Kaseya Service Desk

Version 1.2 includes all hotfixes since version 1.0, plus changes made to be compatible with VSA 6.0.1.

Kaseya Service Desk

This is the first release of the Kaseya Service Desk add-on module. KSD is a greatly enhanced alternative solution to managing service issues, as compared to the Ticketing module.

Certification Program

Kaseya recommends anyone responsible for Service Desk configuration take advantage of the certification program provided by Kaseya, even if not required by your license agreement. For details about participating in the Kaseya Service Desk certification program, logon to the Kaseya Portal.

Service Desk Definitions

KSD tickets are controlled by a new data object called a service desk definition. The service desk definition defines the entire structure of tickets, including all of its fields and values. Associated procedures (not available in the Ticketing module) automate the behavior of the ticket throughout its life-cycle. Multiple service desk definitions and their corresponding tickets can co-exist within the same Service Desk module environment. User access to service desks definitions are controlled by roles and scopes using System > User Security. Service Desk Definitions define the following:

• General properties, such as the name of the service desk, default values for properties and links to procedures that affect the entire ticket.
• Values for standard ticket fields: Status, Priority, Category, Severity and Resolution.
• Custom fields and values.
• Stages, which describe the "life-cycle" of a ticket. Each stage can be linked to an entry, exit, escalation or goal procedure. Procedures can automate the processing of tasks and notifications for a ticket at each stage of a ticket’s life-cycle.
• Policies associated with a service desk and the criteria used to assign them to a ticket when a ticket is created.
• Role and "user pool" access to a ticket. A pool is group of users that is independent of the roles they belong to.

Workflow Automation

Each service desk definition can define a different workflow for the set of tickets it controls using the Stage property. Stage sequences are user-defined. Entering or exiting a stage can trigger an automated procedure or start a timer to run an escalation or goal procedure at a later time. The workflow of stages you define is graphically represented by the View tab within a service desk definition. Stages enable KSD to support a wide range of business processes, including the four types of business processes recommended by ITIL for service organizations:

• Incidents - A request for assistance from an organization/contact. Note: KSD refers to customers and users as organizations and contacts.
• Problems - The underlying cause of—and eventually the generic response to—one or more incidents reported by customers and users.
• Change Requests - Detailed requirements for changes or enhancements to a product or service, usually in response to a problem.
• Service Requests - A request for a routine service call or upgrade.

Service Desk Definition Templates

When a service desk definition is created, stage sequences and standard field values are populated by the template used to create the service desk definition. Once a service desk definition is created based on a template, these default stages and field values can be modified to suit your business requirements.

Sample Service Desk Data

Sample Service Desk data is provided for the following:

• Note templates
• Message templates
• Procedure variables
• Policies (gold, silver, bronze)
• Organization Types (gold, silver, bronze)
• User Roles
• Coverage Schedules
• Holidays

Sample service desk data records are installed when service desk is installed and never updated in case you choose to make use of them. If a sample service desk record is deleted, the record is re-installed during a backup/maintenance cycle.

Service Desk Setup

Service Desk > Setup provide the following sample service desks:

• Standard – This service desk provides basic automation with a simplified workflow. Demonstrates automation for email and message notification to users and user pools when a ticket is created, starts the next stage or is escalated. Integrates with pre-defined user pools, procedure variables, and message templates.
• Demo – A basic service desk, with sample tickets but none of the automation provided by service desk procedures.
• Incidents – A sample service desk based on ITIL guidelines. Demonstrates the benefits of service desk automation by integrating the ITIL service desk with stage entry procedures, escalation procedures, goal procedures, user roles, user pools, organization types, predefined procedure variables, predefined message templates, predefined polices, predefined email reader, predefined coverage schedules and predefined holidays.
• KnowledgeBase – A sample knowledge base desk based on ITIL guidelines. Serves as repository of known errors articles.
• Problem – A sample problem desk based on ITIL guidelines. Demonstrates the benefits of distinguishing and managing generic problems separately from immediate customer support issues. Problem tickets can be associated with multiple incidents, so that when a solution is achieved, customers with related incidents can be notified.
• ChangeRequest – A sample change request desk based on ITIL guidelines. Demonstrates the benefits of distinguishing and managing change requests separately from immediate customer support issues. Change requests are approved or rejected. If approved, then the change request is tracked through to successful completion. Change requests can be associated with multiple incidents, so that when the request is implemented, customers with related incidents can be notified.

Ticket Maintenance

All tickets are listed in a single, multipage, scrollable ticket table. The ticket table can be filtered and sorted to suit your preferences. Column headings are selectable and provide their own filter and sort options. This same ticket table can be be used to preview, edit, group update, merge, associate, and archive tickets. Tickets are tracked as read or unread by each user. Ticket row coloring is controlled by Role Preferences and Preferences by User. Clicking any row in the ticket table lets you edit or view a ticket in a child window. The ticket window has multiple tabs, some with expandible-collapsible regions, providing quick access to a large set of ticket properties. Editing the ticket manually lets you:

• Modify the values of standard and custom fields
• Add your own notes and attachments
• Add predefined content using note templates
• Associate tickets with organizations, machine groups or machines.
• Associate tickets with other tickets, including tickets in other service desks such as those created as knowledge base articles.

Ticket Archives

Tickets can be archived for later reference rather than deleted altogether. Archived tickets can be displayed but not edited. They can also be unarchived so that you can continue editing them.

The layout and navigation of an archived ticket is exactly the same as an unarchived ticket.

