Help Desk Technologies
Program Summary
As a business grows, the need for support becomes more critical. Calls continuously pour into the help desk, support tends to deteriorate, and calls are either lost or closed without management even knowing. From a business point of view, this could lead to loss of employee productivity and even to loss of a client. Help desk software can help reduce confusion and, if implemented properly, can help reduce the overall cost of managing customer support.
As an IT professional, one of the most important services you support is the client help desk -- essential to keeping business running smoothly and maintaining a competitive edge. Still, in view of today’s highly complex and changing IT infrastructures, service must not only be effectively streamlined, but must also reduce costs and expedite service – all while maintaining top flight quality service.
Help Desk Technologies provide the foundation for an integrated, end-to-end approach to service management. Based on best practices, Help Desk automates the ability to submit, monitor, and manage help desk cases, change tasks, and asset inventory records.
The program will demonstrate a number of popular Help Desk technologies to define and demonstrate basic help desk functions, identify the features of call logging and problem resolution software, discuss common support performance measurements, identify common features of report software, discuss basic problem resolution methods, discuss the concepts of assessment management and how support staff utilize them, understand the purpose of various service levels, including:
- Web interface with an easy to use, graphical tabbed interface
- Job prioritization so your technicians can select jobs as they become available
- Search capabilities that make finding relevant information easier than ever
- Call integration in which complete ticket information is available in each users’ calendar
- Option to bill, invoice, and report directly from the web
- E-mail based reporting and updating as well as ed e-mail alerts which keeps all of your technicians and clients up to date
- An FAQ knowledge base which can facilitate the creation of a searchable database of common requests and their resolutions
- Performance reports showing the level of performance of your technical staff
- Surveys that can collect feedback from your end users with the web help desk's integrated surveys
- Cross platform Java technology to provide a rich, flexible, and extensible architecture
- PDF and tab delimited text generation for manipulating spreadsheets
Employment Trends
- Job opportunities are expected to be good, especially for those with certification or previous work experience.
- Consulting, rather than full-time employment is an increasingly popular career choice among IT professionals. According to a recent survey, 79 percent of CIOs responded that they would consider consulting.
- Opportunity to work with leading-edge technologies in dynamic client environments
- Candidates who are up to date with the latest skills and technologies find the best opportunities. Certifications and practical experience are essential for persons without degrees.
- Help-desk technicians who deal directly with customer issues are a source of feedback on their employer’s products. These technicians are consulted for information about what gives customers the most trouble, as well as other customer concerns. Most computer support specialists start out at the help desk.
Program Objectives
- Successful completion of each course earns a Certificate of Completion
- Coursework leading to award of a Continuing Education Certificate
- Skills development and preparation leading to professional credentialing
Program Curriculum
Students must have a basic understanding of customer service concepts and methodologies, a good understanding of computer concepts, basic computer literacy, and the Internet, including coursework or equivalent experience in:
- Personal computers and Windows (any version from ‘95 or higher),
- Word or equivalent experience, and
- Excel.
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Crs #
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Course Name
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Hrs
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DPR535
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Help Desk Technology, Part 1
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6
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DPR536
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Help Desk Technology, Part 2
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6
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DPR534
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Troubleshooting Windows
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9
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DPR439
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Troubleshooting MS-Word
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15
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DPR538
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Troubleshooting MS-Access
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12
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Program total
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48
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