HDI Knowledge Centered Support Principles Participant Handbook

HDI®

Knowledge Centered Support Principles release 5.3.1

PARTICIPANT HANDBOOK

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Knowledge Management Foundations: KCS Principles

Certification Training

Participant Handbook

v.5.3.1.U.S.Stud

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AcknowledgementsMany thanks to the following people and companies for their time and assistance maintaining the Knowledge Management Foundations: KCS Principles certi�cation course:

Ingrid Bradford, Sr. Instructional Designer, HDI

John Custy, Founder & Principal Consultant, JPC Group

Rick Joslin, Executive Director of Certi�cation and Training, HDI

Katherine Lord, President, Lord Consulting

Version 5.3.1 Copyright © 2013 UBM LLC All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-1-57125-084-1

HDI 121 S. Tejon Street • Suite 1100 Colorado Springs, CO • 80903 • US US and Canada: (800) 248-5667 www.�inkHDI.com

HDI assumes no liability for error or omission. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of HDI, with the exception of trade publications reporting on the data. In such cases, credit must be given to HDI. HDI is a registered trademark of UBM LLC. HDI is a part of UBM Tech, a division of UBM LLC.

Portions of this document include information based on the ITIL and IT Infrastructure Library publications of the UK O�ce of Government Commerce. ITIL is a registered community trademark of the O�ce of Government Commerce, and is registered in the US Patent and Trademark O�ce.

Portions of this document include information based on the Knowledge-Centered Support publications of the Consortium for Service Innovation. KCS is a registered service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation. KCS Aligned v5 is a trademark of the Consortium for Service Innovation. KCS Aligned v5 is a designation from the KCS Academy that this course complies with the KCS standards de�ned in the KCS Practices Guide which is published by the KCS Academy and the Consortium for Service Innovation.

All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2013 ITpreneurs. All rights reserved.

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Welcome to HDI®.Thank you for selecting HDI for your professional development needs. By participating in this course, you will learn knowledge and skills based on the IT service and technical support industry’s best practices, frameworks, and methodologies with the guidance of industry experts and practitioners from the HDI community. HDI is the world’s largest membership association for IT service and technical support professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. This course has also been designed to assist you in preparing for the related HDI certification exam.

In response to the needs of the industry, HDI and the Consortium for Service Innovation jointly developed the first Knowledge Foundations: KCS Principles course in 2003 in order to promote and share the KCS methodology. Working with members of the Consortium for Service Innovation, HDI developed the first Knowledge-Centered Support Principles Certification Standard in 2006. In 2007, HDI released the Knowledge-Centered Support Principles Certification Exam as a means to test and then recognize individuals that demonstrate their comprehension of KCS. The Knowledge-Centered Support Principles Certification Standard summarizes the core range of knowledge an individual is expected to know about KCS and how to adopt it. In July of 2013, this course received the KCS Aligned v5 designation from the KCS Academy, indicating that this course complies with the KCS standards defined in the KCS Practices Guide v5.3, which is published by the KCS Academy and the Consortium for Service Innovation.

Why is industry certification important? It demonstrates that you—and your staff—are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to provide best-in-class support. Achieving HDI certification speaks to your personal commitment to excellence and your desire for continual growth. I challenge you to get HDI Certified and to promote yourself as a certified support professional.

HDI’s membership association is built by industry professionals like you. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the leading resource for support center emerging trends and best practices. HDI offers a vast repository of resources to our members. Through our online community, you can connect with your peers and industry experts, access publications and information to help you with your support center processes and goals. If you are not a member, I personally invite you to join our community.

If you have suggestions on how to improve our offerings, or if you would like to become an active member in our community, please call us at 1-800-248-5667.

Best of luck in your journey to support excellence!

Regards,

Rick Joslin, HDI Executive Director of Certification and Training

WELCOME Letter

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TABLE Contentsof

IntroductionSection 1: Getting Started ............................................ I-2Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning Experience ....... I-6Section 3: About HDI ................................................. I-8

Unit 1: What is Knowledge-Centered Support?Section 1: What is Knowledge-Centered Support?.......1-3Section 2: What Led to the Development of KCS? ...... 1-7Section 3: Why Do You Need KCS? .......................... 1-13Section 4: What are the Bene�ts of KCS? ..................1-22Section 5: How Does KCS Complement w/ ITSM? .. 1-25

Unit 2: The Knowledge-Centered Support ModelSection 1: Understanding KCS ....................................2-3Section 2: �e KCS Practices ......................................2-8

Unit 3: Aligning KCS with the BusinessSection 1: Aligning Business Goals and Objectives ......3-3Section 2: Providing Value with KCS ......................... 3-8Section 3: KCS Bene�ts and ROI .............................. 3-11

Unit 4: Content Health Overview: What is Content Health? ............................4-3Section 1: �e Content Standard .................................4-3Section 2: �e Content Migration Process ................4-13Section 3: Knowledge Monitoring .............................4-16Section 4: Enhancing Value .......................................4-23

Unit 5: KCS Roles and ResponsibilitiesSection 1: �e Typical Players in KCS .........................5-3Section 2: �e KCS Competency Model .................... 5-4Section 3: De�ning Roles and Competencies ............. 5-6

Unit 6: Process Integration

Section 1: Process Integration ......................................6-3Section 2: Structured Problem Solving ........................6-5Section 3: Process and Technology ..............................6-7Section 4: Support Processes ........................................6-9

Unit 7: Performance AssessmentReview: �e KCS Competency Model ........................7-3 Section 1: Performance Assessment ..............................7-4Section 2: Feedback and Reputation Model ...............7-44

Unit 8: LeadershipSection 1: Leadership ...................................................8-3Section 2: Motivation ................................................. 8-6Section 3: Rewards and Recognition..........................8-12Section 4: Having Purpose ......................................... 8-14Section 5: Promoting Teamwork ................................ 8-17

Unit 9: CommunicationSection 1: Communication ..........................................9-3Section 2: Key Messaging and Elevator Pitches ............9-8Section 3: Handling Questions and Objections .........9-12Section 4: Delivery Options ....................................... 9-18

