To resolve first-level user support issues and change requests remotely for a range of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems.

You are required to resolve first-level user support issues and change requests remotely for a range of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems. You are required to read and understand a predetermined issue and/or situation and participate in a number of assessment activities.

The following are the goals and objectives to complete this assessment task:

• Determine the user support issue
• Determine eligibility status of individual experiencing user support difficulty against organisational guidelines
• Clarify user support difficulty and change request with client
• Confirm nature of user support difficulty and change request with client
• Identify the ICT system being used by the client
• Identify software, hardware, network connection and application being used by client
• Identify expected client outcome and stage of issue resolution
• Step client back to beginning of resolution process
• Confirm resolution of user support issue and change request
• Determine, describe and eliminate factors that created user support issue and permit it to recur
• Explain and guide client through complete recovery and resolution process
• Provide handling and resolution instructions to client
• Escalate change request where required
• Document changes where required
• Finalise client support procedures
• Confirm resolution of issue and obtain client satisfaction with client according to client service policy
• Inform client of additional support and services available, according to the organisations client service policy
• Provide client with additional product and service information according to organisations sales promotion requirements
• Complete client contact records according to client service requirements

A supervisor will be assigned to you by your training organisation. The supervisor can answer your questions related to understanding the requirements associated with the assessment task. The supervisor will act according to job role and responsibilities.

The supervisor can be your trainer or assessor or a different trainer or assessor or a staff member (including mentors) from the training organisation.

Roles and responsibilities

As part of your job role, you have the following job responsibilities:

• Interprets and analyses technical and non-technical information from a range of sources to determine requirements and complete required actions
• Accurately records information and numerical data and prepares documentation using clear and accurate language to convey explicit information, requirements and recommendations
• Articulates ideas and strategies using effective communication techniques and industry standard technical language intended for audience and environment
• Explain the processes involved with resolving client problems in a logical manner, using plain English
• Selects and uses required conventions and protocols when communicating with clients in a range of work contexts
• Uses mathematical equations to calculate costs and estimate time in providing client services and in determining required actions
• Takes responsibility for planning, sequencing and prioritising tasks and own workload for efficiency and effective outcomes
• Applies analytical processes to resolve technical or conceptual problems
• Uses main features and functions of digital tools to complete work tasks

Scenario number 1

You are an ICT technician. As part of your job role, you are required to backup systems, restore information, secure the system and information and use licensed software in a stand-alone or client-server environment.

Your client is using an unlicensed copy of the MS office and experiencing a number of technical issues. The issues involve the software applications shutting down automatically, error codes appearing of using an illegal/unofficial copy of the software, and work on hardware and software testing, servicing and maintenance. The client has recently purchased your one year technical support service for any IT related issues.

The organisational requirements for technicians to work on client computers state that:

• You must be professional in your conduct and behaviour
• Ensure you identify and rectify the problems in a timely fashion
• Your work will require you to work on hardware and software testing, servicing and maintenance
• You must ensure that the client uses the legal and authorised copies of the software applications and tools.
• All breaches must be reported to the workplace supervisor or manager.

The technical records and documentation state that:

• Organisational requirements should be taken into account at all times
• Verify that all network computers are running current and legal versions of the software
• Use cloud-based email and file sharing instead of a VPN.
• Create and enforce user-access policies. Be stingy when granting access to employees, contractors and business partners.
• Make sure employees know how to secure their home wireless networks. Malicious software that infects their devices at home can infect the company network via an open VPN connection, and
• Before granting mobile devices full access to the network, check them for up-to-date anti-virus software, firewalls and spam filters.

Organisational backup and restore procedures include the following information:

• The backup should occur on a daily basis
• The restore should occur only where the manager or supervisor has approved the request

Organisational security guidelines state that:

• Only authorised people should have access to the system, backup and restore functionalities
• Security protocols must be followed at all times
• Don't use any words from the dictionary. Also, avoid proper nouns or foreign words.
• Don't use anything remotely related to your name, nickname, family members or pets.
• Don't use any numbers someone could guess by looking at your mail like phone numbers and street numbers, and
• Choose a phrase that means something to you, take the first letters of each word and convert some into characters.
• Multi-factor authentication should be used at all times.
• Segregate critical data from the rest of the network and require users to authenticate themselves before accessing it.
• Run vulnerability scanning tools at least once a week and conduct penetration testing, and
• Continuously monitor network traffic to detect unusual patterns of activity and possible threats.

Scenario number 2

You are an ICT help desk technician to provide level 2 support. As part of your job role, you are required to assist clients over a telephone line. Your work involved you in providing assistance to clients based upon your job-requirements mentioned in the level 2 support technician profile. The client is in a service contract with you for six months ending next week.

Your client has notified you about the following issues:

• Fix windows 10 configuration issues
• Install the Linux operating system on a workstation
• Repair the windows server 2016 installation and
• Provide solutions for network infrastructure.

The level 2 support technician profile

The profile state the following:

• Level 2 generally handles break/fix, configuration issues, troubleshooting, software installations, hardware repair (including in-house repair or coordinating depot services).
• Review all frequently asked questions and database to find the best possible solutions for your client
• Level 2 staff handle escalated issues that Level 1 support is not equipped to handle.
• Level 2 will sometimes escalate to Level 3, depending on the issue and the way the Help Desk operates.

You are required to:

• Only solve known issues and escalate new issues to level 3; or
• Be authorised to research and implement fixes for new issues and only escalate to Level 3 if it is out of their skill set or ability to solve.

The Level 3 support technician profile state the following:

• Troubleshooting, configuration, database administration, and repair for server, network, infrastructure, Data Center, email, file shares, and other infrastructure issues.
• Besides always having the ability to deploy solutions to new problems, a Level 3 tech usually has the most expertise in the organisation and is the go-to person for solving difficult issues.

The organisational requirements for help desk technicians state that:

• You must be professional in your conduct and behaviour
• Ensure you identify and rectify the problems in a timely fashion
• Your work only on the known areas or research and implement fixes for new issues Level of support indicates a specific extent of technical assistance in the total range of assistance that is provided by an information technology product (such as a software product) to its customers. Each company decides how to organize its total technical support into levels and what to name them under your scope of work.
• You must ensure that the work is completed within the legislative and regulatory framework.
• All issues outside your scope of work must be reported to level 3 technicians
• All breaches must be reported to the workplace supervisor or manager.