This documentation supports the 22.1 version of BMC Helix ITSM: Smart IT. To view an earlier version, select the version from the Product version menu.The documentation for BMC Helix ITSM 23.3.00 has changed. To understand the changed documentation structure see, Where did the Smart IT documentation go?

Updates feed overview

The Updates feed display events that occur in Smart IT for the tickets and resources that you follow. They are a record of updates made to tickets and resources, and events such as outages, broadcasts, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs). For example, you can view events such as status updates, comments, knowledge article updates, and relationship changes. You also get a feed when Smart IT users mention you in a comment by using the @ key.

Related topics

Activity-feed-overview

You can follow tickets and resources given in this table:

Tickets

Incident, work order, change request, problem investigation, known error, task, and service request

Resources

Asset and Knowledge article

You also receive feeds of the Service Level Agreements (SLAs), broadcasts, and outages for the tickets and resources that you follow.

You can view and access the Updates feed on the Universal client (UC) desktop, Google Android, and Apple iOS devices. On the Updates feed, you can select the title or ID of the ticket or resource to open and view details of the update. You can open the asset to see the scheduled outage.

The Updates feed gives you a quick view of the events that have happened to the tickets that you work on or follow, specially when other Smart IT users have done any updates. Similarly, the Updates feed shows updates done on articles, assets, and help you keep track of SLAs. The Updates feed also shows broadcasts and outages that might impact your work. 


Why do we get an updates feed?

You receive an updates feed of tickets and resources in the following scenarios:

  • You follow tickets, knowledge articles, or assets. You must click the FollowFollow icon.pngicon on the ticket profile.
  • You assign tickets and resources to self by using the Assign to me option, and thus follow them.
  • You are the assignee of tickets, knowledge articles, or assets. As an assignee, you automatically start following the assigned tickets and resources. 
  • You are the owner of assets.
  • You act on tickets or resources. 
  • You are assignee of a ticket in BMC Helix ITSM, and therefore its assignee in Smart IT.

To stop getting updates feed of tickets and resources:

  • Click the Unfollow Unfollow icon.pngicon on the ticket profile. However, you still continue to be the assignee for the ticket.
  • You assign the ticket or resource to another user, and click the Unfollow Unfollow icon.pngicon.

In case of SLA breach alerts, broadcasts, and outages, you receive their updates in the following scenarios:

  • SLA breaches happen to the tickets that you follow.
  • There are outages related to the assets that you follow.
  • There are broadcasts about your location, site, company, organization, and support group.

Important

Service desk agents would be swamped with feeds about all the tickets that they create, and hence Smart IT does not add any feed in the Updates feed when you create tickets. When you create a ticket, if you do not change the assignment, based on the auto-assignment rules set in BMC Helix ITSM, the system automatically sets the assignee for the ticket. In this case, a feed is not created in your (creator) Updates feed. But if you change the assignment when creating a ticket, a feed is added to your Updates feed. Because you did some activity on the ticket, you become a follower of that ticket. The person who you assigned the ticket also gets an feed in their Updates feed.

When you create a knowledge article, you automatically become its follower, and get an update feed about the article you created.

You can see the number of tickets you are following at the top of the updates feed as shown in the following image.

Updates_Following.png

This number gets automatically updated when you follow or unfollow a ticket and does not change based on the filters you apply in the Dashboard.

Types of updates in the feed

The system displays the following types of updates in the feeds for the tickets and resources you follow:

Types of feed

Events that trigger feeds

What is displayed in the feed?

Approval Status Updates

Change requests and knowledge articles are approved, rejected, or kept on hold.

Approval Updates.png

Asset Ownership Updates

Updates to the primary owner of asset.

Asset Ownership Updates.png

Assignment Updates

Assignment updates for all types of tickets.

Assignment Updates.png

BCM Actions

BCM actions performed on asset, such as auditing and restart.


Broadcasts

Broadcasts that impact you. Feeds are added according to their start time.

Broadcasts.PNG

Knowledge Article Updates

Updates such as flagged and unflagged articles.

KB Updates.png

Location Changes

Location updates made for assets.

Location Updates.png

Outages

Outages created for assets.

Outage Updates.png

Priority Updates

Change in the priority of tickets and resources.

Priority updates.PNG

Relationship Changes

People, asset, and ticket relationships created on assets.

Relationship Changes.png

SLA Alerts

SLA breaches of the tickets.

SLA Alerts.png

Status Updates

Change in the status of tickets and resources.

Status Updates.png

Task Updates

Task created by using template for tickets, such as incident, work order, change request, and activities.

Task Updates.png

Sequence of updates in the feed

The feeds are placed according to the time they occur; the most recent feed is placed at the top. They are listed in the following order:

  • Top—All open SLA breach alerts
  • Middle—All open broadcasts, outages, and flagged knowledge article notifications
  • Bottom—Other feeds such as comments, status changes, unflagged knowledge article notifications, restored outages, SLA breach alerts, and broadcasts

The top and the middle order of the feeds give you a quick view of the current status of the tickets that you follow, and help you to quickly respond to the comment or alert. You might have to quickly act upon and unflag a flagged knowledge article.

If there are no feeds about SLA breach alerts, broadcasts, outages, and flagged knowledge articles, other feeds are displayed at the top according to the time the event occurred.

You can view and access the Updates feed on the Universal client (UC) desktop, Google Android and Apple iOS devices.

Mobile devices

UC

Dashboard_iOS.PNG

Update feed UC.jpg

On the Updates feed, you can search by the contents of the ticket. You can open the asset to see the scheduled outage.

Pinned updates

Feeds about SLA breach alerts, broadcasts, and outages that have not reached their end date, and flagged knowledge articles are by default marked with a pin Pin icon.jpgicon. The pinned feeds remain at the top and middle layer of the Updates feed until you unpin them, or specify their end date in BMC Helix ITSM, or unflag the article. After viewing the pinned feed, you can select the pin Pin icon.jpgicon to unpin them. If you do not unpin, the system automatically unpins them after they reach their end date, or after the article is unflagged. Once unpinned, the feeds are moved to the bottom layer according to the time they were added to the Updates feed.

Additional information about the unpin feature:

  • The unpinning action is specific to each Smart IT user. For example, when you unpin an SLA breach alert, other Smart IT users will still see that SLA as a pinned feed in their Updates feed.
  • You cannot pin an unpinned feed.

Scenarios when pinned feeds are dismissed without unpinning:

  • You close the ticket that has the SLA breach alert.
  • You restore the outage by specifying the current date as the end date of the outage.
  • You unflag the flagged knowledge article.

Filters in the Updates feed

When you receive multiple feeds, important feeds might remain below unread SLA breach alerts, outages, broadcasts and other comments. To see specific type of updates, you must specify filters in the Updates feed. You can access filters in the following way:

  • UC users - Click the Filter icon Filter icon.jpgon the Updates feed. 
  • Google Android users - Tap the Filter icon Filter icon - Android.jpgon the Updates screen.
  • Apple iOS users - Tap the Filter option on the Updates screen.

You can search for feeds of a specific ticket or resource in the search box.

Filters.png