When I implemented OTRS I first created a
list of guidelines which more or less reflected a vague SOP of standard
protocol that was compatible with our department, covering items such as what format
to use, what information is necessary, and how to handle various
situations. After this, I called everyone together for a one and a half hour
training session. Between the procedures, training, and a few questions
over the following week, the agents seem to have the knowledge necessary to handle
the diverse requests and follow-ups that we use. However, in my case it
was only necessary to train a staff of four with previous help desk experience
at one point or another in their careers. Obviously, if you’re
training a staff other than traditional analytical computer techs with previous
help desk experience or a greater quantity of agents, different procedures will
be necessary.
From an agent’s perspective, OTRS is
actually very easy to use, especially if they’re switching over from
another similar system. Although I was the one who deployed the system, I
was able to figure out the agent interface by more or less tinkering around for
30 minutes. The beauty in it for us was the web accessibility of the
program.
If it helps any, I found it easiest to go
through about 30 or so previous requests, think out how we could use OTRS to
document them, and create a list of training items based on different types of
tickets and circumstances. Then in a computer lab environment, I reiterated
the theory aspect and then had each agent handle a few sample tickets where
they acted as the customer and agent for each other. By doing so, they
knew what both the customer and the agent saw. Note to self: If you’re
using LDAP auth, make a separate account for them ahead of time, or it becomes
quite confusing.
You should also make an effort to develop a
uniform and consistent manner in which to document help desk tickets, especially
if you often pass help requests between agents, departments, or have an outside
source that needs to review tickets. Since we often pass tickets
mid-process between agents due to scheduling reasons, having people know what
they need to include in their documentation, and in what format and
circumstances to do so, makes the next persons life that much easier.
I would share the “guide” I
have Cyrille, but it would be of little use to you. It really covers how
to handle situations unique to our environment and goes in very little detail
on the actual usage of OTRS itself. If this is your desire, you can
obtain some information in topic # 4 here: http://doc.otrs.org/1.3/en/html/
, however this documentation doesn’t
cover any theory is really quite mediocre compared to the excellent quality of
documentation found in the server administration and installation sections.
The only real “technical” documentation I ended up creating was
your standard disaster recovery and installation deviation type stuff.
However, all bets are off on this method
if you use anything but Network Engineer or Help Desk type personnel with
previous help desk software experience. Furthermore, training and
documentation for Help Desk supervisors and administrators are obviously a
different story due to the different tasks they perform, and one which wasn’t
necessary here.
Good luck! If you need anything else,
let me know.
Paul Cainkar
From: Parent, Cyrille
[mailto:Cyrille.Parent@ppcc.edu]
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 1:51
PM
To: User questions and discussions
about OTRS.
Subject: [otrs] training manual
for agents. Anyone?
Has any one written or drafted a training manual or
user-guide for agents?
I am ready to move into production with otrs and need to
train agents.
Before I reinvent the wheel writing a guide, I was wondering
if someone had one they’re willing to share.
Even if it is basic. I will of course share back with the
community.
Cyrille Parent
Assistant Director, IT Support Services
Voice: 719 540 7433
Fax: 719 540 7527