2 understanding client support needs

Understanding Client Support Needs 1

Relate to Clients on a business level

Understanding Client Support Needs


Researching the Needs of Clients

• Conducting an IT needs analysis is a process of liaising closely with the client to undertake:– A detailed examination of a client's business and

operational processes– An assessment of which IT systems and skills can improve

the way that business is conducted


Researching the Needs of ClientsYou can approach this process via the following

general steps:

1. Foster a relationship with the client organisation and individual users

2. Analyse and document the client's business activities

3. Assess the client's current IT environment 4. Identify gaps in the client's information

technology


Researching the Needs of Clientssteps cont..

5. Develop options for how these IT gaps can be filled

6. Review the appropriateness of your various options

7. Suggest an option which may best fill the client's IT needs


In class activity

• Make a list of five questions which you would

ask a client in order to understand their and

identify their Website development and

support needs.


Activity feedback• What computer systems do they need to perform their job?• What hardware? What applications? What are the inputs and outputs of

this IT system?• How long can they continue doing business if their systems are not

working?• Who is responsible for the IT system? • How much money will they lose if their systems are not working?• How many support requests does the client make now, per day and per

month?• What times during the day do they make the calls? e.g., do they make the

majority of calls between 9am and 5pm?


Activity feedback• What matters are raised in these calls? e.g., hardware configuration,

software configuration, training needs, network breakdowns, data losses or higher level needs like detailed technical advice and consulting services?

• How urgent are these support requests? How do the responses to these requests impact the client's business? Helpful or not helpful?

• Are the support and other IT issues interrupting the client's normal business operations? Is the website not working or is the network down. Or do users have critical gaps in their training?

• How much is the client organisation spending / willing to spend on support services per month?


Determine level of support required

The customer service iceberg Source: Diane Bailey Associates


Why is support important?

• The visible part of customer service (the ‘front line’ delivery) is only the tip of the iceberg.

• It is supported by many things such as standards, systems, quality issues, management support, etc.

• By supporting IT systems, you are, in fact, helping make the business more efficient and competitive.

• Efficient support of those parts of the iceberg that nobody sees results in better front line service to customers.


Level of support

There are a number of ways to view levels or types of support. E.g.

• Informal peer support– Workers help their co-workers with problems. The

organisation can provide training to key workers so that they are able to be called upon for informal support.

• User support combined with other responsibilities – A dual role of IT support and other responsibilities.


Level of supportLevels or types of support cont..

• User support as a separate position or group – Setting up a dedicated position such as ‘IT Systems

support officer’ or a unit such as ‘Technology Services Group’.

• Help desk support – An internal or external support function that provides

a broad range of support for business IT systems. • Totally outsourced user support

– An external provider provides all necessary support.


Level of support

Help Desk support levels• Level 1 help desk

– Takes the calls, logs details, may solve simple problems or give general advice for common problems (e.g.. advising on network availability)

• Level 2 help desk – Technicians fix the problem or provide advice on how to fix the problem

• Level 3 help desk – Highly qualified people provide customisation or bug fixes or software or web-

based systems.


In class activity

• If you were implementing a website for a

customer that consisted of a large number of

static and dynamic web pages such as an

electronic store with a database backend,

what possible support functions could you

implement?


In class activity - feedback

You could implement the following support functions:

• Maintenance of content

• Writing new content

• Checking of links

• Database administration – (e.g. Users, security,

backup, recovery)


In class activity - feedback

You could implement the following support functions:

• Version control

• Uploading of new content

• Troubleshooting site and server based problems

• Customisation of site

• Web programming

• User and administrator training

2 understanding client support needs

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