1. Map your processes
Before you go shopping, organizations must develop procedures for incident management, change request, problem and create a flowchart. “That way you know what to do, who does what and how the process flows,” says Steve Villalpando, manager of IT governance from Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “Once you’ve defined one, the mapped process is repeated by all, and you can choose a tool that supports this.”
2. Do not go too fast
Before proceeding with the implementation, take the time to write your expectations of a help desk tool and what you want to accomplish. “There are a lot of little things that need to be configured, and if you do something the wrong way at the beginning may affect you in the future,” said Bob Kay, operations manager for Vistex.
3. Adopt a balanced approach
Organizations need to invest heavily in their people processes and technology. “If I’m I have beginners at my helpdesk, no matter what I bring in tools, they are still raw,” says Jeffrey M. Brooks, research director at Gartner. “Many organizations put a hyper-focus on software as an integral component of the help desk, and it really is not. Technology is just a tool, but not a cure-all.”