BMC Service Desk Express User Guide

Service Desk Express

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/professionals/supportmagic/ 1

Support Practices / BMC Service Desk Express User Guide



1. Basics

1.1 Developing And Maintaining Meaningful Records

BMC Service Desk Express is the problem management system used by the University of Ottawa, Computing and Communications Services (CCS). Support industries’ best practices are implemented by CCS with a little help from the problem management system and its automated features.

This guide is produced by CCS for CCS staff and IT Representatives using BMC Service Desk Express, its purpose is to

• Provide better customer service

• Instill industry best practices in our daily work

• Better manage support to our customers

• Ensure consistency of services

1.2 CCS Customer Service Standards

Severities have different schedules for contacting the customer. See CCS Standards of Service: http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ccs/docs/standards.html

The resource is expected to

• Contact the client (resolve the incident, make an appointment, advise the customer that he or she is working at resolving the incident) according to the delay of the severity assigned,

• Add details to the incident, and • Modify the status field accordingly.

P romptness: 2 nd Level Response Time

Severity Levels Definition Response Time 1 Central resource failure such as central file

server, Unix servers, MVS administrative mainframe.

Immediate

2 When a service/department/faculty is affected by a computing failure and no workaround is possible. Multiple persons cannot work.

Contact with the client will be done within one hour of the call. If required, the technician will be on site within one hour.

3 One client is unable to continue their work and there is no alternative for him/her

Contact with the client will be done within four working hours of the call and if required, a technician will be on site within four hours.

4 Installation of software or hardware. The client can pursue his/her current work. The installation is not critical to his/her current projects.

Contact with the client will be done within one working day. If required, the technician will be on site within 5 working days.

5 A non-critical problem. Client can continue to work and this function is non critical to his/her current projects.

Contact with the client will be done within one working day, and if required, a technician will be on site within 10 working days.



1.3 Definitions

Incident: deviation from the expected operations

Supported software and accounts: see http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/software/

CCS Standards of Service: see http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/about/standards.html

1.4 Roles and Responsibilities

The primary users of the BMC Service Desk Express application include “Support staff”, “Group administrator” and “System administrator”.

Support staff includes all BMC users such as analysts, technicians, CCS staff and IT Reps using BMC Service Desk. Group administrator are team leaders for the above support staff sectors. They have limited permissions and can perform minor administrative tasks only for the groups they belong to. They are also privileged to many email notifications. System administrators have the highest level of access to the BMC Service Desk Express application. They are responsible for installing and configuring the application as well as maintaining the application.

By definition, the Computing Help Centre (CHC) is the single point of contact (1st level service) for all incidents between the client and IT service providers. Initial client information, troubleshooting and ticket escalation is managed by the CHC.

By definition, CCS resources provide research and expertise. The CCS resources provide support to the client when:

• The root cause of service deviation is unknown and no work around (permanent or temporary) is provided to 1st level • 1st level does not have the accesses, rights, privileges and expertise to solve reported incidents and requests • Resolution requires efficiency and/or expediency of the CCS resource intervention • An onsite visit is required • The CHC identifies an underlying problem needing 2nd level intervention for permanent problem resolution, for example multiple/similar incident reports

1.5 A Perspective of the Group Administrator

• How often do I need to verify BMC Service Desk Express • How does the CHC send us work • How should I distribute the work • How do I find out if the customer has been contacted or not by my group • How do we find out if some new information was received in a timely manner

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/software/

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/about/standards.html



2. Customer Requests

2.1 Introduction

Web forms are being used to directly input information to the BMC Service Desk Express database, this practice helps customers give us pertinent information regarding computing requests.

Note: Client Services imports student data from the SIS.

Students, faculty and staff members are invited to use the new CHC online Request Form. It's simple: 1. The customer enters a request at http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos; 2. A copy of the request is automatically entered in the CCS problem management system; 3. The customer is sent an automated response by the system, giving him or her a reference number for the request (ticket).

The new form is designed to replace the current practice of sending help requests via email to [email protected], so please promote the form whenever possible. The online Help Request features an automatic creation of the request in BMC Service Desk Express, a confirmation to the customer. Depending on the type of work, the requests are assigned a second level without the intervention of the CHC. Some groups have implemented web forms for their specific work to help them better manage requests from customers.

The client will be able to respond to emails sent via the problem management system that will automatically be transferred to the person who is responsible for resolving your request.

The client may want notify a supervisor, professor or it representative about an incident; he/she can report it by completing the "Notifying someone else about this request" section (this email address must already be in our client database for this to work). When completing this section this third person will receive a copy of the incident open and close notification.

Note: With the email conversation feature, you can create a single repository to store information about all email conversations that are part of an incident. You can keep track of all communications about a service request in one place.

Although the Web forms are a very efficient for contacting the CHC, emergencies should continue to be logged by calling the Computing Help Centre at 5625800 extension 6555.

In order to better manage the many CCS resources, requests for computer services that are directed to inappropriate channels should be redirected to the CHC.

2.2 A Perspective Of The Customer

• How do I contact CCS? • I have a reference number for followup • CCS is taking care of my problem • CCS has resolved my problem • I can evaluate CCS’ services



3. Incident Management

3.1 Introduction

Goal of problem management: minimize the adverse effect on the business of incidents and problems caused by errors in the infrastructure, and to proactively prevent the occurrence of incidents, problems and errors.

Incident: any event that deviates from the (expected) standard operation of a system.

Problem: is an unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents.

Known error: is a condition identified by successful diagnosis of the root cause of a problem when it is confirmed that a configuration item is at fault. A known error implies that a workaround has been identified and communicated to the CHC.

Infrastructure resolution: a permanent fix is provided to the customer and the Computing Help Centre

3.2 The Lifecycle Of A Problem When the Problem Is First Reported By The Customer

1. Error in the infrastructure 2. Incident is reported to the CHC 3. Problem becomes an unknown error 4. Incident is sent to CCS resource for error control 5. Problem becomes a known error, a known error implies that a workaround has been identified and communicated to the CHC 6. Request for change is done by the CCS resource 7. CCS resource finds the infrastructure resolution, a permanent fix is provided to customer and the CHC

3.3 The Lifecycle Of a Problem When The Problem Is Anticipated By The CCS Resource:

1. Error in the infrastructure reported by the CCS resource 2. Problem becomes an unknown error 3. Unknown error is reported to the CHC and recorded in BMC Service Desk Express 4. Unknown error is managed by CCS resource for error control 5. Problem becomes a known error, a known error implies that a workaround has been identified and communicated to the CHC 6. Known error is reported to the CHC and recorded in BMC Service Desk Express 7. Request for change is done by the CCS resource 8. CCS resource finds the infrastructure resolution, a permanent fix is provided to customer and the CHC

3.4 Benefits of Incident Management

1. Reduction of incidents improves quality of service 2. Proactive problem resolution 3. Increase faith in IT organization 4. More effective IT organization as fewer incidents occurs 5. Learning from past experience



4. Getting Started

4.1 Client Workstation Requirements

The following are the workstation hardware, operating system, and browser requirements

Hardware Pentium III or equivalent 500 MHz 512 MB RAM

Operating system Select one of the following setups: Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4 Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2

Browser Select one of the following browsers: Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1 Netscape Communicator 7.1 (for Self Service Desk and BMC Service Desk Express Client Services)

• Make sure you have access to the URL for BMC Services Desk Express. The default is http://137.122.14.157/sde/

• Make sure you have the logon ID and password for BMC Service Desk Express. You will also need to know to which groups you belong and what permissions are associated with those groups.

4.2 Logging To BMC Service Desk Express

Each staff member that uses BMC Service Desk Express has a unique personnel information profile that specifies important information the system uses for various purposes. The login id and password are created by the System Administrator.

Default passwords are ‘magic’.

The password can be modified

from the Staff Availability

module.

Groups When you log in, you do so as a

member of a group. The system administrator or

group administrator defines the properties of the

group when he or she sets it up.

These include:

Ø Access permissions

Ø Who is in the group

Ø Which screens are accessible to view or

change

Ø The look and content of individual displays.

http://137.122.14.157/sde/



One can be a member of more than one group. A list of groups of which you are a member, based on your user

ID, is presented in the Group field in the login window. Once you have logged in to a particular group, you have

the rights and limitations assigned to that group.

Please note that in order to better utilize licenses, your BMC Service Desk Express connection will be cancelled

after 30 minutes of idle time and you will have to login again.

4.2.1 To Change Your Password, Availability And Notification Information

Under the System Administration module select Staff Availability to change your password and your

availability information.

Note: Magic Service Desk uses concurrent licenses; CCS has made provisions of many licenses for all CCS and their partners. Due to the high cost of the licenses, the licenses bought are kept to a minimum. Measures were taken to ensure proper use of the system. For that reason, Magic users are asked to log off the system when not in use. Magic will log out the user after 30 minutes of inactivity. When logged off, user can use the Staff Availability in order to receive notification when an incident is assigned directly to him/her by selecting the Email box in the When Available section.

4.2.2 To Create A Shortcut On Your Desktop

You can create a shortcut that will automatically launch BMC Service Desk Express.

1. Right click on your desktop. 2. Select New. 3. Select Shortcut. 4. Enter the path of the IE application executable, including the quotation marks. At the end of the path,

append the URL of the BMC Service Desk Express system: http://137.122.14.157/sde/ 5. Enter a name for the shortcut, for example, Launch SDE. 6. Click OK.

4.3 Navigator Bar

The navigator bar appears in the left pane once you log on to BMC Service Desk Express and allows you to access modules and forms within the application. The modules and forms that appear on the navigator bar are controlled by the permissions assigned to your group by the system administrator.

http://137.122.14.157/sde/



Headers are used to group the BMC Service Desk Express modules. You singleclick the downarrow next to the header name to expand and collapse the modules list.

Using the Hide Navigation option

View your selected dashboards using the full screen of the web page using the Hide Navigation option. The Hide Navigation link is located on the top right corner of the home page. You can use it to hide the left navigator bar. Click Show Navigation to return to the view with the left navigator bar.

4.4 Getting Help

Click the Online Help button found in the Support header from the toolbar to display a Help topic for the current module. When Help is displayed, use the Table of Contents in the lefthand pane to access any Help topic. The Help Table of Contents is organized similarly to the default navigator bar. Click the Help Index tab to view a list of Help topics. Search for a topic by entering keywords in the keywords field, then click the Go button.

Note: There may be differences between the original BMC version and our customised version.



5. (NEW!) Working With QuickView And Dashboards

A QuickView query is a request to retrieve information from the BMC Service Desk Express database. You can view a set of predefined queries that are provided outofthebox or create specific queries. With QuickViews, you can use the default QuickView queries or your custom queries to select data from single or multiple modules to display the combined results of the query in one view.

Note: By default you will not be able to view incidents nor work orders assign to you or your group. Therefore, you will have to change the current group. To Change the Enter Group (and Enter Employee) field …

1. Click the upperright dropdown list to Expand Quickview optional filter. 2. Click the Enter Group dropdown list to select the group ID you wish to search. 3. Click Search. 4. Return to the upperright dropdown list to Collapse Quickview optional filter. 5. Click Save.

5.1 Problem Scanner Quickview

The Problem Scanner QuickView is a new out of the box QuickViews that is included in the Incidents subfolder under the Predefined Queries folder. This QuickView scans the system for most recently logged incidents and links with automatic problem identification. Automatic problem identification allows you to track events that occur a certain number of times during a certain time interval. This allows staff to spot trends early in the process and work them through to resolution.

