An analysis of the internal company stands before the introduction of such desks or ticket system Requirements. Although many functions of a ticket system can be standardized, are usually existing processes in your own organization to take into account, GGF. should be connected to third-party systems, possibly several internal support departments should a new, use unified system, short: the requirements should be collected, before you consider a software product in the shortlisted.

Ticket features

• Process file: All emails and information and communications to a ticket must be automatically structured and clearly visible under the respective ticket number.
• Files and documents, as z.B. PDF documents, you want to assign to a ticket.
• The system allows to carry out at any time, who has made what changes/additions to a ticket when (History/versioning). Earlier of a ticket can viewed and if necessary. be restored.
• Printing out a ticket including ticket communications
• Resolves an issue from a ticket, so should the solution be marked and highlighted can.
• Link related tickets via comfortable search function
• Ticket master tickets/summary – Multiple tickets can be assigned to a parent master ticket
• Zusammenführen (Merge) several related tickets to a ticket
• Typical functions like assigning tickets to agents or accept a ticket be carried out quickly with few clicks
• Once closed tickets can be opened again
• External customers a customer portal will be made available, the form-based capturing new tickets and can currently in edit existing tickets to see with the status.
• Right write function
• Expense management/time tracking: The time required for processing a ticket should be recorded and evaluated can
• Error messages from other IT systems (Software or hardware) should tickets be cast automatically - based on the supplied information will it be possible, Auto-mapping to make (z.B. Priority, Editor)

Operation and interface

• Tickets should be about Web forms created and edited.
• Users will automatically be recognized by the system (Single-sign-on)
• The operation will be simple and intuitive, so that no comprehensive user training required
• Ticket creator a customizable Web form for the collection of tickets to be made available
• Ticket agents can buy tickets form based comprehensively capture (z.B. in a phone call to the support
• Personalized home pages available are for ticket creator and ticket agent
  • Ticket creator see "their" tickets along with their current status
  • Ticket agents see tickets assigned to you (their "queue") and a list of new, Unassigned tickets
• All popular Web browsers to be supported, so no installations are required
• Incoming calls on central support number should be collected as in the ticket system ticket.
• Multilingualism: What language versions to the ticket system support (z.B. German/French/Italian for support service providers in the Switzerland)
• Mobile devices (Smartphone/Tablet) are supported

E-Mail integration

• Automatic creation of a ticket when email arrives at a central support email address
• Customer receives automatic notification, that request is received and will be processed, incl. a ticket number
• Automatic Email-Notifications upon receipt of tickets, Acceptance by a processor, Solutions and closing of tickets.
• Collect the E-Mail communication to a ticket in a total ticket operation
• Questions of the customer/ticket creator by E-Mail are possible and are automatically mapped to the respective ticket
• Automatic detection/mapping of E-Mail senders to lookup information (Phone number, Service level...)
• The proper agent is informed automatically incoming replies by the customer
• Support multiple post input trays (Support1@firma.com, Support2@firma.com …)
• External customers should use the ticket system email.
• Reminders for upcoming expiration dates

Ticket fields/attributes

The ticket system is to provide a set of fields for the acquisition and structuring, as well as the subsequent evaluation. This is important to ensure, that on the one hand are enough boxes available, to run later meaningful evaluations, on the other hand the number of fields is not too big, Since this increases the data entry effort and can represent also an additional entry hurdle.:

Workflow/notifications

• Automatic notifications from support staff at ticket entrance, Assignment, Questions etc. The relevant texts should be configurable.
• The reporter or editor will be informed by E-Mail about changes in the ticket.
• New questions/tickets can be assigned to a staff comfortable
• Closes a ticket, so must be possible, This later if necessary to reopen.
• Editors should see any tickets, can edit and apply
• It should allow an escalation function, Ggf tickets. automatically be forwarded to an escalation level, If certain conditions are met (z.B. "Settlement to" expired date, no response within the agreed response time...)
• Follow-up function
• Cooperation in the support team
  • Automatic notification of all support- Staff for new tickets
  • Concise display, what tickets are assigned to which agents
  • At any time traceability, What was edited by whom when a ticket

Search/research and analysis/reporting

The system is intended to provide easy-to-configure evaluations and reports, z.B.

