Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes

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Richmond Systems Ltd, West House, West Street, Haslemere, Surrey, GU27 2AB

Tel: +44 (0)1428 641616 - Fax: +44 (0)1428 641717 - [email protected] - www.richmondsys.com

VAT Registered No. GB521 6220 90 Registered in England No.2313585 Registered Office: 9 St George's Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7LW

Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes

September, 2014

[email protected]

01428 647333

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 2

1. Welcome to Richmond v10

Welcome to Richmond v10, the latest release from Richmond Systems incorporating the brand new Customer Service Portal.

At Richmond we continually invest in the development of feature-rich ITIL service and asset

management software systems and with every release we include a substantial number of new and improved features. The highlight of the Richmond v10 release is the new customer service portal, which is designed using the new Richmond ServiceDesk web architecture.

If you are unaware of the new web architecture then please refer to the Richmond version 9 release notes, which describe the new specialist client that was released in version 9.

The new web-based Customer Service Portal (CSP) enables organisations to open the service desk environment to customers in order to promote proactive self-service and free up valuable service desk resources. The CSP is designed to accommodate the support requirements of a diverse

customer base and give a high level of control over the information presented to customers, and the self-service functions they can perform.

Key features include:

 A more user-centric experience for customers, for example: o Configurable screens and process flows

o Customisable labels, prompts, logos and icons o Configurable request logging process

 Modern and intuitive screen layout

 Automated knowledge and quick request search  HTML knowledge articles

 Category Aliases to make it easy for customers to self-categorise requests

 Individual searchable lists of requests, assets, knowledge articles and quick requests  Ability to add specific assets to support requests

 Ability for users to close and re-open support requests

 Ability for users to star-rate and comment on knowledge articles  Ability for users to star-rate support experience per support request  Ability to raise requests directly from services and assets

 Ability to add attachments and comments to quick requests (templates)  Ability to add attachments to individual comments

Richmond v10 delivers complete ITIL service and asset management functionality through both technician and customer interfaces that have been developed using the latest web technologies. Richmond v10 is designed for ease of use and speed of use for your entire service desk community and we hope that you enjoy the new version.

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2. Important Information for Customers Upgrading to v10

Please read this section carefully as it contains important information that will help ensure trouble-free progression of your upgrade.

2.1. Upgrade Pre-Requisites

Upgrading from Richmond Version 7 or Earlier

If your Richmond service desk is version 7 or earlier then please contact us before upgrading on 01428 641616 or [email protected]. As these software versions are at least five years old we will need to discuss upgrade options with you.

Richmond Version 8 or 8.5

If your Richmond service desk is version 8 or 8.5, then please be aware that by upgrading to version 10 you are introducing the new Richmond web-architecture which was released in September 2013. As a result, your Specialist and Customer interfaces will have different layouts to the previous version (see below), interaction with the system will be different, and there will be new features available, some of which will be enabled by default. For v8 and 8.5 customers we strongly advise training and when you apply for your licence key we can discuss the options available.

Old Specialist (Windows) Interface New Specialist (Web) Interface

All Self Service Portal Users

The new Self Service Portal looks different and operates differently. Although the portal is very intuitive, if you currently have customers using self-service it might be appropriate to make them aware that the look and feel has changed.

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2.2. Important Documentation and Preparation

P

lease ensure that you:

 Do not begin the upgrade process until you are in possession of a valid upgrade serial

number file; without this, your Richmond ServiceDesk will not work and you could experience significant service downtime

 Read the ServiceDesk Upgrade Guide before upgrading.  Back up your database before upgrading.

 Self Service Portal custom logos will revert to the default Richmond Systems logo, so take a backup of your current logo beforehand. Custom logos can be found in

\inetpub\wwwroot\SupportDesk\CustomerWeb\Images\CompanyLogos, these need to be uploaded to the Setup Console > Self Service Portal > General tab

When you upgrade you will need to enter a new serial number to use ServiceDesk version 10. Your existing serial number will NOT work. To request a new serial number log on to the customer zone

www.richmondsys.com/customerzone, where you will be presented with the following form:

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2.3. Functionality Changes

Please be aware that the following functionality, which was available in some previous SSP versions, is not present in the v10 customer service portal.

 There is no CSP user account self-registration. CSP users are either given a username and password or use Windows Authentication to logon to the CSP. V10 provides new ad hoc and mass-username and encrypted password generation options.

 There is no Resource Booking (Tracking) functionality within the portal. We recommend either using quick incident templates and/or the enabling ability to raise requests against specific assets. The Specialist client continues to provide a fully functional asset tracking system.

