Change Form

The layout of the change management has all the fields required to manage the changes of an organization. However, to meet the organization’s needs, you can modify the default template and add new fields. The fields can later be used in the automation settings also.

To view the Change Form, navigate to Admin > Change Management > Change Form and the below page appears.

The page displays two types of fields:

• Default Fields: These are the primary fields that come with the fresh installation. The field names can neither be changed nor deleted.
• Custom Fields: These are the additional fields added from the pallet. You can rename and delete them.

Here, you can customize the form using the below options:

1. Field Pallet: You can drag and drop the fields from the pallet to add into the form.
2. Re-Order: You can drag and drop the fields to change the order of the form. This option is available for both: default and custom fields.
3. Duplicate: You can create duplicate fields from the custom fields. This option is available only for custom fields.
4. Edit: You can edit the fields and make them mandatory, show on change form, or change their characteristics. For default fields, some of the options are restricted.
5. Remove: You can delete the custom fields and not the default ones.

Example Scenario: For example, every change in an organization requires a follow-up date. This is the date by which a technician has to close the change. All SLA, KRA, and KPI(s) of technician are computed using this date.

DateTime

To add the Datetime custom field, drag and drop it on the form in the right-hand side, and a popup appears.

Enter the following details:

• Name: Enter the name of the field.
• Hint Text: Enter the text to appear by default. It appears in grey color.
• Default Value: Select the default value of the field. The options are: Current Date and Custom.
• Allow to Select Time?: Enable to allow the user to select time along with the date.
• Required: Enable to make the field mandatory on the change form.
• Change Stage: Select the stage at which the field should be available in the More Details section of Change Details page. The options are:
  • All: If selected the parameter will be available at the time of change creation.
  • Submitted: If selected you can edit the field only in the Submitted stage. During other stages it will be non-editable.
  • Planning: If selected you can edit the field only in the Planning stage as shown in the below figure. During other stages the field will be non-editable.
  • Implementation: If selected you can edit the field only in the Implementation stage. During other stages it will be non-editable.
  • Review: If selected you can edit the field only in the Review stage. During other stages it will be non-editable.

Once done, click Add. You can then re-arrange its location, create a duplicate field, edit, or delete it if required. Similarly, you can add other custom fields. For more details on other fields, refer to the link Request Form.

System Fields like Location, Category, Department, Change Reason, and Target Environment can be hidden, by enabling the Hide option as shown below. Once enabled, the field will not be available at the time of change creation.

Problem Custom Rules

The custom rules help you to enforce the organization’s compliance while processing a problem. Using these rules you can ensure that any change in the problem attributes is supported by proper comments or notes. For example, a problem should not move to the resolved state if there is no technician assigned to the problem. Similarly, you can use custom rules to enforce the approval workflows and closing tasks to close a problem.

To view the Problem Custom Rules page, navigate to Admin > Problem Management > Problem Custom Rules.

When Should Custom Rules be Enforced

For the problem management module, the custom rules are evaluated when a technician tries to:

Resolve a Problem: Check the items that should be enforced before resolving a problem.

• Close a Problem: Check the items that should be enforced before closing a problem.

• Required Note Rule: Check the items that should require a note before changing their values.

Example Scenario: When there is no technician assigned and someone tries to close the problem, the system gives a validation message, and does not allow to close it.

Problem Templates

Templates are readymade forms which can be used while filling up the problem form. The user only needs to select them and the form will get automatically filled. These are convenient when a problem is of standard or recurring type. The advantages of using a template are:

• Creating a problem using template saves a lot of time.
• The templates ensure that proper and sufficient information is available in the problem.
• The problem parameters like priority, urgency, assignee can be predefined in the template.

To view the Problem Templates, navigate to Admin > Problem Management > Problem Templates > Problem tab.

Here, you can create and manage templates for Request, Problem, Change, and Release modules.
Also, it has the below options:

• Create Template: You can create a template from the scratch.
• Duplicate: You can create a duplicate copy of a template to make some changes in it and use. This has two benefits: 1) If you are creating a new template similar to the existing one, you do not need to start from the scratch. 2) If you are modifying the existing one, the original works as a backup in case of errors.
• Edit: You can edit the template to make changes in it.
• Delete: You can delete the unwanted templates. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or Cancel to stop the process.

