User Support

As software packages become more complex there is an increasing need to provide some form of support for all levels of user support. The type and level of support offered may well be one of the criteria used to evaluate the suitability of a software package before purchase. A good level of support will give credibility to a package but the costs of providing the support will have to be passed onto the customer either by including it in the cost of the package or by charging a registration or annual fee to the end-user.

Software houses provide support in a variety of ways. The most common is by use of telephone support. Often a package will come with a fixed term (e.g. 90 days) of free support. This is usually measured from the date of the first call. The support line will usually register the customer for support when the first call is made, noting the package serial number and the customer details and usually assigning the customer an ID number to use for future calls.

After the period of free support the customer will be charged for extended support, either by paying an annual fee or perhaps with a 'one off' registration fee. Some companies provide support using 0891 numbers so that the customer pays only for the help received. If a software house is confident that the package can be easily learned then they may offer lifetime free support. The end user will still have to register for this support to ensure that the company does not have the overhead of providing free support to pirate copies.

Many packages provide on-screen help. This is particularly useful if it has a context sensitive feature that allows the user to rapidly access help appropriate to the current task. In addition there is an increasing use of interactive on-screen tutorials to teach the user about the package and the provision of wizards to automate and simplify common or complex tasks.

In critical applications it may be desirable to have on-site support provided. This would be particularly true when the software provided had been specially commissioned by the customer. The cost of such support is obviously high.

Software houses will often provide support including upgrades and 'fixes' via bulletin boards. Users can also obtain alternative support by way of user groups on the Internet and by buying specialist books (e.g. The Dummies Guide to....) or reading articles in specialist magazines.

Informal support is often provided within an organisation by one or more 'experts' who may be familiar with a package either because of long term experience of using it or because they have well developed IT skills through interest or training.

Often the first level of support will be provided by the documentation that is provided with the package. A complex package will normally be accompanied by one or more possibly large books. This can be daunting for the novice user who will have neither the time nor the expertise to read and understand this amount of information. It is now customary to include a small booklet which will get the new user started. This could include an installation guide (which might be a separate booklet) and a simple introduction to using the package and its features.

A separate full guide would be supplied for the expert user and, depending on the complexity of the package, a technical reference manual might be supplied for anyone needing to customise the package or make use of advanced features. If the reference manual is unlikely to be widely used then it might be available as an optional extra.

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