Service Desk (SD)

The Service Desk (SD) sub-section allows Admin Users to set defaults throughout the many functions of the Service Desk. This capability is extremely powerful and allows you to define and tailor different types of SD items. You can define multiple types of Requests, Incidents, Changes Orders, etc. with its own default Actions, Workflows, Charges, completion time estimates, etc. These defaults can be thought of as 'templates' used by the Service Desk in item fulfillment and helps standardize your operations and minimize the need for redundant data entry on standard SD offerings.

For example, if an Admin wanted to ensure that specific protocol was followed for all items that fall under a specific SD type. In this section, the Admin can apply defaults to types of SD items in a way that, assuming specific criteria is met by the actual items, the items automatically default to define a Workflow. Similarly, Admin User can apply default Charges and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to SD types.

In this section, Users can also set default lists and menu options that occur regularly in the Service Desk.

Service Desk Classification (SDC)

Admin Users can access this sub-section to implement the default SLA Time Specification, default Workflows, default Charges, and default Equipment that can accompany items in the Service Desk. Further, Users can apply the same function to pieces of Equipment when ordered in Service Desk. In other words, certain types of Equipment carry default Charges, Workflows, or SLAs when defaults are in place.

Admin Users can implement existing SDCs and create new SDCs. Accordingly, the SDC grid serves as a comprehensive list of all the SD defaults that one could apply to an SD type.

Adding a New SDC

1. Navigate to the SDC Grid. Admin > Service Desk > Classification (SDC)
2. This opens the SDC Grid. To add a new SDC, click the Add button.  located immediately above the Grid.
3. In the SDC data entry form, Users are prompted to define the SD Type for which this Classification applies. Once they have selected an SD Type, they will be prompted to apply Service Desk defaults. Some SD types allows selecting an SDC Type: Any, Service, or Equipment. Selecting any, other than Any and Estimate, allows a drop down menu for SDC Type to appear on the form on the right. Users can select the type as needed.
   

The combination of these two fields – the SD Type and SDC Type – determines which other fields are available on the form. The ‘SD Type’ selection defines which SD items the classification applies to. Accordingly, the User's SD Type selection enables other fields in the classification associated with the defined type. The following chart details the fields that are available on SDC:

See also our Video tutorial: Getting Started with SDCs

Admin Users can now access the SDC data entry forms tabs in order to apply defaults to the recently defined 'Service Type' or type of Equipment. The User can apply SLA, Workflow, and Charge defaults that accompany the defined 'Service Type' or type of Equipment in each tab

To do so, Users can follow the same protocol established in the Editing a Service Order section of the Service Desk portion of this manual.

Time Specifications

This is the Time Specification for the SDC. These are preset by the SLAs and can be associated with a specific SDC here.

Use of the Fields

• SLA (required) - Select from the SLA Catalog grid.
• Hours (required) - This is the time specification for the SLA and represents the allowable hours for the SLA. The allowable hours are affected by several variables also on this form.
• Percent (required) - This is the expectation of completed SLAs that should be completed within the specified time frame (e.g. 95% means only 5% of SLAs are allowed run over the Time Specification).
• Default - Set the SLA as the Default for the given SDC.
• Urgency - Sets the Urgency of the SDC. Any SDC with a higher Urgency overrides a lower Urgency and set the lower Urgency to the same Urgency.
• Cushion - Sets a cushion between either the current time and the first schedule attempt (in forward scheduling) or between the due date and the first schedule attempt (in backward scheduling). Overrides the system default which is set with the Configuration Option: SD_WORKFLOW_DEFAULT_CUSHION
• Actual Hours - The default for hours is 8 hours per business day. So a setting of 40 hours would mean within 5 business days. Setting 'Actual Hours' to yes by checking it requires no more than 40 contiguous hours for an SLA to be completed.
  • Setting 'Actual Hours' unsets 'End of Day'.
• End of Day - This allows the SLA to be completed by the 'End of Day' (which is set with the Configuration Option WORKDAY_HOUR_STOP) during which the "Hours" run out. For example, if 40 hours is chosen with 'Actual' hours set, and a task is scheduled at 4:00 PM Monday, the task would have to be completed by 8:00 AM Wednesday to be "On Time". End of day extends the deadline to End of Business hours on Wednesday.
  • Setting 'End Of Day' unsets 'Actual Hours'.

