企业信息管理课件：Managing Information Services Quality

ManagingInformationServices

QualitySlide11.1LearningoutcomesAfterreadingthischapter,youwillbeableto:Identifydifferenttypesofinformationservicedelivery;Explaintheconceptoftotalcostofownership;Defineapproachesformanagingend-usercomputingandoutsourcing.Slide11.2ManagementissuesTypicalquestionsfacingmanagersrelatedtothistopic:Howdoweevaluateservicelevelsdeliveredtoendusers?Howdowemanageend-userdevelopment?Howdoweminimizetotalcostofownershipforinformationsystems?Slide11.3Whatisinformationservicesdelivery? Together,theoperationalmanagementofaccesstoinformationanddatamanagementisknownasInformationservicesdelivery. Thetypeandnameoftheorganizationalunitwhichdeliversinformationservicesvarieswidelyaccordingtothetypeoforganization.Typicaltitlesofthisunitordepartmentarrangedfrommoderntotraditionallabelsare:InformationservicesInformationandlibraryservicesInformationCenter(typicallyaUSterm)ComputingservicesITdepartmentIThelpdeskISdepartmentDataProcessing(DPdepartment)

Slide11.4End-usercomputingEnd-usercomputing(1)Theresourcinganddeliveryofinformationservicestoend-users,(2)Thedevelopmentofbusinessapplicationsbyend-users.Slide11.5Differentaspectsofinformation

servicequalitymanagementFigure11.1DifferentaspectsofinformationservicequalitymanagementSource:BIMSlide11.6TheservicegapmodelFigure11.2TheservicegapmodelSource:Parasuramanetal.(1985)Slide11.7Servicequalityattributesreliability–theabilitytoperformtheservicedependablyandaccurately–foranintranetthiswouldbeinfluencedbythespeedwithpagescanbedownloadedandtheavailability–theaverageamountof‘down-time’thereiseachday;responsiveness–awillingnesstohelpcustomersandprovidepromptservice–foranintranetthiscouldrefertoresponsetimetodownloadinformation,butalsohowresponsivethestaffsupportingtheintranetwere;assurance–theknowledgeandcourtesyofemployeesandtheirabilitytoconveytrustandconfidence–thisisagainsomethingthatisconveyedbythesupportorhelp-deskstaff;tangibles–thephysicalappearanceoffacilitiesandcommunications–inthecontextofanintranetthisistheinformationqualityattributessuchasrelevance,accuracy,timelinessandpresentationwhichiscoveredseparatelyinthenextsectionandwasinthepreviouschapter;empathy–providingcaring,individualisedattention–foranintranetthiswouldrefertohowhelpfulthestaffsupportingtheintranetwere.Itcouldalsorefertotheoverall‘lookandfeel’oftheserviceindicatingthedegreetowhichitcouldhelpsolveusers’tasks.Empathycouldbeincreasedbyinteractiveservicessuchasaskingquestionsonline.But,whataboutcost?Slide11.8InformationdeliveryoptionsPushinformationfromcentralresourcePullinformationresourcesfromwebsordatabasesSlide11.9DifferentGoogleSearchApplianceoptionsFigure11.3DifferentGoogleSearchApplianceoptionsSource:Google,MountainViewCalifornia(/appliances/products.html)Slide11.10UKInformationsecuritybreaches(a)Typesofbreaches(b)Costofworstincident.Figure11.4UKInformationsecuritybreaches(a)Typesofbreaches

(b)Costofworstincident.Source:DTI(2004)Slide11.11aUKInformationsecuritybreaches(a)Typesofbreaches(b)Costofworstincident.Figure11.4UKInformationsecuritybreaches(a)Typesofbreaches

(b)Costofworstincident.Source:DTI(2004)Slide11.11bCOBITcontrolsoninformationservicedeliveryDS1defineandmanageservicelevelsDS2managethird-partyservices

