This unit applies to individuals who work in IT service roles and are responsible for providing IT service desk support.
Not applicable.
1. Prepare to work on a service desk | 1.1 Identify principles of service desk quality 1.2 Apply concepts and terminology associated with a service desk environment 1.3 Use appropriate service principles |
2. Support a service desk | 2.1 Use service desk systems to open a new service call 2.2 Inform customer of the progress of the call using service principles 2.3 Escalate a service desk call following service principles 2.4 Implement service desk closure principles 2.5 Seek user feedback following closure of a service desk call |
3. Apply continuous improvement to service desk | 3.1 Review service desk records 3.2 Plan methods of improving performance 3.3 Document proposed improvements and submit to appropriate person |
Required skills
communication skills to liaise with internal and external personnel on technical, operational and business-related matters
literacy skills to:
document service desk
read and interpret enterprise procedures, manuals and specifications
planning and organisational skills to plan, prioritise and monitor own work
problem-solving and contingency-management skills to adapt procedures to local requirements and reconfigure depending on differing operational contingencies, risk situations and environments
research skills to research industry best practice
technical skills to advise on a range of IT support procedures.
Required knowledge
detailed knowledge of:
enterprise escalation policy and procedures
industry best practice in IT service desk support
overview knowledge of:
basic technical terminology in relation to service management
legislation, codes of practice and other formal agreements that directly impact on resolution processes
quality assurance of processes and procedures relating to service desk
service management relating to service desk.
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment | |
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit | Evidence of the ability to: follow procedures and processes to provide service desk support plan and document strategies to improve service desk performance. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment must ensure access to: IT service desk environment current service logs and procedures service desk software customer contact technologies currently used in industry appropriate learning and assessment support when required modified equipment for people with special needs. |
Method of assessment | A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit: verbal or written questioning to assess candidate’s knowledge of service management and quality processes review of candidate's documented service management processes evaluation of candidate's service management procedures. |
Guidance information for assessment | Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, where appropriate. Assessment processes and techniques must be culturally appropriate, and suitable to the communication skill level, language, literacy and numeracy capacity of the candidate and the work being performed. Indigenous people and other people from a non-English speaking background may need additional support. In cases where practical assessment is used it should be combined with targeted questioning to assess required knowledge. |
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.
Quality may include: | capability maturity model integration (CMMI) ISO standard 17025/IEC standard 20000. |
Concepts and terminology may include: | alert availability business case catalogue change types (normal, standard and emergency) configuration management system contract definitive media library (DML) event impact, urgency and priority incident known error known error database (KEDB) operational level agreement (OLA) release and release policy resources, capabilities and assets risk service assets service catalogue service change service design package service knowledge management system (SKMS) service level agreement (SLA) service portfolio service provider service request supplier utility and warranty workaround. |
Service desk environment may include: | call centre help desk local, central or virtual service desk. |
Service principles may include: | communication by keeping the customer informed of progress and advising on workarounds data integrity ease of use for customers incident control using life cycle management of all service requests single point of contact (SPOC) and not necessarily the first point of contact (FPOC) single point of entry single point of exit streamlined communication channels. |
Service desk systems may include: | Acacia Help Desk Aegis Service Desk Control-F1 Giva Inc. HelpMaster Pro HelpTrac Internet Software Sciences iTrack LBE Help Desk Software NetHelpDesk NetKeeper Numara Trackit the BridgeTrak Suite. |
Service desk records may include: | calls on specific problems calls solved by specific staff length of open calls. |
General ICT
This unit contains employability skills.
No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement but users should confirm requirements with the relevant federal, state or territory authority.