To add a Time Specification, follow these steps:

1. From the 'Time Specifications' tab click the 'Add' button.
2. This opens the 'Add New Time Specifications' form.
   
3. Click the SLA picker. Select the desired SLA from the Tree / Grid.
4. Enter the desired hours into the 'Hours' field.
5. Enter the percent in the 'Percent' field.
6. Enter any other desired fields and click the 'Save New' button.

The 'Time Specification' is added to the Grid.

See also our Video tutorial: Adding SLA Time Specifications to an SDCs

Default Workflow

To automatically assign the Workflow when the SDC is applied, follow these steps:

1. From the Workflow tab, click the 'Add' button.
2. This opens the 'Add New SDC Workflow' form.
   
3. Enter a Wf Number . We recommend using increments of 10 or 100.
4. Use the 'Workgroup' picker to select the desired Workgroup.
5. Click the 'Save New' button.

This saves the Workflow to the 'SDC: Workflow' Grid. Now whenever the SDC of 'Avaya Phone' is selected in Service Desk: Order, this Workflow automatically adds to the Service Order Workflow tab.

See also our Video tutorial: Adding Workflow to an SDCs

Charges

These are the Default Charges that are to be applied when the SDC is applied. These Charges draw from the Charges Catalog.

1. Click the Add button.
2. The 'Add New Default Charges' tab opens.
   
3. Select a Charge from the Charge Catalog picker.
4. Enter the Charge Override Amount if desired.
5. Enter the Quantity if desired.
6. Click the Save New button.

The form closes and the Default Charge is applied to the current SDC item. Repeat as necessary to add additional Default Charges.

See also our Video tutorial: Adding Charges and Equipment to an SDCs

Equipment

These are the 'Default Equipment' that are to be applies when the SDC is applied. These Equipment are drawn from the Equipment Catalog.

To add Equipment, follow these steps:

1. Click the Add button.
2. This opens the 'Add New Equipment' form.
   
3. Select the Equipment(s) that is desired to associate with the given SDC.
4. Click the Save and Close button.

The Equipment loads by default when the SDC is applied.

See also our Video tutorial: Adding Charges and Equipment to an SDCs

Saving the New SDC

Once all required fields have been satisfied, click the Save New button located at the bottom of the SDC data entry form. The new SDC appears as an item on the original SDC Grid.

When an SD item meets the defined criteria enters the Service Desk, the PCR-360 application automatically applies the appropriate defaults to the item.

Editing Existing SDCs

Admin Users can edit existing SDCs by double-clicking on any item on the SDC grid or by selecting an item and clicking the Edit Selected button located immediately above the grid.

This opens the item's SDC data entry form. The User can define the item's inputs by following the protocol established earlier in this section. Once all required fields have been satisfied, click the Save button at the bottom of the form.

Admin Users can delete existing SDCs by selecting the appropriate item on the SDC grid and clicking the Delete Selected button located immediately above the Grid.

Number Configuration

This function allows Users to set and reset their Service Desk Numbering schemes. While typically a straightforward five-digit code that is used to quickly and consistently identify a User's SD items, Users can also choose to apply numeric dates to their Number which makes it even easier to identify one's items.

Managing the User's Service Desk Number

Open the Admin tab and click on the node labeled 'Service Desk'. Click the node labeled Number Config. Keep in mind that there is no Grid associated with this function.

In the form, the User is sees two fields: Prefix Format and Next Sequence Number.

The 'Next Sequence Number' is the five-digit Service Desk Number that is next in sequence. Users cannot change this number. It is generated automatically by the application, but it can be reset.

