Enterprise Support Platform (ESP)
Version 7.3
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Introduction to Supportworks Platform Administration 1
What Is the Supportworks Platform? ...1
What Is a Supportworks Application?...1
This and Other Supportworks Publications ...2
The Topics Covered in this Guide...2
User Privileges ...3
Supportworks Features ...4
Customer Access Features ...12
Organising the Database Tables 15 Where to Start...15
Populating the Tables ...16
Supportworks Data Management ...16
Case Scenario for Worked Examples ...17
Importing Data from External Sources 19 SQL Imports ...20
To Define a New SQL Import ...20
To Define a New SQL Import Based On An Existing One ...28
To Manage an Existing SQL Import...28
LDAP Imports ...28
To Define a New LDAP Import...28
To Define a New LDAP Import Based On An Existing One ...37
To Manage an Existing LDAP Import...37
Text File Imports ...37
To Define a New Text File Import ...37
To Define a New Text File Import Based On An Existing One ...45
To Manage an Existing Text File Import...45
Excel Imports ...45
To Define a New Excel File Import...45
To Define a New Excel File Import Based On An Existing One ...52
To Manage an Existing Excel File Import ...52
Pre- and Post-Import SQL Action on the Target Database ...57
Manipulating an Import and Its Mapping with JavaScript ...58
Pre-Import JavaScript...58
Pre-Transformation JavaScript...59
Post-Transformation JavaScript ...60
Post-Import JavaScript ...60
Administrative Entities 61 Service Level Agreements ...61
Introduction to Service Level Agreements ...61
Example...64
Third Party SLAs ...65
Adding a New SLA ...66
Viewing and Modifying an Existing SLA ...73
Deleting SLA-related Items ...74
Managing Third-Party SLAs ...74
Adding a New Third-Party Supplier ...75
Adding a New Third-Party SLA for a Supplier ...76
Modifying a Third-Party Supplier’s Details ...77
Removing a Third-Party Supplier ...77
Viewing a List of Third-Party SLAs ...77
Modifying a Third-Party SLA’s Details ...78
Removing a Third-Party SLA ...78
Call Profiles ...79
Introduction to Call Profiles ...79
Example...81
Adding a New Call Profile ...82
Viewing and Modifying an Existing Call Profile ...84
Deleting Existing Call Profile Tiers ...84
Workflow Templates ...85
Skills ...93
Adding a New Skill...94
Viewing and Modifying the Details of an Existing Skill...95
Deleting an Existing Skill ...95
Support Groups...95
Adding a New Support Group ...96
Viewing and Modifying the Details of an Existing Support Group ...98
Deleting an Existing Support Group...98
Support Analysts ...98
Adding a New Support Analyst ...99
Adding a New Support Analyst Based on an Existing Analyst ...116
Viewing and Modifying the Details of an Existing Support Analyst ...117
Changing the Availability Status of a Support Analyst ...117
Changing an Analyst’s Password ...118
Changing Your Own Password ...118
Recovering an Analyst’s Password ...118
Changing System Privileges...119
Removing an Analyst’s Access to a Mailbox ...119
Updating the Details of a Skill in an Analyst’s Skill Profile ...119
Removing a Skill from an Analyst’s Skill Profile...119
Analyst Management Rights Relating to Each Role ...119
Deleting an Existing Support Analyst ...120
Managing E-Mail 121 Managing Address Books ...122
Creating New Contact Entries in Address Books ...124
Modifying Contact Entries in Address Books ...125
Deleting Entries from Address Books ...126
Managing Distribution Lists in Address Books...126
Creating a New Distribution List ...126
Examining and Modifying the Contents of a Distribution List...129
Importing Addresses from Microsoft Outlook ...129
Sending Bulk Mailshots ...135
Managing Custom SQL Database Searches 137 Creating a Custom Search ...137
Modifying a Custom Search...138
Deleting a Custom Search ...139
Managing the KnowledgeBase 141 Placing Content into the KnowledgeBase ...141
How to Publish Call Information...141
How to Publish FAQ Information ...145
How to Publish External Documents...146
Modifying Publications in the KnowledgeBase...148
Deleting Publications from the KnowledgeBase ...148
Managing KnowledgeBase Catalogues...149
Managing Calendars 151 Creating a Calendar ...151
Reconfiguring a Calendar...155
Deleting a Calendar ...155
Management Information and Reporting 157 Running a Report in Real Time...158
Scheduling a System Report ...160
Viewing Information About a System Report...166
Modifying System Report Chart Characteristics ...167
Chart Characteristics...169
System Report Prompting ...174
Creating and Configuring System Reports...175
To Build a System Report...176
Querying Multiple Tables in a System Report ...196
To Configure an Existing System Report ...199
Editing Clauses in a System Report’s Filter...201
To Create a Copy of an Existing System Report ...201
Sharing System Reports with Other Systems ...202
To Export One or More System Reports ...202
To Import One or More System Reports ...202
Managing System Reports...203
Creating a New System Report Folder ...203
Deleting a System Report Folder ...203
Renaming a System Report Folder ...203
Moving a System Report to Another Report Folder ...203
Deleting a System Report ...204
Dashboard: Real-Time Data Display 205 Starting Up ...205
Refreshing the Displayed Data...206
Switching to a Different Chart Layout ...207
Switching to a Different or Null Chart in a Pane ...207
Creating and Configuring a Chart ...208
Basic Chart Definition ...210
Chart Characteristics ...211
Displayed Data ...212
Visual Attributes ...213
Sizing Attributes...214
Lines and their Colours ...215
Object Fill...216
Background ...217
Deleting a Chart...217
Operator Scripts 219 What Operator Scripts Contain ...219
Exporting and Importing Operator Scripts ...231
To Export One or More Operator Scripts ...231
To Import One or More Operator Scripts ...232
Customer Surveys 233 Questionnaire Constituents ...233
Questionnaire Usage ...236
Managing Customer Surveys ...238
Creating a Customer Survey ...239
How to Create a Section...246
How to Create a Matrix ...247
Modifying a Customer Survey...248
Deleting Customer Surveys ...249
Viewing Survey Reports ...249
To Run the Reports for a Survey Campaign ...250
Analysing the Survey Data by Respondent...252
Analysing the Survey Data Statistically by Question ...252
Analysing the Free-Text Survey Data by Question ...255
Resetting the Data Gathered from Survey Campaigns ...256
Exporting and Importing Customer Surveys ...256
To Export One or More Customer Surveys ...257
To Import One or More Customer Surveys ...257
On-Line Customer Access to Your Helpdesk 259 Auto Responder E-Mail Commands ...259
Auto Responder E-Mail Templates ...261
Testing the Auto Responder E-Mail Commands ...262
Configuring the Auto Responder...262
The Web-Based SelfService Application...262
Testing the Default SelfService Instance...264
Managing Analyst Web Access to the Helpdesk 279
Web Access Licensing ...279
Nominating Analysts for Named Licence Usage ...280
Appendix A Analyst Rights and Default Settings 283 System Privileges ...283
Call Management Rights A...285
Call Management Rights B ...287
System Management Rights ...289
Desktop Workspace Rights...291
Data Dictionary Rights ...293
Global SQL Database Rights ...294
Database Management Rights ...294
E-mail Privileges ...295
Library Resources...298
Default Settings ...299
Appendix B Context Rights 303 Appendix C E-mail Template Variables 305 Variables in Customer Notification Templates ...306
Variables in Auto Responder Templates ...307
Template for Confirmation of Logged Call ...308
Template for Rejection Response to Logged Call ...308
Template for Confirmation of Call Update...309
Template for Rejection Response to Call Update...310
Template for Call Status Report ...311
Template for Open Calls Summary ...313
Template for No Open Calls Response to Summary Request ...315
Template for Response to Web Password Request...315
Introduction to Supportworks
Platform Administration
Supportworks is a support-management client/server application in which the server provides the central system functionality and its database holds all the support-related data, while the client provides the operational and administrative interfaces to the system, together with the customisation interfaces.
