Creating and managing tickets

Ticket management in Track-It! helps you create and manage tickets to resolve requestor issues. Requestors create tickets through Self Service when they face any issue that causes interruption in their operations. As you work on a ticket, the application maintains a complete audit trail and records the date and time each action occurred, the technician who performed the work, and the time spent on working on the ticket. This information is available to help solve the next time a similar issue occurs or to generate a report for management. You can view the linked assets to tickets.

This topic contains the following information:

Key features

• You can create, view, edit, delete, and close tickets. Track-It! allows you to create a ticket or solution from any page in the application.
  (2020 Release 01) You can link multiple tickets to a Parent ticket. For more information, see Working with Parent tickets (2020 Release 01).
• The lower pane of the Ticket form that contains the Ticket Notes, Assignments, Child Tickets, and Attachments tabs, is referred to as the Details section.
• You can choose to create a ticket either by using a template or by manually entering the field values in the Ticket form. Track-It! provides two out-of-the-box templates for creating tickets—New Hire and Terminate User.
• You can link a solution to a ticket and you can also copy the text of that solution to the resolution of a ticket.
• You can add user ticket notes and create solutions from the ticket notes. For more information about ticket notes, see Creating and managing activity codes.
• You can create, manage, and close assignments linked to a ticket. You can view the status of all assignments linked to a ticket on the Assignments tab of the Details section.
• Depending on your permission, you can view asset details and remotely control the linked asset. To remotely control assets, you need to have the Edit permission.
• You can assign a ticket to a technician, a group, or to a support specialist. By default, a ticket is assigned to the technician who creates it.
• System administrators can customize the Ticket form based on the business requirements, and can configure Business Rules and service level agreements (SLAs) that are specific for tickets and assignments actions.
• On the Ticket toolbar, the capital letter next to the options in the Open tickets, Assign to, and Actions menus are the keyboard shortcuts to select the particular option. When customizing the Ticket form, system administrators can customize these shortcut keys.

• System administrators can add the Total Time Spent field to the Ticket form by using form customization. The total time spent on a ticket is the sum of duration of all ticket notes (System and User) and total time spent on all assignments of a ticket.

  Note

  (2020 Release 02) Track-It! does not consider the duration of system notes while calculating the total time spent on a ticket.

  (2020 Release 03) (For Ticket form and ticket grid view only) The Total Time Spent field is displayed in the ddd:hh:mm:ss format on the Ticket form and the grid view. When you export the grid view, this field is displayed in the same format. 

• You can link only one change request to a ticket. If the linked change request is canceled, you cannot link another change request.
• If ticket matches change policy criteria, a change request is automatically created and linked to the ticket. If the ticket does not match any change policy, you can manually link the change request to the ticket.
• If a change request is in the Open state, you cannot close the linked ticket.

Key considerations

• If you apply templates to the existing records:
  • The template data overwrites the existing data without warning. However, if data is entered in some fields in the original ticket but not in the template that is applied, then the original data in those fields is retained.
  • The record is saved with the updated data and its linked assignments are created. However, already linked assignments continue to be linked to the ticket.
• You can start and stop the clock for SLAs in two ways:
  • Status values—each status has a setting that allows a technician to start or stop the clock.
    For example, you can select the Paused status that stops the clock and In Progress status that starts the clock.
  • Actions menu options—these quick actions override the status value setting for the clock and allow you to start or stop the clock at any time for a record.
• For a closed record, note the following important points:
  • You can add notes, but you cannot update or delete any existing notes. You can create solutions from notes.
  • You can add or open attachments, but you cannot delete them.
  • You can view assignments, but you cannot add an assignment to a ticket or unlink an already linked assignment. If assignments are in an Open state, you can update them.
  • If a ticket is closed or reopened when the SLA Milestones Complete check box is selected, the milestone is not triggered again.
• When you select a requestor, note the following points:

  • The Asset Name field displays assets owned by the requestor.

  • In the Asset Name field, select the More option to display all the assets from which you can select an asset.

• If you do not have View permission for assets, note the following points:

  • The Asset Name field only displays 100 assets.

  • In the Asset Name field, the More option does not display any assets.

• When you select a requestor, the Asset Name field is auto-populated with the first asset from the list.

To create a ticket using a template

To help ensure the accuracy and completeness of data, you can use a template to create a record. A template ensures consistency of information and saves time. System administrators can define templates for tickets and assignments. The fields that are added to the template and are assigned a default value, get populated on the form. For the other fields on the record form, the user must enter the values manually. Applying a template will also add a Template Used system note in the Details section.