 Custom style-sheets that control button sets and the background colour are not applicable in the new web architecture.

 There is no custom button setting because the system no longer uses buttons at the top of the screen.

2.4. Recommended System Requirements

Please ensure that you check the recommended system requirements for Richmond ServiceDesk. Details are provided in the upgrade guide including supported browsers. If you have any questions or concerns then please contact us before you upgrade.

2.5. Upgrade Assistance

The new Customer Service Portal offers a much improved way of working with the ServiceDesk to deliver on-line support to customers. To get the best out of the new system we strongly recommend professional services assistance with upgrading. When you request your new serial number on the customer zone you will be able to request more information about the options available, including:

 Upgrade assistance

 Upgrade assistance and new feature configuration  System Review

 V10 Bridge Training

If you would like to discuss upgrade options beforehand then please contact your Account Manager, or call 01428 641616.

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3. Applying the Richmond Licence Serial Number

When you request a Richmond v10 Licence Serial Number you will need to provide:  Company Name

 SQL Server \ Instance Name  SQL Database Name

We then use this information to create a licence serial number, which is provided as an rls file, e.g.:

After the upgrade you need to login to the Setup Console, at which point the Richmond Licence Serial No. screen will be shown. To apply the licence serial number you will need to upload the rls file using the Browse button then select OK.

If the licence application succeeds, the following message will appear and users will be able to login to the system.

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 8 The most likely cause of this happening is a mismatch between the Company Name supplied when you requested the serial number and the Company Name in the licence serial number screen. When the licence serial number screen opens, it populates the company name field with the details held in the database; these might be different from the company name you provided us when requesting the serial number (e.g. due to a typo or a recent company name change).

The quickest way to check is by looking at the licence serial number filename. When we create this file we use the following naming convention:

 Richmond_Your Company_v1000.rls

Assuming you have not renamed the file, then the “Your Company” component of the filename will be the same as the company name you provided as at time of licence application. You can simply type the correct details into the company name box.

If the licence serial number application fails and the company name is correct, then check that the SQL server / instance name and database name are correct. These details, which will be on your licence certificate, must match the details that you provided us when you requested the serial number.

If you have made these checks but continue to experience difficulties then please contact support:  [email protected]

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4. Getting Started with v10

Richmond v10 provides a brand new Customer Service Portal that has been designed ground-up and is based on the new web technology architecture introduced in version 9. The new Customer Service Portal (CSP) has a very different look and feel and is substantially more customisable than previous versions. The following sections provide an overview of the system’s capabilities.

4.1. Login Screen

When users login to Richmond they can be presented with either the Home screen or the Add Incident Form.

CSP users are either given a username and password or use Windows Authentication to logon to the CSP. V10 provides ad hoc and mass-generation of usernames and encrypted password options.

4.2. Homepage Menu Options

The homepage allows users to access all of the enabled portal functions through an accordion style menu. The default terminology is shown in the screen image to the right.

The text shown is editable in the Setup Console at an individual CSP Group level. For example, although “Incident” is a recognised ITIL term, some users prefer the term Request or Ticket.

Visibility of functions is controlled through the Setup Console; they are simply enabled or disabled at the individual CSP Group level.

The following table describes each of the Homepage Menu options.

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Table 1: List of Homepage Menu Options

FUNCTION Description

ADD INCIDENT _{Opens the “Add Incident” form according to the Add Incident}

settings in the Setup Console.

INCIDENT LIST _{Opens the list of incidents that have been made visible to the}

user. Visibility is controlled by Status and by Incident Visibility options in the Setup Console.

KNOWLEDGE BASE _{Opens the list of knowledge articles that have been made}

visible to the user. Visibility is controlled through settings in the Specialist Web Interface and/or Setup Console.

QUICK INCIDENTS _{Opens the list of Quick incidents that have been made visible}

to the user. Visibility is controlled through settings in the Setup Console.

MY ASSETS _{Opens the list of assets that have been made visible to the}

user. Visibility is controlled by Asset Visibility options in the Setup Console.

SERVICES _{Opens the list of services that have been made visible to the}

user. Visibility is controlled through settings in the Specialist Web Interface.

RAISE RFC _{Opens the add RFC form according to the Add RFC settings in}

the Setup Console.

RFC LIST _{Opens the list of incidents that have been made visible to the}

user. Visibility is controlled by RFC Visibility options in the Setup Console.

SUMMARY _{Opens a pie chart summarising incidents by status. Status}

visibility is controlled in the Setup Console.

