CH 4 A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists

An organized collection of information, articles, procedures, tips, and problem solutions is called a ____.

a.) knowledge base

b.) newsgroup

c.) script

d.) virtual private network

a.) knowledge base

A troubleshooter who tries to print a page on a printer a user says no longer prints is using the ____ problem solving strategy.

a.) Use a module replacement strategy.

b.) Attempt to replicate the problem.

c.) Examine the configuration.

d.) Look for an obvious solution.

b.) Attempt to replicate the problem.

T/F: A "techie" who works exclusively with hardware and software, rarely comes into contact with people, and who talks in technical jargon, will probably not enjoy a career in the user support field.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

A way in which a current problem is similar to other problems are called ____.

a.) contradictions

b.) replication

c.) hypotheses

d.) analogies

d.) analogies

T/F: The five critical questions described in this chapter are designed to force a troubleshooter to challenge the assumptions she or he may have made about a problem situation.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

A mental model to help a computer troubleshooter understand and explain a problem situation is based on ____.

a.) problem solving

b.) critical thinking

c.) metacognition

d.) decision making

b.) critical thinking

Reinstalling a software package to fix a problem with an inoperative program is an example of the ____ troubleshooting strategy.

a.) Applying a hypothesis-testing approach

b.) Module replacement

c.) Examining the configuration

d.) Restoring a base configuration

b.) Module replacement

A follow-up question a troubleshooter asks to get additional information about a problem situation is called a(n) ____.

a.) iteration

b.) probe

c.) analogy

d.) paraphrase

b.) probe

T/F: Decision making is the ability to select the correct alternative from among all of the wrong alternative ways to solve a problem.

a.) True

b.) False

b.) False

Which of these forms of knowledge bases is the least interactive?

a.) Online help

b.) Search Engines

c.) Vendor manuals

d.) Websites

c.) Vendor manuals

Remote access to a user's PC can be implemented with a ____.

a.) Module Replacement

b.) Real Simple Syndication

c.) Virtual Private Network

d.) ListServ

c.) Virtual Private Network

T/F: A troubleshooting strategy that swaps a hardware or software component whose status is unknown with one that is known to be operational is called module replacement.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

A troubleshooting activity where there is a current state of events X, a future desired state of events Y, and the troubleshooter's objective is to move from X to Y is called ____.

a.) critical thinking

b.) an analogy

c.) problem solving

d.) a goal state

c.) problem solving

When one hardware device conflicts with another device's use of system resources, the problem can often be diagnosed effectively by ____.

a.) initiating a root cause analysis

b.) using patience and persistence

c.) viewing a system as a group of subsystems

d.) examining the configuration

d.) examining the configuration

T/F: Problem solving often relies on a search for ways in which the current problem is similar to other problems.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

An automated service that consolidates and distributes information from newsgroups, blogs, forums and news websites is called ____.

a.) Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

b.) ListServ

c.) Knowledge base

d.) Social media

b.) ListServ

I want to confirm that, with the changes we made to your software, you can now enlarge the font in your document." is an example of ____.

a.) explanation

b.) paraphrasing

c.) replication

d.) verification

d.) verification

Viewing a system as a group of subsystems begins the search for a problem at ____.

a.) any of these starting points

b.) the middle of a sequence of subsystems

c.) the beginning of a sequence of subsystems

d.) the end of a sequence of subsystems

a.) any of these starting points

In a troubleshooting situation, a modem failed to work when a replacement USB cable was installed. Which of these critical questions would likely lead a troubleshooter to the source of the modem failure?

a.) Has the modem ever worked?

b.) Is the problem repeatable?

c.) Have you ever had this problem before?

d.) Have you made any recent changes to your PC?

d.) Have you made any recent changes to your PC?

