Using the Problem Screen Using the Problem Screen
Common Entry
Screen Features 
Using the iSupport
Problem Screen
iSupport
Problem Management Features
Problem functionality is available if you have the Service Desk edition. Use Problem functionality to document and track the root cause of incidents. The Assignee, Description, Work History, Workaround, Root Cause, and Resolution fields track the process of troubleshooting the underlying issue until a resolution is discovered.
Incidents, Change records, and assets can be linked to a Problem record; if configured, associated incidents can be closed when a Problem record is closed.
Problem records can be published to the mySupport portal. When a workaround and/or root cause is entered in a Problem record, the Problem record is designated as a Known Error in reports and views on the Desktop and mySupport portal.
Note: The fields and layout in the Problem screen are set up in the Configuration module. Fields or functionality may not display if disabled or disallowed due to permissions set during configuration. The following sections contain information on all Problem functionality.
The only information required in order for a Problem record to be saved is the categorization, short description, and any required custom fields. When an entry is made in either the Workaround or Resolution field and the record is saved, the record is designated as a Known Error. The resolution is required in order for a Problem record to be closed. You can close a record by selecting a Closed status in the Status field.
A unique number is assigned to each Problem record; if configured, a custom number field will appear above the Number field. You may be required to make an entry in this field, and this field may be read-only after you enter the number and save the record.
Click the Categorize 
icon
or Category link to select a categorization that describes the
problem. If there are other incidents, problems, changes, knowledge entries,
or headlines that have the same categorization, the View Open Work Items
for Categorization link appears; click it to display a list of these items.
You can associate incidents, changes, and headlines with the current
problem if applicable.
Use the Short Description and Description fields to enter details regarding the problem.
In the Workaround field, enter details regarding any temporary methods of overcoming the problem. When an entry is made in either this field or the Resolution field and the record is saved, the record is designated as a Known Error.
In the Root Cause field, enter details regarding the actual cause of the problem.
In the Resolution field, enter details regarding the solution to the problem. When an entry is made in either this field or the Workaround field and the record is saved, the record is designated as a Known Error.
Defaults appear in the Assignee, Impact, Urgency, Priority and Status fields as configured; change those values if applicable.
The History field includes notations on all Problem record actions.
To enter information on any activities related to resolving the problem,
select Problem | 
Add History
or the Add Work History 
icon in the History field. See Entering
and Viewing History for more information.
Select the Publish to mySupport checkbox to display the problem on the mySupport portal. The fields that appear in the Problem screen on the mySupport portal will depend on settings in the Configuration module. Users can click the Create Incident link in that screen to submit an incident that will be associated with the problem. The text in the Short Description field will be included by default in the Description field in the Incident record.
The Twitter 
icon will appear in the Problem screen
if you have the Publish to Twitter permission and a Twitter application
has been entered in the Social Media Integration | Twitter Application
screen; when clicked, the Publish
to Twitter dialog will appear with the short description.
Enter the text to publish to Twitter. If multiple Twitter applications
have been created, you can select the account to which the problem should
be published.
Custom fields may be configured for entering information specific to your company. Custom fields can be configured to always appear or appear when a certain category is selected. You may be required to enter information in custom fields, and if a problem is recategorized, data saved in custom fields is retained and the custom fields associated with the newly-selected category set are added.
If enabled in configuration, you can use the Others to Notify feature to set up a list of customers and/or support representatives to be sent event notifications and other correspondence. See Selecting Others to Notify for more information.
If asset functionality is enabled during configuration, associate an
existing asset by selecting Problem | 
Add Asset or clicking the Add link in the Assets field. You can select
New | 
Asset to create a new
asset record from the Problem screen but you’ll need to select Problem
| Add Asset to associate it.
Asset scans collect hardware, software, and service details automatically on a computer (Windows 98 and above or any other WMI-compliant machine; WMI must be installed and active) and on non-Windows devices on your local subnet. There are two types of scans in iSupport:
You can perform a dynamic asset scan from the Incident, Problem, Change, or Asset screen.
Scheduled asset scans can be scheduled and run automatically according to an Asset Scanning and Monitoring definition, which defines the hosts (remote machines) to be scanned during a specified start time and duration. Scheduled scans include a more comprehensive set of data than dynamic scans.
To perform the scan, you will need to enter IP address or NetBIOS name of the machine to be scanned. The login used to run the scan must be in the Administrators group on the machine to be scanned. If you do not have this login, it can be set during configuration and accessed automatically by iSupport.
To initiate a scan, select New | 
Scan or click the New Scan link in the Scans field. See Performing
Asset Scans for more information.
Use the Add Existing link in the Associated Work Items field to associate an existing incident, headline, change, or purchase request/order with the problem. A configuration option can also be set to close the associated incidents when a Closed status is selected for the problem. The Closed status assigned to the closed incidents can also be configured. If configured, notifications regarding Problem events can be sent to customers of associated records. To associate new work items:
Select
New | Associated Work Item | 
Incident or select Add New Incident in the Associated Work Items field
to create a new Incident record that will be associated with the problem.