• Tickets can be purchased by any parameters such as z.B. Customer, Editor, Searchable category or keywords
• Full-text search
• Search for tickets to certain customers
• Search for covered fields/categories
• Searchability of filed documents
• Tickets, you are assigned to the current editor
• Tickets by category
• Tickets to status
• Average response times
• Relationship of open to being edited tickets
• Edited tickets per customer
• Graphical evaluations (Bar/pie charts) -configurable
• Controlling evaluations (z.B. for further calculation performance)
• Knowledge Base/WIKI: the system can used base knowledge, Alternatively a new Knowledgebase article can be constructed from tickets simply
• The ticket system must have KPIs. Z.B. How many tickets can be solved per day/week/month, closed tickets vs. Open tickets, identify peaks, …
• Should be possible to sort by multiple criteria, GGF. also multiple levels. For example, you to can see at a glance, which customer has open what tickets, which are strongly, When they were created and when they are to solve.
• Export of ticket statistics for external evaluations

Permissions and roles of people

• Simple permission control
• User login accounts are managed centrally via the Active Directory. The system will use this login (Single-sign-on).
• Groups of users (possible "Reporter") are actively managed in Active Directory. The system recognizes this assignment and assigns permissions system (Creating tickets, Display an individual overview page "My tickets").
• An editor can see all tickets / edit.
• For reporting will observe any. set a group of evaluated.
• The system is designed also by external users (Customers) can be used by E-Mail

 

Interfaces

• Tickets to can be imported as simply as possible from other systems (Excel import)
• Tickets to can be exported easily to outsiders (full export of tickets with all ticket communications)
• Customer relationship management:
  Customer data should be recorded in the system and managed- These data to a third-party system such as an ERP system are alternative, SAP or Dynamics CRM manages and should automatically be in the ticket system available
• Telephony support:
  • Comfortable fast entry of incoming phone support incidents
  • Automatic ticket creation for left voice messages

Adaptability/configurability

• Own evaluations have can easily be created
• The entry page for ticket agents or ticket creator must be easily customizable
• Catalogs/categories/master data can be maintained simply in one place
• Company-internal fields/attributes can be added easily
• The labels for tickets and fields should be administratively customizable
• Defining your own workflows should be possible
• Forms for the collection of the ticket should be easily adaptable
• Made adjustments must be preserved during updates

Comments

Not all of these requirements are essential requirements, may your core requirements are not as comprehensive. When assembling the requirements you should gather very aware not all wishes from all internal surveys, but this prefilter and prioritize suitable. Just to keep the chance, with a standard product to cover all important requirements. If you try, all possible wishes and requirements into account, can afford probably none of the standard products this. All ticket system products probably do not cover the requirements 100 Percent off. Have defined your requirements, can decide very quickly during a product demonstration, whether the necessary cover is given.

In this context, also the adaptability of the system WINS great importance. What effort is expected, If certain, not yet of the investigated product features provided to be configured or programmed must.

Advertising block

A small block of advertising is permitted. Of course, we are pleased, If we can assist you in selecting a ticket system. We offer LTRS/SharePoint an own product as a ticket system/service desk at. On the basis of Microsoft SharePoint is LTRS a standardized solution for the processing of requests and tickets and at the same time highly configurable. You will find more information here.

Use one in your organization Service desk, to handle service requests? Most users use Email or the phone, to report incidents or request support. If such requests exceed a certain volume of, will it quickly cluttered, especially when at the same time, several employees of the IT Department with the processing of service requests can be employed. If in addition a multi-stage processing of requests is required, is a supporting IT system essential.

Microsoft SharePoint has virtually built the service desk
With Microsoft SharePoint you are able, easily and quickly a Service desk-System to implement, without additional license costs, If you are already working with a Windows Server environment. With this environment you will have the SharePount Foundation, you are perfectly adequate for the implementation of a ticket system, already with licensed.

