The IT Support Handbook: A How-To Guide to Providing Effective Help and Support to IT Users

Table of Contents
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Introduction
Part I: IT Support Fundamentals
Chapter 1: An Introduction to IT Support
	The Fundamentals of IT Support
		What?
		When?
		How?
	Never Make Assumptions
	The Language Barrier
	The Challenges of Local and Remote Support
		Owning or Working in an IT Support Shop
		Providing Support in People’s Homes
		Providing IT Support from a Call-Center
		On-Site Engineers
		Online and Remote Support
	A Note About Data Protection and Privacy
	Summary
Chapter 2: Understanding Your IT System Better
	A Brief History of Computers
	What IT Systems Might You Encounter?
		Interface Standards
			USB
			Firewire
			Serial
			Parallel
		Bluetooth
		Device Types
		Operating Systems
	The Interconnectedness of IT Systems
	Summary
Chapter 3: Understanding Your Users: How Much Do They Know?
	How to Communicate with Humans
	Managing Staff Training
	Learning Theory
		Place Everything in Context
	Structuring Training and Education
		Define Your Objectives
		Mix Things Up a Little
		Assess Your Learners’ Knowledge
		Use Mixed Peer Groups
		Help the Learners Consolidate What They Have Learned
		Evaluate the Learners
		Écouter et Répéter
		Self-Evaluation
	Summary
Part II: IT Support Methodology
Chapter 4: Flow Logic and  Troubleshooting
	How Does Flow-Logic Work in Troubleshooting?
		Process of Elimination
		“Information Is All”
	Paperwork Is a Pain, Or Is it?
	Begin at the End, But Don’t Work Your Way Backward
		“Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow”
	The Impossible Is Possible
	Work with the Team
	Summary
Chapter 5: Querying Users Effectively
	How to Query Users Effectively to Diagnose Problems
		Users Can Be Anyone, and Anywhere
		Never Make Assumptions
		Yes or No?
	Take the User with You on the Journey
		The User Is Your Friend… Yes, Really
		Swipe Left or Swipe Right?
	The Nontechnical Dictionary
	Online Chat
	Summary
Chapter 6: Supporting Remote and Hybrid Workers
	Where in the World?
	What’s in a Device?
		Why Is Device Management Important?
		The SME Problem
		Okay, So What the Hell Does All This Mean for Me?
	Summary
Chapter 7: Joining the Dots: Finding the Root Cause of an IT Issue
	The Beginning of the End
		Working Backward
		IT Troubleshooting: The Movie
	The End of the Beginning
		What Are These Dots of Which You Speak?
	Keeping an Open Mind
	Summary
Part III: Understanding IT System Problems
Chapter 8: How IT Systems Are Structured
	In the Beginning, the Unix-verse Was Created…
		IP Freely
		Aging Tech
		Windows NT
		Windows vNext
		Creating a New Android
		The Upshot
	Living in the Internet Age
		Oh My God! The World Just Ended!
		Look for the Hashtag
	Hardware Is Hard Wearing
		Hardware Also Wears Out
	Summary
Chapter 9: The Human Factor
	How the Human Factor and Staff Training Affects IT Systems
	Why Users Screw Up IT Systems
		Hardware
		Software
		Settings
	IT and Accessibility
	Users Are Not IT People
	The Monkey Mind
	People Are Complex
	Summary
Chapter 10: The Peripheral Problem
	Riding the Legacy Wave
		Adding Legacy Devices to Windows
		Configuring and Troubleshooting Legacy Devices
	Troubleshooting Device Drivers
	What Else Goes Wrong with Peripherals?
	Summary
Chapter 11: Building and Environmental Factors
	The World We Live In
		Weather
		Sand, Dust, Water, and Moisture
	The Built Environment
		Wi-Fi, Where-Fi Art Thou?
		Bluetooth and Cellular
	Cities and the Countryside
	Summary
Chapter 12: How Climate Change Affects IT Support
	Right to Repair
	Support Lifecycles
	How Your IT Policies Can Help Climate Action
		What’s in a SOC?
		Should You Buy More Than You Need?
		So How Does This Help You and Your Business?
	Summary
Part IV: Documentation and Reporting
Chapter 13: Why Good Documentation Matters
	Documentation Saves Time and Money
	Documentation for Training
		Dumbing Things Down
	Documentation for Troubleshooting
		Personnel and SLAs
		Getting in Line
		Engineering Solutions
	Keep It Clear and Concise
	Summary
Chapter 14: Creating Troubleshooting Guides
	Clean, Concise, and Easy to Understand
		Bots and A.I.
		Flow Logic
		The Dev Problem
		Now Let Me Tell You a Story…
	The Story Continues…
		What and Why
	So Does the Princess Kiss the Frog?
	Summary
Chapter 15: Creating and Managing Reporting
	First-Line Support Paperwork
	Second- and Third-Line Support Paperwork
	Engineer Paperwork
	How Artificial Intelligence Can Aid Reporting
	Additional Forms and Reports
	Summary
Chapter 16: Harnessing System and Error Reporting in Windows
	Reliability History
	Windows Tools
		System Information
		Performance Monitor
			Data Collector Sets
		Event Viewer
			Creating Custom Views
			Attaching Tasks to Events
			Getting More Use from Event Data
	Honorable Mention: Task Manager
	Summary
Chapter 17: Obtaining Advanced Error and Status Information on PCs
	Getting Detailed Information About Errors
		Copying and Saving Event Details
		Connect to the Event Log on Another PC
	Finding Other Windows Error Logs
		Text File Logs
		XML and ETL Log Files
		dmp Files
	Summary
Part V: Providing Remote Support
Chapter 18: Remote Support Tools
	Remote Desktop
	Windows Remote Assistance
	Quick Assist/Intune Remote Help
	TeamViewer
	RealVNC
	LogMeIn
	Chrome Remote Desktop
	Summary
Chapter 19: Gathering Information Remotely
	Start with the Asset Tag
		Remote Access for Intune Managed Computers
		Permitting Remote Administration of PCs
		Sign into the Registry as Another User
		Using the Microsoft Management Console Remotely
	Summary
Chapter 20: Helping Your Users to Help You
	Problem Steps Recorder
	Saving Screenshots
	Screencasting
	Xbox Game Bar
	Summary
Chapter 21: Taking IT Support to the Next Level
	There’s No “I” in Team
		The Honesty Box
		The Advisory Committee
		Career Advancement
	Looking to the Future
	Okay, So There is an “I” in Team
	“Come Together, Right Now”
	Summary
Index