# Presentation: 532896

## Help Desk Support for the Employee Personal Page (EPP) System

- Sharon A. Cannon, Chief Operations and Security Center
- Operations Branch / Information Technology Services Division

## Operations & Security Center

- The Operations and Security Center (OSC), a part of the Operations Branch within the Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) of the NFC of the USDA, serves as the primary point-of-contact for NFC employees and customers to report equipment, security, and telecommunications problems. Help Desk technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC

- Four Basic Steps to Handling Help Desk Requests
- Step 1: The Help Request Is Received
- Step 2: The Help Desk Ticket is Created
- Step 3: The Help Desk Ticket is Resolved or Escalated
- Step 4: The Help Desk Ticket is Closed and the Invitation to Complete the Customer Satisfaction Survey is Issued

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC 

- Step 1: The Request is Submitted
- NFC Employees and Customers can submit request for technical support in one of four ways:
- Web
- Email
- Fax
- Phone

## Four Ways to Submit a Help Desk Request to the OSC

**Web**
- Requests are submitted online using the Create Request link on the OSC Home Page. The OSC Home Page is linked to the NFC Home Page.

## Four Ways to Submit a Help Desk Request to the OSC

**E-mail**
- E-mail requests to OCC.ETIX@USDA.GOV

## Four Ways to Submit a Help Desk Request to the OSC

**FAX**
- Fax the Operations and Security Center Technical Help Desk Fax Request Form to 504-426-8318.  From the OSC Homepage, click on the link to download the Fax Request form to download the form in Adobe PDF format (PDF; 1.3 Mb)

## Four Ways to Submit a Help Desk Request to the OSC

**Phone**
- Submit requests via phone to
-  1-800-767-9641 or 504-426-6435.

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC

- Step 2: The Ticket is Created
- Help Desk Tickets received from all sources are processed in the same manner according to the priority assigned. The information provided by the customer is entered into a Help Desk Ticket by the Technical Help Desk staff.

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC

- Step 3: The Issue Reported is Resolved or Escalated
- The Technical Help Desk staff members will begin working to resolve of the Help Desk Ticket as soon as the issue is reported. The ticket may be escalated to a second tier technical support specialist or an NFC Payroll/Personnel Call Center for further troubleshooting and resolution.
- Note for EPP Customers – in some instances, EPP Customers are referred to their Human Resources Office for further assistance.

## How Requests are HandledBy the OSC

- Step 4: Ticket is Closed
- The customer receives the Help Desk Ticket number for future reference and status tracking. Once the Help Desk Ticket is resolved, the customer receives e-mail notification of ticket resolution and an optional Customer Satisfaction Survey via e-mail.

## The OSC and the Employee Personal Page (EPP)

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- The OSC provides instruction and guidance on the login procedure to users of the Employee Personal Page system.
- The OSC _cannot_ assist customers with the content / data contained in EPP.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Important Development ...
- On February 23, 2008, the login procedure for EPP changed.  Since that time, customers have been asked to convert from an SSN based User ID and Password to a Customer Specified User ID and complex password.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- EPP User-ID Requirement
- The EPP User ID criteria will be based on the following:
- Must be a minimum of 8 and maximum of 40 characters
- Must contain at least one English letter (A−Z, not case sensitive)
- May contain at least one Westernized Arabic numeral (0−9)
- May contain special characters which are limited to the following: ! # $ % * _ + . @
- May use email address
- Cannot match SSN

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- EPP Password Requirement
- The EPP password criteria must be based on the following criteria:
- Must be a minimum of 6 and maximum of 14 characters
- Must contain one character from 3 of the 4 following categories:
- English upper case letters (A−Z)
- English lower case letters (a−z)
- Westernized Arabic numerals (0−9)
- Special characters limited to: ! # $ % * _ +
- Cannot contain the users first name, last name, email address, or User ID
- Cannot match current or two prior passwords

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- The OSC is able to provide limited information regarding the customer’s login attempts.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- When contacting the OSC regarding the EPP System, it is important to start with the current status of the account.
- There are 7 status options for EPP

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option A
- Customer’s access to EPP is active and their last login was successful.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option C
- Customer failed the challenge / security question test and must request a new password for delivery by U. S. Mail.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option F
- Customer failed the User ID security questions test and a notification with the User ID has been sent via U. S. Mail.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option R
- Customer has requested a new password but the request has not been processed yet.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option S
- Customer’s access to EPP has been suspended due to too many failed attempts.  A new password must be requested in order to remove the suspension.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option T
- Customer has been assigned a new temporary password that was delivered via email.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Status Option X
- Customer has been assigned a new temporary password that will be delivered via U. S. Mail.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Based on the status on the account, the OSC can provide customers with recommendations on how best to access the EPP system
- The OSC _cannot_ change the customer’s user-id and/or password
- The OSC _cannot_ access the content / data contained in the customer’s EPP account

