Currently doing battle with IT - IT Help Desk procedure wanted

[Desara01]

I am looking for a well-defined procedure for a typical IT help desk. Unfortunately I am currently doing battle with IT because of their lack of the above. The last time I turned over my laptop for help, it was returned to me without my original software, no mapping to the printers, inability to pdf files, well the list goes on. They're very proud that they've gotten some software for tracking tickets - but they close out tickets before they've confirmed the problem is resolved. In my instance they opened up 5 additional tickets after they closed my original one. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[AndyN]

Dear Frustrated of Connecticut:

Your tale of the IT department is an all too common one. My advice would be to contact a reputable IT professional that you are somewhat experienced with, (a bossy guy) and see if he's also familiar with this problem. You could try a search here, of course for a similar process.

BTW - does the IT department have any measurables?

[Desara01]

AndyN - of course not. They do not believe they fall into the realm of process improvement. They live in the realm of firefighting and that is all they know. I would love to establish some objectives for them - First Time Fixed for example.

This will be a very contentious battle as I have already had multiple run-ins with them.

[JaneB]

This might sound a little preachy, but my suggestion is that until you can get to a position that isn't diametrically opposed and/or confrontational but one where you can both see some kind of common objective that you're working together on , then you're on a hiding to nothing and unlikely to succeed.

The alternative is that you have a very much, much bigger stick to beat them up with. Been there, tried that, and it very rarely works either.

[Jennifer Kirley]

This is indeed familiar ground.

I looked up IT procedures and found a potential source at ZDNet, but it wants a membership of some kind to access the files. I have no affiliation with ZDNet.

The key is to find a guide to establishing procedures that fit your organization. It's hard enough to get share of mind - it seems harder to get it from IT people. But it's possible. As has been said, support from management is usually needed.

I hope this helps!

[Sidney Vianna]

In Reply to Parent Post by Desara01

I am looking for a well-defined procedure for a typical IT help desk.

You need more than a procedure; you need a system for the helpless desk, compliant to ISO/IEC 20000-1.