How to Manage the I.T. Helpdesk

This book is well-written and gives very good tips on running a helpdesk effectively. The emphasis on realistic goals and end results are for our real IT world. I would reccomend this book highly!

This small book contains a wealth of information and advice that is packed into less than 300 pages. It covers an incredibly wide range of topics that help desk professionals need to know. With a relatively low page count and the amount of topics covered the author demonstrates excellent writing skills by packing each paragraph with relevant information. The book is divided into six parts, each with numerous short chapters and case studies. I found this organization to make for easy reading. Among the gems that I particularity liked are how the author defines business goals early on, the description of a typical support structures and support scenarios. Other highlights, in my opinion, are: Part 3, Service Level Management, which is one of the most concise treatments of the subject I have had the pleasure of reading; Part 3, Workload Management, which contained excellent ideas on prioritizing and managing jobs, metrics and reports and processes. This is excellent material. I also got a lot out of Part 5, Resource Management, which provides some good foundation material for determining total cost of ownership (TCO). This part gives you some great ideas on determining support costs and justifying them, and asset and inventory management. Part 6, Staff Management, provides some fresh thoughts about this necessary factor of help desk management.I have read (and reviewed) a large number of books on technical support and help desks. Some of these books addressed topics in a lot more depth, while others focused a particular aspect of help desk operations, technical support of problem management. While I found all to be valuable, "How to Manage the IT Help Desk" distilled all of the "meat" into an easy-to-read quick reference and idea jogger. It earns a solid 5 stars and deserves a spot on every support professional's bookshelf.

How to Manage the IT help desk is written from many years of practical experience in solving common problems associated with supporting computer users. The writing style is pragmatic and enthusiastic. The book is full of real-life examples of success and failure in User Support. Read it through, as a guide - or dip into it as a reference manual. By Noel Bruton