ONLINE HELPDESK FOR MAYBANK ACCOUNT PAYABLE SYSTEM (MAPS) SHOBINI D/ RAMAN NAIR UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

ONLINE HELPDESK FOR MAYBANK ACCOUNT PAYABLE SYSTEM (MAPS) SHOBINI D/ RAMAN NAIR UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA PSZ19:16(Pind.1/97) BORANG PENGESAHAN STATUS TESIS JUDUL : ONLINE HELPDESK FOR MAYBANK ACCOUNT PAYABLE SYSTEM (MAPS) SESI PENGAJIAN: 2005 Saya SHOBINI A/P RAMAN NAIR Mengaku membenarkan tesis (Sarjana) ini disimpan di Perpustakaan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dengan syarat-syarat kegunaan seperti berikut :- 1. Tesis adalah hakmilik Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 2. Perpustakaan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dibenarkan membuat salinan untuk tujuan pengajian sahaja. 3. Perpustakaan dibenarkan membuat salinan tesis ini sebagai bahan pertukaran antara institusi pengajian tinggi. 4. **Sila tandakan ( ) SULIT TERHAD TIDAK TERHAD Disahkan oleh (TANDATANGAN PENULIS) (TANDATANGAN PENYELIA) Alamat Tetap : No 29 Jalan Asa 2, Taman Asa Jaya, 43000 Kajang Prof Madya Wardah Zainal Abidin Selangor Darul Ehsan. Nama Penyelia Tarikh : 20 November 2005 Tarikh :

SUPERVISOR DECLARATION We hereby declare that we have read this thesis and in our opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the award of the degree of Master of Science Information Technology Management Signature :... Name of Supervisor I :... Date :... Signature :... Name of Supervisor II :... Date :...

ONLINE HELPDESK FOR MAYBANK ACCOUNT PAYABLE SYSTEM (MAPS) SHOBINI D/O RAMAN NAIR A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Masters of Science (Information Technology Management) Faculty of Computer Science & Information Systems Universiti Teknologi Malaysia NOVEMBER 2005

ii DECLARATION I declare that this thesis entitled ONLINE HELPDESK FOR MAYBANK ACCOUNT PAYABLE SYSTEM is the result of my own research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree. Signature :... Name :... Date :...

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Prof.Wardah, my project supervisor from bottom of my heart for being the first person to recognize my interest in taking up this project. She is knowledgeable and is always willing to give a helping hand for me. She allocates time for me to meet her for my project updates and also shares idea and view in spite of her hectic schedule. I would also like to thank Dr.Rosalinda for her kind advice and support in this project. It is also my pleasure to dedicate thanks to my encouraging parents, fiancée, friends and AITI staffs. My sincere appreciation also extends to all my colleagues and others who have provided assistance at various occasions.

iv ABSTRACT The aim of this project is to develop a web-based Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System. Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS) is a system currently used in Maybank to make payments to third party vendors on product and services obtained by Maybank. The users of the system will be users from Property and ISD Department in Maybank. Currently when the system users face a problem with MAPS system, there is no tool or system used to log the problem to the IT Technical Supports. The users will log the problem in a manual method by making a phone call to the IT Technical Support. Besides that, the management is also facing difficulties because there is no proper tracking to problems raised by users. The management is also facing difficulties to gauge the performance of the IT Technical Support, because the support provided is not documented within the organization. Thus, Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System is designed specifically to address the problems mentioned above. The system will automate the manual process of logging a problem to the IT Technical Support via the web-based system. With the system, there will be a proper control over the problem logged because there is an escalation process. The system will be able to determine whether a problem is resolved within the time frame allocated or better known as SLA (Service Level Agreement) timing. When the IT Technical Support closes a case, a PDF format report will be generated for the view of the IT Manager. The report will log the time the case is opened and closed. The report will also indicate whether the case has been closed within the agreed time. With this report, the IT Manager will be able to gauge the performance of the IT Technical Support and will be able to make fair decision during the KPI review.

v ABSTRAK Tujuan projek ini adalah untuk membangunkan Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS). Maybank Account Payable System kini digunakan di Maybank untuk membuat bayaran kepada vendor di atas perkhidmatan dan servis yang diberikan kepada Maybank. Pengguna sistem terdiri daripada dua unit iaitu Unit Informasi & Sistem Maklumat dan Unit Hartabenda. Apabila penguna sistem menghadapi masalah dengan MAPS, mereka tidak mempunyai sistem yang boleh digunakan untuk membuat aduan mengenai masalah yang dihadapi kepada pegawai teknikal. Pengguna sistem hanya boleh membuat aduan dengan menghantar email atau membuat panggilan telefon kepada pegawai teknikal. Selain itu, pihak pengurusan juga menghadapi masalah kerana aduan yang dibuat oleh pengguna sistem tidak dapat direkod. Oleh yang demikian, Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS) dibangunkan dengan tujuan untuk mengatasi masalah yang dihadapi oleh pengguna sistem and juga pihak pengurusan. Sistem ini dibangunkan dalam persekitaran yang fleksibel dan interaktif berasaskan permukaan web. Sistem ini juga akan menghasilkan laporan untuk pihak pengurusan apabila setiap aduan yang dibuat oleh pengguna telah disiapkan oleh pegawai IT. Setelah lengkap implementasi sistem ini, tahap efisyen keseluruhan proses membuat aduan akan dapat dipertingkatkan.

