Getting started quickly for administrators
As a user assigned administrative responsibilities, you may need to configure and administer parts of the FootPrints working environment such as the data containers, the record types stored in them, and so on. This topic identifies the tasks required to create or customize FootPrints features, in a suggested order you should perform them. There are links to the related Help topics for quick access. You may want to bookmark this page so you can return to this page and quickly locate the topics you need next.
The five container types (Workspaces, Address Books, Service Portfolios, Knowledge Bases, and CMDBs) have similar configuration steps. Once you learn how to configure one, it is easy to configure the rest. In addition to configuring the containers, you also have to configure user management and system wide settings. Refer the Administering topic to gather the required additional information.
Note
Checklists are available for the multi-step processes such as configuring users. These checklists are attached to the first main topic for each process and also are attached to the Checklists topic where you can download any or all of the checklists at one time.
If you have not already done so, review the Key concepts topic for useful information.
Taking the setup expressway
FootPrints includes Business Process templates to help preconfigure the system for different types of business processes. There are templates for ITSM, Helpdesk, and Human Resources. These templates include the basic elements (data containers such as Workspaces and Address Books, item definitions, business rules, forms, fields, workflows, reports, and so on) required to create a basic working environment. Based on your requirements, you can further customize to support your business needs. Using a Business Process template can help you quickly understand the capabilities provided by FootPrints and can make moving to production much faster.
Getting to work
If you want to further customize your work environment, the following table provides the required information:
| Setting | Why is it required? | Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| Create a container to store data | If you did not use any of the Business Process Templates, you must create at least one container to customize and hold information for the business process that you want to track. Even the most basic business process require a Workspace to track the work being done and an Address Book to track the Contacts for whom the work is being done. You must also create a relationship between the workspace and the Address Book so a Contact record can be linked to the ticket for which the is being done. | |
| Customize forms and fields | After you configure your Workspace, you can create a test Ticket to see how the form and fields are configured. Click the Actions button in the upper left hand corner of the Home console and select the type of ticket that you want to create. You can then start customizing the form and fields. | |
| Configure workflow | After you configure your forms, you must decide if you want to bind the process by one or more workflows depending on the type of ticket. | |
| Set up business rule and configure email | Most business processes require a set of rules to automate some functionality like automatically setting priority based on impact and urgency, auto assigning records based on category, and sending out email notifications for various reasons. You must configure the email at the system-level and container-level before rules can send out emails. | |
| Create and configure users | After the above settings are configured, you must test them with users apart from system administrator. Based on your requirement, you can create different types of users and customize the roles to provide access to the required features in the system. | |
| Create and customize portals based on the personas | You can customize the working environment that suits different personas that might use the system. For example, you might want to create a unique portal for personas like customers, managers, and technicians each. |
Do you want to configure a very basic ticket-tracking environment or does your environment require complex data tracking and automation? Did you take advantage of the Business Process template to create your environment?
In either case, you will want to follow the same path to configure the details. As each part is completed, you have the option of just saving your changes (in Draft mode) or saving and publishing your changes which implements the changes in production. Publishing is done at the container level. It runs quickly and you can republish as often as you like.
You can always return to a configuration page to update or enhance your configuration settings.
The following linked list maps this path through the Help topics, leaving you to decide how little or how much to customize along the way:
- Creating containers for your data
- Configuring record definitions
- Linking to records and data
- Importing data
- Setting up user groups and configuring user access
- Setting up synchronization
- Automating notifications and other actions
- Setting up search queries and report definitions
- Changing the look and feel of FootPrints
- Testing your configuration settings
- Managing configuration settings
The linked list is also available as a standalone checklist.
Summary
When you have worked through the topics listed on this page, you should have a basic working environment. You do not need to stop with the topics listed here. There are many additional topics in the Help that provide specific instructions and examples for configuring the options provided by FootPrints. Review the related topics below to implement more business process, more automation, and track more data.
Further information is available at:
- The FootPrints User Community where you can see what other users are talking about, post a question or answer of your own, watch a video, and so on.
- The FootPrints Support site where you can search the knowledge base, download user guides, and so on.
Related topics
Configuring incoming email for workspaces
Configuring service level management
Using Advanced Search and saving searches
Testing your configuration settings
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