Overview
TeamDynamix (TDx) is a service and project management tool used by Information Technology and other groups at Chico State. At the time of this writing, TDx is being used for IT incident and service request management.
TeamDynamix is a hosted solution, available from any browser.
Note: While this guide provides a general overview of TeamDynamix use, each department or group may use features slightly differently. Please consult with your department on their best practices when processing TeamDynamix requests.
Client Portal vs. TDNext
With respect to service management, TeamDynamix consists of two major components: the TD client portal, which contains the service catalog and knowledgebase, and TDNext, the TeamDynamix technician application that allows TDx users to manage service requests, assets, changes, and projects.
TD Client Portal
The TDx client portal is viewable to anyone on- or off-campus. The client portal consists of the Service Catalog and the Knowledge Base. The TeamDynamix client portal can be found at https://support.csuchico.edu.
The Service Catalog is the part of the client portal that contains all of the services available in TeamDynamix. These services may be publicly visible or only visible to a small group of end-users. The services you see depend on whether or not you are logged into the client portal and your permissions in TeamDynamix. You can only request services if you are logged into the client portal with your Chico credentials. All faculty, staff, and students can log into the TDx client portal.
The Knowledge Base contains documentation and information about services. This includes step-by-step instruction articles and how-tos on many campus and technical issues.
TDNext
TDNext is a technician application designed for managing and resolving tickets. Only users with a technician license can access the system. The TDNext login can be found at https://support.csuchico.edu/TDNext/.
The bulk of this tutorial is about the TDNext application.
Basic Navigation
The majority of your work in TD will begin from the red Apps button near the top left of your browser window. As you click on an app, it automatically opens a tab along the top of the page for faster access. You can close tabs by clicking on the X for that tab.
Clicking on the Apps button will show the list of TeamDynamix Apps you can access. Depending upon your role in TD, you may see more or fewer apps than are shown below.
Though perhaps unintuitive, there is a distinction between the Desktop application and the desktop that can be found embedded within TeamDynamix applications. The various desktops can be customized individually.
You have access to the “Desktop” application. This is an application in which you can look at work and data from other applications within TeamDynamix. Here you might find information on projects, tickets, your daily calendar, and a news feed. However, if you have selected the “IT Services” application, you will see a link to the IT Services desktop. This is a “mini” desktop in which you will only see “IT Services” related items.
To edit your desktops, click on the "Edit Desktop" or "Edit IT Services Desktop" button and simply drag and drop the items you wish to display. This works the same whether you are in the “Desktop” application, or using the desktop of another application. Customizing your desktop is particularly useful if you have saved searches or created custom reports for yourself.
IT Services Ticketing Application
The IT services ticketing application is where you will likely spend the majority of your time in TeamDynamix. This is where you can create, work, and close tickets, view your work assignments, etc. When you select "IT Services" from the apps menu, it will open in a separate tab to the application desktop.
TeamDynamix opens applications to the application desktop. To view tickets in the IT Services application, click on the "Tickets" heading in the navigation panel. By default, TD displays the 300 most recently modified open tickets.
Tickets Assigned to Me
TeamDynamix makes it simple to view tickets that are assigned to you individually. Simply click on "Tickets Assigned to Me" to view all open tickets assigned to you.
NOTE: This only displays tickets that have been assigned to you as an individual. Tickets assigned to groups that you are a member of will not show up in this view. Since we primarily assign tickets to groups, this view may not be very useful to you. Please see the section on Saving a Search for information on how to create a search that will display all tickets assigned to your groups.
Searching/Filtering Tickets
The quickest way to find a specific ticket in TeamDynamix is to use TDx's search capabilities. To access the search tool, click on the "Filter" button on the right side of the ticket screen.
This will open the search bar, where you can select from a wide range of search criteria. To apply the selected search criteria, click the "Apply" button.
Common Searches
Though there is a wide selection of search criteria to choose from, there are several that you may use frequently.
- ID: Searches for a specific ticket ID.
- Text Search: Searches by ticket title, description, all comments, and any other text fields for the search string.
- Requestor: Searches by the person who requested the service, or who the service was requested for.
- Current Status: Searches by specific ticket statuses. Useful when you want to see only closed tickets, for example.