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Title Page Project Title Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract Abstrak Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures List of Acronyms List of Appendices i ii iii iv v vi xii xiv xvi xvii Chapter Title Page 1 Project Background 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background of Problem 2 1.3 Problem Statement 5 1.4 Project Objective 6 1.5 Project Scope 6 1.6 Project Importance 7 1.7 IS / IT Solution 7 1.8 Chapter Summary 8

vii Chapter Title Page 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Definition of Online Helpdesk 9 2.3 Background of Online Helpdesk 10 2.4 Incidents & Problems 11 2.4.1 Incidents 11 2.4.2 Problems 11 2.5 Benefit of Online Helpdesk 12 2.5.1 For Business in Particular 12 2.5.2 For Organization in Particular 12 2.6 Characteristic of Online Helpdesk 13 2.7 Importance of Online Helpdesk in Banking Industry 14 2.8 Importance of Online Helpdesk for Maybank 16 2.8.1 KPI ( Key Performance Indicator) 16 2.8.1.1 Current KPI Structure in Maybank 17 2.8.2 Helpdesk Statistic 18 2.9 Chapter Summary 18 3 Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 19 3.2 Waterfall Model 19 3.3 Phase in Waterfall Model 21 3.3.1 Requirement Analysis and Definition 21 3.3.1.1 Requirement Engineering 21

viii 3.3.1.2 Requirement Collection & Analysis 21 3.3.2 System and Software Design 22 3.3.3 Implementation and Unit Testing 22 3.3.4 Integration and System Testing 22 3.3.5 Operations and Maintenance 23 3.4 Chapter Summary 23 4 System Design 4.1 Introduction 25 4.2 Organizational Analysis 26 4.2.1 Organizational Background 26 4.2.2 IT Organization Structure 27 4.3 Current IS / IT Application 28 4.3.1 Problem Statement in the Organizational 28 Context 4.4 As Is Process 29 4.4.1 Phone Call 29 4.4.2 Email 29 4.5 Use Case Description 31 4.6 Online Helpdesk Modules 35 4.6.1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ s) 35 4.6.2 Glossary 35 4.6.3 Tutorial 36 4.6.3.1 Getting Started with MAPS 36 4.6.3.2 Process for Payment 36 4.6.4 Email 36 4.6.5 Statistic 37 4.6.5.1 Statistic of Problems 37 4.6.6 Incidents / Cases 39 4.6.7 Management Report 39

ix 4.6.7.1 Problem Status Report 39 4.6.7.2 IT Support Status Report 41 4.6.7.3 AMD & ISD Statistic Report 42 4.7 System Design 44 4.8 System Interface Chart 46 4.8.1 User Interface Chart 46 4.8.2 Admin Interface Chart 46 4.8.3 IT Manager Interface Chart 47 4.8.4 IT Technical Support Interface Chart 47 4.9 Design Techniques UML Diagram 51 4.9.1 To Be Process 52 4.9.1.1 IT Technical Support 55 4.9.1.2 Manager 56 4.9.1.3 User 57 4.9.1.4 Administrator 58 4.10 Use Case Description 59 4.11 Sequence Diagram 72 4.11.1 IT Technical Support 72 4.11.2 Manager 73 4.11.3 User 74 4.11.4 Administrator 75 4.12 Activity Diagram 76 4.12.1 User Activity Diagram 76 4.12.2 Manager Activity Diagram 77 4.12.3 IT Technical Support Activity Diagram 78 4.12.4 Administrator Activity Diagram 79 4.13 Activity Diagram Sub Module 80 4.13.1 Lookup FAQ, Glossary, Tutorial 80 4.13.2 Open Case 81 4.13.3 View Case 82 4.13.4 View Statistic 83

x 4.13.5 View Management Report 84 4.13.6 Update Case 85 4.13.7 Close Case 86 4.13.8 Delete Case 87 4.13.9 Add User 88 4.13.10 Maintain User 89 4.13.11 Delete User 91 4.14 Problem Categorization 91 4.15 Physical Design 92 4.15.1 Database Design 92 4.16 Software Requirement 94 4.17 Hardware Requirement 95 4.18 Test Plan 95 4.19 Testing Method 96 4.19.1 Unit Testing 96 4.19.2 Integration Testing 97 4.19.3 System Testing 97 4.19.4 User and Acceptance Testing 97 4.20 Chapter Summary 97 5 Design Implementation & Testing 5.1 Introduction 98 5.2 Coding Structure 99 5.3 Test Cases & Test Result 100 5.3.1 Login 100 5.3.2 Open Case 100 5.3.3 View Case 101 5.3.4.Update Case 101 5.3.5 Delete Case 101 5.3.6 Add User 101 5.3.7 Maintain User 101

