A hands-on guide for IT professionals responsible for managing the corporate help desk or IT service center. Focus is on specific improvements that yield measurable improvements in service levels.

Whether you manage in-house or outsourced IT operations, your problem resolution processes may be the #1 factor that will determine your ultimate success or failure. What's more, help desks are increasingly called upon to "move up the food chain," becoming true service centers capable of delivering complex, strategic solutions. Finally, there's a single source for all the information you need to build world-class problem management processes -- and deliver the value today's enterprises are demanding. Drawing upon extensive real-world consulting experience, Gary Walker presents specific process improvements IT organizations and outsourcers can make to achieve breakthrough results in their help desks and service centers. Walker reviews every key element of the problem management process, including problem identification, customer validation, problem logging, service delivery, knowledge capture and sharing, and finally, management review and oversight. Walker introduces the Immediate Response Model, which gives IT managers a formal way to account for request variability, complexity, and volume; shows how to use metrics to measure your progress; and offers guidance on creating and using service level agreements. The book includes a detailed chapter on tools for communications with customers, service delivery, and proactive monitoring, as well as opportunities to use the Internet and Integrated Voice Response (IVR) systems to empower customers. Finally, Walker addresses the human side of help desks and service centers, offering practical guidance on motivation.