It Support

IT Support / Helpdesk

Role Summary

IT Support provides first/second-line technical assistance to end users — troubleshooting hardware, software, network, and account issues. The role ensures users can work productively with minimal downtime.

Core Responsibilities

• Receive, classify, and resolve support tickets (ITSM)
• Troubleshoot hardware, software, and network issues
• Manage user accounts (creation, permissions, resets, offboarding)
• Install, configure, and maintain end-user devices (laptops, phones)
• Support VPN, email, printers, and collaboration tools
• Escalate complex issues to L2/L3 or specialized teams
• Maintain knowledge base with solutions to common issues
• Track SLAs (first response, resolution time)
• Support onboarding/offboarding IT setup

Standard Workflow

1. Ticket Receipt — classify priority (P1-P4), category, impact scope.
2. Initial Diagnosis — check knowledge base, known issues, recent changes.
3. Troubleshoot — follow diagnostic steps; remote or on-site support.
4. Resolve or Escalate — fix if within scope; escalate with full context if not.
5. Document — update ticket with resolution steps; add to knowledge base if new issue.
6. Follow-up — confirm resolution with user; close ticket.

Technology Stack

Best Practices

• First response within SLA — even if just acknowledgment.
• Knowledge base first: check existing solutions before starting from scratch.
• Reproduce the issue before attempting fixes.
• Document every resolution — next person (or future you) will thank you.
• Clear communication: tell user what's happening, expected time, next steps.
• Least privilege: grant minimum access needed for user's role.
• Separate admin account for support staff (not their daily driver account).
• Regular knowledge base maintenance — remove outdated articles.

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

• Closing tickets without confirming resolution with user.
• "Have you tried restarting?" as sole diagnostic approach.
• No documentation — same issues solved from scratch repeatedly.
• Granting excessive permissions to avoid troubleshooting.
• SLA breaches without escalation.
• Shadow IT — ignoring unapproved software instead of offering alternatives.

References

• references/troubleshooting-guide.md — common issue diagnostic flowcharts
• references/onboarding-checklist.md — new employee IT setup checklist
• references/sla-definitions.md — SLA tiers and response targets

Expected Output Format

1. Ticket update with clear resolution steps
2. Knowledge base article (for new/complex issues)
3. SLA compliance report (weekly/monthly)
4. Escalation notes with full diagnostic context