xi 5.3.8 Delete User 102 5.3.9 Display Statistic 102 5.3.10 Display Management Report 102 5.3.11 View FAQ, Glossary, Tutorial 102 5.4 User Manual for Administrator 103 5.4.1 Hardware Configuration & Setup 103 5.4.2 Installation Procedure 103 5.4.2.1 Install Apache 103 5.4.2.2 Install PHP 104 5.4.2.3 Install Apache to Run PHP 104 5.4.2.4 Install MySQL 104 5.5 Chapter Summary 105 6 Organizational Strategy 6.1 Introduction 106 6.2 Roll-out Strategy 106 6.2.1 Pilot Strategy 106 6.3 Change Management 107 6.4 Business Continuity Plan ( BCP) 108 6.5 Expected Organizational Benefit 108 6.6 Chapter Summary 109

xii 7 Discussion & Conclusion 7.1 Achievements 110 7.2 Constraint and Challenges 111 7.3 Aspiration 111 7.4 Chapter Summary 112 References 113

xiii LIST OF TABLES TABLE NO TITLE PAGE 4.14 Problem Categorization 91 4.15.1 Caselog Table Details 92 4.15.2 UserDetail Table Details 93

xiv LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE NO TITLE PAGE 3.3 Waterfall Model 24 4.2.2 IT Organization Structure 27 4.4 Current Process to Log a Problem 30 4.6.5.1 Statistic of Problem 38 4.6.7.1 Problem Status Report 40 4.6.7.2 IT Status Support Report 41 4.6.7.3 AMD & ISD Status Report 43 4.7 Main Page for MAPS Online Helpdesk 44 4.9.1 System Use Case Diagram 53 4.9.1.1 IT Technical Support Use Case Diagram 55 4.9.1.2 Manager Use Case Diagram 56 4.9.1.3 User Use Case Diagram 57 4.9.1.4 Administrator Use Case Diagram 58 4.11.1 Sequence Diagram - IT Technical Support 72 4.11.2 Sequence Diagram Manager 73 4.11.3 Sequence Diagram User 74 4.11.4 Sequence Diagram Administrator 75 4.12.1 Activity Diagram User 76 4.12.2 Activity Diagram Manager 77 4.12.3 Activity Diagram IT Technical Support 78 4.12.4 Activity Diagram Administrator 79 4.13.1 Lookup FAQ, Glossary, Tutorial 80 4.13.2 Open Case 81 4.13.3 View Case 82

xv 4.13.4 View Statistic 83 4.13.5 View Management Report 84 4.13.6 Update Case 85 4.13.7 Close Case 86 4.13.8 Delete Case 87 4.13.9 Add User 88 4.13.10 Maintain User 89 4.13.11 Delete User 90

xvi LIST OF ACRONYMS MAPS FAQ UML MDTB SLA KPI PO DO ISD AMD - Maybank Account Payable System - Frequently Asked Question - Unified Modeling Language - Maybank Desktop Banking - Service Level Agreement - Key Performance Indicator - Purchase Order - Delivery Order - Information System Department - Property Department

xvii LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A B TITLE Example of System Snapshots Project Timeline Gantt Chart

1 CHAPTER 1 1.0 PROJECT BACKGROUND 1.1 Introduction The aim of this document is to develop an Online Helpdesk System for Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS) for Information Technology Department of Maybank. This chapter will give a basic overview and glimpse of the system. The background of this system will be described in this chapter. By reviewing this chapter, one will understand the functionality of the system. Chapter one will be divided into few categories as follows: Background of problem Problem Statement Project Objectives Project Scope Project Limitation Project Importance/ Significance Description of Solutions IS / IT Solution i. Hardware Solution ii. Software Solution

2 1.2 Background of Problem The system is mainly developed for Maybank Account Payable System or better known as MAPS System. MAPS System is a payable system used by Maybank to pay vendors for their goods purchased and services used. MAPS system is a vendor-based system introduced in Maybank for the past two years. The main users of this system is divided into two categories from two different departments, which is the Property Department and ISD (Information System Department) or better known as IT Management Department. The Property Department user does all the processing for goods or services incurred by the bank while ISD Department does all the processing incurred by Information Services Division. Once all the processing has been done via the system, the property manager within the specified time frame will make the payment to the vendors or the banks. The processing that takes place includes processing of invoices, purchase orders and delivery order in the system. All of the information will be fed into the system to enable the processing. Besides that, invoices, purchase order and delivery order will also be uploaded to the MAPS server by third party vendors. The invoices, purchase order and delivery order will be automatically picked up by the system by time-triggered jobs to continue the processing within the system. Once all of the processing is complete, the Property Department manager will perform the MDTB process. The MDTB process is a process performed to pay the entire amount due to the vendors within a specific time frame allocated via the system. The main problematic situation identified in this context is, the unclear processes of task involved. Many of the clerks are not clear of each processing which takes place within the system. There isn t any existing documentation, which documents the usability and the processes

3 of the system. Often the system users require assistance from the IT technical support to complete the daily task and chores. Besides that, the automated uploading of invoices, purchase order and delivery order by the vendor very often fails due to network failure. When the automated job is not successful, the processing for the day cannot be continued and this will impact the MDTB process. In a daily situation when the documents are not uploaded automatically, users will have to inform IT technical support about the problem faced. Then the IT technical support will have to request for the data (invoice, purchase order, delivery order) from the third party vendor. Once the vendor has emailed the required files, then the IT technical support will have to upload the files manually to the server and complete certain encryption processes before the users can use those files. Users always face problems when they require assistance from IT technical support. Most of the time the technical support cannot be contacted and there is no tool to log the problem automatically for the technical support to attend to the problem later. The users have to keep on trying to contact the technical support until they manage to log the problem. Upon receiving the complaint, the IT technical support will have to raise this matter to the third party vendor for data. All of these processes take a few hours or sometimes even a day to complete. This will affect the performance of the users because until the data is available no processing can be done. Besides that, when this processes is not completed as scheduled, the MDTB (Maybank Desktop Banking) process which involves payment made to vendors will also be delayed. This delay is a significant delay to the management because when the payment is delayed, vendors will not proceed with the services or goods to be delivered until the payment has been made.

