CSS160 W4

Solving incidents efficiently and effectively simply means searching a knowledge base for known solutions and applying the correct one.

False

When multiple groups are involved in solving an incident or problem, processes and procedures provide the framework that enables each group to understand what to do and how to do it.

True

In world class service desks, root cause analysis is performed on all incidents.

False

Trend forecasting is a methodical way of determining and, when possible, forecasting, service trends.

False

As soon as the service desk fixes the cause of the incident, the incident should be closed. Then a customer satisfaction survey is sent to the customer, and they confirm they are satisfied with the resolution.

False

Studies indicate that a high percentage of technical incidents are recurring in nature.

True

A symptom is a sign or indication that an incident has occurred.

True

The terminology used to describe the incident management process is standard from one organization to the next.

False

ITIL defines a known error as a problem that has a documented root cause and a workaround.

True

Companies typically don't distinguish between incidents, questions, and inquires because they all represent work that must be performed by service desk analysts.

False

Incident priority typically remains the same throughout the life of an incident. This ensures it is resolved in the proper time frame and that it is not forgotten or neglected.

True

Examples of status data are incident status, person or group assigned, date and time assigned, and details describing how an incident was resolved.

False

Determining the probable source of an incident can be extremely difficult, particularly when dealing with complex technology, such as that found in a client/server computing environment.

True

One of the benefits of asking customers questions when trying to diagnose an incident is that you will gain insight about the customer's skill level.

True

Some companies establish standards that determine what technologies customer use, which influence what technologies the service desk supports along with what resources the service desk can use to simulate incidents.

True

A simulation system is a technology that enables an analyst to view and take control of a connected device in order to perform tasks such as troubleshooting incidents, transferring files, and providing training.

False

One excellent diagnostic tool is a digital agent, a software routing that performs an action when a specified event occurs. It can interact with customers to provide solutions, take customers on a tour of a company's web site, or escalate customers from self-services to assisted service channels.

True

Some incident resolutions, such as completely replacing a piece of equipment, may need a request for change to be generated. A company's change management process will dictate whether a request for change must be generated.

True

A target escalation time is a time constraint placed on each level that ensures incident resolutions activities are proceeding at an appropriate pace.

True

The incident owner acts as a customer advocate and ensures an incident is resolved to the customer's satisfaction.

True

Incident ownership typically means that an analyst must develop and implement the solutions to all the incidents they own.

False

When trying to provide good customer service, it is important to remember that even bad news is better than no news at all.

True

Two reasons that it is necessary to periodically review the incident management system data are to ensure that the service desk analysts are documenting the incidents correctly and that level two service providers are documenting resolutions correctly.

True

job trading involves working side-by-side with another person in an effort to understand and potentially learn that person's job.

False

One of the most important reasons that level two service providers must know how busy the service desk analysts are, is so that level two can correctly set the customers' expectations in terms of incident resolution.

False

The __________ is the most basic reason for an undesirable condition.

a. problem

b. incident

c. root cause

d. fault

C

Which is true?

a. Persistence is an excellent quality for service desk analysts as it allows them to find permanent solutions and eliminate incidents.

b. By analyzing trends and eliminating root causes of problems, analysts can help reduce the number of incidents.

c. Problem solving is an innate skill that can be improved with practice.

d. All of the above.

D

Why are clearly defined and documented processes and procedures critical to handling incidents and problems?

a. They ensure critical data are gathered.

b. They ensure important problem-solving steps are not forgotten.

c. They ensure incidents and problems are handled in a consistent manner.

d. All of the above.

D

Which is a diagram that shows the sequence of tasks that occur in a process?

a. grid

b. flowchart

c. procedure

d. problem solving guide

B

Which symbol represents the end or stopping point of a process in a flowchart?

a. a square

b. a diamond

c. a triangle

d. an oval

D

The objectives of ____________________ is to restore service as quickly as possible.

a. incident management

b. problem management

c. root cause analysis

d. Both A and B.

A

The objectives of _____________ are to minimize the impact of incidents, eliminate recurring incidents, and prevent problems and their resulting incidents form occurring.

a. incident management

b. problem management

c. root cause analysis

d. Both A and B.

B

Which is the first step in the incident management process?

a. identification

b. investigation

c. diagnosis

d. logging

A

In which step in the incident management process is an incident categorized and assigned a priority?

a. identification

b. investigation

c. diagnosis

d. logging

D

What is the system, network, or product that is most likely causing an incident called?

a. probable source

b. root cause

c. symptom

d. Both A and B.

