A Guide to Categories & SLA Management

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1 A Guide to Categories & SLA Management 1. Introduction Calls can be logged quickly and efficiently in SupportDesk using selection Categories within the call screen and these categories can match the conditions of whatever Service level Agreements (SLAs) are in place. SLAs are determined by the informational data in a business s service contract. These define for instance, how quickly calls will be responded to, or the hours that services will be available. Such data can be entered into SupportDesk to automatically define the priority of calls, to determine the support contracts of suppliers and customers etc. and can be reported against with ease. It is important therefore to ensure that categories and SLAs of a SupportDesk system are set up correctly. As every system is unique, it is not possible to lay down an exact template as to how the categories and SLAs should be configured. This document instead offers some strong guidelines that will assist you to lay solid foundations when embarking upon the configuration process. 2. Categories and Relationships First, we will take a look at the configuration of Categories. These are the different options that need to be selected when logging a call, in order to give an accurate idea of what the call is regarding, and how quickly the call needs to be attended to. Within SupportDesk, it is common to categorise calls in five ways: 1. Type This defines the nature of the call (e.g. Software/Hardware) 2. Sub-Type The child of Type, this provides further detail (e.g. Type = Hardware, Sub-Type = Printer) 3. Status Whether a call is Open, Closed, On Hold etc. 4. Priority If a call is Critical, Medium or Long Term 5. SLA (sometimes renamed Impact) Signifies the impact the call has on the organisation and corresponds with company SLAs. The impact and urgency model (ITIL) can be configured within SupportDesk when using SLA in conjunction with Urgency. This enables Priorities to be calculated automatically. Analysis this is a field that is not always implemented, but can come in very handy for recording extra information upon closure of a call, such as noting that a Workaround has been put in place or if there was No Fault Found etc. In this situation, Analysis would be made mandatory upon call resolution or closure. 3 rd Level Type An alternative use for the analysis field is to make it into a 3 rd level Type field. In this case, Type can be parented to a renamed Analysis field, and if Analysis is still required, and Extra Field can be implemented for this function. 1

2 Figure 1: The Service Level Management Screen Define relationships between categories. E.g. here Sub-Type is parented by Type Access category maintenance screens via the classifications dropdown It is from the Service Level Management screen within System Management that the maintenance screens of all the separate categories can be accessed within SupportDesk. Categories can be selected via the classifications dropdown. Further categories of Activity, Analysis Q & A and Urgency are also accessed from here. The maintenance screens for categories all share many of the same settings and attributes, but any differences will be highlighted in the section on that particular category. 3. Helpful Hints Before starting, it is important that there is clarity on how each of these categories is used. Whilst SupportDesk has the flexibility to actually rename these call categories through use of the Data Dictionary, the default names are used for the purpose of this document, and should give you a clear idea of their individual functions. When setting up Categories and SLAs, there are some key thoughts that you should keep returning to, in order to help make decisions on category names and numbers: Make the categories simple, precise and concise get the balance right between the number of selection options and areas covered. For example, Types are important; not only for reporting and statistical analysis, but for quickly letting help desk agents and customers know exactly what the issue is about. If there are too many Types, it may be difficult for the person logging the call to know which one to select. Therefore, when creating your Types, try and cut down the amount of decision making that needs to be done, in order to also reduce mistakes. If it is difficult for the person logging the call to decide which Type the call lies under, then this will result in inaccurate data and meaningless reports. 2

3 So try to ask yourself: If you have many Types, are there any which could be combined into a single selection? It is possible to define the Type further by using the Sub-Type category, so it is common for Types to be a bit broader, yet still remain meaningful. Think about end users and customers will they understand the categorisations? Try not to use too much technical jargon - make it obvious which is the one to pick. 4. Setting up the main Categories: Types So, it is a good idea to begin by configuring your Types. Types will depend greatly upon the areas of your organisation that you are supporting, or upon the services that you offer to customers. For example, if you are setting up an IT Service Management system and want to set up Types within your Incident Management folder, these may include Hardware and Software and not specific pieces of equipment such as Laptop. This is because at this point is it necessary to try to keep the Types broad and clear: they can become more detailed with the use of sub-types. 1. Creating a new Type. To create a new Type, first of all make sure that the Folder Type on the Service Level Management screen is set to the specific folder for which you are creating the categories. This example is for an IT Service Management folder, so the Folder Type is set to the appropriate option. By assigning the categories you configure to specific Folder Types, you will be able to have different workflows and SLAs for each folder within your system. 2. Classifications dropdown. Next, simply select Type from the classifications dropdown and click New at the bottom left of the screen. 1. Select the correct folder dictionary 2. Select Type from the classifications dropdown Click New 3