The short description and long description specified for the problem
will be included in the Description field, and the categorization
and priority specified for the problem will be included in the corresponding
fields on the incident.
Select
New | Associated Work Item | 
Change or select Add New Change in the Associated Work Items
field to create a Change record that will be associated with
the problem. The short description and long description specified
for the problem will be included in the Description field, and the
categorization specified for the problem will be included in the Categorization
field on the Change record.
Select New | Associated Work Item
| 
Purchase or select Add New Purchase in the Associated
Work Items field to create a new purchase request that will be associated
with the problem. The text in the Description field will be included
in the Comments field on the purchase request.
Select Add New Headline in the Associated Work Items field to create a new headline that will be associated with the problem. On the headline, the text in the Short Description field will be included in the Message field and the text in the Description field will be included in the Details field. The current problem will be included in the Associated Work Items field as well.
If you have the Service Desk Edition, click the Add link in the Configuration Items field to associate a predefined configuration item with the Problem record. You can click on the associated configuration item to display the Configuration Item screen for viewing the item’s relationships with other items, and include information on associated configuration items in views, reports, and correspondence. If the configuration item has other open incidents, problems, or changes associated with it, “Yes” will appear along with the number of open work items. Click the link to display a list of those items.
To attach a file to the problem, click the Add button in the Attachments field and select the file. You can select the Show Correspondence Attachments checkbox to display attachments from all sent or received correspondence (including attachments from an inbound email update) associated with the problem. If a chat was initiated while the problem was open, use the Show Chat Attachments checkbox to display any files attached during the chat. A Copy button will be included next to correspondence and chat attachments; you can use it to directly associate the attachment to the problem.
If configured, a New Meeting 
icon will appear for scheduling a scheduling
a Microsoft® Office Outlook® calendar and/or Google Calendar meeting.
You can view the schedules of meeting attendees, create a meeting, and
configure a notification to be sent to meeting attendees. Use the View
| Meeting icon to view meetings scheduled for the incident.
If configured, icons may appear for scheduling meetings: Microsoft Teams
, Zoom 
,
Google Meet 
. When the icon
is selected, a Generate Join URL dialog will appear with options for entering
the topic, sharing the Join URL, and emailing a link to the meeting. The
Share Join URL option will display a dialog with the URL and an option
to start the meeting; the Email Link option will display the Correspondence
dialog. You can also use the Planner Task 
icon to
access Microsoft Planner and create tasks with prefilled references to
the iSupport work item number.
Use options on the View menu to display information on:
Open, closed,
or all incidents for the category
selected for the problem.
Open, closed, or all problems
for the category selected for the problem.
All correspondence sent for the
Problem record or for the configuration item selected for the problem.
Knowledge
entries that have same categorization as the problem.
The call script associated with
the category selected for the problem.
Rules can be configured to automatically perform actions when conditions are met upon save of a record or after a certain time interval. Actions can include changing problem field values, routing via load balancing or the round robin method, sending notifications, and posting data to a web application. Rules are included in rule groups that are applied to problems through category combinations; a default rule group will apply if none are applicable. When a problem is saved, the matching rule group is first determined and then all rules in that matching rule group are evaluated. If a rule’s conditions are met, its actions are performed.
Click the name of the rule group in the Rule
Group field to display the Time-Based
Rule dialog with actions that will be and have been
taken by any time-based rules in the current rule group. Note that entries
will include the term "fulfilled" if a rule is invalidated
or reset due to a change in rule configuration. Time frames reflect the
assignee’s support center time zone; the actual action dates and times
will depend on execution of the Time-Based Rule agent. Click the Countdown
icon to display a dialog
containing a countdown clock with the time remaining until the next action.
If a pending time-based rule has not been exceeded, a blue countdown clock
will appear; if the time-based rule has been exceeded, a red countdown
clock will appear and the numbers will increment to display the amount
of time that has passed since the time at which the rule was last exceeded.
Use the Show Seconds on Countdown field in the Preferences screen to control
display of the Seconds portion of the countdown clock.
To display all actions that have been performed
by rules, use the Rule 
option in the History field.
If configured, the Awareness
feature displays a Connected Reps 
icon and alert if two or more support representatives have the same record
open. You can click the icon to display the support representative(s)
viewing the work item and initiate a chat by clicking on their name.
Select a Closed status in the Status field to close a problem. In order for a problem to be closed, entries must be made in the Categorization, Short Description, and Resolution fields. If configured, a prompt will appear for creating a knowledge entry. The knowledge entry will have a status of Pending Approval and will include the following from the Problem record: categorization, resolution, and short description as the issue description.
If configured, the Save dialog will include a field for closing incidents associated with the problem.
