Auto Assign

Issues can be assigned to different users and Teams automatically based on the choice selected in a drop-down Workspace field. For example, if the Workspace contains a Workspace field called Problem type, and Problem type contains hardware, software, and network as its three choices, Issues could be assigned automatically to different FootPrints users and Teams depending on which choice is selected for that Issue or Request by the Agent or Customer creating the Issue. In this way, the hardware Team is automatically assigned to hardware problems, the software group is automatically assigned to software problems, etc.  Default assignment can also be configured on this page.

To configure default assignment and Auto Assignment, select Administration | Workspace | Auto Assign from the FootPrints Toolbar, then scroll to the appropriate section of the page.

Default Assignment

When an Agent opens a new Issue, you can control who is assigned by default to that Issue with the options described below. The option selected here determines who is listed in the Assignees dialog box on the Create Issue page when an Agent opens a new Issue.

There are five options:

  • Assign to creator—The Agent creating the Issue is assigned.
  • Assign to creator's Team—The Agent's Team is assigned automatically.  If the Agent belongs to multiple Teams, the first Team in the list is selected.
  • Assign to creator's Team and creator—The Agent is assigned along with the Agent's Team to the Issue.
  • Assign to none—The Assignees box is blank when an Issue is created by an Agent. This option should be selected if Auto-Assignment is configured for most or all possible choices for at least one field.
  • Assign to all—All users are assigned. This is appropriate if the Workspace only contains a small group of Agents.
    The default assignment option only affects who is listed as the Assignee when an Agent first creates an Issue. The option selected here can be overridden by the Auto Assignment options selected below, manually by the Agent (with permissions), by Team assignment rules, or by an Escalation rule.

Field-Based Auto Assign

To configure Auto-Assignment:

  1. Select Administration | Workspace | Auto Assign from the FootPrints Toolbar.
  2. Create or modify an assignment rule—To create or modify an assignment rule, select the field you want to modify or for which you want to create a rule from the drop-down field, then click the GO button.  The Choose Assignees page is displayed. Select the assignees for each choice in the selected drop-down field, then enter your password and click the Save button. When an incident/problem is submitted with that specified value in that field, the incident/problem is assigned to the specified agent(s) or team(s).
  3. Current Auto Assignment Summary—The Current Auto Assignment Summary displays a summary of the current auto assignment rule(s).
  4. General auto assign options
    1. Auto assign on create/edit
      • Create only—Auto Assignment only occurs when the Issue is first created. Any subsequent changes to the Auto Assign field(s) have no effect on assignment.
      • Create and Edit—Each time an Auto Assignment field is edited, Auto Assignment rules are re-applied. This is useful if Auto Assignment is being used to assign an Issue from one group to another, for example, from Support to Development, then to QA, etc.

    2. Add to or replace existing assignees

      • Add new assignees—Any users assigned manually will remain assigned in addition to any users auto-assigned.
      • Unassign existing assignees—When users are Auto Assigned, any users added manually or Auto Assigned by a previous edit are removed. This is useful if Auto Assignment is being used to assign an Issue from one group to another, for example, from Support to Development, then to QA, etc.

      Note

      • If Auto Assign is configured for more than one drop-down field, the Add New Assignees option is recommended. If the Unassign option is selected, the Auto Assignment rule for one field may unassign users who were assigned by another field choice. Therefore, to assign Issues based on multiple criteria, use Escalation rules. In addition, auto assignment occurs during the issue creation; if dynamic drop-downs are used, escalation rules, which occur at the end of the issue creation or edit, should be used to do these kinds of assignments.
      • If a Customer configures auto assignment for an issue, the Unassign existing assignees option does not work. Any users added manually or Auto Assigned by a previous edit will remain assigned to the issue.
  5. Drop-Down Fields—This section contains one sub-section for each drop-down Workspace field in the current Workspace.  Each section is broken down into each choice for the field, with a list of Workspace members and Teams for each choice.
  6. For each choice, you can choose to Auto Assign Issues to one or more users or Teams.  Highlight a user’s ID or Team name in the list for that value. Use the CTRL key to highlight more than one user or Team.
  7. It is not necessary to configure Auto Assignment for each choice in a single field or for more than one drop-down field.  It is completely optional. More complex assignment based on multiple criteria, including contact fields, time, etc., can be accomplished with Escalation rules.
  8. When you are finished, click Save.
  9. New Issues for which a configured value is selected are automatically assigned to the users or Teams specified on the “Auto Assign” screen. The users receive notification email, and the Issue appears in their Assignments lists.
  10. If the Auto Assignment feature is enabled for a public field, Requests submitted by Customers are also automatically assigned and given a status of Open. They skip the Request bin.
  11. Auto Assignment is done in addition to any assignees chosen manually on the Create Issue or Edit Issue page.  Auto Assignment rules are applied directly on the Create Issue and Edit Issue pages for Issues created by Agents. Requests submitted by Customers are assigned instantly when the Customer submits the Request via the Customer Self-service interface. Assignment for Email submissions is processed when the email is received by FootPrints.

Delete an Auto Assignment

To delete an auto assignment rule:

  1. Select Administration | Workspace | Auto Assign from the FootPrints Toolbar.
  2. In the Create or Edit an Auto Assignment Rule field, select the rule you want to delete from the drop-down menu, then click the GO button.
  3. Unassign the assigned user or users.
  4. Enter your password and click the Save button.

 

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