Unit 10: TechnologySection 1: Functional Requirements ..........................10-3Section 2: Technology Selection ................................10-8Section 3: KCS Veri�ed ........................................... 10-10

Unit 11: The KCS Adoption RoadmapSection 1: �e KCS Adoption Program ..................... 11-3Section 2: Adoption Roles .........................................11-14Section 3: Implementation Strategy ..........................11-16Section 4: Investment People, Process, Technology .. 11-23Section 5: Critical Success Factors ........................... 11-25

Conclusion

AppendicesA: KCS Certi�cation Standard ................................... A-2B: Exam Preparation .................................................A-64C: Practice Text ........................................................ A-70D: Additional Resources ........................................... A-78E: Answers to Unit Challenges ................................A-141 F: Glossary ...............................................................A-153G: Bibliography........................................................A-166

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOUNDATIONS: KCS PRINCIPLES

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Unit Contents

Section 1: Getting Started ................................................................................ 2 Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning Experience ............................................ 6 Section 3: About HDI ...................................................................................... 8

INTROduction

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K n o w l e d g e M a n a g e m e n t F o u n d a t i o n s : K C S P r i n c i p l e s

C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 1 2 H D I , V e r s i o n 5 . 3 . 1

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INTROduction

Section 1: Getting Started

Course ObjectivesWelcome to the Knowledge Management Foundations: KCSSM Principles certification course. This three-day skills training and certification course is designed for support center professionals, supervisors, managers, and directors responsible for managing their support centers’ resources and improving service.

This course will provide you with guidance and practical steps for capturing, storing, and successfully reusing support knowledge. Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS), developed by the renowned Consortium for Service Innovation, defines a set of principles and practices proven to allow service and support organizations to significantly improve service levels to customers and gain operational efficiencies.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Assess the value of Knowledge-Centered Support

• Integrate knowledge management within the incident management process

• Optimize and track the use of knowledge

• Explain how the KCS workflow facilitates structured problem-solving

• Describe the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in knowledge management

• Assess performance related to knowledge management

• Implement strategies for Knowledge-Centered Support in your support center


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I n t r o d u c t i o n


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Course MaterialsYou are responsible for reading all of the materials you receive as part of this course. The materials for the course include:

• ParticipantManual—This manual is yours to keep and write in or highlight as needed. Terms in bold and italicized print are important terms to understand and be able to explain for this course.

• Activities—Discussions and activities are used in this course to reinforce learning objectives and concepts.

• SlidePresentation—Instructors may use slide presentations that are not in your book. Taking notes is strongly encouraged.

IntroductionsBe prepared to share the following information about yourself with the class:

Name:

Company and brief description of position:

Experiences with / observations about knowledge:

Percent of incidents reported that are logged:

Percent of incidents where knowledge is searched:

Percent of success when searching knowledge:

What burning questions do you have about knowledge management?

What do you need to see, experience, and learn that will make this training worth the investment?


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INTROduction

Online Student ResourcesAdditional resources are available for download from the online student resources. To access the online student resources, login to http://www.thinkhdi.com/students and type in the password tulip.

Site LogisticsTake a moment to note a few important details about the training facility, including the locations of the restrooms, reception areas, telephone and internet, and eating places. Your Instructor will explain the basic logistical details of the course agenda, including:

• The Instructor’s name and contact information

• Daily start time, finish time, and break times

• “Parking Lot” for questions and ideas

• Site permissions / restrictions on drinks and snacks in the training room

• Confidentiality of information in classroom discussions


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Course AgendaThis course has been designed to cover material from general to specific. The following outline provides an agenda for the course. However, the Instructor may change the agenda to suit the individual needs of the class.

Day One:

• Unit 1: What is Knowledge-Centered Support?

• Unit 2: The Knowledge-Centered Support Model

• Unit 3: Aligning KCS with the Business

Day Two:

• Unit 4: Content Health

• Unit 5: KCS Roles & Responsibilities

• Unit 6: Process Integration

• Unit 7: Performance Assessment

Day Three:

• Unit 8: Leadership

• Unit 9: Communication

• Unit 10: Technology

• Unit 11: The KCS Adoption Roadmap


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INTROduction

Section 2: Maximizing Your Learning ExperienceThis course alone does not prepare you for the certification exam—you must also study the Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) Principles Certification Standard. The certification exam for this course is based on the KCS Principles Standard. In this course, your Instructor will highlight and cover the majority of the topics in the standard and the key concepts that are critical to your job. Additionally, you will be provided with a safe learning environment to practice important concepts and ask questions.

As you prepare for the certification exam, review the information you learned in this class, and most importantly, review and study the KCS Principles Certification Standard. In Appendix A of your book is the Knowledge-Centered Support Principles Certification Standard. Highlighted for you are the topics covered in this course and the page number where the topic can be found. Also highlighted for you are the topics not covered in this course. You are responsible for reviewing and learning all of the topics in the standard in order to prepare for the certification exam. If you have a question about a topic not covered in this course, please see your Instructor during a break or send your Instructor an e-mail to further discuss the topic.


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Your ResponsibilityThis course is intended to help you adopt a Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) methodology that will shift your support center from a call-centric model to a knowledge-oriented model. You will optimize your time here by applying yourself to and being responsible for mastering these concepts. Please be prepared to:

• Return from breaks on time and participate fully

• Take risks and be creative—think “outside-of-the-box”

• Take notes and ask questions

• Share your experiences

• Be open to learning

• Enjoy yourself

Note: As a courtesy to others, please set pagers, cell phones, and other electronic devices to silent/manner mode. Time will be provided at breaks to allow you to check your messages.

Guiding QuestionsGuiding questions are presented at the beginning of each unit to help you focus on the key concepts and principles in each section. Use the guiding questions during class and as a study aid to assist in preparing you for your certification exam.

Unit ChallengeThe unit challenge is the practical application of the unit’s key concepts and principles. Use these questions to challenge yourself about what you have learned about the unit. Your assessment results in a guide to improving you and your support center’s performance.