1. On the header bar, from the ADD NEW menu, select New Ticket.
2. In the Ticket form, from the Select and apply template menu, select the required template.
3. Click Apply template .
   The Ticket form field values are populated based on the template.
4. If the ticket matches any change policy criteria, a linked change request is created automatically.
   Alternatively, from the Change Summary list, you can select an open change request and manually link it to the ticket.

5. Enter other required information and click Save Ticket.

6. After you save a ticket, if the ticket matches any SLA criteria, in the Select From Service Level Agreements dialog box, select an SLA for the ticket.

To create a ticket without using a template

1. On the header bar, from the ADD NEW menu, select Ticket.

2. On the New Ticket tab, enter details for required fields.
   

    View the New Ticket tab fields.

   Section	Field name	Description
   Ticket Information	Summary	Enter a short summary of the issue.
   	Category	Select a category for the issue. If Support Specialists are assigned to the selected category, the Select Support specialist dialog box is displayed where you can select a Support Specialist. If there is only one Support Specialist assigned to a category, the technician field gets automatically populated when you select the category. For more information about categories, see Creating and managing categories.
   	Priority	Select a priority for the ticket. If your system administrator has configured a priority hierarchy for your group, the Priority field is populated based on the hierarchy. For more information about priorities, see Creating and managing priorities.
   	Status	Select a status value that you want to assign to the ticket. By default, a ticket is assigned an Open status, which is the default for an O type status. For more information about status values, see Tracking workflow stages of a record.
   	Ticket Source	This value is populated based on how the ticket is created such as by using the Technician Portal or through an email message.
   	Ticket Relation	This field shows whether the selected ticket is a Parent or a Child ticket. The field is grayed if the ticket is neither Parent nor Child. If the ticket is a Parent ticket, Parent is automatically populated in the field. If the ticket is a Child ticket, Child is automatically populated in the field. For more information, see Working with Parent tickets (2020 Release 01).
   	Due	Select a due date and time. If you change the priority of the ticket, you must select one of the following options: - Do Not Recalculate Due Date - Recalculate Due Date based on Open Date - Recalculate Due Date based on Current Date The Due date will be automatically calculated based on the priority selected, if the priority is already configured with Due Duration.
   	Responded	This value is populated based on when you select the Responded option in the Actions menu. The date and time format displayed in these fields depends upon your browser settings.
   	Expected Response	This value is calculated and populated based on the selected priority, only if the priority is already configured with the Expected Response Duration field.
   	Expected Fix	This value is calculated and populated based on the selected priority, only if the priority is already configured with Expected Fix Duration field.
   Technician  Information	Technician	The value is populated based on which technician is assigned the ticket. By default, name of the technician who created the ticket is populated. For more information, see Searching and linking a solution to a record.
   	Phone	The value is populated based on information in the Technician form.
   	Group	The value is populated based on information in the Technician form.
   	Opened By	The value is populated based on who created the ticket.
   Change Information	Change ID	The value is populated when a change request is linked. Click to view the linked change request.
   	Change Summary	This field shows the summary of the linked change request. If a change request is not created automatically, click to view a list of open change requests and select one to link it to the ticket.
   	Status	This field shows the status of the linked change request.
   Purchase Order Information	PO Number	The value is populated when a purchase order is linked. Click to view the linked purchase order.
   	Status	This field shows the status of the linked purchase order.
   Requestor Information	Create/Update Requestor	Click to open the Requestor form and create or update requestor information. For more information, see Creating and managing requestors.
   	Requestor Name	Select a requestor for the ticket. If you use the Create/Update Requestor option to create a requestor, the requestor name is automatically populated but you can overwrite it.
   	Email	The value is populated based on the selected requestor.
   	Phone	The value is populated based on the selected requestor.
   	Callback Phone	Enter an alternate phone number.
   	Department	Select a department name. If a requestor is assigned a department, that value is populated. If you change the requestor, the department and location values are updated based on the new requestor details.
   	Location	Select a location. By default, if a department is assigned a location, that value is populated. If you change the department, the location value is updated based on the new department.
   Service Information	Service Agreement	The value is populated when any field value on your ticket matches the criteria for an SLA and that respective SLA is applied to the ticket. If multiple SLAs match the ticket, in the Select From Service Level Agreements dialog box, select an appropriate SLA to apply to the ticket. For example, if there is an SLA with criteria as Category equal to Hardware , this SLA is applied to a ticket when the Category field value on the ticket is Hardware.
   	SLA Milestones Complete	The value is selected automatically when milestone actions are completed. This ensures that the completed milestones are not triggered again.
   Solution Information	Solution ID	The value is populated when a solution is linked to the ticket. If you link multiple solutions to a ticket, the value is populated based on the last solution linked to the ticket.
   	First Call Resolution	Select this check box if the issue was resolved in the first call to a technician. This information is useful while generating reports.
   	Open Linked Solution	Click to view the solution that is linked to the ticket.
   Additional Information	Enter any additional information about the issue.