The 'Prefix Format' allows Users to attach numeric dates to the beginning of their Service Desk Number. For example, if a User selects 4-Digit Year [YYYY] as the prefix, their Service Desk number includes the year in which they created the SD item. If the User shown in the graphic above created a Service Order this year, that Service Desk Number that accompanies the Order would read: 'SO201700043'.

Users can select prefixes ranging from 2-digit year [YY] to 4-Digit Year – 2-Digit Month – 2-Digit Day YYYYMMDD.

After all the fields have been satisfied, click the Save button at the bottom of the form.

To reset the Service Desk Number to 00001, click the Reset Sequence and Save button. Once the sequence is reset, it cycles through the existing numbers to find an open one if the system attempts to save a number that already exists.

WARNING: Resetting the Service Desk Number sequence should not be done frequently as it could cause problems identifying Service Desk entries. This is typically done once per year at the beginning of each year and can be set on a schedule to happen automatically. This setting is available during application implementation.

Fiscal Start

The 'Fiscal Start' field take a two digit month/day (MM/DD) to set the start time for an organizations Fiscal Year. This field also sets a "Fiscal Wall" that will prevent Charges from being created for any date older then the set Fiscal Year when using with Back Billing.

The 'Fiscal Start Next Year' will set the year to the following year if it is set to True. If the checkbox is not set then the current year is used instead.

When the Fiscal Start date is passed in real time, the Service Desk numbers will automatically increment to the next year.

Blocked Emails

Admin Users can block specific email addresses from submitting inquiries and correspondence by adding the addresses to the 'Blocked Emails' Grid. See the article Requests in the Service Desk category for more information on how the application processes emails.

Entries on the Blocked Email Grid are most commonly created from within Service Desk. When editing an Inquiry item, Users can press a button to add the source's email address to the blocked list and delete the Incident itself.

Adding an Email Address

To add an email address to the Blocked Emails grid and block the address, click the Add button located immediately above the Grid.

In the form, input the complete email address to be blocked. Once the Email field has been defined, click the Save New button. The address appears as an item on the Blocked Emails Grid and is blocked indefinitely by the PCR-360 application.

To block an entire domain, use ' * ' as a wildcard entry. For example, specifying *@pcr.com blocks all emails from the pcr.com domain.

In addition to wildcards, regular expressions may be used for both the email and subject values. They must be surrounded by slashes, for example /^blocked*/ will block anything starting with blocked. 'Whitelists' can also be created using a negative look ahead regular expression, for example /@(?!pcr.com)/ would whitelist pcr.com. Please note that only a single whitelist entry can be added, or else all emails will be blocked.

Removing Blocked Emails

If an Admin user would like to remove an address from the Blocked Emails Grid and enable correspondence from/to this address, select the appropriate item on the Grid and click the Delete Selected button located immediately above the Grid.

Once the address has been removed from the Grid, it is no longer blocked by the PCR-360 application.

Generic Incident Codes

When a User or Customer submits an Incident, they are required to post an Incident Code to the item. For example, if the complaint relates to a broken door handle in an office, the User or Customer can select from a drop-down list of default Incident Codes to see if one might apply.

An Incident Code might enact a series of defaults (as implemented in the SDC section) or simply make it easier for the User's organization to identify the nature of the complaint. Currently there are two types of Incident Codes. The 'Trouble' type defines what the issue is to aid in correcting a given Incident. A 'Resolution' type is assigned when an Incident has been resolved.

In any case, the contents of the Generic Incident Codes grid populate the drop-down menus that are encountered during the submission of an Incident only if no Incident Codes are populated on the Incident’s service or equipment. Admin Users can add any number of Generic Incident Codes to make the Incident process more streamlined and effective.

Adding an Incident Code

Navigate to the Generic Incident Codes grid by opening Admin > Service Desk > Generic Incident Codes.

This action opens the Generic Incident Codes grid.