Each member of the support team has the client software installed on his or her workstation. These analysts use the client to handle calls and carry out other support-desk operations on a day-to-day basis. The support-desk administrator uses the client to initially set up the support aspects of the system and to continue to manage these as and when the necessity arises.
What Is the Supportworks Platform?
Your Supportworks system is made up of two major components: the Enterprise Support Platform (ESP) and a specific application.
The Supportworks ESP provides the foundation for your chosen support-desk application, both client-side and server-side. It provides all the facilities that are common to all applications, and also provides access to any application. ESP facilities can be both administrative and usage-related.
What Is a Supportworks Application?
The application parts of Supportworks consist largely of the customisable forms used for handling calls, for managing customer-related and asset-related data and, where applicable, for building business processes. You can see that these application facilities are also both administrative and usage-related.
An application is initially provided as a standard template that either a Hornbill consultant or your own developers then customise (or even radically redesign) in
This and Other Supportworks Publications
This Administrator Guide is designed to help you, in your capacity as system administrator, to set up the information-level foundations of a working helpdesk or service-desk system using facilities available on the Supportworks ESP, and to provide you with all the information necessary to maintain that platform. Equally, if you are a group manager in your organisation’s support team, you will find much of this guide useful in informing you how to make generic administrative adjustments within the context of your own support group. To obtain information on the full spectrum of administrative functions available in Supportworks, you should read this guide in conjunction with the template-specific Administrator Guide that comes with the particular Supportworks application you have purchased.
To find out how to start up the client, how to use its most basic and universal controls and features, and how to access the main client views, please refer to the first chapter of the Supportworks ESP User Guide. If you are a group manager, that User Guide is again the place to look for finding out about the various day-to-day management functions that are available to you on the client. As well as the template-specific Administrator Guide mentioned above, there is a template-specific User Guide provided with your system. This will describe and give instructions on call handling and all other aspects of day-to-day Supportworks user functionality that are specific to the application concerned. Instructions on how to install or upgrade the Supportworks client are given in the Client Installation Guide. For information on the Supportworks server, please consult the Server Installation Guide and the Server Configuration Guide. All customisation aspects of Supportworks, including the use of form-design tools and data dictionaries, are covered in the System Customisation Guide.
The Topics Covered in this Guide
the template-specific Administrator Guide, as database schemas vary between the different Supportworks applications.
In subsequent chapters, the kinds of entities designed to be held in the separate tables are described, and you are given precise instructions on how to manually create and maintain the records concerned. The remaining chapters deal mainly with the management of other essential (and not-so-essential) helpdesk facilities that are available to users from the client.
User Privileges
The vast majority of administrative operations on the platform are carried out using the main Supportworks client. As general user operations are also carried out using the client, two tiers of system privileges are provided to filter out inappropriate functionality in each individual user’s case.
The first tier of privilege is based on the user’s role, which can be System Administrator, Group Manager or Support Analyst. Role is concerned largely with the extent to which the user is allowed to manage the support team’s analyst records. A user’s role can be set only by someone in the System
Administrator role, and it would be done in the Analyst Properties dialogue box (see Support Analysts on page 98).
The second tier of privilege is based on permissions, which allow the user to perform specific actions within the client. Permissions (which also include mailbox rights) can be set, for oneself and for others, only by users in the role of System Administrator or Group Manager. This would be done in the Analyst Properties dialogue box (see Support Analysts on page 98).
An extension of the second tier of privilege is mailbox-specific rights. These govern the ability of the user to (a) access particular shared mailboxes and (b) access particular e-mail functions within (or relating to) each personal or shared mailbox.
Another extension of the second tier of privilege is application-specific rights. Any Supportworks application (for example, ITSM) is likely to have functions, unique to it, that require rights control on a per-user basis. Many of these functions are sub-sets of generic functions, and any permission you may set for
such a function will always override the permission set for the associated generic function.
Supportworks Features
Supportworks offers the following features to users:
• Familiar look and feel Various elements of the client’s user interface are strongly suggestive of Microsoft Office. The software offers, for example, familiarly styled shortcuts and toolbar buttons, drag-and-drop technology (as a quick way of moving message files around and of assigning support calls), a choice of docking or floating toolbars, and tree browsers with expandable levels. Many of the client’s separate parts run in their own independent windows, allowing you to carry on with an operation while keeping other information in view.
• Different ways of finding customer and asset records A customer’s or asset’s details can be found and displayed by various means, depending on your preference and on what you happen to be doing at the time.
