to level two and level three groups
Provide management the data needed to create
reports and analyze trends
Data is accurate, complete, timely
Data is captured in real time
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Incident Management
Systems

Incident management systems fall into two distinct
categories

S t
Systems
oriented
i t d to
t service
i desk
d k type
t

External support

Internal support
Systems that consider

27
Enable service desk to verify entitlement, capture information
needed to create invoices
Processes to be
P
b managed
d
Volume of incidents and service requests to be processed
Number of expected system users (includes level one, level
two and level three management and staff and customers)
two,
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g
y
Incident Management
Systems

Types of incident management systems
include
Homegrown incident tracking systems
Commercially developed incident management
systems
Integrated
g
ITSM solutions

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y
Homegrown
Incident Trackingg Systems

29
Developed in-house, tend to be relatively simple
Homegrown incident tracking systems – typically support
only incident management and offer basic trouble ticketing and
reporting capability
May not be able to support a high number of users or a high
volume of data
Often used by smaller service desks or medium service desks
looking for a system they can implement quickly
Requires a good design and ongoing support to meet service desk’s
needs
Can be used to collect the data needed to justify a commercially
d l
developed
d system
t
Downside – tend to be poorly documented and so difficult to
maintain and enhance
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Incident Management
Systems

30
Commercially developed – offers enhanced trouble ticketing and
management reporting capability
May support processes such as request fulfillment, change
management service asset and configuration management,
management,
management service
level management
Often compatible with ITIL
Provide the automated escalation and notification capabilities
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y
Incident Management
Systems

31
Provide more advanced diagnostic capabilities and knowledge
management systems
Offer some customization and integration capability (e.g., e-mail,
telephone
l h
systems))
Support a higher number of users and a higher volume of data
May be used by
Small or medium service desks that anticipate considerable
growth
A larger service desk looking for an interim system
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Integrated
ITSM Solutions

32
Sometimes called enterprise solutions
Suite of systems used to manage incident,
incident problem,
problem knowledge,
knowledge
change, and service asset and configuration management and
request fulfillment processes
Typically compatible with ITIL
Integrate with network and systems management tools, asset
management tools, and knowledge management systems
Can be customized comprehensively
p
y
Provide advanced features
Support a high number of users and volume of data (e.g., global
companies)
p
)
Used by medium to large service desks that require an integrated
tool suite
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g Management
g
y
Knowledge
Systems

33
A set of tools and databases that provide the ability to store, manage, and
presentt information
i f
ti and
d knowledge
k
l d
Support the data-information-knowledge-wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy
Data – raw facts that are not organized in a meaningful way
Information – data organized in a meaningful way
Knowledge – the application of information along with people’s
experiences,
p
ideas, and jjudgments
g
Wisdom – the judicious application of knowledge
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Knowledge Management Systems

34
KMSs capture human knowledge and make it available to others involved in solving
problems and making decisions
Access may be restricted
Solutions are typically approved by a knowledge engineer
Customers are often able to access portions of a company
company’ss KMS by clicking a
Support link
Widely used in the support industry
Most incident management systems and integrated ITSM solutions can be
purchased with embedded knowledge management systems
Some companies do purchase and implement standalone knowledge management
systems
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Knowledge Management Systems

Rule-based system – made up of

Case-based system – made up of

Cases
A set off question and answer pairs that can be used to confirm
f
the solution
Case – a unit of information, such as an online document, a
d t b
database
record,
d or the
th solution
l ti to
t a common incident
i id t

35
Rules
R l
Facts
A knowledge base or engine that combines rules and facts to
reach a conclusion
Indexed so an analyst can easily locate it when needed
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Search Retrieval Techniques

Allow users to enter
p y search
to specify
criteria, which is
then used to retrieve
similar cases

36
Search criteria –
the
h questions
i
or
symptoms entered
by a user
Case-based
reasoningg
Decision trees
Fuzzy logic
Keyword searching
Query by example

