Incident Management administrator tasks

A System Administrator can access the Operator record for the following information types and functions:

• User and contact information
• Application profile privileges
• Mandanten utility

Configure Incident Management settings

To configure Incident settings:

1. Click Incident Management > Administration > Settings in the System Navigator.

2. Click Incident and then configure the following settings for the Incident application:

   Setting	Description
   Notify incident owner if Parent Incident flag was unchecked	When the Parent Incident flag is unchecked, a notification is sent to all the assignees of the child incidents that were related to this parent incident
   Default Category	The default category when you register a new Incident. The out-of-box value for this parameter is "none".
   Parent to Child Incident Default Status	When any of the following scenarios occurs, the status of the child incident changes to the default status that is specified in this setting. The parent-child relationship is dismissed from the parent incident The parent incident is closed and the Parent Incident Relationship Model is Parent Incident and Child Incidents close independently
   Parent Incident Relationship Model:	Whether to close a child incidents when its parent incident is closed
   Post back link to Child	The link file that posts the changes of certain fields in the parent incident to the corresponding fields in child incidents. This function works only when you select Close Child Incidents when Parent Incident closed in Parent Incident Relationship Model. You can customize the fields that are posted back to the child incidents. For more information about links, see Links.

3. Optionally, click the Incident Task and then configure the following settings for an incident task:

   Setting	Description
   Default Category	The default category when you register a new incident task. The out-of-box value for this parameter is "none".

4. Click Save and then click OK.

Configure the Incident Management environment

Incident Management provides an environment record in which you define the operational environment for the application by allowing or disallowing specific operator actions. Administrators can modify the environment parameters to match the operational requirements of their organization.

To configure the Incident Management environment:

1. Click Incident Management > Administration > Environment in the System Navigator.

2. Select or clear the parameters for your Incident Management environment.

   Tip You can use the field help to view the description for each setting. To view the help on field:

   • Web client: Select a field, and then press F1.
   • Windows client: Select a field, and then press Ctrl+H.
3. Click Save.
4. Click OK.

Create a template to complete incident records

Templates enable users to quickly complete incident records by automatically populating various fields with necessary information. You can create as many templates as you need while authorizing select user roles for each template. The users authorized to use a particular template will then be able to apply that template when completing an incident.

To create a template, follow these steps:

1. Click Tailoring > Templates, and then click New.

2. Type a name in the Template name field.
3. Select Incident in the Table name field, and then click Next.
4. Click Fill for each user role that you are authorizing to use this template.
5. Modify the fields as required to meet the needs of your template by double-clicking in the field to assign a value to each field you select.
6. Click Add to exit the template wizard.
7. Click Save.
8. Click OK. The roles authorized for this template can now use or modify this template.

Alternatively, you can create a template from an existing record. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Incident Management > Search Incidents.
2. Enter an Incident number in the Incident ID field, and then click Search.
3. Click the incident record.
4. Click More or the More Actions icon and select Create Template from Record.
5. Modify the name in the Template name field.
6. Click Fill for each user role that you are authorizing to use this template.
7. Modify the fields as required to meet the needs of your template by double-clicking in the field to assign a value to each field you select.
8. Click Add to exit the template wizard.
9. Click Save.
10. Click OK.

Assignment groups

An assignment group is a list of users who are responsible for an Incident record. Incident Management notifies the group when an Incident record opens or escalates. Assignment groups make the routing and escalation of Incident records easier.

For example, the Service Desk Agent receives a service request to fix a disabled workstation. The agent creates an Incident record, and then assigns the incident to the Hardware assignment group. The hardware technician determines that the hard drive must be replaced. Because the drive must be purchased, the technician assigns the Incident record to a Request Fulfillment assignment group for acquisition. If the hard drive purchase is delayed, and the delay impacts the closure of the Incident record in a reasonable amount of time, Incident Management automatically escalates the Incident record and assigns it to the Request Fulfillment manager.

Service Manager administrators create Assignment groups as part of the Ongoing Maintenance process.

Add an Incident Management assignment group

Applies to User Roles: System Administrator

Incident Management assignment groups specify the Incident Coordinator and Operators in the group so that when someone creates a new incident it can be assigned to the applicable group. Typically, assignment groups are organized by location and expertise. To facilitate incident response, new assignment groups can be added to the out-of-box assignment groups for Incident Management.

To add an Incident Management assignment group:

1. Click System Administration > Ongoing Maintenance > Groups > Assignment Groups.

   Tip To get a list of existing assignment groups for your reference, click Search.

2. Type the name of the new assignment group in the Assignment Group field.
3. Click Add.

4. On the Group tab, complete the fields as described below.

   1. Enter the name of the manager of the assignment group.
   2. Select the work schedule of the assignment group from the Calendar Name drop-down list.
   3. Select the time zone.

5. Select the Help Desk Group check box so that the current assignment group supports End User Chat.

6. On the Members tab, insert the cursor in a blank line and use the Fill button to select the operators you want to assign to the group. There is no limit to the number of operators in an assignment group. However, consider how many users should provide response when you create and populate a new assignment group.
7. On the Approvers tab, insert the cursor in a blank line and use the Fill button to select the approvers you want to assign to the group. There is no limit to the number of operators in an assignment group. However, consider how many users should approve when you create and populate a new assignment group.
8. On the Assignments tab, fill in the fields in Supported Departments, Supported Locations, and Supported Languages, respectively.
9. (Optional) Fill in the fields in Supported Companies if you have enabled the multi-tenant feature in your Service Manager system.

