M4 - provide additional support material to users.

M4 - For M4, learners could produce a ‘User’s Guide’ to solving common faults. At least two faults should be included with appropriate screenshots or illustrations.

User Guide

Computer is slow: 

Now depending on the specification of your PC will depend on how fast your computer is. Having more RAM (Random Access Memory) and a better processor e.g. i5 or i7, can reduce the amount of time it takes for your system to react and apply.

First of all you can check how much RAM you have, you can do this by either looking at the specification on/in the box when you bought it, or you can look at it via your computers properties.

To see this, click on the Start button (located to the bottom left of the desktop), from here, there will be 2 columns, in the right-hand side column there will be a tab called Computer,

Right-click on this and then at the bottom will be a button called Properties, click on it. 

There will be new window that opens. Here will show you the specification of your PC. Under the system tab, you will find both your processor and your RAM.

If your RAM is lower than 4 GB, then you may want you may want to consider getting more so that you can run more programs. And it’s the same with your processor, if you have less than an i3 then you will want to upgrade as this will mean you can load programs faster.

If your computer is still slow, then you will want to check that everything is up-to-date. You can have the best computer in the world, but if your drivers are out of date then you can have a few problems.

You can update by either going onto the website of the manufacturer and looking for any possible updates, then just download them, or you can go to the Start menu, then type in Update Device Drivers. 

Click on the option and a new window will pop up with a list of all your drivers.

From here you can find what driver(s) you want to update. Once you have found it, right-click on it and properties will appear. Click on properties and a new window will open up. Along the tabs up the top, find one called Driver, click on it and there will then be an option to update. Mine is not availble to update because it already has the latest, but your one should be available to clickk on.

There are many other possible cause of having a slow computer, for example, your computer could be old (so buy a new one), your hard drives could be full up with memory, your drives need to be defragged, or your computer could be infested with viruses. Having an antivirus that is up-to-date is extremely important in this day in ages because there are so many virus going around.

Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting:

If your Wi-Fi keeps on disconnecting it can be the result of many things. The main cause is that your Wi-Fi card drivers are out of date. By simply updating it can solve the problem instantaneously. To update this, you will need to either, go to the manufacturer of the Wi-Fi card’s website and look for an update, or you can go to Device manager (see above on how about doing finding device manager).

Another reason for your Wi-Fi not working is because the signal is not very strong or you are out of range to you router. Not being in range will cause you to disconnect constantly so make sure that you are closer. If you cannot move it closer because your pc’s upstairs, then you may want to invest in a Wi-Fi amplifier/extender. You can buy these online for around £30 pounds.

You can also try troubleshooting it by right-clicking the icon down in the bottom right-hand corner on the desktop and clicking troubleshoot. If this doesn’t work, your best bet is resetting your router.

To reset you router, turn off all power to the router, making sure there are no light flashing. You will need to wait around 20 seconds before you can turn it on again. This should solve your problem, but if not, then you will need to get in contact with your service provider about how to fix it. 

P2 - explain the impact of organisational policies and procedures on the provision of technical support

Jacques Harris - P2 - explain the impact of organisational policies and procedures on the provision of technical support.

Task: Understand how organisational policies and procedures influence technical support

Working procedures and policies:

Organisational guidelines

Reporting of faults:

In IT support, reporting a fault the sooner it happens, will give you a better chance of fixing it (depending on what it it), and it will mean that whatever it has affected, won't be disrupted for that long. Reporting faults also allows the team leader to prioritise his faults, so the one that is of more importance, can get done as soon as possible. If a fault has occurred, it should be reported to the next in command to allow them to make the necessary decisions on how about solving it.

Internet use:

All company policies are fairly similar when it comes to internet use (from what i have found when researching). The internet should only be used for work, not for personal or pleasure. Looking at illegal sites or playing games during work hours is breaking company policy and should be dealt with accordingly. If you're caught doing these things, you can potentially lose your job, or lose pay for the hours you have wasted.

Security:

Now, security is a major policy in any organisation, especially in IT. In IT support, they will not take any precautions. Backing up data to another server or outsourced company will be done on a regular basis, to make sure that if anything goes down or gets tampered with, they have multiple spares located elsewhere. Some companies have policies on USB sticks and external hard drives at work, some allows this, and others, not so much. The risks that come with this is that work can be stolen and copied onto memory sticks, also, unsafe USB sticks can have viruses on them, which can potentially be harmful to the system.

