For IT Support Technician / Help Desk Analysts ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have a Claude Project loaded with your organization's IT documentation — KB articles, runbooks, network architecture notes, approved software list — so that every conversation starts with Claude already knowing your environment. When you describe an issue, Claude responds with advice specific to your setup, not generic Microsoft documentation.
What you'll need
Before opening Claude, gather these in plain text (.txt files are fine):
Document 1: Environment Overview (create this — 1-2 pages)
ORGANIZATION: [company name and type]
END USER OS: [Windows 11 23H2, some Windows 10 22H2]
DIRECTORY: [Active Directory on-prem + Azure AD hybrid]
EMAIL: [Exchange Online, M365 E3 licenses]
TICKETING: [ServiceNow, self-service portal at [URL]]
REMOTE TOOLS: [TeamViewer for user devices, RDP for servers]
ENDPOINT MGMT: [Microsoft Intune for cloud-joined, SCCM for legacy]
NETWORK: [Cisco switches, Palo Alto firewall, 192.168.x.x internal]
VPN: [Cisco AnyConnect, LDAP authentication]
ESCALATION PATH:
- Tier 1 (me): password resets, software, hardware basics, network basics
- Tier 2 (sysadmin team): server issues, AD policy, M365 admin, security
- Tier 3 (vendors): hardware warranty, ISP, MS support
APPROVED SOFTWARE LIST: [list your org's approved apps]
NOT APPROVED (common requests): [list software you can't install]
Document 2: Your top 20 KB articles (export from Confluence/SharePoint as text) If you can't export them, paste the 5-10 most important ones manually.
Document 3: Common commands reference
Common AD commands we use:
- Reset password: Set-ADAccountPassword [cmdlet with your org's format]
- Unlock account: Unlock-ADAccount -Identity [samaccountname]
- Check group membership: Get-ADGroupMember -Identity [group]
[etc.]
Common escalation note format our Tier 2 expects:
[paste your Tier 2's preferred escalation format]
Log into claude.ai (Pro account)
Click Projects in the left sidebar
Click + New Project
Name it: "IT Help Desk — [Your Org Name]"
In the Project instructions box, paste:
You are an IT support assistant for [org name]'s help desk team. You have been loaded with our environment documentation, KB articles, and escalation procedures.
When I give you an error message or support issue:
1. Lead with the most likely cause for OUR specific environment (reference our setup from the documents)
2. Give me numbered troubleshooting steps — specific to our tools and versions
3. Flag if a step requires Tier 2 escalation based on our escalation path
4. If it's in our KB, reference the KB article by name
When I ask you to write documentation, use our standard format: Problem | Steps Taken | Root Cause | Resolution | Follow-up.
When I ask for PowerShell scripts, target our environment: [Windows 11 23H2, AD on-prem, PowerShell 5.1 unless otherwise specified].
Always be direct and technical. I'm an IT professional. Skip preamble.
What you should see: Your documents listed under the Project. Claude processes them automatically.
Start a new conversation inside the Project (click Project → + New conversation):
Test 1 — Environment awareness:
A user reports their Cisco AnyConnect VPN disconnects every 20 minutes. What's likely causing this in our environment?
Expected: Claude references your specific VPN setup (Cisco AnyConnect, LDAP authentication) rather than generic VPN advice.
Test 2 — KB reference:
I have a ticket about a printer not showing up after we recently migrated to Windows 11. Is there a KB article for this?
Expected: Claude checks your uploaded KB articles and either references the relevant one or notes it doesn't exist (which is valuable — that's an article you need to write).
Test 3 — Escalation guidance:
User can't log in, getting "Account is currently locked" but I've already confirmed the account is unlocked in AD. What should I do?
Expected: Claude gives troubleshooting steps, and based on your escalation path documents, flags when it reaches the point where Tier 2 should take over.
The Project stays useful only if your documents stay current.
Monthly maintenance (15 minutes):
Unfamiliar error:
Error: [paste]. User OS: [version], [on-prem or remote], recently changed/installed: [anything]. Troubleshoot for our environment.
Is this in our KB?:
I have a ticket about [issue]. Do we have a KB article for this? If not, what should I try based on our environment?
PowerShell for our environment:
Write a PowerShell script for our AD environment: [describe task]. Use our standard OU structure and follow our naming conventions.
Should I escalate?:
I've been working this ticket for [time]. Here's what I've tried: [steps]. Based on our escalation path, should I escalate to Tier 2?