Mark Requests as Spam

This option enables you to mark the irrelevant requests as spam requests. Once you mark the request as spam, the system adds a ‘Spam’ tag to the request, and it disappears from the request list.

Irrelevant and unsolicited messages sent are Spam; here the messages are in the form of tickets (Requests). It may happen that some Requests you receive are irrelevant, and you want them to disappear. You can discard a Request as a Spam, and it disappears from the main server.

Mark Spam from List Page

To mark the request as Spam, select the desired tickets, click the Take Action dropdown, and select Mark as Spam option as shown below.

Mark Spam from Details Page

On Request Details page, click on the 3 vertical dots at the top-right corner of the screen, and select Mark as Spam from the dropdown.

View Spam Requests

You can view the requests that are marked as spam from pre-defined search criteria. At the top of the list page, select the criteria: All Spam Requests as shown below.

Unmark As Spam

This option enabled you to move the requests from Spam to the normal request list. There are two methods to do this:

Option 1: Unmark from List Page:

To unmark the request from the spam list, select the records, click the Take Action dropdown, and select the Unmark as Spam option as shown below.

Option 2: Unmark from Details Page:

On the Request Details page, you can unmark the spam by deleting the spam tag. System will ask you to confirm deleting the spam tag as shown below.

Archive Spam Request

Archiving the spam request moves the request from spam list to the archive list. To archive the request, refer to the Archive Requests page.

Overview

Poller Service is a piece of software that discovers the assets in the LAN behind the firewall. It is mainly used to discover the assets in On-Premises having multiple sites and SaaS-based platforms.

The poller service is installed in the same subnet as all other assets so it can easily discover the agentless assets. It can discover different types of devices like Windows, Linux, SNMP, and VMware.

Architecture:

Poller Service for Cloud Deployment

In the Cloud architecture, the Poller service is installed in the same subnet as all other assets. This enables it to discover the assets easily and send them to the ServiceOps application in the Cloud.

Poller Service for On-Premises Deployment

The On-Premises architecture is suitable for scenarios where multiple sites are involved. For example: Main Site and Branch Site as shown above. In this, the Poller service is installed in the branch site where it discovers the assets in the local network, and then sends them to the ServiceOps application in the Main site, via Internet.

To install the poller service, follow the steps mentioned on the Installation page.

Merging and Splitting Requests

Merge Requests

This option helps to merge the duplicate and similar requests.

In the Merge process, one request is considered as the Primary Request, and all others as Secondary. As a result, the secondary requests link to the primary request. System decides the ticket actions by evaluating who created the ticket. For example:

• When the requests are created by the same requestor, then all the secondary requests are closed.
• When requests are generated from different requestors, then the secondary requests are not closed.

Merge Request Option

To merge requests, select the desired tickets, click the Take Action dropdown, and select the Merge option as shown below.

Merge Action Popup

A popup will open to show the primary and secondary requests. Also, it will show the other requests list. You may add more requests in the merge.

In the popup, there will always be 1 primary ticket and many secondary tickets.

Make Secondary Request as a Primary Request

You can convert a secondary request to primary request. When you place the cursor on the secondary request, an option appears to make it as the primary request.

When you convert a secondary request to primary, it will come at the top.

Add More Requests to Merge

On the right side of the page, you can select the requests either to merge or add to the secondary request list.

Here, you have 2 options:

• Add to Secondary: When you add the requests as the secondary request, they appear on the left hand side.

• Merge (and close popup): When you click on ‘Merge’, the requests are added as the secondary request and the popup disappears (merge action is complete).

Split Requests

You can create a new request from an existing one using the split feature. The split option copies all the basic details of the request and pre-fills it while creating a new request. Click on the three vertical dots at the top-right corner and click on the ‘Split Request’ option.

A popup will open up. The popup has all the basic details pre-filled from the existing request.

Since you are basically creating a request, the fields are all same. Check all the fields and click create. System generates a new request and takes you to the newly created request page.

