Setting up service management in Atomicwork is crucial to ensuring that requests, incidents, changes, and other tasks are handled efficiently. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to configure the service catalog, define request attributes, set up routing rules, manage SLAs, and more, so that your teams can operate smoothly and effectively.
Set up the service catalog and service items
The service catalog is the backbone of your service management setup. It lists all the services your teams offer, making it easy for employees to request the support they need. Every workspace within your account can have its own service catalog, allowing each team to offer services that are directly relevant to their function.
Begin by defining the services provided by each team within their respective workspaces. For example, in the IT workspace, you might create service items such as New Laptop Request, Access to Shared Drive, or Software Installation, while the HR workspace may include items like Leave Request or Employee Benefits Inquiry.
Ensure each service item includes a clear description and relevant fields to collect the necessary information from the requester.
Regularly review and update your service catalog to ensure it reflects the current services available. Outdated or irrelevant service items can lead to confusion and inefficiency.
Customize request attributes
Request attributes like priority, status, and category help in organizing and managing requests effectively. Properly defining these attributes ensures that requests are handled in the right order and by the right teams.
Status and priority are default categories that define the progress and urgency with which a request is to be handled. You can define statuses within each stage - To do, In progress, Complete - to track the progress of requests. Default statuses include Open, Pending, Waiting for approval, Waiting on vendor, Closed, Cancelled, and Resolved.
Keep status categories consistent across workspaces to avoid confusion. This consistency helps teams quickly understand the current state of any request.
Priority helps to categorize requests based on their urgency. For instance, a High priority might be assigned to a server outage affecting multiple users while a non-essential software update could be of Low priority.
Defining categories and sub-categories for incidents and problems in IT workspaces helps streamline resolution. For example, under Applications, use sub-categories like Integration failures, Performance issues, and Crashes. For Network, you might include Outages, Server failures, and Firewall issues.
Add custom request attributes to tailor the request handling process to your team’s specific needs.
Define routing rules
Routing rules determine how requests are automatically assigned to the correct teams or agents. You can choose to route all requests to a primary workspace, allow requesters to select the relevant workspace, or enable the Assistant to intelligently route requests based on context and intent. This ensures that requests are directed to the appropriate team efficiently.
Test your routing rules with a few sample requests to ensure they work as intended. Incorrectly configured rules can lead to delays and mismanagement of requests.
Configure Agent groups
Agent groups allow administrators to manage access and collaboration on requests within a workspace. There are three types of groups: Open, Restricted, and Private. Requests assigned to an Open group are accessible to all agents in a workspace, allowing them to view, assign, reply, and update attributes. For Restricted groups, requests are fully editable only by group members but viewable by other workspace agents, who can add private comments. Private groups restrict access entirely, allowing only group members to view, update, and handle sensitive requests.
Set up SLAs
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) define the expected response and resolution times for different types of requests, ensuring that your teams meet their service commitments.
You can create SLAs based on your request attributes, type of request, source among other filter conditions. For example, a high priority incident might have a 1-hour response time and a 4-hour resolution time, while a low priority service request might have a 24-hour response time and a 3-day resolution time.
SLA tracking takes into account the status of the request. Requests moved to a paused status like Pending are only marked as breached if the SLA was already breached before the pause.
The SLA due time adjusts by excluding time spent in the paused status, ensuring accurate tracking and fewer false-positive misses.
Regularly monitor SLA compliance with Atomicwork’s Requests Overview report to track SLA performance, ensure your teams are meeting their service commitments, and identify areas for improvement. Failing to monitor SLA compliance can lead to service degradation and missed deadlines, which can impact overall business performance.
Set up surveys
Surveys help you gather feedback from your employees about the services provided by your teams.
Setting up surveys in Atomicwork allows you to measure satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. Customize your surveys to capture the specific feedback you need after a request is resolved, ensuring continuous improvement.
Use survey results to identify trends and areas for improvement, and regularly review and update your survey questions to ensure they remain relevant.
By following these steps, you’ll be able to set up a robust service management system in Atomicwork that supports efficient request handling. This setup ensures that your teams can operate smoothly, meet their SLAs, and continuously improve their service delivery.