Assigning approvers by using custom user lookup fields

You can configure BMC Remedyforce to allow creators of incidents and change requests to select an approver from a custom lookup field on the User object. You must create this custom user lookup field for the Incident and Change Request object and add it to the Incident and Change Request forms.

After you create the custom user lookup field, you must configure your approval process to automatically assign all incidents and change requests to the related users specified in the custom user lookup fields that you have created.

To assign approvers by using custom user lookup fields

1. To create a custom user lookup field for the Incident object, perform the following actions:
   1. Navigate to Setup > Create > Objects.
   2. Click Incident in the Label column.
   3. In the Custom Fields & Relationships section, click New.
   4. In the Step 1. Choose the field type section, select Lookup Relationship in the Data Type column.
   5. Click Next.
   6. In the Step 2. Choose the related object section, select User from the Related To list.
   7. Click Next.
   8. In the Step 3. Enter the label and name for lookup field section, type a label for the custom user lookup field in the Field Label field.
      For example, type Incident Approver in the Field Label field.
   9. Press the Tab key to populate the Field Name field with the value of the Field Label field.
      The spaces in the label are replaced with underscore characters in the Field Name field. If required, edit the value of the Field Name field so that it adheres to the following validation rules:
      • Can contain only alphanumeric characters
      • Must begin with a letter
      • Cannot end with an underscore or contain two consecutive underscore characters
      • Must be unique across all Incident fields
   10. Click Next.

   11. In the Step 4. Establish field-level security for reference field section, select the profiles to which you want to grant edit access to the custom user lookup field.

       Note

       Ensure that the ServiceDesk Change Manager, ServiceDesk Staff, and System Administrator profiles are selected.

   12. Click Next.
   13. In the Step 5. Add reference field to Page Layouts section, ensure that the Remedyforce Incident check box is selected.
   14. Click Save.
   15. Repeat step a through step n to create multiple custom user lookup fields for the Incident object.
2. To create a custom user lookup field for the Change Request object, perform the following actions:
   1. Navigate to Setup > Create > Objects.
   2. Click Change Request in the Label column.
   3. In the Custom Fields & Relationships section, click New.
   4. In the Step 1. Choose the field type section, select Lookup Relationship in the Data Type column.
   5. Click Next.
   6. In the Step 2. Choose the related object section, select User from the Related To list.
   7. Click Next.
   8. In the Step 3. Enter the label and name for lookup field section, type a label for the custom user lookup field in the Field Label field.
      For example, type Change Request Approver in the Field Label field.
   9. Press the Tab key to populate the Field Name field with the value of the Field Label field.
      The spaces in the label are replaced with underscore characters in the Field Name field. If required, edit the value of the Field Name field so that it adheres to the following validation rules:
      • Can contain only alphanumeric characters
      • Must begin with a letter
      • Cannot end with an underscore or contain two consecutive underscore characters
      • Must be unique across all Change Request fields
   10. Click Next.

   11. In the Step 4. Establish field-level security for reference field section, select the profiles to which you want to grant edit access to the custom user lookup field.

       Note

       Ensure that the ServiceDesk Change Manager, ServiceDesk Staff, and System Administrator profiles are selected.

   12. Click Next.
   13. In the Step 5. Add reference field to Page Layouts section, ensure that the Remedyforce Change Request check box is selected.
   14. Click Save.
   15. Repeat step a through step n to create multiple custom user lookup fields for the Change Request object.
3. To edit an existing Incident approval process to assign incidents to the staff members who are selected from the custom user lookup fields, perform the following actions:
   1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
   2. Click the Manage Workflow and Approvals tile, and from the menu select Approval Processes.
   3. From the Manage Approval Processes For list, select the Incident object.
   4. Click <Incident Process Name> in the Approval Process Name column.
   5. In the Approval Steps section, in the Action column, click Edit.
   6. In Step 1. Enter Name and Description, click Next.
   7. In Step 2. Specify Step Criteria, click Next.
   8. In the Select Approver section, select Automatically assign to approver.
   9. Select Related User from the first list that appears.
   10. In the second list, select the custom user lookup field that you have created for the Incident object.
       In the Incident form, when the incident creator selects a staff member from the custom user lookup field and submits the incident for approval, the approval is assigned to the selected staff member.
   11. Click the Add Row link to add another approver to the list of approvers.
   12. Repeat step i through step k to enable incident creators to assign multiple staff members as approvers in the custom user lookup fields that are added to the Incident form.
4. To edit an existing Change Request approval process that assigns change requests to the staff members who are selected from the custom user lookup fields, perform the following actions:
   1. Click the Remedyforce Administration tab.
   2. Click the Manage Workflow and Approvals tile, and from the menu, select Approval Processes.
   3. From the Manage Approval Processes For list, select the Change Request object.
   4. Click <Change Request Process Name> in the Approval Process Name column.
   5. In the Approval Steps section, in the Action column, click Edit.
   6. In Step 1. Enter Name and Description, click Next.
   7. In Step 2. Specify Step Criteria, click Next.
   8. In the Select Approver section, select Automatically assign to approver.
   9. Select Related User from the first list that appears.
   10. In the second list, select the custom user lookup field that you have created for the Change Request object.
       In the Change Request form, when the change request creator selects a staff member from the custom user lookup field and submits the change request for approval, the approval is assigned to the selected staff member.
   11. Click the Add Row link to add another approver to the list of approvers.
   12. Repeat step i through step k to enable change creators to assign multiple staff members as approvers in the custom user lookup fields that are added to the Change Request form.
5. If you are using the Salesforce page layout, edit the form layout and add the required field on the form.
   For more information, see Customizing forms in Salesforce page layout.
6. If you are using the console layout UI, add the required fields to the field sets provided for the console layout.
   For more information, see Customizing forms for the Remedyforce Console tab.