• The default subject of request has ‘Split’ word and reference to the old request.
• The description, labels, work, and audit logs are added to the new request from the existing one.
• The ‘Audit Trail’ section shows who created the new request and other related details.

Updating a Request

When you are working on a ticket, you can update its basic details, parameters, other info, and various activities/actions associated with it. There are many approaches to update the requests:

• Inline update from list page
• Update multiple tickets from list page
• Update from details page

Inline update from list page

You can update the request from the list page. From here, you can update their: assigned to, status, and priority. Clicking on the field opens a dropdown menu from which you can select a new value.

Update Multiple Tickets

Bulk update option is useful to add or change something in multiple requests. Instead of editing each request individually, you can select many requests, and update them at the same time.

To do so, select the desired records, click the Take Action dropdown, and select the Update option as shown below.

A popup will display where you can update the details.

Bulk update option allows you to edit only those fields that are in common to multiple requests. Above figure shows, you can manage the fields that appear in the dropdown lists. You can add new attachments, and tags with the existing tags (check ‘Append Tags to Existing Tags), or replace manual tags (un-check the option). Replacing manual tags does not replace the system generated tags.

Update a Request from Details Page

You can update the request from the details page. Refer to the Request Details page about what you can do with a request. On this page, updating a request means editing the fields with new values. While working on it means performing actions like replying/forwarding the request, collaborating, adding notes, etc.

Request Details Page

On request details page, you can see the complete details of the request and do the desired activity. This page is accessible from request list page (by clicking on the request subject).

A request details page looks like this:

Subject and Description

You can see the complete subject and the description on the top of the details page. Also, the highlighted box shows the technician name who is also viewing the request simultaneously.

Classifiers of Request

These properties tell you the current statistics of the request and help you classify them under different labels. When someone works on a request, they update the labels accordingly. For e.g. if the ‘status’ is closed, it means you don’t need to do anything on the request.

Associated Actions for Request

You can create or update different actions and activities as a part of communication, collaboration, and resolution in the request.

Request Actions

At the top right corner of the page, you will see a set of actions.

Creating a Service Request

A service request in our system is a quick low priority request that doesn’t need much explanation. It can be as simple as: ‘I need a new mouse’. To ease the convenience of the users, service requests are pre-defined. You can easily find a service request by choosing appropriate category.

In the system, both incident and service requests are treated exactly as same. The service request is used when you want to quickly request something without giving much details. Incident request on the other hand is more custom way where you can define your exact request. If a required service request is unavailable, you can always create an incident request for your needs.

Creating a Service Request from the Portal

You can create a new service request directly into the system when you are logged in. When you want to create a service request, system opens a page to select service. The page has many options that helps you in creating a request.

You can access the service request page by clicking the Create New + button and selecting the Request Service option. The Service Catalog page appears.

The page displays a list of service categories along with the services.

Service Categories

A category is simply a high level classification of the request services. It helps you to quickly find the required service. The categories displayed here are only the default categories. Actual categories in your portal may vary.

Services

A service is again simply the 2nd level classification of the categories. For example: A Hardware category can have many services like: new laptop, new mouse, Internet not working etc. The list of services depends on the the category you will select. Again, based on the selection, the request will be assigned to the concerned technician.

• Select the Service Category and then the desired Service. The following page appears.

• In the Additional Information section, select the requester and enter the details. The fields vary based on the service selected.

• Once the details are filled, click Submit Request to submit the request. The Service Request gets created and an email is sent to you acknowledging the Request. By default the Service Request is created with a prefix ‘SR’. For Example: SR-1

Creating a Request

To create a request,

1. Click the Create New + button and select the Create Incident option. The following page appears.

2. Enter the following details:

3. Once done, click Create. The request gets created and appears on the Request list page. Also, an email is sent to you acknowledging the request. A request starts with a prefix ‘INC’. For example: INC – 1.

Create Request from Email

System gives the option to set up an email as the Helpdesk email address. Technicians can send an email to create a Request.

You can create a request without logging into the system. When a Technician creates a Request using an email, the email subject becomes the Request Subject, email body becomes the Request Description, and any attachments become the Request attachment.

