Creating a Help Desk

I will give this a go as to what I would do

1. First is a database to tract activity, Depending on what you have available Access will do it, or an after market product. I would give Access a go as they have a Support Call data base wizard to start with.

2. Internal web pages for FAQ's, procedures and trouble reporting.

3. A set of rules to support tech's as to procedures. These do not need to be overbearing, just some general practices. You need to determine if your tech's will cover everybody or will have a specific territory to cover. I suggest a assigning a area to the tech's as they will become comfortable with the users in their area as well as the users being comfortable with them.

4. One of the biggest complaints I have heard form users is "I can never tell if they even got the message about my problem." Too often someone is going to call in and get voice mail or respond to a form on the support page and get a "auto response", and never know whether a human hasseen their problem. A policy that human response come in a predetermined amount of time.

I am curious as to how many tech's you plan on deploying with this Help desk project

As a final you can gain allot of info by typing "help Desk" in the search here at TechRepublic and a ton of hits will appear.

Have fun with your project

JP

I am currently working in IT support in a professional environment,with about 200 people spread across 4 states. The role didn't previously exist before I started with company. Previously all support was directed to an administrator level, often tying up valuable resources.

Essentially what was required was a support structure. This came in two forms; Data and People.

DATA.
My primary areas of involvement were to establsish means for recording/referencing all calls. For this I have setup a customised Access database. Easy to setup and use and can produce invaluable searching and reporting.

PEOPLE.
It is important to develop a system of "Problem Ownership". A structure needs to be developed with one initial point of call. It is then up to that person/s to take ownership of the issue and either solve it on the spot or delegate it to 2nd/3rd level as required. At each point the person must take ownership off the previous person. Eventually, the problem will be solved, and recocorded as so, so all of the other people down the line can see this.

Also, don't expect to be able to solve everything yourself. Find a good external consultant for those little emergencies that alsways seem to crop up.

Good Luck

Gavin