Learning ActivitiesThis course is designed to build skills as well as assist in preparing you to take the Knowledge-Centered Support Principles certification exam. The experience you bring to this class is greatly valued and we encourage your participation in presenting your challenges, successes, and ideas. Lectures, discussions, and activities are designed to be an essential part of this course. It is critical that you are able to apply the topics and concepts presented in this course. These activities help make the course fun and will assist you in getting the most out of your learning experience.

Course EvaluationAt the end of this course, you will be asked to complete a brief course evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine strengths and identify areas for improvement. Your candid comments and feedback are greatly appreciated. Please return your evaluation to your Instructor at the end of the course.


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INTROduction

Section 3: About HDIHDI is the leading professional association and certification body for technical service and support professionals. Facilitating collaboration and networking, HDI hosts industry conferences and events, produces comprehensive publications and research, and connects solution providers with practitioners, while certifying and training thousands of professionals each year. HDI serves a community of over 110,000 members, followers, customers, solution providers, and contributors throughout the service industry, supporting sixty local chapters across North America. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the community’s premiere resource for best practices and emerging trends.

HDI Certification ProgramsHDI awards certifications to individuals and support centers. HDI certification programs include objectives and criteria for various levels of individual certification and site certification. HDI individual certification exams are based on open international standards developed and maintained by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee, which is made up support industry practitioners, experts and active members of the HDI community from across the world. Our training programs are developed to reinforce the information in the standard and to provide skills building for a variety of experience levels.


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Intro-9

HDI Customer Service Representative (HDI-CSR)

This course is recommended for front-line staff in the support center environment who are dedicated to providing outstanding levels of customer service and support. Course participants will be introduced to valuable information and everyday solutions for addressing the attitudes, behaviors, and relationships between customers and the support team. This one-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Customer Service Representative certification exam.

HDI Support Center Analyst (HDI-SCA)

This course focuses on support center processes, tools, and problem-solving techniques, while examining the skills needed for excellent customer support. Using real-world scenarios, analysts learn skills to manage the relationships between customers and their support team, thus improving individual performance and the overall efficiency of the entire support organization. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Analyst certification exam.

HDI Desktop Support Technician (HDI-DST)

This course is designed specifically for IT professionals who provide support at the customer’s work location or home office. It focuses on support processes that improve overall support operations and the customer’s experience. This two-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Technician certification exam.

HDI Support Center Team Lead (HDI-SCTL)

This course is designed specifically for support center analysts, team leads, and supervisors that require fundamental management and leadership skills due to current or future increased responsibilities. This skills-building and certification course focuses on best practices for support center operations and how to effectively coach and lead a team. This two-day course will prepare current and future team leads for excellence in their changing roles and assist them in preparing for the HDI Support Center Team Lead certification examination.

HDI Support Center Manager (HDI-SCM)

This course is designed for help desk and support center supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day operations and have three to five years of experience. Successful support center managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization, while marketing the value of the support operation to the executive team. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of the support center, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Manager certification exam.


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INTROductionHDI Desktop Support Manager (HDI-DSM)

This course is designed for desktop support supervisors, team leads, and managers who are responsible for day-to-day desktop support and services and have three to five years of experience. Successful desktop support managers must effectively manage relationships throughout their organization. Knowing how to build and deliver on service level agreements and operational level agreements, managing the strategic and tactical aspects of desktop support, and building and retaining great teams are what set apart the best managers and leaders. In addition to skills building, this three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Desktop Support Manager certification exam.

HDI Support Center Director (HDI-SCD)

This course is designed for experienced support center managers, directors, and other management positions directly responsible for providing strategic leadership for the support organization. This course is designed to show support center leadership how to use their knowledge and communication skills to align their department with organizational goals; operate under constraints such as budget, resources, and increased expectations; and discover techniques to help market the value of the support center to upper management. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the HDI Support Center Director certification exam.


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Intro-11

HDI Knowledge Management Foundations: KCS Principles

This course is designed for IT support professionals who are responsible for service improvements. Course participants will learn a set of practical steps for capturing, storing, and successfully reusing mission-critical knowledge that will shift your support center from a call-centric model to a knowledge-oriented one. This three-day course will assist participants in preparing for the Knowledge Centered Support Principles certification exam.

HDI Support Center Certification

The HDI Support Center Certification program provides the only globally recognized certification created specifically for support centers. The certification is an award that recognizes a support center’s commitment to excellence, efficiency, and service quality. The certification is based on the HDI Support Center Standard, an industry standard developed by an international standards committee comprised of more than 25 practitioners and experts from around the world. The standard was designed to conform to existing international quality standards, such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It provides a framework for successful leadership, strategic planning, people management, resource and technology optimization, and service delivery that is designed to produce performance and satisfaction results. The standard is organized into eight categories representing five enablers and three results. Each category contains activities with four levels of maturity. In order to qualify as an HDI-Certified Support Center, a center must successfully complete the audit requirements and achieve minimum maturity-level scores in each category and overall as defined by the HDI International Certification Standards Committee.

For a complete list of certification objectives for each certification course, please visit us at www.ThinkHDI.com.


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INTROduction

HDI Membership Provides Unmatched ValueHDI membership brings you a value of belonging to a community bigger than yourself. Including discounts on the HDI Annual Conference & Expo, special events, training and certification, access to industry reports and publications, networking opportunities, online discussion forums, webinars, and more, HDI membership provides you and your organization with innumerable benefits and incredible value.

Here’s just a small sampling of what’s included in an HDI membership:

LocalChapterMembership

Network with professionals in your area when you participate in local chapter meetings and events. There are more than sixty local chapters located throughout the United States and Canada.

SupportWorldMagazine

HDI’s award-winning, service and support industry-leading magazine focuses on the latest strategies, best practices, people management, technologies, tools, and techniques in its six annual issues.

HDIIndustryInsidereNewsletter

Distributed bi-weekly to more than 45,000 subscribers, every issue of HDI Industry Insider contains crucial information on trends and developments, as well as tips and information to keep you up to speed in this ever-changing industry.