DS3manageperformanceandcapacityDS4ensurecontinuousserviceDS5ensuresystemssecurityDS6identifyandallocatecostsDS7educateandtrainusersDS8assistandadvisecustomersDS9managetheconfigurationDS10manageproblemsandincidentsDS11managedataDS12managefacilitiesDS13manageoperationsSlide11.12Addressingorganizationalsecurity InformationCommissionersuggeststhesequestionsthatanorganizationneedstoasktoensureithasadequatesecurity:1.Doesthedatacontrollerhaveasecuritypolicysettingoutmanagementcommitmenttoinformationsecuritywithintheorganization?2.Isresponsibilityfortheorganization’ssecuritypolicyclearlyplacedonaparticularpersonordepartment?3.Aresufficientresourcesandfacilitiesmadeavailabletoenablethatresponsibilitytobefulfilled?Slide11.13MoresecurityquestionsMoredetailedquestionsposedbytheInformationCommisionertoassesscontrollingaccesstoinformationare:Isaccesstothebuildingorroomcontrolledorcananybodywalkin?Cancasualpassers-byreadinformationoffscreensordocuments?Arepasswordsknownonlytoauthorisedpeopleandarethepasswordschangedregularly?Dopasswordsgiveaccesstoalllevelsofthesystemoronlytothosepersonaldatawithwhichthatemployeeshouldbeconcerned?Isthereaprocedureforcleaningmedia(suchastapesanddisks)beforetheyarereusedorarenewdatamerelywrittenoverold?Inthelattercaseisthereapossibilityoftheolddatareachingsomebodywhoisnotauthorisedtoreceiveit?(e.g.asaresultofthedisposalofredundantequipment).Isprintedmaterialdisposedofsecurely,forexample,byshredding?Isthereaprocedureforauthenticatingtheidentityofapersontowhompersonaldatamaybedisclosedoverthetelephonepriortothedisclosureofthepersonaldata?Isthereaprocedurecoveringthetemporaryremovalofpersonaldatafromthedatacontroller’spremises,forexample,forstafftoworkonathome?Whatsecuritymeasuresareindividualmembersofstaffrequiredtotakeinsuchcircumstances?Areresponsibilitiesforsecurityclearlydefinedbetweenadataprocessoranditscustomers?Slide11.14Businesscontinuityplanning Managingforbusinesscontinuityordisasterrecoveryseekstocontroldisruptionifthemethodsforprotectionofinformationareinsufficient. Disruptioncanresultfrommaliciousdeletionofinformationthroughahacker,employeeorasaresultofavirusasdescribedinChapter12. Disruptioncanalsooccurthroughso-called‘Acts-of-God’.Herenaturalhazardssuchasfire,floodorstormcausecomputers holdinginformationtobedestroyed. Actsofterrorismcanalsodestroycomputersandtheinformationtheycontain. Organizationsneedtoplanforbusinesscontinuityintheeventofamajorincidentthatdestroystheworkingenvironmentand/orITbyensuringthatifinformationortechnologyislostordestroyed,thebusinesscancontinuewiththeminimumdisruptionpossible.Slide11.15Questionsonbusinesscontinuity TheUKInformationCommissionergivesguidelinesbasedonaskingthesequestionstocheckthatprotectionmeasuresareadequatetoensurebusinesscontinuity:Aretheprecautionsagainstburglary,fireornaturaldisasteradequate?Isthesystemcapableofcheckingthatthedataarevalidandinitiating[automaticallyscheduling]theproductionofback-upcopies?Ifso,isfullusemadeofthesefacilities?Areback-upcopiesofallthedatastoredseparatelyfromthelivefiles?Isthereprotectionagainstcorruptionbyvirusesorotherformsofintrusion?Slide11.16Computerviruses Computervirusesareamajorthreattocompanyandpersonalinformationsinceitisestimatedthatthereareover60,000computerviruses.Theyareaspecificinstanceofasecuritybreach.Computerviruses Aprogramcapableofself-replicationallowingittospreadfromonemachinetoanother.Itmaybemaliciousanddeletedataorbenign.Slide11.17Boot-sectorviruses 1.Boot-sectorvirus.Someofthemostsuccessfulormostdestructivevirusesspreadwhenfloppydiskswerewidelyused.Theseboot-sectorvirusesexistonthefirstsectoronafloppydiskorharddiskknownastheMasterBootRecord(MBR).Ifacomputerisswitchedonwithaninfectedfloppy-diskinthedrivethisactivatestheviruswhichwasthentransferredtotheharddiskandallfloppy-diskssubsequentlyusedinthatmachine.