Working with Calls using ITIL

Service Desk calls can be logged on systems that have ITIL enabled and those that do not have ITIL enabled.  A call is logged by first completing the fields on the Call Details window, then actioning the call, and finally closing the call on resolution.

The way you log a call depends on whether or not you are using ITIL. The menus and buttons displayed in a non-ITIL versus ITIL implementation are different. These differences are highlighted below.

Main steps in logging a call

1. Display the Call Details window in one of the following ways:
   • Click the Call button on the toolbar. This may look like or depending on your system configuration. If your administrator has configured multiple call screen sets, you will be presented with a menu of the call screens sets to which you have access, thus allowing you to use a particular call details window to log the call There may also be a dedicated Service Request button .
   • If IPK tiers are enabled, you will see a small arrow to the right of the Call button , and the Service Request button . Click on it to choose an IPK status (Incident, Major Incident, Problem, Known Error, or Service Request) and IPK stream (if your administrator has defined these and linked them to IPK statuses) to log your call. You can also just click the button. This will either load the default Call Details window corresponding to the default status and stream, or allow you to select an IPK stream and status through the Select Call Stream dialog box.
2. The Call Details window appears.

On an IPK Tiers-enabled system, the window title depends on the IPK Status. Therefore, if you selected Incident, you will see the window title Incident Details followed by the unique number that is automatically allocated to all types of call.

3. Complete the fields.
4. After completing the call details, take action on the call:
   • Forward the call internally to an analyst or group.
   • Forward the call externally to a third party support company
   • Defer or save the call to work on it later.
   • Close the call if you can solve the user’s issue without needing to refer it elsewhere.
5. You can carry out further tasks on the call using the explorer options.

The default Incident, Major Incident, Problem, and Service Request windows contain the same fields. In addition to the fields on the Incident and Problem windows, the Known Error window contains the Workaround field that can be used to record the solution to the problem at hand, and the Environment field that identifies where the issue was identified.

Actions on a call, including the date and time when the call was logged, are automatically recorded in the call history.

Rules for selecting a call screen set and/or Call Details screen

The Call Details screen you will use to log a call depends on how your administrator has configured IPK Management on your system, and if you are using different call screens configured through ASM Designer. The following rules apply, regardless of whether you are using ITIL IPK tiers:

• If you log a call using a call screen set that has been deleted, the parent call screen set will be used. This means that the Call Details window associated with the parent screen set is used.
• If a call screen set has had its Call Details window deleted through ASM Designer, any new call you log for this call screen set will use the parent call screen set’s Call Details window.
• If the system administrator changes the call screen set associated with either the IPK stream/status, IPK type/stream/status combination, or type, previous calls logged under that call screen set automatically use the new call screen set. Thus when you update such a call, it will use the Call Details window associated with the new call screen set.