• Easy-to-use and flexible call-logging facilities Calls for service or support are logged by analysts using suitable forms (defined by the application) to enter the required details into the database. Logged calls, while still outstanding, are listed in the appropriate view on the client. Subject to user rights, they can be listed in full for the entire helpdesk, by support group, or by individual analyst. The list can also be filtered according to predefined call-record criteria. Analysts can display the logged details for any call listed, and suitably update them as necessary. If analysts wish, they can place a call on hold, or cancel a call. Once a call has been confirmed by the customer as being resolved, an analyst would mark it as “closed”, which would result in its removal from the list of calls. The call’s details would then be viewable only via a call search (see below). It is also possible to mark a call as “resolved”, which would be appropriate when the analyst believes that the problem has been resolved, but no confirmation has yet been received from the customer. Such a provisionally resolved call would still be displayed in the list of calls.
• Start and end categorisations for calls Supportworks allows you to build two sets of codified call profiles that any member of the support team can quickly and conveniently select from, when logging or closing/resolving a call, to include in the call record concerned. A starting profile (or “problem” profile) categorises the reason for the call (perhaps expressed as the type of problem at hand), while an ending profile (or “resolution” profile) categorises the nature of the call’s resolution (perhaps expressed as the type of problem fix). These profiles are multi-tiered, so that the essence of any call can be defined and coded in a hierarchical manner. Such categorisations are useful when it comes to reporting on calls.
• Multiple call forms To cater for the different call-logging and call-progressing requirements of different groups of analysts, and for differences in the nature (or “class”) of calls themselves, facilities are provided for the creation of multiple designs of call forms. Members of the support team, when logging a call, would then be able to display only a form that is appropriate to their own group’s function. Within the scope of that function, they would be able to choose one form from several, depending on the type of service/support call they happen to be receiving.
• Quick-add technology This allows data entry on-the-fly. When an analyst is logging a call and has entered details of a hitherto unknown customer or asset into a form field, the client software prompts the analyst either to try again, or to create a new record in the relevant database table, allowing the data to become instantly available when a call from that customer is next logged. This record-creation ability can be restricted to certain analysts, if desired, by setting appropriate user rights to access specific tables.
• Auto-fill and auto-complete When an analyst enters call details on a form, the software verifies each entry and, if the analyst enters a recognised and unique customer or asset reference in an appropriate field, all other related fields are automatically filled. Additionally, where the analyst enters only partial data in a field, the software automatically completes the entry or, if more than one option is available, provides a pick-list from which the required entry can be selected.
• Call ownership and analyst skills The principle of call ownership is maintained throughout the application. You cannot log a call without it belonging to a support group, or to an individual support analyst. If you log a
group, it will be automatically assigned to your own group. If you elect to specifically assign a call, a tree-view of the support organisation is displayed, showing the number of calls each support group and individual analyst is handling; this gives you an idea of current relative workloads as you try to decide on the most appropriate assignee. Furthermore, assuming that the system has been made aware of the specialist skills that the individual members of the support organisation possess, you will be able to list the analysts by skill (within any group) and therefore make an assignment decision on that basis as well.
• Workflow If your helpdesk operates in a highly managed environment where the various elements of the work necessary to resolve certain kinds of call are clearly stipulated and then allocated to different members of the team (or perhaps to just one analyst or group), Supportworks will assist you in organising the allocations according to basic workflow principles. When a call needs to be actioned, the workflow required for its resolution can be sub-divided firstly into “worklists”, and then into individual “work items” that are allocated to support analysts or groups. Each work item would be an actual task that an analyst must carry out. You can define worklists and work items on an ad hoc basis when logging a call, or you can predefine them within a named template, which any authorised member of the support team may subsequently apply to a call. All the worklists (and therefore work items) associated with a call must be completed before the call can be resolved or closed. The owner of any call having worklists associated with it will remain in overall control of the call until its closure.
• Quick-log calls This feature allows service/support calls with frequently recurring sets of characteristics to be created in advance for quick recall at any subsequent time. Quick-log calls are created as copies of actual call-logging forms (filled-in to the desired extent), and saved as named templates. Once created, a quick-log call can be selected by an analyst from a menu of such calls. This would display the relevant form, exactly as saved. The analyst would then be able to submit the form to the system immediately as a new call, without having to fill in the details first (although it would still be possible to edit the form). With the default rights, analysts can create and
• Scheduled calls This feature allows planned and routine support tasks (such as system backups) to be logged and assigned automatically as calls. The calls are set up in advance to activate on either a once-only or repeating basis. Like quick-log calls, scheduled calls are created by saving actual call-logging forms as named templates. Each scheduled-call template would include all the required call parameters. Once the template for a scheduled call has been created, the call is held dormant, only becoming active in the system at the first (or only) designated date and time.
• Batch call-handling facilities Most call-related operations (such as updating, closure, and so on) can be carried out on several calls at once. You just make a multiple call selection and click the same button as the one you might use for performing the action on a single call. Any data you may then enter, or any options you may set, for the chosen operation will be applied to your entire selection. Should an operation be invalid for any of the selected calls, you will be prevented from carrying it out for the batch as a whole.
• Audit trail Every action carried out by a support-team member, a customer or the system itself against a support call in Supportworks is fully audit-trailed and noted in the call’s diary. This information is displayable on the client when you review the call’s details, and provides a means of tracking the changes of status at every stage in the call’s life-cycle. Viewing the call diary additionally allows you to see which support analyst handled any given stage of the problem. Call-diary information is also displayable by customers via SelfService. With SelfService in use, analysts can, if they wish, disable public viewing of any particular update in which they intend to type comments of a sensitive nature.
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Supportworks supports a fully-configurable scheme of SLAs, escalations and alerts. The administrator sets the scheme up via the client, first defining the required SLA levels, and then assigning these (as necessary) to customers, assets, charge centres and/or problem profiles. When logging calls, analysts would either specify the SLA explicitly or via one of these assignments. The system itself, in subsequently tracking the calls, generates escalations and displays alerts as and when appropriate. The whole mechanism ensures that no call reaches a response or fix deadline without ample warning being issued to all support staff concerned.
organisation uses such a telephone system, and CTI is enabled on the client, it is possible for an analyst to auto-dial a customer by clicking a link on the customer’s active page. Conversely, on an incoming service/support call, the analyst can identify the caller via an on-screen monitor, on which they could then click a button to log the call, whereupon a new form would be opened and automatically populated with customer details derived from the first table record containing the incoming number.