4 The MDTB process itself often incurs a lot of problem whereby those processes cannot be continued without IT technical supports guide and assistance. This process is a crucial process in Maybank and can only be done by the Property Manager. This process is really crucial as it involves millions of ringgits to be paid to the vendors on a weekly basic. When the manager hits problem with the MDTB process, technical support has to reinterface the files manually to continue with the processing. Besides that the manager also often faces problem such as network failure during the MDTB process as the process takes a long duration to interface the files to make the payment. This is the biggest challenge for the management because the delay to get in touch with the technical support and there is no system or tool to log the problem even though the technical support cannot be reachable. With a tool to log the problem, the technical support can take quicker action to solve the users problem. Inline with the problems faced by the users as mentioned, the technical support themselves are facing problem. One of the most significant problem faced is that there is no proper tracking of problems attended to by the technical staff. Most of the technical staff finds it difficult to justify the support provided during review of KPI (Key Performance Indicator). The reason is because there is no system to track the problems logged by the users and to track the support provided by the technical support. During the review of KPI, it is difficult to gauge the performance of the technical support since there is lack of tracking done.

5 1.3 Problem Statement The delays in solving the technical problems are due to improper reporting of the problems. The time taken by the IT technical support is significantly long because of few reasons as follows: Currently there no such system, which can be used by the users to log a problem. In most cases, when users face a problem and wishes to log a problem, the IT Technical support is not available and reachable. So the problem will be unknown and unsolved until the user calls the technical support again to log the problem. This gap of time taken for the technical support to receive the problem log and to solve the problem is significantly long. Due to this delay, the time taken by the users to complete their daily task is longer than allocated hence reducing the productivity of the users. Besides all of the problems mentioned above, users are also facing problem currently to obtain information about the MAPS system. Any information in relations to the system has to be obtained from the technical support itself. There is no any procedures or guidelines provided to use the system and many of the functionalities of the system are unused. With the statistics generated by the system, the IT Technical staff and the manager will be able to further analyze the problem faced by the system users. The statistics generated will be able to highlight the area within the system, which needs fine tuning to further improve the system.

6 1.4 Project Objective The objectives of this project are as follows: To develop a web based Online Helpdesk for MAPS (Maybank Account Payable System). This system will be able to help users to automate the process of problem logging to IT technical support via the web-based system. To enable users to obtain information regarding the MAPS system via the Online Helpdesk To enable management to measure problems resolved by IT technical support to give them a fair rating during KPI review. To reduce turnaround time to complete problems logged by users. 1.5 Project Scope The scopes of the online helpdesk are such as: The online helpdesk is developed mainly to support MAPS (Maybank Account Payable System) will be used by two departments namely Property Department and the ISD Department users. The system will be able to provide information about the processes within the MAPS system To log technical problem such as request for installation, and unlock of password. To monitor and track all problems reported to the IT Technical Support. To produce statistical and summarize information for the management. The data provided will be used during KPI review.

7 1.6 Project Importance The system will provide some significant importance to the management as well as the users of the system. With the online helpdesk: Time taken to complete users daily task will be shorten since the system will be able to alert the technical staff in case of problem. Thus, it will be able to reduce delays. Information and knowledge sharing among users will become more effective since users will be able to gather information from the online helpdesk. Management will be able to keep track of support provided by the IT Technical support. Avoid unnecessary escalation and inappropriate resource allocation. Online Helpdesk is expected to automate the process of problem logging and also to provide statistical information for problem analysis. Hopefully with the Online Helpdesk System, all technical problems are monitored, and escalated to the proper channel. In addition, with the system the flow or process of handling problems will become more systematic and documented. 1.7 IS/IT Solution All the problems mentioned in the problem statement and backgrounds of statement section are the problems faced by the management and users currently in Maybank. In order to overcome this problem in the future and have less impact on the productivity, an IS/IT solution has to be introduced. The IS/IT solution identified is to develop the Online Helpdesk for MAPS System. Without the IS/IT solution, the problems faced cannot be solved because it is interconnected with IT and the resolvers of the problem are the technical support itself. The IS/IT solution will be categorized under the software and hardware requirements section.

8 1.8 Chapter Summary As a conclusion, this chapter describes the background of the project and the background of problems faced by system users and IT Technical Support in Maybank. This chapter also illustrates the importance of having an online helpdesk system to address the problems and constraint faced as mentioned above. By developing the online helpdesk system, it is hoped that to a certain extend the problems will be eliminated and the daily task can be carried out smoothly.

