3 Service Implementation
Basics
The Service Implementation Phase is where the bulk of the work of the IT Department is completed. It’s during this phase that service requests (aka Help Tickets) are addressed and completed. If you are an entry-level IT Technician, this is where the bulk of your work is likely to occur. As you complete the work that has been assigned to you, that Help Ticket is still used to track and document progress made on every service request. You should understand your obligations for working on and completing a Help Ticket as you work on requests.
Terms to Know
You should know the following terms:
- Troubleshooting model
- Knowledge base
- Escalate
Information
As your experience providing service grows, you’ll become familiar with many types of service requests. Many may become routine and you can become quite expert at resolving them quickly. However, you may be assigned requests that are new to you or go beyond your current experience. In this case, you should understand and use a proven troubleshooting model to explore the issue and consider potential solutions. In the case of new issues, accessing your department’s knowledge base is often a part of any Troubleshooting Model. If you or others in your department plan to seek certification, such as CompTIA’s IT Fundamentals+ or A+ certifications, you should memorize and be able to apply the required troubleshooting models as part of the certification exam.
Your department should have an easy way to determine the status of a ticket until it is resolved. Sometimes parts have to be ordered or you need some input from someone else in the department. Indicating the status of tickets helps you and any supervisors to monitor progress of the tickets. In the case a technician cannot resolve a ticket on their own, whether because the issue appears more complex than originally thought or their workload is overwhelming, technicians should understand the process required to escalate a ticket to someone else. To escalate a ticket simply means to reassign a ticket to someone else who may be able to resolve it the allotted time.
Hopefully, all service requests will be resolved successfully. Sometimes they cannot be resolved, however, but the ticket still may be closed. Everyone in the IT Department should understand their obligations for closing a ticket. Some may have to be reviewed by a supervisor first. Others may require follow up with a customer. In the case where a customer’s request cannot be resolved, perhaps because parts are no longer available or the situation goes beyond the original estimated cause, you should still understand how to document your work and close out the help ticket.
Task/Self-Assessment
Complete the following task or self-assessment:
Reflect on how you currently resolve your work assignments and any requirements your department has for doing so.
- Does the department support a specific troubleshooting model?
- How do you access the department’s Knowledge Base when you need it?
- If you track your progress through a Help Ticket system, what are your requirements for documenting your work?
- What are the requirements for closing out a ticket.
Entry-level technicians may be able to close out some types of tickets while requiring review by a supervisor for others.