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SupportCenterPractices&SalarySurveyReport

This essential report for any support manager contains comprehensive research data gathered from support organizations around the world. Providing a first-hand insight on the industry, department structure, personnel, service request profiles, practices, and tools, it takes an in-depth look at compensation levels for the support profession and provides analysis and trending over several years, making it an especially invaluable tool for managers preparing budgets and forecasts.

DesktopSupportPractices&SalarySurveyReport

HDI is pleased to announce that in addition to our traditional Support Center Practices & Salary Survey, we’ve expanded our research efforts to focus on the desktop support community. The HDI Desktop Support Practices & Salary Report provides insight into current processes, technologies, metrics, staffing models, and salaries within desktop support.

HDISupportCenterSelf-Evaluation

The HDI Support Center Self-Evaluation is an online tool that enables you to compare your support center against the HDI Support Center Standard and learn what your rating might be during an HDI Support Center Certification audit. This tool is available free to HDI members with a gold membership or higher.

WhitePapers

Read about the latest practices and processes in the industry or become an integral part of the white paper library and share your knowledge through articles, templates, case studies, presentations, and research findings. The HDI white paper library offers information on a wide variety of topics, including SLAs, global support, processes, surveys, and more.

HDIConnect

HDIConnect.com is your direct line to the HDI community. Read and comment on blogs from industry experts and your peers, post questions to the message boards, and get feedback on your current projects or challenges.

Please Note: Membership deliverables vary depending on membership package.

We invite you to join the world’s largest network of technical service and support professionals. To join, call 1.800.248.5667 or visit www.ThinkHDI.com/Join


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INTROduction

HDI is a Member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC)As a member of the IT Certification Council (ITCC), HDI is committed to enhancing the value of certifications for employers, professionals, and IT certification providers. The ITCC, a consortium of industry leaders focused on IT certifications, has recognized the need for a qualified workforce to support the world’s technology needs and is committed to growing professional certifications. The ITCC is a resource for employers, government officials, academia, and individuals seeking information about the many benefits of IT certification. The council establishes industry best practices, markets the value of certification and exam security, and addresses other certification issues.

A partial list of ITCC members includes Certiport, Cisco, Citrix Systems, Inc., EXIN International, HDI, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Kaplan, Linux Professional Institute (LPI), Microsoft, Novell, Prometric, and Pearson VUE—all of whom are recognized industry leaders in IT certifications.

ITCC is developing an international standard for testing ethics and a means for employers to verify that professionals hold the IT certifications they claim on their resumes and transcripts. HDI is proud to be a member of ITCC, collectively we enhance the IT industry.


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Unit 1: What is Knowledge-centered Support (KCS)?

Unit OverviewFor years, support centers have focused on improving First Contact Resolution, refining processes to grow efficiencies, and increasing customer satisfaction. As organizations evolve, supporting the business needs becomes more challenging; simultaneously, the number of services supported by the support center continues to grow. Even with mature processes, service level agreements, and higher skill sets of analysts, it is difficult to maintain a high quality of support at the same pace as evolving technologies and changing business goals. It is unrealistic to think that analysts can be experts in all areas for the growing number of complex services they support. Customer needs to continue to increase, service level requirements continue to change, and analyst competencies must expand to meet the business goals.

Do these changes mean that the quality of support is destined to decline? No, this simply means that organizations need to find better methods for capturing and sharing knowledge and to help meet the growing demands for effective support. Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) is a methodology and set of best practices for knowledge management that results in enhanced quality of service, improved efficiencies, and higher customer and employee satisfaction.

In this unit, you will learn about what Knowledge-Centered Support is, how it has evolved into a robust methodology for capturing and leveraging knowledge, and the benefits of implementing the KCS model into your support center.

Learning Objectives• Explain the history of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)

• Explain why Knowledge-Centered Support was created

• List reasons why support centers need to implement Knowledge-Centered Support

• Identify the concepts of Knowledge-Centered Support

• Explain the benefits of Knowledge-Centered Support

• Explain how KCS complements ITIL

• Explain how KCS is similar to and differs from ITIL

UNITOne

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1-2

UNITOne

Unit ContentsSection 1: What is Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)? .................................................. 3

Section 2: What Lead to the Development of KCS? ...........................................................7

Section 3: Why Do You Need KCS? ................................................................................13

Section 4: What are the Benefits of KCS? ........................................................................22

Section 5: How Does KCS Complement With ITIL?........................................................25

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................26

Guiding QuestionsAs you progress through this unit, look for answers to the following questions:

1. What is the history of Knowledge-Centered Support? How has it evolved?

2. What lead to the development of Knowledge-Centered Support?

3. Why do you need Knowledge-Centered Support?

4. What are the concepts of Knowledge-Centered Support?

5. What are the benefits of Knowledge-Centered Support?


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W h a t i s K n o w l e d g e - C e n t e r e d S u p p o r t ( K C S ) ?


1-3

Section 1: What is Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)?Support centers have evolved from being “message takers” to becoming a single-point-of-contact for customers. Today, support centers are staffed with skilled employees who have access to the technology tools and documented processes and procedures needed to efficiently and effectively support customers.

The role of the support center is to:

• Serve as a single point of contact (SPOC) for the customer

• Provide quick, responsive, and consistent, high-quality service and support as defined in service level agreements (SLAs)

• Keep the organization and/or supported customer performing at the highest level possible

• Align support goals with business goals to deliver strategic value to the organization

As the scope of services supported continues to grow in most organizations, the role and functions of the support center becomes increasingly complex. Though support centers have invested in training, technology, and process improvement, there is a continual need to evolve to keep up with organizational demands. Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) is transforming the way in which support organizations do business. It is a methodology based on knowledge management best practices designed to enhance and evolve the support process.

The History of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) practices were created and are maintained by the Consortium for Service Innovation. The Consortium is a non-profit alliance of customer service organizations that work together to solve industry-wide challenges. The KCS principles have evolved from work that began in 1992. It was created to capture, structure, and reuse knowledge within the support center, also known as Knowledge Management. They meet regularly to discuss ideas, share experiences, work together to test theories, and explore new ways to enhance service management.