9 CHAPTER 2 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter will describe the literature reviews done pertaining to developing the Online Helpdesk System. This chapter will mainly contain information pertaining to definition of online helpdesk, characteristics and importance of online helpdesk and some information on importance of online helpdesk in the banking industry. 2.2 Definition of Online Helpdesk System Online Helpdesk as defined by Donna Knapp in a Guide to Customer Service Skill and Helpdesk Professional is a single point of contact within a company for managing customers problem and request and providing solution oriented support services. Online help desk is also defined as a problem-solving tool designed to provide technical support concerning a specific product or service. Helpdesk is usually known as a department within a company that responds to user's technical questions. Most large software companies have helpdesk systems to answer user questions. There is even helpdesk software that makes it easier for the people running the helpdesk to quickly find answers to common question.

10 2.3 Background of Online Helpdesk Often the term Helpdesk is used for internal support within the company or for external support groups. Many companies are turning to Helpdesk to automate a variety of tasks and, at the same time, reduce costs by cutting staff and providing more user support with the existing staff. Companies need to provide high quality of customer service and support to survive in today s business environment. Having the right helpdesk would ensure high customer satisfaction. Customer support includes services that help a customer or user understand and benefit from products capabilities by answering questions, solving problem and providing online information. The advantages of automated Helpdesk are critical in that they allow fewer people to deal with higher volume. The Helpdesk is increasing in importance as companies move to client/server architectures. Users who interface with the Helpdesk often form a general perception of the information system group. Information systems helpdesks have an important role within an organization. The helpdesk is responsible for bringing an organization's resources together in order to provide its customers with quality support and service. Helpdesk is designed and customized to provide businesses with an internal support system as well as a link for providing support to its customers. Helpdesk applications host a number of benefits that include:

11 Providing existing users or customers with knowledge and FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) concerning the company s products and systems. 24-hour availability thus catering to the trend of office personnel working late and to those overseas or in different time zones. Troubleshooting features gives users or customers the ability to solve many support problems on their own. This tool provides the users or customer with quick and easy solutions as well as saving the company money. Serves as a tool for tracking and recording helpdesk inquiries, which provides a knowledge base of resolutions to previous calls concerning similar issues. Supplies information concerning trends and other issues, which aid in the continuing improvement of products and services. 2.4 Incidents & Problems Incidents and problems are two major players that can impact services of business especially in the world of IT. Both of the definitions are as follows: 2.4.1 Incidents An incident is an event that is not part of the standard operation of a service, which may cause an interruption to the service or system. Examples of incident are such as: i. Network line may be down ii. Files are not transferred automatically 2.4.2 Problems A problem is an unknown incident. A problem is usually bigger than an incident and has more impact. Example of problem is: i. Failure of the system ii. Failure of the server

12 2.5 Benefits of Online Helpdesk System Implementing Online Helpdesk System, management can have a single point of contact to log and resolve an incident. The major benefits of implementing Online Helpdesk Systems are as follows: 2.5.1 For the business in particular: Reduced business impact of incidents by timely resolution, thereby increasing effectiveness. The proactive identification of beneficial system enhancements and amendments. The availability of business-focussed management information related to the SLA (Service Level Agreement) 2.5.2 For the organisation in particular: Improved monitoring, allowing performance against SLA s to be accurately measured. Improved IT service quality as all incidents or problems are immediately taken action Timely identification, diagnosis and resolution of problem Improved user or customer satisfaction. Extra support during mergers, acquisitions and other organizational transitions

13 2.6 Characteristic of Online Helpdesk Throughout the Incident lifecycle, nearly all IT groups will handle an Incident or Case at some stage of a Helpdesk System. To do this efficiently and effectively requires a formal approach that facilitates the timely identification of problems. A way of tracking back is required. It is recommended that the Helpdesk System records should be held as the Problem, Known Error and Change records, or at least linked without the need for re-keying, to improve the interfaces and ease interrogation and reporting. The helpdesk system should record the status of an incident or case that reflects it current position in its life cycle, sometimes known as its workflow position. Some examples of status categories that a helpdesk system might include: New Scheduled Assigned to Vendor Work in Progress (WIP) On hold Resolved Closed

14 Throughout an Incident or Case life cycle, it is important that the Incident records are maintained. This allows any member of the service team to provide a users or customer with an up-to-date progress report. Example of update activities includes: Update history details Modify status (e.g. new to work-in-progress or on hold ) Modify business impact / priority Monitor escalation status 2.7 Importance of Online Helpdesk in Banking Industry This information was taken from a case study that proved that deploying a helpdesk system has increased the revenue of the banking industry. Founded in 1871, Danske Bank is the largest bank in Denmark and a leading player in the Scandinavian financial markets, offering a wide range of financial services, including insurance, mortgage finance, asset management, brokerage, credit card, real estate, and leasing services. In 2000, Danske Bank s IT organization designed Business PC to provide its customers throughout Europe with a reliable, easy way to perform financial transactions securely and cost-effectively. While business PC would provide new levels of service and cost efficiency, application problems constituted a major risk. A single lost or delayed transaction could prove both expensive, and damaging to the bank s reputation. To address the problem faced, Ebbe Larsen the Chief Architect at Danske Bank, recognized the need for a better infrastructure for application problem resolution throughout Business PC. An inhouse helpdesk system was initiated to address the problem. After initiating an in-house project to build a comprehensive system helpdesk support solution, the support team can easily pinpoint the root cause of application failures, such as performance bottlenecks, configuration problems, and functional errors, without having to recreate the problems, saving them significant time and costs. With the