• E-mail system Included in Supportworks is an independent e-mail system that will connect and exchange mail with any number of in-house mail systems that are MAPI, VIM or SMTP/POP3/IMAP4/LDAP compliant, and will also connect directly to the Internet through its own SMTP mail server. Among the features of the e-mail system, as seen on the client, are standard folders (such as Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items and Deleted Items), additional user-created folders, file attachments, template-based personal and group signatures, customisable displayed columns, preview text and a preview pane. Analysts can each have a personal mailbox, and can be authorised to access any number of shared mailboxes.
• Call functions from e-mail Supportworks allows analysts to initiate actions such as logging or updating a call from within any open e-mail message that has been submitted by a known customer. In the case of a call-log action, when the relevant form opens, the customer’s details are filled in
automatically. When initiating any other call action, the analyst would be able to select the required call from a list of outstanding calls held against the customer. If the system has detected a call reference number in the message’s Subject field, it would know automatically which is the required call.
• Customer notifications by e-mail There are facilities available for
automatically (or semi-automatically) notifying the customer by e-mail of actions taken by analysts at key stages in a call’s life-cycle, which include logging the call, updating the call, placing the call on hold and closing/ resolving the call. When performing such an action, the analyst would be presented with an e-mail message window whose contents are based on an appropriate customisable template. This message would then be sent (after editing if necessary) to the customer concerned. By default, analysts maintain
• The KnowledgeBase Supportworks comes with the KnowledgeBase – a fully integrated database of support information derived automatically (or semi-automatically) from call details and the application’s user documentation, as well as from other sources and by manual entry. From the client, it is possible to conduct free-text searches of the KnowledgeBase, which include multi-word searches using selectable Boolean logic, and natural-language searches. You can also browse through the catalogues (four predefined and another four user-definable) that make up the KnowledgeBase, manage the indexing, and edit the content of individual records and documents. Since the
KnowledgeBase uses a PHP interpreter to display much of its data, and the remaining data could easily be held as HTML and/or PDF documents, it would be quite natural to publish this information using a Web front-end as a way of promoting customer self-help. The SelfService application would make a good choice if you require such a front-end for customers. For maximum peace of mind, you have full control over which KnowledgeBase records or documents can and cannot be searched by customers.
• Reporting tools The unique architecture of Supportworks allows it to supply fully configurable, interactive, real-time statistical reports derived from any of the current information in the database. Reports, for example, on helpdesk calls by problem type over various time periods could be particularly useful. You can run supplied and custom reports from the client, with the option to run them immediately, or to schedule them to run automatically at one or more specified times. With a scheduled report, you can arrange for the output to be stored anywhere on your network, stored on an FTP server, or e-mailed to any number of mail recipients. Reports are organised hierarchically and selected using a tree-browser interface. An easy-to-use wizard is provided for designing your custom reports.
• Real-time wallboard display Supplied with Supportworks is an independently running client program known as Dashboard, which displays real-time call-related information in your chosen graphical format. The display is in the style of an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) wallboard, with separate panes in the window simultaneously showing different information. Just as with reports, the displayed information is obtained from the Supportworks database but, unlike report outputs, Dashboard outputs are updated automatically at set intervals.
based (or floating) ticker display of summary information feeds obtained at set intervals from the Supportworks database and/or the BBC website. • Call searches From the relevant view in the Supportworks client, analysts can
conduct field-based and free-text searches for logged service/support calls, whether or not currently open, using selectable Boolean logic where appropriate. It is possible to filter either kind of search by problem profile and/or by call status (including certain combinations of call status).
• Database searches The Custom Search Manager in the client allows suitably authorised team members with a knowledge of SQL to create named searches that are made available as executable entities for subsequent usage (subject to appropriate search rights).
• Customer issues Whenever your support team is receiving calls from a number of different users regarding the same problem, you have an “issue” to contend with. The Supportworks client allows analysts to deal with issues of two types: Hot Issues and Known Issues. Hot Issues would perhaps relate to the more critical problems that need urgent attention, while Known Issues might reflect lesser problems that your team is fully aware of but may be able to do very little about at the moment. You can link a number of existing calls to a particular issue. Any subsequently logged call can also be linked to the issue. When you close an issue, all calls associated with that issue are closed as well, and all affected customers can be notified via e-mail as usual. Current issues are visible to members of the support team in the same way as
individual calls. They can also be displayed on SelfService pages, so that affected customers can be advised of known problems before logging a new call. (Note that, on Supportworks ITSM systems, the Issues feature is disabled, as this kind of functionality is available with “Problems”.)
• Instant overview of today’s helpdesk activity A particularly convenient view available in the client is one that includes at-a-glance summaries of the analyst’s and the group’s current workload, summaries of the analyst’s and the team’s mailbox content, a summary of all the major issues known to the system, and a highly visible indication of today’s date.
• Advanced spell-checking facilities Automatic and manual spell-checking and correction facilities are available in all major free-text-entry areas. Analysts
• Preconfigured Web server and scripting language Supportworks ships with a fully preconfigured Web server, based on Apache for Win32, to provide the technologies required for the Web-style functioning of many parts of the application. Also included preconfigured is PHP, a versatile server-side scripting language that offers a means by which Supportworks can connect to, and integrate with, a broad range of database and information systems. • Troubleshooting system for users The Operator Scripts feature allows you to
set up a decision-based troubleshooting system within Supportworks that provides first-line support staff with suggested resolutions to common problems by means of a wizard-style interface.
• Customer-satisfaction surveys The optional Customer Surveys feature provides you with facilities for creating transactional on-line survey campaigns that you can use to gauge your customers’ satisfaction with the helpdesk service you give them. When analysts are resolving or closing calls, they can have the system automatically e-mail the customer with a URL link to the selected survey page for them to complete the questionnaire you have built.