‘Brain’wasoneofthefirstbootsectorviruseswhichemergedin1986.Amorerecentexamplefromthestartofthe1990sis‘Michelangelo’whichwasoneofthemostdestructivebootsectorviruses.ThenamewasgiventoitbyaresearcherwhonoticedthatitstriggerdatewasthesameasMichelangelo'sbirthday,6March(1475).Slide11.18Worms 2.Worms.Awormisasmallcomputerprogramthatreplicatesitselfandthentransfersitselffromonemachinetothenext.Oneofthefirstwormswasdevelopedin1988byRobertMorrisandisdescribedintheprevioussectiononhacking.Sincenohumaninteractionisrequired,wormscanspreadveryrapidly.In2003,theslammerwormexploitedasecurityloopholeinMicrosoftSQLserverdatabaseproductandrapidlyinfected75,000machines.Eachinfectedmachinesentoutsomuchtrafficthatmanyotherserversfailedalso.ThiswasoneofthefastestspreadingvirusesofalltimeasFigure11‑5shows.InfutureitseemssuchwormswillbringtheInternettoacompletestandstill.Slide11.19Macro-viruses 3.Macro-viruses.Macro-virusesareamorerecentphenomenon.TheypiggybackondocumentscreatedbyOfficeapplicationssuchasMicrosoftWordandExcel.Officesoftwaresuchasthishasamacro-facilitytohelpusersrecordcommonactionssuchasformattingortodevelopmorecomplexapplicationsinVisualBasicforApplications(VBA).Macro-viruswritersdevelopvirusesthatspreadwhenadocumentisopened.Typicallyitwillattachitselftoallsubsequentdocumentsthatareopened.Sincedocumentsandspreadsheetsarecommonlysharedinandbetweenoffices,thesevirusescanspreadveryrapidly.OneofthefirstWordmacroviruseswastheWord‘concept’virusfrom1995.Oneofthebestknownmacro-virusesis‘Melissa’.ThisstruckinMarch1999anditmarkedanewtrendasitcombinedamacroviruswithonethataccessedtheaddressbookofMicrosoftOutlooktoe-mailitselftonewvictims.ThiswasoneofthefastestspreadingvirusesinhistoryanditisestimatedthatitaffectedoveramillionPCs.In2002,theauthoroftheMelissavirus,DavidL.Smith,wassentencedto20monthsinprisonintheUS.Slide11.204.E-mailattachmentviruses 4.E-mailattachmentviruses.Thesevirusesareactivatedwhenauserofane-mailprogramopensanattachment.Melissaisanexampleofsuchavirus.Theytypicallyreplicatebyaccessingtheaddressbookandsendingcopiesofane-mailwiththesameattachmenttoeveryoneintheaddressbook.Effectivelytheyarethenactingasaworm.Anevenmoredestructiveviruswaslaunchedin2000.‘TheLoveBug’viruscontainthesubjectline‘Iloveyou’.Whilethemessagecontainsthetext‘kindlychecktheattachedLOVELETTERfromme’whichisanattachedfilecalledLOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.VBS.ThevirusdeletedimageandaudiofilesandaccessedInternetserverstosendoutdifferentversionsofitself.AccordingtoCyberatlas(2003)itwasestimatedthatnearly$9billiondamagewasdonethroughthisvirus.Muchofthecostisnotthelossofdata,butthecostofhiringspecialiststorectifytheproblemorstafftimelost.Slide11.21Trojans 5.Trojanviruses.ATrojanisavirusthatmasqueradesasabonafideapplication.TheyarenamedaftertheGreekmythofthegiantwoodenhorseusedbyattackerstogainaccesstoTroyinordertoattackit.Examplesincludeutilitiessuchasafilesharingprogram,ascreensaver,upgradestosomesystemcomponentsorevenimitationanti-virusprograms.Theadvantageforviruswritersisthattheprogramscanbemuchlarger.OneofthemostfamousTrojansis‘BackOrifice’,reputedlydevelopedbyahackinggroupknownas‘CultoftheDeadCow’.Thiscouldbeattachedtootherlargerfilesandgavecompleteaccesstoamachineforahacker.Slide11.22Hoaxe-mailviruses 6.Hoaxe-mailviruses.Thesearewarningsaboutviruseswhicharenotrealviruseswhichasktherecipienttosendthewarningontotheirfriends.Theyarenotusuallymalicious,butcancontaininstructionsonhowtoremovethevirusbydeletingfileswhichcouldcausedamage.Theycausedisruptionthroughtimelost.Thisisatypicalexampleofacarefullycraftedhoaxe-mailwhichwaswidespreadin2003:Toallofmyemailcontacts, Unfortunatelyavirushasbeenpassedtomeandmanyotherpeople,youmayalreadyhaveitfromsomeothersource-throughanaddressbookviruswhichalsoinfectedmyaddressbook.Sinceyouareinmyaddressbook,youwillprobablyfinditinyourcomputer,too.Thevirus(calledjdbg.exe)isnotdetectedbyNortonorMcAfeeAnti-virussystems. …Iwassentthisemailandamnowpassingitontoyouastohowtocheckforthevirusandhowtogetridofit.Pleasedothis!It'sverysimpletodoandtakesabout3mins.