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Search
Retrieval
Techniques
37
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q
Search Retrieval Techniques
Case-based reasoning (CBR) – a searching
technique that uses everyday language to ask
users questions and interpret answers
Decision tree – a branching structure of
qquestions and ppossible answers designed
g
to
lead an analyst to a solution
Fuzzy logic – a searching technique that
presents all possible solutions that are similar
to the search criteria, even when conflicting
information exists or no exact match is
present

38
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q
Search Retrieval Techniques

Keyword searching – the technique of finding
indexed
i d d information
i f
i by
b specifying
if i a descriptive
d
i i
word or phrase, called a keyword

Query by example (QBE) – a searching
techni e that uses
technique
ses queries,
eries or questions,
estions to find
records that match the specified search criteria

39
Keywords must be indexed to be located and an exact
match must be found
Q
Queries
can include search operators,
p
, connectingg
words such as AND, OR, and NOT
Search operators may be called Boolean operators
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g Methods
Storage

Complement search-retrieval techniques
Hypermedia – stores
t
iinformation
f m ti iin a graphical
hi l form
f m
Hypertext – stores information in a nongraphical
form so users can access the information in a
nonlinear
li
fashion
f hi using
i hhyperlinks
li k
Hyperlinks – colored and underlined text or graphics
in a hypertext or hypermedia document that allow
readers
d
to
t “jump”
“j
” to
t a related
l t d idea,
id regardless
dl
off
where that idea occurs in the document

40
May open a pop-up window with a definition, instructions,
a diagram,
diagram a still picture,
picture or an animated picture
May present audio or video streams
Can jump to other Web pages
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g
g
y
Configuration
Management
System

Technologies that allow analysts to

Access
A
information
i f
ti about
b t the
th components,
t or CIs,
CI installed
i t ll d on a
computer or network
Access related information

Managed via service asset and configuration management
Typically one part of an integrated set of tools, rather than a
single,
i l standalone
d l
tooll
Collects data and information from a variety of systems

41
Information about associated incidents, p
problems, etc.
Financial information such as license and warranty information
Incident management systems
I t
Integrated
t d ITSM solutions
l ti
Network inventory software
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pp Technologies
g
Remote Support
Minimizes costlyy “jump
j p and run” approach
pp
to
diagnosing and solving incidents
Enables support
pp
for customers who work
remotely
Common technologies
g include

Remote control systems
Remote monitoring systems
Self-healing systems
Software distribution systems

42
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pp Technologies
g
Remote Support

43
Remote control system
y
– a technology
gy
that enables an analyst to take over a caller’s
y
, screen,, mouse,, or other connected
keyboard,
devices to troubleshoot incidents, transfer
g, and collaborate
files,, pprovide informal training,
on documents
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pp Technologies
g
Remote Support
Remote control system accessing a remote PC
44
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pp Technologies
g
Remote Support

45
Remote monitoring
g system
y
–a
technology that tracks and collects alerts
ggenerated byy network,, system,
y
, or application
pp
monitoring systems and passes them to a
central server,, where theyy can be
automatically picked up, evaluated, and, when
pp p
, logged
gg as an incident
appropriate,
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Remote Support Technologies
S
Sample
l service
i status
t t information
i f
ti
46
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pp Technologies
g
Remote Support
Self-healing
g systems
y
– hardware devices
and software applications that have the ability
to detect and correct incidents on their own
Software distribution system – a
technology that allows an analyst to
automatically distribute software to clients
and servers on the same network

47
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Service Desk Communication Tools

Manual, electronic, and computer technologies that
display
di l or share
h
information
i f m ti within
ithi a service
i desk
d k or
between a service desk and other support groups and
customers
P
Promote
t awareness with
ith customers
t
and
d within
ithi the
th
service desk when

Can display

48
Critical incidents arise
Ch
Changes
are scheduled
h d l d to occur
System status information obtained automatically from a
networkk management system
Queue activity obtained from an ACD
May integrate with handheld devices such as PDAs—
Bl kb
Blackberrys,
T
Treos, iPh
iPhones—and
d cellll phones
h
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Service Desk Communication Tools

