Progress Report # 1

Compiled by : Asim Mehboob Shani

Project Title: IT Helpdesk Facility

Organization: Karachi Electric Supply Company

Supervisor: Muhammed Feroz Ansari

Date: September 24th, 2009.

Signature of Supervisor: _______________

 Summary

The IT Helpdesk project had been initiated before we joined at KESC. Our
supervisor gave us a brief overview of the company and the involvement of IT in various
departments of KESC. He gave us an overview of the project and its objectives. He
informed us about the significant need for an organized way to manage and track user’s
requests for IT services. Work on the project had already been started. A basic web portal
had been developed on MS sharepoint. The IT Helpdesk Web Portal is being developed
in-house and it is open to changes which would be revealed once the project went live.
To gather the requirements and determine the needs of users across KESC, a survey was
conducted. The users were asked to give their opinion about the current paper based
system and the time their service was provided by the IT department. The results showed
a dire need for a proper channel to lodge complaint and then manage and keep track of
these complains.

We were given a brief training session as to how each process of IT Helpdesk

portal would work. The processes were divided among the project team members. The
person who had developed the web portal demonstrated the working of different requests
and the approval cycle. A document defining the various processes covered in IT
Helpdesk had been compiled. We were given this document which we reviewed and
learned about the workflows and involvement of different departments in IT for each
process. Then we went and met different personnel in each department and were given a
brief overview of the activities and how the current flow of work was conducted. We
were given the task to make user manuals for each process of IT Helpdesk. Manuals
would help users to fill the forms and use the web portal. We completed all the manuals
but as the project went live, there were changes in the form which consequently required
changes in the manual as well. Documentation of procedures from IT Helpdesk’s point of
view was also done for internal purpose.

Training sessions for the end users were conducted to demonstrate the working of
IT helpdesk and to present the benefits which the users could have by using this facility.
Although there are a lot of users but we were asked to train atleast those in the head
office at State Life Building. The Pilot Project was launched on September 7th 2009.
KESC is a large organization where a shift from the old system is a humungous task.
Thus there were a lot of shortcomings in the software and issues faced by the IT
Helpdesk Team some of which were resolved but others would be catered in the next
period. The project is on schedule and as issued are faced by the passage of time,
amendments would be made to the product.
 Introduction

IT Helpdesk facility is a one window operation with the end user and a centralized
service to keep track of all user requests and complaints. It is a service which would
facilitate the end users of KESC located in various locations in Karachi in getting their
service requisitions and troubleshooting problems solved through an organized channel.
The amount of requisitions and problems are a lot, considering the company size. KESC
has about 1800 to 2000 users across Karachi who faces different IT related problems
every day. To properly manage and timely deliver service to these users is a concern. For
the first few months, the project would run as pilot. The size and nature of this
organization is such that a transition from the old system is a challenging task. Thus vast
changes would be observed as the project progresses and these changes would be
incorporated in the software.

IT department in KESC is divided into six sub divisions: IT Services, IT Security,

IT Workplace, IT SAP, IT Networks and IT Business Administration. The end users
request for a service or lodge a complaint which concerns a particular department. In the
current system, there is lack of proper channel through which a user can lodge a
complaint or request for a service. Most users are unaware of the kind of problem they
face and forward their complaint to the wrong department. Secondly, the paper based
system causes a lot of hassle and confusion for the users because there are so many forms
and user often fills the incorrect form. If a user required a new service e.g. email/domain
registration or a new equipment laptop, monitor, etc) they would manually have to fill a
form and locate personnel for approvals.

IT Helpdesk facility aims to increase the efficiency of IT department. Users can

log on to the IT Helpdesk web portal and lodge a complaint or request. If the user needs
assistance regarding the use of IT Helpdesk, he can contact Helpdesk team by email and
phone. The request would be sent for approvals of senior management by email. Then IT
Helpdesk personnel would forward the request to the particular department and follow up
the request until it is completed. The status for each request is maintained and the user
can keep track of his/her request by a request id. Thus the overall time taken to provide a
service or resolve a complaint is reduced. It would also serve as a step towards making a
paperless environment within KESC.
 Work Completed

From August 24th to September 31st:

