Create Departments

Note:  You must have the System Administrator role to create Departments.

Helpdesk allows for multiple departments to function side by side within the same system.  Each department functions independently with different technicians, request types, auto-assignment, etc.  However, each department will need to be created and configured by a system administrator.
 

Under the Manage tab on the left side of the interface, you will be able to create departments.  The Edit Departments option will show you a list of all existing departments and allow you to create a new one by selecting Add Department in the bottom left corner.  Adding a department will prompt you with a wizard on the right side of the screen.  The wizard only needs to know the name of the new department that you would like to create.  

If you are creating a new department or modifying an existing one, simply select it from the white list on the right.  Once selected, you will see the department details on the right.  There are six tabs that can be used to configure each department. 

General Tab

The first tab that will display is the General tab.  Here you can change the name of the department.  You can also add a Current Status Banner message that will show up for every user entering requests.  For instance, if your internet connection was down, you could use this option to let everyone know before they submitted a request.  The message displays as a large orange and red banner in order to catch the attention of end-users. 

Workflow Tab

Moving right, the Workflow tab allows you to define how requests function in a broad sense.  The first two options involve Facilities and Events.  If your district has not purchased that application, then skip this section.  However if you have this application, then you can associate a ticket with a particular asset.  Check the first box listed to enable the association.  The second box allows you to REQUIRE end-users to enter that information. 

Below this you can enable or disable surveys.  If you choose Enable, Random, or Force, end-users will be prompted to complete a survey after each request is completed.  Using Enable or Random makes the survey optional.  Selecting Force will require the end-users to complete their pending surveys before entering an additional ticket.  Random will request every 6th completed ticket to complete a survey.  You will also need to select which survey you would like to use as a default for this department.  Lastly, if a request is deleted or in some other way not completed, you can check the option to "Automatically Skip Survey if Not Completed."

The Workflow tab also allows you to disable or enable Supervisor Review.  Checking this option forces the Helpdesk supervisor to review tickets before they can be finally closed.  Below this you can define the criteria for "Old".  Old requests are typically those that are overdue or have been open or untouched for too long.  Use the two thresholds to define how long it takes for something to become "Old".  Later in this section you will see how to define what happens when something becomes "Old". 

Cost tracking is also enabled or disabled in this section.  These options allow you to disable or enable parts and labor for each ticket.  And finally, how your department handles priority can be set here as well.  If that last option is selected, end-users will not be able to choose a priority of low, normal, or high.  It will only be available to department staff.

Statistics Tab

The Statistics tab contains a collection of options that affects the calculation and viewing of your department's statistics.  For instance, the first option allows you to choose the starting month of your reporting year.  This will affect the year long view when looking at department statistics.

This tab also contains the settings for operating hours.  Helpdesk will use the block of time you set to determine average resolution time, requests per hour, etc.  If your department starts at 7:30 and ends at 4:30, simply use 7:00 to 4:00 or 8:00 to 5:00.  The block of time on the job is the important aspect to ensure accuracy, not necessarily the exact times.  Just below this, you can also specify what time frame the Average Resolution Time should use when calculating that value.

The last section of this tab allows you to specify what end-users should see when submitting a ticket.  Should they see campus or district average resolution time?  And lastly, you can enable statistics viewing for principals and/or the superintendent.

Messaging Tab 

The Messaging tab allows you to configure how a particular department will communicate.  For instance, when assigning or closing a request, who should be notified?  Both options allow you to notify the technician and/or their manager/supervisor.  And for each you can specify specific text that should be included with the email.  Keep in mind that the details of the ticket will automatically be included.  For assigning tickets, you can enable the message to be sent when auto-assignment is being used as well.  You can also have the system notify the previous technician that a ticket has been assigned away from them.

This tab will also allow you to configure what happens when a request is flagged as emergency or old.  You can set the thresholds for "Old" on the Workflow tab, but here you specify what actually happens when a ticket becomes "Old".  You can have the system email the technician the ticket is assigned to, that technician's manager/supervisor, and/or send daily reminders.  Emergency has similar options, however you can set it to email every technician in the department.  In that case, you are essentially defining emergencies as department wide issues.

Groups Tab 

The Groups tab allows departments to define technician teams or divisions.  Some departments may assign their staff into particular teams.  For instance, there may be a hardware, software, and network group.  Each group may have several technicians that specialize in those particular areas.  In order to assign a technician to a group, those must first be created here.  Simply use the Add, Delete, and Edit options to manage the groups list.  Defining individual groups allows ticket lists and other information to be organized by group instead of just by technician.  Technicians within a group can also easily view the tickets assigned to other group members.

Escalation Tab

The Escalation tab has several settings that control how tickets can be automatically escalated.  The first option allows you to specify a list of staff that will be auto-escalated.  Any ticket entered by a staff member in this list will automatically be flagged as an emergency or high priority.  To determine how tickets should escalate, use the second option.  This drop-down list allows you to set the auto-escalation to either emergency or high.  When using the High option, we recommend that you disable end-users from entering priority.  Otherwise, it would be difficult to distinguish between the high priorities of  end-users or auto-escalation.

Final Note

Ideally all settings discussed above should be discussed and configured prior to active use.  However, these settings can be changed during use if necessary.  Remember to use the Save option on the top toolbar after making any changes.  Finally, you can delete an entire department (EXTREME CAUTION RECOMMENDED) by using the red X on the toolbar.