Creating Tickets in NSCC HelpLine Technical Support Staff Instructions

Transcription

1 Creating Tickets in NSCC HelpLine Technical Support Staff Instructions August 27, 2004 Donnie MacNeil 1 of 18

2 Highlights... 3 HelpLine Structure Overview HelpLine Folder Assigned Help Desk Tickets Folder Completed Folder Knowledge Base Folder Reports Folder Utilities Folder... 7 Using Views in HelpLine Folders... 7 Working with Help Tickets... 7 Creating HelpLine Tickets (Technical Staff Instructions)... 7 Opening a ticket submitted by an Enduser... 7 Updating/Completing HelpLine tickets... 7 Cleaning up Completed Tickets... 7 Running Reports of 18

3 Highlights The NSCC Helpline is now the single point of entry for all technical support requests at NSCC. Regardless of the location of the user in NSCC or the type of technical request (campus network, PeopleSoft, video conferencing, etc.) all requests for help will go through the NSCC HelpLine. The web form for the HelpLine will be the preferred and advertised method for end users to submit help requests. The address will be the published address for submitting HelpLine requests. For your information, the actual URL for the HelpLine is: but these URLs will also get users to the proper location: or Technical support staff will generally use the Outlook client to enter, update and close HelpLine tickets because of the enhanced functionality of the Outlook client. Technical support staff may use the web forms to submit and view tickets, but they cannot be updated from the web at this time. Redemption must be installed for any user who wishes to use the Outlook client to submit HelpLine requests. Redemption permits the HelpLine forms to query the Exchange address book. Redemption can be downloaded from: ftp:// Any ticket entered by the technical support staff must have an end user specified. If an end user is not specified, then the ticket will appear in every campus view of the HelpLine folder. One custom view that was created is called No End User Specified. This view can be used to quickly locate tickets that do not have an entry in the end user field. If anyone experiences difficulty with the HelpLine forms not loading or freezing in Outlook, chances are the Outlook forms cache needs to be cleared. This is an issue with the way Outlook deals with forms, not the HelpLine itself. The forms cache can be reset by the following menu path: Tools -> Options -> Other -> Advanced Options -> Custom Forms -> Manage Forms -> Clear Cache (see below) 3 of 18

4 4 of 18

5 HelpLine Structure Overview The HelpLine structure consists of a total of six folders. The folders descriptions area as follows: 1. HelpLine Folder This is the main folder where all news tickets are created. New tickets can be created in four ways. a. In a web browser by navigating to logging in and selecting Submit New Help Desk Ticket b. In Outlook (end user request)- by selecting the HelpLine folder and clicking on the NEW button in Outlook and then filling in the necessary information. then 5 of 18

6 6 of 18 c. In Outlook (technical support staff generated ticket) by selecting the HelpLine folder and clicking on the NEW button in Outlook, selecting HELP DESK as the ticket source and then filling in the necessary information. Technical support staff MUST SELECT AN END USER when tickets are generated in this manner. The benefit of using this option is that the ticket can be created and assigned to a technician in one step instead of creating a ticket, submitting it, then opening it again to assign it to a technician.

7 d. In Outlook by dragging an existing , note, task or appointment on top of the HelpLine folder. If a ticket is created by dragging an , note, task or appointment into the HelpLine folder, then the technical support person who does this MUST ensure that the end user is specified in the ticket. To do so, one either clicks 7 of 18

8 on the CHANGE button in the End User source ticket (see below) If the ticket source was set to Help Desk then the end user information can be set by clicking on the following button: IMPORTANT When setting the end user information, always use the 8 of 18

9 select button and choose the end user from the address book so that the campus information will appear properly in the ticket. 2. Assigned Help Desk Tickets Folder This folder contains all HelpLine tickets that have been assigned to a technical support staff member. Tickets cannot be dragged into this area as the ticket numbering will not be set correctly. Tickets only get into this area by a) begin submitted using the Help Desk ticket source mode or b) by a technical support staff member opening a ticket in the HelpLine folder and then assigning it to someone. 3. Completed Folder This folder is a place where tickets that have been marked completed can be dragged for long-term archiving. Normal use of the HelpLine folders and tickets will not place tickets into this folder completed tickets need to be manually dragged into this folder by a technical support staff member. It is recommended that only completed tickets that are two months or older get dragged into this folder to keep the Assigned Help Desk Tickets folder manageable. 4. Knowledge Base Folder The knowledge base is a superb place to store information that may be of use to other technical staff members. When working on any HelpLine ticket, the contents of the ticket can be easily added to the Knowledge Base by clicking on the Create KB Article button. 9 of 18

10 10 of Reports Folder - The Reports folder allows you to easily create reports based on any field in the HelpLine tickets by exporting the information to Excel. There are a few canned reports created, but it is very easy to make a report based on any field you choose. The first step in making a report is to ensure that you have selected the proper folder to report on (you may only report on one folder at a time) by clicking on the Change Folder button. Next make the selections you want and then click on Export to Excel.