Implement service desk in Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint provides all base modules available, needed for a simple service desk, in particular, the Central Issue-tracking list and the list “Tasks”, that can directly be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook. With the issue-tracking list, you have all the basic components for a service desk already for example in your intranet Web environment:

Because the issue-tracking list to a typical SharePoint list, can they be easily adapted and extended. And with the permission scheme of Microsoft SharePoint, the set, which users can report problems and which users edit problems. So simply set the user groups, the service requests can create or edit. Just interactively set the possible to forgiving priorities or categories of problem or point to similar problems.

The entire career of a service request with perhaps several processing steps and comments by reviewer- and users are automatically logged, and email notifications when machining operations can be set up easily. Across the field “Due date” place a “Deadline” fixed and can effectively control so the processing of tickets. And if you need more fields, Would manage the categorizations or additional information, Add the SharePoint issue-tracking list simply corresponding fields.

Various evaluations, for example, the display of service requests, were assigned to the currently logged-in person, can be interactively configured over the typical views of SharePoint.

The settlement process is available at the service desk in the foreground
The challenge in establishing a working desks is rather not in the technical implementation, that hardly easier and faster be made can be used as shown here. Often, the process of processing of requests/problems with the involved must be clarified first, and depending on further can Requirements added like for example individual notification workflows, certain reports/statistics or further specifications such as the categorization and prioritization of problem types.

This comes in the wake of the launch if necessary. the customization of user behavior. If users are accustomed, “times quickly” call support or quick email support@meinunternehmen.de or to send a representative may personally, You need a training- and with good transition process. With Microsoft SharePoint, you can also the existing approach, about email sending to a service desk, support, by automatically enter emails with SharePoint in an issue-tracking list. Or you can automatically send a user a confirmation mail with a given process ID., to facilitate subsequent identification of a service ticket and to avoid possible duplicates. But then, more adjustment to the SharePoint system is required. At the latest when such requests, it is useful, first in a workshop the requirements to define precisely and to estimate the effort through a SharePoint Experts. With very high probability, however, the cost of adapting significantly under the effort is, is required in other systems, in particular if a SharePoint environment is already available.

Individual implementation and effort for your organization
According to our experience, the expenses for the implementation of a functioning desks based on Microsoft SharePoint is a few days, If the organisational requirements are already clear. Otherwise one must appropriate costs for the development and implementation of organizational “Problem editing process” be planned. Also increases the effort required by specific workflows customized for your organization, or customized forms. However, happens mostly within a very compact IT project implementation, with your own SharePoint professionals or within the framework of an appropriate service quota. The aspect remains charming, that with the SharePoint Foundation no additional license costs and is a trusted users and most compatible with Microsoft Office environment. This increases the direct acceptance, Insert a new system, and expenses for training and training is practically hardly.

Note in their own right: Our product LTRS for SharePoint extend SharePoint to a professional service desk. You will find more information here.

After a very busy summer in the location, we are finally, unser seit April verfügbares Produkt LTRS für SharePoint vorzustellen. Mit LTRS steht Ihnen ein umfassendes Service Desk / Ticketsystem auf der Basis von Microsoft SharePoint 2010 (or also SharePoint Foundation) available.

LTRS extends the capabilities of SharePoint to a processing system for employees of the IT department or an IT service provider, to requests, Problems or IT tasks with complete Email-Support for users and editors to organize and work out. Tickets will be assigned to this individual problem cases or requests, a simple, largely automated and structured editing, and solving problems to enable.

In addition, supports the establishment of a knowledge database or KnowledgeBase LTRS and is varied on its own Requirements customizable and extensible. This article provides an overview of the main functions of LTRS.

LTRS ticket system as SharePoint Portal solution

Email support

LTRS offers extensive email support. User requests to a configurable email address and automatically notifies you, When changing the status of their request, or a support professional provides a complementary information or queries about the service request.

E-Mail Templates

The amount of email notifications can be configured through Central settings or changed. Also the employee of a ticket can decide each case, whether a piece of information to a ticket to the user is or not sent.