5.2 Quickview Explorer Window

The BMC Service Desk Express application provides the following folders in QuickViews:

Predefined Queries: When you expand this folder, you will see a set of subfolders. Each subfolder includes a set of queries that are provided out of the box.

My Queries: When you expand this folder, you will see all the available queries that you created. Use the minus () or plus (+) signs to expand or collapse the list as required. When you create your own queries, it will appear in the specific folder where you save it.

You can also perform the following tasks from QuickViews Explorer:

Manage your folders: You can create, insert, edit, and delete new folders.

Create and manage queries: You can create a new query using the QuickViews wizard, modify an existing query, delete queries, and copy queries.

Expand and collapse the QuickView optional filter: Use the Expand and Collapse arrows to hide the QuickView selection list, filter criteria and output type options. This allows you to maximize screen output for data.



View ing Query Results Using Quickviews Explorer

You can see the results of your query in a tabular format, calendar view, or chart view from the QuickViews console.

i.e.: To view incidents assigned to your group in a chart format…

1. From Incident Management, click on QuickView s. 2. In the Predefined Query list, click on Incidents and select Incidents assigned to members of my

group. 3. By default this query result will come into view in a table format. 4. To view the query result in a chart format, click on Chart.

Working With Folders In Quickview

You can insert new folders in the tree to help group user queries:

1. Click QuickViews under the Incident Management header on the navigator bar. The QuickViews window appears.

2. Select the folder in the tree where you want to insert a new folder. 3. Move your cursor over Manage Queries, and select I nsert New Folder. The Folder Name window

appears.

4. Enter the name of the folder you want to insert. 5. Click OK. The folder appears in the location you selected

5.3 Inserting Queries

You can insert single or multiple queries in any default query folder that is shipped with the BMC Service Desk Express application and other folders that you create.


2. Select the query folder in the tree where you want to insert a query.



3. Move your cursor over Manage Queries and select Insert existing query into this folder. The Available Queries window appears showing all default queries, queries you created, and queries shared by other users.

4. Scroll the list, and double click the query you want to insert. The QuickViews wizard appears. a. Modify the query if you have permissions to do so. b. Save the query.

5. Click Save on the Available Queries window. The query is inserted in the location you selected.

Note: You cannot modify the predefined queries that are provided with the BMC Service Desk Express application.

5.4 General Information Tab On the Quickviews w izard

The General Information tab in the QuickViews wizard allows you to provide details about your query including the query name, a brief description of the query, the groups and individuals you want to share the query with, and the module to which this query applies.

Note: You can build a query to run on a single module or on multiple modules.

General Information tab – Quickview s w izard

Field Description Name Enter a name for the query. The default is set to My New Query. Description Enter a brief description of the query. Owner From the downdown list select the owner for the current query. Share With From the Share with dropdown list, select if you want to share this query. The following

options are available: • Everyone—Select this option to share the current query with all available groups.

When this item is selected, the list of groups in the Not Shared Groups box is unavailable.

• No One—This is the default. When this option is selected, the current query is not shared with any group, and the list of groups in the Not Shared Groups box is unavailable.

• Groups—Select this option to assign the current query to a selected group or groups. When this option is selected, the list of groups in the Not Shared Groups box is available.

Not SharedGroups

In the Not Shared Groups list box, highlight the groups that should not have access to the current query.

Note: The Not Shared Groups list box is only available when Groups is selected from the Share with list.

• Click the right arrow key to move the selected groups from the Not Shared With list to the Shared With list.

• With a group highlighted in the Shared With list, click the left arrow key to move the group to the Not Shared With list.



Shared Groups This box contains the groups with which you selected to share the current query. If you did not select to share the current query, this box will be empty.

Search Module From the dropdown list, select the module against which you want to perform the current query.

5.5 Working With Dashboards

Dashboards are multiple QuickViews that are available on the BMC Service Desk Express console. With dashboards, you can view a key set of data in one place, allowing you to monitor metrics on a regular basis. Dashboards allow you to create and lay out objects such as tabular query results, calendars, and graphs.

5.6 Creating New Queries Using The Quickviews Wizard

Note: For assistance in creating or adding a new query you may place a request with the CCS manager.

General Information Tab

You can provide details about your query such as the query name or description, using the General Information tab in the QuickView wizard.

To Add A New Query


2. Select a folder from the left pane of the QuickView s wizard and then move your cursor over Manage Queries, and select Create New Query in this Folder. The Step 1: General Information window appears.



Important: The Add New Query command under Manage Queries is only available if your focus is on one of the query folders in the left pane.

Note: There are two ways to navigate through the QuickView s wizard: click Next and Previous at the bottom of each window or click the steps in the navigator bar to move from one step to the next. The information in this section is based on clicking steps in the navigator bar.

3. Enter basic information 4. To define a query for multiple modules, click Advanced. The General Information window appears

with options to select multiple modules against which you can run your query. 5. Select multiple modules to monitor the query results from the different modules. This is optional. 6. Fill in additional information about the query.

Output Tab

The Output tab provides information about the available fields from one or multiple modules you selected to build your query.

Using the Output tab

1. Complete the General Information tab. 2. Click Step 2: Output on the QuickView s wizard. The Output window appears.



3. Complete the following steps: Available Display field: Select the fields you want to display in your output. This is true for

single modules only Selected Display field: Click the rightarrow button to move selected fields from the

Available Display Fields to the Selected Display Fields. These fields display from left to right in the output table in the order they are selected. You can use the up and down arrows to change the order of the fields.

The Output Table provides a visual representation of the final output results.

4. To change the Display Name of a field in the Output table. a. In the Display Name field, enter a new name to change the default field name,

The default name of the selected field appears in the Display Name column. b. If you selected multiple modules, you will see the following window:

c. To move a column to the left or right, select the column and then click Move Left or Move Right.

Note: You can do so only if you are working with more than one module.

d. To insert a new column or remove an existing column, click Insert Column or Remove Column respectively.

Note: You can do so only if you are working with more than one module.

e. To move a row up or down, select Move Up or Move Down respectively.

5. Fill in additional information about the query.



Conditions Tab

The Conditions tab provides information about the conditions you will define to build your query and also defines the set of conditions or criteria that must be satisfied before you can filter a record against the query.

To specify the conditions of your query

1. Complete the Output tab. 2. Click on Step 3: Conditions. The Conditions window will appear

3. Click New Condition to add a condition to your query. a. From the Field list, select the field that you want to include in your condition. b. From the Conditional Operator list, select the operator you want to use to compare the

value in the Field dropdown list and the Values box. c. Select the P rompt At Runtime check box to prompt for the value that you want to use in the

Value box at run time. d. In the Values box, type the value you want to use to compare the value in the Field drop

down list with using the conditional operator.

Note: If you select the Prompt At Runtime check box, the Values box is replaced by the Label box. In this case, type the label in the Label box for the Value box that appears at run time.

e. In the Logical Operator dropdown list, select the logical operator you want to use to join multiple conditional expressions.

Note: The logical operator is enabled when you have multiple conditions.

f. Click the Advanced button to provide complex expressions for your query. g. From the Field list, select a field and click Paste to add it to the Expression builder box.

Note: If the Enable option is selected in the Scripting section of your Internet browser security settings, you will get a confirmation message asking whether you want to paste information from your clipboard. Click Yes.

h. From the Operators and Functions list, select a function for your expression and click Paste to add it to the Expression builder box.

4. Fill in additional information about the query.



Formatting Tab

The Formatting tab allows you to specify the format for your query. This tab contains the Table view, the Calendar view, and the Chart view.

To specify the formatting options 1. Complete the Conditions tab. 2. Click Next to move to Step 4: Formatting. The Formatting window appears with the Table tab as the

active tab.

Note: Each column in the Table tab corresponds to the properties of each output field.

3. Enter the following information in the Table tab: a. Specify the column width for the output format of the query for each field that you selected. b. Select the Enable wrapping check box to make the text wrap into multiple lines. c. To change the sort order, use the following steps:

From the Sort Order list, select the order you want to sort the output. In Sort Direction, select ascending or descending

4. Click Advanced on the Table tab to specify additional formatting options. You can specify the formatting for multiple modules that you selected.

a. Select the field for which you want to specify the display settings. b. From the Operator list, select the operator. c. In the Value field, specify a value for the query output format. d. Click the Background color icon to select the background color for your query that will

appear in the calendar cell. e. Click the Text color icon to select the text color or your query that will appear in the calendar

cell. f. From the Text Attribute section, select Bold, Italic, Blink, or all three options for your query

that will appear in the calendar cell. 5. Click the Calendar tab.

a. Select Show on Calendar to specify if the date and time field that you have chosen in Step 2: Output is used in the calendar view.

b. From the Display dropdown list, select a field that will be visible in the Calendar cell. c. In the Color Code list, specify a background color for the calendar cell. d. In the Symbol Code field, specify a symbol for 508 compatibility, for example, O for Open

date. 6. Click the Chart tab to configure the settings related to the chart view of the query. 7. In the Chart Display Settings section, enter the following information:

a. Chart Field—Select the field that will be used as the grouping field on your chart.



b. Chart Type—Select the type of chart that you want to appear for your query results. c. Value Type—Select the value that you want to appear for the query, for example, numeric

value. 8. In the Sorting section, enter the sort order of your query results. 9. In the Limit Lines section, enter the following information:

a. Upper—Select the upper limit for your chart values b. Lower—Select the lower limit for your chart values

Preview Tab

The Preview tab allows you to view the query you created. You can go back and modify your query at this stage.

To preview a query 1. Click Step 5: P review. The Preview window appears.

2. Review the output fields including the overall look and feel of the results for your query. 3. If you want to make a change, you can go back to any step on the navigator bar of the QuickView

wizard and modify the output information for your query. 4. Fill in additional information about the query.

Launch Tab

You can specify the form that will be used to launch the results of the query.

1. Click Step 6: Launch.



2. For each module you selected, specify the form to use for your query. 3. Review the query name, conditions, output, and sort order information for your query.

Review and Save Tab

1. Save the Query. 2. Click Step 7: Review / Save. The QuickViews window shows the query you just added.

You have finished creating a query using the QuickViews wizard.



Exporting Data From Quickviews

You can export the results of your query to an Excel, Word, or any other application. You can then modify the data in the specific application.

To export your query results 1. From the QuickView s Explorer, select the query that you want to print. 2. Click the Print P review icon. The QuickViews Print Preview window appears. 3. Select either All Query results or Details of selected tickets. Click Ok.

4. Rightclick on the Print P review window and choose Select All. 5. Rightclick and select Copy. 6. Open the application to which you want to export the data, for example, Microsoft Excel. 7. Select Edit > Paste to paste the data into the selected application. 8. Click Save.

5.7 Dashboards

You can view default dashboards that you have access to.

Note: The default dashboards are not editable the same way you can edit default forms and navigator bars. However, you can copy a default dashboard, make changes to it, and then assign it to a specific group.

The following default dashboards are provided out of the box with the default queries to be used:

Dashboards Queries My Work • My Work My Work by Module • My incidents—Displayed in tabular format,

showing a list of Incidents assigned to the individual support staff.

• My work orders—Displayed in a chart view, showing all the work orders assigned to the individual support staff.