Create Template

To create a template, follow the below steps:

1. Click the Create Template button on the top-right corner of the page. The Create Problem Template page appears.

2. Enter the below details:
   • Template Name: Enter the name of the template.
   • Template Technician Access Level: Select the technician(s) who can access the template.
   • Template Technician Group Access Level: Select the technician group(s) who can access the template.
   • Template Description: Enter a brief description about the template.
   • Subject: Enter the subject of the problem.
   • Description: Enter the description of the problem.
   • Status: Select the status of the problem.
   • Nature Of Problem: Select the type of the problem as proactive or reactive.
   • Known Error: Select Yes if the problem is recursive or you already know what is the problem.
   • Priority: Select the priority of the problem.
   • Urgency: Select the urgency of the problem.
   • Impact: Select the impact of the problem.
   • Category: Select the category to which the problem belongs.
   • Technician Group: Select the technician group for the problem.
   • Assignee: Select the assignee if you want to assign the problem to a specific person.
   • Department: Select the department if you want to assign the problem to a specific department. It is optional.
   • Location: Select the location if you can find the location from the dropdown. It is optional.
   • Tags: You can add tags if you want. It will help you in identifying the similar problems. It is optional.
3. Once all the details are filled, click Create. The template will become available to the users in the Fill From Template dropdown at the time of problem creation. Similarly, you can create templates for Request, Change, and Release modules.

Problem Status

Problem Status determines the progress of the Problem tickets. Using these you can know how much work is done or pending on the ticket and accordingly actions can be taken. The system provides some default status values that are ready for use.

To view the Problem Status page, navigate to Admin > Problem Management > Problem Status > Problem tab.

Here, you can manage the status of the tickets. Also, you can edit the status names, set any value as default, run SLA, and change the color of the status values as per the organization’s theme.

Here, you can do the following:

• View and edit the default status.
• Add and manage the Custom status.
• Re-order the statuses using drag and drop.
• Enable or disable the SLA for the status value using Run SLA. For example, if the status is ‘Pending’, the SLA should pause.
• Set the default status of the ticket when a new problem is created.

Add Status

To add a custom status,

1. Click the Add Status link.
2. Enter the Name of the status.
3. Select the color or enter the hexadecimal code by clicking color pallet icon.
4. Click Save.
5. Once added, you can edit or delete the custom status. You can only edit the default statuses and not delete.

Problem Category

Categories enable you to bring the similar problems under a single group. This helps the technicians in filtering out the required problems easily and quickly from a huge list. The system provides the below categories by default:

• General
• Software
• Hardware
• Network
• IT Administration

To view the Problem Category page, navigate to Admin > Problem Management > Problem Categories > Problem tab.

Here, you have the below options. All these options are common in Request, Problem, Change, and Release tabs.

• Add Category: You can add a category. For more details, refer to the link Request Category.
• Import Categories: You can import a list of categories in bulk. For more details, refer to the link Request Category.
• Re-Order: You can re-arrange the order of the category in the list using drag and drop. You can also re-order the sub categories.
• Category Configurations: You can configure the settings for problem creation. For more details, refer to the link Request Category.
• Add Sub Category: You can add a sub-category. For more details, refer to the link Request Category.
• Edit: You can edit the category name.
• Delete: You can delete the category if not required. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or Cancel to stop the process.

Problem Form

The layout of the problem management has all the fields required to manage the problems of an organization. However, to meet the organization’s needs, you can modify the default template and add new fields. The fields can later be used in the automation settings also.

To view the Problem Form, navigate to Admin > Problem Management > Problem Form and the below page appears.

The page displays two types of fields:

• Default Fields: These are the primary fields that come with the fresh installation. The field names can neither be changed nor deleted.
• Custom Fields: These are the additional fields added from the pallet. The fields can be renamed and deleted.

Here, you can customize the form using the below options:

1. Field Pallet: You can drag and drop the fields from the pallet to add into the form.
2. Re-Order: You can drag and drop the fields to change the order of the form. This option is available for both: default and custom fields.
3. Expand/Collapse: You can expand and collapse the fields to show 1 in a row or 2 in a row. If collapsed, the width of the field will get reduced to half. This option is available for both: default and custom fields.
4. Duplicate: You can create duplicate fields from the custom fields. This option is available only for custom fields.
5. Edit: You can edit the fields and make them mandatory, show on problem form, or change their characteristics. For default fields, some of the options are restricted.
6. Remove: You can delete the custom fields and not the default ones.

Example Scenario: For example, every problem in an organization requires a follow-up date. This is the date by which a technician has to close the problem.

DateTime

To add the Datetime custom field, drag and drop it on the form in the right-hand side, and a popup appears.

Enter the following details:

• Name: Enter the name of the field.
• Hint Text: Enter the text to appear by default. It appears in grey color.
• Default Value: Select the default value of the field. The options are: Current Date and Custom.
• Allow to Select Time?: Enable to allow the user to select time along with the date.
• Required: Enable to make the field mandatory.