• Overview of the Company and IT department: In the first week of the project,
we were given an overview of the company and the role of IT department. KESC
has about 1800 to 2000 users located in different offices across Karachi. Our
supervisor gave a briefing about the divisions in the IT department and the nature
of work each department was involved in. We were introduced to different
personnel in each department who explained us the nature and type of requests
and complaints they work on.
• Current System and procedures: Our purpose was to see how the current
system worked and what procedures were being followed to resolve users’
requests and complaints. We witnessed that the current system had very few
defined procedures to follow. There was lack of a proper channel through which
users could lodge a complaint or request for any IT service.
• Knowledge of each department’s work: In each department, there were
different personnel for different tasks. For e.g. in IT Services, there was one
person for email/domain creation and another for vpn/internet requests. In this
way, we learned which person to forward the requests in each department once
the project went live.
• Demonstration of IT Helpdesk web portal: Then we were given a
demonstration of IT Helpdesk web portal and working of its processes. It
incorporated service and troubleshooting requests concerning all departments in
IT. The demonstration included the flow of work and how each request went
through approval cycle and then forwarded to the concerning department. Each
person in the IT Helpdesk Team was assigned a particular department who would
cater only those requests which concerned that department. For e.g. IT Business
Administration person would cater requests for hardware equipments or hardware
return.

From September 1st to September 7th

• Documentation: The user manuals for IT Helpdesk were made for each process.
Each service request had a separate form. User manuals contained instructions as
to how each form would be filled and submitted. It also showed instructions for
the senior management to approve the incoming requests. Besides user manuals,
we also compiled standard operating procedures from IT Helpdesk perspective.
We consulted the old procedures and crafted new procedures which incorporated
IT Helpdesk.
• Training sessions for End Users: Although the number of end users in KESC is
huge but we were asked to train at least those located in main offices like State
Life Building. Training sessions for the end users were conducted to demonstrate
 the working of IT helpdesk and to present the benefits which the users could have
by using this facility.

From September 7th to September 19th

• Project launch: On September 7th the project went live and an introductory email
of IT Helpdesk Facility was sent to all users across KESC. The email, ip phone
and landline phone were set up for contact. Each person in IT Helpdesk Team was
assigned a department who would follow up the requests concerning that
department.

Problems faced and Actions taken

Following are the problems faced during the first month and actions taken to solve them:

• After some requests for IT equipment (computer, printer, etc) were made by
users, it was found that some key fields in the form were missing. After
discussion with GM BA-IT, these fields were added by our developer and
changes approved. Similarly, in another form there was a need to add an approval
of group head (for a BlackBerry Request) pertaining to its importance.
• The transition from old system to lodging complaint from the portal is difficult for
the user. Even the senior management (Manager, GM, DD) are having problems
in finding the mail and approving it. The person to whom Helpdesk personnel
forwards the complaint is also unaware of how to close a particular request after
completion. But IT Helpdesk Team assists the user through phone or email.
• There were times when requests pertaining to a certain department were coming
more in number then another. So we decided that all members of IT Helpdesk
team should be aware of each others’ requests and their status. In this way,
workload was divided.

Work Scheduled

After the first month of the project, there had been a number of issues which need to be
resolved. These include:
• Workflows of some processes need amendments. Senior Management of some
departments had raised issue that they were involved in a process and IT
Helpdesk does not take them into consideration. For this purpose, a meeting with
senior management representing different departments has been arranged on
September 28th.
• There is a need to make the end users aware of the new facility. In the next
month, publicity of IT Helpdesk is on schedule.
 • The link to access IT Helpdesk is currently long and difficult to remember. A
short URL is to be obtained. The interface of web portal would be modified.
• Training of end users at main offices is on schedule for the next month.
• Enhancement of processes and changes in documentation. There had been
additions of fields and approvals in the forms because of which the manuals need
to be changed accordingly.

Evaluation

The progress of the project is as per the original projections. The documentation,
training of end users, knowledge of workflows and the project launch were the main
objectives for this month. As the software is being developed in-house and the nature of
this organization is such that there would be changes, the project was set live in the first
month only. Now as the project progresses, there would be issues and problems which
would lead to amendments in the product. But the success of this project depends upon
the performance of IT Helpdesk in the next month and whether it is able to strike a
difference in the ongoing system. Thus it is a challenge to timely deliver the requests as
well as to identify and rectify problems in the processes in order to mature the product.