• GUI customisation using data dictionaries A data dictionary provides a central repository of customisation settings for the Supportworks client. These settings include database table column names, form-layout and field-functionality definitions, menu elements, tree-browser definitions, search fields and application icons. If you are suitably authorised, you can change the customisation settings by means of the Data Dictionary Editor, the relevant Form Configuration tool and/or the easy-to-use Form Designer, all of which are accessible from the client. The data dictionary is the chief element that distinguishes one Supportworks application from another, or one application variant from another. Multiple data dictionaries allow you to provide support-group-specific customisations that will present a different user interface to each group within the support team, thus giving optimal configuration for team members. As the customisation facilities are an integral part of the client, and the application uses Non-Polling Architecture (NPA), any changes you make that do not actually alter database table structures are applied dynamically, which means that there is no need for you to then shut down the server, or for users to log out of the system. When you are using the Form Designer and you save changes you have made to a form layout, the changes
With a Form Configuration tool, the changes are applied the next time you open a form.
• Three types of Web-browser interface There is no need to be at your own desk in order for you to be able to carry out many of the usual day-to-day analyst activities associated with Supportworks. Both of the two full-sized Web-browser interfaces provided with the application allow you to log, examine and progress calls from any Web-connected computer by using nothing more than a standard Web browser, while the PDA Web Client interface allows you to do the same from any Web-enabled personal organiser. The full-sized interfaces, known as the Web Client and the Analyst Portal, are designed to provide a user experience that is as identical as possible to the one provided by the most essential parts of the native client’s user interface. The Web Client employs Microsoft ActiveX controls to automatically replicate substantial parts of the native client’s customisable dialogues, whereas the more secure Analyst Portal relies on PHP developers to achieve the same result.
Customer Access Features
To further enhance the helpdesk service you provide to your customers, you can allow them direct access to the support system, so that they could, for example, log their own support calls. Such a means of customer empowerment should substantially improve the efficiency of your support organisation by reducing the volume of telephone calls to your helpdesk or service desk.
There are two possible on-line methods by which customers (having been given the appropriate rights) can interact with Supportworks:
• Via e-mail commands to the system By entering a suitable command in the Subject line of an e-mail message addressed to your support organisation, customers will be able to log calls, track the status of any call (or all calls) belonging to them, and request their SelfService password. The Supportworks server responds automatically to such requests, sending back the relevant information, an acceptance message or a rejection message, as appropriate. These standard responses are based on sets of user-definable templates, which are accessible for editing from the Supportworks client. You can have a
customers with the relevant set of rights will be able to log support calls, track the status of their calls, update their calls and search the KnowledgeBase. As with calls logged by analysts, Supportworks automatically generates a unique Call Reference number for each support call logged via SelfService or via e-mail. As no distinction is made between calls logged in different ways, all open calls relating to a given customer will be available for status-tracking and updating by that customer (or, equally, by analysts). For detailed information on configuring these facilities on your helpdesk system, refer to the chapter entitled
Organising the Database Tables
One of the most important aspects of installing any new helpdesk or service-desk application is ensuring that it represents, as closely as possible, the
environment it is actually monitoring and controlling. Thus, the configuration of Supportworks must reflect the support environment in place within your organisation.
In Supportworks, your support environment and its operational requirements are defined largely by the content of its database tables, and, to a lesser extent, by appropriate settings in the client and server. Database content would include a definition of your support hierarchy, and information relating to analysts, customers, assets, Service Level Agreements and so on.
This chapter of the Administrator Guide, in conjunction with the relevant chapter of your template-specific Administrator Guide, gives you guidance on organising initial data input into your Supportworks tables, provides you with an outline of these tables, and gives you a recommendation as to the sequence in which to best carry this out.
Where to Start
Organising the implementation of new helpdesk software always requires a lot of consideration and planning. Perhaps the first issue to consider is the extent to which you can import data into the Supportworks database tables, rather than having to manually enter it. If you have just upgraded your previous helpdesk application to Supportworks, the likelihood is that you will already have some kind of customer table and, possibly, other tables whose records are suitable for importing into Supportworks. See the chapter entitled Importing Data from
External Sources on page 19 for details of the Data Import Manager utility that
comes with Supportworks and allows you to define and run any number of imports.
them to run at appropriate times using the Server Configuration utility. Please refer to the Server Configuration Guide for information about the Scheduler. If you wish to import data from other databases, you will probably have to consult people within your organisation who have expert knowledge of these, so that you will be able to properly map the data to the relevant columns of the Supportworks tables.
Any degree of importation that you can carry out will certainly save you a lot of time: this is especially true of tables that contain a very large number of records. However, there will always be at least some tables that you will have to
populate, or just “top up”, manually. Normally, therefore, you are advised to take into account the order in which to populate them. Note that you may not need to use all of the tables that Supportworks provides.
Populating the Tables
Supportworks uses various database tables to hold the details of your support environment, many of which are interrelated. Thus, certain data held in some of these tables will be values selected from the tables related to them, which means that these related tables would, for maximum convenience, have to be populated first. Failure to follow the optimal order in such cases might mean more manual record updates having to be done.
It is therefore worth taking note of the table interrelationships in your particular application if you wish to maximise ease of table setup. For a basic summary of these, please see the chapter on populating the tables in the template-specific Administrator Guide. In that chapter, having pointed out the table
interrelationships, we are then able to suggest a logical order in which to populate the database tables overall.
Supportworks Data Management
Management of those kinds of data that are common to all applications is covered in the following chapters, after the chapter dealing with data importation.
To read about template-specific data management, please see the Administrator Guide for the template concerned.
Case Scenario for Worked Examples
To help you focus on real-world requirements, worked examples have been provided in some of the following chapters for the more involved kinds of data management. The overall case scenario on which these examples are based is set out below.
A company by the name of Data Organisation Information Technology (DO IT for short) are in the process of installing and configuring Supportworks at their Headquarters. DO IT have to provide in-house hardware support to other DO IT employees, and also software support for their project-management application, called Fast Access Schedule Tool (FAST), to external customers. They have a number of support technicians who handle the in-house hardware issues, and a group of FAST support technicians who look after the external customers. Additionally, they have a mobile support team who visit customer sites,
installing and supporting FAST. Each of these three groups has a group manager who is responsible for co-ordinating the support activities of the group. DO IT additionally have a helpdesk administrator who handles any escalated support calls and oversees the entire support operation.
