Version 8.1.00

The BMC Service Request Management product has been enhanced with the following new features and changes:

Simplified installation

Installation of BMC Service Request Management has been greatly simplified:

• To reduce manual user inputs, the number of panels in the installer has been reduced. Information from the AR System server is intelligently leveraged by the installer to simplify installation.
• Related inputs are consolidated into single panels.
• The Installation Preview panel is easier to read.

• Most of the application configuration has been removed from the installer. The following configuration modules were removed from the installer, but the following table provides links to configuration instructions:

  Configuration module removed from installer	Where documented
  BMC Atrium Service Context	Configuring BMC Atrium Service Context for BMC Service Request Management
  Object modification logging	Using the object modification log
  Crystal Reports	Showing or hiding Crystal Reports
  Identity Request Management adapter information	Configuring Identity Request Management adapter information

For additional instructions on configuring BMC Service Request Management, go to Configuring after installation.

Update to the multi-tenancy model

Integrations

Service requests created by web services or custom integration methods are now subject to On Behalf Of (OBO) rules. In earlier versions of BMC Service Request Management, OBO rules were applied only to requests submitted through the Request Entry console. For example, you configured OBO rules so that managers could open the Request Entry console and submit requests on behalf of employees.

In version 8.1, every service request is validated against OBO rules, except those created automatically from BMC fulfillment applications (when an incident, change, or work order rule has the Create Service Request On Submit option set to Yes).

If you are installing BMC Service Request Management for the first time, configure OBO rules before creating your integrations.

If you are upgrading BMC Service Request Management, you must evaluate existing integrations to determine whether you need to configure new OBO rules.

For more information, see Creating on-behalf-of definition rules, Integration methods, and Request_Submit_Service.

On Behalf Of license requirement for SRDs using an AIF

For service requests submitted on behalf of another user, a BMC Remedy AR System Write license is no longer required for service request definitions (SRDs) that were created using an Advanced Interface Form (AIF). In earlier versions, a Write license was required in On Behalf Of scenarios such as the following ones:

• The user wanted to submit a draft request on behalf of another user.
• The user wanted to use the cart to submit a request on behalf of another user (if the AIF implementation included record updates).
• The user on whose behalf the request was submitted wanted to edit the request, including OBO requests that were in the user's cart.

Email-based approvals

Users can now approve requests via email. When a request requires an approval, an email is sent to approvers of that request. If email-based approvals are enabled, users can approve or reject the request from within the email. However, if the approval process configuration specifies that the approval requires a password or that rejection requires a business justification, users must approve the request from Approval Central.

For more information about email-based approvals, see Approving or rejecting requests via email.

Auto-approval chain for service requests

A new auto-approval chain is available for use with custom service request approvals. You can use the auto-approval chain to configure BMC Service Request Management so that service requests require approval only under certain conditions. For example, a service request might require approval based on the user's response to a question. For more information, see Configuring the auto-approval chain (advanced).

Updates to the UI

Version 8.1 of BMC Service Request Management includes a number of UI changes that simplify navigation and improve usability:

• The design of the Work Order Console UI has been updated to more closely match other consoles in BMC Remedy ITSM.
• The Consoles menu is no longer available on the Work Order Console. As of version 8.1, the BMC Remedy ITSM application consoles can be accessed only from the Applications fly-out menu.
• The Console Focus menu is no longer available in the Work Order Console. As of version 8.1, console focus is changed by clicking the Show Tasks/Show Work Orders hyperlink. Work order and task details are no longer displayed by selecting an option, but by clicking a hyperlink.
• You can select additional columns to add to the Work Orders table on the Work Order Console by clicking Preferences > Add Columns.
• The Advanced menu is no longer available in the Work Order form. As of version 8.1, commands that were listed under the Advanced menu are now available from the Functions menu. The View Service Request command now includes the service request number, such as View REQ000000006315.
• The After New Save option has been added to Work Order Console preferences. You can use this option to specify whether the Work Order form opens in New mode (the default) or remains in Modify mode after you submit a work order.
• When a user requests a service, the Required Completion field in the Provide Information form is now blank by default. In previous releases, this field defaulted to the same value as the Expected Completion field. As in previous releases, this field is still optional.