ESKITP7052 IT/Technology Management and Support Level 2 Role
Overview
This sub-discipline is about the competencies required to ensure that theinfrastructure required to support the delivery of IT/technology systems, services and assets for an organisation remain available, appropriate to business needs and performs according to defined service levels. IT/technology software, hardware and network infrastructure may exist both within a single organisation and also be shared/span across multiple organisations.
Software may include items such as:
systems management software such as operating system software
database management software
software tools
storage management software
middleware for connecting applications and other components
web services
Hardware infrastructure may include items such as:
processors
storage devices
mobile devices
input and output devices
any other items of hardware required for the provision of IT/technology systems, services and assets for an organisation
Network infrastructure includes all of the components necessary for any type of network, whether hard wired or wireless, which support the provision of
IT/technology systems, services and assets for an organisation.
The support of business applications are excluded from technical support and are covered in a separate unit as are the architecture, design and development of technical infrastructure and services.
Note: For each role it is necessary to subsume the knowledge and understanding statements from the role immediately below.
Performance
criteria
You must be able to:
Carry out technical support activities under supervision
P1 Correctly select the procedures, tools and techniques to use for technical support activities and their deliverables, under supervision
P2 Comply with any relevant legislation, regulations and external standards relating to technical activities and their deliverables in own area of accountability
P3 Comply with change control mechanisms that apply to technical support activities, under supervision
P4 Undertake efficient and timely routine maintenance on technical infrastructure and services to ensure their ongoing performance and availability, in line with procedures, documenting action taken and reporting issues arising to relevant people
P5 Respond promptly to incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events relating to technical infrastructure and services , in line with their identified priority, as directed by others
P6 Estimate accurately own effort, and the complexity, risk and elapsed time associated with changes and repairs to and/or replacements of technical infrastructure and services in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events, under supervision
P7 Implement changes and releases to technical infrastructure and services into pre production environments ready for their validation and release into the production environment, where appropriate, under supervision P8 Implement infrastructure repairs and refreshes, where appropriate and
approved, under supervision
P9 Identify and use appropriate contacts/escalation paths with external providers of support for technical infrastructure and services , where appropriate
You must be able to:
Monitor, document and provide effective communications when carrying out technical support activities, under supervision
P10 Accurately and comprehensively document the results of testing that has taken place on changes and repairs to or replacements of technical infrastructure and services , in line with procedures and standards P11 Communicate effectively, courteously and timely with all external
individuals and groups who provide technical support in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events, under supervision
P12 Communicate effectively, courteously and timely with internal and external individuals and groups on the progress of changes and repairs to and replacements of technical infrastructure
Knowledge and
understanding
You need to know and understand:
Carry out technical support activities under supervision
K1 Identify and select:
K1.1 the procedures, tools and techniques to use for technical support activities and their deliverables
K1.2 which technical infrastructure and services are supported internally and which can only be supported by external providers
K1.3 which incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events need immediate/emergency response
K1.4 which fixes and patches to technical infrastructure and services will resolve incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events
K1.5 what personal effort, complexity, risk and elapsed time may be involved in providing technical support to technical infrastructure and services required in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events
K1.6 routine preventative maintenance is required to ensure the ongoing performance and effectiveness of technical infrastructure and services K1.7 when alternatives to the repair of infrastructure should/must be
considered and when technical infrastructure and services may be beyond economic repair
K1.8 what information needs to be gathered and/or referenced in order to assess incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events for technical infrastructure and services
K1.9 who are the external providers of technical support activities used by the organisation
K1.10 when to propose replacement and decommissioning of technical infrastructure and services that is faulty
K1.11 lessons learned from previous technical support activities and experiences
K2 Use and apply:
K2.1 the procedures, tools and techniques that apply to technical support activities and their deliverables
K2.2 all relevant information including the architecture, design and
configuration of technical infrastructure and services during technical support activities
