Research at Aberdeen Business School

Communication & Media Research

Key Factors in Help Desk Success

An analysis of areas critical to help desk development and functionality.

Research Team

Professor Rita Marcella and Mr Iain Middleton

Professor Rita Marcella

This research was funded by the British Library Research and Development Department.

Definition

"Currently there is no hard and fast definition of the term 'help desk': a recent report(i) highlights the 'loose and flexible' uses of the term. However, implicit in its name is the basic function of being a source of information or action on demand, to aid the caller in carrying out a given task. In this report we will concentrate on Information Technology (IT) related queries. This basic task is encapsulated in the Gartner Group's definition of the help desk's mission(ii): 'to provide a single point of contact and responsibility for rapid closure of end-user technology problems'. In addition to this, the help desk's role is often extended into that of a technology-facilitator, which is achieved by the gathering and analysis of data at the help desk to proactively manage end-user technology."

Extract from "Key Factors in Help Desk Success: an analysis of areas critical to help desk development and functionality", a report for the BLR+DD

(i) Brown, Duncan and Burrows, Clive Ovum evaluates help desk tools, Ovum, London, Sept 1995, [Info@ovum.mhs.compuserve.com]
(ii) Fiering, L and Kirwin, W Making a help desk successful in the 90s, Gartner Group, August 31st 1992 [Report reference: Support G-507-03]

Overview

The report is the result of a year-long study of help desks, consisting of 3 stages:

1. Literature search and establishing expert contacts. Lists relevant books and journals, internet resources, representative and advisory groups, conferences, consultants, training and educational resources. Previous work on the subject is summarised by category.
2. Survey of 500 organisations (200 public sector, 200 private sector, 100 customer). The responses are summarised and analysed in relation to aspects such as workload, resourcing, procedures, responsibilities and historical development of the help desk.
3. Case studies of 14 organisations. Detailed analysis of each help desk, how they are currently organised, reporting structures, current problem areas and plans for future development.

The findings include aspects such as the value of help desk software, increased professionalism, the development of standards, performance measurement and outsourcing. The help desk is found to be a potentially powerful business tool, acting as customer service's front line and with the ability to gather data from across an organisation to aid in IT management and strategy.

Table of Contents

The Report

The report is now available from The British Library and is approximately 160 pages, including statistical data and appendices.

British Library R&D Report number 6247:
Key Factors in Help Desk Success
by Iain Middleton and Rita Marcella, 1996
Price: £12 (UK), £17 (Overseas).
Also available on microfiche: £5.00 (UK), £6.00 (Overseas).
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Help Desk Resources