Whiteboards – erasable panels on which analysts write
notes and communicate current and future events

Dashboards – bright displays that send out visual and, in
some cases, audible messages

49
Whiteboard systems allow two or more users on a network
to view one or more user’s drawing, document, or application
being projected on an onscreen whiteboard
May also be called electronic reader boards
Instant messaging systems – text-based forms of
communication that enable two or more people to
communicate in real time over the Internet
Push technology – delivers information to Web-enabled
PCs
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Tools Used by Service Desk
Management
M
t

Designed
g
to
Help supervisors and managers optimize staffing
levels
Prepare schedules
Monitor performance of service desk staff

Tools include
Staffing and scheduling systems
ACD supervisor console
Customer surveying systems

50
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y
Staffingg and Schedulingg Systems
Work with ACD systems
y
to collect,, report,
p ,
and forecast call volumes
Used to

Forecast future call patterns
Schedule the optimal number of staff
Track analyst productivity
Prepare
P
budgets
b d t

51
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ACD Supervisor Console

52
Works with ACD
systems
E bl supervisors
Enables
i
to
monitor call volumes
and the pperformance of
individual analysts or
groups of analysts
Di l statistics
Displays
t ti ti th
thatt
are constantly updated
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y g Systems
y
Customer Surveying

Used to
Create and distribute questionnaires to
customers
Collect and tabulate the results of their
feedback

53
Some can export tabulated results to
statistical-analysis packages
packages, word
processors, spreadsheets, and presentation
p
packages
g
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g
g Processes and Technology
gy
Integrating
Technology’s purpose is to support and enhance
processes
Should not be added simply to automate existing
processes and
d procedures
d

Should evaluate processes and procedures prior
to selecting and implementing new technology

54
“If you’re doing things wrong and you automate them,
you’llll only do them wrong faster”
you
faster
Are new tools and technology needed?
Is process improvement needed?
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p for Selectingg Technology
gy
Steps
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p for Selectingg Technology
gy
Steps
Sample vendor evaluation matrix
56
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p for Selectingg Technology
gy
Steps

Selection report
p
describes the selection
process and how the final decision was made
Introduction
Summary of requirements
Evaluation methodology
Next steps
Appendices

57
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Summaryy

A wide array of tools and technologies is available to service
desks
Availability depends on

Telephone is a primary way customers contact the service desk

Properly
p y implemented,
p
telephone
p
technologies
g and services route
customers to the most appropriately skilled analyst
E-mail is used to communicate internally, with other support
groups, and with customers
Th W
The
Web
b iis hhaving
i a profound
f
d iimpactt on th
the supportt iindustry
d t

58
Number and complexity
p
y of processes
p
beingg supported
pp
Funding on hand
Companies that fail to establish Web sites appear inefficient and
out of touch
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Summaryy

Incident management systems are used to log and
track
t k customer
t
incidents
i id t and
d service
i requests
t

59
Logging ensures incidents and service requests are not lost
or forgotten
Knowledge management systems capture human
knowledge and make it available to people involved in
p
and service requests
q
solvingg incidents, problems
Configuration management systems, remote control
systems, remote monitoring systems, self-healing
systems, and software distribution systems extend the
service desk’s reach and enhance its ability to resolve
incidents and service requests, particularly remote
ones
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Summaryy
Communication tools ppromote awareness
with customers and within the service desk
g
when critical incidents arise or when changes
are scheduled to occur
Staffing and scheduling systems,
systems ACD
supervisor consoles, and customer surveying
systems enable supervisors and managers to
optimize staffing levels, prepare schedules, and
monitor the performance of service desk staff

60
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Summaryy

61
The purpose of technology is to support and enhance
processes
Processes and procedures must be well defined, and then
tools and technology can enable people to execute the
processes and procedures more quickly and effectively
Selecting, acquiring, and implementing technology can be
challenging
Goals and requirements must be clearly defined
A methodical approach that involves all stakeholders must
be used
New product implementations go more smoothly when
users are confident care was taken to select the best
possible solution
p
A Guide to Service Desk Concepts, Third
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