Operational Procedures: implement best practices associated with documentation and support systems information management Flashcards
CompTIA A+ 220-1102 Exam Criteria
What are the ticketing best practice?
Ticketing systems (Best Practice)
User information Device information Description of problems Categories Severity Escalation levels
Clear, concise written communication
Problem description Progress notes Problem resolution
Why do we use a ticketing system?
Ticketing systems are required as part of jobs at the service desk or help desk. Other roles which include the use of ticketing systems include IT support analyst and IT support engineer. A ticket is a database entry that records the time, circumstances, applications, device, details, user name, contact information, time, date, and other data related to technical support queries.
An organization must track its assets, which are in the form of hardware, software, and data. With the implementation of asset management, you should track your tangible assets, such as software and hardware.
In this exercise, you will learn about the ticketing system process. You will also learn about various types of asset management best practices.
What are the Asset Management Best Practices?
Inventory lists
Database system
Asset tags and IDs (my asset tags)
Procurement life cycle
1. Need identification 2. Vendor selection 3. Submit purchase requisition 4. Generate purchase order 5. Invoice and order
Warranty and licensing
Assigned users
Why we utilize Asset Management?
Asset management allows IT to track its assets and account for replacement and upgrades. Assets can be hardware, software and data.
When equipment enters the company, it should be labeled with an asset tag and barcode. The asset tag will have a numeric number, which should be entered into the asset management software used by the company.
There are applications available that can scan through the systems on the network and track the application licenses and collate their records in a single place. You can then verify if the systems are using legitimate applications or have exceeded the number of licenses.
Similarly, you need to track your data and most importantly, you need to know who is using which pieces of data. You can implement Data Loss Prevention and monitor your data. It prevents unauthorized sharing of information.
What are the type of documents Type is recommended to use?
Types of documents (Document Types)
Regulatory compliance requirements
Splash screens – regulatory compliance advertised
Acceptable use policy (AUP) - if you don’t follow you could be terminated.
Network topology diagram
Why do we use inventory management?
Keeping track of the inventory is an important task for an IT support professional. You should track the complete details of the hardware that you have in the organization.
What information is included in a inventory management?
Make
Model
Configuration (RAM, CPU, Hard drives)
Serial Number
Service Tag
Date of purchase
Any component (such as a hard drive) changes. If yes, then the date of change and possibly the configuration and serial number of the component
Assigned to
Date of assignment/release
Why do we use inventory management?
In the inventory management database, you also need to track information about devices assigned to users or if the item is gone for repair or replacement.
There are several benefits of inventory management. One of the biggest benefits is if the hardware, such as a laptop, is lost or stolen, you have the information needed to file an insurance claim or report to the police. Both of these processes would require a good amount of information, such as the make and model.
There is no fixed method for inventory management. It is up to you to choose a method. You could either use an inventory management application or simply track all the information in a spreadsheet. As long as you keep it updated, the method is your choice entirely.
Why do we use Asset tags?
Asset tags are used to track the hardware item. An asset tag has a barcode or a serial number. When you scan the barcode, the complete hardware details of the item are fetched from the inventory database.
For example, when you purchase an item from a store, the cashier simply scans the barcode on the item, and it is added for checkout.
You can use the asset tag, which will then be placed on each hardware item, such as a laptop, desktop, printers, servers, and so on.
What are the four Procurement lifecycle of devices?
Acquisition: This is the phase in which the organization procures the device. It becomes an asset and is most likely tagged with a specific number or similar identification method.
Implementation: This is the phase in which the device is implemented and put to use. It could be a laptop assigned to a user or a server commissioned on the network.
Maintenance: As and when a device breaks down, it is repaired. This is the maintenance phase. It could be a wear and tear in the device, such as malfunctioning of a network printer or a server’s hard drive crashes. These are maintenance activities that need to be tracked for each device so that the device’s history can be maintained.
Decommissioning: After the lifetime of a device is over, it is decommissioned. Some organizations donate older devices and systems, and others sell them off at a lower price. Each device or system within an organization has a specific lifetime beyond which it needs to retire or be disposed of.
What is Network Topology Diagram?
A network topology diagram is a visual representation of the network architecture. It uses different symbols and connections, which are represented by lines. A network diagram can help a user understand the layout of the network.
The network topology diagram should detail how the network is designed. It should mention the following:
Devices that are present on the network.
Connectivity between these devices.
