PC Helpdesk Ch 4

25 July 2022
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Active Listening
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A communication skill that results in a listener being as involved and engaged in the communication process as the speaker; paraphrasing is an example of active listening.
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Analogy
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A way in which a current problem is similar to other problems that have been solved; an analogy between similar problems may suggest a possible problem solution.
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Contradiction
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A situation in which a fact established through investigation rules out, or contradicts, a potential solution.
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Creativity
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The critical-thinking ability to find a novel or innovative solution to a problem; the ability to see a problem from new and different perspectives.
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Critical Question
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A question designed to elicit important information from a user that may force a support agent to challenge some basic assumptions about a problem.
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Critical Thinking
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Cognitive skills a problem solver uses to analyze a problem, search for the underlying logic or rationale, or strive for alternate ways to explain an event or situation.
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Decision Making
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The ability to select one alternative from among a number of alternatives, based on some evaluation criteria; an important skill for troubleshooters.
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Escalation
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A problem-solving tool whereby a difficult or complex problem is referred to a higher-level support person or team for resolution.
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Explanation
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A communication skill that involves a support agent describing the solution to a problem so the user understands why the problem occurred and the steps required to resolve it.
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Goal State
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A desired outcome or objective; in troubleshooting, a common goal state is to diagnose or repair a computer subsystem to return it to a normal operational state.
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Hypothesis
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An initial guess, hunch, or prediction based on experience.
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Hypothesis Testing
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Formulating a hypothesis about the cause of a problem and designing an experiment that will prove or disprove the hypothesis.
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Iterative Process
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A process that involves several paths or approaches to problem solving; steps are repeated in a loop until a fruitful path is found; troubleshooting is an iterative process in that it uses and reuses a variety of tools and skills.
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Knowledge Base
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An organized collection of information, articles, procedures, tips, and solutions to existing problems that can serve as a resource in a problem-solving situation.
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ListServ
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An automated email service that distributes all (or selected) email messages posted to the ListServ to every member who has subscribed to the ListServ; organized around a topic of special interest to its members.
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Mental Model
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An automated email service that distributes all (or selected) email messages posted to the ListServ to every member who has subscribed to the ListServ; organized around a topic of special interest to its members.
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Metacognition
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The ability to think about thinking; the ability of a troubleshooter to step back from a problem-solving situation and analyze his or her thought processes.
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Module Replacement
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A problem-solving strategy that involves replacing a hardware or software component whose operational status is unknown with a component that is known to be operational.
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Newsgroup
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An Internet discussion group in which participants with common interests in a topic post messages; similar to an electronic bulletin board.
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Paraphrasing
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A communication skill that involves you restating in your own words what you think you heard the speaker say.
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Probe
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A follow-up question designed to elicit additional information from a user about a problem; a sequence of probes often clarifies a problem situation.
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Problem Solving
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A process of moving from a current state of events X (the problem state) to a future desired state of events Y; the objective of problem solving is to get from X to Y quickly, accurately, effectively, and efficiently.
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Remote Access
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Utility software that lets a support agent view and control events on an external user's computer.
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Replication
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The process of trying to repeat a problem in a different situation or environment to reproduce a problem.
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Root Cause Analysis
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The process of trying to repeat a problem in a different situation or environment to reproduce a problem.
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Really Simple Syndication RSS
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A Web service that aggregates selected information from various Web resources, including newsgroups, blogs, forums, and other news and information services and delivers it to a user's desktop in a convenient, easy-to-use format.
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Social Media
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Forms of online communication that provide interactions with people around the world who share similar interests and problems; examples include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogs.
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Troubleshooting
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The process of defining, diagnosing, and solving computer problems; involves the use of several thinking and communications skills, information resources, strategies, and methods.
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Variable
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A factor or an aspect in a problem-solving situation that can change or be changed; eliminating variables by removing components simplifies a complex problem so it is more manageable and can be solved
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Verification
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A communication skill that permits a troubleshooter to confirm his or her perception that a problem is solved.
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VPN
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A computer network that uses the Internet to connect remote users to a corporate network; a VPN uses authentication and encryption to enhance security on a network.
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User support is a constantly changing field that requires the ability to learn new information and procedures.
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True
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Decision making is the ability to select the correct alternative from among all of the wrong alternative ways to solve a problem.
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False
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A common reason new or upgraded hardware or software does not operate correctly in a computer system is that the configuration requirements don't match the existing system.
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True
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A troubleshooting strategy that swaps a hardware or software component whose status is unknown with one that is known to be operational is called module replacement.
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True
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When a particular combination of hardware, operating system, and application software do not operate together, a support specialist often recognizes that the problem is too complex to solve.
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False
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Support specialists should practice using the troubleshooting tools in this chapter until they can use all the tools equally well.
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False
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Occasionally support agents encounter problems they have never seen before.
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True
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In problem solving, a contradiction occurs when the current problem is unlike any problem a troubleshooter has experienced before.
