Selecting an Assignee

iSupport Routing Methods

To route a record, you can either click the Route icon or the Assignee link. (Note that you can also route one or more records via the Desktop.) If you use the Route icon or Assignee link with the Tree Selector icon, all of the configured routing methods and options will appear. If you use the Assignee link and name-based routing is enabled, you can perform a standard name-based route by entering the first few letters of a support representative’s name. You can also click the Load Balancer link to display the name of the support representative calculated to have the lightest workload for each routing method.

A permission can enable you to route to unavailable support representatives; if you have this permission, support representatives who are unavailable for routing will be included with an asterisk.

There are several methods of routing; some or all of these methods of routing may be available to you depending upon configuration settings.

Group Based

• Group Based/StandardA list of groups appears; when you select a group, a list of support representatives in the group appears for selection. (These groups are set up in Support Representative records.)

• Group Based/Load BalancedThe available support representative within the selected group with the lightest overall workload will be selected.

• Group Based/Round RobinThe support representative in the group who was assigned a work item using the round robin method on the oldest date and time is selected.

Location Based

• Location Based/StandardA list of all available support representatives in a selected location appears.

• Location Based/Load Balanced The available support representative within the selected location with the lightest overall workload will be selected.

• Location Based/Round RobinThe support representative in a selected location who was assigned a work item using the round robin method on the oldest date and time is selected.

Name Based

• Name Based/StandardA list of all available support representatives appears.

• Name Based/Load Balanced The available support representative with the lightest overall workload will be selected.

• Name Based/Round RobinThe support representative who was assigned a work item using the round robin method on the oldest date and time is selected.

Skill Based

• Skill Based/StandardThe category levels selected for the incident will appear; select the level of categorization that exactly matches the categorization for which support representative skills should be searched. The support representative(s) with those skills will appear for selection.

• Skill Based/Load BalancedAfter you select the level of categorization for which support representative skills should be searched, a support representative is selected based on the workload of the support representatives who have the exact match of the selected categorization in their Support Representative record.

• Skill Based/Round RobinAfter you select the level of categorization for which support representative skills should be searched, support representatives who have the exact match of the selected categorization in their Support Representative record are considered. The support representative who was assigned a work item using the round robin method on the oldest date and time is selected.

• Location by Skill/StandardSupport representative locations will appear; after selecting a location, the category levels selected for the incident will appear. Select the level of categorization that exactly matches the categorization for which support representative skills should be searched. The support representatives in the selected location with matching skills are listed for selection.

• Location by Skill/Load BalancedSupport representative locations will appear; after selecting a location, the category levels selected for the incident will appear. Select the level of categorization that exactly matches the categorization for which support representative skills should be searched. The support representative in the selected location with matching skills and the lightest workload is selected.

• Location by Skill/Round RobinSupport representative locations will appear; after selecting a location, the category levels selected for the incident will appear. Select the level of categorization that exactly matches the categorization for which support representative skills should be searched. The support representatives in the selected location with matching skills are considered; the support representative who was assigned a work item using the round robin method on the oldest date and time is selected.

Load balanced routing involves weights based on priority; these weights are set up during configuration. If a support representative has worked with a record and the record is reassigned, he/she will be bypassed until all available support representatives with the skill or in the group or location (depending on the method selected) have worked with the record.

Depending on how routing is configured, you'll need to select a group, location, or support representative. If you selected skill based standard routing, the categories selected for the record will appear and you'll select the level for which associated support representative skills should be searched. Support representatives with skills/categories in their Support Representative records that exactly match that categorization level will display for selection. If you selected a method with load balanced routing, the name of the person calculated to have the lightest workload will display.

Once you click Finish, if routing notifications are enabled in configuration for reassignment, the Routing Comment dialog appears for you to enter a note to be included in the notification email to be sent to the new assignee. The note will be on the first line of the email.

An assignee is not required for a Problem record; select Problem | Remove Assignment to change a record to Unassigned.

Routing a Record to Yourself

To route a record to yourself (for example, if records are first routed to a queue), click the Route icon and select Route to Self. Your primary group will be used. If you wish to change your group, you'll need to use the Change Group link in the Assignee field.    

Routing Records from Desktop Views

You can route records with an Open or Suspended status from views on the Desktop. Select the records to route and then select the Route view action. The routing dialogs will appear, but the skill-based routing and location by skill based routing methods will not be available. If load balanced routing is used, the selected records will be distributed evenly to the available support representatives in the selected group, location, or all (if using name-based routing). The same comment will be applied to all routed records. Note that incidents that are closed or pending approval cannot be routed.

Viewing Routing Information

The Audit History entries on the History tab include routing details. To view the number of times an incident has been routed, total time by status and priority, and the amount of time the incident has been assigned to each assignee, select View | Routing/Time Statistics.

To view the assignee’s contact information, skills, and groups, click the View Rep Details link after clicking the icon next to the Assignee field. You can send an email from the View Rep Details popup. If an assignee is a member of more than one group, you can select the Change Group link in the Assignee field or select Incident | Change Assignee’s Group  to change the assignee’s group membership for a record.