The Consortium for Service Innovation creates innovative ideas through a process of collective thinking and collective experience. The Consortium’s work integrates academic research and emerging business trends with the members’ operational perspectives. The result is innovative operational models that improve the customers’ support experience.


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1-4

UNITOneThe mission of the Consortium for Service Innovation is to:

“Advance the state of the art in customer interactions by developing innovative strategies, models and standards.”

The Consortium program teams produce white papers, business frameworks, specifications, implementation guides, and best practices based on experiences and results from the implementations of its members. The work and results of the program teams are reported at the annual member conference, which is held each year in October. The Consortium also offers executive briefings, opportunity assessments, workshops, and coaching for early adopters of the Consortium’s models. To learn more about The Consortium for Service Innovation, visit their web site at www.serviceinnovation.org.

The Partnership Between HDI and the Consortium for Service InnovationIn 2003, the Consortium for Service Innovation partnered with HDI, the global leader for the support industry. This partnership opened the door for making KCS best practices available to the support industry through certification and training courses. HDI’s mission is to lead the support profession worldwide by setting standards, establishing certification and training programs, and providing access to industry resources. This partnership enables HDI to educate the industry about KCS.


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Knowledge-Centered Support is a principles-based, best practice methodology and is implemented in different ways based on the nature of the environment. A best practice is a method of accomplishing a job, task, or process that is considered to be superior to all other known methods and is regularly measured over time to ensure its effectiveness. Best practices can be repeated consistently to gain positive results, and they are becoming more prevalent.

Discuss:

What are the goals of your organization? list three to five goals beloW.

1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________

4. ______________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________

What are the inhibitors you face in achieving these goals? list the top three challenges you face beloW.

1. ______________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________________________


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UNITOne

Section 2: What Led to the Development of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)? In a climate of increased complexity and rising costs, the members of the Consortium were faced with the challenge of extending their resources to deliver greater value. Many organizations had taken the path to improve efficiency by implementing support automation technologies and by creating new delivery alternatives using variable resource channels. The common theme was to improve the availability or capacity to do more with less.


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Critical Challenges Facing SupportThe members of the Consortium identified four areas in which the support center was, and still is, continually challenged:

• Decreased budgets—Budgets decrease as support centers focus on delivering cost-effective services to customers and fewer resources are available to handle more work.

• Increased complexity—Technology changes and continues to become more complex. It is difficult to match the pace of change and to be knowledgeable in all areas of support.

• Rising costs—The costs of materials, people, and tools continues to rise although the cost of hardware tends to decrease.

• Increased demand—Customers continue to expect support organizations to support more technologies, such as wireless devices.


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UNITOneThe challenges that the members of the Consortium faced had a direct impact on the support center’s stakeholders and the stakeholders’ impression of the support center.

Impact on StakeholdersCustomers Analysts Organization

• Lack of confidence in support

• Burnout and lack of job satisfaction

• Repetitive problem-solving

• Inability to meet customer’s needs

• Lack of trust in how the organization values their worth

• Resource constraints

• Lack of expertise

• Expectations continue to grow


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Unfortunately, these challenges faced by companies in 1992 continue to impact the support center and its stakeholders today. Understanding the critical challenges facing support today and the impact this has on its stakeholders is required in order to successfully implement Knowledge-Centered Support.

Support organizations need to simultaneously:

• Scale services

• Decrease costs

• Enhance its people’s capabilities

Knowledge-Centered Support breaks through the limitations of current support strategies and enables support organizations to deliver greater value with more efficiency by capitalizing on what they already have—knowledge. This increased value is created and managed by capturing the knowledge that primarily exists in people’s minds, making it reusable, and evolving it to reflect organizational-level knowledge. This is an ambitious undertaking. Doing all of this, without having to create another entire organization, is an exciting opportunity. Knowledge-Centered Support doesn’t require another organization, but it does need the existing one to come together as a whole, and to operate more cohesively as a collaborative group.

Support centers are often impacted by the projects and initiatives of other groups, such as the rollout of new projects, uncoordinated changes, organizational emergencies, financial restraints, and organizational staff changes. One of the most common inhibitors to getting support for a new initiative is the lack of a business case and ROI projection. Organizations tend to not fund initiatives that lack a proper business justification. Understanding the current capabilities and limitations of your support center will help you see where you may be able to grow and mature as an organization. One tool for measuring your support center’s maturity is the HDI Support Center Maturity Model.


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UNITOne

HDI Support Center Maturity ModelThe HDI Support Center Maturity Model represents the progression of the typical internal IT support organization (and most external support organizations) from being tactical to becoming strategic. The model examines four characteristics of support: people, process, technology, and vision. While there are exceptions to the maturity model, it provides guidance to support organizations as they evolve.

The maturity model can act as an assessment tool for the support center and enable you to develop a vision of the future state and a plan for getting there. The HDI Strategic Advisory Board defined the four levels of support center maturity as:


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The four levels are described below. The full details of this model can be obtained on the HDI website and have not been included in this courseware. The HDI Support Center Maturity Model can be used by support organizations to evaluate where they are today and to develop a vision of where they want to be.

It is important to note that the HDI Strategic Advisory Board acknowledged that knowledge management was a key enabler for support centers to mature from one level to the next. Knowledge Management was defined as a required process and not an optional process for the support organization to implement. The level of knowledge management adoption impacts the organizations ability to move from one level to another. Knowledge-Centered Support is a methodology that has enabled organizations to reach the strategic levels within this model.

Level 1—Reactive

Reactive support organizations focus on the operational level and are highly labor-driven. In this support model, the support function is beginning to form and customers have someone to contact. While the service is basic and the cost per contact may be high, the organization has recognized the value of building a support organization, and may see a return on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Level 2—Proactive

After an organization has been in existence for some time, it becomes more proactive. The proactive support center represents a significant advance in value—it is more efficient and effective in anticipating and addressing the needs of its customers. Support at this level is a respected function; many of the necessary tools are in place, and great strides have been taken to implement best practices. At this level, the support center has a good understanding of the types of incidents that are being reported but may not be able to provide sophisticated or integrated feedback to the development group(s), procurement, or the business unit heads that they serve. There is a limited level of integration between change, release, and problem management at this phase.

