(2024.2) Record Management within Service Desk
- David Engblom
Overview
Many Users of PCR-360 notice considerable slowness when trying to process Service Orders or Work Orders with hundreds or thousands of records associated with them, be they Equipment, Charges, Service Actions, or Cabling related. This can also create extensive Workflows to be generated on the Service/Work Order across the various Actions within it, slowing down PCR-360's ability to process data promptly. The recommended solution to this problem is to break up all of those Service/Work Order-related records into smaller portions that can be processed without encountering internal PCR-360 timeouts. But, many Organizations like to have a higher level of visibility on these records for reporting or oversight purposes. This article will discuss the two different ways your Organization can utilize PCR-360 for all needs while still getting the level of performance desired by the application.
Method | Single Worker | Multi Worker | Reportable |
|---|---|---|---|
Projects and Problems | |||
UDFs and Imports |
Projects and Problems
Projects and Problems within Service Desk are ideal ways to group a collection of related Service/Work Orders because they process the Associated Items tab. Groups of small Service/Work Orders can be associated with the higher level Project/Problem so that they can all be easily tracked while allowing Users to lessen the amount of processing PCR-360 needs to perform at once. While both are very similar in function, Problems were designed to resolve issues within the Organization, such as replacing defective Equipment or attempting to locate a trend to identify recurring issues with Services or Equipment. This is why Problems process additional fields for Resolution Codes and the Details for the Resolution. Unless your Organization is experiencing a "problem" with numerous related or similar items, it is recommended to utilize Projects for tracking these groupings of smaller Service/Work Orders. This is the recommended method by PCR for maintaining performance in PCR-360's Service Desk.
Handling Multiple Workers
Because the Project/Problem can be associated with multiple items, each Worker can have their own assigned Service/Work Order.
When does this method Excel?
This method is most effective when multiple Workers are trying to accomplish similar tasks. A singular Worker assigned to numerous items may give the illusion that the Worker has too much work assigned, making it more challenging to promptly maintain metrics related to completing assigned Service Desk items.
UDFs and Imports
Using User-Defined Fields on Service/Work Orders can enable an exciting way to manage many records. A singular Service/Work Order is used for all work, and a custom UDF records the work's details. Once the work is complete, or various sections of work have been completed in full, the User can utilize an Import to load all of the records at once when it is less impactful for other Users of PCR-360. The History Report can be used to view all activities done using this task, as PCR-360 will maintain an audit of all changes made to a record, so higher-level reporting can still be done.
However, this method does have flaws. Primarily, there is no way to Report on the current status of all ongoing related activity; this is because the UDFs are used only for note-taking purposes and are thus only as valuable as the notes and Remarks made on a singular Service/Work Order. Additionally, While PCR-360 offers many different types of records that can be imported, not all records can be Imported in such a way. For information on creating a new UDF, please see our other wiki article.
Handling Multiple Workers
Because this method relies on a single Service/Work Order, each Worker will need their own individual parallel Workflow.
When does this method Excel?
This method is most effective when only a single Worker is performing the activity. Multiple different Workers updating the "status" UDF can open up risks to compromising the effectiveness/accuracy of the oversight of the work.