3. Click Save Ticket.

4. After you save a ticket, you can perform the following actions on the ticket:

    View the Ticket Toolbar options.

   Field name	Description
   Ticket ID	Displays the ticket identification code. The value is populated after you save a ticket.
   Remote Control
   View Linked Asset Detail
   New email	Click to send a new email message. For more information, see Sending an email message.
   Search solution	Click to search for a relevant solution for the current issue.
   Open tickets	Select an option to view tickets that are specific to a value entered in the Requestor, Location, Category, or Asset fields. Only the tickets with the status type Open are displayed. If a value is not entered in the Requestor, Location, Category or Asset fields, the option is dimmed in the menu. For example, if you select Open ticket for Category, it will open the Select From Tickets dialog box that lists all the tickets under the category that is selected on your Ticket form.
   Assign to	Select an option to assign the ticket. For more information, see Assigning a record.
   Actions	Select an action to perform on the ticket. For more information, see Performing quick actions on a record.
   Copy ticket	Click to copy the current ticket data to create a new ticket. Note The fields that are calculated for the new ticket (such as Due date, Expected Response date, and Expected Fix date) are not copied.
   Print this record	Click to print the record. You can also export the ticket summary in various formats.
   Clear form	Click to clear the data entered in the Ticket form. The form is launched in New Ticket mode and all unsaved changes will be lost.
   Delete this record	Click to delete the ticket record. The data is cleared and the form is launched in New Ticket mode.

Creating assignments

You can create and manage assignments related to a ticket in Track-It! For more information, see Creating and managing assignments.

Linking a change request to a ticket

Even if a ticket does not match a change policy and a change request is not created automatically, you can manually link a change request to a ticket. Once you link a change request to a ticket, you cannot link any other change request. For more information, see Creating and managing change requests.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. In the Change Information section, click .
3. In the Select from Change dialog box, select a change request.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Save Ticket.
6. (Optional) To view the change request details, click .

Linking a purchase order to a ticket

You can manually link a purchase order to a ticket. For more information, see Managing Purchasing.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. On the recordtoolbar, click Actions  and select Link Purchase Order (P).
3. In the Select from Purchase Order dialog box, select a purchase order.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Save Ticket.
6. (Optional) To view the purchase order details, click .

Performing additional actions on a record

After you save a record, you can perform additional actions. The following topics apply to both ticket and assignment records. For the purpose of documentation, the following topics might refer to ticket records.

Sending an email message

Before you send an email, your system administrator must configure the email server and email accounts for incoming and outgoing email messages. For more information, see Configuring email. If the subject of an email is more than 255 characters, the email is not processed.

1. On the header bar, expand the hamburger menu  and select Help Desk.
2. From the Views list, select an option to filter the records.
3. Double-click the required record.
4. On the recordtoolbar, click New email .
5. To enter the recipient address, in the New Email dialog box, click Open Address Book next to the To field.
   If you have selected a requestor in the record form, the To field is populated. However, you can overwrite it.
6. In the Select email address dialog box, perform the following actions: 
   1. In the View list, select Requestors, Technicians, or All addresses.
      You can use the Filter field to search for specific email addresses.
   2. In the Email Address list, select the required email address, and click To at the bottom of the dialog box.
      If the required address is not in the list, enter the address manually.
   3. To populate the CC field, select the required email address, and click CC at the bottom of the dialog box.
   4. To populate the BCC field, select the required email address, and click BCC at the bottom of the dialog box.
   5. Click OK.
7. In the Subject field, enter a subject for the email message.
8. (Optional) To add attachments to the email message, click Browse to locate a file, and click Open.
    Repeat the steps for each additional attachment.
9. In the Message Text field, enter the email message.
10. To insert fields from the record form in the email message, in the Select Field list, select a field, and click the Insert in the message body link.
    Only those fields that have values populated appear in the Select Field list.
11. Click Send.
    After an email is sent, a confirmation message appears and an Email sent user note is created in the Details section that provides details about the email sent by the technician.