IP addresses and names of these devices.
Why do we use Regulatory and Compliance Policy?
A Regulatory and Compliance Policy defines the principles and standards for compliance and management of compliance risks in an organization. It ensures two key things:
Compliance risks are identified
Compliance risks are mitigated adequately
This policy applies to all business units, functions, and employees. The senior management or the organization is responsible for enforcing this policy.
Why is incident report so important in a business?
Every incident in an organization must be reported and documented. An incident could be small, such as one system getting infected with malware, or it could be big and severe in nature, such as a Distributed Denial-of-Service attack on your network. Every incident must be documented to keep the network secure.
What do you need to include in a incident report?
To document the incident, you need to do the following tasks:
Identify the incident
Report the incident to the proper channels
Document the incident
Use chain-of-custody if the device or data is being handed to someone else for resolution
When it comes to Incident documentation, these are some of the characteristics that we find within the documentation:
Job ID
Contact
Priority
Problem description
Asset
Details
Follow up
Dates
What do you do after you resolve an incident?
There may be a scenario in which you do not know what to do in an incident. You should report the incident to the appropriate authority, which could be your supervisor. You may be directed to the appropriate channel, or they will help you resolve the incident.
After the incident is resolved, it must be documented properly. The documentation must be prepared to keep the following in mind:
Provide specific details and descriptions of the incident. Try to be as specific as possible.
State facts only. Your opinions should be excluded.
Use an objective tone. Exclude any emotions when defining the incident.
List chronological incidents.
Use photos/evidence if possible.
What do you need to be mindful of on SOP?
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
As the name states, standard operating procedures define a set of instructions to perform a specific task, an activity, or a process. Standard operating procedures are written to bring operational consistency into performing a specific task. Also, it minimizes errors because everyone follows the same set of instructions. For example, a standard operating procedure for custom installation of a software package will define the process to install any application with ease. All IT administrators within the organization will follow the same set of instructions.
When creating a standard operating procedure document, you need to ensure the following components are added:
Purpose
Scope
Responsibilities
Definitions
Procedures
Standard operating procedures are different from work instructions. It’s more focused on what needs to be done. Work instructions focus on how something needs to be done and use a step-by-step instructions approach.
What do you need to ensure that is completed on New-User Setup Checklist?
Imagine that an organization hires you. On your first day, you have no clue what to do and whom to contact. The HR team is too busy to help you out. This can be an issue for the hired individual. It also adds a negative impression on the organization. The HR teams in most organizations have onboarding processes and procedures, which help the individual settle down. The onboarding processes also include the IT part. When you complete your joining formalities, the IT team does the following:
Assign a system or laptop
Assign a user account and email
Assign a workstation
Assign access to network resources
What do you need to ensure that is completed on End-User Termination Checklist?
End-User Termination Checklist
Just like onboarding, the HR team usually has offboarding processes and procedures. IT again plays a critical role. For example, the IT team will;
Handle the handover of the system or laptop
Backup the system or laptop (if required) or handover the system or laptop to the team or manager
Deletion or Deactivation of user account and email
Completion of data or project handover
As part of the end-user termination checklist, a user may be required to complete documentation that serves as an input for the next employee who will replace the user.
Why do we need knowledge base/Articles?
A knowledge base is an online library of articles or information snippets, which can help a learner find information quickly. Most organizations use the knowledge base to maintain information in a central place. The information could be related to HR, IT, or any other department in the organization.
For example, an IT support professional would have contributed to troubleshooting several complex problems. Other than them, it is possible that no one in the organization really knows how to troubleshoot those problems if they occur again. The IT support professional could contribute to the knowledge base by writing articles on those problems. They may cover information such as:
Nature of the problem
Cause of the problem
Step-by-step solution implemented
In the future, if the same set of problems occurs, team members can be directed to the knowledge base article. This cuts down on the time taken to resolve a problem.
An organization can also use a knowledge base for onboarding new employees, sharing policies, etc. A lot of product development organizations also use knowledge base for sharing information about their software. Users can be left clueless if they do not have product information.
Microsoft makes extensive use of the knowledge base. Microsoft Support provides troubleshooting information on their knowledge base. The user can select the product and then find the information they are looking for. The user can either search the knowledge base or view some of the most commonly asked questions.
Wikipedia can also be considered a knowledge base. Different users are allowed to contribute information. On the other hand, Microsoft does not allow external user contributions.
