AN INVESTIGATION OF KNOWLEDGE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION SYSTEM SUPPORT PERSONNEL

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1 AN INVESTIGATION OF KNOWLEDGE/SKILL REQUIREMENTS FOR INFORMATION SYSTEM SUPPORT PERSONNEL Ronald L. Berry John Rettenmayer James T. Wood All at: Department of Computer Information Systems University of Louisiana at Monroe 700 University Avenue Monroe LA Phone: (318) ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a survey regarding managerial and technical skills required for information systems support personnel. The nation-wide survey asked information systems managers to identify skills and knowledge areas expected for Information System Support professionals. Because the rapid pace of change in the field of information systems, it is important to study and be aware of the skills and knowledge needed by information systems support personnel so that organizations and academic units can develop effective training and educational programs. INTRODUCTION Computer and information systems technology has had a rapid pace of evolution. Since the early days of the centralized mainframe environment, we have seen an explosion of technology use in organizations. In the 1980 s, personal computer use became widespread in businesses and in homes. In the 1990 s, these computers were connected to form local and wide area networks that fueled the growth of the Internet and electronic commerce. Enhanced hardware processing capability, improved and more accessible application software applications, and declining costs helped facilitate this growth (Laudon and Laudon, 2000). Computers have become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. Every user, from experts to novices, in an organization will have a need for computer assistance at some point in time. Whether it is a forgotten password, a spreadsheet formula that does not work, a hard drive or printer problem, or a network problem, all levels of users at one time or another have a need to seek technology support. Information systems support specialists provide the support needed. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002), computer user support specialists: provide technical assistance to computer system users. Answer questions or resolve computer problems for clients in person, via telephone or from remote location. May provide assistance concerning the use of computer hardware and software, including printing, installation, word processing, electronic mail, and operating systems. In essence, support specialists provide a wide variety of troubleshooting assistance. Support professionals play the role of internal consultants to end-users regarding application development as well as provide training on software, hardware, and procedures as well as hardware support. The skills needed for systems support usually include a strong aptitude for problem solving, communication skills, technical capability, and interpersonal skills. An interesting staffing question was posed in Support Management: "We look for programming skills (like bug detection for problem-solving) in candidates for application support specialists. But we're competing with Development. How can we win?" (David, 1997, p. 80). According to the latest labor statistics, the problem is not going to get any better. The job opportunities for support professionals look promising through 2010 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002). Systems support employment is expected to increase much faster than the average of all occupations. According to the Association of Support Professionals recent survey (2002), salaries for support professionals rose slightly last year with a salary range of $30,000 to $100,000, for entry to senior-level positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002) estimates the median salary for support specialists at $36,

2 Obviously, organizations require support professionals to effectively and efficiently utilize the technology they have deployed. The reported salaries and job opportunities should attract professionals to the field of systems support. The purpose of this research was to determine the managerial and technical skills required for employment and success as a systems support specialist. METHODOLOGY Information systems managers were surveyed to gain a better understanding of the information systems support discipline and the nature of information systems support in organizations. Nine hundred questionnaires were mailed to randomly selected information systems managers whose names and addresses were purchased from a mailing list vendor for this study. To increase the number of responses, a follow-up postcard was mailed to the entire sample to thank those who had responded and to encourage those who had not to complete the questionnaire. The two-page questionnaire consisted of four sections. Section one asked general questions concerning end-user computing, support personnel, and types of support available in organizations. Section two contained questions related to relevant management skills in areas such as network management, internal consulting, records management, problem resolution, and communication. Section three addressed technical skills such as network installation, systems development, hardware and software training, help desk software, software knowledge, and Windows expertise. Section four covered demographic questions, such as industry category, location and size of organization, and the primary job function of the person filling out the questionnaire. The data discussed in this paper presents the descriptive results of this study. A similar questionnaire was used by Berry and Luse (1998) to assess support knowledge and skills. The questionnaire, other than via a pre-test, has not been validated or tested for reliability. Demographics RESULTS Of the 900 questionnaires mailed out, 45 were returned because of incorrect addresses. Of the remaining 855 questionnaires, 82 were completed, representing a 9.6 % response rate. In the 82 usable responses, 32 states were represented, and the majority of the respondents represented manufacturing (23%), government agencies (17%), financial services (7.3%), and educational institutions (6%). The primary job function of the majority of respondents (73%) was as a manager, while 12% of the respondents indicated computer support as their primary job function. Current I.S. Support Environment Fifty percent of the respondents indicated that their company provides one centralized, internal information center or help desk (see Figure 1), while 40% of the respondents indicated that their company provides multiple help desks or information centers throughout the organization. D Antoni (2001) found similar results. In contrast, in 1995 Lee, Trauth, and Farwell suggested the trend was for companies to shift away from the centralized I.S. department towards decentralized, end-user-focused support within functional business areas. Very few (6%) of the respondents indicated their organization outsources their support function. Information System Support Structure Other 6% Outsourced 4% Distributed Help Desks 40% Centralized 50% Figure 1 294