• Incidents assigned to members of my group— Displayed in a chart view, showing all the incidents assigned to members in my group.

You can view a dashboard just by logging in to BMC Service Desk Express.



Creating A Dashboard

You can create a dashboard if you have the permission to do so.

To create a dashboard 1. Click Open Dashboard Manager from the Dashboard toolbar. The Dashboard Manager window

appears.

2. In the Dashboard Name field, enter a name for your dashboard. 3. Click Save. 4. Select the dashboard you just created and click Sw itch To to see the new dashboard. Click Ok.

Note: You will continue to see the default dashboard if you do not switch to the new dashboard you created.

The dashboard you create is empty. You must add one or more QuickViews to your dashboard.

Adding QuickViews To Your Dashboard

You can add one or more QuickViews to your dashboard.

Important: Adding more than three QuickViews to your dashboard can slow performance.

1. Create a dashboard. 2. From the Dashboard toolbar, click Add QuickView to Dashboard. The QuickView window appears

on the selected dashboard.



3. You can add a new query or use an existing query. 4. Modify the size and location of the QuickView within your dashboard. 5. To change the refresh rate of the QuickView within your dashboard, specify a time in the Refresh field

and click Apply. 6. Click Save to save the new view of your dashboard.

Saving A Dashboard

You can customize the dashboard by adding QuickViews that you use often and then saving the dashboard. Check with your system administrator to see if you have permissions to do this.

1. Click Save Dashboard. The Save Default Dashboard As window appears. 2. Enter the name of your dashboard and click OK. You will see the dashboard you just created. You can

now modify the QuickViews on your dashboard.

Sw itching Dashboards

You can switch from one dashboard to another if you have the permissions to do so.

1. From the Dashboard Manager, select the dashboard you want to switch to and click Sw itch To. The dashboard you switched to appears with no QuickViews. You can now add one or more QuickViews to your dashboard. Click Ok.

Copying A Dashboard

You can copy an existing dashboard if you have the permissions to do so.

1. Click Open Dashboard Manager. The Dashboard Manager window appears. 2. Select the dashboard that you want to copy. 3. Click Copy to New. The Copy Dashboard window appears.



4. Enter the new name for your dashboard and click OK. The dashboard is added to the list of dashboards. You can now switch to the dashboard you created.

Renaming A Dashboard

You can rename an existing dashboard if you have the permissions to do so.

1. Click Open Dashboard Manager. The Dashboard Manager window appears. 2. Select the dashboard that you want to rename. 3. Click Rename. The Dashboard window appears. 4. Enter the new name of the dashboard and click OK. The dashboard with the new name appears in the

list of dashboards.

Deleting A Dashboard

You can delete a dashboard if you have the permissions to do so.

1. Click Open Dashboard Manager. The Dashboard Manager window appears. 2. Select the dashboard that you want to delete. 3. Click Delete. A confirmation message window appears. 4. Click Yes to confirm.

Working With The QuickView Pane On Your Dashboard

You can change the size and properties of the QuickView panes to display in your dashboard. Every time you log in to the BMC Service Desk Express application, you will see your dashboard with the QuickViews you have created.

To change the QuickView display

1. Log in to the BMC Service Desk Express console. 2. From the dashboard, select the QuickView you want to modify. 3. Click Views and select one of the following options:

4. Click Save.



Removing A QuickView From A Dashboard

You can remove a QuickView from a dashboard if you have the permissions to do so.

1. Select the QuickView that you want to remove from your dashboard. 2. Click the Close button on the QuickView. You will get a confirmation message. 3. Click OK. 4. Click Save. The QuickView has been permanently removed from the dashboard.

Note: If you remove a QuickView from the dashboard, but do not click Save, your changes will not take effect.



6. General Information on Accessing Records

Information is organized by unique ID fields, many of which you assign when entering information. For example, clients have Client IDs, departments have Faculty, service IDs, support activities have Action IDs, and so forth. CCS has created their own ID scheme, ID fields consists of student number or employee number. The program does not generate them automatically.

Because the database can become quite large overtime, BMC Service Desk Express offers a useful feature: the Active and Inactive options contained on the Select From window. Records marked as inactive are not included in any search performed on the database. The builtin flexibility of BMC Service Desk Express allows you to search for active, inactive, or both types of records.

6.1 DropDown Data Lists

BMC Service Desk Express provides many convenient methods for finding the information you need. You can fill a field or multiple fields from an existing data base record by clicking a pulldown list button next to the field. This opens a data list. Doubleclick a line to select a particular item from the list. All the pertinent information in that record is applied to the current form.

6.2 Detail Frames

At the bottom of many forms, there are detail frames. Detail frames are data lists that display information from a database record related to the data displayed on the current form. You must use a mouse to select or edit a database record from a detail frame. Doubleclick a data line to view or change the underlying database record. Where applicable, you can rightclick from tab to access a context menu that lets you create and delete records.

6.3 Searching Techniques

6.3.1 Find

When you create a record from any form window within BMC Service Desk Express, that record is stored in the database. To run a find all query, click the Find button on the toolbar to display all records in the database for the current form. For example, if you are on the Incident window, the find all query opens a window that lists all incident records created in the system. If you are on the Clients window, the find all query lists all client records created in the system.

6.3.2 Find All Toolbar Button

Find All displays all records for the current context. For example, if you are in the Incident window, Find All lists all the Incident tickets by problem number. If you are in the Clients window, Find All lists all clients by Client ID.

About Find All and Group Data Access: The records that display using this selection depends on how your System or Group Administrator has defined all records for your group's view of the Incident master table. Find All only displays data appropriate to your group.

6.3.3 Query By Toolbar Button

Query By lets you search for records filtered by the field values that you have already entered on a form. For example, if on the Clients window you have already filled in the Faculty, service ID, clicking Query By lists only the Client IDs that have the same Faculty, service ID.

Hint: Hit clear before doing a « Query By ».



6.4 Searching For Text

Many BMC Service Desk Express modules have large text fields, for example, the Incident Description and Resolution fields on the Incident and Work Orders forms. These fields can be used to search for finding records containing a specific word or phrase. The system will find records that contain the exact word in the exact position you have specified.

Search button: The search button on the toolbar lets you search for information in the system based on criteria you enter in the search fields on a form. For example, if you are on the Incident window and type the letter D in the Last Name box, the search feature opens a window that lists all clients in the data base with a last name starting with D.

As a convenience, you can use wildcard characters % and _ (underscore) in these fields. The % wildcard represents 0 or more characters. For example, if you enter A% , the system will find all records that contain an A followed by 0 or more characters. The _ wildcard represents any single character. For example, _n matches in, on, an, and so on.

Select (highlight) certain portions of the text, or find records that have a partial matching value in the selected field. For example, if a text field contains WORD 6.0 Printing Problems, you can select Word 6.0 to find all other calls containing WORD 6.0 in the text field (so that you can see all problems related to WORD 6.0).

Incremental searches: BMC Service Desk Express provides an incremental search feature on all data lists. This feature allows you to quickly refine search results to the exact records you want. It is similar to a search within a

search.



7. First Contacts With The Customer

All types of interactions, incidents and requests with the customers are logged using BMC Service Desk Express ( http://137.122.14.157/sde/) by the CHC.

7.1 Introduction

7.1.1 Why Have The CHC As First Contact?

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT is the method by which the first level service (CHC) will greet clients, collect initial information, troubleshoot and attempt to resolve the issue at initial contact, or escalate the client request to CCS resources as required.

This is the key element of harmonized support practices, and is the foundation for requesting assistance and reporting problems to CCS.

7.1.2 What Do Customers Want…

Specification – they want to know, up front, what they are going to get. The problem in the delivery of IT services is that Customers frequently don’t know what they want; the CHC helps translate their business requirements into solutions.

Conformance to specification – once the appropriate IT solution has been found then it should conform to the specification. Customers want to know when they receive it and should be satisfied that it will fulfil their business requirement.

Consistency – they want it to be the same every time they come back for more.

Value – the price they pay (tuition or service agreement) should be a fair one for the product or service they receive.

Communication – they want to be told what they are getting, when, how and what to do if they have a problem with it.

What the CHC provides to the Customer…

• Logging and understanding the technical nature of the difficulty at the first point of contact

• Responding in line with the urgency stated by the Customer

• Keeping the Customer informed of what will happen, when – and keeping the promise

• Carrying out the work with the minimum level of disruption in a cheerful and professional manner

The CHC staff is trained and are evaluated by CCS and the Customer in accordance with those standards. Getting the job done in accordance with the Customers’ expectations, correctly, first time, actually saves the cost of a potential repeat interaction.

http://137.122.14.157/sde/



7.1.3 CHC Performance Indicators

• Customer satisfaction/loyalty • Cost per contact • Errors and rework/handled on first contact • Actual to forecasted workload • Average handling time • Average value of contact

7.1.4 How Do Customers Find Your Coordinates?

It is easy for a customer to get your coordinates even if they do not know you, either through business associates or just the Web. Some customers, not knowing the benefits of a centralized unit, will try to get their answers through other channels. Those customers will often have more interactions with more staff than by using the centralized unit. It is up to the individuals to clearly state the benefits of a centralized service.

7.1.5 Examples Of What We Want Our Customers To Avoid…

Hi Dave, I bought this machine a few weeks ago and it’s doing some… Hey Denis, yes I think Jim can help you out his number is …

Jim, Dave gave me your number, I bought this machine a few weeks ago and it’s doing… Denis, I think Marc can give you a hand with this, his number is…

Marc, I got your number from Jim, I bought this machine a few weeks ago and it’s doing… Sorry Bob, I have no idea on how to help you with that one. Have you talked to Dave?

7.1.6 Examples Of What We Want To Avoid Doing…

In the morning, Denis sends an email to Dave with his question. Dave starts working at the problem… During lunch, Denis sees Jim in the hallway and asks him the same question. Jim starts working at the problem… In the afternoon, Denis still has no response and calls Marc. Marc starts working at the problem…

7.1.7 How Do I Do This?

When a client contacts you directly by phone, you may take a minute and explain the benefits of calling a centralized service. It is up to each individual to ensure the contact is well done with the CHC for the Customers’ sake.

1. Tell the Customer you are transferring the call to the CHC. • Stay on the line, tell the Analyst at the CHC that you are transferring the call and what the Customer wants. • The Analyst will introduce himself or herself to the Customer and repeat the information received as a confirmation and will go on with the business at hand.

2. Tell the Customer an Analyst from the CHC will call him or her back. • Call the CHC and transfer all information about the Customer and incident. • The Analyst will call back the Customer; repeat the information received as a confirmation and will go on with the business at hand.



When a client contacts you by email, reply to the Customer that you are transferring the request to the CHC. Here is an example of what you may want to reply the Customer with a CC to the Computing Help Centre at [email protected]:

Thank you Mr. Xxxxx, I have received your request. The Computing Help Centre will be able to help you with this request; I have forwarded your email so that it may be processed.

To get the fastest and best possible services, consider using the Computing Help Centre’s • online help form (http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos) • telephone at 5625800 extension 6555 for emergencies.

7.2 When the Resource Becomes the First Contact

Some resources may decide to go ahead with doing the initial contact with the customer, because they will bring some added value for the customer. When an analyst or IT Rep is already at the client site, the client may wish to report another incident. When that intermediary gets valuable information from a client, the resource will go ahead and enter the incident in BMC Service Desk Express and resolve the incident or will assign the incident to the appropriate group. The resource may wish to communicate with the CHC if he or she is uncertain of the group responsible for resolving the incident. The resource may wish to assign the incident to the HelpLine group with appropriate details.

