A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction to Computer User Support
A Guide to this Instructor’s Manual:
We have designed this Instructor’s Manual to supplement and enhance your teaching
experience through classroom activities and a cohesive chapter summary.
In addition to this Instructor’s Manual, our Instructor’s Resources also contain PowerPoint
Presentations, Test Banks, and other supplements to aid in your teaching experience.
At a Glance
Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents
A Note from the Author
Overview
Chapter Objectives
Teaching Tips
Quick Quizzes
Class Discussion Topics
Additional Projects
Additional Resources
Key Terms
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
,A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-2
A Note from the Author:
First, thanks very much for adopting this text for use in your course. If you have feedback on
how to make the text more useful in the courses you teach, please send your suggestions to the
author via the book’s companion website, www.cusweb.com. We always appreciate hearing
from adopters about how we can improve the book to meet their needs.
Second, I realize that each instructor tailors their individual courses to meet the specific needs
of their students. Because the support industry is so varied, user support agents are found in a
wide variety of positions that require a range of job skills. And I always tell my students that
jobs you will take later in your career will not likely require the identical set of job skills as the
first job you prepare for and work in when you finish school. So the textbook covers a variety
of skills to meet the needs of support agents who will serve internal users, external clients, and
that emphasize verbal, telephone and face-to-face communication skills, as well as written
email, chat and web-based communications. However, in individual courses, when you know
your students are preparing for a specific kind of entry-level position, you may want to place a
somewhat different emphasis on the course topics than other instructors do. I believe that
students benefit from understanding the breadth of skills required in a field such as user
support, and therefore should get some exposure to all the topics covered in the text. However,
the bullets in the table below suggest some chapters in the book you may want to emphasize
over others for students with focused interests.
--Fred Beisse
Primarily
Primarily Written
Exclusively Verbal Communication
Internal Users External Communication (Email, Chat,
Chapter Topic (or mix) Clients (Telephone) Web-support)
1 Introduction to CUS l l l l
Customer Service Skills for l l l l
2
User Support Agents
3 Writing for End Users l
Skills for Troubleshooting l l l
4
Computer Problems
5 Common Support Problems l l
6 Help Desk Operation l l l l
7 User Support Management l l l l
Product Evaluation Strategies l
8
and Support Standards
End-User Needs Assessment l
9
Projects
Installing and Managing End- l
10
User Computers
11 Training Computer Users l
12 User Support Utility Tool Kit l
App C Presentations and Meetings l l l l
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
,A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-3
Lecture Notes
Overview
Chapter 1 provides an overview of computer systems, computer users, and the computer
user support position. Students will be provided with a brief introduction to the history of
modern computers. Then, they will learn about the different ways to classify computer
users, the resources that users require, and common problems that computer users
encounter. The final sections of the chapter provide an introduction to computer user
support, including understanding the different ways that organizations provide this function,
position descriptions for user support staff, and career paths for user support workers.
Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, students will learn about:
How changes in computer technology over time have affected computer use
Ways to classify end users
Resources computer users need
Major categories of end-user software
Common problems encountered by users
Job market demand for user support workers
Common ways to organize and provide support services
Typical position descriptions for user support staff
Knowledge, skills, and abilities for an entry-level support position
Career paths for user support workers
Teaching Tips
Historical Changes in Computer Use
1. Define the term end-user computing and briefly describe the developments that led to
end-user computing and user support; these are listed in Table 1-1.
The 1950s and 1960s: Early Computers
1. Describe the characteristics of early computer systems.
The 1970s: The First Steps Toward Decentralized Computing
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
, A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-4
1. Explain how computer use in many organizations became decentralized during the
1970s.
The 1980s and 1990s: The Growth of Decentralized Computing
1. Review the major reasons for the growth of decentralized computing:
The backlog of requests for new computer applications
An increase in the number of knowledge workers
The availability of inexpensive personal computers
The availability of inexpensive productivity software
The development of user-friendly graphical user interfaces
2. Define the term applications development backlog.
3. Define the term knowledge worker and describe the growth in the number of
knowledge workers in the 1980s and 1990s.
4. Explain how the decrease in computer costs coincided with advances in technology.
5. Describe the characteristics of a microcomputer.
6. Describe the increased availability of productivity software during the 1980s and 1990s.
7. Discuss the benefits of graphical user interfaces.
The Late 1990s and 2000s: The Era of Distributed and Network Computing
1. Discuss distributed computing and how it developed to meet the needs of
organizations.
The 2010s and Beyond: Cloud Computing
1. Explain the concept of cloud computing and how it uses powerful servers to store and
process data remotely.
2. Describe the fields of Information Systems or Information Services (IS), or
Information Technology (IT).
Ask students if they are familiar with the term cloud computing, and ask them to
Teaching
identify ways in which they may be using cloud computing in their daily
Tip
activities.
