Submitting service requests

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 BMC Digital Workplace, 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 Remedy with Smart IT.

Before you begin

Before agents can submit service requests, administrators must set up the service catalog, as summarized in Setting up service management.

To submit service requests for customers

Service agents can submit service requests for users directly from the Smart Recorder in Smart IT without opening BMC Digital Workplace or the Request Entry console separately. Submitting requests from Smart IT enables 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.

In Smart IT, when you submit a request for a customer, the request is considered to be 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 BMC Digital Workplace 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. (The AIF is cross-launched from the BMC Remedy ITSM mid tier client, which might require a separate login.)

To view BMC Digital Workplace Catalog service requests

From Smart IT, you can search and view the BMC Digital Workplace Catalog service requests from Global search, Smart Recorder and My profile. As a Smart IT administrator, you need to configure the CCS forms to display the DWP requests in Smart IT. For more information, see Integrating Smart IT with BMC Digital Workplace Catalog service request.

To follow 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, as explained in SLA progress bar in Smart IT. 

Due to possible dependencies in the approval and fulfillment processes defined in the SRD, much of the information in a service request cannot be edited, including the customer name, contact name, and responses to questions. 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 wants VPN access for an employee who is starting the next day, and she wants to know whether to contact the service desk for this request. 
2. You offer to help, and you enter information into Smart Recorder while the customer describes the 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 suggest that the customer can check the status of service requests at any time via BMC Digital Workplace, which includes an option to post questions or comments.