The incident needs to be entered in BMC Service Desk Express; the person interacting with the customer will enter the information using BMC Service Desk Express. The CHC then does not intervene in the documentation of the first contact. Being a third party to the interaction the CHC brings no added value to the interaction.

If the incident needs intervention from the CHC for resolution, then the CHC will go ahead and document their part of the interaction.

7.3 Entering Incidents To BMC Service Desk Express

When a customer contacts CCS, the CHC verifies client information and updates client database using the Incidents Window. If the incident has not been logged already, the analyst will go ahead and log the incident using BMC Service Desk Express features such as the Create Incident Call or Create Incident From Quick Ticket.

It is crucial that all interactions are recorded to BMC Service Desk Express; the information gathered in BMC Service Desk Express is used for • assessing knowledge of CCS resources and of the University community • providing meaningful training to CCS resources and to the University community • providing meaningful documentation to CCS resources and to the community • planning support resources • providing improvements to the tools CCS provides to CCS resources and to the community • providing improvement to the services CCS provides to the community • managing customer expectations • developing service agreements to improve IT services to specific groups • producing management information on support activities • planning for the future



7.3.1 Client Management Module

The Clients module lets you create, modify, and delete client records. Client records are used in many modules of the system. It is accessible from the Clients module or from the Incident Monitor Window under the Client Information Icon.

There is a substantial set of query techniques you can use to locate a particular client record.

To locate a particular client record, you w ill start w ith the information you know.

Example 1: You know the Client's Name

1. From the left navigation bar, click Client Management. 2. Click Clients. The client window will appear. 3. Click the Find toolbar button. This opens a data list with all client records that are available for viewing

by your group. 4. Doubleclick the Last Name column header. This sorts the list alphabetically by ascending last name.

This also makes Last Name the selection criteria field. 5. Enter a last name in the Sorted By field and click Search. The system will do an incremental search

and display the selected client's data in the popup window. 6. Doubleclick the client's line to select the record.



Creating a client record

In the client record you will find details about the client and incidents associated with the client. If a client’s record has not been created yet CHC staff can create it.

1. From the left navigation bar, click Client Management. 2. Click Clients. The U_Ottawa Client window will appear. 3. In the Client Information section, enter details.

Note: The standard for client ID is: S000000 for student and E0000 for employees.

4. Select the Automatically display comments when opening the Incident check field if you want a Client Comments window to appear when an incident with the current client assigned is opened. Any comments assigned to the client appear in the Client Comments window.

5. Click Save.

Modifying a client record

You can modify a client record if you have the permission to do so.

1. From the left navigation bar, click Client Management. 2. Click Clients. The Client window will appear. 3. Click the Find toolbar button. The Clients window will appear. 4. Doubleclick the record you want to modify. The uOttawa Client window will reappear filled with data

from the record you selected. 5. Modify the information you want to change in the record. 6. Click Save.

Note: CHC Helpdesk staff will not have the authority to delete client records neither will they have the authority to manage faculty and service or organisational unit records.

7.3.1.1 Tracking Client History

There are two ways to track a client history detail from the uOttawa Incident window…

1. Open a new incident, select the client and click on the Client Information / History icon. 2. Notice that by default, BMC will list Opened incidents for the client.

OR

1. Click on Clients from the Client Management section on the Navigation Bar and enter client’s information.

2. Notice that by default, BMC will list Opened incidents for the client.

7.3.2 UO_Incident Window

From the Incident Management module select Create Incidents. The uOttawa Incident window will appear. You may select the client by entering the Client ID or the Last Name and press enter. Then select the client by doubleclicking on the record. Input all data related to the Incident: Method Call Received, Incident Summary, Incident Resolution…



7.3.3 Details Of Customer Interactions

The Subject field in BMC Service Desk Express ensures supported items, nonsupported items, computing requests, requests for information, questions, complaints, comments are logged by subject category.

Note the preferred language of the Client in the Client Information section. BMC Service Desk Express will use this information to send email notifications in the Client’s preferred language.

The Incident Summary is a summary of the incident: the symptoms of the client reported by the client. It should be clear, concise and free from errors. The incident description is a searchable item under the SIR Search and Knowledge Search for BMC Service Desk Express users and in a later phase to CCS customers. It should not be left blank. Always check the preferred language of the customer, the email sent by BMC Service Desk Express will be in the preferred language only. You can verify this information in the top section of the incident called Client Information and answer your client in the same language as BMC Service Desk Express.

The incident Summary and Resolution are your communication with the client and should not include administrative details. The resolution should not include administrative details and should not be left blank. Match the Client’s preferred language in the Summary and Resolution.



Correct spelling will make later searches of your database using SIR more accurate and will return better results.

The analyst will use the Severity information to determine with the customer the urgency level assigned to the incident.

All details related to the incident are saved in the Incident Details section of the ticket.

7.3.4 Incident Fields

Toolbar

Find Shows a list of problems sorted by Incident Numbers. You can select an incident from this list.

Clear (Reset Form) Clears all the fields in the Incident window.

Save Saves the content of the Incident window in the database. Ctrl + S will also save the record.

With BMC Service Desk Express, you can spell check text you type in a multiline box on a form using the spelling checker feature.

1. Open a new or existing form.

2. Type information into one or more textentry boxes.

3. Click Spell Check on the toolbar. (If there are misspellings, the Check Spelling window appears.)

4. Select an action for each misspelling from the column of buttons on the righthand side. (When you are finished, the Check Spelling window closes, and the Spelling Check Complete window appears.)

5. Click OK

Because the contents of the Incident Summary and Resolution fields will become part of your historical database and an important resource for solving future incidents carefully check the contents of your entries for accuracy, including spelling.

Note: The spelling checker is limited to simple misspellings; it does not include grammar or thesaurus features. You may do a more complete spell check by pasting your text in a MS word document or using the online dictionaries available at http://www.biblio.uottawa.ca/lnxliste.php?sec=1&spec=54

http://www.biblio.uottawa.ca/lnx-list-e.php?sec=1&spec=54



Delete Delete this record from the database.

Print Preview The Crystal Report Viewer displays an Incident detail report for the selected record.

Incident Customized Toolbar Button

Can be added to your form by your administrator.

Help Displays online help.

Previous Record Displays the previous record.

Next Record Displays the next record.

MENU COMMANDS

Assign To

Support Staff Assigns the ticket to a support staff member.

Group Assigns the ticket to a group.

Member Of My Group Assigns the ticket to a member of your logon group.

Myself Assigns the ticket to you.

Clear Assign To Clears the current assignment.

Actions

Close Displays a popup that prompts you to enter Closing Data

Reopen Call Opens a previously closed ticket.

Increment Call Counter Increments the call counter in the current window.

Create Incident From Recurring

Uses information stored in a Recurring ticket to populate fields for recurring incidents.

Start Clock

Restarting the clock on an incident allows the duration of an incident to restart on an incident that has been placed on hold. Additionally, this action recalculates the due date (if an Urgency is linked to this record), and restarts any business rules associated with this incident that are awaiting processing in the Job Queue. Starting the clock updates the record with a systemgenerated action line stating that the clock has been started with the start time.

Stop Clock

Stopping the clock on an Incident places the duration of an incident on hold. This feature will allow users to keep Job Queue processor (escalations) from executing the rules in the job queue when an incident is on hold. In addition, the due date will be placed on hold, and recalculated. Stopping the clock updates the record with a systemgenerated action line stating that the clock has been stopped with the stop time. Stopping the clock recalculates the Due Date (if an Urgency is linked to the record). Any notifications that may be sent based on this incident will be processed when the clock is restarted. If your administrator has added a duration field to your Incident form, the duration will not include any time period during which the record has been stopped.

Rightclick on the appropriate tab to invoke additional menu commands.

Tab Actions

Incident Attachments Add Attachment

Delete Attachment

Incident Details Add New Incident Details



Tabs

Incident Details

Displays each action taken to resolve the current Incident. When an "Add Action" command is issued (by selecting the Incident Details tab and rightclicking in the Incident Details frame) or an "Assign To" command is issued, that action is appended to Incident Details when the record is saved. Use Incident Details to view the status of a record.

Incident Attachments The Attachments tab displays any files associated with an Incident. Attachments can be added either via the Attachment tab or through email. You cannot launch .exe and .bat extensions because of security implications.

Client ID Used to retrieve a client record, by entering a valid Client ID or by using the Select Client ID button and selecting a record from the Clients Popup window.

Phone # Used to retrieve a client record, by entering a valid telephone number or by using the Select Client Phone Number button and selecting a record from the Clients Popup window.

Ext. Used to retrieve a client record, by entering a valid telephone extension or by using the Select Client Phone Extension button and selecting a record from the Clients Popup window.

Name A readonly field that displays the first and last name of a client.

Faculty, service ID A unique alphanumeric identifier for the Faculty, service. Select a Faculty, service name from the Faculty, service Popup window.

Faculty, service Description

A readonly field that displays the Faculty, service description when the Faculty, service ID is selected.

Department ID A unique alphanumeric identifier for the department. Select a department name from the Department Popup window.

Department Description A readonly field that displays the department description when the Department ID is selected.

Subject ID A unique alphanumeric identifier for the subject. Select a support subject from the Support Subjects by Description Popup window.

Subject Description A readonly field that displays the subject description when the Subject ID is selected.

Incident Information

Incident Display Filter Filters tickets by client, Faculty, service, subject, or department.

Status Radio Buttons Allow the user to view open or closed calls, or both (Active/Inactive or Both).

Sorted By Query Doubleclick the column to sort by, and enter characters in the field. Click the ReQuery button to narrow down the previous search results.

Ticket Grid A table of tickets that match the specified criteria.

Toolbar

Refresh Updates the Incident information frame and the selected tab.

Clear Clears all of the information from all fields.

KeyWord Filter Filters the list of calls (if the user enters a keyword in the notepad) by searching for that text in the Incident description field of the calls displayed.

Link White Board Links the selected incident ticket to a white board notice.

Unlink White Board Unlinks the selected incident ticket from a white board notice.

Client View Opens the Clients module so that the user can create a new client, or modify client

http://demo.sceptreabs.com/webdemo/Help//23H.htm

http://demo.sceptreabs.com/webdemo/Help//45H.htm



information.

Help Displays online help for Incident Monitor.

7.3.5 Opening a Simple Incident

The following example demonstrates how to open a new call for a simple incident.

1. Select Incident Management from the navigator bar. 2. Click on Create Incidents. 3. Type the Client ID and click Enter. Select the client from the Client ID list. The client information fields

are automatically filled in on the Incident window. 4. If this is a new client, you must first create a client record with the client's name, address, and other

pertinent information. To create a client record, click on Create New Client icon on the incident and fill in the Clients form. Save the new client record and close the window.

5. To ensure no duplicate request is already saved in the problem management system, verify the Incident tab from the uOttawa Client Information form.

6. Enter the Received by section. 7. Click the dropdown arrow of the Subject field to display the support subject tree. Select the subject

that matches the client's description of the problem. You can click a book icon to expand the support subject tree. To view a subject's standard description and standard resolution data, highlight the support subject.