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Chapter 1
Introduction to Computer User Support
A Guide to this Instructor’s Manual:
We have designed this Instructor’s Manual to supplement and enhance your teaching
experience through classroom activities and a cohesive chapter summary.
In addition to this Instructor’s Manual, our Instructor’s Resources also contain PowerPoint
Presentations, Test Banks, and other supplements to aid in your teaching experience.
At a Glance
Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents
A Note from the Author
Overview
Chapter Objectives
Teaching Tips
Quick Quizzes
Class Discussion Topics
Additional Projects
Additional Resources
Key Terms
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
,A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-2
A Note from the Author:
First, thanks very much for adopting this text for use in your course. If you have feedback on
how to make the text more useful in the courses you teach, please send your suggestions to the
author via the book’s companion website, www.cusweb.com. We always appreciate hearing
from adopters about how we can improve the book to meet their needs.
Second, I realize that each instructor tailors their individual courses to meet the specific needs
of their students. Because the support industry is so varied, user support agents are found in a
wide variety of positions that require a range of job skills. And I always tell my students that
jobs you will take later in your career will not likely require the identical set of job skills as the
first job you prepare for and work in when you finish school. So the textbook covers a variety
of skills to meet the needs of support agents who will serve internal users, external clients, and
that emphasize verbal, telephone and face-to-face communication skills, as well as written
email, chat and web-based communications. However, in individual courses, when you know
your students are preparing for a specific kind of entry-level position, you may want to place a
somewhat different emphasis on the course topics than other instructors do. I believe that
students benefit from understanding the breadth of skills required in a field such as user
support, and therefore should get some exposure to all the topics covered in the text. However,
the bullets in the table below suggest some chapters in the book you may want to emphasize
over others for students with focused interests.
--Fred Beisse
Primarily
Primarily Written
Exclusively Verbal Communication
Internal Users External Communication (Email, Chat,
Chapter Topic (or mix) Clients (Telephone) Web-support)
1 Introduction to CUS l l l l
Customer Service Skills for l l l l
2
User Support Agents
3 Writing for End Users l
Skills for Troubleshooting l l l
4
Computer Problems
5 Common Support Problems l l
6 Help Desk Operation l l l l
7 User Support Management l l l l
Product Evaluation Strategies l
8
and Support Standards
End-User Needs Assessment l
9
Projects
Installing and Managing End- l
10
User Computers
11 Training Computer Users l
12 User Support Utility Tool Kit l
App C Presentations and Meetings l l l l
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
,A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-3
Lecture Notes
Overview
Chapter 1 provides an overview of computer systems, computer users, and the computer
user support position. Students will be provided with a brief introduction to the history of
modern computers. Then, they will learn about the different ways to classify computer
users, the resources that users require, and common problems that computer users
encounter. The final sections of the chapter provide an introduction to computer user
support, including understanding the different ways that organizations provide this function,
position descriptions for user support staff, and career paths for user support workers.
Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, students will learn about:
How changes in computer technology over time have affected computer use
Ways to classify end users
Resources computer users need
Major categories of end-user software
Common problems encountered by users
Job market demand for user support workers
Common ways to organize and provide support services
Typical position descriptions for user support staff
Knowledge, skills, and abilities for an entry-level support position
Career paths for user support workers
Teaching Tips
Historical Changes in Computer Use
1. Define the term end-user computing and briefly describe the developments that led to
end-user computing and user support; these are listed in Table 1-1.
The 1950s and 1960s: Early Computers
1. Describe the characteristics of early computer systems.
The 1970s: The First Steps Toward Decentralized Computing
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
, A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Sixth Edition 1-4
1. Explain how computer use in many organizations became decentralized during the
1970s.
The 1980s and 1990s: The Growth of Decentralized Computing
1. Review the major reasons for the growth of decentralized computing:
The backlog of requests for new computer applications
An increase in the number of knowledge workers
The availability of inexpensive personal computers
The availability of inexpensive productivity software
The development of user-friendly graphical user interfaces
2. Define the term applications development backlog.
3. Define the term knowledge worker and describe the growth in the number of
knowledge workers in the 1980s and 1990s.
4. Explain how the decrease in computer costs coincided with advances in technology.
5. Describe the characteristics of a microcomputer.
6. Describe the increased availability of productivity software during the 1980s and 1990s.
7. Discuss the benefits of graphical user interfaces.
The Late 1990s and 2000s: The Era of Distributed and Network Computing
1. Discuss distributed computing and how it developed to meet the needs of
organizations.
The 2010s and Beyond: Cloud Computing
1. Explain the concept of cloud computing and how it uses powerful servers to store and
process data remotely.
2. Describe the fields of Information Systems or Information Services (IS), or
Information Technology (IT).
Ask students if they are familiar with the term cloud computing, and ask them to
Teaching
identify ways in which they may be using cloud computing in their daily
Tip
activities.
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a
license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
