DominoKeys.com

Let’s face it: we all hate doing help desk issues.

However, it doesn’t have to be any worse than it already is. If you think about it, many of the issues you work on have simple solutions (or are repeat issues that you’ve already worked on for other people). Help Center helps you keep track of “lessons learned” in clever little knowledge base articles and then reuses those articles during the help ticket creation process. Its like spoon feeding your users the information they need (in the hopes that they hit “cancel” and you have one less issue to work on). The tour below gives you more information about how it works. (click on any image for a larger graphic)

TICKET CREATION: User Perspective

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Ticket Creation – Step 1:

To submit a new issue, your users will go through a simple 4 step process designed to collect information about their issue, categorize it (so you can assign it to the right IT support team member) and prioritize it correctly. The categories are displayed based on a keyword list you control. (Notice the “Announcements” section on the side … we’ll talk more about that in a moment.)

Ticket Creation – Step 2:

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In step 2, users simply select the type of issue or system they are having problems with. These choices are controlled by you via a keywords view and can be easily changed at any time to have values that fit your organization’s systems.

Ticket Creation – Step 3:

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There are two levels of categorizations in Help Center. This allows you to get the issue well defined before the user starts entering free-form information about their problem. Also, note that this screen provides some documents from the built-in Knowledge Base, based on articles your team has written that match the categories the user has selected this far.

Ticket Creation – Step 4:

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The final step summarizes the issue for the user and allows them to describe the problem they are having in their own words. There is also a place for them to put screen-prints or attachments. Notice that the list of matching Knowledge Base articles has refreshed, showing articles that your team has written that match the exact category selections the user has made. This helps provide an instant self-service option to your users (and, if you keep your knowledge base current, reduces the number of overall issues submitted into the system).

SYSTEM PORTAL

Portal – End User:

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When your end-users access the database, they will see a Portal screen that combines key information into one area. From this screen, they can quickly see Announcements your team has sent out, new Knowledge Base Articles and easily find a history of issues they have submitted.

Portal – IT Support Technician:

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When the IT support staff accesses the database, they too see a Portal screen but with more information displayed. IT staff can quickly see all issues assigned to them as well as the information end-users see in their Portals.

Portal – Manager:

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IT Management has their own Portal as well. This Portal displays more details including Asset information and Statistics about the performance of the IT team. All Portals (as well as all other features in Help Center) are Role-Based. That means you don’t have to create custom groups in your address book, you can re-use what you have already set up and simply assign groups Roles in the ACL.

OTHER HELP CENTER FEATURES

Announcements:

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Wether its a scheduled server down time or an off-line system you’re trying to fix, the last thing you need is 50 new issues telling you something you already know. Help Center’s “Announcement” feature allows you to post (and even schedule) announcements in the main Portal screen of the database, on the first screen of the new issue/ticket creation wizard AND e-mail out the announcements (if you want) to your users. – Your users will feel “in-the-know” and you’ll avoid unnecessary issues for the system you’re working on.

Asset Management:

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High-end asset tracking systems are great tools, but not every company can justify the cost for these systems. Help Center provides an easy-to-use Asset Management system that allows you to keep records of the systems in your organization. This is particularly helpful for small/medium sized organizations.

Knowledge Base:

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At the core of Help Center is the integration of keywords that are used in the issue/ticket creation wizard and the knowledge base articles. One of Help Center’s biggest advantages is the way it combinees these two areas to offer your end-users instant access to articles that directly match the criteria of the issue they are describing. Its an idea so simple, yet so powerful! Companies that use Help Center report that this feature alone drastically reduces the number of Help Center issues submitted once their IT team gets in the habit of writing some quick, helpful knowledge base documentation.

Other Features:

• Role-based security
• Keyword driven (you can specify your own categories)
• Profile documents for each IT Support Technician
• Support for emai alerts (based on issues that match a priority you set)
• Easy-to-use user interface
• Comprehensive installation/configuration guide (including details on how to add your own customizations)
• Download includes a template (.ntf) and database (.nsf) version of the database
• No Lotuscript!
• And much more…