A

Which is an activity in the problem management process but not in the incident management process?

a. root cause analysis

b. identification

c. investigation and diagnosis

d. resolution

A

In the incident management process, __________, such as "When will my equipment arrive?", are typically handled by the service desk.

a. questions

b. inquiries

c. incidents

d. known questions

B

Which would most likely be used to link customer records to incident records?

a. employee number

b. incident type

c. incident description

d. customer department

A

Which is included in both a detailed and a short incident description?

a. the results a customer expects

b. the steps the customer took to get results

c. the history or pattern of the incident

d. the actual results a customer is experiencing

D

Which is true?

a. The root cause is not recorded in the incident record. When justified, a problem record is created and used to investigate and eliminate the root cause.

b. When found, the root cause is recorded in the incident record and linked to associated problem records.

c. The root cause is recorded in the problem record and also in all associated incident records.

d. The root cause is recorded in the change record and linked to all associated incident and problem records.

A

Which is true about using checklists to help diagnose incidents?

a. Checklists should contain only complex questions that are easy for analysts to forget

b. Level two or three analysts may assist with or actually develop checklists for service desk analysts.

c. All checklist questions should be asked each and every time a customer reports an incident.

d. Checklists should always be in paper format for easy accessiblity.

B

Which is a benefit of establishing technology standards?

a. Organizations will be able to sustain a more complex environment, which results in service providers and customers gaining an excellent range of expertise in numerous areas. This also puts the company in an excellent position as new technology becomes available, as analysts have an excellent base of knowledge.

b. Effective training programs can be developed because there are fewer systems. The training is more efficient and effective, so customers have fewer questions and inquiries, and the service desk can quickly handle questions and inquiries that do occur.

c. The company is positioned to take advantage of state-of-art technology. Allowing customers to use any system they want often makes it difficult for a company to implement new technology and may not fit the long-term needs of the company. The standards committee stays on top of industry trends and selects systems that will benefit the company now and into the foreseeable future.

d. Both B and C.

D

After diagnosing an incident and identifying the correct probable source, ________ might be included in developing a course of action.

a. consulting online resources

b. escalating the incident to a level two service provider

c. delivering a solution

d. All of the above

D

Incident management is known as a(n) ___________ process, because the customer who reports an incident must accept the solution before the incident can be closed.

a. customer focused

b. closed loop

c. open loop

d. proactive

B

During incident resolution, when is management notification appropriate?

a. When the required resources are not available to determine or implement a solution.

b. When the incident is reported.

c. If the status of the incident changes

d. All of the above

A

During incident resolution, when is customer notification appropriate?

a. If the target resolution time will not be met.

b. If the customer was dissatisfied with earlier solutions

c. If the incident has a high priority and justifies frequent status updates.

d. All of the above.

D

If a customer reports an incident that is not really an incident, such as requesting a change in how a product functions, what should a service desk analyst do?

a. Resolve the incident

b. Resolve the incident, log an RFC and close the incident only when the change is completed.

c. Open an RFC and simply close the incident with a reference to the RFC

d. Each company must decide how to handle this situation

D

Which is true?

a. Typically, only highly skilled statisticians perform trend and root cause analysis.

b. Ultimately, customers prefer that incidents be prevented.

c. Without accurate data captured by service desk analysts, problem management is not possible.

d. Both B and C.

D

_____________ is a technique for determining the most significant causes from a list of many possible causes of a problem and involves producing a bar chart that displays, in descending order, the possible causes of a problem.

a. Cause and effect analysis

b. Pareto analysis

c. Kepner-Tregoe problem analysis

d. Brainstorming

B

___________ is a technique which involves defining and describing the problem, establishing possible causes, testing the most probable cause, and verifying the true cause.

a. Cause and effect analysis

b. Pareto analysis

c. Kepner-Tregoe problem analysis

d. Brainstorming

C

Today's service desk analysts are being challenged to ensure that a company's technology enables its employees and customers to achieve their business goals.

True

As technical professionals are often involved in projects such as hardware or software releases, an understanding of project management concepts makes them effective team members.

True

For large projects, you should create a _____, which is a task-oriented breakdown of the work to be done.

work breakdown structure

As most companies have process owners and managers, it is not important for technical professionals to be able to develop, document, or improve processes.

False

The business skills required to work for a nonprofit company are different than those required for a for-profit company.

False

Who has ultimate authority over a project?

project sponsor

IT and business unification is a process aimed at ensuring that information technologies support

corporate goals and objectives.