Assigning a record

The Assign To list allows you to assign the record using different options. The ticket is saved automatically as soon as any option is selected from the Assign To menu. 

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).

2. On the recordtoolbar, from the Assign To menu, select an appropriate option as described in the following table:

   Options	Details
   Assign to a Technician	Select this option to assign the record to a technician belonging to your group or a group other than your group. In the Select Technician dialog box, select a group. Select a technician from the list. Click OK.
   Assign to a Support Specialist	Select this option to assign the record to a support specialist. This option is enabled only when the category selected for the record has a support specialist assigned to it. In the Assign Support Specialists dialog box, select a group. Select a technician from the list. Click OK.
   Assign to a Group	Select this option to assign the record to a group. When you assign a record to a group, removes the Assign to technician details are removed. In the Select Group dialog box, select a group. Click OK.
   Assign to a Technician of my Groups	Select this option to assign the record to a technician belonging to your groups only. In the Select Technician dialog box, select a group. Select a technician from the list. Click OK.
   Assign to Myself	Select this option to assign the record to yourself.
   Clear Assignment	Select this option to clear the current technician details in the record form. However, the group remains assigned. A record must be assigned to a group at least when it is not assigned to a technician.

Performing quick actions on a record

Use the Actions menu to perform certain actions on a ticket. These quick actions menu instantly performs a selected action without prompting you for confirmation. You must save a ticket to enable the Actions menu and then the ticket is saved again automatically each time you select an option from the Actions menu. 

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).

2. On the recordtoolbar, from the Actions menu, select an appropriate option as described in the following table:

   Actions	Details
   Close Ticket	Select this option to close the ticket. The ticket status changes to the default status type Closed and the ticket becomes read-only.
   Reopen Ticket	Select this option to reopen the closed ticket. The ticket status changes to the default status type Open and ticket is available for editing.
   Increment Call Counter (For tickets only)	Select this option to increase the count in the Call Counter field by one. On the out-of-the-box Ticket form, the Call Counter field is not present. However, you can contact your system administrator to add the Call Counter field to the form. For example, you can use this field to increment the number of calls you had with the customers.
   Start Clock	Select this option to start the stopped clock for an SLA milestone. The clock starts as soon as a ticket is created, so the Start Clock option is disabled by default.
   Stop Clock	Select this option to stop the clock when required. This option also enables the Start Clock option. You can start the clock again when the issue that was blocking the ticket is resolved. A system note gets added when the clock stops or starts either through the Actions menu or through a Status change. You can customize the form to add the Clock Stopped Time field that shows the time when the clock was stopped.
   Responded (For tickets only)	Select this option to populate the value of the Responded field. This field is populated based on the date and time when a technician selects this option.

Searching and linking a solution to a record

After you create and save a record, you can link a solution to it. If you do not have edit permission for a ticket, you cannot link a solution to it. Contact your system administrator to enable edit permission. You must save the ticket or assignment after linking a solution to it.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. On the recordtoolbar, click Search solution .
3. In the Link: Solution dialog box, select a search option.
4. In the Search field, enter your preferred keywords and click Search .
   By default, the Search field is populated with the record summary. However, you can overwrite it with your preferred keywords.
5. From the results, select a solution and click Link.
6. (Optional) In the Add New Ticket Note dialog box, if you want to add the summary of the solution into the resolution of the ticket, click Yes.
7. (Optional) In the New Ticket Notes dialog box, enter details in the required fields. For more information, see Adding notes to a record.
8. Click Add / Update Note .
   The linked solution's ID is displayed in the Solution Information section of the Ticket form.

Adding notes to a record

After a record is created, the system adds system notes in the Ticket Notes section whenever a specific action is performed on the ticket. You can add user notes to keep track of the actions performed on the ticket. You can use these notes to generate specific reports.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).