- Group Responsibility: Searches by the group assigned to the ticket. This is very useful since TeamDynamix does not display tickets assigned to your groups by default.
Saving a Search
Once you have created a search, you can save it to view anytime you need it. Simply click the "Save Search" button at the top of the ticket list, give your search a name, and click "Save".
To run your saved search, simply click on the "My Searches" button and select the desired search.
Adding a Saved Search to Your Desktop
Searches, like the Group Responsibility search, can be so useful that you want them to be available all the time. You can add any saved search or custom report to your tickets desktop, so it is always available.
To add the search to your desktop, click on the "Edit Tickets Desktop" button, locate your saved search in the list of available content, drag it onto the desktop, and click the "Save" button. You will need to click on "Refresh" on your desktop to display the saved search.
Working Tickets
Ticket Layout
Clicking on a ticket's title on the ticket screen will open a ticket in a new window.
Tickets consist of several elements. The buttons across the top allow you to manage the ticket. Below the buttons are the ticket Details, which give the ticket title, the service type, date created and ticket responsibility (assignment). Below the Details is the ticket Description, and under that is the ticket Feed, which details everything that has happened on the ticket since it was created. To the right of the Details is the name of the Requestor. To see the requestor's phone number, click on their name.
Actions
The Actions menu contains three items that you may use frequently when managing tickets in TeamDynamix.
- Update: This allows you to change the status of the ticket and make comments or request information from the customer. See the section on Updating a Ticket below.
- Take Incident: Assigns the incident to you individually. The ticket will now appear under "Assigned to Me" and not your group assignments.
- Reassign Incident: This allows you to reassign a ticket to another individual or group. Use this only if you are sure you are assigning the ticket to the correct group. If you don't know who to assign it to, ask.
- Set Parent: This will be used if there is an ongoing major incident.
- Merge Into: This action can be used if duplicate tickets are created by the same person.
- Assign Workflow: Certain kinds of tickets need to have a workflow assigned, such as Software or Hardware purchases or Account Management.
Add Task
The add menu allows you to add attachments to a ticket, or add tasks to a ticket.
Some tickets may have tasks that need to be performed before the ticket can be resolved or closed. Ticket tasks can be assigned to one user, while the overall Ticket may be assigned to another user. This allows one person to maintain overall responsibility for a ticket, while other people can have responsibility for specific tasks that are part of the ticket.
Ticket tasks that are assigned to you will show up in your "Assigned to Me" list just like a ticket does.
Select "Add Task" to add a task to a ticket.
- Enter a title for the task. Make it sufficiently descriptive that the assignee knows what to do.
- If the task must follow another task in order, select a Predecessor. The first task created for a ticket cannot have a predecessor.
- Tasks that are dependent upon earlier tasks do not show up as assignments for individuals or groups until the previous tasks are completed.
- Assign the task to a specific individual or group. When the task is activated, it will appear either in the individual's "Assigned to Me" list or in the group assignment saved search.
- Add a description, if needed.
- Save the task.
Tasks show up under the "Tasks/Activities" tab for the ticket. To mark the task as complete, click on the "Mark Complete" button.
Edit
While "Update" is likely to be used most often to manage tickets, "Edit" allows you to change virtually everything about a ticket, and is likely to be used less often.
NOTE: Editing a ticket also allows you to change the service the ticket is based on. Unless you know exactly what you are doing, you should leave the service alone. Changing it may reassign the ticket, change the fields associated with the ticket, etc.
Updating a ticket
The most common action you will probably take with tickets is updating them. Updating a ticket allows you to do three main things:
- Change the status of the ticket
- Write comments or request more information
- Send notifications to the requestor, assignees, and other interested parties
To update a ticket, you can either click on "Actions" and then "Update" or scroll down to the feed and click on "Update". The update screen is broken into three main areas, New Status, Comments, and Notification.
Ticket Status
When a ticket is created, it is automatically given the status of "New". As a ticket is worked on, the status should be updated to reflect where it is in the process. Use the following list as a guide for assigning the proper status to tickets.
- New: A ticket has been created, but not looked at or acknowledged.
- Open: A ticket has been received and acknowledged, but it is not yet being worked on.