A central E-Mail address is stored for the ticket system, can be sent to the requests by E-Mail. To open a ticket, senden Sie einfach eine E-Mail an die zentrale Support-E-Mail-Adresse, and make the necessary information in the subject line and the email itself. GGF. You can add meaningful documents or screenshots as attachment to this E-Mail.

The ticket agent will receive a complete overview of the entire process when opening the ticket and can reproduce at any time, When the information with what content has been sent.

In any case, all communications to the ticket is stored centrally in the SharePoint Portal and is also in the frame (permission-driven) Full-text search. A KnowledgeBase is created in combination with a wiki system and a central repository of tutorials and FAQs, the – graded by permissions – for IT support and also for the user be provided can.

More, to any other fields, responsive email notifications can be configured freely with our notification WebPart. This configuration is possible for fields of information you yourself added.

State management, and pre-configured workflows

LTRS offers a variety of function-controlling status, -configurable - trigger actions and effectively complement the communication process to the ticket processing or. automate. The naming of the status fields is adjustable, and also more status for specific requirements/analysis can be complemented as. The actions can be configured individually using a central configuration page.

Tickets received after applying first a raw status "Pending", He changes the processing of tickets in a processing status and after you complete a ticket in a completed status. It also supports different intermediate States. In the fields on this tab, you enter, what text should be used for the different status in forms and in email communications.

Forms

Form to create a new ticket

Creating a ticket is both by E-Mail as well as possible forms-based. The link to invoke the creation form can be referred to differently depending on the configuration of your system. Also, you can freely choose the labels used in the form, and configure.

Open a form for creating a new ticket directly from the Central Administration of the ticket or from configured location within your SharePoint environment.

You can add files or screenshots as attachment. You can format any descriptive text with the built-in Editor.

 

Evaluations and surveys

Easy-to-define evaluations

LTRS allows the creation of any evaluations and surveys, similar to the possibilities, You, for example, in Microsoft Have Excel. You can set up user-specific or General reports and filter these according to your wishes, sort or group. The evaluation after you set, additional fields is possible without any problems.

 

Ticket management

You make the settings for the ticketing system on the Web page management of SharePoint. The ticket system has its own management page, all other settings are made with standard SharePoint features.

The assignment of a unique ticket number via a configurable number range. This serves as a reference ID in the remainder of the ticket processing partly automated email communication.

Permissions and user management

First, you must decide, which groups of users of ticket forms may edit or display evaluations. With this information you then set the permissions and user groups in Microsoft SharePoint. LTRS is fully integrated with Microsoft SharePoint permissions management. This includes also the search function, so that only authorized users search results from the LTRS.

Technology and architecture

LTRS is completely a solution integrated with Microsoft SharePoint and uses or. expanded list, Forms and email functionality of SharePoint. All features provided by SharePoint such as browser access will be, Security- and permission mechanisms, Search functions, Support for workflows and views and evaluations.

System requirements

Requires LTRS SharePoint Server 2010 or the free SharePoint Foundation with the turn required Windows Server environment. Basically, LTRS in a virtualized environment can be easily operated. In addition, the E-Mail function must be established by Microsoft SharePoint, so that SharePoint can send emails and receive.

LTRS is installed as a SharePoint solution initial through us and configured together with you. Further adjustments in the connection can by the customers themselves, be carried out by us or by one of our partners.

Licensing and cost

LTRS is based on licensed by the number of the ticket agent and in a Home Edition (bis 3 Bearbeiter), Business Edition (until 10 Editor) and Enterprise Edition(Number editor unlimited) offered. To support a freely configurable email notification to customer-specific fields is observe any. the Licensing our notification WebParts required.

Depending on the desired customizing request Workshop costs, Customizing, Installation and ggf. Training on.

The next step

Please arrange a webcast or a prior on-site appointment with us, to learn about LTRS. For evaluation purposes, also a test installation is possible on your SharePoint platform. Depending on the usage scenario in your organization we provide you gladly an individual offer.

Write us to sales@locatech.com, or better yet, call us: +49 231 9159650

Its LTRS team