Having an anti-virus software of some type is also a must, as this will stop any malicious software, hackers or viruses from accessing the companies system, and it's the same with a Firewall as well, as this will stop anything from breaching the network.

Doing a regular virus check is needed in any company, not just in IT.

Service level agreements (SLA): 

The SLA will be different depending on the company. It is the contract between the company and what the IT support staff need to do with their job. An example of an SLA for IT support would be found on page 1:

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/its/help/documentation/pdf/public/sla.pdf

 • Manage and develop a secure, resilient and high performance College network

Infrastructure for data and voice (including provision for remote and wireless access)

• Provide a set of core C&IT services which are secure, up-to-date, easy to use and meet the actual and perceived needs of users. These include:

o Authentication and authorisation (user account provisioning)

o Email

o Web (institutional websites, intranets and web content management system)

o Virtual learning environment (Blackboard)

o General purpose application software

o Data storage and backup

o Network printing

o Anti-spam and virus protection

o Workstation rooms for open access and teaching

o Management information and administrative systems

Confidentiality: 

Confidentiality is really important in IT technical support as data about the company can easily be uploaded to the web or stolen by employees if they choose to. Having a policy in place, will not stop anyone from doing this, but it will make them think twice about what will happen if something like this is done. Confidentiality between the company and the customers is also part of the policy. The company is not allowed to give or display any of the customer personal details with anyone without their consent. Doing so can result in a law suit or fine.

Sensitivity of information:

This comes into confidentiality, as in you cannot make the companies personal information public to anyone or share it with unauthorised people. Breaking this would be a breach in the company’s security and will most probably get you fired and/or you will have to pay a fine of some sort. In IT support, sharing out personal company information can mean that not only will the company's system be at risk from hackers, it will also allow competitors to know what rival companies have.

Organisational constraints

Costs of:

Not all companies have millions of pounds to buy all the best equipment, so when it comes to IT support will have to find the tools, software, and hardware as cheap as they can, but also that allows them to do the job effectively and efficiently. This of course will mean that it may take more time to do certain job because they don't have all the tools, or it may mean that they cannot do the job altogether of they don't have the correct software etc.

Resources required:

Having the correct resources to do the job is important for efficiency in IT support, but if they don't have enough of something then it will mean that it will take longer to do a certain job. For example, if they don't have enough staff, or the correct software and hardware, they will have to find alternate routes to get the job done.

Time:

Prioritisation is key in IT support, as the bigger jobs need to be done first in order for everything to work. Having a log or a spreadsheet to keep everything can really help you out on time as you don't have to think about what needs to be done. Having the correct equipment can also save you time, for example, if you have a really slow PC to do a job on, it will take a considerably more time to get a job done obviously.

User expertise:

When it comes to IT technical support having someone who knows what they are doing is always a bonus. If the employee is asked a question by the customer, but he cannot ask it due to not having the knowledge, he will potentially lose that customer, therefore, the company will lose out on profits, and that customer will probably ask for help elsewhere. When it comes to the maintenance of the PC, having someone who knows about the problem in hand will help you dramatically and will not waste as much time as someone who has to research the problem to find out how to fix the problem.

Outsourcing of support services:

Having an outsourced company to do IT support for you may have its benefits, but it will also have its downsides. Having a company that specialise in IT support could mean that they can get the job done faster, they have all the necessary tools required to do the job, etc. the down sides from this is that the outsourced company is representing your company so if they mess up, it will look bad on you. Also, it will cost your company a fair bit of money depending on who you go with.

Unit 12: P5, P6, D2

This is a link to all the videos and recordings:



https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7XQNoEkjWMDNm03VGJwRXFxazg&usp=sharing

M2 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing

What is outsourcing?:

Outsourcing is where a company pays another company to help or do work for them. In many cases, the outsourced work could be done by the company itself, but there are often financial benefits in outsourcing the work. The most common jobs for outsourcing are, call centres and E-mail services. These types of jobs are normally handled by companies that specialise in those jobs.

