Panayiotis Christodoulou
Objectives





• ow
H
historical
changes
in
computer
technology have affected computer use
Ways to classify end users
•
Computing resources that end users need
•
The
•
major
categories
of
end-user
applications software
Common problems end users may encounter
•
Objectives






• hat the job market demand is for user support
W
employees
Common ways that organizations provide a user
•
support function
Services that user support groups provide
•
Typical position descriptions for user support
•
staff members
The knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to
•
qualify for an entry-level user support position
Career paths for user support workers
•
As more employees and home users have access
to computers the demand for support increases.
Organizations that provide computer systems to
their workers cannot end their support there.
Employees
need
software
and
hardware
assistance to become more productive. There
have been three trends that have influenced the
demand for user support employees in
organizations. The first trend has been the
economic recession that began in March of 2001
which caused an increase in unemployment. This
resulted in a decrease in hiring in all technology
fields including user support.
Secondly, U.S. companies are increasingly
moving technical support jobs overseas
where there are well trained workers available
with wages that are lower than in the US.
Thirdly, some organizations are contracting
with temporary agencies for a time. Some of
the temporary positions turn into permanent
positions. The temporary assignment often
serves as a trial period for both the employee
and the employer.
Computer user support (or simply user
support) provides information and services to
employees or customers to help them use
computers more productively in their jobs or
at home. Technical support is a level of user
support that focuses on high-level
troubleshooting and problem solving.
Sometimes computer user support is called
technical support. The name is not as
important as the function that the support
team serves.
Organizations provide support to employees
and/or customers in a variety of ways. Informal
peer support is where one or more employees
who have other job titles and responsibilities are
identified as the person to contact when there
are questions about computing. This model is
usually used in small organizations or
departments where help is provided informally
within the department or organization. The first
step to more formalized support is when an
existing employee has user support
responsibilities written into an existing position
description.
When the volume of support responsibilities
can no longer be handled by part-time peer
staff an organization has two options. One
option is to create a full time position that
has a support employee with a greater
breadth and depth of technical skills. The
second alternative is to organize several parttime support employees into a user support
group, which is a formal workgroup that is
organized to provide computer user support
services.
A help desk is organized to provide a single point
of contact for users in need of technical support,
whether they are internal employees or external
customers. Help desks can take the form of a
physical location that users can visit or where
technicians can be dispatched, a telephone
hotline number or an e-mail address or Web site
that can be contacted for assistance. The help
desk staff have the responsibility of solving the
problem as soon as possible. They will often act
as an interface between services if they cannot
directly solve the problem.
A user support center (also called an information
center) provides a wide range of services to an
organization’s computer users, who are primarily
internal users. Some organizations place the user
support responsibility with the Information
Services (IS) Department. There can be problems
with this model because the IS staff is primarily
responsible for the mainframes and
telecommunications infrastructure. This area may
be too busy to provide adequate user support.
On the other hand, it allows for all corporate
computing activities to be kept under one
umbrella.
Organizations can be successful with either
centralized support under the IS department
or having support under a user support
center as long as the user’s needs are met.
Another option is to outsource user support to a vendor.
To outsource user support services, an organization
contracts with an outside vendor that specializes in user
support functions to handle support calls. Outsourcing can
have cost advantages as well as providing expertise that
does not exist among existing support staff. There are
some disadvantages to outsourcing. Outsourced support
usually occurs by telephone or e-mail. The costs are
predictable but they aren’t necessarily lower than internal
support. Because the organization relies on the vendor’s
staff there is little transfer of knowledge from the support
provider staff to internal staff. Also, when support is
outsourced the members of the support staff rarely
develop a personal relationship with the organization’s
end users.
User support centers in organizations provide
a variety of services. The staff of a help desk
or hotline can respond to requests for
product information, market and sell
products and services, provide solutions to
problems, receive and log user complaints
about product features and handle warranties
and authorize product return or exchanges.
Support centers can also provide more in
depth technical troubleshooting that is
beyond that which a help desk staff can
supply. Support staff members can also assist
end users in locating information from a
variety of sources to resolve questions or
problems. The responsibility of evaluating
new hardware, software and network
products often falls to the experienced
technical staff of the support center.
The support center is generally asked to create
support standards. Support standards are a list of
computer products that an organization allows its
employees to use and that it will support. The
support center staff is generally responsible for
performing needs assessments for the organizational
staff and then providing purchasing assistance for
new hardware and software. Once new systems
arrive, they provide system installation assistance.
After the machines are set up and users begin to
work with them the need for training on computer
systems and procedures becomes important. The
support center staff may also prepare computer
documentation that can be used in the work
environment.
Professional staff in a support center can
include operators for mainframe systems,
hardware, software and network engineers
and others who ensure that the computer
facilities are maintained.
Computer facilities managers can be responsible for
such things as network security, media backups, virus
detection and prevention, ergonomic analyses,
supplies management, preventative maintenance and
repairs on hardware, and other related tasks. In some
organizations the support center staff may help users
develop software applications to solve specific
problems. Unlike the IS department, the support
center generally assumes the role of helping users
create applications. Application development is the
least common activity for user support centers. When
applying for a position in a support center, an
applicant should be sure to obtain a well-rounded
picture of the support environment.
Positions descriptions in the user support
industry contain many of the elements
mentioned in the previous section. To
understand what support center staff
members are required to know it is important
to read position descriptions very carefully.
The three different position descriptions in
the book serve as an example of how wide a
variety of tasks a user support specialist can
be called upon to perform.
One way to better understand the requirements
for a specific position is to analyze them in terms
of knowledge, skills and abilities needed to
perform the job. Each position includes a
description of what an employee needs to know
in order to do the job. Each position also requires
specific skills or tasks that a support specialist
must be able to perform well. Abilities are special
tasks or skills that a support specialist can either
do or not do depending upon the situation.
Few employees start in an entry-level
position with all of the knowledge, skills and
abilities they need to perform every task
listed on the job description. Most support
positions include training programs and staff
development.
One way to understand the requirements for a
specific position is to analyze them in terms of KSAs,
the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform
he job. Each position description includes a
description of what an employee needs to know in
order to do the job. It may be started in terms of a
specific amount of education, a degree in a specific
field, or a list of topics that an employee is expected
to know. User support positions may require specific
job skills in one or more areas. Generally, a skill is a
task that a support specialist can perform better with
practice or experience.
Abilities are functions that an applicant can either do
or not do.
An entry-level position in user support can lead
to a variety of more advanced positions. One type
of position is that of a computer programmer or
Web application developer. People who work in
this type of position write code into a computer
language or a scripting language. To advance
into this type of position it often requires
coursework in programming languages and a
four-year degree. A network technician position
often includes tasks such as installing and
configuring network servers and client systems,
network cabling and troubleshooting,
performance analysis and configuration, facilities
management and related tasks.
A Web site maintainer is a worker who uses
Web development software packages to build
and maintain Web sites. End-user support
workers may also aspire to move into a
supervisory position in a support group.
Project management is another path that
entry-level support workers can take.
This type of position manages other workers,
budgets, schedules and deadlines. Support
employees may also move into positions as
trainers or technical writers. Finally, a
growing job category since the attacks on the
United States on September 11, 2001 is a
computer security specialist. These positions
generally require additional study and
specialization beyond a basic user support
degree.




