Setting up self-help resources

With BMC Helix Digital Workplace, users can solve problems themselves before filing an incident, opening an HR case, or talking to support staff.

As a BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator, you create and import knowledge articles, and add links to online (internal or external) product documentation, troubleshooting tips, tutorials, videos, and other resources. End users can then access those resources through search (in the Global search field or from the Catalog tab) or from the profile of an asset or a service health item.

Tip

In knowledge articles, you can include a link directly to a service request or catalog section. Users will feel more confident turning to self-help resources when they know that help is only a click away.

solving problems overview

Related topics

Use cases

Localizing titles and messages

Setting up sections in the Catalog

Managing asset types

Managing assets on floor maps

Before you begin

Read the Enabling self-service in an organization.

Administrator tasks

As the BMC Helix Digital Workplace administrator, you can provide users with access to self-help articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management or online resources. These resources can be websites, articles, or other content that your company has created, such as training documents, internal procedures and guidelines, product manuals and guides, tutorials, and videos.

how-to article config overview

Adding self-help resources

Self-help resources can include how-to articles and knowledge articles. Catalog sections can include IT-related knowledge articles (from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management) and HR-related knowledge articles (from BMC HR Case Management). The following procedures describe how:

To set up links to how-to resources
To hide URLs to knowledge articles and quick links on the Catalog tab and in search results
To import articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management

To set up links to how-to resources

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, select Help Desk > How-To Management.
Click Add.

Configure the following properties for the how-to resource:

Property	Description
Name	The name of the resource. Enter a name that clearly describes its content.
URL Type	Server-side URLs require that the device has access to the same network target to which the server has access.
Source	URL to the web page that contains the How-To information.
Description	Description of the how-to resource. The description appears under the How-To item name in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace end user console.
Keywords	Keywords and synonyms can help end users find how-to resources more easily. Tip: Consider using keywords that do not exist in the Name and Description field.

To hide URLs to knowledge articles and quick links on the Catalog tab and in search results

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, select Configuration > Application Features.
To hide the URL to the knowledge article, select the Hide How-To URL check box.
The following screenshot displays the Catalog tab in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace end user console with and without URLs to the knowledge articles:
To hide the URL to the quick link, select the Hide Quick Link URL check box.
The following screenshot displays the Catalog tab in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace end user console with and without URLs to the quick links:

For more information, see Enabling end user features.

To import articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management

Info

You can import the following article templates from the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management:

Custom
How To
KCS-Articles
Known Error
Problem Solution
Reference

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, select Configuration > Application Features.
Select RKM Pluggable provider from the Providers list.
Select the RKM Pluggable provider row to view the settings.

Configure the integration with BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management as follows:

Property	Description
Port	Enter the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management server connection details.
Application password
Hostname
RKM templates	Provide a comma-separated list of knowledge management templates.
rkm.searchResultOption	Specify how the preview excerpt of similar articles is displayed. The option you enter is set in the AR System Multi-Form Search (MFS) form. The options are: words (the default)— Returns excerpts that contain the text from the search as well as surrounding text. For example, if printer was searched for, a result might be setting up the printer in room 1B. The Words Around Hit field is set in the MFS form. excerpt—Returns the first 30 words of the resulting hit so that the user can read a summary of the content. The Excerpt field is set in the MFS form. count—Returns the potential number of matches for the search. (The count is taken before row level permissions are applied, which may reduce the actual result set.) The Count Only field is set in the MFS form. none—Returns only the text that was searched for. (It does not return an excerpt or the words surrounding the result.) The No Excerpt/WAH field is set in the MFS form. For more information about the MFS form, see Performing searches on multiple forms in the Action Request System (AR System) documentation.
use.must.have.search.term	Select the check box if the article must include the search term. The keywords that the user enters are directed to the Must Have field on the AR System Multi-Form Search (MFS) form. The results return only items that match all meaningful words (an AND search). If the check box is cleared (the default), the keywords are directed to the May Have field on the MFS form. The results return only items that match at least one meaningful word (an OR search). For more information about the MFS form, see Performing searches on multiple forms in the Action Request System (AR System) documentation.
rkm.search.force.leading.trailing.wildcards	Select the check box if you want to enable end users to run search by pasting only parts of the title and without using wildcards.
rkm.use.locale	Select this check box if you want the search to return only knowledge articles in the locale that an end user selected in BMC Helix Digital Workplace or the locale of the browser. If the RKM pluggable provider supports a locale, the search returns knowledge articles in this locale and those without a locale. If the RKM pluggable provider does not support a locale, the search returns knowledge articles in all locales and those without a locale. When an end user opens a locale-based knowledge article in BMC Helix Digital Workplace, the following results appear: The Related Articles list displays articles in other locales that the RKM pluggable provider supports and articles without a locale. The Similar Articles list displays articles in the end users' locale and articles without a locale. An RKM administrator can add custom locales. Note: If the rkm.use.locale setting is turned on, the display of knowledge articles may affect the Browse categories list. For more information about the rkm.use.locale property, see List of providers.

After you configure the integration with BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management, the articles are automatically available when users search from the Catalog tab, and from the Global search.

Note

Articles that are flagged as Internal in BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management are not displayed in BMC Helix Digital Workplace. For more details, see Creating knowledge article templates Open link in the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management documentation.

BMC Helix Digital Workplace end users can provide feedback on knowledge articles. The feedback is sent to the knowledge author. See how to configure and localize feedback strings in Configuring feedback strings Open link in the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management documentation.

End users can rate the knowledge article and comment on it by clicking Tell us more.

To configure access to self-help

You can configure access to self-help wherever your users need the following information:

On the profiles of assets
On the profiles of service health items
As QR codes that you physically attach to assets for users to scan

This section describes how:

To create profile links to self-help resources
To add QR codes to assets

To create profile links to self-help resources

Assets and services have profiles. The profiles can include buttons that link to resources or areas for setting the status of an asset or creating a service request.

To add actions to asset types

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, select Location Management > Types Library.
For more information, see Managing asset types.
Add the actions to the Selected Actions list.

For information about where the actions in the Available Actions list are created, see Managing assets on floor maps.
To localize actions, see Localizing titles and messages.

To add QR codes to assets

In the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Admin console, select Location Management > Floor Maps.
Open the floor map that contains the asset.
Click Edit Floor Map.
Open the asset.
For more information, see Managing assets on floor maps.
Add the QR code to the QR Code Data field.
Click Save Asset.

If an asset has a QR code, users can scan the asset to find its profile in BMC Helix Digital Workplace. With asset actions, create buttons on the profile to link to self-help resources or to enable users to report that the asset has a problem.

The following video (1:43) describes how you can add QR codes to assets in BMC Helix Digital Workplace.

https://youtu.be/qROAKNYUyl4

BMC Helix Digital Workplace can use any type of code that mobile devices recognize. For example, Apple iOS devices can detect the following codes: UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 39, Code 39 mod 43, Code 93, Code 128, EAN-8, EAN-13, Aztec, PDF417, and QR.

Required licensing

BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced customers are entitled to this feature.