Creating and managing assignments

To create and assign assignments

You can create an assignment with or without using a template.

To create an assignment by 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. Applying a template also adds a Template Used system note in the Details section.

1. Navigate to the Ticket form (on the header bar, select ADD NEW > New Ticket).
2. In the Ticket form, in the Details section, select Assignments > New.
3. In the Assignments form, in the Select and apply template list, select the required template.
4. Click Apply template .
   The Assignment form is populated with fields from the template.
5. Enter other required information and click Save Assignment.

To create an assignment without using a template

1. Navigate to the Ticket form (on the header bar, select ADD NEW > New Ticket).
2. In the Ticket form, in the Details section, select Assignments > New.

3. In the Assignment form, enter details for required fields.
   When you create an assignment, some fields on the Assignment form are populated from the parent Ticket form such as Summary, Ticket ID, Technician, Category, and so on.

   View the Assignment form fields.

   Section name	Field name	Description
   Assignment Information	Summary	Enter a summary of the task for which the assignment is created.
   	Category	This value is populated based on the category of the parent ticket but you can overwrite it according to your requirements. If Support Specialists are assigned to the selected category, the Assign Support Specialists 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 is populated when you select that category. For more information about categories, see Creating-and-managing-categories.
   	Priority	Select an appropriate priority according to your business requirements. If your system administrator has configured 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 an appropriate status value for the assignment. The default status assigned is Open.
   	Ticket ID	This value is populated by using the information in the Parent Ticket form. Click to open the Parent Ticket.
   	Due by	Enter the due date and time. The value must be greater than the time when the assignment is created. If you change the priority of the assignment, 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 by date will be automatically calculated based on the priority selected, if the priority is already configured with Due Duration.
   	Expected Response	This value is calculated and populated based on the corresponding value set for 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 corresponding value set for the selected priority, only if the priority is already configured with the Expected Fix Duration field.
   	Solution ID	This value is populated based on the information in the linked solution article. If you link multiple solutions to a ticket, the value is populated by using the last solution linked to the ticket. Click to open the linked solution.
   Technician Information	Technician	This value is populated based on the information in the Technician form.
   	Last Updated By	This value is populated with the name of the user who saved the assignment most recently.
   	Group	This value is populated based on the information in the Technician form.
   	Opened By	This value is populated based on who created the assignment.
   Requestor Information	Requestor Name	This value is populated based on the information in the Requestor form.
   	Requestor Email	This value is populated based on the information in the Requestor form.
   	Phone	This value is populated based on the information in the Requestor form.
   	Callback Phone	Enter an alternate phone number.
   	Department	If a requestor is assigned a department, the department name is displayed. If you change the requestor, the department field value is updated based on the new requestor details. You can also select a department name other than that assigned to the requestor. (2021 Release 02) If the new requestor is not assigned a department, the department field is left blank.
   	Location	If a requestor is assigned a location, the location name is displayed. If you change the requestor, the location field value is updated based on the new requestor details. If you select a department name other than that assigned to the requestor, the location field value is updated based on the location assigned to that department. You can also select a location other than that assigned to the requestor or department. (2021 Release 02) If the new requestor is not assigned a location, the location field is left blank.
   Additional Information		Enter any additional information about the assignment.

4. Click Save Assignment.
   If in the Ticket Defaults section of the New Priority dialog box or the Priority: priorityName dialog box, you have entered values in at least one of the Expected Due Duration, Expected Fix Duration, and Expected Response Duration fields and clicked Save, then the Adjust Assignment dates dialog box is displayed when one of the following conditions exists: 

   • In the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with null values in all the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section and clicked Save Assignment.  
   • In the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to another priority that has values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section and clicked Save Assignment.
   • From the Assignment form, you reopen a closed assignment in which the Priority field contains any priority.
   • From the Assignment form, you copy an assignment in which the Priority field contains any priority. 
     The details of the Adjust Assignment dates dialog box are shown in the following figure:
     
     In this dialog box, select the required option and click OK.

   (2021 Release 01) The Adjust Assignment dates dialog box is not displayed if, in the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to a priority with null values in all the fields in the Ticket Defaults section and clicked Save Assignment. 