1. To add a new incident code, click the 'Add' button located immediately above the grid.
2. In the Incident Code data entry form, Users are prompted to define several required fields.
3. Users can define the 'Type' as either 'Trouble' or 'Resolution'. This indicates that the code populates the Trouble Code or Resolution Code selectors on Service Desk Incidents.
4. Next, Users can manually input a Code. This is typically a brief description of the Incident such as "Door Handle Broken" for a 'Trouble' code or "Replaced Bulb" for a 'Resolution' code.
5. Finally, the User must define the Impact of the Incident as 'High', 'Medium', or 'Low' based on the seriousness of the complaint. When a specific code is selected from Service Desk Incidents, this Impact specification is also populated onto the Incident.

Saving New Incident Codes

Once all required fields have been satisfied, click the 'Save New' button located at the bottom of the Incident Code data entry form. The new incident code appears as an item on the original Generic Incident Codes Grid and as an option wherever Incident Codes appear throughout the application.

Editing Existing Incident Codes

Admin Users can edit existing Incident Codes by double-clicking on any item on the Generic Incident Codes grid or by selecting an item and clicking the 'Edit Selected' button located immediately above the Grid.

This action opens the item's Incident Code data entry form. The User can define the item's inputs by following the protocol established earlier in this section. Once all required fields have been satisfied, click the Save button at the bottom of the form.

Admin Users can delete existing Incident Codes by selecting the appropriate item on the Generic Incident Codes grid and clicking the Delete Selected button located immediately above the Grid.

Packages

Any Package can be associated be associated with multiple SDCs. The number of SDCs associated with a given Package is displayed on the grid under the SDCs in Package column. Users can use the 'Toggle Status' button to make the record Inactive which removes the Package from menus.

To view, create, or edit a Package navigate to Admin > Service Desk > Packages. This opens the Packages grid. To add a new Package click the Add button, which opens the Add New Packages form.

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The 'Title' field is a Required field. There are two tabs that allow the Admin to control how the Package is used in the CustomerCenter, the SDC and Catalog tabs. Each Package must also have at least one SDC associated with it, which is also a Required field on a Package.

SDC tab

The SDC tab allows an Admin to either add a new SDC or select an existing one from the SDCs that are already defined. SDCs on Packages are limited to the Service Request SD Type. The Add button  lets the User create an SDC that is specific for a given Package. The Add Existing button selects an existing SDC from the SDC grid.

Catalog tab

The Catalog tab allows the Admin to set how the Package appears on the CustomerCenter. This is the Catalog that appears to the Customer under Shopping > Packages on the CustomerCenter. This is the same Catalog tag on the Service Catalog or Equipment Catalog forms.

We can set the image of the Catalog with the Upload Images button. The Description field allows the User set how the Description appears in the CustomerCenter to the Customers when they attempt to add items to the Cart.

Quick Tick Types

Quick Ticks can be managed from here. Simply navigate to Admin > Service Desk > Quick Tick Types to open the Quick Ticks Grid and manage them. Users can perform several types of actions here.

Add

This process is used to create a Quick Tick Type that can be used to create Quick Ticks.

1. Click the add button.
2. Enter a Unique name for the Quick Tick Type.
3. Each Quick Tick Type can minimally have a Contact and Description. Toggle the appropriate check box to have it appear for use.
   • If you want them to be required for the User, you can toggle the Required check box.
4. Click the Save New button.
5. You can optionally define as many User Defined Fields as you would like to maintain additional information.

Edit Selected

Once a Quick Tick has been created Users can edit it by clicking the Edit Selected button. Additionally, any User Defined Fields that are desired can be created by selecting a Quick Tick Type and editing it. It is important to note that a User can only create a new UDF field once the Quick Tick has been created.

Toggle Status

Clicking the 'Toggle Status' button removes the Quick Tick type from the drop downs elsewhere in PCR-360. This is useful to remove access to a Type without removing the data type from the system.

Delete Selected

Clicking the Delete Selected button permanently removes that Quick Tick type from PCR-360.

Re-Order Types

The order of Quick Ticks in the drop-down selector can be changed by clicking the 'Re-Order Types' button. This opens up the 'Add New Tick Type Order' form.

From this form, a User can select a new order for the Quick Ticks in the drop down. This is done by using a drag and drop. When the order is as desired, click the Save button. That is the new order that the Quick Ticks appear.