4 3. Enter Type name OK to save 3. Enter name. You will now be able to see the Details tab for Type. Here, enter the name of the Type you wish to set up. I have called this Type Software, which could be used within an IT Service Management system. Then click OK to save. * It is within the Details tab that you are able to apply Response, Warning and Action/Fix dates and times that are based upon your SLAs. It is our recommendation to configure these against Priority. Therefore, setting up Response times will be covered in the Priority section of this document. 4. Test. At this point, it will be worth checking that you have successfully created your first Type, before progressing on to setting up the next one. In order to do this, go into your Incident Management folder, click New to log a new call, and see if Software appears in the Type dropdown. If this has been successful, repeat the process until you have a list of Types set up. For my IT Service Management system, I am going to include the Types Software, Hardware and Event Management (but yours may differ). 4

5 5. Sub-Types Enter the name of Sub-Type, OK to save Sub-Types can be used to expand the call type selection further and enable the person logging the call to provide precise details of the nature of a call. 1. Creating a new Sub- Type. Create a new Sub-Type in the same way as creating a Type: first select Sub-Type from the categories dropdown, and then click New. 2. Enter name. Now on the Sub-Type Details tab, enter the name of the new Sub-Type. For this example, I have entered the name MS Office. Then click OK to save. 3. Test. Again, it is worth making sure that the category has been saved successfully, so go into your Incident Management folder within SupportDesk, try to log a new call, and check that MS Office now appears in the Sub-Type category dropdown. 5. Associate the Type with the Sub-Type by setting the Type as Parent within the Sub-Type Details 4. Parent-Child relationships. Currently, the Type Software and Sub-Type MS Office are not related. If I were to create another Sub- Type named Printer, my system would currently show both Sub- Types: MS Office and Printer when the Type Software is selected. This is something that can lead to errors and inaccurate data logging, as the Sub-Type Printer cannot be classified as a piece of software. So, Printer would need to be configured so that it can only be seen when another appropriate Type e.g. Hardware is selected. 5

6 5. Creating Parent-Child relationships. So, in order to associate MS Office with the correct Type of Software, I now need to set up this Sub-Type as the Child of Software. In order to do this, double click back into MS Office, and then, still on the Details tab, find the Dependencies section (pictured on the previous page). Here, there is a dropdown entitled Parent Cat. In this dropdown, you should now be able to see the Type Software. Select this and click OK to save. 6. Create another Sub-Type. Repeat the process of setting up another Sub-Type, such as Type Sub-Type = Printer. I am now going to set the Type Hardware that I configured previously as the parent of Sub-Type Printer by selecting Hardware from the Parent Cat. Dropdown on the Details tab of Printer. Now, if I select the Type Software, I should only be prompted to select MS Office in the Sub-Type dropdown. Similarly, when I select Type = Hardware, only Sub- Type = Printer should appear: 7. Build your list. Now that you know the process for configuring Types and Sub-Types, carry on through your list of Sub-Types. You should end up with more Sub-Types than Types. Your lists can be edited easily at a later date via the Service Level Management screen. If you decide that you do not need a specific Type or Sub-Type, we would recommend archiving rather than deleting, so that it can be easily reinstated if necessary. To archive, click into the Details tab, and tick the box Archive: The Internal tick box is present regularly within SupportDesk ticking this means that WebGuests (end users) do not see that particular piece of configuration Archive unwanted categories using the tick box 6