Level 3—Customer-Centric

The customer-centric support organization is focused on meeting the needs of the customer. It consistently provides customers with service when and how they want it. Such organizations are models of excellence and often represent models that others would like to emulate. By providing a variety of ways for customers to obtain support, and creating a valuable partnership with the customers it serves, the customer-centric support center allows the entire organization to operate more efficiently and effectively.

However, at times a customer-centric organization can go too far in satisfying some customers, by delivering service and support outside the boundaries of organizational policy. The highest level of achievement for a support center is one in which high quality service and support is delivered consistently, within the guidelines of the organization, helping to realize not only high customer satisfaction, but optimum organizational performance as well.


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UNITOne

Level 4—Business-Centric

The business-centric organization has harnessed the knowledge that exists within the organization to become a strategic support center. The business-centric support organization has developed the optimal method for evaluating support in terms of its overall value to the organization, as well as the most effective way of delivering that support. Implementing the principles of Knowledge-Centered Support helps support centers to evolve through the maturity model. As a result of evolving into a strategic, business-center support model, an increase of knowledge sharing amongst support analyst and an increased consistency of problem resolution is realized, which ultimately raises the level of customer satisfaction. Thus, key stakeholders realize the value it delivers, and the organization leverages the support center as a strategic asset to maximize overall organizational performance.


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Section 3: Why Do You Need Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)?

The Top Ten Reasons Support Centers Should Implement KCS

10. Respondtoandresolveissuesfaster. Reducing the time to resolve issues saves money, and gets the customers get back to work sooner, ultimately productivity increases.

9. Provideanswerstocomplexissues. The types of incidents reported into the support center are becoming more complex. Implementing KCS helps to leverage the experiences within the entire organization to help solve complex issues.

8. Providethesameanswerstothesamequestions. A central database allows for information sharing in a standard and consistent format. Making all critical documents and information available from a central resource minimizes duplicate efforts and inconsistent answers.

7. Supportanalystssufferingfromburnout.Connect support analyst to the knowledge they need, when they need it. KCS will typically provide them with the knowledge they need to resolve 65-85% of the support incidents, thus decreasing stress and burnout.

6. Addressthelackoftimefortraining. Provide just-in-time training. If a support analyst is posed with a question they have not received before, they can engage the knowledge base, and learn about the resolution while satisfying the needs of the customer.

5. Provideananswertorecurringquestions. With all knowledge documented in a central knowledge base, usage of the resolution is linked to the incident; and support centers can then identify the most recurring incidents and the best possible solution. This can drive problem management and the elimination of the problem from the environment. Once a knowledge base is mature enough, self-service can be enabled to allow customers to resolve problems without the need for assisted service. This will allow the support analysts more time to address the more complex issues.


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UNITOne

The Top Ten Reasons Support Centers Should Implement KCS

4. Identifyopportunitiestolearnfromcustomer’sexperiences.Collect valuable customer data through a central database to share information throughout the organization and connect people to knowledge. By analyzing the use of services and questions posed by customers, the organization can identify new services or enhancements to existing services in order to better service the customer.

3. ImproveFirstContactResolution. With documented resolutions in a knowledge base the handling of incidents is streamlined, providing front line analysts with the tools to answer questions about known problems. This results in faster resolutions and improved First Contact Resolution rates.

2. Enableself-service. Self-service provides customers with access to options that yield support and resolutions on their terms, when they want it, and how they want it—which enhances the customer experience and improves loyalty to the support center.

1. Lowersupportcosts. Operational cost per incident will be lowered as a result of faster resolutions, fewer escalations, and through the use of self-service.


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Knowledge Assets

There are four key types of knowledge that have been identified in KCS:

1. Knowledge Articles—the collective experience of the support organization in solving problems and answering questions. KCS articles can cover a variety of issues: usage or “how to,” configuration, interoperability, performance, defects, procedural or diagnostic information.

2. People Profiles—the people in the support network. When we talk about people we are talking about people in the broadest sense, including employees, partners, customers and players in on-line communities and social media. People profiles include information about a person’s identity, experience, skills, interests and reputation. The practices around people profiles are emerging. As organizations look to facilitate collaboration, they are developing ways to efficiently collect and manage knowledge about people. People profiles are an important requirement for intelligent swarming, a practice currently under development in the Consortium. With a few exceptions, the experience with people profiles has been based on manually maintained information. Longer term, the profiles must be maintained automatically by the system and will contribute to dramatic improvements in the relevance of interactions. We refer to this emerging concept as the “know me factor.”

3. Account Profiles—information about customer accounts. This is the kind of information typically known by the on-site account team but not always captured in a useful way. This is a detailed company profile and includes information like the customer’s business model and objectives.

4. Customer Configuration—information about the products and configuration in the customer’s environment.


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UNITOne

What are the Concepts of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)?Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS) is a principle-based methodology. KCS is:

• A methodology that seeks to capture, structure, reuse, and improve knowledge in the support delivery process

• A means of collaboration

• NOT something we do in addition to solving problems—rather, KCS becomes the way we solve problems

• First and foremost about people and process; technology (tools) are enablers

KCS seeks to:

• Create content as a by-product of solving problems

• Evolve content based on demand and usage

• Develop a knowledge base of our collective experience to-date

• Reward learning, collaboration, sharing, and improving


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Knowledge-Centered Support is a methodology based on processes and practices, independent of technology. Technology is required as an enabler and does not drive the methodology. The focus on knowledge as a key asset recognizes that knowledge is the product of a support organization. In fact, it is the only product produced by the support organization. Assisted service and self-service relate to the delivering of that product, which is knowledge. The successful adoption of KCS is dependent on the people’s understanding of, and buy-in to, the methodology.

