Smart shifting aims to resolve work as close as practical to the point where the need originates, making A the correct answer. This may involve improving first-line capability, making knowledge available to customers, enabling self-service, using automation, or allowing lower support levels to handle issues that previously required escalation.
The objective is not simply to move work indiscriminately. Instead, organisations place the right capability, knowledge, tools, and decision authority at the most efficient point in the support model. This can reduce unnecessary hand-offs, shorten resolution time, improve first-contact resolution, and improve the customer's experience.
Option B describes the opposite approach because sending all incidents directly to specialists would increase specialist workload and bypass appropriate first-line capability. Option C would deliberately increase delay. Option D is also incorrect because smart shifting can operate within structured support models; it does not mean governance or support responsibilities disappear. SDA v9 emphasises self-service, knowledge-centred service, automation, collaboration, and shifting support capability closer to users as important modern Service Desk practices.
[Reference: SDA v9 – Support Methods; Smart Shifting; Self-Service and Knowledge Enablement., ]