Additional Reading:

• Admin settings for Request Management
• Admin settings for Email Configuration
• Admin settings to Create Requests from Email

Request List View

The Request List View page displays all the available Requests in the system. It is the central hub for a Technician, where you can find a Request and act upon it.

Here, you can do the following:

1. Filter: You can filter the requests by clicking the desired option. For example: If All Open Requests is selected, the grid displays all the requests with open status.
2. Search: You can look for specific requests by searching them. The search is a faceted search and allows you to search with specific criteria. The filter option uses a predefined criteria and segregates the list accordingly. You can find more details in the search section.
3. Bulk Operations: You can select multiple requests and take the required action.
4. Grid: Displays all the requests in the grid.
5. View Requester Details: You can view the details of the requester like profile, recent requests, and assets.

6. Change Assignee: You can change the assignee from the Assignee column by clicking on the assignee’s name and selecting the desired technician.
7. Change Status: You can change the status of the request by clicking on it and selecting the required option. The options are: Open, In Progress, Pending, Resolved, and Closed. The default value is Open.
8. Change Priority: You can change the priority of the request by clicking on it and selecting the required option. The options are: Low, Medium, High, and Urgent. The default value is Low.
9. Export: You can export the requests list in CSV and Excel format.
10. Refresh: You can refresh the request list. This is useful when multiple people are working on the request and contents are updated frequently.
11. Column Selection: You can select the columns to be displayed in the grid table.
12. Split View: You can see the requests in split format.
13. Kanban View: You can view the request list in Kanban view.
14. More Options: You can click and select the Import Request option to import a list of Requests in bulk.

Column Selection

The column selection icon allows you to personalize the columns of the list page. When you change the columns of the list page, the changes does not affect other people.

Bulk Operations

With bulk operations, you can manage multiple Requests together. The option is visible when you select a Request. An option ‘Take Action’ displays with a list of options supported for bulk operations.

Split/List View

Default view is the list view. You can also click on Split View/List View icon to change the view. The split view displays the list of requests on the left side and the details of the selected request on the right side. To know about the details page options, click here.

Kanban View

Default view is the list view. You can click on the Kanban View option to change the view. The Kanban view displays a list of requests based on their status as shown below.

• You can also view the details of a particular request by clicking on it and a popup appears. Here, you can make the required changes. For more details, you can refer to the Request Details Page. To close the popup, click Done at the bottom-right corner.

• In this view, you can select the statuses to be available on the screen using the Kanban Column Selection icon as shown below.

Import and Export Request

To import multiple requests in bulk, follow the below steps:

1. Click the More Options icon (three dots) on the top-right corner of the page and select the Import Request option. The Request Batches page appears.
2. Click the Import CSV Batch button.
3. Select the .csv file if you already have it filled with the respective fields. If not, select the new .csv file using Click Here and fill the respective details. Once the file is uploaded, click Next.

4. Map the fields as per the requirement. By default it is mapped, only in case of removal/change of some parameters mapping is necessary, and click Save Batch.

5. The Request Batches page appears. It displays the status of the import along with the details like processing time, total records, success records, failed records, etc. as shown below. Once successful, the imported requests will appear in the request list page.

To export the request list locally in the form of CSV or Excel,

1. Click on the Export icon and a popup appears.
2. Select the Format as CSV or Excel.
3. Select the desired fields to be exported.
4. Click Export and an email is sent to the Administrator’s email address with the link to download the list in the selected format.

Request Management

Know how Request Management helps in tracking and managing the various requests.

What is Request Management?

Request Management is a module using which you can log, analyze, and resolve the requests. Its main aim is to fulfill the requests of the requesters in minimum time and maintain the quality.

What is a Request?

Request is a service requirement or an unexpected disturbance that the users raise. It initiates a service action that is agreed as a standard process of service delivery. There are two types of requests:

• Incident Requests: These requests are raised when there is a failure or degradation of a service. For example: The Email Server is not Working.
• Service Requests: These requests are raised for normal requirements like things and services. For example: Request to reset password or Request for a new Mouse.

