This documentation supports the 21.3 version of BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT.To view an earlier version, select the version from the Product version menu.

Planning for categorization

When an incident or a problem is reported, the service agent must categorize it in accordance with a scheme or table so that the nature of the issue can be determined and the proper next steps taken to handle the issue.

Operational categorization information is used for assignment mappings and categorizing incidents, problems, changes, and so on for reporting.

The operational catalog can contain a list of the operational services that a typical help desk provides, such as adding hardware and password resets. It can also contain items that represent symptoms of incidents and problems.

Product catalog information is used to create and maintain a database of products for a given company.

Related topics

Overview-of-categorization

Applying-categorization-to-tickets-and-resources

Configuring product and operational catalogs(Action Request System documentation)

Considerations when defining the operational categorization structure

BMC recommends that you consider the following points when you define the operational categorization structure:

  • What are your reporting needs?
  • What criteria will you use for approvers and assignees for requests?
  • What criteria will you use to map service targets to incidents, changes and other requests?
  • Do you need different categories for different companies?
  • While defining operational categories, you should include your business process team and managers for several ITIL processes.
  • Use existing categories as a guide.

Example of operational categorization for Incident Management

While deciding on operational categories to be created, you can use the following statement as a template:

I (user) need you (Service Desk Agent) to <operational category 1> the <operational category 2> on my <operational category 3>.

Category 1: The action to be taken (verb)

  • Install
  • Upgrade
  • Repair
  • Remove

Category 2: The area of support to be employed (Subject). This could be categorized in roughly the same way the Support Organization's duties and groups are distributed.

  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Access

Category 3: The asset on which the action is to be taken

  • Desktop
  • Laptop
  • Mobile Device
  • Phone
  • Server

Considerations when defining the product categorization structure

BMC recommends that you adhere to the following guidelines when adding new values to the product categorization or modifying existing product categorization values:


    • Do not include brand names or manufacturer names.
      This additional information for CIs can be captured in the Product Name and Manufacturer fields in the Product Category Update form and the Product Model/Version field in the Product Model/Version form.
    • Limit the number of values from which a user can select.
      The more values a user sees in a list, the less likely the user is to actually review them all and pick the right one. Lists of up to ten values are considered manageable.
    • All values should be mutually exclusive.
      Ambiguous values cause unreliable results in searches and reporting.
    • Each list of values should be complete.
      When the list is not complete, users select values that are not accurate, which negatively impacts the effectiveness of the product categorization structure.
    • Specify all three tiers.
      Specifying all tiers makes sure that the same level of detail is registered in all instances.
    • The Product Catalog should reflect the CIs in BMC Atrium CMDB.
      Information about components, such as memory and CPU type, can be either attributes of the computer system (or virtual system) or separate CIs.

 

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