K2.3 information about incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events relating to technical infrastructure and services , from a range of internal and external sources in order to ascertain what course of action is required
K2.4 information from external sources about resolutions and fixes that are included in future releases of technical infrastructure and services
K2.5 lessons learned from previous technical support activities
K2.6 appropriate sources of expertise, in particular relating to technical infrastructure and services, from internal and external sources K2.7 appropriate contacts/escalation paths with external providers of
support for technical infrastructure and services , where appropriate K3 Operate with reference to:
K3.1 organisational standards relating to technical support activities and their deliverables
K3.2 the severity and priority of incoming incidents and problems requiring technical support
K3.3 infrastructure architecture, designs, configurations and standards K3.4 professional and ethical standards in technical support activities K4 Operate with integrity and confidentiality during technical support
activities
K5 Comply with all relevant:
K5.1 and applicable legislation and regulations relating to technical support activities
K5.2 change control mechanisms during technical support activities
K5.3 business case and benefits realisation policies, procedures, tools and techniques during technical support activities
K6 Implement and maintain:
K6.1 changes and releases to technical infrastructure and services into pre production environments ready for their validation and release into the production environment, where appropriate
K6.2 infrastructure repairs and refreshes, where appropriate and approved K7 Take action and measures to:
K7.1 undertake routine maintenance activities on technical infrastructure and services to ensure their ongoing performance and availability K7.2 decommission and replace technical infrastructure and services ,
where appropriate
K7.3 respond to incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events relating to technical infrastructure and services promptly K7.4 estimate accurately own effort, and the complexity, risk and elapsed
time associated with changes and repairs to and/or replacements of technical infrastructure and services in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events
K8 The role of technical support in supporting business operations and IT/technology service strategy and in service delivery/operations K9 What is meant by:
K9.1 technical support K9.2 a patch
K9.3 a release
K9.4 an infrastructure refresh programme K10 What:
K10.1 preventative maintenance needs to be carried out
K10.2 is the relevance of service levels in relation to technical support activities
K10.3 is the relationship between technical support activities, the service lifecycle and the service catalogue and/or portfolio
K10.4 information might need to be referenced and used during technical support activities
K11 What are the:
K11.1 types of activities undertaken by technical support and the related procedures, tools and techniques
K11.2 inputs to, and required outputs, from technical support activities K11.3 differing procedures that may apply to the technical support of
technical infrastructure and services maintained in secure operational premises as opposed to that which exists in user/customer areas K11.4 implications of technology products/services and/or equipment
provided by external service providers/hosts on technical support activities
K11.5 implications of service levels in relation to technical support activities K11.6 potential implications of technical support activities and their
deliverables being incorrect, incomplete, inadequate and/or inappropriate
K11.7 standards that apply to infrastructure supporting an organisation K11.8 business processes, functions and activities that may be impacted by
an incident, problem change request or other event associated with technical infrastructure and services
K11.9 business implications of specific technical infrastructure and services not being available/accessible to support business functions
K11.10 factors to consider when assessing the repair or replacement of infrastructure
K12 The fact that external providers:
K12.1 of technical infrastructure and services exist
K12.2 may host infrastructure and services or provide outsourcing capabilities whilst others purely supply and/or support products/services and/or equipment
K12.3 external providers may be required to assist with technical support K13 The fact that:
K13.1 technical support activities can be carried out remotely
K13.2 technical support activities rely heavily on information gathered in incident, problem and event management activities and/or change requests
K13.3 preventative maintenance may need to be carried out on infrastructure K13.4 differing procedures may apply to the technical support of technical
infrastructure and services maintained in secure operational premises as opposed to that which exists in user/customer areas
K13.5 some organisations choose to use external technical infrastructure and services, and/or equipment either wholly or partially whilst others choose to manage them internally
K13.6 technical support activities may occur as a result of problems occurring with existing technical infrastructure and services or may be the result of changes made
K13.7 organisations rely on technical infrastructure and services being available and accessible for their business operations
K13.8 incidents, problems and issues associated with infrastructure may result in repair or replacement of products/services and/or equipment K13.9 severe incidents, problems and issues associated with technical
infrastructure and services may require the development or use of emergency solutions/alternatives while low(er) priority problems and issues are often resolved through routine refresh and replacement activities