Slide11.23Ananti-viruspolicy1.Thepreferredanti-virussoftwaretobeusedonallmachines.2.Thefrequencyandmechanismforupdatinganti-virussoftware.3.Thefrequencywithwhichthewholeend-userPCissystem-scannedforviruses.4.organizationalblockingofattachmentswithuncommonextensions.5.organizationaldisablingofmacrosinOfficeapplications.6.Scanningtobeperformedonmailserverswhene-mailsfirstreceivedandbeforevirusessent.7.RecommendationsonuseofSPAMfilteringsoftware.8.Backupandrecoverymechanisms.Slide11.24Whatyoucando…1.Donotswitchoffmachineswhenthefloppydiskisstillinthedrive(reducestransmissionofboot-sectordrives).PCscanalsobeconfiguredsuchthattheydonotbootoffthefloppydrive.2.Donotopenattachmentstoe-mailsfrompeopleyoudon’tknow(reducestransmissionofe-mailattachmentviruses).Sincesomeviruseswillbesentfromtrustedsources,onlyopenattachmentswhichlooklegitimate,forexampleWorddocumentswithrelevantnames.Somevirusesusefileextensionsthatarenotcommonusedsuchas.pif,.scror.vbs.Viewingdocumentsratherthanopeningthemforeditingcanalsoreducetheriskoftransmission.3.Downloadsoftwareonlyfromtheofficialsource,andalwayscheckforvirusesbeforeinstallingthesoftware(reducesriskofTrojanhorseviruses).4.DisableorturnoffmacrosinWordorExcelunlessyouusethemregularly(reducesriskofmacroviruses).5.Backupimportantfilesdailyifthisfunctionisnotperformedbyasystemadministrator.Slide11.25ThegeographicspreadoftheSlammerworm30minutesafterreleaseFigure11.5ThegeographicspreadoftheSlammerworm30minutesafterreleaseSource:UniversityofBerkeley(/-nweaver/sapphire/)Slide11.26ManaginginformationserviceusageMonitoringofinformationserviceusageincludescheckingfor:Useofe-mailforpersonalpurposes.Inappropriateuseofe-mail,possiblyleadingtolegalactionagainstthecompany.UseofInternet/websitesforpersonaluse.Slide11.27E-mailcontrolsControlscanbeintroducedaspartofane-mailmanagementpolicytominimisethevolumeof:1.SPAM(unsolicitede-mail).2.Internalbusinesse-mail.3.Externalbusinesse-mail.4.Personale-mail(friendsandfamily).Slide11.28E-mailvolumeproblemsIn2002itwasestimatedthatthere31billione-mailssenteachday,thisamountsto31billionperyear.Thevolumeofe-mailsamountsto1,829terabytesperdayor3.35terabytesperyear.By2006,e-mailvolumesareexpectedtoincreaseto60billionperday.Thenumberofbusinesse-mailssenteachdayvariesbetween10and50perpersonaccordingtothetypeofroleoftheindividual.Asimilarnumberarereceivedeachdayforprocessing.ThevolumeandproportionofSPAMhasincreaseddramaticallyfromoneinevery1,000e-mailsin2,0001tooneineverythreee-mailsasisshowninFigure11.6.Theamountoftimespentreadingandwritinge-mailcanamounttooveranhourperworkingday.Incredibly,a2003surveybytheAmericanManagementassociationfoundthattheaverageemployeespends25%oftheworkdayone-mail,with8%ofworkersdevotingoverfourhoursadaytoe-mail!Thishighlightstheimportanceofmakinge-mailuseefficient.Despitetheseproblems,86%ofrespondentsstillagreedthate-mailhasmadethemmoreefficient.Slide11.29Proportionofglobale-mailtrafficwhichisSPAMFigure11.6Proportionofglobale-mailtrafficwhichisSPAMSource:MessageLabsSlide11.30MinimisingSPAM1.Avoidharvestingofaddresses.2.EducatestaffnottoreplytoSPAM.3.Usefilters.4.Use‘Peer-to-Peer’blockingservices.5.UseBlacklistservices.6.Usewhitelistservices.7.Challenge/respond.8.Keeplists,filtersandsoftwareup-to-date.Slide11.31ProgressionofattemptstocombatSPAMFigure11.7ProgressionofattemptstocombatSPAM

