Managing service actions

Comparison of service actions and services

Service actions are similar to services because they have the following resembling components:

Types of service actions

BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog supports the following types of service actions: 

• Day2 Action—You create the Day2 type of actions to associate a service action with a service.
• Task Action—You create the Task type of service actions to associate the To-do template from BMC Helix Business Workflows with workflows and questionnaires in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog.

Process of adding service actions

The following table describes the steps to add service actions: 

Before you begin

If you want to create a service action for To-dos (Task type), make sure that you have configured the the BMC Helix Innovation Studio connector. For more information, see BMC-Helix-Innovation-Studio-connector.

Task 1: To create a service action

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Click Create Action.
4. In the Action Name field, enter a descriptive action name, such as Replace hardware.
5. In the Action Type field, select one of the following options: 
   • Day2 Action—To associate a service action with a service.
   • Task Action—To create a service action for To-dos. 
     
     The following image displays the action types:
     
     
     
6. Click Confirm.
   
   If you selected Day2 Action, the following Actions options are displayed:
   
   
   If you selected the Task action type, the following Action options are displayed:
   
   

(If you have created the Day2 type of service action) Task 2: To associate a service action with items on the My Stuff page

You can associate the Day2 type of service actions with the following items on the My Stuff page: 

• To associate a service action with services
• To associate a service action with assets
• To map an asset class to a selected service action
• To map a subset of assets in an asset class to a selected service action
• To map all asset classes from the configured connections to a selected service action

To associate a service action with services

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Open a service action that you want to map to services.

4. On the Action Options panel, click Edit next to Asset Mapping.

   The following example shows the Service Requests section:

   

5. (Optional) Map categories of services to a selected service action:
   1. In the Service Requests section, click Add next to Categories.
   2. From the Service Catalog, select one or more service categories, and click Save.
6. (Optional) Map services to a selected service action:
   1. In the Service Requests section, click Add next to Services.
   2. From the Service Catalog, select one or more services, and click Add.

To associate a service action with assets

You can associate service actions only with those asset classes that are retrieved from connections configured in the Application Settings > Asset Management. For details about how to configure asset connections, see Configuring-services-and-assets-to-be-available-on-the-My-Stuff-page.

The following example shows the Asset connections sections of a service action:

Perform one or more of the following procedures to associate service actions with assets:

To map an asset class to a selected service action

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Open a service action that you want to map to assets.
4. On the Action Options panel, click Edit next to Asset Mapping.
5. On the Asset Connections panel, click Add next to a selected connection.
6. Select one or more asset classes, and click Add.
   The added asset classes are displayed below the selected connection on the Asset Connections panel.
   
   To delete the added class, click the x button.

To map a subset of assets in an asset class to a selected service action

To restrict the number of assets that will be associated with a service action, you can create a query that will search for assets that match the query condition.

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Open a service action that you want to map to assets.
4. On the Action Options panel, click Edit next to Asset Mapping.
5. Map an asset class to a selected service action:
   1. On the Asset Connections panel, click Add.
   2. Select one or more asset classes, and click Add.
      
6. Click Add next to the selected asset class, and create a condition for the selected asset class.

1. 
   
   1. In the Condition name field, enter a descriptive condition name.
   2. In the Expression field, select a field, and build a condition as follows:

• 
  
  • 
    
    • On the left side of the expression, select an expression variable.
    • Select an operator (for example, IS, IS NOT, CONTAINS, DOES NOT CONTAIN, STARTS WITH, ENDS WITH are operators for strings)
    • For strings, type a free text value.
    • For integers, type a number value.
    • For selections, select a variable from the list.

                  c. Click Save.

The added query is displayed below the asset class on the Asset Connections panel:

The following image shows a query with the string data type that enables you to add a service action only to keyboards located in America:

You can create a complex query with several conditions for a single class; for example, you can create a query that will display a designated service action only for printers that match the following condition:

To map all asset classes from the configured connections to a selected service action

1. Open a service action that you want to map to assets.
2. On the Action Options panel, click Edit next to Asset Mapping.
3. On the Asset connections panel, select All beside a connection from which you want to pull out all asset classes.

Task 3: To map a service action with a workflow and questionnaire

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Select the check box next to the service action for which you want to map the workflow or questionnaire. 
4. Select Actions > Open. 
5. Click Edit next to Workflow. 
6. On the Workflow and Questions pane, click Add next to Workflow. 
7. From the Workflow Library pane, perform one of the following actions:
   • If you have created a workflow, select the workflow that you want to map with this section action.
   • If you have not created a workflow, select Actions > New workflow to create a new workflow. 
     Example: If you selected Task Action, associate the workflow that you designed for To-dos.
8. Click Save. 

Task 4: To activate or deactivate a service action

After you create a service action and map it to services and assets, activate it to make it available to end users. You can deactivate service actions to make them temporarily unavailable for selection by end users, such as when a service action is undergoing some changes.

To activate or deactivate a service action, perform one of the following steps:

1. Log in to the Catalog console.
2. Select Services > Service Actions.
3. Activate or deactivate a service action in one of the following ways:
   • From the Action Options pane, change the Active toggle to activate or deactivate a service.
   • Open the Service Actions page and select a service action on the Active or Inactive tab. Click Actions and select one of the following options:
     • Activate—Makes an inactive service action available to end users. This option is available on the Inactive tab.
       When you activate a Task Action, the questionnaire metadata is passed to BMC Helix Business Workflows to generate dynamic fields.
     • Deactivate —Makes an active service action unavailable to end users. This option is available on the Active tab.
       
       

Result

The following image shows a completed service request and a list of actions associated with it:    

To delete a service action

You can delete active and inactive service actions at any time.

From the service actions list, select one or more service actions, and click Actions > Delete.

If a service action is associated with a service, service category, or asset class, a message appears to notify you of potential risks.

To export or import a service action

To export a service action to a local zip file, select a service and click Actions > Export.

To import a saved service action, select Actions > Import, and upload the service action zip file. For the Task type of service action, you must deactivate before exporting and then reactivate the service action after importing.

Troubleshooting

The following table describes the common issues and ways to overcome them: