Journal Entry #2

Reflection 2 (February 7, 2023 – March 11, 2023)

In these 50 hours, tickets began to fluctuate from extremely weird issues to the common issues we had at the beginning of the semester. The most common issues you come across at the ITS Desk are the password, Duo Mobile, and websites not loading. These are common factors throughout the entire semester. After that issues can vary and can be complicated. The most important skill I have learned at the Help desk is being able to think on your feet and adapt. Since your next call can be a random issue that can be solved rather than sending it to another department. When tickets are assigned to other departments it can take time for those issues to be resolved. This can also cause issues at the help desk because users will give us a call to find updates on their tickets. In this situation, we are only able to inform them that it is being worked on and that we have sent a message to the department that the caller gave us a call. This is why it is important to try your best to fix the issue. One issue I came across on February 14, 2023, was a user was not receiving any emails in their inbox. The emails were not in the deleted folder or stored in another location. This was quite confusing and after having the user restart their device and sign out and back in the problem became even more confusing. Sometimes when passwords are updated it takes time for the user’s service to synchronize on the system. This means that the password has been updated at the main server MIDAS but has not been updated throughout the entire network. But that wasn’t the issue the user was having this made me think and upon doing research I was able to find that rules could potentially be deleting emails before they had been going to the inbox. We had checked the rules and sure enough, there was a rule setup that was deleting the emails. The user reassured me that they had not made the rule themselves and I honestly believed them because why would you make a rule to delete emails? 

Working with users can vary; some users can explain their screen and issues well and others have trouble understanding simple instructions. This can make the job rough at times but I have learned to take my time and use the tools available. One of the main tools I like to use to help both the user and myself is Zoom. In zoom, you can share your screen which can be helpful when giving users complicated instructions. One of the most complicated processes here at ODU is mapping network drives and mapping MFP printers. This process requires some kind of technological knowledge and can be hard for some to understand. This is where Zoom can help resolve the issue quickly. This internship has made me resourceful and reactive with the tools and resources we are provided. One piece of technology we use a lot at the help desk is our ticket system which not only runs the entire help desk and IT department but also provides us with a valuable resource. In the ticket system, you can search through old tickets and solutions. This can help solve issues and help with department transfer guidance. 

During this period, I was also in charge of training the new workers that came to the help desk. This was my first time training other employees but I took a lot of lessons from my trainer who made me the person I am today. While training these individuals I was always open to questions and encouraged them. I also taught them how to work through the tickets. I trained them on their first calls and gave them tips and advice. This portion of the internship helped me because it was one of the first times I was in a leadership role. Every day at this internship I enjoyed it and I always worked to better myself. I always asked my question on topics I wasn’t too certain about. I think no matter what position you are in your career I think that there is always something to learn.