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Definitions
The vast majority of tickets will come in as either Service Requests or Incidents. Classifying tickets correctly will assist with assigning workflows, managing tickets, and reporting.
Service Request
A request from a user for information, or advice, or for a standard change, or for access to an IT service.
Examples:
- User wants a copy of Adobe Photoshop.
- User needs help connecting their phone to the wireless network.
- User needs a password reset.
Incident
An unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service.
Examples:
- User's computer will not start.
- User is normally able to use a web service, but it is suddenly returning errors.
Major Service Request (MSR)
A Service Request which has significant impact, such as requiring several hours of work or changing a system that will impact many users.
Examples:
- A widely used web service will be retired and migrated to a new platform.
- A project which will add, modify, or remove services, requiring 2-80 hours of work.
Major Service Requests may be subject to additional review or approval with team managers.
Major Incident (MI)
An Incident which has significant impact, and which demands a response beyond the routine Incident management process.
Examples:
- A widely used web service is down, and many users are not able to log in.
- A technical glitch is affecting a crucial feature and many users have reported this.
- An unplanned technical incident that requires communication to the campus community.
Major Incidents should be promoted from reported Incidents, based on the number or severity of incoming reports. This can be particularly useful for the help desk to keep track of ongoing issues that might generate multiple tickets.
Major Incidents can contain child tickets, which is useful for tracking the severity of the issue and for communicating to affected users.
Major Incidents will be reviewed periodically by a technical working group to ensure regular monitoring, identify opportunities for improvement, and coordinate best practices.
Change
See Change Management in TeamDynamix.
Release
Typically used for a Change that is vendor-controlled.
Classifying Tickets in TeamDynamix
When You Create a Ticket
Up to this point, TDNext users (technicians) have logged into TeamDynamix, gone to the IT Services application, and selected "New Incident" (see below).
Now, in TDNext, you will go to the same location, but choose "New" and then either "Incident" or "Service Request", as appropriate for the ticket you are creating. Note that the default ticket classification has changed from "Incident" to "Service Request".
While You are Working a Ticket
You can change the classification of a ticket any time while you are working on it. If, for example, a ticket comes in as a service request, but you determine that it is really an incident, you can - and should - reclassify the ticket.
To re-classify a ticket, open the ticket in TDNext, click on the "Actions" button, and select "Edit Classification".
Select the desired ticket classification and click "Save".
When you Close a Ticket
The person who closes a ticket should always check to make sure that the ticket is properly classified.
How can you tell how a ticket is classified before you close it?
- In the tickets view in the IT Services application, the list of tickets shows the classification
- In the ticket window title bar, the ticket classification is displayed
- In the ticket window itself, below the ticket title, the ticket classification and ID are displayed
