A system dynamics model for managing service desk capacity

Information technology (IT) services have become more complex and diversified. The service desk establishes a single channel of communication between the internal IT provider and its users, through which incidents and problems are analyzed, escalated and resolved. Managers need to analyze different operating scenarios regarding service desk capacity to make effective decisions about what should be improved to meet the business demands. This paper presents a system dynamics model for evaluating an organization's service desk's service capacity. The model allows the performance simulation of scenarios, estimating the service capacity. Preliminary results are promising and seem to contribute to the improvement of capacity management processes.