Adding Relations

Sometimes a request is very complex and you intend to divide it into simpler requests, problems, change, release, asset, knowledge, merged request, purchase, and project categories. Also, you may find other similar requests and it’s a good idea to associate all these.

In Relations tab, you can build a contextual information by linking various items. This tab gives you an option to create relationships between a Request and other Requests, Problems, Changes, Releases, Assets, purchases, projects, Knowledge Articles/FAQs, and see merged requests.

On this page you get the following features:

• View all the items related with the request.
• Create a new item and associate with the request.
• Add an existing item to the request.
• Unlink the items related with the request.
• Here, the count of the linked entities will also be shown besides the Relations label.

Tasks

The tasks are the activities required to resolve the request. Creating tasks is not mandatory but a convenient feature to effectively work on a request. You can add tasks, assign technicians, and set due date for them.

The Tasks tab displays all the tasks done for a request. Here, you can perform the following activities:

1. Search: The search works on the content of the tab. It matches your query with all the content (that technicians have entered) to find the results. This search is case sensitive.
2. Sort: You can sort all the items in ascending or descending order.
3. Add Tasks: You can add new tasks.
4. Task List: You can view a list of tasks.

Adding a Task

When you add a new task from the Request Details page, the task automatically gets associated with this request. To add a task:

1. Click on the Add Task button. A popup appears.
2. Fill all the details of the task as shown below.

3. Once done, click Add.

Managing the Task

You can manage request related tasks from the task list. It is very similar to managing the request.

Here, you can do the following:

1. Set the status.
2. Set the priority.
3. Set the task type.
4. Set the assignee.
5. Set the technician group.
6. Set the start and end date of the task.
7. Edit or Delete the task.
8. Done or Reopen the task using the Done button.
9. View the task details using View Details button.

Work Conversations

In the Work tab, you can collaborate and communicate to resolve the request. The Work tab is at the bottom of the details view of a request. Ideally, here you can add comments, notes, diagnosis, solutions, and tag other technicians.

The Work tab shows all the work and communication done for a request. Here, you can perform the following activities:

To convert the solution content into knowledge (KB article), you can click the Solution icon, type the content in the text box, and click the Save and Add to Knowledge button, as shown below.

Once clicked, you are redirected to the Create Knowledge page as shown below. Here, the article takes the name of the ticket subject by default. However, you can change it if required.
Once done, click Save as Draft, and then later Publish it to make it live.

Adding a New Work

1. Select the type of work: Reply, Forward, Collaborate, Note, Diagnosis, or Solution. Some work will be visible to the requester while some will be visible only to the technicians.
2. Enter the body of the message. To mention someone, press ‘@’. You will see a list of available names. Choose the person whom you want to tag.
3. You can also attach files, insert from template, and insert knowledge.

4. If the work is a standard communication, you can enter the body content using the response templates. These templates automate the task of typing the same response every time. Refer to the Admin settings for creating response templates.

5. You can also insert the Knowledge content or link to provide some standard information in the form of a Knowledgebase as shown below. To insert the content, use the Insert Knowledge button. To insert the link, use the Insert Link button.

You can insert knowledge at the time of reply, forward, and collaborate requests. Also, you can do so while adding notes, diagnosis, and solution to the requests.

Resolving and Closing a Request

Resolving a Request

If similar requests are received for a single department, their status can be changed to Resolved all together in one go.

For Example, if in an Organization the new joiners require a mousepad or laptop bags and they all create a request for the same concern. A bulk action Resolve can save time rather than closing the tickets individually.

To resolve multiple requests in one go:

1. Select the desired requests
2. Click Take Action.
3. Select the Resolve option from the dropdown.
4. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or click No to discard the action.

A bulk action- Resolve will be performed and selected requests’ status will be changed to Resolved.

Closing a Request

There are a multiple ways to close a request.

• Closing a single request from the list page: Click on the status of the desired request and select Closed as shown below.

• Closing multiple requests from list page: Select the desired requests, click Take Action, and Close them at once.

• Closing request from details page: On the details page, you have two options to close the request: By changing the status or by clicking the Close Request button.

On clicking close, a confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or No to discard the action.

Status and Assignment Transition

You can view a pictorial updation of the stages in the Status and Assignment Transition.

Status Transition

For each requests, the progress is recorded pictorially and displayed. For example, When a request is raised, the status of the Request is OPEN. But as soon as the technician starts working on it, gradually the status changes to In progress or Pending.