7 6. Statuses The status category informs of what stage a call is at, and enables you to set up a specific workflow to be used when handling calls, which can be unique to your organisation. The following statuses are suggested as a starting point for when setting up your status categories within SupportDesk: Open this should be the initial status for all calls. On Hold this status is used for calls which cannot currently be progressed for various reasons, which could include if you are waiting for information from a customer or for delivery of parts etc. SupportDesk has the functionality to Stop the Clock on this status, so that Key Performance Indicators and SLA reports are not adversely affected. Resolved this may be used as a pre-emptive status to Closed. This could be used in situations when the customer is required to confirm that the issue has been sorted out. Closed when a customer confirms that the issue has been resolved, the call can be marked as Closed. SupportDesk can automatically escalate the status to Closed after a pre-set period of time, if the customer does not respond to say the call should still be open. Reopen in the occurrence of the call needing further work for whatever reason, the call can be given a Reopened status which makes the call live once more. 1. Create your Statuses. Statuses can be configured in the same way as Types, by going to the Service Level Management Screen, selecting Status in the classifications dropdown and hitting New. * Some systems will require the parenting of statuses: this is discussed in point 6. of this section. Select the milestone for calls that you wish to be recognised as something other than Open 2. Set up Status Milestones. One feature of SupportDesk that is unique to the Status Category is the ability to indicate to the system if the Status you have defined corresponds to one of three absolute statuses that SupportDesk will recognise. These are called Milestones and are fixed as: Responded to Resolved Closed 3. Setting up Status milestones. Here on the Details tab of the Status Category named Resolved, you can see the Milestones/ 7

8 Metrics section. The Resolved Status tick box has been checked. Now, when this status is selected on a call, it will be possible for SupportDesk to recognise that the call is no longer Open, but has been Resolved. This is important for reporting capabilities within the system, keeping users and customers aware that a call is progressing, and will allow you to immediately sort and view all calls marked as Resolved via the QuickViews dropdown. Similarly, for the Closed status, select the Closed milestone. You may also wish on some statuses for the system to recognise that calls have been Responded to, (perhaps if your SLAs include sending a First Response on calls and therefore, your system has a status to reflect this) so again, the milestone tick box needs to be selected for such as status. 4. Stop the Clock. It is possible on certain statuses that you will require to Stop the Clock. An example of this may include an On Hold status. In the example below, a status has been created called On Hold: Customer, which can alert the helpdesk that the call is currently waiting for the customer to perform an action. Because the call cannot progress until the customer has performed the certain action, a Stop the Clock rule can be applied. Tick Stop the Clock so that counters are stopped on statuses that cannot currently be progressed 5. Workflow and Actions tab. Pictured is the Workflow and Actions tab of the On Hold: Customer status. Within this screen there is the Stop the Clock tick box. Once selected, SupportDesk will stop the clock, and pause counting the incrementally elapsed time on a call until the status is changed. 6. Parent Child Relationships within Statuses. Some statuses within the workflow would benefit from the configuration of parent-child relationships. Such statuses may include Resolved being set as the parent of Closed, the reason for this being that the customer may need to confirm that the call is indeed resolved before the call can be set as closed. Therefore, the Closed status must not be available to select within the workflow of a call when it is first logged and still Open. Similarly, Closed may be set as the parent of Reopen. This is because the call would only need to be reopened once it has be marked as Closed, therefore, it would be confusing and could cause the logging of inaccurate data if Reopen was available to select upon first logging a call: 8

9 Closed and Reopen are not available in the initial dropdown when first logging a call Closed can only be accessed to select once the Resolved status has been selected Reopen can only be accessed to select once the Closed status has been selected Select the Parent Cat. For the Child status 7. Setting up Parent Statuses. So, in order to configure these parentchild relationships for statuses, it is again within the Dependencies section of the category screen which you require to set as the Child status, that the Parent can be configured. As pictured above, if you wish to set the Reopen status as the Child of Closed (so that this only appears once Closed has been selected), go to the Details tab of Reopen, and select Closed as the Parent Cat. Repeat the process by setting Resolved as the parent of Closed if required. 8. Escalation of Statuses. You will notice that the fourth tab along on the category configuration screens is entitled Escalation. It is from here that you can configure categories so that they change to another status after a predefined amount of time. A common case in which this may be used is the escalation of the Resolved status to Closed. An may be sent to the customer on the Resolution of a call to notify them of the requirement for a response if they are dissatisfied with the call being closed, and may include something along the lines of: 9

