"We've been using SHD since we purchased it, and it is working quite well for us. It's a pleasure having a software developer respond so quickly and so on-mark, so thank you for your help. It is affirmation that we made the right software decision." --Customer since March 2000

Description

The wareSource Self-Help Desk application is an electronic performance support system (EPSS) that intelligently combines just-in-time training, user-initiated problem reporting, rich support resources, and powerful help-desk features with a high degree of interactivity--all in one comprehensive support environment.

The Self-Help Desk application is perfect for supporting software, but is flexible enough to be used by almost every department in your company. For example, Human Resources may use the database as THE source in the company to store policies and paper-based forms as PDF downloads. Tutorials can cover everything from general employment issues to how to conduct an employment interview. Manufacturing can use the database to keep track of procedures and regulations.

Help Desk support from a user's perspective

Most users don't like to call the Help Desk to solve their application or procedural problems. They would much rather solve the problems themselves. But because most users don't have access to rich support documentation and tools and because help desks use software that is built to help them solve and track user problems, users are still dependent on making the call. That is why we call this the "Self-Help" help desk software--it gives users the tools to help themselves, but when necessary, still gives them the option to escalate problems to the help desk. It also allows users to collaborate with and learn from other users via a threaded support forum, and is tightly integrated with the Notes client, so users can easily send links to resources they have found, or forward search results to others.

Is your current help desk software part of the support problem? Still trying to figure out all those reports, SLA numbers, automatic alarms, work load balancing, automatic assignments, and automatic/multilevel escalation? The Self-Help Desk is a simple, elegant, yet powerfully adequate help desk software solution that doesn't become part of the problem. Free your help desk people from the bondage of over-complicated help desk software so they can do what you hired them to do--solve user problems!

Comprehensive Performance Support

You may be thinking, "Aren't there are way too many help desk products already!" But none of them are based on the user experience and perspective.

Looking at the typical Notes-based help desk application? Sure, there are many great ones out there, but they only concentrate on one aspect of the support dilemma, and do so from the perspective of the help desk.

Looking at the typical FAQ/mini-tutorial/computer based training application? They may do a good job at teaching concepts, but lack user interaction with other users and have no mechanism to escalate problems to the help desk.

A better approach --the one we took with Self-Help Desk--is to combine the best features of help desk and just-in-time learning solutions:





Here's a possible set of interactions with a comprehensive performance support application in place:

1. Sally wants to learn center a table on a page in Word and turns to the Tutorials view in the Self-Help Desk application.
2. She quickly finds the targeted tutorial and learns the basic mechanics of the task. But in thinking further, realizes there must be an easier way.
3. Sally clicks the "Ask a question link" in the navigator and asks, "Is there a faster way to center tables?" The question goes out to the user forum, which is a hotbed of activity, both among users and with help desk workers who monitor the discussions. Another user answers the question.
4. George, a help desk worker, realizing the value of the tip, clicks an action button to copy the tip into a new FAQ and adds a few descriptive keywords.
5. Another user, Mary, faced with the same problem, uses the "Ask" search wizard and asks the question, "How do I center a table?" The wizard returns a list of documents answering the question, including the original tutorial, the discussion surrounding the topic, as well as the new FAQ. Mary reads the FAQ and in finding it the perfect answer, clicks the Rate link and gives the FAQ a high mark so that the next time someone looks for how to center a table, this FAQ appears first in the view.
6. Bill, yet another user tries to center a table within a table, but the software doesn't seem to let him, and instead crashes Word. None of the Tutorials, Tips, or FAQs seem to answer the problem. He clicks the Report Problem link and reports the problem--in his own words--to the help desk. In addition, he requests that he receive an email anytime the status of the Problem Report changes. Within a few minutes, he receives an email indicating that his problem has been assigned to Paula Smith. Paula calls him for a few more details, and within an hour, solves the problem. The user is automatically emailed a link to the solution and the solution is automatically added to the indexed and searchable body of knowledge.