15 helpdesk system, the banks support operation work more effectively, streamlining the process of capturing and communicating problems, and providing rapid root cause analysis for problem resolution. The helpdesk system is able to pinpoint single application error, recreate the problem, and resolve the issue. It also enabled the support staff to identify the cause of problems in a few hours, rather than a few days. Danske Bank is able to save more than $900,000 over a period of five years. A year after implementation, Larsen calculated that return on investment for the first year of operation alone amounted to more than $1,000,000. The case study discussed above clearly illustrates the benefit of a helpdesk system in the banking industry. The case study is able to illustrate the savings by the bank after deploying the helpdesk system to overcome the problems faced with online banking.

16 2.8 Importance of Online Helpdesk for Maybank As mentioned and illustrated in Chapter 1, Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System will benefit the users and the organization to a certain extend. Besides all those benefit, the most important aspect will be to judge process performance, clearly defined objectives with measurable targets, which is often referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPI s). 2.8.1 KPI (Key Performance Indicator) The following metrics are examples for the effectiveness and efficiency of the Online Helpdesk process: Total numbers of incidents or cases solved Mean elapsed time to achieve incident or cases resolution. Percentage of incidents or cases handled within agreed response time (Incident response-time targets may be specified in SLA) Percentage of incidents or cases closed by the Helpdesk without reference to other levels of support (vendors) Reports that will be produced will be automatically escalated to the Unit Manager for monitoring purposes. With the reports generated after each incidents or cases are resolved will provide information of the resolver and particular issue or problem faced by users. The reports will be useful to the management during the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) review.

17 2.8.1.1 Current KPI Structure in Maybank As illustrated in Appendix A, the current KPI (Key Performance Indicator) used in Maybank does not cater for support work done by the staffs. As mentioned previously, the core job scope for an IT Technical Support is programming and developing new softwares. 90% of the ratings will emphasis on the programming area and only 10% will be given for the support task. In appendix A, only 10% of weight is given for problems resolved on time, which is used to rate the support task done. Since the weight of score given does not match the amount of support given by the technical support, this model will be revised in future by the upper management to provide new weight scale to suit the job scope of the technical support employee. In order for the management to revise the weight scale from the next financial year, the upper management must be able to view all the problems or incidents resolved by the IT Technical support. When the management is able to keep track of all the problems faced by system users, there will be stronger justification on why the current weight of score has to be changed. So by developing the Online Helpdesk System and the management report module, the management will be able to gauge the amount of problems resolved and adjust the weight score of the current KPI model for the next financial year. With the revised model of KPI, the IT Technical staff will be able to obtain better rating during KPI assessment.

18 2.8.2 Helpdesk Statistic Besides KPI, the reports produced to the management will include statistical data for analysing purposes. Helpdesk statistics plays a very important role in success of any organization. A critical analysis of these helpdesk statistics is required to make some strategic actions or strategies. Statistic will contain information problem logs (referred to as cases) that were handled by the helpdesk over the past six months or one year, and breakdown of the most common problems for which users request help from IT technical support. Helpdesk statistics shows the number of cases for each category of problem raised within the system. Helpdesk statistics not only constitutes the current or past events but also Helpdesk goals for the next year, such as follows: Reduce number of work orders by training users. Reduce backlog by increasing the number of completed work orders. Develop procedures that will allow helpdesk technical support staff to close a majority of calls over the phone instead of visiting users workstations. 2.9 Chapter Summary The analysis of literature review had broadened the scope of Online Helpdesk issues. The information and findings collected form this chapter is used as a guidance to develop the Online Helpdesk system. By reviewing the Danske Bank case study, we can conclude that helpdesk system plays an important role in the financial or banking institution. This chapter has also demonstrated the importance of helpdesk system in the context of Maybank. The KPI and helpdesk statistic will further realize the organizations goal by helping to eliminate and smoothen processes within the MAPS System.

19 CHAPTER 3 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction In this chapter, the researcher will describe the methodology used to develop the Online Helpdesk System. The project methodology for this project starts from defining the project goals until the closure of the project. This chapter will also describe each phase in the Waterfall model and describes the importance in deploying this methodology. A methodology formally defines the process that is used to gather requirements, analyze, and design an application that meets the objective. 3.2 Waterfall Model The waterfall model is a popular version of the systems development life cycle model for software engineering. Waterfall model is considered the classic approach to the systems development life cycle; the waterfall model describes a development method that is linear and sequential. Waterfall model abstracts the essential activity of software development and lists them in the most primitive sequence of dependency. Waterfall development has distinct goals for each phase of development. This model is called a waterfall model because development process moves forward from one phase to another same as the waterfall. Once a phase of development is completed, the development proceeds to the next phase and there is no turning back. A new phase can only begin when the previous phase has been completed.

