Submitting service requests using Smart IT

BMC Remedy with Smart IT is integrated with BMC Service Request Management, which provides an online service catalog from which employees can view and request services that are available to them. The IT department and other business departments within a company can define offered services, publish those services in the service catalog, and automate the fulfillment of those services for their users. A service request (or request) is the service offering that is generated from a service request definition (SRD). End users can submit and view their requests through MyIT, the Request Entry console in BMC Service Request Management, or through a custom portal developed for the purpose of submitting and managing requests.

This topic describes how service agents can work with service requests in BMC Remedy with Smart IT, and includes the following information:

How service agents submit service requests

Service agents can submit service requests for users directly from the Smart Recorder in Smart IT without being required to open MyIT or the Request Entry console separately. Submitting requests from Smart IT allows you to see relevant customer information and to review helpful resources while working on the current request. Submitted requests are associated with the customer's profile in Smart IT, are listed with other tickets in the Console, and can be located through a global search. You can open requests in Smart IT to review the approval status and to check the progress of fulfillment steps.

Available SRDs depend upon the services defined in the service catalog and (if enabled by the SRM Administrator) entitlement rules that determine which services customers are allowed to see based on criteria such as the company or groups to which the customer belongs. The administrator can also define rules to determine which individuals or groups can submit requests on behalf of others. For example, managers might be able to submit requests to grant computer access on behalf of their employees.

When you submit a request for a customer from Smart IT, the request is considered as having been submitted directly by the customer. In other words, entitlement rules apply, the customer is listed in the request details as the person who made the request, and the customer can check the status of the request from MyIT or the Request Entry console. You can also submit a request for another person (the contact) who is acting on behalf of the customer. In this case, both entitlement rules and on-behalf-of rules apply. In the submitted request details, the contact is listed as the person who made the request. 

The information you must complete when submitting a request depends upon the questions defined in the SRD, and whether those questions are required. An SRD you access from the universal client might also include an advanced interface form (AIF), which requires you to complete and save additional information in a separate form before you submit the request.

Following up on service requests

After a service request is submitted, any defined notifications, approval requests, and fulfillment processes are triggered. During the approval process, you can view the approval status by clicking Show Approvers in the notification at the top of the request. Active and closed fulfillment process steps appear on the Fulfillment tab at the bottom of the request details. (If you just submitted the request, fulfillment steps begin to appear the next time you open the request details. Additional process steps that were bypassed because they did not meet conditions defined by the administrator are not shown.) You can track the progress of the request against its due date by monitoring the SLA Progress bar. 

Much of the information in a submitted service request cannot be edited, including the customer name, contact name, and responses to questions, due to possible dependencies in the approval and fulfillment processes defined in the SRD. You can post notes to the Activity stream, but you cannot change the status of a request, except to cancel it. If necessary, from the request details, you can request the same service again for the same customer.

Scenario for submitting a service request by using Smart IT

You are a first-line service-desk agent working in the IT service-desk organization of a large enterprise. You take calls from employees and contractors who need help with IT services (solving issues, requesting changes, or requesting something new, such as access to a system).

1. You receive a call from a customer who works in the company's sales organization. The customer says that she needs VPN access for an employee who is starting the next day, and she asks if she needs to contact the service desk for this request. 
2. You offer to help, and you enter information into Smart Recorder while the customer describes her request. 
3. You see a request template for VPN access. You select this template and create the request for the customer. 
4. You ask the questions that the system requires, and then you confirm and save the service request. 
5. The system automatically initiates the corresponding approval and fulfillment processes that are associated with the SRD. 
6. You inform the customer that she can check the status of her service requests at any time via MyIT, which includes an option to post questions or comments. You ask if there is anything else you can do for the customer, but she declines with thanks.

How administrators configure this feature

Smart IT supports standard SRDs. SRDs with AIFs are supported only in the universal client. Open Form actions and Answer Question actions are not supported.

Service requests cannot be submitted for any Customer that does not have a People record with a login ID. The Smart Recorder uses the login ID to show available service request templates for that Customer. See "Login ID requirements for service requests in Smart IT" in Related topics.

As an administrator with the proper permissions, you can create SRDs and configure service request approval processes, entitlement rules, and on-behalf-of rules in BMC Service Request Management. For more information, refer to the BMC Service Request Management product documentation listed in Related topics.