Who should take this ticket?
A user cannot open a file. A second user cannot get onto the server. A third has hit a fault the software maker has never heard of.
Three tickets, three levels of help. A good team knows who takes what, and writes down what it learns.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| First line support | the first people to take a ticket; they fix common problems fast |
| Second line support | more skilled staff who take what first line cannot fix |
| Third line support | the experts, often with the maker of the product, who fix the hardest faults |
| Escalation | passing a ticket to a higher line of support |
| SOP | a short name for a written set of steps for a regular job |
| Known fix | a solution that has worked for the same fault before |
| Audit | a check of records to see what was done and by whom |
| Documentation | written guides and records about a system |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe the support processes, escalate a ticket from first to third line and say how knowledge is kept.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
The support processes
Besides accounts and passwords, user support covers four more jobs.
Installation and deployment of software. Put programs on user PCs. Connection to remote resources. Help users reach files and systems from far away. Fault identification. Find out what is wrong. Issue escalation. Pass the ticket on when you cannot fix it.
Three lines of support
| Line | Who | Typical job |
|---|---|---|
| First line | The help desk | Password resets, simple faults, known fixes |
| Second line | Skilled technicians | Server access, repeat faults, deeper checks |
| Third line | Specialists and the maker of the product | Rare faults, product bugs, big changes |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check: the three lines
Have a go
Check: the three lines
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.