(v1) Service Desk Archiving
- David Engblom
Goals
- To allow Users to delete old data, such as Locations, Contacts, and Equipment.
- To allow Users to Archive and potentially cleanup (delete) old Service Order data.
- Provide ability to Demolish a Location, which allows deletion of a Location along with all sub-Locations.
- Remove hidden Location functionality (Hide) when all Requirements for SD Archiving are met.
Background and strategic fit
Once a Location, Contact, etc. has been used on Service Desk the foreign key will prevent that item from being deleted. Rewiring and reconstruction of Locations or cleaning up Contact records are difficult or near impossible if none of the data can be deleted. To remedy this we are introducing a text version Archive of Service Desk. Once the Service Desk data is converted to text and the foreign key references are deleted the Locations can be deleted. Some (Aging) time after a Service Desk Item moves to an "End Status" it will be "Archived". This will remove the foreign keys and assign text values to all of the data; in essence, the record is frozen to allow the deletion of records that were referencing it.
Assumptions
- At some point, Archived data can be deleted. These requirements do not cover any automated process to delete Archived data.
- Archived Service Desk items cannot be "Unarchived".
- Service Desk Archiving will be available upon request, and only after a training session with PCR.
Requirements
| # | Title | Details | Importance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
| Declined | PCR360-2585 | |
| 2 | Grids | Under the Service Desk Menu, an Archived Menu folder will include links to Requests, Estimates, Orders, Incidents, Projects, Problems, Quick Ticks. Archived records will not be part of any current grids (i.e. The "Service Desk" grid on Services, or the current Service Desk grids etc.). Grid searching: Lists will retain multi-options filters, including Active and Inactive options. | Must-Have | PCR360-2584 |
| 3 | Printout | Utilize the existing layout for the Service Desk Printout. The Archived Item Printout will look exactly the same as the current printout, but with an additional "Archived" flag/indicator and no QR Code. | Must-Have | PCR360-4071 |
| 4 | Database | Create a new, separate database schema for Archived Service Desk records. AdHoc and SQL API will have access to the Archive schema. Oracle installations will require a new User for the archive data; the PROD User must have access to the new schema. (This applies to the test instance as well.) MySQL will also require a new schema; permissions to the new schema must be added to the MySQL User with access to production. | Must-Have | PCR360-2583 |
| 5 | Aging | Add an Event to Archive data for any "End Status" Service Desk record after a specified time period. End Status: Void, Denied, Finalized (if no Charges), Billed. Aging time is defined on the Global Tenant record as the number of days from the End Status. All Child data will be retained with the exception of "Viewed" Service Desk Activity entries. The default Aging timeframe is 365 days (1 year). | Must-Have | PCR360-2586 |
| 6 | Archive Button | Add a new grid containing all items eligible for Aging. A button on the new grid will immediately Archive selected items, before designated Aging time (only archives records with end status). Add a prompt to confirm the request. It includes a required field for the "Reason for Archiving" the selected records; the reason is saved in the Bulk Update History. The Bulk Update History will also contain a list of any items that could not be Archived. | Nice to Have | PCR360-3434 |
| 7 | Demolish Location | Add a button, on the Location grid, to "Demolish" a selected Location or Locations. Add a prompt to confirm the request. It includes a required field for the "Reason for Demolition" of the selected records; the reason is saved in the Bulk Update History. The Bulk Update History entry contains any issues that occurred during the process (e.g. Failures from foreign keys would be logged). The process deletes the Location and all sub-Locations, as well as all Cable in that Location. The process will fail if any Services, Equipment, or other items are still linked to the Location. This process will not delete or deactivate any Equipment, Services or Charges associated with the selected Location. The process will fail if any of these items are still associated to the Location. Create AdHoc Reports to find anything linked to a Location (e.g Equipment, Services, and Charges). Note: Certain Catalog references to Locations can be automatically removed and will not be included in the AdHoc Report (i.e. Location Permissions on Service Catalogs or Equipment Catalogs). | Nice to Have | PCR360-3432, CUSTOM-69 |
User interaction and design
Questions
Below is a list of questions to be addressed as a result of this requirements document:
| Question | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Will we allow Archived Service Desk Items to be "Unarchived"? | No, we have decided to not support this ability. |
| Will we still allow for Hidden Locations? | We will be removing the Hidden Location feature in favor of the Service Desk Archival process and Location Demolition option. |
| What do we do about current Hidden Locations? | Show (unhide) all hidden locations and mark for deletion. Once the linked SD items are Archived the marked Locations can be manually deleted. |
| What if a Billed Service Desk record is Archived, and the Bill is regenerated? | If a Billed Service Desk Item is archived, and the Bill is regenerated, the Archived items will not appear on the regenerated Bill. |
| Will Archived records still appear on CustomerCenter? | No, Service Requests, Incidents etc. that are aged will no longer appear on CustomerCenter. |
| Will Attachments be preserved? | Yes, Attachments will be preserved with the Archived Service Desk items. |
| What items are eligible for Archiving? |
|
| Which Locations are eligible for the "Demolish" functionality? | Any Location no longer associated to any other record in PCR-360. A Location is NOT eligible for Demolition if the Location is still associated to any or all of the following:
If a Location is associated to a Purchase Order or a Return Order it will NOT be eligible for Demolition. |
| Is it necessary to build forms for Archived Service Desk Items? | At this time we feel it is not necessary to include special forms for Archived Service Desk Items. The Service Desk printouts are a better way to present the archived information to the user. |
Peripheral Changes
- Standard GET API calls will no longer be able to access cabling data which is completed or voided. If this data is desired the SQL API call will need to be used. We will be adding a wiki article with directions on how to do this at time of release.
- Due to the way Service Desk Cabling records are currently stored, Service Desk items that are Completed prior to the Archiving upgrade will not show Cabling data after the upgrade. Items Completed after upgrade will show point-in-time Cabling data captured at completion.
Not Doing
Archived records will not be part of any current grids (i.e. The "Service Desk" grid on Services, the current Service Desk grids etc.).After the 2019 Users group, The "Service Desk" grid on Services and Equipment will show archived Service Desk Information.- CustomerCenter will not have direct visibility of the Service Desk Archives. However, the Customer can provide Archived Service Desk information via a CustomerCenter AdHoc Grid.
The API will not interact with the Service Desk Archives, except through the SQL API.
Note: The Archive Schema would have to be prepended to the table references in the query.
- PCR is not moving other archived tables to the new Archive Schema at this time.
- Incident Cabling data will not be archived.
- Archived records will not have a history report.
- Archived records will not have a View Deleted Records report.
Help Desk Portal - Email: help@pcr.com - Phone: 616.259.9242