Steve Belant

CIS 29 - Fall 1999

Shawn Sadighian

Review Questions

Chapter 1

Due August 23, 1999

1. What two factors create the need to provide help to a growing number of technology users?

p. 1.1 a. dependance b. complexity

2. What is a help desk?

p. 1.1 It is a single point of contact within a company for managing customer problems and requests and for providing solution-oriented support services.

3. What is the purpose of technical support?

p. 2.1 Its purpose is to enable people and companies to continuously use the computer technology they have acquired or developed.

4. Describe how technical support was viewed in the early 1970s.

p. 2.2 It was viewed as a necessary evil that disrupted the development of new products, distracting from developers' primary job of programming.

5. Today, most companies distinguish between (a) ________________ - the construction on new systems - and (b) _________________ - services that enable the continued use of a system once it is release for distribution.

p. 3.1 (a) development (b) support

6. What action on the part of vendors began the move toward help desks?

p. 3.2-3 Vendors began to offer discounts to customers who "screened" problem calls internally from a central point of contact before calling the vendor, who would then dispatch a field engineer to the customer's site. The vendor's goal was to minimize the number of these costly dispatches. The idea of calling central, internal point of contact, along with the idea of an information training and help center, paved the way for the concept that IBM called a help desk.

7. What concept did the quality movement introduce about customers?

8. How is the focus of customer support different from that of technical support?

9. What are the three factors that influence the technical support services a company delivers?

p. 4.1 [Note: 4, not 3, bulleted paragraphs which answer this question are given in the book, as follows:]

(a) The explosion of PC tools the increase in the number or companies competing in the computer industry.

(b) The quality movement, which is a business trend starting in the late 1970s, challenging companies to measure and monitor quality and take corrective action when products or services failed to satisfy their customers' requirements.

(c) The high number of increasinng sophisticated and frustrated technology users who were willing and able to take their business elsewhere.

(d) A business realization that efficient support services could reduce the total cost of owning technology by enhancing customer productivity and satisfaction and thereby ultimately sell more product.

10. Why do some companies take a more formal approach to technical support?

p. 4.3 This practice enables companies to maximize their technical resources and ensure that those providing support services have the required skills.

11. When a person bypasses the formal support structure and directs a computer-related question or problem to a co-worker, it is called __________________.

p. 5.1 Peer-to-peer support

12. Describe the difference between (a) a world class company and (b) a best-in-class company.

p. 6.3

(a) A company that has achieved and sustains high levels of customer satisfaction.

(b) A company that is the finest in its relative industry peer group.

13. World class help desk practices are (a) _________________ rather than

(b) _________________ in nature.

p. 6.4 (a) proactive (b) reactive

14. List the four components of a successful help desk, and briefly describe each one.

pp. 7-13, Chapter Summary p. 14

(a) People - staff and structure to support its "customers" by performing business processes.

(b) Processes - problem, request and service level management which determine the procedures people follow relative to their specific area of business.

(c) Technology - the tools and technologies the help desk people use to do their work, such as data collection, monitoring and reporting mechanisms which employees use to perform processes.

(d) Information - data that are organized in a meaningful way, such as tracking outstanding problems and their solutions.

15. In addition to technical skills, list the three other types of skills people need to work successfully at a help desk.

p. 9.3

(a) Business - unique to the profession

(b) Soft - communication and problem solving skills.

(c) self-management - time and organizational management.

16. What are three characteristics that successful help desks look for in people they hire and train?

p. 9.4 (a) have good soft skills (b) sincerely enjoy working with customers (c) like helping others solve problems.

17. A(n) _____________________ is a collection of interrelated work activities that takes inputs and produces outputs that are of value to the customer.

p. 11.1 A process

18. How do successful help desks use technology?

p. 11.4 To capture, store, and deliver the information that satisfies the needs of both customers and the company.

19. How is information used at a help desk?

p. 12.4-5 It is used to track outstanding problems and service requests, measure help desk performance and customer satisfaction with the company, and spot trends and discover causes of problems.

20. What must people interested in a career in the service industry learn to do with information?

p. 12.5 Learn how to interpret data and share and add value to information.

21. ___________________ involves ensuring customers receive maximum value for the products and services they purchase.

p. 13.2, 14 definition: Customer service

22. What influences a customer's definition of value?

p. 13.2 Every customer service encounter each customer experiences.

23. Customer service means giving customers everything they ask for, whenever they ask for it. True or False?

p. 13.4 False. Customer expectations must be managed by clearly communicating what the company is willing to do.

24. Why do companies have to constantly monitor and manage customer expectations?

p. 13.4-5 They may quickly exceed the resources and capabilities of the service department.

25. What are two traps companies can fall into if they do not manage customer expectations?

p. 13.5 The following four traps are listed:

(a) Promising more than can be delivered

(b) Delivering more than promised, which raises the bar on customer expectations

(c) Promising one thing and delivering something else

(d) Not promising anything specific, which leaves the customer to set expectations.

26. Why is establishing a help desk a critical success factor in business today?

p. 14.1 When deciding which product or service to use, customer service helps customers differentiate between which company to choose. A help desk is part of the customer service, and can help in collecting data on customer preferences and delivers part of the quality service so customers choose the company and its services and products, leading to more sales and the success of the company.