ABOUT _{Shows version and contact information.}

CSP Account Password Reset _{Allows users to reset their passwords.}

Logout _{Link that allows users to logout of the CSP without being}

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4.3. Homepage Functions

In addition to the homepage menu options, there are various options that can be enabled on the homepage to assist in the request logging process. Using the Homepage Search Settings in the Setup Console, it is possible to enable the following:

 A text box into which the user can type their issue. The next button or Enter Key can then either open the Add Incident form directly, or search either/or the knowledgebase and Quick Incidents first.

 A category selection dropdown that allows the user to categorise their request and either add a request directly based upon that category or search either/or the knowledgebase and Quick Incidents first.

 Homepage Indicators that allow the User to see Incidents by Status, for example “Active Requests” could include open and reopened incidents; “Requests requiring feedback” could be incidents where the status is with contact. The description, status selection, colour and alternative text when no incidents meet the defined criteria are all configurable.

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4.4. Incident Lifecycle

When an Incident is logged there are options to route the incident to particular specialists or groups based upon the category. Categories that do not have routing enabled can be logged to an

unassigned queue. Incidents logged via template can be logged to any queue defined by the parameters of the incident template.

The next few screens show a straightforward but typical Incident lifecycle. The scenario is an end– user called David “Dave” Grant who has a problem with a spreadsheet and a Specialist called RICHMOND that is assigned to the incident.

4.4.1. Add Incident Screen

The Add Incident screen allows the user to enter data into a number of pre-defined fields, including Summary, Description, Category, Specialist, Group, Status, Priority, Impact, SLA, Custom

Classification, Assets and Attachments.

In practice, many service desks limit the selection to a few fields such as summary, description, category and attachments. The Category defines which user defined fields (UDFs) are shown on the form. User-defined fields can be optional or mandatory, and can be pick lists, free-form text or combined pick list/free-form text.

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 13 The request is routed through

to the service desk, where RICHMOND picks up the request and starts working on it. One of the new features in V10 is the ability to add

attachments directly to Actions; this is shown in the screen (inset) taken from the Specialist Interface  Action screen.

The Action type is configured to change the status to “With Contact” (the status could have been changed manually) and the Incident Lifecycle settings use this status to inform Dave that the request is awaiting feedback as shown below. The text and colour and status criteria are all configurable.

4.4.2. Incident Details Screen

The Incident Details screen is accessed by selecting an Incident from the Incident list, which in turn is accessed from the accordion menu or homepage indicator links. The information visible on the incident details screen is defined in the Incident Visibility settings in the Setup Console.

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 14 Dave replies to the question by selecting Add Comment (or add File). In the example below the response from Dave is configured to set the status back to Open (could be any status) and the incident lifecycle settings use this status to show that the incident is now back with the service desk (text and colour are configurable).

Eventually RICHMOND works out what the issue is and uses Email from within the service desk to arrange a remote control session to look at Dave’s computer. A new feature of V10 is the ability to provide an internal and external resolution.

In the example below RICHMOND adds a technical resolution that describes how the issue was resolved and then adds a friendly comment in the “Resolution on SSP” box on the incident resolution screen.

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4.4.3. Incident Resolution Screen

Finally, this Incident process is using two-stage resolution so although it is resolved, it is not closed. This will happen automatically after a pre-defined period of time. The portal has been configured to allow Dave to close the call any time he wants to, hence the Close Request button.

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4.5. Category Aliases

Category Aliases allow a different category description to that used by the service desk. For example, a service desk category of “Software” could be described as “Systems, software and applications” to make it clearer to end users.

Category Aliases can simply be used to add a description to the category, as in the example below where the actual category is Hardware. The category will still invoke related settings such as

category routing and user defined fields that are linked to the category and marked as visible via the portal.

When you install Richmond ServiceDesk, or upgrade a previous version, the customer service portal category structure mirrors the service desk category structure. The customer service portal category structure can be changed and the description can be edited to create an alias.

The customer service portal category structure in the setup console shows the service desk category and if there is an alias then this is shown in square brackets next to the service desk category

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 17 All customer service portal categories are available to be individually selected for each customer service portal group. In addition, there is a per-group setting (shown below) that controls whether the alias or service desk (native) category description is shown for that particular group.

When you add a new service desk category, you will be prompted to create an alias. This alias can then be edited through the customer service portal category settings.

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4.6. Using the Homepage Search Functions

There are two homepage search options, either or which can be enabled. The first is a text search i.e. the user types in their request, the second is to select from a category dropdown.

