Information
This documentation supports the 22.1 version of BMC Service Level Management.To view an earlier version, select the version from the Product version menu.

Configuring request-based service target groups


Using group inheritance, you can configure service target groups for request-based service targets so that as the terms and conditions of an incident (for example) change, another service target from the same service target group can take over and apply the appropriate goals and milestone to the incident. For more information about group inheritance, see Group inheritance

As you configure your service targets, you should review the service targets in each group to ensure that the terms and conditions for each service target are unique. This way, you avoid receiving repeated and continual alerts and emails from having a service target group where two or more service targets in that group have the same terms and conditions.


Group inheritance

When key criteria for an incident are modified and the incident has a service target attached, the system searches to see whether a service target meeting that criteria already exists in the same group. If so, the new service target attaches to the incident request and inherits the data, such as start time, goals, or milestones, from the original service target. The system re-calculates the due date and time and the original service target is removed. 

For example, an IT organization creates four service targets to monitor incident resolution time, one for each priority (Critical, High, Medium, and Low). These are added to the Incident Resolution Time group. An incident is submitted at 9:00 A.M. and is prioritized as High. The High priority service target attaches to the incident with a two hour resolution time. When the service desk investigates the incident, they realize it has less impact on the business and they change the priority to Medium at 9:30 A.M. The Medium priority service target, with a resolution time of four hours, inherits the start time of 9:00 A.M. from the High priority service target rather than using the time that it was attached, which was 9:30. 

For a named group, only one service target can be attached to the same request at any time. However, multiple service targets can work concurrently if they do not belong to the same groups.

Before you begin

Before configuring request-based service target groups, see Defining-request-based-service-targets.

To create service target groups

Warning

Important

  • Service targets within a group must have unique terms and conditions.
  • You must use the same Business Entity for all service targets within the group.
  1. From the Application Administration Console, select Service Level Management > Configure Application Settings > Service Target Groups and then click Open.
  2. In the Configure Service Target Group Assignment form, click Create to create a new group.
  3. In the Create New SLA Group form, do the following:
    • Enter a name in the Group Name field.
    • Select the form in the application to which the service target applies.
    • Select the goal type that is measured by the service targets.
  4. On the Configure Service Target Group Assignment form, click OK .

To add service targets to a group

Warning

Important

  • Service targets within a group must have unique terms and conditions.
  • You must use the same Business Entity for all service targets within the group.
  1. From the Service Level Management Console, select Service Targets.
  2. Select a service target and click View, or create a new service target.
  3. Click the Measurement tab.
  4. In the Group field, select the group to which you want the service target to belong.


Warning

Important

When you add service targets configured with different business entities to the same service target group, you might face issues in due date calculation. 


Impact of configuring different business entities for service targets that are part of same service target group

Information
Scenario

Consider the following scenario where a request is measured by two different service targets belonging to same service target group, and each service target has its own business entity configured.

  • Service target 1 (SVT 1) is configured for critical requests with resolution goal time of 24 hours.
  • Business Entity 1 (BE 1) is attached to SVT1 and is available 24x7 .
  • Service target 2 (SVT 2) is configured for non-critical requests with resolution goal time of 8 hours.
  • Business Entity 2 (BE 2) is attached to SVT2 and is available from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday to Friday.
  • SVT1 and SVT2 are in the same SVT group. 

The following events describe the timeline of the request:

  • At 1:00 P.M. on Sunday, a critical request is submitted. SVT1 is attached to the request and due date is calculated at 1:00 P.M. Monday based on the availability of BE1 that is attached with SVT1.
  • At 9:00 P.M. on Sunday, the request is downgraded from critical to non-critical request and SVT2 is attached to the request. The due date is recalculated as 5:00 P.M., Monday based on the availability of BE2 that is attached with SVT2. During non-operating business hours, no time is used in the calculations.
  • At 9:00 A.M. on Monday, SVT2's measurement starts. SVT2 inherits the data like UpElapsedTime and DownElapsedTime from SVT1, as both the SVTs are in the same SVT group.
  • At 12:00 P.M., the request is resolved. The total UpElapsedTime for the request is 11 hours (8 hours in SVT1 and 3 hours in SVT2). 

In this scenario, the MeasurementStatus is shown as missed, as the total UpElapsedTime is more than the GoalTime of SVT2. The SVT2 can not calculate the due date before Monday, as BE2 is available only after 9:00 A.M. Monday. The SVTDueDate is calculated as 05:00 P.M., Monday based on the availability of BE2. But, the UpElapsedTime of SVT1 is also included in the calculation, as both the SVTs are in the same group, and SVT2 inherits data from SVT1 when the request is downgraded from critical to non-critical request. This results in the goal not being met even though the due date is in the future.

So, we recommend that you avoid having two service targets with different business events in a same service target group.


To add service targets not in a group

You can add the service targets that apply to the same Action Request System form, and have the same goal type, but they are not in the service target group you have selected.

  1. From the Application Administration Console, select Service Level Management > Configure Application Settings > Service Target Groups and click Open.
  2. In the Configure Service Target Group Assignment form, select the service targets from the Not in Group table, and click Add.

To remove service targets from a group

To remove service targets from a group, select a service target in the Service Targets In Group <groupName> table and click Remove.

To delete service target groups

  1. To delete a service target group, select it from the list, then click Delete.
  2. Click Yes to confirm.
    The SLA group is deleted.

    Warning

    Important

    Deleting a group also removes all the service targets from the group.

 

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BMC Service Level Management 22.1