Page 111 - ITIL® Foundation 3.15

History of the Help Desk
Prior to the early 1980s technology usage was confined to the data- processing department, data was input, reports were run, and delivered to the customer. End users had little to no contact with technology as the end product was delivered to their desk in paper printed format.
Anytime that a new technology is introduced into an environment, there is a learning curve and the possibility of chaos. Chaos is exactly what happened in the early 1980s when personal computers were introduced into the corporate environment.
Users had little to no experience with those devices and support personnel did not exist. These users with little to no desktop experience or training were thrust into usage of a foreign technology. They had nowhere to request help or answers and often would turn to each other for advice and support. Those users who were technology forward, (usually had purchased and played with computers at home prior to any business usage) would provide answers and support. This led to a situation where the “helper” became the expert and then could not perform their own work because of the time spent supporting those less-informed.
If no peer was available for help, users would call whatever IT number to which they had access. These numbers would often be to the programmers or IT analyst that they might know, or have interacted with before. This led to highly-paid specialists being used to answer end-user questioning, or being responsible for dispatching repair personnel to the users desk-side when there was a problem. IT analyst and programmer productivity was affected due to the interruption. Users were unhappy because these support calls would often get misplaced or forgotten because there was no central unit of responsibility for support delivery. IT answered this issue with the creation of the help desk.
Users were directed to call a central number where their issues could be handled and tracked. Accountability could be maintained and tickets would not get lost. Tracking systems were often developed using spreadsheets, or simple databases. Although this provided a more standardized delivery, the service desk still “made up” operational procedures as they went along. This led to users still being dissatisfied with the support they were receiving, and even today, users will bypass the
Copyright © 2018. Knowledge ToolWorks. All Rights Reserved.