Use > Problem Management > Problem Management Configuration

Problem Management Configuration

Problem Management configuration enables you to configure alert, problem categories, workflow, solution matching, and so on.

Create a Problem Category

User Roles: System Administrator

If you are a Service Manager Administrator, you may want to create a problem category. To do this, you can modify an existing category record, or you can create a new category record. Service Manager provides out-of-box category records that you can use or modify.

Note When a category is set as the default category in settings, do not delete it to avoid unpredictable issues.

To create a new problem category record, follow these steps:

  1. Click Problem Management.
  2. Click Configuration > Problem Categories.
  3. In the menu of the Problem Category pane, click New.
  4. Type the name of the problem category.
  5. Clear the Active check box if you do not want the new category to appear in the category list. If the Active check box is cleared, the new category is not available when you create a new record.
  6. Type a description of the problem category.
  7. Select a workflow for the category.
    The Workflow tab is displayed.
  8. Click Save.
    The Subcategories tab is displayed.
  9. Optional: Click the Subcategories tab to create subcategories for the problem category. When you have finished, click Save.

Note The Apply To flag indicates whether the category is shared across different modules.

For example, if the Apply To is set to "Interaction/Incident", then this category will be created in both the interaction category table and the incident category table.

Typical shared categories in OOB include Complaint, Request for Information, Incident, and Request for Administration.

For the Apply To flag in Problem Category:

When creating a problem category, the Apply To option is predefined as "Problem" only and cannot be modified. However, an problem category can also be created when creating an interaction category with the Apply To option set as "Interaction/Incident/Problem".

When searching for a problem category, all the Apply To values that include Problem can be used.

The following list is used in Problem Category:

2 - Problem

4 - Interaction/Incident/Problem

Note Problem category name is read-only after the category is created.

Create a Problem Task Category

User Roles: System Administrator

If you are a Service Manager Administrator, you may want to create a problem task category. To do this, you can modify an existing category record, or you can create a new category record. Service Manager provides out-of-box category records that you can use or modify.

To create a new problem task category record, follow these steps:

  1. Click Problem Management.
  2. Click Configuration > Problem Task Categories.
  3. In the menu of the Problem Task Category pane, click New.
  4. Type the name of the problem task category.
  5. Clear the Active check box if you do not want the new category to appear in the category list. If the Active check box is cleared, the new category is not available when you create a new record.
  6. Type a description of the problem task category.
  7. Select a workflow for the category.
    The Workflow tab is displayed.
  8. Click Save.

Note To avoid unpredictable issues, it is highly recommended that you do not change the problem task category name after it is created.

Add a new subcategory to a problem category

User Roles: System Administrator

You can add a new subcategory to a problem category directly. Additionally, you can view a list of the subcategories that are associated with the current category, together with the record details for each subcategory.

To add a new subcategory for a problem category, follow these steps:

  1. Click Problem Management > Configuration in the system navigator.
  2. Click Problem Categories > Search.
  3. Select the problem category to which you want to add a subcategory.
  4. Under the Subcategories tab, click the Link New Subcategories button.
  5. Type a name for the new subcategory.
  6. Type a description for the subcategory.
  7. Click Save to add the new subcategory.
  8. Optional: Click the Link New Areas button to create problem areas for the subcategory.
  9. Click Save.

Add a new problem area to a subcategory

User Roles: System Administrator

You can add a new problem area to a subcategory directly. Additionally, you can view a list of the areas that are associated with the current subcategory, together with the record details for each area.

To add a new problem area to a subcategory, follow these steps:

  1. Click Problem Management > Configuration in the system navigator.
  2. Click Problem Categories > Search.
  3. Select the problem category with which the subcategory is associated.
  4. Under the Subcategories tab, select the subcategory to which you want to add a new area.
  5. Click theLink New Areas button.
  6. Type a name for the new area.
  7. Type a description for the area.
  8. Click Save to add the new area.

Problem Management solution matching

When you create a new problem, Service Manager enables you to link that problem to an existing problem. Service Manager includes the following out-of-box queries, with which you can search for existing problems:

  • Find a problem or known error with a matching configuration item
  • Find a problem or known error with a matching service
  • Find a problem or known error with a matching title

To modify an out-of-box Problem management solution matching query, follow these steps:

  1. Click Problem Management > Configuration > Solution Matching.
  2. In the topmost pane, select the query that you want to modify.
  3. Modify the Name, Match, and With fields as appropriate to your needs, and then click Save.