Source:BIMSlide11.32E-mailprocessinginbusinessesOfsevencommonmanagementtasks,meetingstookup2.8hoursonaverage,dealingwithe-mailcamesecondwithanaverageof1.7hoursandaccessinginformationfromtheInternetaccountedforafurther0.75ofanhour.Respondentsreportedreceivingonaverage52e-mailsperdaywhile7percentreceived100e-mailsperdayormore.Managersreportedthatlessthanhalfofe-mails(42percent)warrantedaresponse.35percentwerereadforinformationonlyandnearlyaquarterweredeletedimmediately.Onaverageonly30percentofe-mailswereclassifiedasessential,37percentasimportantand33percentasirrelevantandunnecessary.Despitethereservationsaboutthequalityandvolumeofe-mailsreceivedthemajorityofrespondents(81percent)regardede-mailasthecommunicationstechnologywhichhashadthemostpositiveimpactonthewaytheycarriedouttheirjob,alongsidetheInternetandthemobilephone.

Slide11.33SampleE-mailmanagementguidelinesOnlysendthee-mailtoemployeesforwhichitisessentialtoinformoract-upon.Banningcertaintypesofe-mail,suchastheclassic‘e-mailtothepersonwhositsnexttoyou’orindividualsinthesameoffice(althoughtherearestrongargumentsforthissincee-mailisanasynchronousmediumandcolleaguesarenotalwaysavailableordon’twishtobedisturbed).Avoid‘flaming’–theseareaggressivee-mailswhichoftenputvoicetofeelingsthatwouldn’tbesaidface-to-face.Ifyoureceiveanannoyinge-mailitisbesttowait10minutestocooldownratherthan‘flaming’thesender.Avoid‘trolls’–theseareaspeciesofe-mailcloselyrelatedtoflame-mails.Theyarepostingstoanewsgroupdeliberatelypostedto‘wind-up’therecipient.Theyarebestignored.Combineitemsfromseparatee-mailsduringtheday/weekintoasinglee-mailfortheday/week.Writeclearsubjectlines.Structuree-mailssothattheycanbescannedquicklyusingsub-heads,numberedandbulletedlists.Makefollow-upactionsclear.Whenreadinge-mail,usefolderstocategorisee-mailsaccordingtocontentandpriority.Performe-mailreadingandcheckinginbatches,e.g.oncepermorning/afternoonratherthanbeingalertedtoandopeningeverye-mailthatarrives.Deletee-mailswhicharenotrequiredforfuturereference(largevolumesaretakenuponserversthroughstaffnotdeletinge-mailsandtheirattachments).Etc.