8. When you have located the subject you want, click OK. The subject is copied to the uOttawa Incident form.

9. Enter the Urgency section. 10. If no standard description was selected, enter a description as detailed by the client in Summary

section. 11. When you have finished entering all the information, click Save to save your work. 12. You can add additional information to the problem description at any time. Right click in the I ncident

Description section, click the Add New Incident Details and type in the details of the problem reported by the client.

See Closing the Incident for information about providing a fix to customers. When known errors have been identified and communicated to the CHC, the CHC will go ahead and close the incident. The customer will receive an email notification confirming that the incident is resolved.

7.3.6 Incrementing The Call Counter On An Incident

The call counter tracks the number of times a client has called about the same incident.

To implement the call counter on an incident 1. Click Modify / View Incidents under the I ncident Management header on the navigator bar. The

Incidents window will appear. 2. Click Find. The Select From Incidents window will appear. 3. Doubleclick the record to which you want to add a call counter. The Incident window reappears and fills

in with data from the selected incident record. 4. On the Actions menu, click Increment Call Counter. The system increments the current number in the

User called [#] times box by 1.

Note: You will be able to see the increment call counter on the Modify / View Incidents window only.

5. Click Save.

7.3.7 Saving the Incident

Saving the incident:

• Generates a problem number (listed in the upper righthand corner)

• Sets the call count (#) to 1



• Enters the date and time when the call was opened

In addition, two systemgenerated actions are added to the Help Desk Details section. The first action shows the date and time and who opened the call. The second shows that the call was automatically assigned to the staff member who opened it.

Upon saving the incident, an automatic email is sent to the customer. BMC Service Desk Express will send the French or English version of the correspondence depending on the preferred language of the customer saved in the Client Information:

De : [email protected] À : [email protected] Envoyé : xxxxx Objet : Avis d’ouverture (XXXXXX)

Bonjour Chantal,

Merci de votre demande. Voici votre numéro de référence: 173869.

Voici la description de l’incident: « »

N’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous pour tout renseignement complémentaire.

Recevez nos salutations distinguées.

Chantal StOnge Centre d'assistance informatique, Services à la clientèle Service de l'informatique et des communications http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos (613)5625800 poste 6555

******************************************* * Assistance informatique: http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos * Changement de mot de passe: http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca * Heures d'ouverture: http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/heures.html

Here’s the English version of the correspondence:

Hello Chantal,

Thank you for your request. Your reference number is: 173869.

The incident description is: « »

Don’t hesitate to contact us should you need any additional information.

Sincerely,

Chantal StOnge Computing Help Centre, Client Services Computing and Communications Services http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos (613)5625800 poste 6555

******************************************* * Computing Help: http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos * Password Changes: http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca * Business Hours: http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/heures.html

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/heures.html



Note that BMC Service Desk Express automatically assigns your signature to the email.

The incident is resolved when the normal service operations are restored and the users are back online.

7.3.8 Changing the status of an incident

During the life cycle of an incident, clients might not return your telephone calls, or you might need to order parts for an incident or work order. In those cases, you can change the status of the incident to Pending, Waiting Clients, Waiting Parts or Scheduled depending on the situation.

7.3.9 Incident Details Window

The Incident Details window can be accessed from a ticket window by first clicking on the Incident Details tab, and then doubleclicking on the desired entry in the actions frame at the bottom of the form. The Actions frame can be found on many standard windows including Incident, Clients, Companies, and others.

Details entered in this section will serve to inform CCS resources of the incident detection and related information regarding initial and subsequent support information. The details section is your communication with other IT resources using BMC Service Desk Express. Please ensure all details are entered in the details section that is where we look for the important discoveries and research information. The details section is very important for keeping the customer informed on the status of their work.

About Incident Details

The Actions frame at the bottom of the Incident window displays details about the progress and status of a call. Each action is displayed as a single line.

BMC Service Desk Express displays two kinds of actions:

• Systemgenerated actions

• Usergenerated actions

Select a radio button (top left of the Actions frame) to display User actions, System actions, or All actions.

SystemGenerated Actions

Systemgenerated actions are inserted by the system to track changes in status or other system activity related to the call. For example, actions are added by the system when the call is opened, assigned, and closed.

UserGenerated Actions

Usergenerated actions are inserted by the support staff member working on the call to record the steps in the problemsolving process. Usergenerated actions can be used for the following purposes:

• To record information about the status of the incident. For example, create an Action to indicate that you called the client back and left a voice mail message or that you placed a phone call to a service vendor.

• To record a step in the problemsolving process for audit trail purposes. For example, create an Action to indicate that you checked the AUTOEXEC.BAT or that you told the client to reboot the machine.



Opening Help Desk Details from the Actions Frame

1. You must first save the incident

2. Rightclick in the Incident Details.

3. Click Add New Incident Details.

4. Select Action ID that is most suited for your details.

5. Type all the information related to the incident.

6. Click Ok.



Modifying AN INCIDENT Detail

You may find that you want to modify a standard usergenerated action description or duration. To do this:

1. From the UO_Incident module. 2. In the Details frame at the bottom of the form, select the Incident Details tab. 3. Select a line and doubleclick to open the Incident Details form. 4. Make modifications as desired and click Save.

7.3.10 Add Attachment Window

The Add Attachment window displays the problem number assigned to the current Incident ticket and a readonly field for the name of the attachment file.

To Attach a File:

1. In the Navigation bar, click the I ncident module. 2. Right click on the Incident Attachment tab and select Add Attachment. 3. Click the Browse button. 4. Select a file from the Choose file dialog. 5. Click the Open button to attach the selected file. The path and file are now displayed in the

Attachment file field. 6. Click the Save button to complete the process.

Note: The attachment file size is limited to 1.5 MB. This feature is not available for files that exceed this limitation.

Note: When adding an attachment to an incident, add a note in the incident details to notify user that an attachment was added.

To Delete an Attachment:

1. In the Navigation bar, click the I ncident tab. 2. Right click on the Incident Attachment tab and select Delete Attachment. 3. Select the file you want to delete. 4. Click OK.

7.4 Search Know ledge Base

The system uses advanced technology previously available only in research or fulltext retrieval systems. SIR uses statistically ranked retrieval algorithms based on Invert Document Frequency, Vector Space Model, and Shannon's Information Theory. SIR does not require the user to know the database's internal structure. BMC Service Desk Express users simply enter unstructured text or even single words into the Incident Description field of the SIR search window. SIR not only finds exact matches, but also similar words or words in context. The system incorporates fuzzy search, which can find words based on a common root. SIR does not require predefined keys or fields.

Once the text has been entered, a natural language lexical analyzer processes the user request and passes the results to the search engine.

In this manner, the system can easily distinguish between a call that primarily pertains to networks but also refers to printers and a call that pertains to printers but also mentions networks.

During the query processing stage, the system computes the importance, or weight factor of each word appearing in the user's query (the incident description). The system disregards unimportant words contained in a



stopword list. The weight or importance of the remaining words is determined by the number of occurrences of the word in the incident description, and the number of occurrences relative to the entire database.

The system finds all references with the relevant information, then performs content analysis and computes the weighted relevance of each instance. All retrieved search results are sorted and presented to the user in the order of their similarity to the initial query.

One of the main benefits of using SIR is the speed with which your help desk analysts can search the call database in the Incident module, external documents, and third party knowledge bases – all with a single query. The search engine retrieves information from all of the knowledge bases currently online.

Another benefit is the automatic creation of a powerful knowledge base of calls that are entered into the Incident and resolved by help desk analysts. The task of SIR is to provide fast access to this database, as well as other knowledge bases and documentation, with an intuitive and flexible search mechanism that is easy to maintain.

7.4.1 Know ledge Search Window

Knowledge Search provides access to the Statistical Information Retrieval (SIR) search engine and one or more databases, including the BMC Service Desk Express database.

7.4.2 Performing A Know ledge Search

1. Under the Incident Management module, select Know ledge Search to open the SIR search window. 2. Enter a query in your own words. SIR will find the best match in the available data sources.

Note: SIR uses a natural language, lexical analyzer to search for words in a query. It disregards such words as "and," "but," "the," "as," and "a". SIR is nonBoolean so quotation marks are not needed around words or



3. Click the Submit button to begin the search. When the search is complete, the results will be displayed on the screen.

Results from your search may be formatted differently for different sources of information. The source of the retrieved information is listed in the Source column on the results screen. BMC Service Desk Express SIR search results (labeled I ncident) are formatted to complement your incident ticket format:

Incident Summary This is the text gleaned from an incident summary. You can copy and paste this text into your Incident ticket or work order.

Incident Resolution This is text gleaned from an incident resolution. You can copy and paste this text into your incident ticket or work order.

Copying Information to an Incident Ticket

You can copy portions of the displayed information and paste them into the Incident Description or Incident Resolution fields in an incident.

For example, to copy information to an incident ticket:

1. Highlight the desired information in the SIR search results window. 2. Click the Copy Solution button.

As a quick reference, knowledge base is also saved by Subject Category. For example, click the Subject button.

Knowledge was saved by category of subjects. CHC manager has access to save information for future use for all groups. In order to make any modifications or additions, send an incident to the Computing Help Centre Manager and they will take care of translation and correct spelling. Please note that the request has to come from GA.



If the Description and/or Resolution fits, highlight the Description and Resolution you want to copy to your incident if there are more than one, then check the boxes as shown above. You can reuse the saved resolution for your customer email notification; it has been copied to your incident. Click OK.



8. (NEW!) Inventory Management

This section gives you the ability to manage both people and assets.

Configurations: Configuration Item is an entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes. The configuration form tracks items or groups of items assigned to a specific client or company. Using the configuration form, you can assign and maintain multiple configurations using an uptodate inventory of all items associated with various clients. A client or company can have multiple configurations. The Configurations module is integrated with many parts of your system, including the Inventory Items, Incidents, Clients, and Work Order modules.

Inventory Catalogs: Inventory catalogs are groups of inventory items with something in common. The inventory catalog contains information about your product line that is used throughout the system and tracks all products in your company’s inventory. The inventory catalog provides general information about products and is linked to the specific item data on the inventory item form.

Inventory Items: Inventory items represent the individual pieces of equipment contained in an inventory catalog. Inventory items track information about the actual items that make up your inventory catalog and the warranties and many other information. You can record each inventory item covered under a contract, the cost, vendor information, and expiration date.

Support staffs can access their inventory data in one of the following ways: • Viewing inventory items organized by part number. • Viewing inventory items grouped by their assignment to a client. • Viewing all information about a specific inventory item.

8.1 Working With Inventory Items

The Inventory Item module tracks specific information about actual items that make up your organization’s equipment inventory.

You can set up and create inventory item records that represent individual pieces of equipment included in an inventory catalog. For example, if you have a catalog for IBM computers, you can create an inventory item for each computer that is owned by your department.

However, as a support staff you will not be responsible for managing inventory items. You will be responsible for items that are related to a client’s request, an incident or work order.

For example, a client may request to have a desktop reformatted. Using the asset management options you will be able to add the specific item along with its information to the incident.

Note: Asset management features will be used for employee accounts only.

8.1.1 Assigning An Inventory Item to An Incident

You may need to add an Inventory Item to a client’s information form. To add an inventory item from an incident form…

1. In the Client ID field, enter the client ID and press Enter. This will fill the client’s information section. 2. Click on the client information icon. The Client Information window will appear. 3. Click on the Configurations Clients tab.



