How to evaluate helpdesk software

What is the best way to evaluate helpdesk software?

In additional to the sections in this part of the documentation, the following points may be helpful when tasked with evaluating service-desk software like HelpMaster.

1. Get the team involved

Helpdesk software is team software - it’s been designed to be used by work groups of people, all sharing information, jobs, notes and other data. One of the best ways to evaluate HelpMaster is to get the helpdesk team involved. Hold a meeting to discuss what you’re looking for in. Talk about your current situation - what works, what doesn’t work. Discuss where you’d like to be and the kind of service you would like to provide to your clients. Write down some of your service and support goals. Have a team understanding of what you would like your helpdesk software to accomplish. Treat the whole evaluation as a team exercise, after all, everyone will be expected to use the software if it is chosen.

2. Import any existing / legacy helpdesk / client data you may have

One of the best ways to evaluate HelpMaster is to use it with your own familiar data. Use the powerful Import Wizard to import your client lists, helpdesk jobs, knowledge base articles, sites, contact details etc. Once you have your own familiar data to use, HelpMaster will make a lot more sense to you and your staff members. For user/client/staff import, you can also use the Active Directory / Entra ID import tool.

If you need help with extracting/importing data, please contact PRD Software for assistance.

3. Get people using HelpMaster

The best way to evaluate HelpMaster is to get people using it! Install HelpMaster Desktop on each workstation within your support environment and encourage staff to give it a go. Use it in a “live” environment. Log calls, update data and really get to know how the software performs in a real setting. Get people using it and regularly seek feedback. The evaluation version of HelpMaster is able to be used by all of your team members in a distributed environment for as long as you reasonably need.

4. Provide basic training for your staff

The HelpMaster helpfile contains much information and screen-shots of how to use HelpMaster. Moreover, it contains a useful “Quick Start Guide” that will be useful to both users and system administrators of the software. This helpfile is a good place to start to learn how to use HelpMaster. Use the Index and search features to find what you’re looking for.

5. Get your clients involved

Once you start using HelpMaster, ask your clients what they think of the new level of service they are getting. Do they like it? Are they getting better information and response times? Get a feel for how your evaluation is affecting the rest of your organization.

6. Get feedback from your team

Stay in touch with your team. Meet regularly to discuss how the evaluation is going. Seek to understand where HelpMaster fits, where it doesn’t fit and how your staff are coping with the change to automation and helpdesk best-practices.

7. Run some reports

Once you have entered some data during your evaluation period, try running some reports. HelpMaster ships with over 140 different reports that provide summary, detail and statistical reports. Running and viewing reports will give you an insight into your support operations and how your team is affected. Find out where your support bottle-necks are, who is a team player, who is taking too long to respond to calls. The reports will help you to determine if HelpMaster is going to provide the data you need to run an efficient support desk.

8. Get help from PRD Software or go on-line

Need help during your evaluation? Talk to PRD Software and we’ll be happy to assist you. Additional help resources are available through the HelpMaster website.