20 The advantage of waterfall development is that it allows for departmentalization and managerial control. Development moves from concept, through design, implementation, testing, installation, troubleshooting, and ends up at operation and maintenance. Each phase of development proceeds in strict order, without any overlapping or iterative steps. Waterfall model identifies the system requirements long before the implementation begins and also minimizes the changes to the requirement. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages of waterfall development. It does not allow for much reflection or revision and once an application is in the testing stage, it is very difficult to go back and change something that was not well thought out in the concept stage. In Waterfall model, there are few common steps practiced: The existing system is evaluated and deficiencies are identified. This can be done by interviewing users of the system and consulting with IT support personnel. The new system requirements are defined. In particular, the deficiencies in the existing system must be addressed with specific proposals for improvement. The system is designed and plans are laid out concerning the physical construction, hardware, operating systems, programming, communications, and security issues. The new system is developed. The new components and programs must be obtained and installed. Users of the system must be trained in its use, and all aspects of performance must be tested. The system is put into use and this can be done in various ways. The new system can phase in, according to application or location, and the old system gradually replaced. In some

21 cases, it may be more cost-effective to shut down the old system and implement the new system all at once. Maintenance must be kept up rigorously at all times. Users of the system should be kept up-to-date concerning the latest modifications and procedures. 3.3 Phases in Waterfall Model 3.3.1 Requirement Analysis and Definition This phase seeks to identify the systems services, constraint, and goals. They are defined in detail and serves as the basic for system specification. This phase is used to gather information about the current system, which is called the as-is system identifying it s strength and weaknesses, then analyzing a new concept or the new system called the to-be system. The goal for this phase is truly to understand the requirement for the online helpdesk system. 3.3.1.1 Requirement Engineering This is the process of discovering, documenting and maintaining a set of requirements for this project. The requirement for this project is collected from the MAPS system users. After collecting the requirement, it is documented for the use of this project. 3.3.1.2 Requirement Collections and Analysis The requirement collection was done by interviewing Property Department and ISD Department users regarding the problems faced with the current system. After conducting the interview with the users of MAPS system, the need for an Online Helpdesk for MAPS system is clearly understood and identified. During the interview, the drawbacks of the MAPS system was discussed and evaluated, thus enabling to propose a suitable system. After conducting the interview with the users, their needs and problems were clearly understood and hopefully by developing the system, the users problem will be solved.

22 3.3.2 System and Software Design This phase partitions the requirement to two sections, which is the hardware and software section. In this phase the system design is developed to have a prototype of the future system. Figure 4.1 illustrates the system design for the Online Helpdesk System. The system design should include the GUI (Graphical User Interface) for the system users to have a comfortable use with the system. The system will be designed with proper GUI to enable users use the system without any problem. This phase will include coding to transfer the system design into executable codes. 3.3.3 Implementation and Unit Testing Software design is realized as a set of programs or programs unit. Each module from the entire system is tested during this stage. The modules will be a combination, which makes up to the Online Helpdesk System. This phase will ensure that all modules, which will be, developed for the online helpdesk system meets the system specifications. In this phase unit testing will also be conducted to ensure the modules developed is functioning as planned. 3.3.4 Integration and System Testing In this phase, each individual module that are developed for the online helpdesk system will be tested as a complete system to ensure that the system meets the software requirement. After the testing is done, the product, which is the online helpdesk is delivered to the user.

23 3.3.5 Operation and Maintenance In this phase the online helpdesk system is installed and put into use. This stage involves monitoring and maintaining the system at an acceptable level of performance. The support and maintenance provided for this system will also be in this phase. 3.4 Chapter Summary As a conclusion, this chapter has discussed the project methodology used to develop the Online Helpdesk for Maybank Account Payable System. This chapter also has described in depth the processes involved in the waterfall model and illustrates the benefit of deploying waterfall methodology in developing the system.

24 Requirement Analysis And Definition System and Software Design Implementation and Unit Testing Integration and System Testing Operations and Maintenance Figure 3.3: Waterfall Model

25 CHAPTER 4 4.0 SYSTEM DESIGN 4.1 Introduction This chapter will describe the initial finding for the development of the system. The initial finding that has been gathered includes the following: i. The organizational analysis ii. As Is process iii. To Be process This chapter will also include the use case diagram, which illustrates the interaction of IT technical support, user, manager and administrator with the online helpdesk system. This chapter will provide some information about the system to have a clear picture of the systems functionality. The collected information is analyzed to identify the required information as well as the actors who will be involved in the system. Systems design also explains the data flow of the prototype of the system and the roles of each actor involved in the new system. System design emphasizes on the basic processes of inquiry. Identifying the research problems; determining and describing procedures for conducting research; designing data collecting procedures; formulating testable hypotheses; interpreting and drawing conclusions from data analysis, and reporting research findings and implications.