The search term or category can be passed through the Knowledge Base and/or Quick incident list. In the example below the user typed something to do with printing and because both Knowledge Base and Quick incident searches were enabled, was presented with the following results.

The first list is a list of knowledge articles; the second is the quick incidents (quick incidents). The text and logos are customisable as shown. If the user wants more information about a knowledge article or quick incident then the button shows the knowledge article description or quick incident details.

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 19 If the user selects a quick incident then the incident logging process starts using the quick incident template. The user can quit out of logging a request any time before selecting the submit button. If a homepage search finds no results then the user is informed and can either raise a support request (the search term is transferred through to the incident logging form) or go back to the homepage.

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4.7. Lists

In the CSP the following lists can be enabled:

 Incidents (accessed via the Incident List menu option or homepage indicators)

 Quick Incidents (accessed via the Quick Incident menu option or presented as a result of a homepage search)

 Knowledge Articles (accessed via the Knowledge Article menu option or presented as a result of a homepage search)

 Assets (accessed via the Assets menu option or presented as a result of logging an incident)  Requests for Change (RFCs - accessed via the RFC List menu option)

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4.8. Incident List

In the example below the user is in a group that has been configured to allow visibility of open, re-opened and closed incidents.

 The Show Status dropdown allows the user to selectively pick the status(es) that they want to view.

 The group bar allows columns to be grouped, in the exmaple below they are grouped by status with the Open status expanded.

 The columns visible depend upon what has been allowed for the user’s group; this is defined in the Setup console.

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4.9. Quick Incident List

The Quick Incident List allows the user to search using free-form text and/or category filtering. In the example below, the category filter is set to “Systems, Software and Apps”, hence the results showing relate to child categories of this category. If a search term was applied then this would be applied to all Quick Incidents where the category is or is a child of “Systems, Software and Apps”. If the

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4.10. Knowledge Article List

The Knowledge Article List allows the user to search using free-form text and/or category filtering. In the example below, the category filter is set to “Systems, Software and Apps”, hence the articles showing relate to child categories of this category.

Clicking on an article ID or its Summary will open the article.

Knowledge Articles can be individually made visible to specific CSP groups through the Specialist user interface (shown below) or the Setup console.

A knowledge article can be configured to show on the CSP as text or HTML. If configured as text, then the knowledge information is presented using a standard layout including summary,

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 24 The screen below shows the layout when an article is configured to display in text mode. There are options in the Setup console to enable knowledge article rating, in which case when a user says that an article resolved their issue, a simple rating and comment box is shown.

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4.11. Asset Lists

V10 has the ability to show asset information to end users via the portal, this means that support requests can be raised against specific configuration items in the database. There are two asset types, My Assets and Asset List, both of which are configured in the “Asset Visibility” section in the Setup Console.

My Assets

The purpose of “My Assets” is to allow users to see and raise requests against assets that are either child items in the database or that are tracked with the user e.g. on-loan. In this screen section from the Specialist Interface Navigator David Grant has two child items (phone and computer) and a laptop that is on loan (hence the blue colour).

Asset List

The purpose of the “Asset List” is to allow users to see and raise requests against a specific list of assets. For example, in an internal IT environment it might be a list of items that are available for loan. In an external support environment it might be a list of assets that a managed service provider supports on a customer site. In this screen section from the Specialist Interface Navigator there is a list of Printers that has been made visible to David Grant.

When raising requests through Add Incident or via quick Incidents, the asset list can be enabled to allow the user to select assets to associate with the Incident. List visibility can be individually controlled at the CSP Group level for both regular and quick Incidents. In addition, the visibility of asset lists can be further controlled by the category of the request being raised.

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 26 When the user David Grant opens the Assets section he has visibility of “My Assets” and the “Asset List”, and accordingly sees the screen below.

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4.12. Change List

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4.13. Summary Chart

The summary chart shows incidents by status. The visible statuses are configured in the setup console  Summary section.

4.14. My Account

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5. Service Portal Groups

The CSP is designed to allow multiple groups to access different configurations of the portal. Almost every portal function can be separately configured at a Group level, including:

 Initial screen on login (home or add request form)

 Homepage Logo i.e. the logo that shows after the customer has logged in  Menu option visibility and description of menu options

 Homepage free-text and category search options (knowledge and quick incidents) and the text for headers, prompts and labels

 Homepage indicators, quantity, basis and labels

 Incident field visibility when viewing individual Incidents  Incident field visibility when viewing lists of Incidents

 Incident field visibility when viewing individual Quick Incidents  Knowledge Article visibility

 Service visibility and indicators

 Status of incidents visible through the Summary pie chart  Category visibility for Incidents

