For DevOps teams, the speed of deployment means nothing without clear communication, fast issue resolution, and visibility across systems. But traditional help desks weren’t built for the hybrid demands of today’s development and operations environment. That’s where Tikit steps in—a Microsoft Teams-native help desk platform that brings automation, integration, and AI-driven support into the DevOps workflow.
If your team is already living in Teams and working in Azure DevOps, building a help desk with Tikit isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a strategic advantage. Here’s how to do it right.
1. Define the Mission: What Your DevOps Help Desk Should Achieve
Before implementing tools, set the vision. Building a high-performing help desk starts with defining what success looks like in your environment.
Set Tangible KPIs
Metrics like mean time to resolution (MTTR), backlog volume, and SLA adherence are great places to start. But in DevOps, the goals should also reflect the bigger picture—collaboration between support and engineering, ticket deflection through AI, and seamless user communication.
Key metrics to consider:
- Average resolution time per ticket
- Volume of escalations vs. resolved at first contact
- Number of tickets automatically deflected via Tikit Virtual Agent
- Azure DevOps work items created from Service Requests or Incidents
Match Goals to Real Business Needs
DevOps support should reduce friction, not add it. That’s why goals should reflect actual team workflows—things like triaging bug reports, coordinating handoffs between infrastructure and product teams, or surfacing user-reported issues to the dev backlog.
With Tikit’s integration capabilities (Power Automate, Azure DevOps, Microsoft 365, and more), goals can directly align with:
- Faster deployment cycles
- Fewer production issues going untracked
- Improved internal user satisfaction
2. Evaluate Your Existing Stack: What Needs to Change?
Before rolling out Tikit, assess where things stand.
Map Out Tools and Processes
Take inventory:
- Ticketing platforms (e.g., Jira Service Management, Freshservice)
- Knowledge bases (SharePoint, Confluence)
- Collaboration tools (Slack, Teams)
- Current use of Azure DevOps Boards or pipelines
If your tools are spread out and require dispersed integrations to work together, you’ll find Tikit becomes even more valuable as a native extension rather than a singular.
Identify Workflow Bottlenecks
Talk with support agents and engineers. Where do tickets stall? Where are handoffs unclear? What kind of tickets are bouncing between teams without resolution?
Common signs Tikit can improve workflows:
- Teams chat used as a workaround for missing ticket visibility
- Bug reports filed in multiple systems (Teams, DevOps, email)
- Status updates missing from stakeholder view
With Tikit, many of these bottlenecks can be resolved by automating workflows between Teams and Azure DevOps.
3. Build the Right Team
Technology is only part of the equation. A DevOps help desk depends on collaboration between IT support, developers, and infrastructure engineers.
Assign Clear Roles
A solid structure might include:
- Tikit Admin: Owns configuration, automations, and analytics
- Support Agents: Manage incoming tickets and user communication via Teams
- DevOps Liaison: Bridges support requests with DevOps pipelines or Azure Boards
- Knowledge Base Manager: Keeps Tikit’s internal knowledge up-to-date and accessible
Choose People with Experience in Both Worlds
The best DevOps help desks are run by people who’ve seen both sides—support and software delivery. Staff who understand GitHub pipelines, Azure Repos, or infrastructure automation will spot gaps faster and use Tikit more strategically.
Foster a Culture of Collaboration
Encourage async updates through Tikit’s integration with Teams posts, loop in stakeholders using work item linking, and use Tikit’s native features to surface key ticket updates directly into DevOps dashboards.
4. Configure Tikit for DevOps Workflows
Once the strategy and team are in place, it’s time to tailor Tikit to support your DevOps ecosystem.
Set Up Teams-Based Ticketing
Tikit’s Microsoft Teams-native experience allows end users to submit tickets directly in chat. These can be:
- Categorized automatically
- Routed based on keywords or service tags
- Assigned based on Teams channel or department
This removes friction from ticket creation and gives visibility to every interaction from the same platform your team already uses.
Use Power Automate to Bridge DevOps
Tikit and Azure DevOps integrate seamlessly using Power Automate or Azure Logic Apps. Here’s how the automation typically works:
- A support ticket is submitted through Tikit
- Power Automate/Logic App Flows detect the submission and creates a corresponding Azure DevOps work item
- Status updates in Azure DevOps trigger changes in the original Tikit ticket (e.g., “In Progress” → “Resolved”)
This real-time loop ensures your support team, developers, and end users are always on the same page.
Automate Routine Work with Virtual Agent
Tikit’s AI-driven Virtual Agent can:
- Deflect common questions by surfacing knowledge base answers
- Capture bug details in structured formats
- Pre-triage tickets before they hit your agents
This helps reduce manual workload and lets your team focus on resolving real issues faster.
5. Build a Knowledge Base That Actually Gets Used
Documentation is only helpful when it’s easy to access and stays updated.
Integrate Knowledge into Teams
Tikit allows end users and agents to search articles from within Teams. Use this to:
- Surface self-service options before creating tickets
- Embed documentation directly in automated responses
- Reduce repeat requests on configuration, access, or security policies
Make Updates Part of the Workflow
Have agents flag outdated articles during ticket resolution, and let DevOps staff quickly edit or add new ones from SharePoint or other connected systems. Furthermore, Tikit’s features make it easy to use the details of the request and resolution as the basis for a draft Knowledge Base article, streamlining and reducing your upkeep.
6. Train the Team to Maximize Value
Great tools are only effective when everyone knows how to use them.
Build Training into Onboarding
Every support agent should understand how Tikit connects to Azure DevOps, how to manage tickets in Teams, and how automation rules work behind the scenes.
Use real scenarios—like feature requests or access problems—to walk through ticket creation, escalation, and resolution flows.
Keep Skills Sharp with Regular Sessions
Host quarterly updates to:
- Review automation changes
- Surface new feature releases from Tikit
- Collect team feedback on what’s working and what needs improvement
7. Measure, Learn, and Iterate
What gets measured, gets improved.
Track Core Metrics
Some key data points to monitor:
- Ticket volume over time
- Number of tickets deflected via knowledge base or AI
- Resolution times across ticket types
- Azure DevOps work item completion times
Gather Feedback
Tikit allows agents to track end-user satisfaction scores. Combine this with internal feedback from support teams and developers to uncover friction points.
Adjust and Optimize
Use your insights to improve:
- Automation flows (when should tickets auto-close? When should a DevOps task be created?)
- Routing rules (should a specific keyword always trigger escalation?)
- Knowledge base content (are there recurring issues without documentation?)
Consolidate and Conquer: Why Tikit Is Built for DevOps Support
Tikit stands out from generic help desk tools because it meets teams where they already work—inside Microsoft Teams and Azure DevOps.
With built-in automation, rich integration options, and a user-first experience, Tikit transforms DevOps support into something seamless, proactive, and modern.
Whether you’re just getting started or evolving your support model, building your DevOps help desk on Tikit provides the visibility, flexibility, and scalability needed to support development teams without slowing them down.
Need help building out your DevOps help desk with Tikit?
Get started with a free setup and see how our native Microsoft integration can streamline your service operations.