- In Process: A ticket has been received and acknowledged and is currently being worked on. A ticket may go straight from "New" to "In Process" if you start work on it as soon as you receive it.
- Pending (In Process): Work on the ticket has stopped and cannot proceed until something outside the assignee's control has happened. For example, a part may need to arrive before work can be completed. If the assignee is waiting for a user response or input, use "On hold".
- Closed: The issue or request is completed.
- Canceled: The service requested was no longer needed, and the work did not need to be completed.
- On hold: Work on the ticket has stopped and cannot proceed until the requestor responds or provides information. This status will require you to enter a date the ticket will automatically go off hold. The standard is 2 business days.
Comments
Comments are required when updating a ticket. Combined with notifications, you can use comments to communicate with the requestor and to request or provide information on the ticket.
NOTE: Although there is an option to make comments in TeamDynamix private, this setting can be overridden by other TDx users at any time, making private comments public. As a result, you should make sure that everything you put into TDx is entirely professional in nature. You should expect that the requestor and other users will see everything you put into TDx.
Notifications
By default, when you make updates to a ticket, only the Requestor is notified. However, there are some instances where the Responsible Group may need to be notified.
Clicking on the "Notification" field will show a list of people associated with the ticket (the requestor, the assignee, and others who have worked on the ticket). Click on the names of the people you wish to notify to add them.
You can also notify interested parties who are not associated with the ticket by typing their name into the "Notify Other People" field.
In cases where you might want to keep an off-campus vendor up-to-date on the status of a ticket, you can also add off-campus users by entering their email addresses in the "Other Email Addresses" field. This can also be used when notifying a user's personal email address.
Creating Tickets
In TeamDynamix, incidents (something is not working correctly) and service requests (request for new services or functionality) are both technically referred to as "incidents". At Chico State, we typically refer to incidents and service requests as "tickets".
To create a new ticket, go to the IT Services tab in TD, and click on "New Incident".
This will open the new incident window where you will enter the information on the ticket.
Service & Ticket Type (required)
All tickets in TeamDynamix are based on a service. The service you select determines the data fields that will be required for the ticket, who the ticket gets assigned to, and a number of other important factors. Selecting the wrong service for a ticket means that important information may not be collected and the ticket may be assigned to the wrong group, delaying the resolution of the ticket.
As a result, selecting the right service is vital in making sure that issues are resolved promptly.
To select the service for the ticket, you can just start typing words or phrases that are descriptive of the issue or request into the Service field. As you type, appropriate services will begin to appear in a drop-down selector.
Requestor & Acct/Dept (required)
The requestor is the person for whom the service is being done.
You can begin typing their name (first name, last name, or both) into the Requestor field, and TDx will automatically begin displaying the top 5 search results. The easiest way to add the requestor is by using their Chico State email address or ID number.
If the requestor's name still does not appear, contact your supervisor for information on how to proceed. It is possible to manually add users, but this may cause issues with the requestor being able to view the status of their request or communicate with the TDx technicians.
The requestor's department will automatically be filled in when you select the requestor. For students, their department shows up as "Students (Prospective, Current, Graduated)". For faculty and staff, their primary department will appear. If it does not, you can always ask the user, or choose "Other/Misc".
Title (required)
Make the ticket title as descriptive as possible because this is the first thing both the requestor and other technicians will see.
Description
Provide as much information as possible in the description field.
Impact & Urgency & Priority
Different groups are using Impact, Urgency, and Priority in different ways. Contact your supervisor for information on the appropriate way to use these fields.
Responsible
This is who will be assigned to the ticket upon creation. If you have correctly selected a service (see above), this field should automatically be filled in with the correct group (tickets are typically initially assigned to groups rather than individuals). You can change the responsible group but only do so if you are absolutely sure you are assigning the ticket to the right group or individual.
Other Fields
Depending on the service selected, other fields may appear on the ticket, and some of these may be required. These fields are part of the specific service the ticket is based on. As a result, these fields may be different for tickets based on different services.
Saving the Ticket
When you have entered all the required information, click on "Save" to save the ticket. Notifications will automatically be sent out to the requestor as well as to members of the group assigned to the ticket.
After you save the ticket, you will be given the option to view the ticket or to create another ticket.