 Quick Incident template visibility

 Page Headers that inform users what type of request they are submitting, including text label, logo and visibility controls

 Add Incident field visibility and the text for headers, prompts and labels, including:

Summary, Category, Category Routing, Assets, Custom Classification, Status, Priority, Group, Specialist, Attachments, Description, SLA, Impact and Confirmation

 Settings that control the status when an Incident is updated, re-opened and closed

 Settings that control the visibility of Incident resolution text, resolution codes and incident rating

 Category visibility for RFCs

 Add RFC field visibility and the text for headers, prompts and labels, including: Summary, Reason, Category, Assets, Owner, Group, Priority, Due Date, Attachments, Description and Confirmation.

 RFC field visibility when viewing lists of Incidents

 RFC field visibility when viewing individual Quick Incidents  Settings that control the CAB note when an RFC is updated

Some of the portal functions that are not per Group (i.e. global settings) are:  Category Aliases

 Incident Lifecycle settings

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Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes Page 30 In the examples below there are multiple customer settings groups configured in the Setup Console. When the customer David Grant logs in he sees the interface and experiences the workflow

configured for his group:

Whereas Kelly Gable, who is in a different Group, sees quite a different interface:

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6. User Management

Version 10 provides new settings to manage the following Customer Service Portal functions for multiple users at the same time:

 Asset visibility - defines what assets are visible to portal users

 Incident Visibility - defines what incidents are visible to portal users when looking at incident lists

 Group Membership - defines the group to which a group of portal users are assigned  Username and password creation – controls the creation and distribution of usernames and

passwords

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7. FAQS

Question Answer

Why have you changed the way

the licence serial number works? Two reasons: _{1. To adhere to current license security standards,}

2. To prepare the way for additional licensable modules as we expand our mobile device offerings.

How do I find out the name of my SQL server instance and database?

We have provided an article explaining how to find this information. Click here to view the article.

How do I change the view used

to show “My Active Incidents”? In the User Profile there is a tab called homepage. In there is a _{drop-down list of views that can be applied when selecting “My}

Active Incidents” from the Homepage. The User Profile is accessed by selecting the logged-on user button at the top right of the screen.

Why does my application keep

timing out? This is probably due to the timeout period set in IIS.

I can get to the login screen for the Specialist Web but I get a SQL server connection error. Why?

The most likely cause is that the database connection settings have not been set. Open the Customer Service Portal and web reports administration module and supply the SQL server and database name.

Why can’t I see my incidents in the Navigator?

Viewing incidents in the navigator is a legacy feature. There are far more efficient ways of viewing incidents using either lists and dragging a configuration item to the list, or selecting a configuration item and selecting view incidents.

Can I install Richmond 9 Web Server components on Windows Server 2003 or XP?

You can but it is not recommended due to the old version of IIS used by these operating systems. One of the main downsides is that the Richmond installers cannot automatically configure IIS and permissions. For customers wishing to use these legacy operating systems we have provided an article explaining how to configure IIS and permissions. Click here to view the article.

Why does my web interface look strange and not work properly using Internet Explorer?

It could be that IE is opening the application in compatibility mode because it is an internal website site. To disable this setting:

1. Load IE10

2. Press ‘Alt’ on your keyboard to see the toolbar 3. Go to Tools > Compatibility View Settings

4. Un-tick “Display intranet sites in Compatibility View”

Where is the default install path

for the web files? In Richmond v9 the path for web install has changed from _{C:\inetpub\wwwroot\SupportDesk6 to}

Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes

Richmond ServiceDesk v10 Release Notes

September, 2014

[email protected]

01428 647333

Contents

1. Welcome to Richmond v10

2. Important Information for Customers Upgrading to v10

2.1. Upgrade Pre-Requisites

2.2. Important Documentation and Preparation

lease ensure that you:

2.3. Functionality Changes

2.4. Recommended System Requirements

2.5. Upgrade Assistance

3. Applying the Richmond Licence Serial Number

4. Getting Started with v10

4.1. Login Screen

4.2. Homepage Menu Options

4.3. Homepage Functions

4.4. Incident Lifecycle

4.4.1. Add Incident Screen

4.4.2. Incident Details Screen

4.4.3. Incident Resolution Screen

4.5. Category Aliases

4.6. Using the Homepage Search Functions

4.7. Lists

4.8. Incident List

4.9. Quick Incident List

4.10. Knowledge Article List

4.11. Asset Lists

4.12. Change List

4.13. Summary Chart

4.14. My Account

5. Service Portal Groups

6. User Management

7. FAQS