Request FAQs

Request FAQs

General   

1. How are 'Time Spent' and 'Time Elapsed' defined?

Time Elapsed
Time Elapsed refers to the total duration from when a request is created until it is resolved, excluding the duration when the request was on hold.
Note:
  1. Time elapsed is based on operational/ non-operational hours. These hours will be considered based on SLAs and site settings configured for Requests.
  2. By default, only the operational hours are considered.
Time Spent
Time Spent refers to the actual duration technicians actively worked to resolve the request.
It is calculated based on work log entries submitted by the technicians involved.

2. Where can I find requests from unknown users?

Requests processed from emails sent by unknown users with the following email addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields are categorized as unresolved requests:
  1. Support email addresses not associated with any customer
  2. Two customer support email addresses
  3. Group email addresses of different customers
  4. Group email addresses of one customer and support email addresses of different customers
By default, unresolved requests and their requesters will not be associated with any customer.
These requests can be accessed from Customer Unresolved Requests in the custom view filter.
Note: To receive emails from unknown users, SDAdmin should enable Accept emails from unknown users in the incoming mail settings.

3. How to limit unresolved requests?

The number of unresolved requests can be reduced if unknown users email only to support email addresses associated with a customer.

Request Creation    

1. How do I convert an email to a request?

To allow request creation from an email, SDAdmin must set up an email account using native email service.
The incoming emails will be processed and automatically converted into requests or appended as conversations in requests. However, you can disable automatic request creation under Incoming Settings.


If you use a custom mail box, you can set up email forwarding rules to send emails from the custom mailbox to the native email account.
SDAdmins can also configure email command to parse the incoming emails using delimiters and set the parsed values to the corresponding fields in ServiceDesk Plus MSP Cloud.

2. How to disable the Quick Create option for requests?

  1. Go to Setup > General Settings > Advanced Portal Settings.
  2. Disable the check box next to Enable 'Quick Incident' option for technicians.

3. How do I populate technicians in the requester list to create requests on their behalf? 

  1. Go to Setup > General Settings > Advanced Portal Settings.
  2. Select the check box next to Include technicians in the list of requesters while creating/updating a request.

Request Handling  

1. How do I merge requests?

Technicians can merge requests that are raised by users for the same service or incident.
 
You can merge incident and service requests with any type of request. However, you can only merge service requests with other service requests of the same template.
 
To merge requests,
  1. Go to Requests and select the required customer from the drop-down in the application header.
  2. Select the required requests from the list using check boxes.
  3. Click Merge on the toolbar.
 
During the merge process, you will designate one request as the parent request, and the other requests will become the child requests. After they are merged, only the parent request will be retained, and the child requests will be added to the parent request's Conversations.
 
Know more about how to merge requests.
 

2. If a child request is split from the parent request, will it retain all the notes, resolution, and work log added in the parent request?

No. All the notes, resolution, and work log added in the parent request will not be associated with the child request.

3. How do I change the overdue time of a request?

You can modify the request overdue time in the Service Level Agreements configuration.
  1. Go to Setup > Automation > Service Level Agreements.
  2. Select the required customer from the drop-down in the header.
  3. In the relevant SLA edit form, update the resolution time to set the desired timeframe before a request is marked as overdue.
 

4. Technicians may resolve issues while working simultaneously on other tasks, due to which the exact time taken to resolve them cannot be calculated. What option can be suggested for this scenario?

Technicians can make use of the work log to record the actual time spent on a request. It also allows them to calculate and record the billable hours based on the resolution time and exchange rate.

5. I want to customize the email body when submitting requests for client approval. Where can I find the template for this?

SDAdmins can find all email templates related to requests under Setup > Automation > Notification Rules > Request.  
  1. To edit the email content,
  2. Select the relevant customer from the drop-down in the header.
  3. Go to the Email Notification Templates section to access the approval email templates.
  4. Click Customize Template  next to Approval Email.
    1. In the pop-up, edit the message as required. Use dynamic variables to draft personalized messages.
    2. Click Create and Close.
 

Request Customization  

1. How to create filters to view a list of specific tickets, say high-priority tickets only, in ServiceDesk Plus Cloud?

You can use the custom view icon on the request list view.
  1. Go to Requests and select the required customer from the drop-down in the header.
  2. Click the custom view icon above the toolbar.
  3. Name the custom view.
  4. Using the drop-downs, set the appropriate request criteria to filter the required requests.
  5. Click Save.
 
For instance, if you want to filter high-priority requests, create a custom view with criteria as shown:

Request Configurations  

1. Is it possible for the system to assign priority for requests automatically?

Priority matrix allows you to set priority automatically based on the impact and urgency of a request.
As per ITSM best practices, define and follow priority matrix to align responses with organization's objectives. However, SDAdmins can allow technicians and requesters to override the matrix.
To define the priority matrix, go to Setup > Customization > Helpdesk > Priority Matrix.

2. How do I set the default currency in the work log, say £ instead of $?  

The base currency configured under Setup > Instance Configurations > Instance Settings is set as the default currency in Worklog and other currency-applicable entities.
In the Add Worklog form, use the Currency drop-down to change the currency. Note that only currencies added under Setup > Instance Configurations > Currency will be listed for selection. 

Request Closure

Only the requester can close a request after acknowledging that the recommended solution has resolved the issue.
Technicians who handled the request cannot close it. However, they can update the request status as Resolved and notify the requester.
The requester must confirm whether the issue is resolved. If there is no response within a specified time, the request will be closed automatically.
SDAdmins can configure automatic request closure criteria. To do that,
  1. Go to Setup > Automation > Closure Rules > Request Closure Rules.
  2. Under the Request Closing Process section, select Automated Close.
  3. Specify the number of days after which the resolved request must be closed, regardless of the requester's confirmation.
Note:
If Zia request closure is enabled,
  1. Zia will close the request immediately after the requester acknowledges the resolution via email.
  2. Zia closure configurations will override the request closure rules.
 

2. How do I disable the confirmation pop-up while closing a request?

SDAdmins can choose if technicians should be prompted to confirm the requesters' acknowledgement to the resolution. To do that,
  1. Go to Setup > Automation > Closure Rules > Request Closure Rules.
  2. Under the Confirm User Acknowledgment section, choose No, don't prompt a message to disable the confirmation message.
 

3. How can a requester reopen a resolved request if the resolution provided is unsatisfactory?

To notify requesters via email when their request is resolved, SDAdmins should enable the appropriate notification rule under Setup > Automation > Notification Rules > Request > Notifications to Requesters.
If the requester is not satisfied with the resolution, they can reopen the request by replying to the resolution email.
To reopen requests automatically after the requester replies, SDAdmins should configure as follows:
  1. Go to Setup > General Settings > Advanced Portal Settings.
  2. Under the Request Reopen Settings section, configure the option:
    1. When the requester replies to Resolved request, Reopen and set status as Open.
    2. You can also choose the relevant option to set a reply window, after which the requester should raise a new request for the same issue. 

To notify technicians when a requester reopens their request, SDAdmin must enable the appropriate notification rule under Setup > Automation > Notification Rules > Request > Notifications to Technicians.
If the resolution is satisfactory, requesters can close the request using the Close Request link attached in the resolution email.
To allow requesters to close their resolved request, SDAdmin must enable the appropriate settings under Setup > General Settings > Requester Portal > Request Settings.
 

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