10 We believe that the call has been resolved. If you do not feel that the issue has been fixed then please respond to this within 2 days, otherwise the call will be closed. In this situation, you can set the call to escalate to Closed automatically if the customer does not respond. 8b. Workflow Engine. To do this, you must first ensure that your Workflow Engine is running in order for the escalation of statuses to work. 8c. Escalation Tab. Pictured in the example below is the Escalation tab of the Resolved status. In order to enable the status to escalate to Closed, simply find Closed in the Escalate to: dropdown and select. * As you can see, the status has (Resolved) in brackets. This is just to notify you of the fact that Resolved is the parent of Closed. Select the status you wish to escalate to from the Escalate to: dropdown. OK to save Enter the amount of time you wish the status to escalate after 8d. Set the escalation time. Now, enter in the Escalate After: dropdown the amount of time you wish the status to change after. This can be minutes, hours, days weeks etc. Click OK to save. 10

11 7. Service Level Agreements If you are committed to providing a different level of service to different customers then you can define a suite of priorities for different SLAs. These can be specified on the customer and automatically brought forward when a call is logged for that customer. Configuring your Service Level Agreements is a vital component of how your system will function and how your categories will work together, so their successful implementation should help you to manage data effectively and provide the best service. This part of the setup will require an amount of configuration by House-on-the-Hill consultants. There are a number of decisions that you will need to make in order to create a fully functional SLA model: 1. Impact/Urgency/Priority ITIL recommends an Impact and Urgency matrix for determining the Priority of a call, and this functions using calculations based upon the Impact that the call will have on the business and the Urgency of resolving the issue. A default Priority is generated based upon these decisions and the SLA is used as the Impact. This can automatically generate Response, Warning and Action dates upon a call. Therefore, it is important to consider your SLAs in relation to the various call Priorities that you will be logging within your organisation. For example, a typical model may consist of 5 different Priorities including: 1. Critical 2. High 3. Medium 4. Low 5. Long Term 8. Calendars Once your SLAs have been configured, it is possible to configure your calendars upon SLAs separately so that certain SLAs can function differently to your office hours. This will be useful if for instance a Critical Priority requires 24 hour service. The fifth tab on the category management screens is named Calendar however it is only from within the SLA category that you are able to configure this area. 1. Set the SLA calendars. You should already have your office hours configured from your initial implementation of SupportDesk, and this will have been set up within System Management > Company Configuration. Perhaps your office hours are 5 days a week, 09:00 17:00, and this is also when you wish to provide your services to customers. If this is the case, you will not need to set individual Calendar times upon your SLA categories, as they will automatically work in conjunction with your standard office hours. However, as previously suggested, high Priority SLAs may require out-of-hours attention, and therefore, need unique calendar configuration. 11

12 So, this image displays how for an SLA of 0. Major, services will be available 6 days a week from 08:00 22:00, and from 10:00 16:00 on Sundays, instead of the usual 09:00 17:00 office hours. This is of course just an example, and SupportDesk has the flexibility for you to set these as required. 12

13 Additional Fields Now that the base areas of configuring your Categories and Service Level Agreements have been covered, you should be able to begin evolving your system to suit your individual requirements and achieve a service desk that runs efficiently and smoothly. Remember that you will need to repeat the processes outlined in this document for each folder that you set up within your system, specifying the Folder Type so that each set of categories you configure functions independently within the various folders. You may notice that there are a number of fields within the category management screen tabs that have not been discussed, so here are some brief descriptions of their functionalities. This should give an idea of the additional capabilities that you can enable within your system, however, to always contact HotH if there is an area you are not sure about before making any dramatic changes to your system. Details tab: Enter the name of the category here Category details can be locked into a specific folder type Set the order of category selections displayed in dropdowns on the call screen 13

14 Workflow & Actions tab ITIL module: Close Linked Records allows for group closure of linked records You can set a default assignee for categories Automatically copy or move calls to other Folders when category is selected Child activities can be raised automatically when a category is selected Set up automatic templates to be sent out on certain categories. E.g. On Resolved status, you may wish to send an to notify customer that the call is now believed to be Resolved and will soon be Closed. (requires Escalation) 14

15 Figure 4: Category Escalation Escalate categories (mainly used for Status category) Assign new assignees/ groups after breaches Part of the success of SupportDesk can be put down to its flexibility, as represented by this choice of settings. It is therefore not essential to configure all of these settings when first creating the category codes, as you can choose to gradually evolve your system in order for it to mould around the specific needs of your organisation. If you require assistance or have any questions, get in touch at 15