10. Follow these steps to configure the Supported Services field:

    1. Click Configuration Management > Resources > Search CIs to open the Search Configuration Item Records form.

    2. Select Business Service in the CI Type field, and then click Search.

    3. Select a configuration item, and then append an assignment group in the Support Groups field. For example, ASSET MANAGEMENT.

    4. Click Save. The selected configuration item is displayed in the Supported Services field of the ASSET MANAGEMENT assignment group.
11. Click Save and OK.

Using mass update with Incident Management record lists

Mass update enables you to select multiple records from a list of records and then to update the value in a field or several fields in the selected records. The system provides a template form that displays the fields for the selected records and allows a user to change the value of any of the displayed fields. The Mass Update template form does not display all fields in the records. For example, fields marked read only in the data policy do not display. You can also do a Complex Update on the selected records. A Complex Update uses RAD expressions containing variables and concatenated fields to populate another field in the records.

When doing a mass update, you should remember that the value you enter for a particular field becomes the value for that field for all of the selected records. Whenever you update incident records, you must also update the incident activity data.

Mass update is available for incident records and incident queue records. The ADMIN and SYSADMIN profiles in the out-of-box system provide the Template Mass Update and Complex Mass Update capability

A System Administrator can edit the datadict table and probsummary file so that a field does not appear in the list of fields displayed by the Mass Update wizard. On the Data Policy form, change the Usage Type column for the field to System.

Update multiple incident records

Applies to User Roles: System Administrator

You can use mass update to update a value in one or more fields for multiple incident records. For example, if you want to update multiple high priority incident records, select the high priority view of the Incident queue. The value you enter for a particular field becomes the value for that field for all the records you selected for mass update.

You can use complex update to enter expressions as instructions for actions to be performed on multiple incident records.

To update multiple incident records by using Mass Update:

1. Click Incident Management > Search Incidents.
2. Use search or advanced search to find one or more records. Select the View list of incident records that you want to update. For example, select High Priority Incidents to update multiple high priority incident records.
3. Use the arrow keys to move to a row and then use the space bar to select individual records. A range of records can be selected using Shift+Spacebar. You can also use the scroll bar and the ctrl key to select individual records.
4. Click Mass Update.
5. Update the fields to be included in the mass update:
   1. Double-click the field that you want to update, and then type the value for the field in the box or use the Fill feature to display a list of potential values for the field.
   2. Click Next.
   3. Continue updating the fields that you want included in the mass update.
   4. Click Next after each update.
   5. Click the Activity Update field to document what is included in the mass update. When the mass update is complete, these notes display in the Journal Update of the Activities section for each record.
6. Click Execute. Mass update starts, and then displays each incident number as it is updated.
7. If an incident record cannot be included in the mass update, you can choose to:
   • Retry: Retry the mass update.
   • Skip: Skip the incident record to exclude it from the mass update and continue with the next record.
   • End: End the mass update, and retry later.

To update multiple incident records, using Complex Update:

1. Click Incident Management > Search Incidents.
2. Use search or advanced search to find one or more records. Select the View list of incident records you want to update. For example, select High Priority Incidents to update multiple high priority incident records.
3. Click Mass Update.
4. Click Complex Update.
5. Follow the instructions in the complex update form and type the expressions in the Instructions to be executed ONCE at the beginning of mass add/update field and the Instructions for action on EACH RECORD field.
6. Click Execute.
7. If an incident record cannot be included in the complex update, you can choose to:
   • Bypass: Bypass the invalid message and include the incident record in the complex update.
   • Skip: Skip the incident record to exclude it from the complex update and continue with the next record.
   • End: End the complex update, and retry later.

Incident Management downtime records

You can access Incident Management downtime records by using the Incident Management Security Administration Utility to show the availability of a selected device. Availability measures the ability of a device or component to provide service within a measured time frame. There are three downtime measurements.

Type of availability	Description
Explicit unavailability	The downtime experienced by the failing device.
Implicit unavailability	The downtime experienced because of the failure of a parent or controlling device.
Perceived unavailability	The explicit or implicit downtime during normal business hours. The total reflects only working hours.

Create a downtime record

Applies to User Roles: System Administrator

As part of monitoring the availability of devices in the system, a System Administrator creates downtime records for a specific device.

To create a downtime record:

1. Click System Administration > Base Configuration > Monitoring > Downtime.
2. Type the applicable data in the Logical Name, Location, Contact Name, Type, and Table Name fields.
3. Click Add.
4. Click OK.

Reset downtime

Applies to User Roles: System Administrator

To reset downtime:

1. Click System Administration > Base Configuration > Monitoring > Downtime.
2. Click More > Reset.
3. Click Schedule to set a time for the reset to occur.
4. Click OK.

Create a note

Applies to User Roles: System Administrator

Any note that an Administrator or Operator user creates is saved with the associated Service Manager records. You can add more notes each time you select the Notes option. Each set of notes has a time stamp and the name of the operator who created the note set.

You must have notes enabled by your Service Manager System Administrator to use this feature. To enable notes for an Incident Management operator, select notes on the Incident Management Security Profile form. For the out-of-box system, only the System Administrator has notes enabled.

To create a note:

1. Do one of the following to locate a record:
   1. Select an incident record from a queue.
   2. Use search or advanced search to find one or more records.
2. Click More or the More Actions icon and select Notes.
3. Type the information in the Add New Note box.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Back.
6. Click Save & Exit.