The Art of User Management

Continued from page: 2

Friday, February 01, 2008

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User Training
Training users play a significant role in user satisfaction: be it training users for a new application deployment or training new users. In our survey, CIOs claimed that they have been able to solve many problems such as getting buy-in from users etc. through training. For this, they encounter two problems mainly: getting users to show up for training and training remote users. Solution for getting users to show up is same as mentioned previously; just explain the benefits of IT to users. One can also use the pressure tactics, however this tactic can't ensure that interest of the user is there. So, one must avoid using this tactic. Many enterprises have days dedicated to training such as ' IT day' or 'Security Day'. On such days whole organization is provided training and various events are organized to enhance knowledge of users about IT.

For training remote users, most of the enterprises send a trainer to remote locations, but this doesn't solve the problem always, especially for enterprises having highly distributed workforce. Such organizations are increasingly adopting online technologies for user training.

Online technologies for user training
The most popular way of training remote users these days is through Web conferencing. Initially Web conferencing became popular for online meetings and collaboration. But now enterprises with distributed workforce are increasingly adopting it for training remote users. With Web conferencing features such as desktop sharing, video and audio streaming, instant polling, and feedback, trainers can ensure that users are paying attention and hence, provide in-person instructor-led training experience.

Another commonly used way of training users is through simulation, though success rate of this technique is quite low. This is a non-instructor based training, where users are usually trained through presentations, and flash movies. The hands on process of using a new application for daily usage are explained in a simulated manner. While this kind of training is good enough to give an overview to users, users don't tend to take it seriously.

Remote technical support with Citrix GoToAssist Express

With Citrix GoToAssist Express, you can create live Web-based remote desktop sessions. Currently, in its beta version, GotoAssist can be used for providing technical support and training remote users. It has a unique feature called 'Unattended Support' through which you can connect to end user's machine without users being present there. It comes with two modules Citrix GoToAssist Express Expert and Citrix GoToAssist Express Customer. The Expert module is the main console through which you can perform all administration tasks. When this module is launched, it creates a support key, which is required by the users to begin the session. Either users have to go to www.fastsupport.com and enter the support key to start the session. Else administrators can send the complete URL created by the Expert module to its users. Before starting the session, the website will automatically install the Customer module into the end users' machine. The solution allows eight customers to be connected to a single Express console simultaneously. In GoToAssist Express you can communicate with users through instant messaging Once the session is in place, you have the shared control of remote users' keyboard and mouse. You can also communicate with the customer through instant messaging and send as well as receive files. It comes with a 'Remote Diagnostics' tool as well through which you can collect basic information about remote users' machine. According to Citrix the solution uses 128-bit Advanced Encrypt- ion Standard and SSL to provide secure communication. The solution can be found at https://express.gotoassist.com.

Role of Helpdesk
Helpdesk plays an important role in overall user satisfaction of an enterprise. An important factor is how easily a user gets hold of the helpdesk staff; it largely depends on the helpdesk staff to users' ratio. While the ratio might vary according to the business, the ideal ratio for this usually is 1 to 50. Incidentally this is what most companies follow as found in our survey.

User training with Adobe Connect Professional

Acrobat Connect Professional is a new training and Web conferencing solution from Adobe. It lets you instantly create and track online meetings, and on-demand presentations etc. Using the 'Rapid training' feature of Connect Professional you can instantly create content and train anyone, anywhere, through virtual classrooms. This solution lets you record online meetings, which could be later on used for compliance purposes, giving demonstrations and for reoccurring meetings. Other features include multipoint video conferencing, multiple presenters, moderated Q&A session, and instant polling between the participants. Since it is a Web-hosted solution, you can access it from anywhere; the only requirement is a Web browser with Adobe Flash player installed. It is quite easy to configure and use, and has a neat flash-based interface. For using this solution you have to pay USD39.95 per month for unlimited meetings with 15 participants at the same time. Adobe Connect lets you schedule start and end time of trainings and remind users about training schedules How to use? Creating training module for the users in Adobe Connect Professional is simple. Once you have logged onto the console, first you need to create users whom you want to train. For this, go to the main console, click on 'Administration' option and then select the 'User and Groups' option. Here, click on 'New User' and provide all the necessary information. In the next step, define the 'Group Membership' for this user. By default it has five groups: Administrators, Authors, Training Managers, Learners and Meeting Hosts. Select the group and click on finish. Now, upload the training content; this content could be in the following file formats: ppt, pdf, flv, mp3, html, SWF, JPEG, PNG or GIF etc. For uploading your files, go to the 'Content' option and in the new window click on the 'New Content' tab. Browse the files you want to upload. Then provide the title, summary and custom URL and click on Save. To create your training course, go to the training option present on the main menu bar and click on 'New course'. This will launch course wizard. It will first ask you to provide name for the course, a unique id, summary, and define custom URL. Then define the start and end date for the course, and choose the course content. Next, the wizard will ask you to enroll users who are going to take this course and lastly you've to define when the users should be notified about training. When the user receives the email, it contains the link to the training. User need to follow that link for logging in. Once logged in, the user can see available trainings for which he has been enrolled under 'My Trainings' section. Similar to the procedure above you can also configure Course curriculum and organize Web conferencing based trainings.

When we asked CIOs how satisfied they are with their helpdesk, half of them said just satisfied. Some queries take longer than others, but that is perfectly fine with them. So it's important that you frequently assess the strength of your helpdesk team against the users in your organization.

Similarly, it's also important that you train your helpdesk staff from time to time. Soft skills training should be a must for the whole helpdesk team. Helpdesk personnel with topnotch customer service skills find it hard to become technical experts and vice versa at times. So, do ensure that your helpdesk team has got the right mix of skills.

Another way of improving helpdesk support is to frequently analyze current practices and performing self-evaluation of helpdesk team every quarter. Identify mistakes of the past, perform a root cause analysis of major incidents encountered, and learn from the mistakes made in the past. Keep your online knowledge base and policies updated at all times. This is beneficial not only for helpdesk personnels, but end users also. Remember first priority of helpdesk should be users and all users should be treated equally.

Managing Policies and their breaches
Each of us has experienced that whenever a new IT policy is introduced, users are hardly happy with it. But well-defined IT policies or processes always help in avoiding conflicts with users as it's already documented that what users can do and what they cannot. It is very important for enterprises to keep the IT access policies in places such as disk quotas, Internet access etc.

These policies not only help in smooth running of IT infrastructure, they also make user management an easier and transparent job. Similarly, compliance plays an important role ensuring smooth running of business and healthy environment for users to work in. (To know more about compliance refer to Jan2k8 issue of PCQuest.)

In our survey when we asked CIOs what action they take if somebody has breached a critical IT policy, most of the CIOs believe one-on-one meet with the wrongdoer is enough to deal with the situation. If the same user breaches the policy again, the matter is escalated to respective department head, and in case of critical breach like a severe data theft, users are even fired. So you should have a clear and well documented policy of what actions to take when a critical policy is breached and users must be made aware of critical policies as soon as they join the company.

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