| A | B |
|---|
| Abandon Before Answer (ABA) | Percentage of customers that hang up before the call is answered. |
| After Call Work (ACW) | Work peformed immediately after hanging up (could include data entry, other calls, etc.) |
| Asset | Resource or Capability that could contribute to the delivery of a service. |
| Asset Management | The implementation of a set of operating and accounting procedures, to maximize return on investment (ROI.) |
| Automated Voice Recognition (AVR) | Technology enabling a computer to understand voice commands. |
| Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) | Call center telephone system using a programmable device to pick up and distribute calls to agents, play delay messages, and record call histories. |
| Change Advisory Board (CAB) | Group of individuals responsible for assessing and planning all changes impacting business operations. |
| Change Management | (General) A planned approach to change in an organization; (Within IT) A defined management process for change with minimal disruption to IT services and minimal irregularity in customer service levels. |
| Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) | Interfacing telecommunications equipment with IT so (for example) technicians can view call queue and look up details or escalate specific customers in a single interface. |
| Configuration Item (CI) | Any alterable component of an IT system; could be the entire system, hardware, software or documentation. |
| Configuration Management | Controlling all configuration components of an IT system to provide continuously reasonable cost and quality service despite changing user demands. |
| Gap Analysis | Comparison of actual performance with potential (or past) performance. |
| Incident Management | Process of managing the lifecycle of all incidents, to restore normal service as quickly as possible. |
| Indirect Costs | Costs that cannot easily be assigned to one specific service or business process. |
| Insourcing | The use of internal resources to support new, changed or revised data center operations. |
| Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | Call routing system allowing callers to speak their choices. |
| IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) | A framework of best practices for delivering and supporting IT Services. |
| Average Speed to Answer (ASA) | Average amount of wait time before a customer's call is answered. |
| Average Talk Time (ATT) | Average amount of time an agent spends talking to the customer. |
| Baselining | A reference position for measuring progress in process improvement. |
| Benchmarking | A method of measuring processes against those of others in order to establish priorities and improve performance. |
| Best Practice | A technique, method, or process which is regarded as more effective towards a particular outcome than any other technique. |
| Configuration Management Database (CMDB) | A database representing a logical model of the IT infrastructure or service, and all configuration items (CI's) that make it up, and the relationships between them. |
| Critical Success Factors (CSFs) | Areas that MUST happen if an IT project is to succeed. |
| Direct Software Library (DSL) | A secure library of all software configuration items which are in "current" form. |
| Error Control | Processes for tracking and eliminating known errors. |
| Escalation | A defined management process for changing a service request priority to higher priority due to its impact, timing, duration or customer input. |
| Fixed Costs | Costs which do not change over time, such as tax or rent. |
| Key Performance Indicator (KPI) | A process metric used to measure progress toward goals of the organization. |
| Knowledge Base | A collection of information and solutions within an organizationthat is designed to provide efficient reuse of that knowledge. |
| Knowledge Management | The management of organizational information as a resource. |
| Known Error | A problem where the root cause is known and a temporary workaround has been found. Tracked in Known Error Database (KEDB) to resolve future incidents. |
| Mean Time to Restore Service (MTRS) | The average amount of time between the reporting of an incident and its resolution. |
| Metric | A measure of performance or efficiency. |
| Mission Statement | A formal, written summary identifying the organization's purpose and reason for being. |
| Objective | Statement of a measurable target that an organization or support center will accomplish over a time period. |
| One-Time Survey | Survey conducted to evaluate satisfaction with a particular product or service, performed at irregular intervals. |
| Ongoing Survey | Survey completed as soon as possible after a call or closed incident to measure quality of service for that incident. |
| Operating Costs | Expenses that provide no asset value to the enterprise. |
| Operational Level Agreement (OLA) | An agreement between IT teams or organizations which defines roles and expectations for each to achieve Service Level Agreements. |
