alhambra help desk

24 X 7 support

Service desk services that are provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

abandon rate percent

The percentage of abandoned calls compared to the total number of calls received.

abandoned call

A call where the caller hangs up before an analyst answers.

access management

The process responsible for granting authorized users the right to use a service in accordance with the company's security policies, while preventing access to non-authorized users.

accessibility

How easily the service desk can be reached by service desk staff, other employees of the company, and customers.

ACD supervisor console

A system that works with ACD systems and enables supervisors to monitor call volumes and the performance of individual service desk analysts or groups of analysts.

acoustic shock

The term used to describe the symptoms such as discomfort and pain that a person may experience after hearing a loud, unexpected sound via a telephone or headset

active listening

When the listener participates in a conversation and gives the speaker a sense of confidence that he or she is being heard.

announcement system

Technology that greets callers when all service desk analysts are busy and can provide valuable information as customers wait on hold.

application of training investments

A comparison of an analyst's resolution percent before and after attending training.

asset

Anything that contributes to the delivery of an IT service such as financial capital, people, hardware, software, network and communication components, and information.

asset management

The process responsible for tracking and reporting on the value and ownership of assets throughout their life cycle.

automated attendant

An ACD feature that routes calls based on input provided by the caller through a touch-tone telephone.

automatic call distributor (ACD)

Technology that answers a call and routes, or distributes, it to the next available analyst. If all analysts are busy, the ACD places the call in a queue and plays a recorded message.

automatic number identification (ANI)

A service provided by a long distance service provider that delivers the telephone number of the person calling.

available state

An ACD state that occurs when an analyst is ready to take calls.

availability

The length of time an analyst was signed on to the ACD compared to the length of time the analyst was scheduled to be signed on.

average call duration

The average length of time required to handle a call

average speed of answer (ASA)

The average time it takes an analyst to pick up an incoming call

average wait time

The average number of minutes a caller waits for an analyst after being placed in the queue by an ACD; also known as average queue time.

avatar

A computer user's representation of himself or herself.

best-in-class

A company that is the finest in its relative industry peer group.

best practice

A proven way of completing a task to produce a near optimum result.

blended call center

A call center that receives incoming calls and makes outgoing calls.

benchmarking

The process of comparing the service desk's services, standardized metrics, and practices to those of a rival or world class company in an effort to identify ways it can improve

business skills

The skills people need to work successfully in the business world,

brainstorming

A technique performed by a group of people and designed to generate a large number of ideas for solving a problem.

business process management (BPM)

A systematic approach to improving an organization's business processes.

business relationship management

The process responsible for maintaining a good relationship between a service provider and its customers.

baseline

A metric used to show a starting point.

beginning of day (BOD)

A list of tasks an analyst performs at the start of each workday.

biometrics

Measurements of a person's physical characteristics such as a finger or palm print, facial features, or features of a person's eye such as the retina or iris.

call center

place where telephone calls are made or received in high volume for one or more customers.

channels

Routes of communication to and from the help desk, such as the telephone, voice mail, e-mail, and the Web.

customer satisfaction

The difference between how a customer perceives he or she was treated and how the customer expects to be treated.

customer service

Services that ensure customers receive maximum value for the products or services they purchase.

customer support

Services that help a customer understand and benefit from a product's capabilities by answering questions, solving problems, and providing training.

centralized service desk

A single service desk that supports all of the technologies used by its customers.

computer-based training (CBT)

Computer software packages used to train and test people on a wide range of subjects.

contact center

A call center that uses technologies such as e-mail and the Web in addition to the telephone.

cost center

service desk in which the budget items required to run the service desk are considered a cost (expense) to the company.

customer relationship management (CRM)

A program that involves using customer contact and relationship information to generate additional sales and increase levels of customer service and retention.

computer virus

A software program that can "infect" a computer by storing itself in the computer's memory or attaching itself to program or data files.

cost benefit analysis

A business calculation that compares the costs and benefits of two or more potential solutions in order to determine an optimum solution.

categorization

Recording the type of incident being reported.

cause and effect analysis

A technique used to generate the possible problem causes and their effect

change advisory board (CAB)

A separate group or a committee that is responsible for assessing the readiness of nonstandard changes to the production environment.

change management

The process responsible for controlling changes to the production environment while minimizing service disruptions.

change manager

The person who coordinates all change management activities and ensures approved changes represent an acceptable level of possible and probable risk and impact.

configuration items (CIs)

The individual records that are stored in an organization's configuration management system, such as IT assets, buildings, and documents such as SLAs, processes, and procedures.

configuration management database (CMDB)

A database that is used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle.

configuration management system (CMS)

A set of tools and databases for managing IT asset information and linking that information to related incidents, problems, known errors, changes, and releases.

