Self Help / Fault Log

Unless you are a reasonably large Firm it is unlikely you will have a dedicated support desk.

I have seen and used a few Fault Logging systems, but they always fail to do more than record the user’s interpretation of a problem. They were difficult to then analyse the issues to identify patterns and themes.

Using a variation of the Announcements system I created a system on the Intranet where within a few clicks a user could easily attempt to find a solution to their issue. They are presented with a list of the systems the firm uses, they click on the system, they are then presented with aspects of that system divided by feature, that may drill down one more level or present the answer to previous issues.

The user attempts the solution and are asked to click a link to say if the issue was resolved or not.

Behind the scenes as each option is clicked and the issue shown a counter is increased, to be used later to sort option by ‘most visited’.

If the solution is not resolved the user is presented with a more traditional interface to report their issue. When submitted this goes to the internal support, but they are given some indication of how the user tried to solve the issue.

The not resolved form also allows the user to say if others are affected and a level of priority. This produces a ‘report’ on the Intranet, so users have visibility of how many issues internal support are dealing with.

Here is a link to the full document explaining the thinking behind this solution.

Benefits

• Users are guided to attempt some form of logic based self help
• Solutions are in one structured place and can be updated if a better solution exists
• The counter can indicate areas that may require further investigation or training
• Visibility of the number and severity of issues