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SNHU - IT-420 Advanced Information Systems Implementation
Written by: Chris Bell - August, 2014

Technology System Technical Support

Types of Technical Support

1. Phone: Support for system issues should always have a phone number ready to accept questions from users. The support team may also receive phone calls that relate to upgrades and system changes that should take place. Then they can decide if the system needs the update. Support hours should be listed with a clearly stated phone number so that users feel comfortable calling.


2. Email: Email is always available, and sometimes the only way companies offer support. Sometimes it can be hard to find a phone number for those people that like to communicate verbally rather than through email. Emails always get put in chronological order from when they were sent, so it can be difficult to have a multiple trail email conversation with a support employee because it could take days to get the full answer to your problem.


3. Chat: Web-based chat windows are commonly available online nowadays. Support staff is ready to take phone calls and ready to answer chat windows whenever the pop-up on their desktop. This is much quicker than email because the user expects a response within seconds rather than hours or days (email).


4. Facebook: Facebook is a place where customers can communicate with the company whether it's good feedback or bad. Posting the question on their page will probably result in an answer on the page as well. Therefore, many people can view the question and answer to limit additional questions of the same nature. Good technical support online can give your company a boost in sales because trust is built.

Technical Support for CTTS

I believe our CTTS assignment would most benefit from email and chat support help. Chat windows are the latest and greatest because emails, phone calls and Facebook all require longer wait times for your answer. More often than not the answers will be quick and painless to help novice users with simple issues. However, they still have to be answered. Programs that send automated responses based on keywords in the question usually don't answer the question thoroughly.

Assign Responsibilities to Appropriate Staff

1. Chat Support: The staff handling chat support needs to always be prepared to answer a question because trust is built. When the chat support help is away from their desk they need to be idle and the program should be set so that the chat windows only get sent to those that aren't idle. The staff can direct the users to the Help menu within certain areas or give them step-by-step directions to handle their problem.


2. Email Support: It's possible to use the same support staff to answer chat windows and emails, but not phones unless the phone call deems their chat window idle. If not, the employee could be answering a phone call and miss a chat window conversation. The chat windows should also prompt a second person to answer the question if the first person hasn't answered the request within 30 second to one minute.


3. IT Manager: There will be an IT manager available for issues that get escalated. Sometimes the staff member won't feel comfortable answering the difficult question of an expert user, so they can send it to the IT manager. However all calls must go through a chat or email support person before getting escalated to the manager. Managers may also be needed if the customer/user gets angry and demands a different answer.