Training and Support

Training and Support

1. Types of training

   • Internal user may need
     • Induction trainng
       • Used for new employees
     • Tasked based training
       • Used to show how to carry out specific tasks
     • Skill based training
       • Important for staff development
     • There own workforce
   • External users may need
     • Support logging on to the organisations extranet.

2. Training methods available

   • Personal traning
     • A user is trained by another person.
     • May be part of the course, or one-to-one sessions.
     • Allws to have a personal contact
     • It is costly
   • Cources
     • Fixed cost per person
     • Typically last for one or two days
     • Most software package skills could be covered this way
     • Colleges and Universities deliver courses that are externally verified and lead to a re organised qualifications.
     • The employee is usually away from office.
     • This will allow some refreshment feeling to the employees
     • They may find it difficult at the start due to the change in routine.
     • Not tailored to the exact lead
     • The employees who attend would be able to pass on there skill and knowledge at work.
   • Online toutorial
     • Training manual
     • Computer-based training (CBT)
     • Can be a set of step by step training
     • It is a specially tailored, bespoke package.
     • Users are able to work on there own pace, at a time convenient to the,.
     • The users are bale to go back and revisit as much as they would want or need.
     • The downside of this is that it is impersonaland the users cannot ask indiviual questions.
   • Training manual
     • These are usually paper-based, but there can be some which come in a CD the contains the files needed for the exercises.
     • Tend to be based on step-by-step exercises and may have tests built in at intervals
     • It allows to be easy to select thoes parts of the system that the user needs to know about rather then working through all tutorials.
     • It is generally less expensive then training courses.
     • Some people find it difficult to follow the electronics tutorials.
   • One-to-one training
     • Can be as part of induction training or if a person realise they need to do something they have not done.
     • Prerfferd by many people as it is interactive.
     • The users are able to ask questions and difficulties and receive a personal response.
     • This is very costly, but it would be justified by in terms of the benefits to the organisations.

3. Factors that might influence a choice of support methods

   • Is there enough work to justify employing support staff?
   • How complex is the setup to be supported?
   • How much support is provided free with software?
   • What it will include?
   • How quickly will support be delivered?
   • Are there security issues with using external contractors?

4. Factors to consider when selecting training methods

   • How many users need training?
   • Is expertise available on site?
   • Are suitable facilities available on site?
   • Are external courses available?
   • Users' skill level
   • Users' own preferences
   • How often will staff need to be trained?
   • Are good quality user manuals or CBT schemes available?
   • Can existing staff be spared to train others?

5. Difference between training and support

   • Training is the action of teaching a new employee or a user in learning and developing new skills.
   • Support is giving assistance in helping a user or users' to be able to use a an IT system.

6. Support methods avaulable

   • Software help files
     • These will usually have search facilities to help users find the information they need.
     • It can still be difficult to find the right section.
     • A context-sensitive help responds to what the user was doing when help was requested.
       • Context-sensitive help: gives information based on what the user was doing when they pressed the help button.
   • User guides and manuals
     • This can be both paper based and electronic based.
     • Provides all of the technical and user documentation needed to install, maintain run and use the software.
     • Include tutorials.
     • Many people find them to be difficult to understand.
   • On site technician/help desk
     • This is usually used by larger organisations
     • These are staff members with high IT knowladge in the organisation
     • They would help the users in both software and hardware level
     • It may not be feasible or cost effective for internal support staff to handle
   • Existing user base
     • These are other users who already know how to use the hardware or software
     • This can be very cost effective, as such support is usually free.
   • External assistance
     • The helpdesk provided by the software manufacturer, or a company with whom a support contract has been negotiated
     • Some software houses include technical support in the free for the software, while other may charge by call or by an annual fee.
     • Contact is usually made by telephone where the detail of the problem is logged
     • These can be expensive.
       • This can be costly due to the response time and level of service may affect the cost.
   • E-mail and chat support
     • This is an e-mail or dedicated online chat support.
     • It is a lot cheaper than the external assistance