Incidents - Features and Configuration

  Configuring iSupport Incident Functionality

Use iSupport’s Incident functionality to track issues and accomplish quick restoration of service.

Basic Configuration

Set basic Incident options in Feature Basics. Note that you can enable features at any time.

Set up categories, which are custom values that you create for describing incidents, knowledge entries, problems, and changes. (Note that the same category set is used with all of those features.) A category combination is required in order to save an incident. Categories are involved in many features throughout iSupport, including reporting, knowledge searching, displaying related work items, scripts, and more.

Creating Incident Records

You can manually create Incident records via the Incident screen.

Customers can submit an email that will create an incident via email processing.

Customers can submit incidents via a mySupport portal.

If the automatic incident creation feature is enabled for chat, you can accept a mySupport customer chat request.

You can use the Create Incident link in the Twitter Monitor and Facebook Monitor components as well as a customer-submitted discussion post on the Desktop.

You can schedule a single occurrence change or a recurring set of incidents to be created at a future date/time.

Customizing iSupport Defaults

Support includes a default Incident screen layout with a comprehensive set of fields for tracking Incident data, but you can redesign it to include fields and tabs that are specific to your company. You can create different layouts to assign to support representative groups, customer groups, categories, incident templates, and hierarchy templates.

You can create custom status labels for the Incident status levels of Open, Closed, Suspended, Scheduled, and Reopened.

If there are fields you need for the Incident screen that are not included in iSupport by default, you can create custom fields.

You can include a field for entering or automatically generating a custom number.

You can define custom impact and urgency values that map to priority levels. Enable impact/urgency mapping via the Feature Basics screen.

You can enable your customers to submit and view Incident records on mySupport portals, and you can customize the submission and display screen layouts.

Sending Notifications

You can use Incident rules to send Desktop and email notifications when specified conditions based on Incident record fields or events are met; for example, you can configure a rule to send a notification when the priority of an Incident record is changed.

You can use or copy and modify iSupport's default notifications, or you can create new custom notifications. You can include data from work items and designate any applicable recipients.  

You can send correspondence email from the Incident screen. Correspondence can include data from Incident records; correspondence templates can be utilized, and an Others to Notify list can be used for keeping those not directly involved in the loop.

You can create a headline or add a discussion post to a selected feed from the Incident screen.

You can enable a single selection feedback survey with a question with two response choice image links in an incident notification.

Interacting With Customers

You can send a survey request to be completed by customers using mySupport.

You can enable a single selection feedback survey with a question with two response choice image links in an incident notification.

You can enable integration With Bomgar (a third-party application for remote desktop connection and chatting).

You can enable Citrix GoToAssist remote support access (a third-party application).

Using Workflow Features

You can route via name, skill, group, and location, all with or without load balancing, in the Incident screen. Enable routing methods via Feature Basics, and set routing availability options via Support Representative Profiles.

You can use Incident rules to automatically route Incident records via round robin or load balancing.

You can automatically change field values on Incident records via Incident rules.   

You can create templates to populate fields for common and reoccurring incidents, and create hierarchy templates for tasks that have multiple activities. Both types of templates can be applied manually via the Incident screen or via Incident rules.  iSupport Templates

You can require an Incident record to be approved before most functions can be performed. Approval cycles are initiated via Incident rules.

You can enable followup date and an acknowledgment features via Feature Basics.

You can create related incidents for an Incident record; when you close the original incident, all related incidents can be closed automatically.

You can associate new and existing Asset records. If you have the Service Desk Edition, you can associate new and existing Problem, Change, and Purchase records. You can enable associated incidents to be closed when a Problem or Change record is closed.

You can enable a prompt in the Incident screen to automatically create a knowledge entry from a closed incident; enable this feature via Feature Basics.  

You can perform ad hoc scans on non-Windows SNMP-enabled devices in the Incident screen, and associate scans with an incident.

You can configure webhooks to post Incident data to a web application via Incident rules.

  You can configure signing agreement text for inclusion in the Sign dialog in the Incident screen. Signing agreements can be associated with customer and support representative groups, categories, and incident and change templates. This feature is not available in mySupport.

Managing Incident Records

You can use the Action menu in the View component on the Desktop to perform actions such as opening multiple items.

  You can use Service Contract functionality to track and restrict incidents associated with customers, companies, and assets.

You can archive incidents.

You can configure roles/permissions for support reps and rep groups using Incident functionality via the Support Representatives screen.