11 6. Utilities Folder - The folder contains settings such as ticket colour, ticket numbering, problem categories and other default behaviours of the Helpline tickets. Although all technical support staff have access to this folder, it is asked that no one makes any changes to the settings contained in the folder. If there is a suggested change, a request may be forwarded to me. Using Views in HelpLine Folders The NSCC HelpLine folder is accessed by all technical support staff at NSCC. To make the folder manageable so that each campus will be able to see the requests that pertain to them, the folders have predefined views that automatically filter requests based on the users NSCC location. This is why it is so important to set the end user information correctly so the tickets will appear in the correct views. Users can set the Arrange by option in the view menu (see screenshot below) or if the Advanced Toolbar is on, the preset views can be chosen from the drop-down menu on the Outlook toolbar (see the screenshot below). The advanced toolbar can be turned on by selecting VIEW>TOOLBARS>ADVANCED. Accessing Preset Views through the View menu: 11 of 18

12 Advanced Toolbar Drop-down View Menu: Users can create their own views as well, but the campus preset views are already created and available. Working with Help Tickets Creating HelpLine Tickets (Technical Staff Instructions) a. Open the HelpLine folder 12 of 18

13 b. Click on the NEW Button in the upper left of the Outlook screen. c. Select HELP DESK as the ticket source (see below). This permits you to avoiding submitting and assign a ticket in one step. Then the following ticket appears: d. Enter the following information: 13 of 18

14 i. Set the the end user by clicking on the button at the end of the End User field. ii. Select the PROBLEM CATEGORY from the drop down menu. iii. Select the PROBLEM TYPE from the drop down menu. iv. Select the WHEN NEEDED from the drop down menu. v. If applicable, enter a descriptor in the WHICH COMPUTER and asset no. field. vi. Set the PRIORITY by selecting from the drop down menu. vii. Enter a DUE DATE viii. Type in a SUMMARY (similar to an subject line) ix. Type in a DESCRIPTION that assists in describing the problem. x. Select the person to which the ticket is to be assigned (IMPORTANT!) e. Click on Submit. Opening a ticket submitted by an Enduser a. Open the HelpLine folder. b. Double click on a HelpLine ticket. c. Assign the ticket to computer support person by clicking on the ASSIGN TO: Self or Others button. 14 of 18 d. You can assign a ticket to more than one user by clicking on the Assign to OTHERS button. There is an option when assigning to other to create a separate ticket for each user instead of multiple users sharing the same ticket. This is useful for large tasks that will involve a couple of support people such as a lab upgrade. e. Ensure that the following Fields are filled in: i. PROBLEM CATEGORY

15 ii. PROBLEM TYPE iii. WHICH COMPUTER iv. WHEN NEEDED v. PRIORITY vi. DUE DATE vii. SUMMARY viii. DESCRIPTION ix. Next change the end user if necessary (this is necessary if the help desk request was phoned in or was a hallway request). You may click on the end user button to select the person who actually made the request. Remember, tickets cannot be worked upon unless they are assigned. x. When a ticket is assigned, you will be prompted to send the support person an with a link to the help desk ticket. This helps in ensuring that the person to whom the ticket was assigned knows that they have been given a ticket to complete. It is also helpful because from within the , the user can open the ticket. f. Click on SUBMIT. This will automatically move the ticket from the HelpLine folder to the Assigned Help Desk Tickets folder which is located under the HelpLine folder. 15 of 18

16 Updating/Completing HelpLine tickets. a. Open an assigned ticket. There are five main areas that data needs to be entered: 16 of 18 I. Work Log (entry mandatory if ticket solution is not of routine nature OR if work is more than a few minutes in length): Enter any notes that pertain to ticket in the New Log Entry field. For example, you may have a problematic computer and may have run a comprehensive virus scan. This should be recorded in the New Log Entry. After you have entered text in the log, click on the Add to Log button to save the entry. II. Update Options: End User (mandatory if ticket is going to take longer than the requested due date or if other problems were encountered): This option will send an update to the end user where you can explain the status of the ticket Update Tech (optional): This option will send an to the technical person assigned to the ticket. You may have information that could assist the person who was assigned the ticket, or maybe a priority changed and you needed to inform the support person. Create KB Article (optional): If you click on this button, a copy of the ticket and log will be placed in the Campus Knowledge Base. This is useful when a novel solution is found for

17 a tough problem so that there is an easy way for others to find technical solutions quickly. III. Start Date (mandatory) (see DETAILS TAB graphic below): Record the start date of work on the ticket. The field is intelligent in that you can use words like today, last tue, next thu or tomorrow or you can enter dates. IV. Current work (mandatory) (see DETAILS TAB graphic below): Always record the amount of time spent on each ticket. This field is cumulative so you can enter information each time you do some work on the ticket and it will add to the total time spent. This information is critical and will assist the college in determining what the time consuming issues are in IT. Details Tab V. Status (mandatory): This field allows you to report the status of a ticket. Remember that end users can view the help desk queue and can see which tickets are started/not started/in progress/deferred etc. When a ticket is finally completed, the status must be set to Completed. Note: when a ticket is set to Completed it becomes read-only. To alter any of the fields, you will have to set the status to something other than completed to make a change and then put it back to completed when finished. When a ticket is marked completed you will be prompted to send an to the end user indicating that the ticket is complete. Cleaning up Completed Tickets When the assigned tickets folder accumulates a number of completed tickets, you can drag them to the folder labeled "Completed". Note: the default action in Outlook when dragging is "copy" but if you hold down the shift key, the tickets will "move" to the new folder. 17 of 18

18 Running Reports Reports from the help desk folders are almost limitless. There is a report builder in the REPORTS folder for each campus. Open the reports builder, and select the parameters you want reported and then click on Export to Excel. The report builder will send the information to Excel. You may specify precisely which helpdesk folder you wish to use for your reports so that you may focus on the Completed Folder or the Assigned Help Desk Tickets folder. 18 of 18