There are various ways to log incidentsand make requests. The success of the method used
depends on the size of the school and the flexibility of those providing technical support.
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Corridor approach
This is a similar way of logging calls as the 'visit office' approach. In this instance the
technician or the person providing technical support may not even have the opportunity to
write down the details of the incident. The user is confident they have 'logged' the incident or
request and then feels let down when the call is not actioned appropriately.
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Visit office
The user visits the technical support office to report an incident or make a request. This
approach inspires confidence in the user - they have discussed the problem with technical
support and know that action will ensue.
Often this approach does not benefit anyone if those providing technical support are beseiged
with visitors and do not have time to prioritise their workload or start working on the incidents.
The staff providing technical support feel they are very busy, but not proritising their work
reduces their effectiveness. This reactive situation does not embrace best practice.
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Paper record of call
The user completes a paper form with details of the incident and posts it in an in-tray used by
support staff. The tray is often placed in staff rooms or near reception. Multipart copies are
useful in giving users a copy of the details they have logged.
Using this system relies on technical staff collecting the forms and allocating priorities
sufficiently quickly to encourage staff to continue using the system. It will fail if users find
their form still in the in-tray later in the day.
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Registering details by phone or email
External service desks may use phone or email to speed up the process of logging calls.
The user must be armed with information about the system they are calling about, which may
include an allocated asset tag number and machine type.
The speed of response is not determined by the speed with which the call can be logged.
Users may become frustrated if they are required to provide lots of information to supply to
the support team, only to find that the response is not what they anticipated. It is important to
make all users aware of the agreed response times with this service.
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Computer interactive
The users uses a simple online form to log the incident or request. The form is easy to follow
and is automatically sent to the technical support team. Having completed the form, the user
should be confident that the call will be actioned and will wait for a response from the support
team.
Because there is no interaction with a person, the system must be proven to work, or users
will quickly avoid this method and use the 'corridor' approach instead.
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Details to be recorded for service desk calls
- information about the incident or request
- user impact
- Service Desk details (to be completed by the single point of contact)
- resolution.