Importing Data from External Sources
Certain kinds of data, such as customer data, that need to be held in the Supportworks database may already exist elsewhere in your organisation. This means that, rather than having to engage in the laborious and error-prone task of rekeying all the data manually, you or your Hornbill consultants can populate Supportworks by using an automatic bulk-transfer method. Such a method is provided in the form of a stand-alone utility installed along with the
Supportworks server. By means of this utility, which is called the Data Import Manager, it is possible to simply and reliably import data into Supportworks tables from any standard SQL data source, any LDAP-compatible directory service (such as Microsoft Active Directory – ADS), any structured text file (such as CSV) or any Microsoft Excel file. In addition, there is a specific facility for importing call profiles from a Microsoft Excel file, with the profiles having been entered manually on a worksheet in a prescribed format. Call profiles are administrative entities described in the section entitled Call Profiles on page 79 in the next chapter.
For data sourced from other databases, the Data Import Manager allows you firstly to predefine your import by specifying the source connection (or the source file and its structure), stipulating the required source elements and mapping these to table columns in the Supportworks database. It then allows you to either run or schedule the import.
Using the Data Import Manager, you can predefine four kinds of import, each pertaining to one of the four types of data source supported: SQL, LDAP, text or Excel file. The process of predefining an import is broadly the same for all four types, differing only in specific detail where appropriate.
For manually entered call-profile data, you would perform imports on an ad-hoc basis. These kinds of Excel imports cannot be scheduled.
The following five sections describe the respective import processes.
To run the Data Import Manager, select Start > Programs > Supportworks Server > Data Import Manager.
The tab displayed by default (as shown above) provides the starting point for managing imports from SQL databases. The other tabs provide similar facilities for managing imports via LDAP, from text files and from Excel files (with both generic and dedicated content). The first four tabs have the same appearance.
SQL Imports
SQL imports obtain data from standard SQL databases, typically those populated by applications unconnected with Supportworks.
To Define a New SQL Import
The procedure for defining a new SQL import is as follows:
3. In the Name field, type in a suitable name for the import. Leave the Template field blank.
4. Click OK. The Data Import dialogue box, containing a number of different tabs, is displayed.
5. In the SQL Query tab, you must now complete the fields in the Database Connection section to define the connection to the relevant source database. First select the type of connection you want.
6. For a non-ODBC connection type, enter, in the Server Name field, the DNS-resolvable host name or IP address of the computer on which the source
7. In the Database field, either enter the name of the source database or, if the connection type is ODBC, select the name of the relevant System data source.
8. Enter a valid username and password for logging into the source database. For an ODBC connection type, you can use the same credentials as those given in the System DSN definition.
9. Click the Test Connection button to confirm that the connection works. If so, the Data Import Manager will display a message indicating that the test completed successfully. If, on the other hand, you see an error message, you will have to sort out the connection details before continuing any further. 10. With a valid connection defined, you now need to define the SQL query
itself, whether implicitly or explicitly. An implicit query would, in the simplest case, just consist of a table selection. In the Table field, select the table, in the source database, from which the data is to be obtained.
An explicit query, on the other hand, would be needed if you wanted to query more than one table, or if you wanted to be specific about which records to import. In that case, select the Ad-hoc Query option and enter the required SQL statement in full in the adjacent free-text field.
Even with an implicit query, you can optionally enter record criteria in that same text field. In such a case, the WHERE clause concerned must exclude the WHERE word itself.
11. If you have entered an explicit (ad-hoc) query, select (or enter), in the Unique ID field, the name of a column of the queried table (or one of the queried tables) that the import process can use as a unique key for record selection.
12. If required, you can opt to limit the number of records to be returned by the query. This would normally be useful for testing purposes only.
13. With the SQL query defined, you now have to retrieve a sample of data from the source database so as to validate the query and to help you choose exactly which source table columns to use for the import. Click the Query
The record is displayed as a list of column names, together with their respective values. You can display other records in the set by means of the
>> and << buttons at the top right.
14. Once you have decided which columns should be included in the import process, select their associated checkboxes. Only these columns will now be available to you for mapping to the target Supportworks database, as described in the following steps.
16. In the Database field, select the database into which you want the data imported.
17. In the Table field, select the table, within that database, into which you want the data imported. Note that the Unique Key field is now filled by default with the name of the selected table’s primary-key column, and that the Target Columns list is populated with all the columns of that table.
18. If necessary, you can manually select a unique key other than the primary key.
19. By virtue of the default Data Update Operations setting, the import process will both create (insert) and update records in the Supportworks database, as dictated by their absence or presence with respect to the corresponding source records. If, however, you wish to preserve the Supportworks data on this import, you should enable the “Only allow inserts” option. Alternatively, if you wish to prevent further Supportworks records being created on this
20. You are now ready to map your previously selected source table columns to columns of your selected target table. First select the checkboxes associated with your proposed target columns.
21. Highlight one of the selected target columns and click anywhere in the Value Transformation and Assignment field.
22. For a simple mapping, click the Insert Value button and, from the menu that pops up, select the source table column that you want mapped to the target column you have highlighted. Notice that the chosen column appears in the field in the form db.<column>.
For more complex mappings, you would have to manually type the required expression into the Value Transformation and Assignment field. See the section entitled Advanced Import Techniques on page 56 to find out what is possible here using JavaScript.
23. If you want the import process to skip each source record where there is no value assigned for the column (or for any column in the expression), enable the “Non-empty value required” option. This will always be enabled if the target column being mapped is a unique key.
24. If you have entered an expression manually into the Value Transformation and Assignment field, you can confirm correct resolution of the currently highlighted target column’s values by clicking the Check Syntax button. This will display, one at a time in the Preview Value Assignment field, the values for that column as computed by the expression, using the set of sample data you previously queried. You can use the >> and << buttons to show the following and preceding values, respectively.
25. Repeat step 21 to step 24 for each of your proposed target columns. 26. Click Apply.
27. Having completed the mapping, you can now run or schedule the import. First select the Control & Schedule tab.
28. If you wish to run the import immediately, click the Run Import Now button. A separate window is displayed, in which you can see the import’s progress. 29. On completion of the import, you can click View Log in the progress
window to view the details of the import process. Note that this is a
cumulative log, which means that the current import details are appended to any existing details already logged in this session. (The log will be deleted when you exit from the Data Import Manager.) You can also view the log by using the View Log File button located next to the Run Import Now button. 30. Click Close to dismiss the progress window.