The ability to step back from a troubleshooting situation and analyze one's own thinking process is called ____.

a.) decision making

b.) problem solving

c.) creativity

d.) metacognition

d.) metacognition

T/F: Rebooting a PC to troubleshoot a problem falls in the category of looking for a simple, obvious solution.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

Which of these personal characteristics of successful troubleshooter is the most important?

a.) enjoy continuous learning

b.) patience and persistence

c.) all of these are important characteristics

d.) enjoy working with people

c.) all of these are important characteristics

When a troubleshooter must select from among several diagnostic tests to gather information about a problem, the selection is based on ____ skills.

a.) problem solving

b.) metacognition

c.) creativity

d.) decision making

d.) decision making

____ is not one of the five critical questions suggested in the chapter.

a.) What were you doing when the problem first occurred?

b.) Has the system or feature ever worked?

c.) How much experience do you have using this system?

d.) Have you made any recent changes to your system?

c.) How much experience do you have using this system?

A troubleshooter's ability to design and test hypotheses in order to solve a technology problem is based on ____.

a.) analogies

b.) metacognition

c.) decision making

d.) critical thinking

d.) critical thinking

Root cause analysis is an iterative process that asks a series of ____ questions.

a.) Why?

b.) How?

c.) When?

d.) Where?

a.) Why?

T/F: Most hardware troubleshooters don't use Internet search engines to locate potential problem solutions because they rarely know the exact model number of hardware devices with problems.

a.) True

b.) False

b.) False

Tools a troubleshooter uses to get a description of a technology problem, learn a user's perspectives on the problem, and explain the solution to the user are called ____.

a.) problem solving skills

b.) information resources

c.) communications skills

d.) personal characteristics

c.) communications skills

Metacognition involves a troubleshooter asking all these questions except ____.

a.) What assumptions did I make that led me in the wrong direction?

b.) How could I have solved this problem more effectively or efficiently?

c.) What recent change in configuration caused the user to experience a problem?

d.) Where did I go wrong solving this problem?

c.) What recent change in configuration caused the user to experience a problem?

Rebooting a system in an attempt to fix a problem is an example of the ____ problem-solving strategy.

a.) Use a module replacement strategy.

b.) View a system as a group of subsystems.

c.) Look for an obvious solution.

d.) Attempt to replicate the problem.

c.) Look for an obvious solution.

Troubleshooting technology problems can best be described as a(n) ____.

a.) none of the above

b.) random, hit-or-miss procedure

c.) sequential series of procedural steps

d.) iterative, repetitious procedure

d.) iterative, repetitious procedure

The cognitive skills a troubleshooter uses to understand and explain an event or a situation are called ____.

a.) none of the above

b.) critical thinking

c.) problem solving

d.) decision making

b.) critical thinking

Which of these is not normally part of an explanation to a user?

a.) Description of the steps required to solve the problem.

b.) Description of why the problem occurred.

c.) Description of the various alternatives the support agent considered to find a solution.

d.) All of these are part of an explanation to a user.

c.) Description of the various alternatives the support agent considered to find a solution.

T/F: Most computer problems are not difficult ones for a support provider to handle.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True

In critical thinking, a hypothesis is usually based on a ____.

a.) mental model

Which of these sequences is the order of the steps below in the iterative problem-solving process?

a) formulate and test hypothesis b) collect information c) analyze results d) consider alternative explanations

a.) b, d, a, c

b.) b, c, d, a

c.) d, b, c, a

d.) a, b, c, d

a.) b, d, a, c

T/F: Occasionally support agents encounter problems they have never seen before.

a.) True

d.) False

a.) True

T/F: Computer vendors are usually not a good source of troubleshooting information because they are biased toward their own products.

a.) True

d.) False

d.) False

The concept that a listener is an involved participant in the communication process is called ____.

a.) parroting

b.) paraphrasing

c.) replicating

d.) active listening

d.) active listening

T/F: Most problems a support specialist encounters are ones they have seen before or can quickly locate the solution to in a database of problem solutions.

a.) True

b.) False

a.) True