# Presentation: 301151

## Maximizing Your Support

***Maximizing Your Support***

**Notes:**
Facilitator/co-leader does initial intro to cyber session and introduction of leader.
---
Welcome everyone to Cyber Session - before we get started - review format

1. Audience have pen and paper handy for questions (answered during Q&A)

2. Mostly driven by presenter - from time to time scrolling, etc. by attendees

3. Phones on listen only until the end... to contact operator for assistance...

4. Survey at the end - only 4 quick questions

5. intro speaker

## Who we are...	

**Chris Warticki****	****	****	****	**
**	****Senior Manager****Systems Technologies**
**	**_**[Chris.Warticki@oracle.com](mailto:Chris.Warticki@oracle.com)**_
**	****407-458-4252**
**	**

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## What is Your Support ?

**Product Support – What we will talk about today**
**Premium Support - Field / Onsite Support**
**Professional Support - Consulting Services**

**Notes:**
Today’s agenda is packed full 

starting with an overview of the basics -to start us all on the same sheet of music

Working effectively with the support organization - as well as how to use the tools and finish up with a little more information about your presenters

## Product Support 

**Definition**
**Problem/Resolution**
**Transactional**
**Professional communication from both ends**
**Product Support is *****not***** Education**
**Trained professionals**
**Available employees with correct skill set to solve problems**

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**Notes:**
This is the segue slide for the next five slides...

Facilitator:

OK now we have an understanding about the support centers and where they are around the world... 

Before we go any further, <leader> could you go over some of the support terminology for our audience...

In particular... what is....

## Support is not Development

**Support**
**Electronic and telephone support**
**Isolate problems within code**
**Product usage questions**
**Interpret error messages**
**Run test cases**
**Development**
**Solve bugged issues**
**Communicate with support to get complete information**
**Develop new software releases**
**Create and test bug patches**

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## Know and Control Your Environment 

**Every customer’s configuration is different.**
**It’s your Environment**
**Product Knowledge**
**Version History**
**Upgrade History**
**Access Control - Systems in Place**
**Change Management**
**Backups**
**Log Books**
**Test solutions first.**

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**Notes:**
This is the segue slide for the next five slides...

Facilitator:

OK now we have an understanding about the support centers and where they are around the world... 

Before we go any further, <leader> could you go over some of the support terminology for our audience...

In particular... what is....

## Best Practices

**Multiple test environments**
**Test environments mirror production**
**Implementation allows adequate time for testing**
**Skills for the products involved**
**Maintain a system log book to track changes**
**Processes to manage patches and patch testing**

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## Framing the Issue

**Clear problem statement**
**Is problem reproducible?**
**Test and production?**
**Review recent changes that were implemented**
**Review templates and gather all information required**
** ****	****	*****http://oracle.com/support/index.html?policies.html***
**Review our knowledge content on MetaLink **
**Contact Support - iTAR**
**A problem well stated is a problem half solved**

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**Notes:**
Explain importance of clear problem statement: cherry picking.

Ask analyst to change abstract if needed.

Fill out templates completely because if you don’t, resolving the TAR typically takes longer because phone tag starts...

## Tools for yOUR Success 

**MetaLink knowledge base**
**iTAR**
**Telephone – Critical Issues**
**Client Relations – Non-technical**
**Duty Manager – Problem escalation**

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**Notes:**
This is the segue slide for the next five slides...

Facilitator:

OK now we have an understanding about the support centers and where they are around the world... 

Before we go any further, <leader> could you go over some of the support terminology for our audience...

In particular... what is....

## MetaLink - iTAR 

**250,000+ Users**
**Response Rate**
**Less than 1 hour**
**38,000 Documents **
**MetaLink Database = Support Database**
**Problems Avoided - 2,500 per week**
***(OSS has very few 1st time discoveries)***

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**Notes:**
This is the segue slide for the next five slides...

Facilitator:

OK now we have an understanding about the support centers and where they are around the world... 

Before we go any further, <leader> could you go over some of the support terminology for our audience...

In particular... what is....

## TAR Creation - Severity Levels	

**TAR***** *****Creation***** - *****Severity Levels****	**

## Managing Escalations

**Escalate issues in a timely manner**
**We need to know what the relative importance of critical issues are.  We depend on our customers to communicate this information to us.**
**What are your escalation criteria?**
**Project deadlines**
**Lost revenue**
**Government reporting**
**Users at your door (CIO/CFO)**

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## Escalation Procedures 

**Analyst**

**Duty Manager**

**Director**

**Vice President**

**Senior**
**Manager**

**Oracle Representative = Customer Representative**
**As Escalation progresses higher**

**Notes:**
The customers need to be familiar with the Duty Manager Escalation Process.  This can be invoked by the customer at any time.
95% of all issues are resolved after initiating this process
Once a customer has requested a DM - the manager has 30 minutes to review the issue and call the customer back
 * Acknowledge escalation, identify themselves, and provide direct contact information.
    * Listen to the customer's issue until it is understood.
    * Negotiate with the customer on an acceptable action plan or steps to resolve issue.
    * Document the conversation and action plan in the TAR.
 The escalation is owned by the manager who contacted the customer until either:

Escalation may proceed, if necessary, to the Senior Manager and then to the Director of the particular product group.  If the issue still needs to go higher, the issue can then be escalated to the Regional  Director in Oracle Support Services  and directly up his or her management chain. The Regional Director has authority to  assign other teams from Oracle Support, software developers, Oracle  consultants, and On-Site support to the resolution effort. 

NOTE: As the Escalation goes up the Oracle chain, we ask that customers have like roles working on the escalations  (i.e. Director to Director, VP to VP)

## Maximizing Support = Minimizing Resolution Time

**Environment is Unique**
**Expectations & Severity Level**
**Action Plans**
**Contact Information**
**Minimize TAR Tag**
**Provide multiple points of contacts **
**Get an action plan and identify who owns the next actions**
**Track TAR status and take required action**
**Utilize the Duty Manager process**
**Monitor severity changes**

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**Notes:**
Multiple points of contact means multiple people;
Multiple conact points means many ways of contacting each person.

Some customers have a web site or dcumment that lists all the people and their contact info; they copy and paste that info right into each TAR.

About “Get action traction”: include specific info in the TAR, e.g. “Here’s what Support asked us to supply; the next action is yours; please call me 10/29 at 2:00.”

## Thank you

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**Notes:**
Survey first - co-leader/facilitator
Then Q&A - Leader