Request Entry console
The Request Entry console serves as a front end for the service catalog. It provides an easy-to-use user interface to view and submit service requests, and manage them. On this console, you can view available services, submit and manage requests, and view Knowledge Base articles.
Imprtant
If pop-up blocking is enabled for your browser, some features in the Request Entry console will not function. To enable use of all features of the application, disable pop-up blocking or modify the pop-up blocker settings to add the Mid Tier web server to the exception list.
Example user scenario
You must print presentation materials to distribute in an important meeting to be held in two hours, and the printer stops working.
You open the Request Entry console to view popular requests and Knowledge Base articles (displayed only if the BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management is available to you).
If you do not see an article that addresses your printer problem, enter a keyword in the Search field to search for articles. The search returns requests based on the keyword that you entered. If you find an article that addresses your printer problem, you do not need to open a request.
If you do not find a solution in the Knowledge Base, look through the list of requests. In the request catalog under the Hardware category, you find the request that you need. For this request, IT has a target to fix a printer in one hour, charged at a cost of $100 to your department.
You select the request, enter the required information, and submit it. In the Request Entry console, you view the request in the My Requests pod and see that its status is In Progress.
When the service desk technician enters information indicating that the printer is fixed, you receive email notification alerting you, and you can resume printing your materials. You also receive email notification asking you to fill out a survey, indicating how you rate the response to your request.
Information displayed on the Request Entry console
The Request Entry console displays the following information:
| Area or function | Description |
|---|---|
Slide show | If the administrator has configured service marketing slides, you will see description and images of services and other IT initiatives that your company is promoting. You can request a promoted service directly from the service marketing area. For more information about submitting requests, see Submitting requests from the Request Entry console. |
| Popular Requests | This selection lists popular requests in your organization. These requests are added automatically, based on how many times users submits a request during a specified period of time. The maximum number (default is 10 if the marketing pod is enabled, and 15 if the marketing pod is disabled ) and the length of the time period (default is a week) is configurable by the application administrator. From this list, you can select a request with a single click. |
| Popular Articles | This is a list of the most popular Knowledge Base articles that are used to troubleshoot problems, which appears only if the administrator has installed Knowledge Management. Click an article to view it in a separate window. If none of the listed articles address your issue, enter a keyword in the Search field to find articles on a specific topic. The popularity of an article is determined by a formula that takes the following factors into consideration:
You can also manually add an article to the Popular Articles pane by setting the Favorite option to Yes in the article Feedback tab. Favorite articles appear at the top of the popular articles list. |
| Search | The Search field enables users to find matching requests and Knowledge Base articles in the Request Entry Console by using the type ahead functionality. When the user begins to type in the Search field, the application displays suggestions in a type-ahead list below the Search field. The user can select a suggested keyword, or continue to enter the keyword in the Search field. Clicking the Search (magnifying glass) icon displays records that match the search keyword. If there are too many results to display on one screen, the user can click more... to display results in chunks. Important:
|
| My Requests pod | This is a list of requests that you submitted and, if any, requests that were submitted on your behalf by another user. By default, the system shows requests that are in the Open or Draft status, along with their request ID, submitted date, and status. You can filter the list of requests that is displayed by choosing an option from the Show drop-down list. The following options are displayed below a submitted request:
Important: Information displayed about requests might not be current. For example, a request might have been approved after it was displayed in the list, so its status is no longer Waiting Approval. To see the most current information, refresh the list of requests by performing a search or by selecting an option from the Show list. |
| Quick Links | This is a list of hyperlinks to internal and external websites, such as a link to a request catalog on a website. These links display only if the administrator has configured them for your company. For information about configuring quick links, see Configuring quick links. |
| Favorites | This link displays a list of requests that you marked as your favorites on the Categories page. If you submit some requests frequently, you can add them to your list of favorite requests. The Favorites list makes it easier to find and submit frequently used requests. You can add requests to your Favorites list from the Categories page, where requests are grouped by categories. You can view, submit, and add requests to your cart from the SRM Home page or from the Categories page. |
| Categories (Browse) | The Browse button links to request categories that are available to you. When you select a category, you can view the list of requests grouped under it. |
| Menus | The menu bar at the top of the page shows links and icons for:
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