Advantages of outsourcing:

Well first of all, outsourcing work to another country will save the company a considerable amount of money. The reason for this is that in the UK, the minimum wage is £6.31. In other countries such as India, it is much lower; therefore the company can then pay the workers less.

Also, outsourcing works will also give skilled people in other countries jobs that may be scarce where they are.

Another advantage for outsourcing work overseas is that things like health care and benefits don't apply because they are outside the UK, which means more money in the company’s pockets.

If the company is looking to expand its business, outsourcing is a cheap way to start in other countries.

Outsourcing is not only overseas; you can outsource work within the country you are working in. You are paying other companies to work for you. The reasons for this would be that it's either cheaper, or the company you are outsourcing to, are professional at the work they do, or they are perfect for the job.

Outsourcing work also gives the company time to do other work that is of a higher priority, reducing the stress on the company and the allowing them to meet the deadline for a project or work.

Disadvantages of outsourcing:

When work is outsourced to other countries it can cause many problems, for example, many call centres are often Indian, which can cause a language barrier between both the customer and the person working for the call centre. Also, in a different country, they may have different terminology, so if you're trying to fix a fault on your PC, but the keyboard layout is different, you will find it hard to keep up with what they're saying.

Another problem with outsourcing overseas is the time zone constraints, for example, if you give work to say a company in the USA, from the UK, there is a 9 or so hour difference, so the communication between the two companies will be small.

Due to companies outsourcing, this is causing redundancies within the company because they are getting people who will work for less to do the job. Although it's good that it saves the company money its also bad because it means that more and more people are becoming unemployed and claiming benefits.

If a company outsources work to another company, there can also be a delay. I there company who the work has been outsourced to has higher prioritised work of their own, then it may take them longer to get the work done for the company. This means the set deadline to meet may not be met resulting in many things, including: wasted time (people will have nothing to do until they have received the work from the outsourced company), money could be lost (if they're selling an item, they may lose out on buyers), and customer dissatisfaction (they will lose out on potential customer, therefore relationships with the customers will be ruined because the company told them when it would be ready, but it has been delayed by a few weeks or even months.

M1 - Importance of Keeping Fault Logs

M1 expands on P1 and requires the learner to show they understand the reasons for keeping accurate records of faults and their solutions.

Having a fault log is incredibly important for users as it shows how the fault occurred, where it occurred, and what is it. You can access the details of the fault by clicking on the error icon next to it. If you wish to solve the problem yourself, you can search on Google and you may find the answer, otherwise you can acquire an IT technician to help you solve this.

If you have a fault, you can refer back to your fault log to see if it has happened before. If your PC does have a fault or an error, you can simply look back to your fault log and quickly find out how to solve the problem efficiently. Otherwise you'll be trying to think back to how you solved it the previous time, wasting your time, and even then, you may not remember how to solve it.   

In the fault log there are three types of error icon that can appear:

Yellow sign - The yellow sign is a warning. Anything that the computer thinks may becoming prone to errors, it will have a yellow warning sign next to it, these don't cause any harm to your PC but it lets you know that it's there.

Red sign - The Red sign means that there is an error. If you click on it, it will show you what is wrong with the program, software or whatever it may be. This allows you to take the necessary actions in order to solve the problem.

Information sign - The information sign is nothing to worry about. This means that there is nothing wrong with the system and everything is running smoothly.

 Without a fault log, you would have no idea if there were any fault on your PC and you would probably end up spending plenty of money trying to fix your computer

Being accurate when inserting data into your fault log is incredibly important because it allows you to know exactly what the fault is the next time it occurs and how you can deal with is efficiently and quickly. If the fault is recorded down but there is hardly any detail, it may become confusing if you are trying to solve the next time, or if someone else reads your log, it should be fairly to understand.

Example of a fault log:

IT Technicians Name:                John

Time & Date:                                11:08 - 15/01/2014

Time take to fix:                          5 mins

Description of fault:                 Keyboard not working

Actions taken to fix:                 Checked the peripheral ports to see if the cable was connected. If not                                                                           connect the cable. if still doesn't work, buy a new keyboard.

Problem Solved:                        Yes

P1 - Tools & Techniques Used for Technical Support

For P1, learners are expected to explain the tools (such as software diagnostic tools) and techniques (such as questioning) that enable the IT support technician to identify faults. Reference to sources of advice and guidance could be usefully incorporated here.