Here, the below image shows the Transition, which took place from status OPEN to In progress. Also, the time taken for prior as well as the current status is also displayed.

Assignment Transition

Once the request is opened and assigned to a Technician or Technician Group, this flow starts. The Assignment Transition shows the process of assigning the request from one Technician or Technician Group to other. Additionally, the information such as duration of work on the particular request is also displayed to know the exact utilized time.

Use Case

Stark Industries uses multiple software for their day-to-day business requirements. These Software need to be upgraded as and when the new releases arrive. To do so, the ServiceOps Release Management helps in managing, planning, scheduling, and deploying the software by going through the various phases of the release management lifecycle. It involves the below steps:

1. First create the Software Upgrade Release in the ServiceOps as shown below. For more details, refer to Release Creation.

2. Once created, accept the release and start its execution.
3. In the planning stage, define the plan and schedule for the release. You can also add tasks and associate request, problem, change, asset, and knowledge related to the release.

4. Next, carry out the release tasks associated with each phase. For example, in the approval stage, gain the approval from the approvers and move ahead.
5. The release phases will get completed as and when the tasks associated with each phase gets fulfilled.

6. Once the review of the “Software Upgrade” release is completed, it gets closed automatically, and the release process ends.
7. Similarly, you can track and maintain other releases as well.

Print a Request

To print a request,

1. Open the Request Details page of the desired request.
2. Click the vertical 3 dots on the top-right corner and select the Print option.

A PDF will be downloaded automatically with the subject line as shown below.

Archiving a Request

Here, you can archive the unwanted and old requests.

Archiving Request from List Page

To archive requests in bulk,

1. Select the desired requests.
2. Click the Take Action dropdown. A list of actions appears.
3. Select the Archive option.

Once the option is selected a confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or No to discard the action as shown below.

Archiving Request from Details Page

To archive a request from the Details page, click the vertical three dots on the top-right corner of the page, and select the Archive option. A confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or No to discard the action.

Assigning and Claiming a Request

When a request is created, the default status is Unassigned. The requests need to be assigned to an agent before one starts working on it. You can assign a request using two approaches:

• Assign requests to other people.
• Claim requests (assign to yourself).

Assign Requests to Other Technicians

Assigning a Request to a Technician makes that person responsible for the request. The assigned technician then becomes the point of contact for all matters related to the Request. An assigned Technician has the privilege to initiate an approval process when required.

Option 1: Assign Requests from List Page

Assigning a Single Request: You can assign one request using the inline edit. In the Assigned to column, click on the technician’s name, and choose a new technician from the dropdown.

Assigning Multiple Requests: To assign multiple requests,

1. Select the desired requests.
2. Click the Take Action dropdown. A list of actions appears.
3. Select the Assign option. A list of technicians appear.
4. Select the technician to whom the request is to be assigned.

Once the technician is selected a confirmation message appears. Click Yes to continue or No to discard the action as shown below.

Option 2: Assign Requests from Details Page

On the Request Details page, click on the assignee’s name to assign a request.

Claim Requests

You can assign requests to yourself and take its ownership. You become the point of contact and can initiate an approval process. Steps to claim a request is same as assigning the request to other technicians.

Option 1: Claiming from List Page:

• To claim a single request, you can use inline edit, and assign request to yourself.

• To claim multiple requests, select the requests, click Take Action dropdown, and select the Claim option as shown below.

Option 2: Claiming Requests from Details Page:

On the details page, click on the Assigned to dropdown, and select your name to assign a request as shown in the option 2 of Assign Request section.

Procedure

Step 1: Download the latest poller service setup file (.msi) using the above link.

Step 2: Once downloaded, run the file, and the following “Motadata ServiceOps Poller Setup” wizard appears.

Click Next.

Step 3: In Select Installation Folder, browse, and select the folder in which the poller service should be installed, and click Next.

Step 4: In Configuration, enter the server URL and activation code details.

• Protocol: Select the protocol as HTTP or HTTPS.
• URL: Enter the URL of your ServiceOps Portal.
• Port: Enter the port number. It is optional.
• Activation Code: Enter the agent activation code. You can take this code from the License Details tab of the ServiceOps Portal.

Once done, click Next.

Step 5: In Ready to Install, click Install and the installation process begins.

Step 6: Click Finish.

Once the installation is completed your assets will get discovered in ServiceOps in the next scan cycle. The discovered asset will appear in the Hardware Assets List page.