| Outsourcing | Contracting with another company to provide services on a project. |
| Periodic Survey | A survey which is planned on a periodic basis (eg., annually) to measure customers' overall satisfaction. |
| Policy | A plan of action that guides decisions and behavior based on what is best for the organization. |
| Problem Control | Part of the problem management process: Identifying the underlying causes of incidents to prevent recurrence. |
| Problem Management | Management of the lifecycle of all problems; Proactively prevents future problems and minimizes the impact of unavoidable incidents. |
| Procedure | A series of instructions to perform a specific task. Also, "work instructions." |
| Process | A set of related activities to accomplish a specific objective, creating value for the customer by transforming inputs into outputs. |
| Project | A plan, requiring combined efforts of individuals and organizations, encompassing resources, budget and tasks from each. |
| Quality Assurance | The system for ensuring that a product or service will provide its intended value; and the activities necessary to provide that service or product will take place in a cost-effective manner. |
| Request for Change (RFC) | A formal proposal to change the status of a system item which is under configuration control |
| Return on Investment (ROI) | Calculation of the time to recover cost of investment. |
| Quality Assurance (QA) | The process of ensuring the quality of a product, service, or process will provide its intended value, focusing on customer satisfaction and cost-effectiveness. |
| Request for Change (RFC) | A formal proposal to change the nature or status of a system which is under configuration control. |
| Return on Investment (ROI) | Financial calculation that is used to determine the time it will take to recovers the cost of an investment. (Also known as a payback period). |
| Return Rate | The percentage of surveys completed and submitted. |
| Right-sourcing | Identifying the proper balance of outsourcing and other sourcing options to ensure financial and operational effectiveness. |
| Scheduling | Theprocess of determining the specific assignment by which people are required to meet their SLA. |
| Service Catalog | A complete listing of services, applications, processses, hardware, and support groups that will be supported by the support center. |
| Service Level | A statistical criteria for measuring successful service, usually used for Service Level Agreements. |
| Service Level Agreement (SLA) | A formal agreement between the customer(S) and the IT service provided specifying terms under which services are provided to the customer. |
| Service Level Management | The strategy and tactics of defining, achieving, and maintaining required levels of IT service to the organization. |
| Service Request | A change in service that does not relate to an indication of an error in a system or process. |
| Single Point of Contact (SPOC) | Term used to describe the support center's role as the customers one-stop resource for all support-related issues and requests. |
| Sourcing | The process of determining staffing andwhat resources will be utilized to fill those needs. |
| Staffing Levels | The number of support personnel required to deliver on SLA commitments. |
| Staffing Model | A tool sued to determine the number of support personnel requires to deliver on SLA commitments. |
| Stakeholder | Any person or group that can contact the support center for support. |
| Support Center | Term used to incorporate the multiple meanings for help desk, service desk, and contact center, which provides technical support to internal "end user" employees or external customers |
| Total Cost of Ownership | A financial calculation used to analyzr the direct and indirect costs of owning and using hardware and software. |
| Trend Analysis | The analysis of changes in a given item of information over a period oftime. |
| Underpinning Contract | LEgals contracts with third parties who will provide support to an organization. |
| Urgency | The acceptable delay to resolve an Incident or Problem based on the effect to the user or organization. Used to determine priority. |
| User | A person who uses IT services on a day-to-day basis |
| Utilization | The total percentage of actual time analyst spent handling customer issue. |
| Variable Costs | Costs that are based on usage,such as supplies, paper, etc. |
| Vendor | A third-party, external company that supplies goods or services to the support center or customer. |
| Vendor Management | Reviewing vendor performance and responsiveness though statistical problem supports. |
| Vision | A description of where an organization wants to be or what they want to get done at some point in the future. |
| Workaround | A temporary solution that reduces or eliminates the impacts of an incidents for which a permanent resolution is not yet available. Can be used when the cost of a permanent fix outweighs the benefits of a permanent solution, |