False

Which is a report that describes the business reasons that a change is being considered?

a business case

Simply capturing data actually can prevent incidents and make it possible for companies to monitor and improve their services.

False

Which may be considered a project?

-installing a new computer

-creating a set of new FAQs

-moving an office

Typically, service trends are negative.

True

When rehearsing your presentation, what is important to remember?

-When rehearsing, note where you should be at the halfway point of your allotted time.

-That way, if you are ahead, you can add another example or two, or if you are behind, you

can pick up the pace.

Many companies use top 10 reports to determine the types of incidents that require immediate action or warrant root cause analysis.

True

When designing a presentation, which is correct?

-For some audiences, visual aids may be the only content you need to present.

-Preparing a timeline ensures that the presentation you design can be completed within the

allotted time frame.

Trend reports make it possible to determine the most common problems and also make it possible for analysts to identify anomalies, or deviations or departures from the average or the norm.

True

Trend and root cause analysis are most effective when done separately.

False

Good budgeting ensures that the money allocated for a particular project does not run out before the project is completed.

True

According to HDI, which has the highest cost per contact?

walkup

Typically, companies strive to place most of the emphasis on tangible, rather than intangible, goals.

False

The project charter serves as an agreement between the customer of the project and the supplier about the project's end product.

False

Cost per contact is the total cost of operating a service desk for a given time period divided by the total number of contacts received during that time period.

True

When an improvement project begins, you should capture a ____, or starting point, that can be used to demonstrate the success of your improvement efforts.

baseline

Which is an intangible characteristic?

-customer satisfaction

-employee satisfaction

One of the best ways to design a presentation is to begin with a flowchart.

False

Justifying improvement initiatives typically involves stating the expected benefits in the form of goals or objectives and expressing those goals as what?

metrics

When making a presentation, the "one size fits all" approach applies. Your presentation should be designed so that it applies to all types of audiences; technical and non-technical, management and non-management.

False

Gantt charts are often used to illustrate project schedules.

True

If a prospective service desk candidate doesn't have service experience, which prior job experience would most likely be considered relevant?

teaching

Which is true?

Root cause analysis is an important step in the incident management process.

Until the root cause of incidents is identified and eliminated, it is likely that the customer

will continue to experience incidents.

During your presentation, if answering questions and throwing off your timing is a concern, ask your audience to please hold their questions until the end. If you do answer questions as they are asked, remember to answer the question asked and only the question asked. Resist the temptation to go off on a tangent.

True

Which process is performed to determine why incidents are occurring so steps can be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future?

root cause analysis

Data collected by service desk analysts is used to ____.

-track outstanding incidents and service requests

-measure analysts' performance

-measure customer satisfaction with the company

To minimize scope deviation, many companies have a project change control process in place for reviewing and approving scope changes.

False

Which would be best to show how parts relate to the whole?

pie chart

Acceptance criteria are the conditions that must be met before the project deliverables are accepted.

True

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

Ethics

Typically, people with strong technical skills are assigned the role of project manager, because they also have strong managerial skills.

False

Skills that are unique to the profession that the service desk supports, such as accounting or banking skills, are called ____.

industry knowledge

If you want to justify replacing a desktop computer with a laptop, you should perform a return on investment analysis.

False

Labor and benefits usually represent how much of a service desk's overall costs?

60 % to 80%

Which would be considered service industry knowledge?

customer service skills

Comparing the service desk's performance metrics and practices to those of another service desk in an effort to identify improvement opportunities is called ____.

benchmarking

Which is true about a presentation's objective?

Objectives enable you to set and manage your audience's expectations.

In its simplest form, a cost benefit analysis uses financial costs and intangible benefits.

False

The period of time over which the benefits of an investment are received is known as the investment period.

False

As technical professionals advance to team leader or supervisory positions, they should be able to use techniques such as ____, to compare two or more potential solutions to determine an optimum solution.

cost benefit analysis

Calculating ROI has many benefits, including greater credibility for IT and better alignment with the business. ROI can be a complex and time-consuming calculation; therefore, it is typically reserved for larger technology investments.

True

Which is true about some business skills?

Some business skills can be acquired by observing and inquiring about the activities that

occur where you work.

Which is true about projects?

One of the project manager's most important responsibilities is developing and

maintaining the project plan.

Which is true about service desks?

Service desks that use trend and root cause analysis proactively are able to justify and

acquire the resources they need, when they need them.