6-1-2 Service support
“Service support” is a set of processes for supporting service operations
and is one part of the ITIL framework. It consists of five processes and a
service desk. IT services are managed in an integrated fashion by executing these processes.
The processes of service support are summarized below.
Reference
Incident
An “incident” is a failure, accident or unexpected occurrence that happens
within the computer system.
(1)Incident management (fault management)
“Incident management” minimizes the length of service interruptions
and the external impact when incidents occur in IT services, and takes
steps to restore normal service as quickly as possible and resolve the incident. An incident that is resolved before it becomes serious is known as a
“close call,” and management is exercised in such a way as to utilize these
lessons as well.
(2)Problem management
“Problem management” treats the causes of incidents as “problems”
and looks for the root cause. Measures to resolve the problems are reviewed and carried over into change management.
(3)Configuration management
“Configuration management” involves managing assets that comprise IT
services such as hardware and software, and keeping them in top shape in
order to provide better IT services.
(4)Change management
“Change management” involves reviewing the solutions produced by
problem management and changes to configuration made necessary by life
cycles, and performing an evaluation to determine whether to proceed to
release management.
(5)Release management
“Release management” implements the changes decided upon in the
process of change management.
(6)Service desk
The “service desk” is the point of contact where user inquiries are handled.
Other names for it include “help desk”, “call center”, and “user support.”
In general, the service desk accepts inquiries on how to use products and
services and how to fix problems and deals with repair requests and complaints. Inquiries may be accepted in the form of phone calls, e-mails, faxes,
etc., but if multiple points of contact are set up depending on the contents of
the inquiry, it can become difficult to determine the appropriate point of contact, which results in wasted time. It is then necessary to implement measures
such as consolidating the points of contact.
If the inquiries received are registered in a database, they can be published as
a FAQ on a website or analyzed and used to improve products and services.
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