Unlike the classic knowledge engineering approach to knowledge management, KCS creates knowledge as a by-product of the problem-solving process. Customers contact the support center to request and receive articles, or to obtain specific knowledge about how their needs can be met. Articles represent both what the customer needs, and what is gained by the support center as support requests are handled. Leverage is created through a system (i.e., knowledge base) that can capture the articles generated by the customer support process, and then makes the article available for reuse throughout the support organization. According to the Yankee Group, an independent technology research and consulting firm, a knowledge base... is a collection of information that is of value to an organization’s customers, combined with means of accessing that information in order to answer questions and solve problems.1

A fundamental premise of KCS is that the best people to create and maintain knowledge are those who use it every day—the support analysts. Knowledge must be captured by the support analysts who are resolving customer issues. Another key concept within the KCS framework is reuse is review—only the knowledge that is being viewed or used gets reviewed. Every piece of knowledge is not reviewed; thus, reducing the investment in knowledge. The knowledge base is a collection of experiences and will never be one hundred percent complete or perfect. Instead, as analysts interact with the knowledge in the process of solving problems, they are expected to review the knowledge before delivering it to the customer. As a result the content evolves based on customer demands and usage by the support analyst. The organization is then able to evaluate the patterns of reuse of knowledge and can identify high value articles, preferred diagnostic procedures, and most importantly, high impact opportunities to improve or introduce new products and services.

It is important that analysts use their judgment. If during their review they discover something that is incorrect, then they are expected to correct it. A critical component of KCS is ownership. Analysts must see the knowledge as their product and continue to enhance it as they interact with it.

1 December, 2000.


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UNITOne

The Demand CurveThere are two categories of incidents that occur in support environments. The first are those that occur once or periodically, which we will call “infrequent”. The second are those that we call “repeatable” or “frequent”. In most support environments there is a general rule of thumb that 80% of all incidents are generated by 20% of all problems. It is in these 80% where knowledge management can have a big impact.

When a new change is implemented into an environment, such as a product release, it is expected that the support center will receive an increase in incidents for a period of time. This period of time is generally thirty to sixty days.

The Support Demand Curve has two axis:

• Demand—the number of incidents received in a given period of time

• Time—frequency of reported incidents


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Take a look at the graphic below. The line starts when the support center receives an incident for the first time. We then begin to see this incident more frequently for a number of days and then the frequency or demand will begin to decline. Ultimately if the problem is not removed from the environment, we will continue to see it reported to the support center on a less frequent period of time. If we map the demand for support for this problem over time we end up with a bell curve.

Now, consider the impact of knowledge management as incidents are reported to the support center prior to the implementation of KCS. When the first incident is reported it is an unknown problem. The analyst must do work to solve the problem. They are then expected to capture the knowledge and report it to the Knowledge Engineering team. The new knowledge is submitted to the knowledge engineering queue. Knowledge Engineers have the responsibility to validate and verify that the problem has been properly documented and the resolution is correct. Once they have completed their task, they publish the knowledge to the knowledge base for reuse.

In most environments the time it takes for new knowledge to be processed and then published is measured in days or weeks. By the time the knowledge is published, the opportunity to impact resources will have been missed. The knowledge engineering process is an investment that the organization is making. The return is then collected through the reuse of that knowledge after it is published.

So what is happening while the knowledge is in the queue? When the next incident is reported to the support center, an analyst will search the knowledge base and not find it because it has not been published yet. While this is now a known problem to the organization, the analyst assumes that it is an unknown problem and works to solve the problem. This is actually rework which has a cost to the organization.

Once the analyst solves the problem, he or she submits the knowledge to the knowledge engineering queue, not knowing this problem was already submitted. This process continues until the knowledge engineers publish the known problem in the knowledge base. During this time, the knowledge queue is filling up with requests that are only adding to the delay in publishing the new knowledge. As a result, the organization is working inefficiently and the return on investment for knowledge is low.


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UNITOneUsing the same scenario, let’s apply the Knowledge-Centered Support methodology.

1. An incident is reported to the support center and it is an unknown problem. The analyst solves the problem and contributes the new knowledge directly to the knowledge base for reuse by other analysts. This makes the known problem visible to the team so that other analysts do not duplicate efforts. However, this knowledge has not been validated or verified. The trust level is low; therefore, it will be marked as “Draft”.

2. As additional analysts interact with the knowledge that is marked “Draft”, they are responsible for ensuring that the resolution is correct before providing it to a customer. If they identify any errors or omissions in the knowledge, they are responsible to correct it before giving it to the customer, as well as correcting the documentation of it in the knowledge base. Using this methodology, the customer demand drives the need to review the knowledge just-in-time instead of the just-in-case model of knowledge engineering. Most importantly, the rework for resolving the same problem has been eliminated.

3. Once evidence of demand has been established (i.e., three or four reuses of the same knowledge), then the knowledge article warrants additional investment and needs to be identified as trusted by the organization. Depending on the organizations policies, the article may be subject to a technical or compliance review process. Because customer demand is driving the items that are sent to the compliance process, only those problems that are repeatable are receiving the additional investment. If we assume that 80% of issues are a result of 20% of repeat problems, then this means that 80% of the problems are not being reviewed because the demand has not been established and therefore the return will not be there as well. As a result we invest only in articles that will generate a return instead of investing in every knowledge article, as was the case under the knowledge engineering model.


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Now that the knowledge article has been validated and improved through reuse, the questions must be raised, “What is the value of the compliance process? Is it even needed?” This is a business decision each organization must decide. Some organizations will be able to eliminate this review, while others may have valid business reasons that require a review before knowledge can be published to self-service. The organization may require the knowledge article be reviewed due to the audience for whom the knowledge article will be published and knowledge domain, and/or a review may be necessary to satisfy regulatory requirements.

As the organization matures in the adoption of KCS, individuals who have demonstrated a command of the KCS competencies will be authorized to publish knowledge in the moment. As they create or reuse knowledge, these trusted participants will publish knowledge to self-service without the need for evidence of demand, nor a compliance review. More information on this phase of adoption will be discussed later in the course.


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UNITOne

Section 4: What are the Benefits of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)?As we look to assess the benefits of KCS, it is helpful to understand the impacts on each of the key stakeholders, whom we introduced earlier in this unit.