3 When asked about their company s plans regarding the staffing of I.S. support personnel within the next year, 57% of the respondents indicated that their company planned to maintain the current staffing level of I.S. support personnel. However, 30% of the respondents indicated that their company planned to hire additional I.S. support employees. The view that businesses will increase their I.S. support staff was also found in the study conducted by Lee, Trauth, and Farwell (1995). The respondents of their study indicated that they planned to increase both end-user support personnel and business/systems analysts. In regards to training, 49% of the respondents indicated their companies offer training programs for I.S. support personnel. Respondents indicated that I.S. support personnel provide various types of technical support to company employees. As shown in Table 1, hardware support is provided by 86% of the respondents I.S. support staff, network support by 85%, software support by 80%, and Internet/Intranet support by 77%. Fewer organizations provided support for purchasing and office applications. Type of Support No. of Responses % of Respondents Hardware Network Software Internet/Intranet Purchasing Office Apps Other Table 1 Technical Support Provided by I.S. Support Personnel In addition to technical support, I.S. support personnel also provide training support to company employees. Over 50% of the respondents indicated that software and office application training was the type of training provided by the I.S. support staff at their firms (see Table 2). This finding is understandable since end-users are looking to I.S. support personnel to help them make better use of their personal computers. Fewer respondents indicated their support function provided training for network and hardware issues. In a similar study, D Antoni (2001) found that support priorities included software patches and updates, problem resolution, problem analysis, hardware updates or upgrades, and system monitoring. Types of Training No. of Responses % of Respondents Software Office Applications Internet/Intranet Network Hardware Other 8 10 Table 2 Training Support Provided by I.S. Support Personnel Required I.S. Skills and Knowledge The thrust of this project was to identify skills and knowledge necessary for I.S. support personnel. Respondents were asked to rank both managerial and technical skills on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represented "Not Important" and 5 represented "Extremely Important." As shown in Table 3, interpersonal skills (mean value of 4.48) and problem resolution (4.46) were identified as the most important managerial skills required for I.S. support employees. This is not surprising, given the nature of systems support job roles. Most I.S. professionals agree that systems support personnel solve problems, much like their I.S. development counterparts. To accomplish this, they must have strong interpersonal skills as well. It was also not surprising that the next three highest important skills were communication-related skills: listening (4.43), oral (4.34), and teamwork (4.30). Most similar studies report the same results: managers must have good communication skills to succeed in their jobs. In their study, Lee, Trauth, and Farwell (1995) indicated one of the most important activities performed by I.S. employees in the future would be to analyze business problems in order to find I.S. solutions. To do this, I.S. personnel would need business functional knowledge and good interpersonal and management skills. Surprisingly, project management (3.43) ranked tenth in importance. It is also interesting to note that managing help desk software had a mean response of 3.01 indicating the respondents generally thought that skill was only moderately important. 295

4 Skill Mean * St. Dev. Interpersonal Problem Resolution Listening Oral Communication Team Work Time Management Written Communication Conflict Management Network Administration Project Management Change Agent/Management Internal Consulting Records Management Managing Help Desk Software Table 3 Managerial Skills Required of I.S. Support Personnel Not surprisingly, the highest ranked technical skills (Table 4) suggested for I.S. support personnel were troubleshooting software (4.04), hardware (4.01), and network (3.96) problems. Operating systems expertise (3.87) also ranked high. These findings are consistent with the view that I.S. support employees help end-users troubleshoot a variety of problems. When end-users encounter problems when working on pc s using a variety of software, they seek advice from the I.S. support staff. Thus, being able to determine quickly what problems an end-user is having with software and being able to quickly maneuver within the windows environment is of paramount importance. Skill Mean * St. Dev. Software Troubleshooting Hardware Troubleshooting Network Troubleshooting Operating Systems Expertise File Management/Maintenance Office Applications Network Installation Software Training Hardware Training End User Application Develop Network Oriented Certification Help Desk Software Hardware Certification Presentation Graphics Intranet Development Web Page Development Database Certification Office Apps Certification GL Programming Statistical Software Programming Language Cert GL Programming Table 4 Technical Skills Required of I.S. Support Personnel * Based on the following scale: 1 = Not important, 2 = Somewhat Important, 3 = Moderately Important, 4 = Very Important, 5 = Extremely Important As expected, Intranet development (2.80), 4GL programming (2.51) and 3GL programming (2.45) ranked low. These are technical skills usually required for systems developers and programmers. It should be noted the relative low ranking of all certifications. These findings support the findings of the Association of Support Professionals who found that certifications do not add 296

5 significant value in regards to hiring, promotion, or pay raises (2002a). It does, however, assist job seekers who do not have college degrees. STUDY LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS Even though this paper is limited in that it only provides descriptive results, it does provide useful information regarding the area of information systems support. Data could be used to enhance, or create, specialized programs aimed at preparing students for a career in I.S. support. It also provides useful information for managers related to systems support. Obviously, one of the major setbacks of this study was the low response rate. Plans are to begin a longitudinal study to assess prerequisite support skills over time. For the next study, the instrument will be shortened and a second round of postcard follow-ups will be mailed out to encourage participation in the study. Future plans include validation of the questionnaire and an assessment of reliability. Once constructs have been identified via factor analysis and tested for reliability using Cronbach s alpha, data analysis will be conducted to determine if demographic variables have an impact on skill requirements. Additionally, issues such as decision-making structure, organizational size, and information support structure will be evaluated with regards to support skills. REFERENCES Association of Support Professionals (2002), Salary Survey, Association of Support Professionals (2002a), Certification Survey, Berry, Ronald and Donna Luse (1998), Current Skill and Knowledge Requirements for I.S. Support Personnel: A Survey of I.T. Professionals, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Southwest Region, pp Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002), Computer Support Specialists and Systems Administrators, D Antoni, Helen (2001), Tech Support: Mostly an Inside Job, Information Week, April 9, p. 98. David, Joel. (1997, September/October). Q & A workshop: staffing. Competing with development. Support Management, 1 (4), Lee, Denis M. S., Trauth, Eileen M., & Farwell, Douglas. (1995, September). Critical skills and knowledge requirements of IS professionals: A joint academic/industry investigation. MIS Quarterly, 19 (3), Laudon, Kenneth and Jane Laudon (2000), Management Information Systems: Organization and Technology In the Networked Enterprise, Sixth Edition, Prentice Hall, Publishers. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed on-line at 297