Once done, click Add. You can then re-arrange its location, create a duplicate field, expand/collapse its width, edit, or delete it if required. Similarly, you can add other custom fields. For more details, refer to the link Request Form.

System Fields like Location, Category, and Department can be hidden, by enabling the Hide option as shown below. Once enabled, the field will not be available at the time of problem creation.

Creating a Request from a Service Item

A Request created using a Service Item has the following characteristics:

• It has the pre-filled information.
• It has a dedicated Workflow and SLA.
• It has its own Approval Workflow.
• It has defined Task(s), and Tasks are sometimes divided into stages.

Based on the requirement, the following things are already created:

• A Service Category
• A Service Template

In this section, you can see how Requestors can create on-board Requests.

For Example: A person from the HR department has initiated the on-boarding process of a new employee in the Marketing department. Now one wants to create the credentials for the new employee. This can be done by going to the Customer Portal and using a Service Item.

• Login to the Customer Portal. On the Dashboard, click the Create New + button and select the option Request Service.

• Click the HR category and select the Employee On-Boarding (IT) item.
• A form opens where the fields are to be filled and create a Request.
• Once the Request is created, the status of the Request is either Open, In Progress, Pending, Resolved, or Closed.

• You can also view the audit logs of the particular created request.

Creating a Service Catalog Template

A Service Catalog Template allows you to define a service. You can define a Template in a particular Service Category. A Template is defined with respect to the following:

• Form fields that will capture the custom data.
• Specific workflow to automate the handling of the life-cycle of the Requests created using the Template.
• Specific SLA to control the response and resolution time, and escalation.
• Specific Approval workflow to add supervision.
• Create associated task for Requests using the Template.
• Create scenario to perform a task for requests using the Template.
• Form rules that will show/hide, mandate/non-mandate, enable/disable the required fields in the service catalog form.
• Specific Email Notification for Requests using the Template.

For Example: A Template called On-Boarding is used to create a Service Item. The HR department will use this to create a Service Request for the on-boarding of new employees in the Marketing department. Learn about the Use Case.

Service Catalog Form

You can create a Service Catalog Form by dragging and dropping the required fields on the form from the left sidebar.
The tab displays two types of fields:

• Custom Fields: These are the fields that can be added, edited, renamed, and removed from the form if not required. For more details on the fields, refer to the link Request Form.
• System Fields: These are the fields that cannot be renamed. But, you can add, edit, and remove them. Once these fields are used, they are not available in the pallet for reuse.

Once the fields are added to the form, you can re-order, expand/collapse the width, create a duplicate field based on the existing ones, edit, or remove them if required. The duplicate field option is available only for the custom fields.

Workflow

Workflow automation enables the Administrators to channel tickets through a funnel with the predefined rules. Administrators set the rules that interact with the ticket details (Department, Type, Support Level, etc.) and even change them if required.

Implementation Behavior:

• The Workflow created here will work specifically for Requests created using an On-Boarding Template.
• The Workflow created here works parallel with the generic in Admin. Both the Workflows might get initiated together and perform their own actions after checking their conditions.
• The Template Workflow is initiated based on the Trigger Event of a workflow.

Here, clicking on the Workflow tab, displays all the Workflows specific for that Template, if any. To add a new Workflow, click on the Create Workflow button, and the page appears.

Enter a name for the Workflow, add trigger events, add conditions, and select actions. For more details, refer to the link Create Workflow.

The above Workflow will work on the Service Requests satisfying the parameters: Department equals to Marketing and Location equals to Asia.
The following actions are taken when a Request satisfies the parameters:

• Request is assigned to a Technician.
• Priority is set to High.
• An Email is sent to the Requester.

SLA

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) define the commitment between Requestors and the IT service provider in an organization. SLAs determine the level of urgency, response time, and the time required for the tickets to get resolved. They also govern the escalation rules when tickets are not resolved or responded within a stipulated time frame. SLAs can be set for a department and a sub-department.

Implementation Behavior:

• An SLA created here will work specifically for Requests created having the On-Boarding Template.
• Template SLA will decide the Response and Resolution time of Requests created using the On-Boarding Template.
• The system SLA will not work along with the Template SLA.

Click the SLA tab and a list of already created SLAs specific to the template will appear, if any. To create an SLA, click on the Create SLA button, and the page appears.

Enter the Name, set Operational Hours Type and Description. Set the condition as Department no equals to IT and Location equals to Asia. For more details, refer to the link Create SLA.

Then set the Maximum Response and Resolution Time, and Escalation in case of violation. Here, the Maximum Response time is set as 3 hours. The Maximum Resolution time is set as 2 days and on violation the assigned Technician is changed.