31. If you wish to schedule the import, first enable the “Schedule this import” option.
32. Specify when, or how often, the import is to run by selecting the relevant item from the “Run this import when” field’s drop-down list. If you select
In this case, select the day(s) of the week on which the import should run, and choose whether this should keep occurring indefinitely, or a specified number of times.
If you select any frequency other than “Once a day”, the multi-day selection options are replaced in all but one case with a single-day drop-down
selection field that allows you, for example, to choose the first day of the relevant period on which the import should run. The exception is “Once every period”, which retains the multi-day selection options, but replaces the Starting At field with an Every (n) Minutes field, allowing you to specify repeated occurrences of imports during the course of selected days of the week.
In the Starting At field (for those options that have it), specify the date and time at which the import is to run, or at which the import scheduling is to “switch on”. Alternatively, for the “Once every period” option, enter the period (in minutes) required between successive import occurrences. 33. Click OK.
To Define a New SQL Import Based On An Existing One
If you wish to define a new SQL import with properties nearly the same as those of an existing one, the quickest way to do this is to first make a copy of the import concerned and then modify the properties that need changing.
You start by selecting the existing SQL import from the Data Import Manager list and clicking Copy. Then, at the displayed prompt, you would enter a suitable name for the new import and click OK. The Data Import dialogue box would be displayed, allowing you to make the necessary changes.
To Manage an Existing SQL Import
Once you have defined an SQL import, you can redisplay the Data Import dialogue box at any time to make changes to the definition. You can also rename or delete an import.
To access the Data Import dialogue box for modification of an import, select the relevant import from the Data Import Manager list and click Properties (or just double-click the entry).
To rename an import, first select it from the list and click Rename. Then, at the displayed prompt, enter the new name and click OK.
To delete an import, select it from the list and click Delete. Click Yes at the confirmation prompt.
LDAP Imports
The most likely kind of data you might import using LDAP is internal customer data. If your organisation runs ADS, for example, there will almost certainly be a directory of users held on the network that you should be able to access via LDAP.
2. Click the New button.
3. In the Name field, type in a suitable name for the import. Leave the Template field blank.
4. Click OK. The Data Import dialogue box, containing a number of different tabs, is displayed.
5. In the LDAP Query tab, you must now complete the fields in the Connection section to define the connection to the relevant LDAP service. First enter the DNS-resolvable host name or IP address of the computer on which Active Directory Services or the dedicated LDAP service is running.
6. If the LDAP server is enabled for SSL encryption and you want to use it, check the Use a Secure Connection (SSL) option.
7. In the Port Number field, either leave the number at its default value of 389 or, if the LDAP server uses a different TCP port, enter its number.
8. Ensure that the appropriate LDAP version is selected. Note that ADS supports both versions.
9. In the Authentication field, specify the method of authentication to be used in connecting to the LDAP service. You can opt for either Simple
Authentication, which logs directly into an LDAP account, or Windows NT Authentication, which provides access via any valid NT account. There is also a third option, which allows automatic negotiation of the authentication method from those currently available. In the case of a scheduled import, you should bear in mind that authentication will take place in the context of the scheduler, and you should ensure that the relevant rights exist.
10. If you check the “Login with username and password” option, you will be able to enter a suitable name and password (in the fields below) for logging into the LDAP service. You can keep this option disabled if you have selected Windows NT Authentication and you will not be scheduling the import, or if the LDAP service is configured not to require logins.
11. Click the Test Connection button to confirm that the connection works. If so, the Data Import Manager will display a message indicating that the test completed successfully. If, on the other hand, you see an error message, you will have to sort out the connection details before continuing any further. 12. With a valid connection defined, you now need to define the LDAP query
itself. First specify a search root, which is the path to the container level at which the top-down search should start for suitable data to be imported. Click the browse button next to the Search Root field to display the Browse LDAP Directory and select the required naming context. Then select the required container level from the tree browser and click OK. Notice that the path appears in the Search Root field with the appropriate syntax.
this field selects the entire contents of the root container (but subject to the Scope setting described in the next step).
14. Using the drop-down menu in the Scope field, you can choose how much of the container hierarchy, from the root downwards, should be considered for data importation. Data can be obtained from the root container only, from the root and its immediate “children”, or from the root and all of its
“descendants”.
15. If required, you can opt to limit the number of records to be returned by the query. This would normally be useful for testing purposes only.
16. For extra speed, the LDAP query will use paging by default. You can specify the required size of each page in the relevant field. However, some LDAP servers (Lotus Domino, for example) do not support paged mode. In this case, you can set the query page size to 0 (zero), which will turn off paging. 17. With the LDAP query defined, you now have to retrieve a sample of data
from the LDAP server to help you assess the query and choose exactly which data items to use for the import. Click the Query Sample button and observe that the Query Attributes/Data Preview list now shows the first of the queried set of sample records as follows:
The record is displayed as a list of attribute names (indicating the available data items), together with their respective values. You can display other records in the set by means of the >> and << buttons at the top right. 18. Another perspective on the queried data is provided by the Preview Data
button. Click it to open a separate window displaying that data.
19. Once you have decided which attributes should be included in the import process, select their associated checkboxes. Only these attributes will now be available to you for mapping to the target Supportworks database, as described in the following steps. If you now wish to view your chosen data as a single, scrollable, list of records, click the Preview Data button, which displays the list in a separate window.
21. In the Database field, select the database into which you want the data imported.
22. In the Table field, select the table, within that database, into which you want the data imported. Note that the Unique Key field is now filled by default with the name of the selected table’s primary-key column, and that the Target Columns list is populated with all the columns of that table.
23. If necessary, you can manually select a unique key other than the primary key.
24. By virtue of the default Data Update Operations setting, the import process will both create (insert) and update records in the Supportworks database, as dictated by their absence or presence with respect to the corresponding source records. If, however, you wish to preserve the Supportworks data on this import, you should enable the “Only allow inserts” option. Alternatively, if you wish to prevent further Supportworks records being created on this import, you should enable “Only allow updates”.
25. You are now ready to map your previously selected source data attributes to columns of your selected target table. First select the checkboxes associated with your proposed target columns.
