October 1998

BY CHRIS REISS

You might hesitate before applying the self-service model to technical support, especially if your experience of self-service was limited to information repositories. After all, it's hard to imagine any single repository, searchable or not, that could accommodate all end users, no matter what their level of technical expertise. That is, a repository system geared toward novices could exasperate experts, and a repository geared toward experts could baffle beginners. But are these our only options? Not necessarily. There may be ways beyond them, and the insoluble dilemma they would seem to pose. One possibility is the use of ActiveX technology.

With ActiveX technology, it is possible to deploy systems that automate basic information transfers; guide end users through question-and-answer sessions (informed by the automated transfers); and escalate the end user to a live agent (when necessary, along with any information gleaned during the self-service portion of the help request). The end result: a recommended course of action, formulated with a minimum of hassle, from both the end user's and the technical support representative's point of view.

WHY THE SELF-SERVICE MODEL IS SO APPEALING
The idea of self-service appeals to corporate help desks as well as software providers. Both would like to enable end users to solve their own problems, for if end users could solve their own problems, they would demand less attention from technical support personnel. Basically, self-service would let help desks supply cost-effective support.

While corporations have embraced personal computers and their potential for raising productivity, they've been less enthusiastic about the support problems personal computers entail. As more people use computers, the corporate help desk must respond to more questions about computers, software, networks, and peripherals. Many corporations are now looking for innovative ways to supply cost-effective support that would reduce their total cost of ownership.

Developers and software providers also have an interest in the self-service model, and for similar reasons. Indeed, some software providers might be interested in using Active X technology to elaborate on the self-service model, taking it to its logical conclusion. That is, rather than be content with human-computer interactions, developers might want to arrange computer-computer interactions. (For more on this possibility, see the sidebar entitled Taking The End User Out Of The Loop.)

WHY THE SELF-SERVICE MODEL IS SO DEMANDING
While the self-service approach works well in many situations, it may not work if the end user cannot answer relevant questions correctly. In fact, effective advice from either a help desk employee or online support site requires that end users be able to provide accurate information about the configuration and status of their computer. While the answering these questions may be relatively simple (if tedious) for a skilled technician, they can confound most employees who are using a computer to perform business tasks.

MEETING THE SELF-SERVICE MODEL'S DEMANDS
One way to make self-service work in the technical support environment is to deploy dynamic, interactive systems, as opposed to posting an inert collection of help files. For example, rather than simply creating an information repository on the Internet or corporate intranet, self-service applications can employ a question-and-answer process to guide the end user to the correct solution. Further, this process can be made most effective by limiting it to information exchanges that cannot be automated, that truly require the end user's attention.

Automating Basic Information Transfers
Advanced self-service applications are now employing ActiveX technology to effectively resolve personal computer problems over the World Wide Web. Instead of relying upon the end user to accurately answer all the questions, technical support can rely on ActiveX technology, which allows end users' machines to download diagnostic applets. These diagnostic applets then gather information the end user typically would have trouble determining, such as the amount of available RAM and disk space, as well as queries about the directory, file structure, network connections, and so forth.

ActiveX applets are equally effective for helping a company's employees on the corporate intranet or its customers connected to the Internet. The applets are extremely effective, because they relieve the end user and support personnel of the tedious and error-prone task of walking an end user through a set of queries and tests. Prior to ActiveX, the user could download and install a standalone diagnostic application. ActiveX applets, however, are more advantageous, in that they are typically lightweight, have no installation issues, and are hosted unobtrusively by the user's Web browser.

A primary advantage of these ActiveX applets is their allowing a much wider range of problems to be solved by self-service systems, since they no longer have to rely upon the end user to supply all the information. The user needs only direction to the support Web page, which then downloads and activates the diagnostic ActiveX applet. The subsequent information can then be fed back into the self-service software or made available to help desk personnel to provide the information to help them resolve the problem. In essence, the support person can be confident that information from the ActiveX applet is accurate, whereas user-supplied information may be suspect.

Mediating Question-And-Answer Sessions
A well-designed self-service support site should make full use of ActiveX's capabilities. An end user can first be directed to a Web page, where they indicate the particular problem they wish to solve. The self-service software determines what additional information is needed and leads the user through an interactive question-and-answer session.

At the same time, the self-service application can automatically answer its own technical questions regarding the state of the user's machine, such as the amount of available disk space, by downloading an ActiveX control. Both the process and questions can remain invisible to the end user.

By correctly answering the technical questions, ActiveX technology can help diagnose and solve the problem more quickly. As the user goes through the question-and-answer session, the server can record all the information gleaned from the end user's machine, whether it has been determined by an ActiveX control or supplied by the user.

Escalating Beyond Question-And-Answer Sessions
If the end user cannot solve the problem, they can escalate to support personnel, simply by pressing a button on the Web page. When an end user escalates directly from the Web, the support person receives all the information acquired during the end user's session. Having this information gives the support person a head start in solving the user's problem, because it specifies the problem and all the steps previously taken.

CREATING SELF-SERVICE APPLICATIONS
A particular advantage of ActiveX is that the applets required to determine values on an end user's computer are relatively easy to acquire or build. ActiveX applets are widely available, including some free ActiveX controls useful for creating self-service applications. For example, the VBScript programming language is already familiar to many Web authors. Within the self-service system, an author can enter specialized algorithms in VBScript. To execute the VBScript code, the software uses an ActiveX control such as Microsoft's freely available VBScript engine.

Creating ActiveX controls is an active area of development; many ActiveX controls are readily available in the public domain or for purchase/license. It is also relatively easy to write your own. Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 provides the Active Template Wizard, which allows the developer to create and test a control in about an hour. The Wizard does an excellent job of hiding details of COM, ActiveX's underlying technology. Visual Basic 5.0 also provides for the creation of ActiveX controls, although in our experience, this environment does not offer the full support Visual C++ allows.

CONCLUSION
ActiveX provides a promising technology for supporting computer-active employees more efficiently. By helping to identify the status and configuration of an end user's machine, ActiveX applets can increase the effectiveness of self-service solutions and enable the help desk staff to deliver more efficient service.

Since the ActiveX control can be relied on to deliver the correct responses, the end user is more likely to receive the correct answer to a problem, whether delivered online or by the help desk staff. The net result: ActiveX controls can dramatically reduce the amount of time required to accurately diagnose and solve a corporation's computer problems.

Chris Reiss is senior software engineer for ServiceSoft Corporation, which delivers software designed to help customers and employees solve their own problems without calling a support line. Web Advisor, an interactive guide, gives end users intelligent advice over the Internet or corporate intranet. Knowledge Builder, with its expert reasoning technology, lets service professionals capture support information and create self-service knowledge bases. For more information, contact ServiceSoft at 781-449-0049, or visit www.servicesoft.com.

ActiveX technology provides potential advantages in supporting software applications. A software company can deploy its product and arrange for it to place error logs and other diagnostic information on the local machine. Then, the ActiveX control can upload the information to the server machine, without requiring the end user to perform any operation. This approach is particularly useful in the case of a software crash, where the state of the program and system at the time of the crash can be retrieved.

ActiveX has its advantages on the server side as well. During the problem resolution session, server-side applets can be leveraged to draw relevant information from a corporate database, such as warranty status, previous problems reported with this system, or repair records. In fact, these server-side applets allow ActiveX an active role in solving diverse issues involving almost any conceivable product or service - extending far beyond the support of computers.