26 4.2 Organizational Analysis This section provides information in the organization context.the information will provide the organizational structure. 4.2.1 Organizational Background Maybank was established on 12/9/1963. Maybank has many branches located in other ASEAN countries namely Singapore, Brunei and Philippines. The objective of the bank is such as: To promote and mobilize banking activities Continues improvement to the quality of life through imagination and creativity To utilize funds of the bank for investment including financing and economic development. Maybank also provides many online services via the Maybank2u portal services such as: Transfer between accounts Transfer to third party accounts Payee to selected payee corporation Third party payment to credit card and loans

27 4.2.2 IT Organization Structure IT Department in Maybank is divided into sub division as follows: IT Department Core Banking Division IT Security Division Data Warehouse Division IT Governance Division Quality Assurance Division User Support Services IT Strategy & Architecture Division Figure 4.2.2 IT Organization Structure

28 4.3. Current IS/IT Applications The current IS/IT systems in Maybank are divided into 2 categories such as Client Server environment and mainframe environment. Examples of both the categories are such as: a. Client Server System Data Warehouse System Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS) Citrixs System b. Mainframe System General Ledger Application Fixed Deposit System Current Account System 4.3.1 Problem Statement in the Organizational Context Currently the users of Maybank Account Payable System (MAPS) in Maybank do not have a system to log problems to IT Technical Support. The users are using the conventional method to log the problem and to seek the assistance of the IT Technical Support. Due to this, there is no proper mechanism for problem logging and tracking. The current flow is explained in the As Is Process.

29 4.4 As - Is Process As mentioned in the previous chapters, there isn t any existing process to log a problem to the Technical IT Support. There are two conventional methods currently used by the users to log a problem such as: 4.4.1 Phone Call When a problem arises, the user calls the IT Technical Support via the phone. Most of the time, the problem faced is not logged immediately because the technical support is not available in their workstation at that moment of time. 4.4.2 Email This method is not commonly used by the users to log a problem. Very seldom the users take the trouble to send an email to log the problem faced. Sometime when the email is sent, it is not complete because important information such as the type and description of problem id not included. So the Technical Support has to spend a considerable amount of time to obtain the problem information even before solving it.

30 Use Case Diagram for As - Is Process Make Phone Call Email User IT Technical Support Attend Problem Solve Problem Inform User Figure 4.4: Current Process to Log a Problem Figure Description: The figure illustrates the current method used by the users to log a problem to the IT Technical Support. The users will send an email or make a phone call to the IT Technical Support. The IT Technical Support will then attend to the problem and once the problem is solved, the users will be informed accordingly.

31 4.5 Use Case Description Use Case Number: 1 Use Case Name: Make Phone Call Brief description This use case is used by the actor (users) to make a phone call to the IT Technical Support to log a problem. Flow of Events-Basic Flow 1. An actor will make the phone call to the IT Technical Support 2. Actor will then log the problem faced to the IT Technical Support Alternative Flow If actor fails to contact the IT Technical Support via phone, then the user will send an email to log the problem. Special requirements None. Pre-Conditions None. Post-Conditions If the use case was successful, the actor has logged the problem to the IT Technical Support. Extension Points None.

32 Use Case Number: 2 Use Case Name: Send Email Brief description This use case is used by the actor (users) to send an email to the IT Technical Support to log a problem. Flow of Events-Basic Flow 1. An actor will send an email to the IT Technical Support 2. Actor will log the problem in the email Alternative Flow None. Special requirements None. Pre-Conditions None. Post-Conditions If the use case was successful, the actor has successfully logged the problem to the IT Technical Support. Extension Points None.

33 Use Case Number: 3 Use Case Name: Attend & Solve Problem Brief description This use case is used by the actor (IT Technical Support) to attend and solve a problem logged by the user. Flow of Events-Basic Flow 1. An actor will analyze the problem logged by the user 2. The actor will then solve the problem with the expertise in the field Alternative Flow None. Special requirements None. Pre-Conditions None. Post-Conditions If the use case was successful, the actor has successfully fixed the problem faced by the user Extension Points None.

34 Use Case Number: 4 Use Case Name: Inform Users Problem Solved Brief description This use case is used by the actor (IT Technical Support) to inform the users that the problem logged has been successfully fixed or completed. Flow of Events-Basic Flow 1. An actor will inform the users that the problem has been completed. Alternative Flow None. Special requirements None. Pre-Conditions None. Post-Conditions If the use case was successful, the actor has then closed the problem Extension Points None.

35 4.6 Online Helpdesk Modules There are 7 modules of the system will be included in this chapter such as FAQ, Glossary, Tutorial, Email, Statistic and Management Report to provide the functionality of those modules. 4.6.1 Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) Module FAQ is defined as well written answers to the most common users queries from users. Well written FAQ states both the question and answer clearly and are self-service and basically enable helpdesk to proactively address the users needs. With FAQ queries within a system can be answered to clarify a doubt. FAQ satisfies users because they are able to find a solution and answer on their own and users prefer FAQ because they can find answers and questions that they are reluctant to ask to the technical support. FAQ within this helpdesk system will be divided into two categories such as: General FAQ Procedures and processes General FAQ educates users about the MAPS system itself. It will provide general information about the system to surface the users with basic knowledge of the system. Procedures and processes will provide detailed explanation of processes done within the MAPS system. For example the processes involved paying a vendor from the time the invoice is issued. All of this procedure will then be documented under this section to enable users to have a clearer picture of the process within the system. 4.6.2 Glossary Module Glossary is a link that provides definition of specific words used by the system. Glossary provides meaning of words or abbreviation, which is found in the system. By providing meaning of most words, which exist in the system, the users can always refer to a word, which creates confusion. The user can refer to words they are not familiar with and the