Benefits to StakeholdersCustomers Analysts Organization

• Increased confidence in support

• Improved response from support (e.g., speed, accuracy, consistency)

• Personal empowerment and recognition

• Improved confidence

• Broadened expertise

• Improved effectiveness and efficiency

• Evolving resources and expertise

• Improved relevance and loyalty

The Consortium, through their collective experiences, identified both quantifiable and qualitative benefits for adopting KCS. According to the Knowledge-Centered Support Practices Guide, KCS makes significant improvements in incident resolution and training times, customer satisfaction, and analyst job satisfaction. As a result, there are substantial savings in operating costs and improvements in service levels.


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Common benefits of implementing KCS include:

• Solve Incidents and Close Cases Faster

− 50 - 60% improved time to resolution

− 30 - 50% increase in First Contact Resolution

• Optimize Use of Resources

− 70% improved time to proficiency

− 20 - 35% improved employee retention

− 20 - 40% improvement in employee satisfaction

• Enable e-Service Strategies

− Improve customer success and use of web-based self-service

− Up to 50% case deflection

• Build Organizational Learning

− Actionable information to product development about customer issues

− 10% issue reduction due to root cause removal

Case Study

• Internet Security Services, high volume environment

− Time to resolve from 7.0 minutes to 5.5 minutes (-28%)

− Customer satisfaction (+28%)

− Time to proficiency from 3 months to 1 month (-66%)

• Software Support

− Time to relief (-50%)

− Time to proficiency from 6 months to 1 month (-83%)


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UNITOneCapitalizing on the knowledge that already exists within your organization allows you to scale and expand your capabilities for support without having to increase staff or budget. The support center can increase efficiencies, which in turn increases its value to the business. This value continues to grow through the capture of collective experiences during the problem-solving process. Knowledge at the organizational level is captured, time is gained, and business value increases by making knowledge consistent and reusable.

With fifteen plus years in development and over $50 million invested, KCS has been tried and tested by early adopters that include 3Com, Oracle, Novell, and VeriSign. KCS has evolved based on the experience(s) of a few innovative companies that felt strongly about these methodologies and were willing to explore and discover how to make them work in their organizations. The methodology is now proven and can be successfully implemented.

Through the collective experience of the Consortium members, we have learned what works and what doesn’t. The members of the Consortium for Service Innovation are willing to try new ideas acknowledging the risk. They take the risk with the goal of finding big returns. Once the benefits and success are realized and repeated, then the risk is reduced and other organizations begin to follow their lead. Companies implementing KCS today have reduced their risk by leveraging the experiences of those that have gone before them, and they have helped to pave the path for those yet to come.


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Section 5: How Does KCS Complement With ITIL?IT Service Management is a process-centered approach which provides a framework to structure IT activities and the interactions of support staff with business customers and users. A number of frameworks and methodologies have been developed to define, enhance, and mature IT Service Management. ITIL® is one of the best known frameworks for IT Service Management. ITIL was developed as a best practices framework by the UK Government agency CCTA, in the 1980’s to provide a framework for managing IT services. The framework was updated from 1999 to 2001 to a more process-focused framework and updated again in 2007 to a service life cycle framework. ITIL was last updated in 2011. The goal of these updates was to provide guidance to IT organizations on how to improve the quality of services and to ensure that the services were aligned with the organization’s business goals.

Independently in the early 1990’s, the Consortium for Service Innovation (CSI) was formed to provide a knowledge-based methodology for technical support organizations, Knowledge-Centered Support. One key driver for CSI was that the KCS methodology needed to be focused on meeting business objectives, and understanding how to demonstrate that KCS was part of the solution to meet the business goals.

KCS is a methodology that defines how to integrate knowledge management within the ITIL Incident Management process. Knowledge Management is also integrated with Problem, Change, and Release & Deployment management processes.

ITILandKCSaresimilarinthatboth... ITILandKCSDifferences

• Were developed to improve service management effectiveness and efficiencies

• Are based on process and not technology

• Claim that knowledge management is a required process within service management

• Continue to evolve and mature

• Are acknowledged as best practices

• KCS is a methodology, whereas ITIL is a framework

• KCS focuses on knowledge as information used to resolve incidents or answer questions within the service operations processes, whereas ITIL defines knowledge as all information within IT

• Different terminology is used

Because KCS and ITIL were developed independently, the terminology does not align with one another; however, the concepts and principles integrate well, providing a knowledge article that works. An explanation of the term differences is provided in the Appendix of this course manual.


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UNITOne

ConclusionIn this unit, you have learned to:

• Explain the history of Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS)

• Explain why Knowledge-Centered Support was created

• List reasons why support centers need to implement Knowledge-Centered Support

• Identify the concepts of Knowledge-Centered Support

• Explain the benefits of Knowledge-Centered Support

• Explain how KCS complements ITIL

• Explain how KCS is similar to and differs from ITIL

In this unit, we introduced the fundamental concept of Knowledge-Centered Support. We identified the critical challenges facing support and discussed what the benefits of implementing KCS will provide to support organizations. As we move on to subsequent units, we will take an in-depth look at the KCS methodology and how you can begin to harness the knowledge, implement the KCS model, and increase the value of the support center for all of its stakeholders. Adopting KCS represents a transition from a call-centric approach to a knowledge-driven, business-centric approach for customer service organizations.


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Standard ReviewThis unit covered the following standard topics:

StandardNumber StandardTopic

1.1.1 Identify the entity that created and maintains KCS.

1.1.2 Explain who the Consortium for Service Innovation is.

1.2.1 Explain why KCS was created.

1.2.2 Identify when work began on the creation of KCS.

1.2.3 List the common reasons that support centers should implement KCS.

1.2.4 Identify some of the common benefits that result from implementing KCS.

1.3.1 Define KCS.

3.1.1 Explain how KCS complements with ITIL.

3.1.2 Explain how KCS is similar to ITIL.

3.1.3 Explain how KCS differs from ITIL.


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Documents

HDI Knowledge Centered Support Principles Participant Handbook