customer entitlement

The determination of whether the customer is authorized to receive support and, if so, the level of support the customer should receive.

caller identification (caller ID)

A service provided by a local telephone company that delivers the telephone number of the person calling and when available the name associated with the calling telephone number.

case

A unit of information, such as an online document, a database record, or the solution to a common incident, which is indexed so an analyst can easily locate it when needed.

case-based reasoning (CBR)

A searching technique that uses everyday language to ask users questions and interpret their answers.

case-based system

A system made up of (1) cases and (2) a set of question and answer pairs that can be used to confirm the solution to the incident.

computer telephony integration (CTI)

The linking of computing technology with telephone technology to exchange information and increase productivity.

customer surveying system

A system that is used to create and distribute questionnaires to customers and to collect and tabulate the results of their feedback.

certification

A document awarded to a person who has demonstrated that he or she has certain skills and knowledge about a particular topic or area.

CompTIA A+

A certification that measures a technician's knowledge of hardware and operating system technologies and concepts, along with topics such as security, safety and environmental issues, and communication and professionalism.

cost per contact

Historically called cost per call; the total cost of operating a service desk for a given period (including salaries, benefits, facilities, and equipment) divided by the total number of contacts (calls, e-mails, faxes, Web requests, and so on) received during that period.

cost per unit

The total cost of operating a service desk for a given period (including salaries, benefits, facilities, and equipment) divided by the total number of units (such as devices and systems) supported during that period.

critical success factor (CSF)

A measurable characteristic that must exist for something - such as a process, project or team - to be viewed as successful.

customer data

Identifying details about a customer, including the customer's name, telephone number, email address, department or company name, physical address or location, customer number, and employee number or user ID.

customer record

All of the fields that describe a single customer.

customer satisfaction survey

A series of questions that ask customers to provide their perception of the support services being offered.

carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)

A common repetitive stress injury that affects the hands and wrists and is linked to repetitious hand movements, such as typing on a computer keyboard, pinching a mouse, or repeatedly clicking a mouse.

computer vision syndrome

A variety of ailments such as headaches and eyestrain that occur as a result of staring at a computer monitor for a prolonged period of time.

development

The construction of new systems.

dispatch

To send or route.

decentralized service desks

Multiple service desks, each of which supports specific products or customer communities.

dispatcher

person who initially handles customer problems, requests, or inquiries; also called a service desk agent, customer care agent, customer service representative, or call screener.

dashboard

A bright display that sends out visual and, in some cases, audible messages to service desk staff and to customer sites that have dashboards installed; also known as electronic reader board.

data

Raw facts that are not organized in a meaningful way.

decision tree

A branching structure of questions and possible answers designed to lead an analyst to a solution.

dialed number identification service (DNIS)

A service that provides the number the person called when they call using a toll-free number or a 1-900 service.

ethical behavior

Conduct that conforms to generally accepted or stated principles of right and wrong

ethics

The rules and standards that govern the conduct of a person or group of people.

external customer

A person or company that buys another company's products and services

escalation (or escalate)

To raise an incident from one level to another, such as from level one to level two, to dedicate new or additional resources to the incident.

external service desk

A service desk that supports customers who buy its company's products and services (external customers).

emergency change

A change that must be introduced as soon as possible to repair an error in an IT service that has a high impact on the business.

e-mail response management system

A system that enables service desks to manage high volume chat, e-mail, and Web form messages.

effectiveness

A measure of how completely and accurately services are delivered.

efficiency

A measure of the time and effort required to deliver services in relation to their cost.

employee performance plan

A document that clearly describes an analyst's performance requirements and individual improvement objectives.

event-driven survey

A customer satisfaction survey that asks customers for feedback on a single, recent service event.

exit poll

A measurement technique that, on the Internet, combines questions such as "Was this information helpful to you?" with Yes and No buttons that customers can use to provide feedback.

ergonomics

The science of people-machine relationships that intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.

follow the sun

A service desk approach that enables an organization to provide 24-hour coverage by having regional service desks working only during the usual business hours for their location.

front-line service provider

Service desk staff who interacts directly with customers.

five whys

A technique that involves repeatedly asking the question "Why?" until the root cause of a problem is determined.

flowchart

A diagram that shows the sequence of tasks that occur in a process

framework

A structure designed to enclose something

functional escalation

Escalation that transfers and incident from one line of support to the next; occurs when greater knowledge or authority is required to resolve an incident or a target timescale has been exceeded.

fax

An electronic device that sends or receives printed matter or computer images

feature and functionality requirements

The specifics of how the selected tool must perform in order to support its associated business processes.

form

A predefined document that contains text or graphics users cannot change and areas in which users enter information.

fuzzy logic

A searching technique that presents all possible solutions that are similar to the search criteria, even when conflicting information exists or no exact match is present.