Explain the purpose and nature of safe working practices required in the support and

management of different IT systems.

Compare the support and management needs and

characteristics of different IT systems, showing how they would meet the client’s requirements.

Evaluate the support needs and

characteristics of different IT systems, justifying were

improvements may be possible.

Explain the job roles and system and network tools used in the support and management of

different IT systems.

Complete at least six routine IT support activities safely, using

some appropriate processes and behaviors.

B.P4

Monitor the performance of the

IT system safely against the client’s requirements, using

some appropriate processes and behaviors.

Complete at least six routine IT support activities safely and

monitor the system’s performance to meet the client’s requirements, using appropriate processes and behaviours.

Complete at least six routine IT support activities safely and optimize the system’s performance to meet the client’s requirements, using processes and behaviours

effectively.

management plan that adequately meets most of the

client’s requirements.

C.P6 Review the IT support

and management plan with others to identify and inform

improvements.

made for an IT support and

management plan, explaining how it will meet the client’s

requirements and be fit for purpose.

Evaluate, using feedback from

others, the refined IT support and management plan, justifying how it fully meets the client’s requirements and is fit for purpose.

In this unit, you will examine the support and management needs and characteristics of IT systems used by organizations, identifying areas where support is necessary and the different job roles involved. You will examine the legislation and regulations that are in place to provide a safe and productive environment for employees. You will carry out a series of practical IT support activities on a system and a range of devices, which could include performing software updates and changing user access rights. You will monitor system performance and optimize it to meet the client’s requirements. You will learn about and apply appropriate behaviors to complete these activities. Finally, you will prepare a support and management plan for a new IT system.

Vocational Scenario or Context:

You have been working for a PC repair company as an IT Technician. Your manager is interested in branching out into the IT support and management market, providing outsourced IT support to local businesses. She has asked you to examine what might be involved.

Activity 1:

Write a report for your manager in which you evaluate the support and management needs and characteristics; including purpose and nature, safe working practice, job roles and system and network tools used, for at least 2 different organisations.

The organisations should run IT systems which are different in their nature, for example the numbers and/or skill levels of the users might be different. The way they provide IT support should also be different (for example one might provide support in-house while the other outsources support) You should also consider what improvements might be made and justify the suggestions you make (for example where a large number of non-expert users are supported it may be helpful to develop on-line training materials).

B. Wooten, Building & Managing a World Class It Help Desk, 2001, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media, 978-0072132373

N. Bruton, Managing the IT Services Process, 2005, Routledge, 978-0750657235

e.g. work sheets, risk assessments, case study

The company has started running the support service and several customers have already signed up.

You need to provide evidence that you have carried out at least 6 IT support and management tasks safely and effectively such as

·         User issue and fault logging

·         Communication with users to resolve technical issues

·         Support and repair tasks including work around solutions

·         User account management

·         Hardware or software installation or upgrade

·         Individual device configuration

·         Storage management

·         Peripheral installation and/or configuration

·         Software management

·         Disk configuration

You also need to provide detailed evidence that you have monitored the performance of the system and optimised it to meet the client requirements for a secure system with adequate performance. This could be done for example by adjusting security settings, updating software, adjusting the operating system configuration and carrying out hardware upgrades. You should also explain how the optimisations are intended to improve performance

Your evidence should also show that you have used effective behaviours (such as time management, use of feedback from others, effective communication, leadership and responsibility) while carrying out the tasks.

Evidence (such as screen shots, print-outs, observation statements and photographs) of support activities completed.

D. Crawley and P Senness. The Compassionate Geek: Mastering Customer Service for IT Professionals. 2013, Soundtraining net. 978-0983660705

Meyers, M. CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition. McGraw-Hill Education 2016. 978-1259589515

e.g., work sheets, risk assessments, case study

You have been asked to put together a support plan for a one of the businesses that have signed up for outsourced support.

The business that you need to put together a support plan for is a start-up company that runs an on-line business. They are planning to have between 25 and 30 employees who will all have desktop PCs and the senior staff will also have tablet computers connected by WiFi to the company LAN which will allow users to share data and have access to the Internet. There will need to be 3 black and white and two colour printers, all of which are shared. The system is vital to the company’s operations and must be available 24hr a day and 356 days a year.

You need to:

·         Develop an IT support and management plan for the company covering:

o   incident response

o   disaster recovery

o   capacity planning

o   sustainability and environmental waste planning

o   at least one other aspect of IT support and management.

The plan should also include a floor layout showing location of office furniture, IT equipment and cabling.

·         Review the plan with at least 2 other people and use the feedback to refine the plan.

·         Provide a clear, balanced and sound justification of the support decisions you made in the plan.

·         Write an evaluation of the refined plan, considering the feedback you received from others and how you used it.

Your work needs to be logically structured and easy to understand by others who may not be IT professionals. You should use accurate, fluent technical language with a good standard of spelling and grammar.

Completed IT support and management plan, justification of choices and evaluation.

D. Crawley and P Senness. The Compassionate Geek: Mastering Customer Service for IT Professionals. 2013, Soundtraining net. 978-0983660705

Meyers, M. CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition. McGraw-Hill Education 2016. 978-1259589515

B. Wooten, Building & Managing a World Class It Help Desk, 2001, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media, 978-0072132373

N. Bruton, Managing the IT Services Process, 2005, Routledge, 978-0750657235

e.g. work sheets, risk assessments, case study