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- EPP is a Customer Driven System
- Aside from the status information, the OSC is able to confirm limited information regarding the customer’s access to the EPP system.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Information that the OSC is able to Confirm with Individual Users Regarding the EPP System.
- Mailing Address
- The OSC can confirm the mailing address that is on record in EPP

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Information that the OSC is able to Confirm with Individual Users Regarding the EPP System.
- Email Address
- The OSC can confirm whether or not the customer has an email address on record in EPP.
- The OSC _cannot_ add or change the email address entry in EPP.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Information that the OSC is able to Confirm with Individual Users Regarding the EPP System.
- Challenge Question Status
- The OSC can confirm if the customer has challenge questions on record.
- The OSC _cannot_ view or change the questions and answers.  OSC can determine whether or not the  challenge questions are on record for the customer and if the correct responses were entered.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Information that the OSC is able to Confirm with Individual Users Regarding the EPP System.
- Password Status
- The OSC can confirm whether or not the customer entered the correct Password.
- The OSC _cannot_ change the password.

## Help Desk Support for EPP

- Information that the OSC is able to Confirm with Individual Users Regarding the EPP System.
- Status of Login Attempts
- The OSC can confirm how many login attempts were done
- The OSC can confirm whether or not the login attempts were successful.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How can I change my mailing address?
- Customers can change their mailing address on the Self Service tab in EPP. OR ...
- Customers can submit mailing address changes to their Human Resources Office

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How can I change my email address?
- Customers must change their email address on the Preferences tab in EPP.   If the email address on record in EPP is invalid or absent, mail is the only option available to receive EPP User ID or Password Change notifications.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What if I forget my EPP User ID?
- Customers must go to the EPP Home Page and click on the Forget Your User ID link.  Two options are available to received the User ID, online and mail.
- Once the correct responses to the challenge questions are entered, users that selected to Online option will see the User ID will display on the screen.

- MORE, NEXT SLIDE

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What if I forget my EPP User ID? (cont’d)
- Note, customers that select the Online Option and fail three attempts to enter your first name, last name, date of birth, and correct responses to the two challenge questions presented, will receive a notification in the mail with the User ID.

- MORE, NEXT SLIDE

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What if I forget my EPP User ID? (cont’d)
- Customers that selected the Mail option on the Forgot Your User ID screen must answer the challenge questions correctly in order to receive the EPP notification via mail.
- The notification is sent via the U. S. Postal Service and received in 7 – 10 business days.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How can I change my EPP User ID?
- After successfully logging on to EPP, customers may change their EPP User ID on the Preferences tab.
- The OSC cannot change the EPP User ID.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- Is the EPP User ID case sensitive?
- No, the EPP User ID is not case sensitive.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What if I forget my password?
- Customers must go to the EPP Home Page and click on the Forget Your Password link.  Two options are available to receive the password, Email and Mail.
- Once the correct responses to the challenge questions are entered, the Password will be sent based on the option selected by the customer.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How can I change my EPP Password?
- After successfully logging on to EPP, customers may change their EPP Password on the Change Password tab.
- The OSC cannot change the EPP Password.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What if I forget my password? (Cont’d)
- Note, customers must have a valid email address on record in order to receive the password via email.   If the email address is invalid, the customer must request the password via mail.
- After three failed attempts to answer the challenge questions, a temporary password will be mailed to the customer.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- Is the EPP Password case sensitive?
- Yes the password is case sensitive.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How soon is the EPP notification mailed?
- Notifications on EPP User ID and Password are mailed by the NFC within 48 hours.
- The mail is typically delivered by the U. S. Postal Service within 5 – 7 business days.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- Who can help me with the information contained in EPP?
- In most instances the customer’s Human Resources Office can provide assistance with information contained in EPP.
- Human Resources Offices that need assistance should contact the NFC through the appropriate channels.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How soon do customers that are new to the NFC’s Payroll System granted access to the EPP System?
- New employees are able to access the EPP system after their conclusion of the first payroll cycle after the customer’s hire date.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- What User ID and Password should new employees use?
- New employees will receive a temporary User ID and Password via mail at the conclusion of the first payroll cycle after their date of hire.
- The User ID and Password should be changed as soon as the customer logs on for the first time.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- How long after separation will customers have access to EPP?
- Customers will have access to EPP for 90 days after separation.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- Where is the link to the OSC Home Page?
- The link to the OSC Home Page is in the Help Desk section the NFC Home Page.

## EPP Help Desk FAQs

- Where is the link to the EPP Home Page?
- The link to the EPP Home Page is in the Application Launchpad section of the NFC Home Page.