Instructor Materials

Chapter 13: The IT

Professional

IT Essentials v6.0

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2015 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Confidential

Chapter 13:
The IT Professional

IT Essentials v6.0

Presentation_ID

2015 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cisco Confidential

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Chapter 13 - Sections & Objectives

13.1 Communication Skills and the IT Professional
Explain why good communication skills are a critical part of IT work.

13.2 Ethical and Legal Issues in the IT Industry

Explain appropriate behavior when faced with the legal and ethical issues that
arise in the IT industry.

13.3 Call Center Technicians

Explain the call center environment and technician responsibilities.

13.4 Chapter Summary

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13.1 Communication Skills

and the IT Professional

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Communication Skills and the IT Professional

Communication Skills, Troubleshooting and the IT

Professional
Establish good communication skills

Listen to your customer to learn the details of the problem

Speak directly with the customer

Gather information from the customer

Present yourself professionally

Keep your own emotions in check

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Communication Skills and the IT Professional

Working with a Customer

Determine customer problem

Listen actively to customer problem

Do not interrupt

Understand the problem, ask to clarify as necessary

Display professional behavior

Treat customer with respect and prompt attention

Know the proper procedure to put a customer on hold or

transfer a call

Explain how you can assist the customer

Stay focus

Keep the communications focus on the customer issue

Understand how to deal with different customer types

Proper netiquette

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Practice good netiquette when communicating online with the

customer
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Communication Skills and the IT Professional

Employee Best Practices

Time and stress management

Prioritize your activities by following the business policy

Compose yourself between customer calls

Adjust your work station to help you do your job

Observe SLAs

SLA defines an agreement between the interested parties.

When dealing with customers, you need to observe the content of

the SLA.

Management determines the exceptions to the SLA.

Follow business policies

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Handling customer calls

Call center activities

Ensuring customer satisfaction

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13.2 Ethical and Legal Issues

in the IT Industry

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Ethical and Legal Issues in the IT Industry

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Respect your customers, their equipment and intellectual property.
Legal consideration
Some examples:
Do not make any changes to the software and hardware configuration without
permission
Do not access customers user accounts without permission

Do not violate the copyright laws

Do not use customers IT resources without permission

Licensing

Personal license: The program usually runs on only one machine

Enterprise license: The company pays for the employees to use the software

Open source license: This license allows developers to modify and share the codes

Commercial license: The commercial license allows the licensee to make money from
the software

Digital rights management: The software is designed to prevent illegal access to digital
content and devices

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Ethical and Legal Issues in the IT Industry

Legal Procedures Overview

Computer forensics

The collection and analysis of data from computers and related devices

Two types of data collected:

Persistent data is usually stored on a drive and preserved when computer is
turned off.

Volatile data is lost when the computer is turned off. Volatile data includes data in
transit and data that is temporarily stored in RAM, cache and registries.

Cyber law and first response

IT professionals must understand their responsibility and liability relating to

cybercrimes in their country, region, or state.

Know your companys policy regarding cybercrimes.

Understand how to preserve evidence if illegal activity is discovered.

Documentation and chain of custody

Always document the work performed.

Chain of custody documents how the evidence was collected, who has access to the
evidence, and where it is stored.

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13.3 Call Center Technicians

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Call Center Technicians

Call Centers, Level One Technicians, and Level

Two Technicians
Call Centers

Busy, fast-paced, possibly 24/7 work environment

Could be internal or a service to outside customer

Has business policies regarding call priority

Uses support software to manage the job functions

Technicians with different experience levels

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Call Center Technicians

Call Centers, Level One Technicians, and Level

Two Technicians (Cont.)
Level 1 Technicians

Gather pertinent information from the customer

Resolve simple issues and escalate the work order when necessary

What questions should a Level 1 technician ask the customer?

Level 2 Technicians

Probably have remote software capabilities to assist with resolving customer issue

Calls the customer back to ask any additional questions.

Usually more knowledgeable about technology.

Deals with escalated work order

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13.4 Chapter Summary

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Chapter Summary

Summary
To become a successful technician, you will:

Use good communications skills with customers and co-workers

Conduct business in a professional manner

Practice good netiquette

Comply with customers SLA

Follow business policies

Practice good time and stress management skills

Familiarize yourself with cyber laws in your country, region, or state

Know your responsibility in the fight against cybercrimes

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Presentation_ID

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Presentation_ID

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