Tools:

Troubleshooting is often used to repair or help you with repairing a program or process. If the application has not been resolved, it will bring up a list of different steps you can perform in order to fix the problem. 

Defrag is a tool that is commonly used to clean up your hard drive. Sometimes when data is stored onto your hard drive, bits get lost and this means that it takes longer for your PC to find it. Defrag basically puts everything back in order so that you’re PC can find it quickly and efficiently.

Disk Clean-up is used to create more space on your hard drive. It basically finds files that are of no use to you anymore and deletes them, giving you a little more space for other documents.

Anti-Virus a very important tool that every PC should have. The Anti-Virus is used to prevent malicious software from getting into your PC and causing havoc. Programs like, AVG, and Norton are popular choices for preventing viruses. 

Software and Hardware Diagnostics is used to identify problems with both Software and Hardware within your PC. It tests the software for potential faults that may occur and tells you how you can prevent or fix the problem before it happens.

Monitoring tools are used for monitoring what happens on a PC(s). The most common monitoring tool are Parental Controls, used to control what the children can look at online and download. Schools and many companies also have monitoring tools to keep students and employees in check.

VNC (Virtual Network Computing) allows the owner of the PC to remotely access the PC from another. From this they can see what the non-admin is doing and also control the mouse. This is commonly used in IT support so that problems can be fixed without the technician coming down to sort out the problem. 

Multimeter is used to check the voltage, current, and resistance of an electrical appliance, for example, a PC.

A Toolkit is very handy when working for Technical Support because if hardware needs to be looked at or replaced, a toolkit has all the tools needed to open up the PC.

Ethernet cable testing is used to see of the Ethernet cable is capable of carrying a signal, to and from the PC.

Control Panel .e.g. install/uninstall is basically what is says on the tin. It allows the user to install and uninstall any program of their choice, with relative ease.

Task manager allows you to see what applications are running on your PC. From here you can end the process.

Techniques:

Questions - IT technicians will ask questions to the customer to help them have more of an idea of the problem in hand. They may either ask face to face or on the telephone, depending on where they are. Asking questions are a useful technique because without this, it will take the technician longer to find what the problem is and then solve it.

Fault Log - A fault log is used to take note of all problems that have occurred and it describes them in detail. This allows the technician to keep track of previous faults and if the fault happens again, they can solve it easily by looking at what they did to solve it before.

A fault log is usually on a PC, but IT technicians may have a paperback version for backup or ease of use.

Monitoring - This is used in companies and it allows the technician to have control over the user’s computer and solve the problem that way, e.g. VNC, RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). This way is effective if its software based problem as the technician doesn't have to go to the computer personally and waste time.

Solution Database - A solution database is what it says on the tin. When a fault occurs that has happened before, you can access the database and find out what you have to do in order to solve the problem. When a new problem is solved, it will be added to the database for future reference.  

Future Trends:

Technology is improving and expanding every day. People want to make technology faster, more efficient, all-in-all, better. The reason for this is the demand from the public; people want better phones, better cameras, etc. 

Things like X-rays, heart monitors, etc., need to be updated every few months, so that doctors and nurses can find problems with patients faster, and more efficiently, with could potentially be the difference between life and death in some cases.

The Google Glass is a new product that allows you access the internet, speak to friends on family and Skype, and more, from simply looking. The Google Glass, is essentially a pair of glasses that has a small transparent display in it, so whilst you are walking down the road, you can play, whilst still seeing at the same time. It's not play though; Google Glass can be used for on-the-go conference meetings. This allows meeting to take place anywhere in the world, without physically having to be in the same room.



Another technology that is rapidly getting more popular is the Cloud. The Cloud is basically an online system for storing data. This allows people, or even company's, to back-up their work or systems online. If work is lost on their own PC, then can simply go onto the cloud and access your work anywhere in the world, on demand.

As technology grows, there are more jobs becoming available for people, and in this day in age, jobs are fairly hard to come by. Customers are finding it easier to purchase products online due to the online customer services become better and more efficient. Many company's now are implementing video talk with customers, this allows you to physically speak to someone whilst you show them what's wrong with your product.