In order to properly deal with any issue, you need to make a determination of what kind of issue it is. Problems are dealt with in a different way than are requests and even simple questions. By evaluating each call as one of these three types, you can more easily determine the priority of the call and employ the proper resources. Although the work from the perspective of the help desk is pretty much the same, the steps might be slightly different. In the help desk, these steps are a vital part of the whole system.

The process begins by taking a call. Depending on your company, this can be by phone, email, fax or walk-ins. Each is considered a "call" for the purpose of this discussion.

This is typically where you begin to document the call, if that is part of your standard procedure. If users have write access to your problem database (more on that shortly), they could generate problem reports themselves. Which calls actually need to be documented is a matter of company policy. A quick reminder on how to connect to a remote printer might just need a tick mark to indicate that training is needed. Reactivating a user’s account after a vacation may not require anything. On the other hand, a system crash requires as many details as possible.