For IT Support Technician / Help Desk Analysts ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a shared Claude Project your entire help desk team uses — loaded with your organization's full IT documentation library, configured with consistent response formats, and set up so that every analyst gets environment-specific answers. You'll move from one analyst having a useful ChatGPT setup to your whole team having a shared, maintained AI assistant that learns your environment over time.
What you'll need
The power of a team Claude Project comes from comprehensive, well-organized documentation. Before creating the Project, assemble:
Core documents (required):
ENVIRONMENT: [Org Name] Help Desk Reference
Last updated: [date]
INFRASTRUCTURE:
- End user OS: Windows 11 23H2 (80%), Windows 10 22H2 (20%)
- Domain: [domain.local] — on-prem AD + Azure AD hybrid (Azure AD Connect sync)
- Exchange: Exchange Online (M365 E3) — NOT on-prem
- Servers: Windows Server 2022, Server 2019; hosted in [datacenter/Azure/AWS]
- File servers: [\\fileserver01\shares], [\\fileserver02\department]
- Print servers: [\\printserver01]
- VPN: Cisco AnyConnect — LDAP auth against on-prem AD
- Remote access: TeamViewer for user devices, RDP for servers (require Tier 2 approval)
- Ticketing: ServiceNow (self-service: [URL], agent URL: [URL])
- Endpoint mgmt: Intune for cloud-joined, SCCM for legacy; all new devices = Intune
- Network: 192.168.x.x internal, Cisco switches, Palo Alto firewall
M365 TENANT:
- Admin center: [URL]
- Exchange admin: [URL]
- Intune: [URL]
- Tier 1 can: password reset, MFA reset, license assign/remove, group add/remove
- Tier 1 CANNOT: create mailboxes, change mail flow rules, access other users' mail
AD DETAILS:
- Primary OU structure: [describe your OU structure]
- Standard groups: [list key security groups and what they grant]
- Password policy: 90-day expiry, 8-char minimum, complexity required
- Account lockout: 5 failed attempts, 15-minute auto-unlock
ESCALATION PATH:
- Tier 1 (Help Desk): Password resets, software install/uninstall, hardware basics, network connectivity, printer setup, account unlocks, VPN issues, M365 access
- Tier 2 (Sysadmin): Server issues, AD GPO, M365 advanced, security incidents, new hardware provisioning
- Tier 3 (Vendor): Hardware warranty, ISP, Microsoft Premier support
- Escalate with: [describe your standard escalation note format]
KB Articles Export — export or copy your 20-30 most-referenced articles
Known Issues Register — current open incidents and their status:
KNOWN ISSUES (updated: [date])
- [Issue description] — workaround: [workaround] — expected resolution: [date/unknown]
- [Issue description] — do NOT try to resolve independently, escalate to Tier 2
APPROVED SOFTWARE (can install without approval):
- [list]
REQUIRES APPROVAL BEFORE INSTALL:
- [list]
BLOCKED (never install, remove if found):
- [list]
[Org Name] IT Help Desk — SharedYou are the IT help desk assistant for [Org Name]. You have been loaded with our complete environment documentation, KB articles, and procedures.
RESPONSE RULES:
- Lead with the most likely cause for OUR environment specifically (not generic advice)
- Number all troubleshooting steps
- Flag any step requiring admin rights: [ADMIN REQUIRED]
- Flag any step to escalate: [ESCALATE TO TIER 2]
- Reference KB articles by name when they exist: e.g., "See KB: Printer Not Discovered After Windows 11 Upgrade"
- Flag known issues when relevant: [KNOWN ISSUE]
- For any script, default to PowerShell 5.1 unless I specify PowerShell 7
DOCUMENTATION FORMAT (when I ask for ticket notes or documentation):
- Problem: [what the user reported]
- Environment: [OS, app, on-prem vs. remote, recent changes]
- Steps Taken: [numbered]
- Root Cause: [1-2 sentences]
- Resolution: [what fixed it]
- Follow-up: [any monitoring, user notification, KB article needed]
ESCALATION FORMAT (when I ask for escalation notes):
- Issue: [2 sentences — what it is and why Tier 1 can't resolve]
- Environment: [OS, tools affected, user count]
- Steps tried: [numbered — what we already did]
- Current state: [what happens right now]
- For Tier 2: [what they specifically need to do]
SCRIPTING:
- Target environment: Windows 11 23H2, AD on-prem + Azure AD hybrid, PowerShell 5.1
- Always include -WhatIf on destructive operations
- Include error handling (try/catch)
- Export to CSV unless I specify otherwise
- Output files to $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop by default
Always be direct and technical. Skip preamble.
As your team resolves tickets and writes new KB articles, update the Project without re-uploading everything:
Add to our KB: [paste article]
Remember this as KB article [ID/name].
Each analyst needs their own Claude Pro account — Claude Projects can't be shared accounts, but you can share the same Project structure:
Option A: Each analyst clones the Project
Option B: Team lead maintains one Project, shares outputs
The Project degrades if documentation goes stale. Block 30 minutes on the last Friday of each month:
Monthly Project Maintenance Checklist:
[ ] Update "Known Issues Register" document — re-upload
[ ] Add KB articles written this month — re-upload KB document
[ ] Check for environment changes (new servers, new tools, policy changes) — update Environment Master
[ ] Remove resolved incidents from Known Issues
[ ] Test with 3 recent real tickets to verify accuracy
Monday triage:
Triage these tickets: prioritize, flag KB matches, flag Tier 2 escalations.
[paste ticket list]
Unknown error in our environment:
Error: [paste]. OS: [version], [domain joined / cloud]. App: [name + version].
Recent changes on the machine: [anything]. Remote user: [yes/no].
What's causing this in our environment and how do I fix it?
Compliance/audit request:
Our security team needs: [describe the report/audit request].
Write a PowerShell script to generate this from our AD/Azure AD/M365 environment.
Export as CSV. Include the data points they asked for: [list].
Team knowledge gap:
Based on our KB articles, what are the 5 topics where our documentation
is weakest or missing entirely? Suggest which should be written first.