chat session - A Web-based interactive service that allows two or more users who
are both online to communicate by alternately typing and viewing messages; also
called instant messaging.
computer facilities management - Support services to help users with information
and questions about security, media backups, viruses, ergonomics, purchase of
supplies, preventative maintenance, and other tasks required to keep a computer
system operational.
computer user support - A job function or department in an organization that
provides information and services to employees or customers to help them use
computers more productively in their jobs or at home.
help desk - A single point of contact for users in need of technical support,
whether employees or external customers; may provide information and problemsolving services face to face, by telephone, or by e-mail.

hotline - A telephone number that an internal or external user can call to reach a
help desk service. information center –An older name for a user support center.

KSAs -The knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a job.




needs analysis - An investigation to determine the features and configuration of
hardware and software that will best match a user's specific needs; also called
needs assessment.
outsource -An arrangement or agreement in which an organization contracts with
a vendor that specializes in user support functions to handle support calls for
internal and external users.
peer support -An informal level of user support whereby coworkers in an
organization or department exchange information and provide assistance about
computer use and problems encountered.
support standards -A list of computer products that an organization allows its
employees to use and that it will support; support standards limit the hardware,
software, and network products that a support staff must be able to support and
reduce support costs.



technical support -A level of user support that focuses on high-level
troubleshooting anti problem solving; whereas computer user support deals with a
broad spectrum of support issues, technical support deals with advanced and
difficult problems that users encounter
user support center -A group or department in an organization that provides a
wide range of services to an organization's computer users, who are primarily
internal: services may include a help desk, consulting on product purchases,
training, documentation, and facilities management.
user support group -A formal workgroup that is organized to provide computer
support services.