4. Doubleclick on the client’s configuration ID. The Configuration window will appear. 5. Click on the Inventory I tems tab.

6. In the Inventory I tems field, rightclick and select Add New Inventory I tem. The Inventory I tems window will appear.



7. Click on the arrow next to the Part field. The Inventory Catalogue window will appear.

8. Doubleclick the item you want to add to the client’s Inventory Items list. 9. This will fill the I tem Information section. 10. Enter the serial number in the Serial # field.

Note: If you have more then one item to add, repeat steps 6 to 10.

11. Click Save.



8.1.2 Removing An Inventory Item From An Incident

1. From the Client ID field, enter the client ID and press Enter. This will fill the client’s information section.

2. Click on the client information icon. The Client Information window will appear. 3. Click on the Configurations Clients tab. 4. Doubleclick on the client’s configuration ID. The Configuration window will appear. 5. Click on the Inventory I tems tab. 6. In the Inventory I tems field, doubleclick the item you want to remove. The inventory Item window

will appear. 7. Click Delete. A warning window will appear. 8. Click Yes.

8.1.3 Retrieving A Client’s Inventory Items From An Incident

1. From the Client ID field, enter the client ID and press Enter. This will fill the client’s information section.

Note: Information should also be added in the Configuration ID field. If that is not the case, click on the arrow next to the Configuration ID field, enter the client ID and click search. You should then be able to retrieve the client’s Configuration ID.

2. Click on the arrow next to the Part Description field.

3. Doubleclick on the configuration item you want to assign to the incident.



9. (NEW!) Managing Work Orders P ilot

Work Orders are used to track and record taskoriented resolutions associated with resolving an incident that could not be resolved on first contact. These taskoriented actions are for internal use only. You can associate a single or multiple work orders with an incident.

For example, you might receive a call requesting equipment be moved from one building to another. You can leave the incident open until the work order is completed. Leaving the incident open after creating the work order allows the support staff member to follow up on the progress of the incident.

As you will be using the work order option, you will sometime have to work with items. These items are called configuration items. More specifically, configuration items (CI) are entities that are part of your environment and have configurable attributes. These entities can be physical (such as a computer system) logical (such as an installed software program), or conceptual (such as a business service). When creating a work order you will be able to select the appropriate CI for the request.

9.1 Creating A Work Order

You can create a work order from an existing incident.

1. Under Incident Management, select Modify/ View Incidents. The uOttawa Incident window will appear.

2. Click Find and select the incident to which you want to create a work order. 3. On the Work Order tab, rightclick and select Add new work order.

When you create a work order from an incident, all the associated details of the incident are automatically filled in to the work order form. The incident number is also copied in to the work order so that a support analyst can see which incident the work order relates to.



4. Click the button next to the Subject box. The Subject window appears. 5. Select a subject that identifies the reason for creating the current work order, and click OK.

Note: The Subject box can fill in the Description and Resolution boxes if a standard description or resolution is associated with the selected category, and you selected to include that standard description or resolution on the current work order. Additionally, if an urgency is associated with the selected category, the Urgency box fills in.

6. Click the button next to the Urgency box. The Select from Urgency window appears. 7. Doubleclick the appropriate urgency ID. If a duration is specified on the urgency record, the due date is

calculated and fills in the Due Date box. 8. Click the button next to the Due Date box. The Select Date window appears. 9. Doubleclick the date this work order is due to be resolved. 10. In the Summary box, type the symptoms for the work order reported by the client. The work order

description is stored as part of the current work order and as part of your historical database for solving future incidents.

11. In the Resolution box, type the solution taken to resolve the work order. This information is stored as part of the current work order and as part of your historical database for solving future incidents.

12. Click Save.

Note : No emails are sent to the customer. For internal use only, cannot be viewed using selfserve.

9.1 Adding Work Order Details

The work order details tabs at the bottom of the Work Order window allows you to associate work order details or work order attachments with a work order.

Ex: If you want to add an attachment to your work order 1. Click the Work Order Attachment tab. 2. Rightclick on the tab. The Add Attachment menu appears. 3. Click Add Attachment. The Attachment window appears. 4. In the URL Link field, type a URL link if you want to attach a link, or click Browse and select the file

you want to attach. 5. Click Save. An entry for the associated attachment appears on the Work Order Attachment tab.

9.2 Creating A Copy Of A Work Order

You can quickly create a work order associated to the same incident and reuse it for another work order. You can do this by copying the work order and then changing the data to reflect the work order to be.

1. Select the work order that you want to copy. 2. Click Copy. A message appears asking if you want to create a copy. 3. Click Yes. The work order is copied and assigned a new work order number, 4. Make changes. 5. Click Save.

9.3 Modifying Work Order Information

1. Open the record you want to modify. 2. Make the modifications. 3. Click Save.



9.4 Changing The Status Of A Work Order

To place a work order on hold:

1. Click Work Orders under the Incident Management header on the navigator bar. The Work Order window appears.

2. Click Find. The Select From Work Orders window appears. 3. Doubleclick the record you want to place on hold. The Work Order window reappears and fills in with data from the selected work order.

4. In the Work Order window change the status of the incident to P ending, Waiting Clients, Waiting Parts or Scheduled depending on the situation.

5. Click Save.

When the work order is resolved, you can change the status to Closed.

9.5 Closing A Work Order


2. Click Find. The Select From Work Orders window appears. 3. Doubleclick the record you want to close. 4. From the Status field, click Close.

9.6 Reopening A Work Order

To reopen a closed work order


2. Click Find. The Select From Work Orders window appears. 3. Click Closed to view a list of closed work orders. The list is updated and displays closed work orders. 4. Doubleclick the record you want to reopen. The Work Order window reappears and fills in with data

from the selected work order. 5. On the Actions menu, click Reopen Work Order. The status of the work order changes to Open. A

systemgenerated record is created to identify the time and date the reopen activity took place, the staff member who initiated the activity, and that the clock has been started.

6. Click Save.



10. Second Contacts With The Customer

10.1 Transferring An Incident To A CCS Resource

Whenever an incident is transferred to a CCS resource, the resource will advise the customer of the time required for contacting the client. The ticket is assigned to a group; expert groups are identified in BMC Service Desk Express with group definitions and by support category. An automatic email notification is sent to the Group Administrator (GA). The CCS resource takes ownership of the incident.

In order to better manage the severities 3, 2 and 1, the CHC ensures a contact is made to the group by cellular telephone or pager. Maximum response time to answer pager calls is 10 minutes.

10.1.1 Assign To Group

You can assign an incident to a group using the Assign To command on the Actions Menu. For more accurate transfers between groups, all CCS always assigns incidents to a group whose administrator will assign them to the appropriate member of his/her group.

If you want to assign an incident, select an item from the Assign To Menu. When you assign a record to support staff member, or to a group, the record is automatically saved with the updated assignment.

The Assign To Window contains the following actions:

• Staff (F)

• Group (P)

• Member of My Group/s (E)

• Myself (M)

• Clear Assign To (T)

Based on the individual's schedule, they may be either Available or Not Available. You can assign an individual even if he or she is currently Not Available.

Note: As a best practice all SDE users assign incidents to a specific group. The group administrator will then decide on the distribution of the work.

10.2 Managing BMC Service Desk Express Incidents Within Other Groups

The GA is responsible for distribution of the work within his or her group. Verification of the tickets is better managed if they are verified at least twice a day, early morning and early afternoon. Individual groups may at this point want to assign tickets to members of their group.

All individuals are encouraged to ask BMC Service Desk Express to automatically send an email notification using the «Staff Availability» module to ensure they receive a notification when tickets are assigned to their BMC Service Desk Express account.



10.3 Contacting The Customer

Severities have different schedules for contacting the customer. See CCS Standards of Service: http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ccs/docs/standards.html

The resource is expected to : • contact the client (resolve the incident, make an appointment, advise the customer that he or she is working at resolving the incident) according to the delay of the severity assigned, • add details to the incident, and • modify the status field accordingly.

P romptness: 2 nd Level Response Time

Severity Levels Definition Response Time 1 Central resource failure such as central file

server, Unix servers, MVS administrative mainframe.

Immediate

2 When a service/department/faculty is affected by a computing failure and no workaround is possible. Multiple persons cannot work.

Contact with the client will be done within one hour of the call. If required, the technician will be on site within one hour.

3 One client is unable to continue their work and there is no alternative for him/her

Contact with the client will be done within four working hours of the call and if required, a technician will be on site within four hours.

4 Installation of software or hardware. The client can pursue his/her current work. The installation is not critical to his/her current projects.

Contact with the client will be done within one working day. If required, the technician will be on site within 5 working days.

5 A non-critical problem. Client can continue to work and this function is non critical to his/her current projects.

Contact with the client will be done within one working day, and if required, a technician will be on site within 10 working days.

10.4 Adding Details To The Incident

All details related to the incident are saved in the Incident Details section of the ticket. Details entered in this section will serve to inform CCS resources and CHC of the related information regarding support.

If the resource modifies the severity level assigned to the incident, a note will be added to the details section.

10.4.1 Incident Monitor related fields

Menu Commands

Actions

Create Incident Allows the user to create a new incident ticket from the Incident Monitor window.

Create Incident From White Board

Opens the White Board popup window. Once a White Board Notice is selected, the Incident window opens with the White Board ID associated with the new ticket.

Create Incident From Quick Ticket

Opens the Recurring popup window. Once a Recurring ID is selected, the Create Incident from Quick Ticket Template window is displayed. Verify the data, modify the necessary information, and click OK to add a new incident ticket to the selected Client ID.

Assign To Reassigns the selected incident ticket(s) to a different support staff member or group.

http://www.uottawa.ca/services/ccs/docs/standards.html



Close Opens the Enter Closing Data window. Enter the necessary data to close the selected call.

Quick Close Automatically closes the selected incident ticket(s).

Reopen Call Reopens the selected closed incident ticket(s).

Increment Incident Counter

Increments the call counter located in the Incident Information frame of the Incident form.

Rightclick on the appropriate tab to invoke additional menu commands.

Tab Actions Incident Details Add New Incident Details

Request Allows you to enter text on the notepad, and displays the incident description of the selected incident ticket.

White Board Displays white boards that are attached to the selected incident ticket.

Qick Ticket Displays recurring tasks that are associated with the selected incident ticket.

Client Comments Allows you to create a new comment or edit existing comments for this Client ID.

Tabs

Request

Contains a Notepad that can be used as a quick way to record the client's information, which can later be used to populate the Incident Description. The Notepad can also be used in conjunction with the Filter KeyWord button as a way to further filter incident tickets. The Incident Description field displays data for the incident record currently selected in the Incident Information frame.

Incident Details Displays the incident details for the incident record currently selected in the Incident Information frame.

White Board Displays the current list of White Board records that can be used to create a new incident ticket.

Quick Ticket Templates Displays the current list of recurring records that can be used to create a new incident ticket.

Client Comments Displays a list of client comments for the current Client ID.

Incident Information

Incident display Filter Filters tickets by client, Faculty, services, subject, or department. Status Radio Buttons Allow the user to view open or closed calls, or both. Sorted By Query Doubleclick the column to sort by, and enter characters in the field. Click the ReQuery

button to narrow down the previous search results. Ticket Grid A table of tickets that match the specified criteria.