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False
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Rebooting a PC to troubleshoot a problem falls in the category of looking for a simple, obvious solution.
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True
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A troubleshooting tool that permits a support worker to access a user's PC without traveling to the user's physical location is called remote access.
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True
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Viewing a system as a group of subsystems begins the search for a problem at ____.
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Any of these starting points
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When a troubleshooter tries to print a page on a printer that a user says no longer prints, the troubleshooter is using which problem-solving strategy?
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Attempt to replicate the problem
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Tools a troubleshooter uses to get a description of a computer problem, learn a user's perspectives on the problem, and explain the solution to the user are called ____.
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Communication Skills
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Which of these is not normally part of an explanation to a user?
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A description of the various alternatives the support agent considered to find a solution.
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Which of these personal characteristics of successful troubleshooters is the most important?
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All of the above
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An organized collection of information, articles, procedures, tips, and problem solutions is called a ____.
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Knowledge Base
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Troubleshooting computer problems can best be described as a(n) ____.
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Iterative, repetitious procedure
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Ways in which the current problem is similar to other problems are called ____.
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Analogies
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The sentence I want to confirm that, with the changes we made to your software, you can now enlarge the font in your document. is an example of ____.
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Verification
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An automated email service that distributes all (or selected) email messages to its members is called a ____.
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ListServ
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In creative thinking, a hypothesis is usually based on a ____.
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Mental Model
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Another name for diagnostic software tools is ____.
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Utility Software
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A troubleshooter's ability to design and test hypotheses in order to solve a computer problem is based on ____.
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Critical Thinking
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____ is not one of the five critical questions suggested in the chapter.
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How much experience do you have using this system?
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A communication skill commonly used in active listening is ____.
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Paraphrasing
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Which of these sequences is the order of the following steps in the iterative problem-solving process? A) Formulate and test a hypothesis. B) Collect information. C) Analyze the results. D) Consider alternative explanations.
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B, D, A, C
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Reinstalling a software package to fix a problem with an inoperative program is an example of which troubleshooting strategy?
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Module Replacement
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Most problems support specialists encounter are ones they have seen before or can quickly locate the solution to in a database of problem solutions.
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True
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Computer vendors are usually not a good source of troubleshooting information because they are biased toward their own products.
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False
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In addition to listening to a user describe a computer problem, a troubleshooter should listen to the words the user chooses to explain the problem.
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True
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Root cause analysis is a troubleshooting strategy that attempts to go beyond a problem's obvious symptoms to determine why a problem occurs.
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True
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A computer system can be viewed as a group of subsystems linked together to form a complete system.
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True
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The strategy of removing components to return a computer to a basic configuration is designed to eliminate variables that may make a computer problem more difficult to solve.
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True
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Personal characteristics of a troubleshooter are simply part of a support specialist's basic personality and cannot be modified with experience, feedback, or coaching.
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False
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Problem solving is the process of moving from the problem state to the goal state (an operable system).
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True
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One type of critical thinking is the use of cognitive skills to build a mental model to understand or explain an event or a situation.
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True
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Root cause analysis is an iterative process that asks a series of ____ questions.
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Why
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When a troubleshooter must select from among several diagnostic tests to gather information about a problem, the selection is based on ____ skills.
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Decision Making
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A mental model to help a computer troubleshooter understand and explain a problem situation is based on ____.
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Critical Thinking
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When one hardware device conflicts with another device's use of system resources, the problem can often be diagnosed effectively by ____.
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Examining the configuration
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Remote access to a user's PC can be implemented with a ____.
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Virtual Private Network
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The concept that a listener is an involved participant in the communication process is called ____.
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Active Listening
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Teams of support agents are generally less effective at working on a complex problem because each team member has a different approach, and they frequently cannot agree on how to tackle a problem.
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False
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A knowledge base is the personal experiences a support agent brings to the table to solve a problem.
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False
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Some troubleshooters find that just describing a problem situation to a work colleague may result in new insights into the problem.
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True
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Most computer problems are not difficult ones for a support provider to handle.
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True
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Troubleshooting computer problems is a fixed sequence of steps a support specialist follows from the initial problem description to the resolved problem.
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False
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Replication is a troubleshooting procedure that tries to repeat the same problem on another PC.
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True
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When there is a current state of events X and a future desired state of events Y, and the troubleshooter's objective is to move from X to Y, the troubleshooting activity is called ____.
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Problem Solving
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Rebooting a system in an attempt to fix a problem is an example of which problem -solving strategy?
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Look for an obvious solution
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In a troubleshooting situation, a modem failed to work when a new Internet browser program was installed. Which of these critical questions would likely lead a troubleshooter to the source of the modem failure?
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Have you made recent changes to your system
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A techie who works exclusively with hardware and software, rarely comes into contact with people, and talks in technical jargon will probably not enjoy a career in the user support field.
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True