K13.10 as infrastructure ages, the cost and complexity of repairing faults with it may be prohibitive and the purchase of replacement infrastructure may be a more effective or the only viable approach to restoring service K14 Why some changes to technical infrastructure and services need to be
managed as emergency changes while why low(er) priority problems and issues can be deferred until routine refresh and replacement activities
K15 Who:
K15.1 are the customers of technical support activities
K15.2 needs to be contacted externally to provide technical support K15.3 needs to authorise actions proposed and taken during technical
support activities
K15.4 may be impacted by any particular incident, problem, change or other event that arises with any technical infrastructure and services
K16 The importance of:
K16.1 referencing the service catalogue and/or portfolio and service level information during technical support activities
K16.2 referencing technical standards for technical infrastructure and services during technical support
K16.3 undertaking preventative maintenance on IT/technology infrastructure K16.4 making a timely and accurate assessment of the cost and complexity
of repairing infrastructure compared with alternative approaches K17 The procedures, tools and techniques that can be used to conduct
technical support activities in a range of business and organisational contexts and to perform preventative maintenance
K18 How to comply with standards and service levels that apply to technical support activities
K19 How effective technical support activity can improve the levels of customer satisfaction with it/technology
You need to know and understand:
Monitor, document and provide effective communications when carrying out technical support activities, under supervision
K20 Source, gather and collate:
K20.1 all relevant information associated with any technical infrastructure and services that require support
K20.2 information about the architecture, design and configuration associated with any technical infrastructure and services during technical support activities
K20.3 information relating to incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events associated with any technical infrastructure and services
K20.4 information from internal and external sources about known errors associated with any technical infrastructure and services
K20.5 information from external sources about resolutions and fixes that are to be included in future technical infrastructure and services releases and/or equipment refresh programmes
K20.6 information from a range of sources in order to develop fixes, patches, changes and repairs to technical infrastructure and services
K20.7 information in order to estimate the effort, cost, complexity, risk and elapsed time for any infrastructure decommissioning/replacement option(s)
K21 Record and store:
K21.1 all relevant information about incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events relating to technical infrastructure and services
K21.2 any information from external sources about known errors with technical infrastructure and services
K21.3 routine action taken to ensure the ongoing performance and effectiveness of technical infrastructure and services
K21.4 the results of testing that has taken place on changes and repairs to or replacements of technical infrastructure and services
K21.5 all relevant information about changed or replacement technical infrastructure and services for use in change, release, configuration management and/or asset management activities
K22 Monitor:
K22.1 the progress of changes and repairs to and/or replacement of technical infrastructure and services provided by external providers
K22.2 the responsiveness of external providers of technical support to incidents, problems, changes and other events
K23 Report any issues associated with the provision of technical support from external providers
K24.1 technical infrastructure and services requiring support
K24.2 incoming incidents, problems, change requests and other events relating to technical infrastructure and services
K25 Provide:
K25.1 updated information on the progress of changes and repairs to, and replacements of, technical infrastructure and services, in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events to a range of individuals and groups
K25.2 all relevant information about changed or replacement technical infrastructure and services for use in change, release, configuration management and/or asset management activities
K26 Communicate and liaise with:
K26.1 external individuals and groups who provide technical support in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events K26.2 internal and external individuals and groups on the progress of
changes and repairs to and replacements of technical infrastructure and services, in response to incidents, problems, change requests and other events
K27 Advise and guide others on the appropriateness of repairing existing infrastructure
K28 What are the contact methods used with external providers of technical support
K29 The importance of:
K29.1 communicating effectively with external providers of technical support K29.2 documenting changes, repairs and replacements made to technical
infrastructure and services, in order to resolve incidents and problems or respond to change requests and other events
K29.3 effective communication with a range of customers and other individuals during technical support activities
K29.4 documenting known errors with any technical infrastructure and services so that this may be referenced by others until it is resolved/fixed
Developed by
e-skills UKVersion number
1Date approved
September 2009Indicative review
date
March 2014Validity
CurrentStatus
OriginalOriginating
organisation
e-skills UKOriginal URN
7052Relevant
occupations
Application Support; Information and Communication Technology; Systems Support