Toolbar

Refresh Updates the Incidents information frame and the selected tab. Reset form Clears all of the information from all fields. KeyWord Filter Filters the list of calls (if the user enters a keyword in the notepad) by searching for

that text in the Incident description field of the calls displayed. Link White Board Links the selected incident ticket to a whiteboard notice. Unlink White Board Unlinks the selected incident ticket to a whiteboard notice. Client view Opens the Clients module so that the user can create a new client, or modify client

information. Help Displays online help for Incident Monitor.



10.5 Providing Status And Progress Of Incidents

The CCS resources are also responsible for keeping customers informed on the status and the progress of incidents. When a customer makes inquiries about an incident at the CHC the analyst will verify ticket details, add further information about the customer inquiry and increment the call. An automatic email notification is sent to the ticket owner and GA. Please remember to update the details section as well as incremental call counter from the action menu.

The email notification feature is handy for sending information to a user or a service partner. The email notification in the details section will let you send an email and automatically copy the information in the details section. Privileged or personal information (such as passwords) should not be included in the resolution field, please use email notification instead.

10. 6 SDE Escalation Schemes

The SDE escalation scheme will verify the time the ticket is left «open», if the status remains unchanged after suggested time, an email is sent to the GA and the HelpLine GA.

Severities use the University regular business hours (http://www.uottawa.ca/allabout/hours/) schedule. Urgency 1 with System Failure as subject category use the 24 hour schedule. Consult http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/professionals/supportmagic/ccsstandardsservice.html for information about severities.

EMail notifications are sent to incident owner, GA (Group Administrator) and Client Services when incident has not been updated.

http://www.uottawa.ca/all-about/hours/

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/professionals/support-magic/ccs-standards-service.html



11. Closing The Incident

The incident is resolved when the normal service operations are restored and the users are back online. When you have solved the incident and recorded all necessary information, you can close the Incident with the status of the incident, change to Close.

The closing date and time will be displayed in the title bar of the closed call, and the system will insert a detail line indicating the date and time that the call was closed and the support staff member who closed it along with a URL for customer feedback. Use the “Resolved” status when you need to schedule a follow up call, add a standard description or resolution, close a related work order, send a notification to the client, or otherwise modify the call closing data.

11.1 Providing A Fix To Customers

When known errors have been identified, the CCS resource will go ahead and close the ticket using the «Actions» menu and «close». The customer will receive an email notification confirming that the incident is resolved. The email will be directed in either French or English depending on client information saved in BMC Service Desk Express.

De : [email protected] À: [email protected] Envoyé: xxxxx Objet : Avis de fermeture (XXXXXX)

Bonjour Chantal, Je vous achemine les résultats de votre demande telle que décrite à l’incident numéro XXXXXX : « »

Votre demande : « »

N’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous pour tout renseignement complémentaire. Laisseznous savoir si nous avons rencontré vos attentes aujourd’hui : remplissez notre formulaire d’évaluation au http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos/sondage.html

Recevez nos salutations distinguées.

Chantal StOnge Centre d'assistance informatique,Services à la clientèle Service de l'informatique et des communications http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos (613)5625800 poste 6555

************************************************************* * Assistance informatique: http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos * Changement de mot de passe: http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca * Heures d'ouverture: http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/heures.html * Rapport annuel du Centre d'assistance informatique: * http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/apropos/rapportannuelcai.ppt *************************************************************

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos/sondage.html

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/cybersos

http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca/

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/heures.html

http://www.sic.uottawa.ca/apropos/rapportannuelcai.ppt



Here is the English version.

Hello Chantal, I’m sending you the results of your request as described in incident number XXXXXX: « »

Your request: « »

Don’t hesitate to contact us should you need any additional information. Have we met your expectations today? Let us know by filling out the evaluation form: http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos/survey.html

Sincerely, Cassie Mercius Charles Computing Help Centre,Client Services Computing and Communications Services http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos (613)5625800 ext. 6555

************************************************************* * Computing Help: http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos * Password Changes: http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca * Business Hours: http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/hours.html * Computing Help Centre Annual Report: * http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/about/chcannualreport.ppt *************************************************************

11.2 Providing Work Arounds And Permanent Fixes To Customers

In some cases, problems (unknown underlying cause of one or more incidents) need to be addressed by a 2nd group; by identifying the root cause of problems and removing the error.

In the case where the users are back online but the problem needs to be worked on; the customer is provided with a temporary work around and should be notified using BMC Service Desk Express accordingly.

In order to provide information concerning the temporary workaround, the resource needs to:

• Provide the information in the «Incident Resolution» field • Assign a «Resolved» status to the incident and • Continue working on the root cause of the problem.

The customer will receive an email notification including the Summary and Resolution. No subsequent emails will be sent to the client unless using the email notification feature in the Details section.

11.3 Contacting The Customer With A Permanent Fix

When customers get a permanent fix of the problem, then the resource needs to contact the customer. When closing a ticket that was previously assigned a «Pending» status, the customer will not get an email notification. It is up to the resource to contact the customer or representative to determine the next steps to the permanent fix.

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos/survey.html

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/cybersos

http://www.infoweb.uottawa.ca/

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/hours.html

http://www.ccs.uottawa.ca/about/chcannualreport.ppt



11.4 ReOpening Incidents

If a customer’s problem continues to occur that is related to the original incident, you should reopen the incident instead of creating a new one.

• email notification is sent to incident owner, GA and Client Services whenever an incident is reopened.

• email notification is sent to the customer when incidents are reopened as a confirmation. Use the resolved status whenever you have to continue working at the problem.

Please ensure that only one ticket per incident is created and kept updated, some alternatives to better manage your work flow are the status fields (pending, waiting for client, resolved…).



12. (NEW!) Collaborative Workspace

12.1 Using The Collaborative Workspace

The collaborative workstation provides access to a messaging forum, which BMC Service Desk Express support staff and users can use to communicate with each other.

The discussion forums are accessible through the navigator bar from the BMC Service Desk Express console. This allows you to grant access to individual support staffs, support groups, individual users, or entire departments.

When you reply to a discussion forum email, the message is automatically considered to be a reply to the original message and posted to the discussion board.

Discussion Forum Window Information

Field Description State Shows whether the discussion forum is active or inactive. An inactive topic will not

appear in the discussion forum. Topics Provides a list of discussion topics that you can sort in ascending or descending order. Subscribed Shows whether you have subscribed to the discussion forum. Members Shows the total number of users who have subscribed to the discussion forum. Posts Provides the total number of messages or discussion threads that have been posted to

the discussion forum. You can sort this in ascending or descending order. Creator The name of the person or group who created the discussion forum. Creator can be

sorted in alphabetical order. Last Posted The date when the topic was last posted. This can be sorted by date.

View ing Discussion Topics Within A Forum

You can view the details of a topic within a discussion forum including all the related messages and email threads associated with the topic if you have the permission to do so.

To view details of a topic within a forum:

1. Log in to the BMC Service Desk Express application. 2. From the left navigation bar, click Collaborative Workspace. 3. Click Discussion Forums. The Discussion Forum window appears. 4. From the Topics column, select the topic for which you want to view details. The details of the topic

appear with all the related email messages.

Important: If you do not have read permissions, the topic will not be a hyperlink and you will not be able to view the topic details.

Adding New Messages To A Discussion Forum

You can add new messages to a discussion that someone else has posted.

1. From the Messages w ithin a Discussion Topic window, select the topic for which you want to add a new message.

2. Click the Add New Message icon located in the top right corner of the discussion topic window. The Collaboration Message Reply Create window appears.



3. Enter the following information: a. In the Subject line of the message, enter text. b. In the body of the message, enter text.

4. Click Send.

Important: Please sign at the end of your message in order to be able to identify the sender.

Note: Each message you send within a discussion forum will be sent to all SDE users.

View ing Messages From A Discussion Forum

You can view messages posted to a discussion forum if you have the permissions to do so. You can view messages in a hierarchical manner or view messages using the flat list style.

To view a new message:

1. From the Discussion Forum window, click the topic for which you want to view a message. The Messages w ithin a Discussion Topic window appears with a list of messages.

2. Click the message for which you want to view details. The details of the message appear.

Replying To Messages On A Discussion Forum

You can view messages posted on a discussion forum if you have permission to do so.

1. From the Discussion Forum window, click the topic for which you want to view a message. The Messages w ithin a Discussion Topic window appears with a list of messages.

2. Click the message to which you want to reply. The details of the message appear. 3. Click Reply. 4. In the body of the message, enter text. 5. Click Send.



13. Crisis Management

13.1 Introduction

The crisis management team at the CHC are presented in order of contact 1. Senior Analyst: Denis Dagenais, in case of absence refer to 2. Manager, Computing Help Centre: Chantal StOnge, then 3. Assistant Director, Client Services: Denise Vaillancourt

The CCS resources management teams are presented in order of contact 1. Staff responsible of the unit’s pager or cell 2. Staff responsible for managing the crisis 3. Staff responsible for information and updates to CHC

It is the responsibility of the Manager of the resources to determine internally the responsibilities and making sure that a reliable contact is provided to the CHC.

Information required for all types of system failure 1. CHC staff responsible for managing the failure at the clients’ perspective 2. CCS resources available for the CHC 3. Confirmation of the system that failed 4. Details of the impact to the customer 5. Timelines

Availability Maximum response time to answer pager calls is 10 minutes CCS and CHC resources remain available during the crisis

13.2 Identification Of System Failure

Incidents opened at the Computing Help Centre’s (CHC) analysts the CHC resource responsible for managing the system failure is notified of the possible system failure by

i. analysts at the CHC or ii. CCS resources

13.3 Confirmation With Designated Groups

The CHC resource managing the crisis will communicate with the appropriate CCS resource using pager or cell the CHC is responsible of releasing information to users the two resources remain available for updated information

13.4 Communication To Clients

Client message is negotiated between the CHC resource and the CCS resource managing the system failure communication, updates and resolution is sent to clients consider emergency voice message list if the system failure is critical to all users on campus i.e. mailbox, CICS, Web, Locutus… consider email list if the system failure will not affect the day to day activities of users on campus i.e. backup services.



13.5 Using White Board for Recording A Disruption

The whiteboard is a bulletin board created for each situation that multiple people need to know about. A typical example of when a whiteboard is required is when a network server goes down or when shared resources become unavailable. The whiteboard allows an analyst to create a relationship between an incident ticket and a whiteboard notice.

White board creation rules…

The creation and maintenance of the white board is negotiated between the CHC resource and the CCS resource. The incidents attached to the white board bear the same owner as the white board.

The white board is created including description, scrolling message and additional details. The responsible CHC resource, attaches existing tickets to the white board and assigns them a

pending status. All consequent tickets are created by the CHC analysts using the white board and are assigned a

pending status. White board details are to be updated with recent information. White board message is to be modified when required.

Use the White Board window to create a new white board message, or to modify an existing white board message.

Toolbar

Help Displays the Online Help for this topic.

Create a New White Board

Opens the White Board create window.

Refresh White Board

Reloads White Board data from the database.

Turn On/ Off Cycle Mode When cycle mode is enabled, the White Board Monitor window displays each White Board message sequentially for a short period of time (approximately 5 seconds for each message).

Link Call to White Board Opens the Incident Popup window so you can select a incident to add to the Linked Calls list on the current White Board.