–allcommonsenseguidelines,butoftencommonsenseisn’tcommon!Slide11.34Personale-mail–thePhones4Ucase1Phones4UbecamethefirstUKcompanytobantheuseofinternale-mailacrosstheentirebusiness.Thiswaspartlyasaresultofuseofe-mailforpersonalpurposesandpartlyduetothemanagementfeelingothermethodswerebetterforinternalcommunication.ComputerWeekly(2003)claimedthatthemovewillsaveeachemployeethreehoursaday,addingupto£1mpermonth.Surprisinglythearticlereportedthatwith‘13,000internale-mailspassingthroughitssystemeveryweek,individuale-mailaccountsweretakinguptoomuchoftheITdepartment’stime,thecompanysaid.’CommunicationbetweenPhones4Uheadofficeanditsstoresnowoccursbytelephoneandthecompanyintranet,whichisusedfororderingequipmentandservices,isalreadyshowingpositiveresults.ThemovewasinstigatedbyJohnCaudwell,thecompany’smulti-millionaireowner,whobelievedhis2,500staffhadbeenspendingtoomuchtimesendingandreceivinge-mailsandnotenoughtimedealingfacetofacewithcustomers.Slide11.35Personale-mail–thePhones4Ucase2JohnCauldwell‘IsawthatemailwasinsidiouslyinvadingPhones4UsoIbanneditimmediately,’hesaid.‘ManagementandstaffatHQandinthestoreswerebeginningtoshowsignsofbeingconstrainedbyemailproliferation-thebanbroughtaninstant,dramaticandpositiveeffect.Phones4Ustaffhavebeentoldtogetoffthekeyboards,getface-to-faceoronthephonetocolleagues.’Itdoesn’tseemasifallcompanieswillfollowsuit;CharlesDunstone,chiefexecutiveofrivalCarphoneWarehouse,said:‘Wetrustourpeopletoknowhowtouseemailproperly.’Slide11.36Policyformanagingemployeee-mailuseTominimisethisproblemandsomeoftheproblemsofover-usinge-mailforbusinessuse,thefollowingstepscanbetaken:Createwrittenguidelinesdefiningthepolicyonacceptablee-mailuseanddisciplinaryproceduresforwhenguidelinesarebreached.Useincreasinglevelsofcontrolorsanctionsforbreachesincluding:performancereviews,verbalwarnings,removalofe-mailprivileges,terminationandlegalaction.Providingtrainingforstaffonacceptableandefficiente-mailuse.Monitore-mailsforsignaturesofpersonaluseandanybreachesofthepolicy,e.g.swearingandtakeactionaccordingly.Slide11.37Litigationduetoe-mailAwell-knownexamplefrom2000involvedastatementmadeontheNorwichUnionHealthcareinternale-mailsysteminEnglandwhichwasdefamatorytowardsarivalcompany,WPA.ThestatementfalselyallegedthatWPAwereunderinvestigationandthatregulatorshadforcedthemtostopacceptingnewbusiness.Thepostingwaspublishedontheinternale-mailsystemtovariousmembersofNorwichUnionHealthcarestaff.Althoughthiswasonlyonaninternalsystem,itwasnotcontainedandbecamemorewidespread.WPAsuedforlibelandthecasewassettledinanoutofcourtsettlementwhenNorwichUnionpaid£415,000toWPA.Despitethis,suchcasesarerelativelyrare.SeealsotheClaireSwires‘Swallowing’e-maildialoguewhichledtoseveralstaffdismissalsforreputationaldamage.Slide11.38TypicalISservices1