Knowledge Base

The knowledge base serves as a repository of "known-error" solutions and workarounds. Knowledge base topics can be manually or automatically associated with newly created tickets based on the ticket settings you specify. You can create specialized knowledge base topics based on an organization, an assignee, machine group, etc. When working a ticket, the call taker can immediately see the knowledge base topic associated with a ticket.

Search All

Search All displays a table of all tickets and all knowledge base articles. This enables you to locate any text reference in either type of record, so as to avoid having to perform two separate searches.

Coverage Schedules and Holidays

The Coverage Schedules and Holidays functions define when a service desk is available for working on a ticket. Coverage Schedules enables you to define hours covered for days of the week or standard holidays. Holidays define hours covered for specific days that don’t match standard holiday hours. Coverage Schedules records are linked to Policies, enabling you to configure a different set of hours covered for each policy, or reuse the same Coverage Schedules record for multiple policies across multiple service desks.

Policies

Tickets can be automatically assigned a specific policy by organization, organization type or machine group. Policies are associated with Coverage Schedules records, so selecting a policy determines the hours of coverage provided for a particular ticket using that policy. Variables associated with the policy can be used in procedures to automatically set the value for any user-selectable field in a ticket.

Note: Unlike the legacy Ticketing module, associating KSD tickets with a machine group or machine ID is optional.

Preferences by Role / Preferences by User

KSD Preferences by Role let you specify additional attributes for each role that apply specifically to Service Desk. These role preference override system default values. A role must be previously created using System > User Security. Options include:

• Ticket table row color preferences, by due date, modification date or creation date
• Ticket table column preferences
• Ticket field access permissions

A separate function, Preferences by User, enables a user to set their own table row color and table column preferences. User preferences override role preferences.

Note Templates

Note templates let you define reusable snippets of text that can be inserted into ticket notes, either manually or automatically using KSD procedures.

Incoming Email Settings

Incoming Email Settings specifies a POP3 email account to periodically poll. Email messages retrieved from the POP3 server are classified using a Ticket Request Mapping procedure and converted into different types of tickets.

Message Templates

Message templates define page layouts for emails sent from a service desk to email recipients, or for messages displayed in the Info Center > Inbox of other users. These templates are selected when you specify an email be sent or message be sent within any KSD procedure.

Procedure Variables

• Global procedure variables are defined using the Variables function. Global procedure variables and their default values can be applied either to all types of procedures or to specific types of procedures. The value of a global variable can be changed within a procedure and the changed value used in subsquent steps or passed to nested procedures. Changes to the value of a global variable are limited to the procedure that use them plus any nested procedures. Once a global variable is defined, each policy can set a different default value for that variable.
• Procedure variables behave the same way as global procedure variables except they are defined by command within a procedure.
• Property variables enable you to set the value of a ticket field. Property variables can be used within procedures and message templates, email subject lines and body text, message subject lines and body text.

KSD Procedures in General

KSD provides specialized procedures that are independent of agent procedures, since tickets in Service Desk are not necessarily related to specific machine groups or machines IDs. KSD procedures typically automate ticket processing, although some procedures automate the processing of inbound emails. There are two general types of KSD procedures:

• Event Procedures run as soon as specified system events occur.
• Scheduled Procedures run a specified time period after a system event occurs.

Stage Entry and Exit Procedures

A Stage Entry procedure runs when a ticket starts a specified stage. A Stage Exit procedure runs when a ticket exits a specified stage. Stage Entry or Exit procedures are linked to individual stages using Service Desk Definition > Standard Fields > Stage > Procedures.

Ticket Change Procedures

A Ticket Change procedure runs each time a ticket is changed. Typically ticket change procedures notify the owner, assignee or submitter that a ticket has been updated. Ticket change procedures are linked to service desk definitions using the Service Desk Definition > General > Procedures tab.

Ticket Request Mapping Procedures

A Ticket Request Mapping procedure, linked to an Incoming Email Settings, runs each time the VSA polls a POP3 server and retrieves email messages. The Ticket Request Mapping procedure determines the type of ticket created from the content of each email message and preprocesses the ticket.

Ticket De-Dup Procedures

A Ticket De-Dup procedure is linked to a reader in Incoming Email Settings. The procedure runs if the system detects that a request to create a ticket from an external source—from email or an alert—duplicates an existing ticket.

Goal Procedures

A Goal Procedure runs after a specified time period, usually to record whether or not a goal was met. The time period is measured from the time a ticket was created or from the time a ticket starts a specific stage. Goal procedures are linked to service desk definitions using Service Desk Definition > General > Procedures. Goal procedures are linked to individual stages using Service Desk Definition > Processing > Stage > Procedures.

Escalation Procedures

A Escalation Procedure runs after a specified time period, usually to escalate a ticket to another level of service. Multiple escalations can be run using escalation levels. The time period is measured from the time a ticket starts a stage or is re-escalated. Escalation procedures are linked to individual stages using Service Desk Definition > Processing > Stages > Procedures.

Sub Procedures

Sub procedures are common procedures called by other procedures using the Execute a Common Sub-Procedure command.

Mac iPhone Service Desk app

You can use a new Kaseya Service Desk app for the Mac iPhone to:

• Securely logon to one or more Kaseya Servers
• View Service Desk tickets, including all notes and details
• Update Service Desk tickets, including adding notes and changing details
• Call the ticket submitter, integrated with the iPhone Dialer
• Email the ticket submitter, integrated with iPhone Mail
• Get a map and directions to the submitter’s location

Service Desk API Web Service

Added API web service operations for service desk.