Approvals

The Approval Workflow helps to automate the Approval process for a Request. An Approval Workflow, when initiated, creates an Approval and adds approvers to it.

Implementation Behavior:

• An Approval Workflow created here will work specifically for Service Requests created using the On-Boarding Template.
• The generic Approval Workflow in Admin does not work in Requests created using a Service Item.

Click the Approvals tab and a list of existing Approval Workflows specific to the Template will appear. To create an approval, click on the Create Approval Workflow button and the page appears.

Enter a name, add condition(s), and set approvers in the Approvals section. For more details, refer to the link Create Approval Workflow.

Any Request (made using the template) having the Department IT will have the below output:

• A single stage Approval will be created and the stage of the Approval will have a single Approver.

Tasks

You can pre-define tasks that will be added to the Request. You can break the tasks stage wise; meaning tasks at one stage has to be completed to move to another stage. You can add tasks up to 5 stages.

Click the Task tab and a list of already created tasks will appear. To create a task in stage 1, click the Create Task button in the same section and a side popup appears.

Enter the Name, Assigned To, Task Type, Technician Group, Priority, Notify Before, Estimated Time, and Description. For more details on fields, refer to the link Creating a Task.

You can create five stages (you define a stage by adding a task to it) with each having one task.

Scenario

You can create scenarios specifically for Requests created using the Template. A scenario is a set of actions when applied that can modify a ticket. You can create n number of scenarios in a template each with its own set of conditions.

Click the Scenario tab and a list of already created scenarios will appear. To create a Scenario, click on the Create Scenario button and the page appears.

Enter the Scenario Name, Technician Access Level, Technician Group Access Level, Description, Condition, and Action. For more details on fields, refer to the link Create Scenario.

Service Catalog Form Rules

The Service Catalog Form Rules enable you to make fields mandatory/non-mandatory, show/hide, or enable/disable based on certain conditions in the Service Request Form.

Click the Service Catalog Form Rules tab and a list of already created form rules will appear, if any. To create a form rule, click on the Create Service Catalog Form Rule button and a side popup appears.

Enter the Name, Description, set the required configurations, and click Create. For more details on the fields, refer to the link Request Form Rule.

Email Notifications

You can add the email notifications specific for service requests created using the template. These are the default email notifications that can be added, modified as per requirement, and used in the template.

Click the Email Notifications tab, and a list of already added notifications will appear, if any. To add an email notification, click the Add Email Notifications button and a side popup appears.

• Select the required notifications from the list and click Update. It displays all the active email notifications.
• Once added, you can click on the required email notification and edit it as per your need. For more details on fields, refer to the link Email Notification.

Create a Service Category

A Service Category is a general classification of the type of services that the IT Service Offering provides. It allows you to group the Templates into specific categories.

For example: a new category, called IT is created for the Laptop template.

By default, there are below available Service Catalogs for use.

Adding Service Catalog Categories

To add a category, follow the below steps:

1. Click the Plus icon next to the Service Categories panel and Add Service Category popup appears.

2. Enter the below details:
   • Name: Enter the name of the service category. Here, the name is IT.
   • Description: Enter a brief description of the category.
   • Category Prefix: Enter a prefix for the category to ease the listing for which the service request belongs to. The default prefixes for incident and service requests are INC and SR, respectively. It contains 2-5 characters and supports alphanumeric characters only.
3. Once done, click Add. You can also edit or delete it if not required later.

Once a category is created, associate it with a request, its prefix will be visible in the service request subject. Further, it changes as per the category selected. You can add or edit an existing service and associate it with the category.

Adding and Associating a Service to the Category

To add a service,

1. Click the Service Category (IT) to which you want to associate the service. A list of associated services will appear.
2. Click Add Service from the top-right corner as shown below.

3. In the Create Service page, enter the below details:
   • Service Name: Enter the name of the service.
   • Service Description: Enter a short description of the service.
   • Category: Select the service category to which you want to associate the service.
   • Status: Define the status of the service as Draft or Published. If published, the service will be available to the requesters for selection.
   • Group Access Level: Select the groups whom you want to allow the access of the service.
   • Subject: Enter the subject of the service request. You can also insert a placeholder using the Insert Placeholder link.
   • Description: Enter the description of the service request.
   • Cost: Enter the cost of the service.
   • Profile Picture: Select the image for the service.

4. Once the details are filled, click Create. You can now create a service catalog template and define the form fields, Workflows, SLAs, Approval Workflows, Tasks, Scenarios, Form rules, and Email Notifications for it.

Service Catalog Workflow

A Service Catalog is a collection of Service Items. The items are created using the Templates, and each Template has a preset automation, input variables, and a category. In this section, the process involved in creating a Request from a Service Item is depicted from the scratch.