2. In the Details section, select Ticket Notes > New.

3. Click Add/Update Note.
   Enter details in the New Ticket Notes dialog box. The following table shows details of the fields on the New Ticket Notes dialog box:

   Field	Details
   Note Type	Select the type of note you want to add: Ticket Description Technician Note Ticket Resolution
   Activity Code	Select the activity code for the note. For more information, see Creating and managing activity codes.
   Private note (hidden from Requestor) (For tickets only)	To make the note visible to requestors, clear the check box. (2020 Release 03) To make all ticket notes private by default, select the Mark Notes as Private check box in the Ticket Notes Default Behavior section. After you have selected the check box, it continues to remain selected. (2020 Release 03) To make all ticket notes public by default, clear the Mark Notes as Private check box in the Ticket Notes Default Behavior section. After you have cleared the check box, it continues to remain cleared. For more information, see To configure system settings.
   Enter note details	Enter the actions performed on the ticket.
   Duration	This value is populated automatically based on the time spent on an activity since the last note was added. For the activity codes which have the Track Time field selected, the Duration needs to have a positive value. For the activity codes that have the Track Time field cleared, Duration is not calculated. However, in both cases, you can override the Duration manually. (2020 Release 03) The format of this field is ddd:hh:mm:ss.
   Technician	The value is populated based on the information in the Ticket form.
   Requestor (For tickets only)	The value is populated only if the note is added by a requestor from Self Service.

Based on the browser that you are using, you can insert or paste images to notes:

Creating a solution from record notes

After you have added a record note, you can create a solution depending on the note you added. You must add at least one ticket note to be able to create a solution from the Ticket Notes section. If there are multiple User notes, you must select an appropriate note to create the solution.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. In the Details section, select Ticket Notes > Create Solution  .
   The ticket summary gets copied to the solution summary and the note text gets copied to the solution text but you can overwrite these values. For more information, see Creating a new solution.

Adding attachments to a record

You can attach files up to 29 MB to your records. You can open or save an attachment using the Download Attachments option. The download behavior—whether the attachment is saved or opened for viewing, depends on your browser settings.

1. Open a record from the Help Desk (from the hamburger menu , select Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. In the Attachments section, click New and perform any of the following actions:
   • To locate and select the required file from the local storage, in the Attachments dialog box, click Browse.
   • To select a web file, in the URL Link field, enter the required URL.
3. Click Attach.

Linking or unlinking assets to tickets

In the Ticket form, you can link or unlink assets to tickets. It enables technicians to associate the asset with a specific ticket. Multiple tickets can be linked to a single asset.

1. On the header bar, expand the hamburger menu   and select Help Desk > double-click the ticket.
2. In the Ticket form, from the Requestor Name field, select the requestor.
   The Asset Name field is populated with the list of assets that are associated with the selected requestor.
3. To link the asset, from the Asset Name list, select the asset to link to the ticket.
4. To unlink the asset, from the Asset Name list, clear the asset to link to the ticket.
5. Click Save Ticket.

Linking or unlinking assets to assignments

In the Assignment form, you can link or unlink assets to assignments. It enables technicians to associate the asset with a specific assignment. Multiple assignment can be linked to a single asset.

1.  On the header bar, expand the hamburger menu   and select Help Desk > double-click the ticket.
2. From the Details section, click Assignments, select the assignment and click Edit .
3. In the Assignment form, from the Requestor Name field, select the requestor.
   The Asset Name field is populated with the list of assets that are associated with the selected requestor.
4. To link the asset, from the Asset Name list, select the asset to link to the assignment.
5. To unlink the asset, from the Asset Name list, clear the asset to link to the assignment.
6. Click Save Ticket.

To edit or close a ticket

1. Open a ticket from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).

2. In the Ticket form, perform one of the following actions:

   Action	Steps
   To edit a ticket	Edit the required fields. Click Save Ticket. For editing a closed ticket, you must reopen it from the Actions menu first.
   To close a ticket	In the Ticket Information section, in the Status list, select Closed. In the message box, click OK. You must close all assignments linked to a ticket before closing a ticket.

Calculating Technician Charge of a ticket

If you customize a Ticket form to include the Charge field, Track-It! automatically calculates and tallies the total technician charges whenever a ticket note or ticket assignment is created.

For this scenario, it is assumed that you:

• Created a custom Ticket form that includes the Charge field
• Specified a value in the Hourly Rate field of your technician profiles

Provided that the above conditions exist, Track-It! automatically calculates and tallies the charges for the Ticket based on the following behavior:

Example

For this example, assume there are three technicians (Technician A, Technician B, and Technician C) with three different hourly rates and they are all working on a particular Ticket.  The following table describes how the charges are calculated and displayed in the Ticket: