This documentation supports the 21.05 version of BMC Helix ITSM. To view an earlier version, select the version from the Product version menu.

Managing and tracking work assignments

If you are a Problem coordinator, Service desk analyst, Specialist, Group coordinators, On-duty manager, or in any support role, use the Overview Console to manage and track individual or group assignments from a variety of sources. 

For example, both you and the group you manage might receive work assignments from BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management BMC Helix ITSM: Service Desk, and BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management. From the Overview Console, you can quickly get information about all your work assignments and perform the procedures that you use most often.

The Overview Console provides a view of work assigned across multiple applications. The implementation of the Overview Console uses a AR System ARDBC plug-in to provide a consolidated view of all assigned work from data sources in multiple applications without using replication of data or complex SQL views that bypass APIs. The plug-in architecture is data driven. Configuration forms define how the plug-in is set, including which forms to query, which fields to map to the table field, and an ARDBC form that performs the query. To learn more about ARDBC plug-in, see ARDBC plug-ins introduction.

As you work with the forms and dialog boxes associated with this console, you might see a plus sign (+) included in a field label. You can type part of the information next to these fields and press Enter. If an exact match is located, the program automatically completes the field. If a selection list appears, double-click the item you want to put in the field. Using auto-fill fields and lists is faster, more consistent, and more accurate than typing the information.

Functional areas of the Overview Console

The following table lists the functional areas of the Overview Console and describes what you can do in each of the functional areas. 

Functional area

Purpose

Search

The Global search feature lets you search across multiple forms for records that match a key term.

Show/Company

This area contains the following fields: Show and Company. These fields combine to provide a way that you can filter the records in the console table.

The Show field provides a filter by which you can manage the contents of the Console List table. The choices are:

  • All — Shows all records
  • Submitted By Me — Shows all records submitted by you. 
  • Assigned To Me — Shows all records assigned to you.
  • Assigned To My Selected Groups — Asks you to select one of the groups to which you belong, and then displays the records assigned to that group.
  • Assigned To All My Groups — Displays the records assigned to or requested for all of the support groups to which you belong.
    The Company field restricts the criteria that you choose in the Show field for the selected company. This field helps you manage the number of records returned by the Show field.

View Broadcast, or New Broadcast

Opens the broadcast dialog box, from where you can view, create, modify, and delete broadcasts

When there are unread broadcast messages, this area displays a message: New Broadcasts, followed by the number of new messages. When there are new broadcast messages, the area also turns red.

Important: If you open the Overview Console with no new broadcast messages, but the View Broadcast link is red, open the Application Preferences dialog box and make sure that a Console View preference has been selected.

Functions

Use the links in this area to do the following actions:

  • Select Status Values — See only those records in a certain state, which you specify from the Select Status Values dialog box.
  • My Profile — Set your profile.
  • Application Preferences — Set your program preferences and options. The preferences that you set for the Overview Console are applicable only to the Overview Console. You can set similar preferences from the application console of a specific application. For example, Change Management. However, those preferences are applicable only to that application console.

Create for Company

On a hub server in a Hub and Spoke environment, creates a record after asking you to select a company from a list of operating companies. The record is created and submitted on the spoke server where the company is defined.

Service Context

Opens the Service Context Summary view for the record selected in the console table. For more information about Service Context, see Viewing-CI-and-service-relationships-in-the-Service-Context.

Important: The Service Context icon is only available on the Overview Console when you open the Overview Console from the Applications list.

Search for Ticket

Opens a dialog box from which you can select the type of ticket you are searching for. After you select the type of record from the menu, click the Select button to open a search form specific to the type of ticket you are searching for.

Important: To see activity records and CI unavailability records, you must search for those tickets, because these records are not displayed in the Console List table.

A specific prefix identifies each type of request:

Prefix

Description

CRQ

Identifies change requests. To view and define change requests, Change Management must be installed.

RLM

Identifies release requests. To view and define release requests, Change Management must be installed.

TAS

Identifies tasks.

SDB

Identifies solution database entries. To view and define solution entries, Service Desk must be installed.

INC

Identifies incidents. To view and define incidents, Service Desk must be installed.

PBI

Identifies problems. To view and define problems, Service Desk must be installed.

PKE

Identifies known errors. To view and define known errors, Service Desk must be installed.

PR

Identifies purchase requisitions. To view and define purchase requisitions, Asset Management must be installed.