Helpdesksupportforuserproblems.Thesearetypicallyproblemswithhardwareorusingsoftware.AnindicationofthetypesofproblemsfacedbyusersisintheResearchInsight–PressDeleteforITTimeWasters.Mostqueriesseemtobeaboutapplyinghardwareandsoftwareratherthaninformationmanagement.2

Adviceonsoftwarepurchase.Thisensuresthatthesoftwareissuitableforitspurposeandiscompatiblewithhardware,othersoftwareandcompanypurchasingschemesandstandards.3

Adviceonhardwarepurchase.Thiswillusuallybeacentralisedstandard,againtotakeadvantageofdiscountsandlimitingsupportcontracts.4Adviceonhowend-userdevelopmentshouldbeapproached.Thesupportpersonwillsuggestthebestapproachesfordevelopingsoftware,suchasfollowingthemainpartsofthelifecycledescribedinChapter7.ThesecanbesupportedthroughmoredetailedtrainingandadviceonhowtouseapplicationsbuildingsuchasVisualBasicwhichareintendedforend-userdevelopment.5Applicationdevelopment.Forlargersystems,theICstaffmaybeinvolvedinperformingthesystemsanalysisanddesignormoredifficultaspectsoftheprogramming.6Training.Inparticular,onpackagesordevelopmenttechniques.7Datamanagement.Managementandsupplyofdatatoend-usersorexplanationsofformatsused.Slide11.39PressDeleteforITtimewasters1ITstaffwasteanaverageof20hoursamonthsolvingsimpleproblemsthattoday’sofficeworkersshouldbecomputerliterateenoughtodothemselves,accordingtolatestresearchfromComputerPeople,theUK’sleadingITrecruitmentconsultancy.Whyisn’tmymonitorworking?Myprinter’sjammed-canyoumakeitprintproperly?Whycan’tIsendanymoreemails?Pleasecouldyouformatthisforme?Whywon’titletmesaveontoafloppydisk?

Butwheredoesresponsibilitylie?Slide11.40Problemssuchastheseareusuallyeasilysolvedand86%ofthetimetheydon’trequireITsupport.However,64%ofITprofessionalsaresurprisedathowoftentheyarecalledouttolookat‘broken’monitorsonlytofindtheyaren’tpluggedin,52%claimthattheyareregularlyaskedtoun-blockpaperjamsinprintersand54%areoftenaskedtochangetoners!46%ofITprofessionalssaytheyarerepeatedlyquestionedbyemployeeswhohavesimplyrunoutofstoragespaceone-mail,eventhoughthiscanbeeasilyavoidedsimplybydeletinge-mailsregularly.35%ofsupportstaffdespairedatthosewhodidn’ttakethedisklockoffbeforetryingtosavedocuments.

CaroleHepburn,CommercialDirectorforComputerPeoplesays,‘Inthisageoftechnologythereisnoexcuseforofficeworkersnotspendingacoupleofminutestryingtothinkthroughtheproblem,ratherthanbeingtooquicktopickupthephoneandcallforunnecessaryhelp.TheamountoftimeITprofessionalsspendeachmonthsolvingthesimpleproblemsthattoday’sworkersshouldbeabletodothemselvesisequivalenttonearlythreeworkingdays.’PressDeleteforITtimewasters2Slide11.41PressDeleteforITtimewasters3ComputerPeople’stoptipstohelpITprofessionalswhenthosearoundarefrettingabouttheircomputerproblems:SendweeklyTopTips–Anexcellentwaytonotonlyletallthecomputerusersintheofficeknowhowtosolveanysimpleproblemsthatmayarise,butalsotopassontimesharingshortcutsyoumayhave.Alwaysappearwillingtohelp–Don’tforgetthisiswhatyouaretrainedin!Thoseneedinghelparen’t,sotrytobeaspatientandhelpfulaspossibleeveniftheproblemisverysimple.Keepcalmandbereassuring–Ifamajorpredicamentoccurs,theworkermaypanicandshowdistress.Tohelpcalmthemdown,givelotsofreassuranceandkeepcalmyourself.Talkinnon-technicallanguage–Therewillbeafarbetterchanceofworkersunderstandingwhattheproblemisandhowitcanbeavoidedinthefutureiftheyunderstandwhatyouaresaying.

Slide11.42End-us