Unlink Selected Calls from White Board

Removes the highlighted linked call(s) from the Linked Calls list.



Menu Commands

Actions

Create Incident From White Board

Allows you to create an Incident ticket from the WB.

13.5.1 Whiteboard Windows

You can configure a whiteboard notice to identify how often it is updated (refreshed), when the message appears, and the format in which the message appears (text size, text color).

In the whiteboard monitor window you will find the following areas:

Whiteboard Notices box This area displays all current whiteboard records listed by the whiteboard ID.

Whiteboard Message Display When a whiteboard notice is active, the text displays here. If the cycle mode is turned on and multiple whiteboard notices are active, the system cycles through the notice messages one by one.

Linked Incident Calls List Box This area displays all incidents linked to a selected whiteboard.

Note: In order to reduce network bandwidth usage, linked incidents do not appear while the Cycle Mode is turned on. When the Cycle Mode is turned off, the window refreshes to display linked incidents for the selected whiteboard.



13.5.2 Creating A Whiteboard Notice

You can create a whiteboard notice to post important messages to share with everyone in your organization. For example, you can use the whiteboard to post a message about a network server outage that will affect the entire organization.

To create whiteboard notice

1. Click Whiteboard under the Crisis Management header on the navigator bar. The Whiteboard window appears.

2. In the Whiteboard ID box, type a unique alphanumeric identifier for this whiteboard notice. The standard ID is YYYYMMDD1, 2…

3. Click the button next to the Subject box. The Subject window appears. 4. Select a subject that identifies the reason this whiteboard notice is necessary, and click OK. 5. Click the button next to the Urgency box. The Select from Urgency window appears.



6. Doubleclick the urgency level you want to assign to this whiteboard notice. 7. Click the button next to the Status box. The Select From Status window appears. 8. Doubleclick the status you want to associate with this whiteboard notice. By default, the status is set to

Open. 9. Select the Display in Self Service check box if you want to view whiteboard notices in Self Service

(Self Service Desk or Client Services). 10. In the Notes box, type any notes you want to save with this whiteboard notice. This information is

displayed when you start the whiteboard ticker. 11. In the Incident Description box, type a description for the incidents linked to this whiteboard notice

(unless a standard description was saved for this particular category). 12. Click Save.

13.5.2.1 Adding Whiteboard Details

The Whiteboard Details window tracks any actions taken against the current whiteboard. The support action saved with the whiteboard contains a description of actions taken to resolve the critical problem.

The whiteboard detail window contains the following information: • Date • Staff • Action ID • Description • Duration

To add whiteboard details: Adding an incident to a Whiteboard


2. Click Find. The Select From Whiteboard window appears. 3. Doubleclick the record you want to use. The Whiteboard window reappears and fills in with data from

the selected whiteboard notice. 4. Click the Whiteboard Details tab or I ncidents tab to create whiteboard associations for a given

module. For example, click the Incidents tab. 5. Rightclick on the tab. The Add New Incidents menu appears. 6. Click Add New Incidents. The Incident window appears. 7. Enter information about the incident you want to associate. 8. Click Save to save the incident you created and close the I ncident window. An entry for the associated

incident appears on the I ncidents tab of the Whiteboard form.



13.5.3 Closing A Whiteboard

When a whiteboard is no longer needed, you should close it. This clears the whiteboard from the Whiteboard window. It also closes all incidents linked to the white board notice.

Closing a white board notice does not remove it from the White Board Monitor. The notice still appears in the White Board Monitor and is seen in the scrolling ticker until an expiration date is provided. The expiration date defines when the notice is removed from the active list of notices.


2. Click Find. The Select From Whiteboard window appears. 3. Doubleclick the record you want to close. The Whiteboard window reappears and fills in with data from

the selected whiteboard notice. 4. Before closing you may wish to update the message board. (i.e. Server is now up and running.) 5. From the Actions menu, click Close. The Close Whiteboard window appears and fills in with the

currently loggedon user ID, the date and time, and the category description. The Status ID box defaults to CLOSED or the customized closed status set up by your system administrator.

6. Click the button next to the Expiration Date box and doubleclick the date you want the whiteboard notice to expire.

7. In the Incident Resolution box, type the steps taken to resolve this whiteboard notice. A copy of the resolution is sent to the incidents linked to this whiteboard.

8. Click Save.

13.5.4 Monitoring A Whiteobard

Monitoring whiteboards is useful in determining the crisis level of events occurring in your system.

1. Click Whiteboard Monitor under the Crisis Management header on the navigator bar. The Whiteboard Monitor window appears.

Whiteboards that have been sent to ALL or sent to the group of the loggedon user appear in the Whiteboard ID column. By default, the first whiteboard in the column is selected. The text for this whiteboard appears in the



area below the list. You can modify any of the whiteboards in the list by doubleclicking a whiteboard, which launches the Whiteboard window.

From the Whiteboard Monitor window you can create a new whiteboard notice and you can also link or unlink incidents to whiteboard monitors.

13.5.5 Linking Incidents To A Whiteboard Monitor

To Link incidents to a whiteboard monitor: 1. Click Whiteboard Monitor under the Crisis Management header on the navigator bar. The

Whiteboard Monitor window appears. 2. From the top part of the Whiteboard Monitor window, click the Link Incident to Whiteboard

Notice icon. The Select from Incidents window appears. 3. Select the incident that you want to link to the whiteboard monitor and double click the selected

incident. The incident is now associated with the whiteboard monitor.

To Unlink incidents from a whiteboard monitor 1. Click Whiteboard Monitor under the Crisis Management header on the navigator bar. The

Whiteboard Monitor window appears with a list of incidents that are linked to the whiteboard monitor. 2. Select one or multiple incidents that you want to unlink from the whiteboard monitor. 3. From the top part of the Whiteboard Monitor window, click the Unlink Selected Incidents from

Whiteboard icon. The selected incidents are not associated with the whiteboard monitor.



14. (NEW!) Preventice Maintenance

This feature allows maintenance tasks to be created and scheduled for inventory items. This will allow users to simplify the management of repeating tasks that are undertaken on inventory items. For example, a test backup restoration procedure can be implemented on all servers, which creates a work order automatically on a given

schedule like 30 days.

14.1 Creating A Preventive Work Order

As you will be using the work order module as well as the preventive work order option, you will sometime have to work with items that may or may not be associated with a client. These items are called configuration items. More specifically, configuration items (CI) are entities that are part of your environment and have configurable attributes. These entities can be physical (such as a computer system) logical (such as an installed software program), or conceptual (such as a business service). They must be a direct part of your environment, rather than information about such a part.

Creating a Preventive Work Order

Note: No clients are associated with a preventive work order.

1. Click P reventive Work Order under the Preventive Maintenance header on the navigator bar. The Preventive Work Order window appears.

2. In the Asset Information section, enter the following information: a. Click the button next to the Configuration field. The Select from Configurations

window appears. b. From the list of records, double click an item to select it. c. Click the button next to the Part # field. The Select from Inventory I tems window

appears. d. From the list of records, double click an item to select it. If there is an asset tag

associated with the product, the Asset Tag field is automatically filled in.



3. Enter the following information in the Preventive Work Order Information section: a. Click the button next to the Subject field. The Subject window appears. b. Select a subject with which you want to associate the preventive work order and click

OK. c. Click the button next to the Type field. The Type window appears.

d. From the Work Order Type window, double click a record to specify the type of work order.

e. Click the button next to the Urgency field. The Select from Urgency window appears. f. Select the urgency. g. In the Due Date field, enter the due date for the preventive work order. h. In the Description field, enter a brief description of the preventive work order. i. In the Resolution field, enter a brief resolution of the preventive work order.

4. In the Preventive Maintenance Information section, enter the following details: a. Click the button next to the Maintenance Action list. The Preventive Maintenance

Action window appears in read only mode.

b. Select the preventive maintenance action and schedule that you want to associate with the preventive work order.

c. In the Actual Start Date field, enter the date when the preventive work order starts. d. In the Actual End Date field, enter the date when the preventive work order ends. e. Click Save.

5. Enter additional information in the Inventory Service History tab. a. Right click on the Inventory Service History tab and select Service I tem to

associate an item with the preventive work order. The Select from the Inventory Actions window appears.

b. From the list, double click the Inventory Action item to associate with the preventive work order. The Inventory Service History window appears.



c. Specify a duration for the inventory service record and click Save. The inventory item is associated to the preventive work order.

6. Enter additional information in the Work Order Details tab. a. Right click on the Work Order Details tab and select Add New Work Order Details.

The Select from Support Actions window appears. b. From the list of support actions, double click the selected action to associate with the

preventive work order and click OK. The action is associated to the preventive work order.

7. Enter additional information in the Work Order Attachments tab. a. Right click on the Work Order Attachments tab and select Add Attachment. The

Attachment window appears. b. Click Brow se to select an attachment that you want to associate with the preventive

work order and then click Save. The attachment is associated to the preventive work order.

8. Click Save.



15. (NEW!) Reports

Using the Reports module, you can view and print predefined or custom reports.

The BMC Service Desk Express application provides standard report templates that focus on change management, incident, asset management, licensing, problem management, purchasing, service level agreements, and work order management.

The Report Configuration utility, allows you to customize how reports lists and report categories appear to your users.

The Reports window displays a list of predefined reports created with Crystal Reports.

15.1 View ing A Report

The Report module allows you to run and view reports.

1. Start the BMC Service Desk Express application. The main BMC Service Desk Express window appears.

2. Click Reports in the navigator bar. The Reports header expands. 3. Click Reports. The Reports window appears and shows the report categories for your group. If a

report name appears dimmed (grayed out), you do not have access to that report.

4. To see a list of all reports in a category, click the plus sign (+) to the left of the report category name. 5. Click the title of the report you want to view. A report parameters window appears. This window lists

the viewer options, parameters, and name of the report file.



If the report you selected has subreports embedded in it, the window is divided into different areas: one for the report and another for each subreport.

6. If the report has any parameter associated with it, type or select its value. 7. If a column name is linked to a parameter, click the popup button to obtain the appropriate parameter

information from the popup window. 8. Select a viewer option, and click Show Report. Each viewer displays the same information. There are

four viewer options: • ActiveX Viewer • Java Viewer • HTML Viewer • PDF Viewer

Note: The PDF Viewer option is available only on Windows 2000 systems.

The report you selected appears.

15.2 Navigating Within A Report

When a report is more than one page, use the toolbar buttons to navigate through multi page reports, to print a report, or to export a report. The icons displayed depend on the viewer you selected.

If you decide to choose the Java Viewer, these are the buttons you will find on the toolbar:

Export

Click this button to export the contents of the report to one of the following formats: • Crystal Reports (.rpt) • Microsoft Word (.doc) • Microsoft Excel (.xls) • Rich Text format (.rtf) • Portable Document Format (.pdf) for the ActiveX viewer only

You must have the program, which supports the format that you want, installed locally to export to that format.

Navigate Click this button to move forward or backward through a multipage report.

P rint Click this button to print the report. Graphics in the report require a Postscript printer to print

properly.

Search Click this button to enter the text to be located in the report. The text, if found, is highlighted in

the report. Stop Click this button to cancel the navigation request (moving forward or backward in the report)

Toggle Click this button to show or hide a list of group headings in a report. The headings in the preview

pane give you a quick access to a location on the report.

Documents

BMC Service Desk Express User Guide