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1. In order to increase the IU Help Desk's effectiveness, several steps must be taken ensure that the staff will be able to address any problems in the future. With the upcoming introduction of Windows 7 and Office 2010, the HDS must be given the proper training in order to address any issues which IU staff may encounter on this new operating system. While there are many similarities between the older Windows XP/Office 2003, there are many new features included in Windows 7/Office 2010, many of which may confuse IU staff members. This confusion will lead to wasted time if the Help Desk is not able to guide the staff when they call for assistance.

2. HDS will require new equipment and need several different trainings in order to accommodate the introduction of Windows 7 and Office 2010. All HDS will have their workstations upgraded to Windows 7 and Office 2010 in order to begin learning how to navigate in the operating system and Office programs. This will allow them to gain first-hand experience by experiencing what users will see when they first work with these programs. HDS will also undergo training from Microsoft with the ultimate goal of having each HDS member earn their MCAP for Office 2010 and MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician for Windows 7. Their primary goal will be to assist the users of the IU with simple tasks such as installing printers, navigating the new interface within Windows 7/Office 2010 and mapping network folders as drives.

3. Equipment upgrades and training will have to be planned out in advance depending on budgetary constraints. If possible, each staff member should be upgraded to a new computer - preferably a model which the IU staff will be using. If this is not possible, licenses for Windows 7 Professional will need to be purchased and installed on their workstations. The IU's Repair Center specialist should be notified of the chosen upgrade path in order to properly prepare for the deployment. Since the specialist is also a Help Desk technician, this would be an excellent time to analyze our current deployment center and implement any changes to ensure a smooth deployment. Regardless of the upgrade path, the upgrades should be completed within one week of arrival of new equipment or licenses.

Our MCAP/MCITP goal for each HDS member will require each staff member in Technology Services to be flexible. Depending on budgetary constraints, trainings will be either scheduled off-site or preferably, conducted on-site in order to allow for maximum convenience for our staff. While the HDS is in their training, the remaining staff will need to take on Help Desk responsibilities to ensure the IU's operational status. If any overtime is incurred due to these training sessions, comp time will be given to the Help Desk staff.

4. HDS will have experience with computers and networking. HDS should also have basic troubleshooting knowledge and skill with deducing problems both in person and over the phone. HDS has been able to display basic customer service skills such as being courteous, maintaining a friendly and helpful demeanor while working with staff who are agitated or hostile. While our HDS has adequately demonstrated these skills in their daily work, we will have to focus on enhancing these skills so our HDS is able to comfortably repair problems and answer questions either in person of over the phone concerning Windows 7 and Office 2010. While the interface for Windows 7 and Office 2010 look totally different, once they are trained and acclimated to the pieces of software, tasks which seem difficult to IU staff members will be simple for our HDS to diagnose and repair quickly.

5. HDS will be given a survey to determine which areas they feel will need to be focused on during the training sessions. This survey will be given after they have had time to work with Windows 7/Office 2010 at their workstations. A second survey will be given to the IU staff to gauge their comfort with Windows 7/Office 2010 and which potential issues they feel they encounter in their day to day work. The information gathered during these surveys will allow us to tailor certain sessions to focus on some these concerns.

6. Even though the IU's HDS have many years of experience with troubleshooting problems which appear on a daily basis, there is always room to grow. HDS will have some level of post-secondary education. In our current case, each technician has at least a Bachelor’s Degree with several years of experience in technical support/teaching. While they have sufficient experience, the amount of knowledge which can be applied to their job on Help Desk will need to be increased to deal with issues unique to Windows 7/Office 2010. The staff's attitude toward these training sessions should be positive. Each Help Desk technician is either a certified teacher or has conducted training sessions in the past. They all recognize the value of these training sessions and would be highly motivated to take part in the training.

7. These training sessions and the Help Desk technicians who are gaining these new skills will be highly supported by the Director of Technology Services and the staff of the IU. A simple analysis of the Help Desk tickets dealt with by each technician will show that the amount of time each technician spent on each ticket will have decreased thanks to the knowledge they have acquired during the training sessions. The training sessions will also allow the technicians to be able to work as a team to troubleshoot difficult problems, if necessary.