26. Highlight one of the selected target columns and click anywhere in the Value Transformation and Assignment field.
27. For a simple mapping, click the Insert Value button and, from the menu that pops up, select the LDAP data attribute that you want mapped to the target column you have highlighted. Notice that the chosen attribute appears in the field in the form ldap.<attribute>.
For more complex mappings, you would have to manually type the required expression into the Value Transformation and Assignment field. See the section entitled Advanced Import Techniques on page 56 to find out what is possible here using JavaScript.
28. If you want the import process to skip each LDAP record where there is no value assigned for the attribute (or for any attribute in the expression), enable the “Non-empty value required” option. This will always be enabled if the target column being mapped is a unique key.
29. If you have entered an expression manually into the Value Transformation and Assignment field, you can confirm correct resolution of the currently highlighted target column’s values by clicking the Check Syntax button. This will display, one at a time in the Preview Value Assignment field, the values for that column as computed by the expression, using the set of sample data you previously queried. You can use the >> and << buttons to show the following and preceding values, respectively.
30. Repeat step 26 to step 29 for each of your proposed target columns. 31. Click Apply.
32. Having completed the mapping, you can now run or schedule the import. First select the Control & Schedule tab.
33. If you wish to run the import immediately, click the Run Import Now button. A separate window is displayed, in which you can see the import’s progress. 34. On completion of the import, you can click View Log in the progress
window to view the details of the import process. Note that this is a
cumulative log, which means that the current import details are appended to any existing details already logged in this session. (The log will be deleted when you exit from the Data Import Manager.) You can also view the log by using the View Log File button located next to the Run Import Now button. 35. Click Close to dismiss the progress window.
36. If you wish to schedule the import, first enable the “Schedule this import” option.
37. Specify when, or how often, the import is to run by selecting the relevant item from the “Run this import when” field’s drop-down list. If you select “Once a day”, some additional options are immediately displayed:
In this case, select the day(s) of the week on which the import should run, and choose whether this should keep occurring indefinitely, or a specified number of times.
If you select any frequency other than “Once a day”, the multi-day selection options are replaced in all but one case with a single-day drop-down
selection field that allows you, for example, to choose the first day of the relevant period on which the import should run. The exception is “Once every period”, which retains the multi-day selection options, but replaces the Starting At field with an Every (n) Minutes field, allowing you to specify repeated occurrences of imports during the course of selected days of the week.
In the Starting At field (for those options that have it), specify the date and time at which the import is to run, or at which the import scheduling is to “switch on”. Alternatively, for the “Once every period” option, enter the
To Define a New LDAP Import Based On An Existing One
If you wish to define a new LDAP import with properties nearly the same as those of an existing one, the quickest way to do this is to first make a copy of the import concerned and then modify the properties that need changing.
You start by selecting the existing LDAP import from the Data Import Manager list and clicking Copy. Then, at the displayed prompt, you would enter a suitable name for the new import and click OK. The Data Import dialogue box would be displayed, allowing you to make the necessary changes.
To Manage an Existing LDAP Import
Once you have defined an LDAP import, you can redisplay the Data Import dialogue box at any time to make changes to the definition. You can also rename or delete an import.
To access the Data Import dialogue box for modification of an import, select the relevant import from the Data Import Manager list and click Properties (or just double-click the entry).
To rename an import, first select it from the list and click Rename. Then, at the displayed prompt, enter the new name and click OK.
To delete an import, select it from the list and click Delete. Click Yes at the confirmation prompt.
Text File Imports
You can import data from any text file that is structured in the same way as a CSV file, although the field limiters do not necessarily have to be commas. If your organisation keeps some data in non-SQL databases, there would normally be facilities available for exporting this to CSV-like files. It would then, in turn, be possible to easily import the data into Supportworks.
1. With the Data Import Manager running, select the Text File Imports tab. 2. Click the New button.
3. In the Name field, type in a suitable name for the import. Leave the Template field blank.
4. Click OK. The Data Import dialogue box, containing a number of different tabs, is displayed.
6. Examine the contents of the Character Set field. A greyed-out selection would mean that the utility has detected a marker in the text file identifying the character set/encoding used and has automatically selected this here. (Note that only Unicode files with standard byte order marks are properly recognised.) An open selection would mean that the utility has not found any valid marker and has selected Western European by default, allowing you to reselect manually as necessary.
7. In the Field Limiter field, select the text character that separates data items from each other within the file. In the case of a less commonly used character, select [Custom] and type that character into the adjacent field. 8. In the Text Qualifier field, specify the quote type (if any) that is used in the
file to delineate textual data items (for example, when field-limiter characters may themselves appear within items).
9. If the first row of text in the file is made up of column names, so that the data itself actually begins on the second row, enable the First Row Contains Column Names option. This allows the utility to treat the first row as column names for display later on.
10. If there are data rows at the beginning and/or the end of the file that are unusable for your purposes and that you therefore want the import to ignore, you can specify these in the Exclusions area by enabling the relevant option(s) and selecting the number of records to skip.
11. With the data structure defined, you now have to retrieve a sample of data from the file to help you choose exactly which data items to use for the import. Click the Query Sample button and observe that the Data Columns/ Data Preview list now shows the first of the queried set of sample records as follows:
The record is displayed as a list of column names (auto-generated if non-existent in the source file), together with their respective values. Note that if you specified a quote type as the text delineator, all instances of these within the values would now have been stripped out. You can display other records in the set by means of the >> and << buttons at the top right.
12. Once you have decided which columns should be included in the import process, select their associated checkboxes. Only these columns will now be available to you for mapping to the target Supportworks database, as described in the following steps.
14. In the Database field, select the database into which you want the data imported.
15. In the Table field, select the table, within that database, into which you want the data imported. Note that the Unique Key field is now filled by default with the name of the selected table’s primary-key column, and that the Target Columns list is populated with all the columns of that table.
16. If necessary, you can manually select a unique key other than the primary key.
17. By virtue of the default Data Update Operations setting, the import process will both create (insert) and update records in the Supportworks database, as dictated by their absence or presence with respect to the corresponding source records. If, however, you wish to preserve the Supportworks data on this import, you should enable the “Only allow inserts” option. Alternatively, if you wish to prevent further Supportworks records being created on this import, you should enable “Only allow updates”.
