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This post is a reflection on one of my previous posts, https://infotechmentor.com/2024/09/22/how-would-i-demonstrate-my-it-technical-skills/.

In this post, I’m going to share some technical skills that can be applied in the following roles/scenario’s

• Operations / L1 support role
  • Your supporting a ‘content management system’ (CMS) for a vendor
    • Ask how to log into the system
      • Ask who looks after the login function
      • Ask who manages the system health, monitoring and alerting
        • (If it’s you, make sure you document these processes and procedures)
    • Navigate the system by clicking around the interface and understanding the functions
      • You can ask what parts of the cms is read only or edit
        • I.e. you want to be able to have read only access to most things on the cms. You don’t necessarily want to have edit (/write) access (e.g. modify a report or document)
      • Get the top 5 features of the cms. Learn and master, these functions since these are important to the company and the work you do
        • On a side note you can ask if there are improvements and developments to these top 5 features
    • Obtain the top 5 issues of the cms
      • Ask what are the work arounds for the top 5 issues
      • Ask if the work arounds have been communicated not just to your colleagues but to customers
        • Do customers know a particular function is broken? If not should they know about it? It’s good to communicate to customers and keep them up to date with developments of their system.
        • Of course make you follow the communication process to customers
• Project management/release (before release)
  • Ask when the actual service/product is going live
    • I.e. when the public or customer’s will have access to it
  • Ask if there is a support team that is going to assist
    • Will there be groups of people around to help if there are issues or once the project is done and the service/product is live, people will start leaving?
      • Does the manager know the arrangement. Make sure you know as well.
        • (I’ve been in scenario’s where projects concluded and the people that built and developed systems left, leaving minimal knowledge and support to those who are left over)
      • The support team / group may be needed longer than arranged
  • Ask if there is a hypercare period
    • I.e. How long are project people going to stay supporting the service/product
    • Will there be some knowledge transfer on the project
      • Make sure you document these items for your future learning
• Project handover (after release)
  • Can someone on the project show the new service/product in a live setting?
    • E.g. Can you see with your eyes how this is going to work?
      • Can you identify any issues during the demo, are there any questions or concerns with what was developed? Make sure you voice this and get an answer.
  • After the project is concluded confirm the users that will be left
    • The team you’re on, are they fully sufficient in supporting this new service/product
    • If there are gaps what are they and how do you plug these gaps
  • What is the maintenance and on going support for this service/product
    • Is someone going to do patching and updates when needed?
  • Technically a project is never finished. It continues in a monitoring and keep alive state.
    • The only time a project is truly finished is when the service/product is decommissioned and no customer’s are using it anymore

Summary:

• Some of the content above may feel a bit repetitive and similar to other posts
  • The idea is to reinforce these previous posts and emphasis a need to practice
• Make sure to document these small wins. E.g. I managed to learn to navigate around this interface and learn function abc. Function abc delivers this file to the client which contains important customer details of online orders.
  • It will demonstrate your technical skills and you might find out some other things along the way