Searching the Help
To search for information in the Help, type a word or phrase in the Search box. When you enter a group of words, OR is inferred. You can use Boolean operators to refine your search.
Results returned are case insensitive. However, results ranking takes case into account and assigns higher scores to case matches. Therefore, a search for "cats" followed by a search for "Cats" would return the same number of Help topics, but the order in which the topics are listed would be different.
Words and Phrases
| Search for | Example | Results |
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| A single word | cat
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Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats". |
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A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase. |
"cat food" (quotation marks) |
Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase. |
Using Boolean Operators
| Search for | Operator | Example |
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Two or more words in the same topic |
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| Either word in a topic |
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| Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase |
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| Topics that contain one string and do not contain another | ^ (caret) |
cat ^ mouse
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| A combination of search types | ( ) parentheses |
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Key elements of Request Fulfillment
Request Fulfillment includes the following key elements.
Request Model
A repeatable model of handling a particular category of service request. A request model defines specific agreed tasks that need to be followed to fulfill the service request of this category. Request models can be very simple, with no requirement for authorization (for example, password reset), or can be complex with many sequential or parallel tasks that require authorization (for example, provision of an existing IT service).
Request models are the catalog of service requests from the fulfillment perspective. Usually, the request models are referenced in the connector of a Front Office catalog item (svcCatalog, connector "Open New Request").
Request models define the delivery workflow, through the list of their tasks, controlled by the task planner. Each task defined in a request model has a task category, which defines the role and behavior of the task (labor, product purchase, CMDB synchronization, and so on).
Product Catalog
In a request model, tasks from the Purchase category are used to order a product from a vendor, and to create the corresponding CIs. The product catalog defines which products can be purchased. The product definition is used to process the purchase task, and to become the model of the corresponding CIs.
The product catalog is a predefined catalog of products (hardware, software, or called parts). The product catalog defines the models of independent items that may be requested or ordered.
The product catalog supports general information of parts, including part number, description, cost, and manufacturer. The inventory of the specific item is also available in the product catalog portal. The receiving details of the purchased items can be pre-defined in the product catalog.
Catalog items are represented as records in the productCatalog table.
Vendors/suppliers
Vendors/suppliers are internal or external providers of parts. Vendors/suppliers have a many-to-many relationship with catalog items, and may or may not directly interact with Service Manager.
Vendors/suppliers are represented as records in the vendor table. The terms under which a specific vendor/suppliers will provide a specific catalog item are stored in the modelvendor table.
Requests
A request is a high level record that defines the basic request information such as requester, required dates, coordinator, and description. Request records are the “tickets” that trace the workflow of a request from the user perspective, data entry and request task addition, through authorizations, fulfillment, and follow-up.
Request records are stored in the request table.
Request Tasks
A request task is a low level record that defines one of the steps to fulfill the service request. Request tasks can be created automatically according to the request model definition or manually by the authorized users. After creation, request tasks are assigned to internal workgroups or external vendors/suppliers.
Request tasks are stored in the requestTask table.
Orders
Order records are a type of request record that traces the workflow of an actual order of a part item or several part items from the ordering and receiving perspective. Orders are created manually by authorized users or by automated background processes when the reorder rules defined for stock management are satisfied.
Order records are stored in the request table, with a particular “Order” category.
Authorization processing
The authorization process automates and formalizes the technical and business evaluation by the appropriate levels of management of requests. Authorizations control accepts risk, cost, and responsibility of a request and its tasks. Authorizations create “chains” of groups who may be required to approve requests before they can advance within their lifecycle. Authorizations can have conditions attached, such as total cost, lead time requirements, and impact.
Authorizations can be defined either in request model or in the dedicated Authorization phase of the request fulfillment workflow.