   If, in the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to a priority that also has values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section, then the values in the Due by, Expected Response, and Expected Fix fields on the Assignment form are recalculated according to the changed priority and the option that you select in the Adjust Assignment dates dialog box. 

   Important

   If you select the Do not adjust the dates option in the Adjust Assignment dates dialog box, then the values in the Due by, Expected Response, and Expected Fix fields on the Assignment form are not recalculated according to the changed priority and they retain the values from the priority that you previously selected.

   If, in the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to a priority with null values in all the fields in the Ticket Defaults section, then the values in the Due by, Expected Response, and Expected Fix fields on the Assignment form are not recalculated according to the changed priority and the fields on the Assignment form retain values from the priority that you previously selected.

   (2021 Release 01) If, in the Priority field on the Assignment form, you changed a priority with values in at least one of the fields in the Ticket Defaults section to a priority with null values in all the fields in the Ticket Defaults section, then the values in the Due by, Expected Response, and Expected Fix fields on the Assignment form are recalculated according to the changed priority.
   For more information, see To create a priority.

5. After you save an assignment, you can perform the following actions:

   View the Assignment toolbar options.

   Field name	Description
   Assignment ID	Shows the assignment identification code.
   New email	Click to send a new email message.
   Search solution	Click to search for a relevant solution for the current assignment.
   Assign to	Select an option to assign the assignment.
   Actions	Select an option to perform an action on the ticket.
   Copy this assignment	Click to copy the current assignment data to create a new assignment. Important The fields that are calculated for the new assignment such as Due By date, are not copied. (2023 Release 01) When a closed assignment is copied, the new assignment will have the status as open.
   Print this assignment	Click to print the assignment. You can also export the assignment summary in various formats.
   Clear form	Click to clear all the data entered in the Assignment form. The form is launched in New Assignment mode and all unsaved changes will be lost.
   Delete this record	Click to delete the assignment record.

To link predecessors and successors to an assignment

You can link assignments of a ticket to each other as predecessors and successors to be completed in a certain order. This function helps you set a hierarchy of assignments to maintain the flow of tasks. Before you link predecessors and successors to an assignment, you must first ensure that your system administrator has configured the assignment status progression. For more information, see Configuring assignment status progression. You can add more than one successors and predecessors to an assignment. The predecessor-successor relationship is a tree relationship, not a sequential one, and can have different workflows. Depending upon the workflow, there can be two or more assignments that should be completed simultaneously.
You cannot link an assignment as both a predecessor and successor of an assignment, because this creates a circular loop in the workflow execution.

The following procedure uses an example to help understand this feature better. This example sets up a workflow where assignment 002 is worked on first and after it is closed, a technician is notified to start working on the next assignment in the flow. So assignment 001 is completed next. When assignment 001 is closed, assignments 003 and 004 are worked on. So the workflow hierarchy for assignments is set as 002 > 001 > 003 > 004.

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have created a ticket with at least three assignments linked to it, such as a ticket in our example that has four linked assignments having IDs 001,002,003, and 004.
• Ensure you have configured Assignment Status Progression with an appropriate condition, such as when a predecessor assignment status is Closed, update the successor assignment's status from Open to In Progress.

To link predecessors and successors to an assignment

1. Open a Ticket from the Help Desk (hamburger menu  > Help Desk > double-click the required record).
2. In the Ticket form, click the Assignments tab.
3. Select an assignment, such as 001 and click Edit .
4. To link a predecessor to the current assignment, in the Assignment form, select Predecessor > Link.
5. In the Select from Assignments dialog box, select an assignment to make it a predecessor of the current assignment, such as 002, and click OK.
   Assignment 002 is now the predecessor of assignment 001. So based on the condition in the prerequisite, only after assignment 002 is closed, assignment 001 goes in the In Progress state, and you can start working on it.
6. To link a successor to the current assignment, in the Assignment form, select Successor > Link.
7. In the Select from Assignments dialog box, select an assignment to make it a successor of the current assignment, such as 003, and click OK.
   After assignment 001 is closed, assignment 003 goes in the In Progress state, and you can start working on it.
8. To link one more successor to the current assignment, such as 004, repeat steps 6 and 7.
   You can make 004 a successor of 003, so that 004 is completed after 003.