Request Management in ServiceOps

Whenever a user creates a request in the Support Portal (requesters) or Technician Portal (Technicians) a ticket gets created. Request is also known as a Ticket. The request is a means by which you can communicate with the requesters.

The ServiceOps Request Management involves the following activities:

• Creating Requests in the Portal or by sending an email.
• Classifying the requests based on impact and urgency to prioritize work.
• Creating tasks and assigning requests to appropriate technicians or groups for speedy resolution.
• Escalating if necessary for further investigation.
• Resolving the request and notifying to the user who created it.
• If required re-opening the request for further analysis.
• Using reports to track and analyze the improvements.

In this section you can do the following:

• Create New requests: You can create requests in the following ways:
  • Via Technician Portal
  • Via Support Portal
  • Via your registered email address
  • Via Chatbot
• View requests: View all the requests of your organization based on the assigned role and rights. For example: If you are an HR, you will see the requests created for HR department.
• Update requests: Modify the basic details of the request.
• Manage requests: Based on the role you can: Merge, mark as spam, claim requests, assign requests to others, archive requests, approve/reject requests, create and manage tasks, add relations, etc.
• Control Settings as an Admin: You can control the behavior of how the requests are managed and who can do what.

Managing Widgets

A Dashboard is like an empty canvas, and widgets are data blocks showing specific data. Multiple widgets together give contextual meaning to a Dashboard. There are n number of permutations that can be achieved using different kinds of widgets all showing different data.

We currently have three kinds of widgets:

• KPI: The abbreviation stands for Key Performance Indicator which is a counter of occurrences satisfying a preset condition. For example, there could be a KPI that shows the number of Request tickets having reopen count greater than 0.

• Widget: A widget shows data points graphically across X and Y coordinates or as proportions. For example, count of Problem tickets can be shown across priorities using a Bar Chart.

• Shortcut: It is a predefined box that shows specific system data. For example, there is a Shortcut box called My Open Request that shows recent open Requests assigned to you.

A user can perform the following operations with widgets:

• View widgets, along with their parameters.
• Create custom widgets (not possible with Shortcuts).
• Edit existing widgets (not possible with Shortcuts).
• Create duplicate of a widget (not possible with Shortcuts).
• Delete a custom widget (not possible with Shortcuts and predefined widgets).

Creating a Custom widget

Here, you can create n number of custom widgets (only KPIs and Widgets) apart from the predefined ones.

Accessing the widgets panel

• Go to the Dashboard page.
• Click on the Customize button and the Edit Helpdesk Dashboard page appears.
• Click the  Add widgets button on the top-right corner of the page. Add Widgets popup appears.

Creating a KPI

• In the Add Widgets popup, select the KPIs tab, and click on Create KPI.

• A dialog box opens. Enter the following details:

Once done, click on Create to add the KPI under the KPI tab.

Creating a Widget

• In the Add Widgets popup, select the Widgets tab.

• Click on Create Widget on the top-right corner.
• A dialog box opens. Enter the following details:

When done, click on Create to add the Widget.

Filtering Widget

Filters: The Time Filter is available for all Widgets. These include: Today, Last 7 Days, Last 15 Days, Last 30 Days, This Week, This Month, or also Custom.

Auto Refresh Interval

Auto Refresh: You can auto refresh the complete Dashboard at specific intervals. It includes the time frames from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. On selecting the desired time interval, the dashboard would get refreshed automatically by default.

Viewing Widget

The user can view the definition of a KPI and Widget. But only an owner of a widget (KPI or Widget) can edit its definition.

• Open a Dashboard.
• You can view the definition of a KPI and Widget using the View Icon (eye).

Deleting Widget

Owner of a custom widget (KPI or Widget) can delete it using the Delete Icon.

Other Options for Widget

You can view the particular widget in Full Screen as well as download the Widget in .png and .jpeg format. If you wish to view it in the form of a document you can export the widget to PDF, CSV, and XLS format as shown below: