Houston, We Have a Problem. Or Do We?

Do you serve people with your products?  Of course you do!

Imagine yourself as an IT or software service provider.   You own VCINB Services, and you can make up your own acronym as to what that means.  How do you best serve your customers?  Here’s my take – it’s fast, effective, and provides excellent customer service. 

Drive the Conversation to Collaborate

A conversation between a service provider and a service user may be influenced by some preconceived notions.  Service provider, it’s your job to control the conversation to ensure you receive every ounce of information you need to diagnose the problem (and, also, if there IS a problem).

So, consider that there are some questions to ask to drive and control the conversation for mutual benefit.  I’m not suggesting that you should cut off a frustrated user, but when it is your time to talk, make the most of it (while taking notes and themes from the opening description).

Are you ready?  Here they are:

1)      What are you doing (or experiencing) that indicates a problem.

2)      What do you expect? (A fancy way of saying “what is the problem” that is less incendiary)

3)      What’s happening instead?

4)      Confirm (or ask) about the difference, or gap, between the two). 

For a SaaS business – you’ll need to know whether the user is loading data or saving the area in the software when the issue occurs. You might also need to know the username and level of access of the user who is logged in.

As the provider (or owner who’s setting expectations of the people who work for you), you’ll need to clearly document what your software and services do. Sometimes users expect things that software was never intended to do.

If you control the conversation with a standard way of conducting the research, you and the person you’re collaborating with will experience shared ownership of the outcome.

It’s best if a single interaction can resolve the issue (or perception of the issues), but once the concern is clear and verified to not be that simple, reiterate the concern and work on a resolution path for identified issues.  Make that asynchronous unless you need regular input from the user. In other words, restate what you know to the user, and then go conquer after releasing the user back into their work. Do your work and then report the results when you have them.

Efficiency for you is efficiency for them, as long as…

As long as you’re working on the same problem.  Restating or illustrating the issue is key.  Solving the wrong problem is bad for both of you. It wastes time, delays resolution, and frustrates all parties involved.

Once you confirm a problem, provide an acceptable workaround if one exists. This, too, should be documented for later use.

What else?

What if you can’t confirm the issue?  Offer a plan of what the user needs to record for the next time it occurs – and to bring that information to you.  Show genuine interest – and keep good notes on what you do know about the issue and who’s experienced it.  Modern ticketing systems make this simple.

Careful communication can help steer conversation toward solving the issue or perception of the issue.  This communication cannot seem like we’re hoping there isn’t an issue, so all conversation then points to the user being at fault.  Find the right balance to get to the heart of the issue so that the user can feel confident of being served – even if it’s only a clarification of “yep, it’s supposed to be this way.”  You might have to clarify that for someone else one day.

Thank You for Correcting Me

I goofed in a post last week – said Microsoft created C++.  Microsoft created VISUAL C++ (Visual Studio C++), and I remember the look of the packing material – you could purchase the IDE (integrated development environment) back in the day when those cost money.

Please, if you catch me stating something wrong, call me out.  I need to learn and correct myself. Two people did, and I appreciate it.

But - In case you want to buy Visual C++, you can do so on Amazon.  Straight out of May of 1999. Just look at that box.

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Visual-Learning-Professional-Editions/dp/0735606366

Scam? Mayyyybe.

I Need to Write About Writing

But I’m procrastinating about my writing topic this newsletter.  When you’re stuck writing about something specific, write about something else.  Keeps you writing.

I think that’s how I got this entire newsletter done – procrastinating about writing about writing…while writing.

Publications and Visits

I spent last Monday with a group of wonderful senior citizens talking about online safety.  One was complaining about the hassle of MFA, and I got to tell a great story.  Here you go.

Sometimes I sit in a recliner and do things on my iPad or computer, and often I forget to have my phone handy.  I’ll go to some site and invariably have to login and then am somehow surprised when the MFA requirement pops up.

So, I have to go get my phone.  Problem is, this recliner was a gift from my mom, and it’s one of those motorized ones that lifts and lowers the leg rest with the push of a button…and very gradually.  (VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV for about 5 – 10 seconds).  [Complete with hand gesture of how slowly it lowers and the accompanying noise] – then I walk over and picked up my “phone” – and then back to the chair to reverse the process. They all understood and thought it was funny, and then I could go into my spiel about how MFA is a gift and a “I’ve thwarted you, attacker” superpower.  Was pretty effective to have all that come up organically. So, that was a week ago. 15 people.

I’ve got two published posts since the last newsletter that are live on Elnion as well:

🐈Exploring the Intergenerational Workforce: https://elnion.com/2024/07/15/exploring-the-intergenerational-workforce/

🐈Cyber Security Advocacy’s Benefit to SMBS: https://elnion.com/2024/07/22/cyber-security-advocacys-benefit-to-smbs/

Best Posts Since Last Newsletter

It’s been way too interesting in tech this week.

🐈Deconstructing a Job Scam - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/heathernoggle_jobscam-typosquatting-socialengineering-activity-7221145583107944449-F7Va

🐈BSOD Technical Cause in Non-Technical Language - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/heathernoggle_qa-july19-bsod-activity-7220458462525153280-z7zH

🐈The talk with senior citizens and helpful sheet - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/heathernoggle_digital-safety-101-activity-7218606195719163904-A8-Y

Digital Grandma Knits

Two new songs!

🐈Where’s My Data - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/digital-grandma_wheres-my-data-headlines-scream-another-activity-7217916210200424448-Y59q

🐈BSOD - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/digital-grandma_bsod-its-all-down-were-stuck-like-the-activity-7220124873535184897-kmOd

And the LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-grandma/

Fall 2024 – Hire a Noggle

I’m Heather Noggle, and I’m happy to sign all Noggle Magic cards, though I like the Noggle Ransacker least. 

By day and sometimes in the middle of the night, I’m working on bolstering the cybersecurity workforce.  To quell the massive amount of mental dialogue, I write. And with that, I’m happy to write for you about where people, technology, and your products meet, so let’s talk about it, or at least expect I might reach out to talk about it with you.

Because that’s not enough, I serve on a couple of boards, do multigenerational workforce training, and also consult with tech founders about core branding language that speaks to their business (and sometimes consumer) human audiences. Also, other strategy for tech businesses.

Cybersecurity companies – specifically looking at you. Other technical companies - we can be friends, too. Reach out!

Planning late 2024 and early 2025 speaking as well. Looking for a podcast guest? We’ll have an interesting conversation.

My formal bio:

Heather Noggle is the Director of Workforce Development for the Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. After 25 years of working in software development, she transitioned to cybersecurity because security is how we enable business in the third decade of the 21st century.

Small business cybersecurity is her passion – training, tips and tricks, and reframing cyber hygiene activities as fighting back. Training the next generation of cyber practitioners requires this mindset. Testing limits of Generative AI is a new interest as well.

Heather offers more than 30 years of expertise built from experience as early as Commodore 64 tinkering; software development, requirements, and project management; human resources; extensive writing; HR; cybersecurity; and so much music. She effortlessly connects all of these things together with engaging and humorous storytelling with analogies and AI pictures of black cats. She's passionate about what we people can do to protect ourselves and the information we seek to hold private.

Heather currently serves as Vice Chair of the Springfield Tech Council and also volunteers with the board of Redeemer Lutheran Church.