7. Developing Case-Based Help-Desk Support Systems for Complex Technical Equipment

Abstract

Help-desks support end-users of complex technical equipment by providing guidance on the use of products and by performing maintenance operations when needed. Since the complexity and diversity of technical equipment increases continuously, help-desk operators have difficulty covering the entire range of relevant products and need a knowledge repository to be able to find the correct solution to a problem as soon as possible.

This chapter describes the processes that must be performed to develop a casebased system to support help-desk operators in diagnosing complex technical equipment. It is based on the help-desk recipe from the cookbook level in the INRECA methodology. The recipe was created during the development of the HOMER system described in section 3.1, and has been applied to the development of several other help-desk systems. Using the methodology, we were able to speed up the development process of a case-based help-desk support system by a factor of 12 (see section 7.5). Apart from the increase in productivity, the methodology also resulted in considerable benefits regarding product and process quality, provided a means of communication, and served as a basis for management decisions.