To edit or close an assignment

You can edit a ticket or an assignment from the Help Desk or the Assignment tab of the Ticket form. To edit a closed assignment, you must reopen it from the Actions menu first.

1. On the header bar, click the hamburger menu  and select Help Desk.
2. In Views, select All Assignments.
3. From the list, double-click the required assignment.

4. In the Assignment form, perform one of these steps:

   Action	Steps
   To edit an assignment	Edit the required fields. Click Save Assignment.
   To close an assignment	In the Assignment Information section, in the Status field, select Closed. Important (2021 Release 01) If you have selected the Resolution required on close for Tickets and Assignments check box in the Help Desk Notes Behavior section in System Settings, then the New Assignment Note dialog box is displayed when you perform one of these steps in the Assignment form:  Select an action with Close (C) status type from the Actions menu. Select the Close (C) status type in the Status field. The following table shows details of the fields in the New Assignment Note dialog box: Field Details Note Type Assignment Resolution is the default note type. This field is read-only. Activity Code Select the activity code for the note. Note by Technician is the default activity code. Duration This field is populated automatically based on the time spent on an assignment from when you open it in a new tab to when you select the Close (C) status type for the assignment. However, you can override the value in this field manually. Enter note details Enter the note details in the body of the note.  This field is mandatory. Technician The logged in technician is the default technician of the note. This field is read-only. Add / Update Note After you click this button, the following message is displayed: Assignment has been updated successfully.The assignment status is updated. The resolution note is displayed under the Assignment Notes tab. (2021 Release 01) When you select the Close (C) status type from the Actions menu or the Status field for a ticket with open linked assignments, and you select either the Allow the Ticket and all the linked Assignments to be closed without warning or Display a warning message but allow the Ticket and all the linked Assignments to be closed option in Group Permissions, then: The open assignments linked to the ticket are closed. The resolution note that you added to the New Ticket Note dialog box is added to the open linked assignments after they are closed. This resolution note is not added to the linked assignments that were closed before the ticket was closed. For more information, see To edit or close a ticket. When you select the Close (C) status type from the Actions menu or the Status field for the last open assignment that is linked to an open ticket, a dialog box is displayed with the following message: This is the last open Assignment for the associated Ticket. Do you want to proceed and close the associated Ticket also? If you click OK in this dialog box, then the New Assignment Note dialog box is displayed if you have selected the Resolution required on close for Tickets and Assignments check box in the Help Desk Notes Behavior section in System Settings. After you have added the resolution note to the New Assignment Note dialog box and closed the assignment, the open linked ticket is also closed. The resolution note that you added to the New Assignment Note dialog box is added to the linked ticket after it is closed. If you click Cancel in this dialog box, then the New Assignment Note dialog box is displayed if you have selected the Resolution required on close for Tickets and Assignments check box in the Help Desk Notes Behavior section in System Settings. After you have added the resolution note to the New Assignment Note dialog box, only the assignment is closed and the linked ticket is not closed. You can view the resolution note that is added to the linked ticket by clicking the ticket note under the Ticket Notes tab of the Ticket form. The following table shows the fields that are displayed in the Ticket Notes# noteID dialog box when you open the resolution note: Field Details Note Type Ticket Resolution is the default note type. Activity Code Note By Technician is the default activity code. Duration The duration of the ticket note is zero. Enter note details The following message is displayed by default: This ticket was closed because the last assignment for this ticket was closed with the following resolution: Resolution note that you added to the New Assignment Note dialog box when you selected the Close (C) status type for the last open assignment. Technician The technician that is displayed in the New Assignment Note dialog box is the default technician of the note. Private note (hidden from Requestor) This check box remains selected if you have selected the Mark Ticket Notes private by default check box in the Help Desk Notes Behavior section in System Settings. All the fields in the Ticket Notes# noteID dialog box are read-only.

To calculate the technician charge for an assignment

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

For this scenario, it is assumed that you:

• Created a custom Assignment 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 Assignment 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 assignment.  The following table describes how the charges are calculated and displayed in the Assignment: