Opening and processing an issue

The Help Desk module enables the technical assistance team to quickly process an issue, taking into account the user needs (entering a new issue) to then initiate the process to solve the problem (with tasks). The issue will be considered as effectively solved once it is marked as closed.

An issue has a status, a status type and a state.

The issue status can be set up: Open, Resolved, etc. This information is displayed in bold in the middle of the record sheet. It changes color as the issue is being processed.

The status type cannot be set up.

  • Created: an issue is created but no task has been initiated yet
  • In progress: at least one task is open but not completed
  • On hold: an issue is put on hold
  • Resolved: the issue is resolved (contract term)
  • Closed by customer: problem resolved for the customer but not internally (not carried forward for example), this closure means the customer has validated the resolution
  • Closed internally: the issue is closed internally

The state code is optional and can be set up. E.g. Answer to be sent, no follow-up, etc.

There are two ways to create an issue:

  • either directly by your customer from the Customer Portal,
  • or by a member of the help desk team who enters the issue.

Reference

In Akuiteo, an issue can be linked to an engagement contract. It enables you to know how long you spent on the issue, how much money you spent for this issue and therefore how much you earned. Refer to Setting up engagement contracts.

Example

A customer emails you or calls you to request an evolution or report a bug. You can quickly enter, in real time, all the relevant information in the pre-filled fields. To do so, you must define the context.

1 Go to Help Desk > New issue and according to the information supplied by your representative, specify the Customer, Contract and Product sections:
  • either by manually filling in the fields,
  • or by double-clicking in the help lists. If you enable the filters using the button, only the maintenance customers/sites and site contacts will be suggested.
2 If needed, quickly create new customers / contacts. If the customer or the contact does not yet exist in Akuiteo:
  1. Create a new prospect or customer contact by clicking on the icons on the right of the Customer / Location / Requester section.
  2. Enter the relevant information for the creation, such as text, images and hyperlinks.
3 If needed, link the issue to a supplier contract or an existing issue.
Linking the maintained products - and therefore the issue - to one or several supplier contracts

Select a maintained product in the Product section. If the selected product is linked to a contract, the Supplier contract section opens to enable you select one contract, that will be the issue's contract. If only one supplier contract is found, it is automatically linked to the issue.

At any time, it is possible to link or unlink a supplier contract using the section icons. The relevant supplier is also displayed on the left above the contract.

Linking the issue to an existing issue

In the Issues from the customer section, the list displays by default the non-closed issues for the selected customer from the last 8 days. You can filter by closed issues or other criteria.

If needed, link the issue to another issue as a:

  • Parent: the issue is a problem that generates another problem. You can link the new issue to several existing issues, as the "parent" one.
  • Child: the issue is a problem caused by another problem.
Creating an out-of-contract or out-of-scope issue

A customer calls your Help Desk team about an issue that is not linked to a contract (e.g. contract has already expired) or that is out of the scope of the contracts (e.g. wrong use of the product, which is not covered by the assistance).

However, you want to be able to track this issue and easily search for it. In the Contract / Service section:

  • If the issue is out of contract, empty the Contract field. The Piecemeal box is automatically checked if no customer has been selected OR if the selected customer is not linked to a contract.
  • If the issue is out of scope, empty the Service field and check the Out of scope box. The Out of scope box is automatically checked if the selected customer is not linked to a contract OR a service OR a product OR is linked to a product outside of the scope of the service.

You can then search for issues by checking the Piecemeal or Out of scope boxes as search criteria.

4 Click on to create the issue.
5 In the dialog box that opens, enter the work group in charge of the issue. The manager will therefore retrieve the issue and assign related tasks to employees. This step is required.
6 In the issue screen, fill in the desired fields, including:
  • External description: enables you to enter the issue as stated by the customer. You can add images by copying and pasting them in the area.
  • Customer response: enables you to enter details such as "the issue will be processed as soon as possible".

Tip

If table texts have been sat up, you can insert some by clicking on at the top right of the section

Important

The external information can be viewed by everyone. Any confidential information should be entered in the Internal description / Internal report.

  • Error code: enables you to enter a known error code linked to a product (e.g. Error 404).
  • Resolution pilot: enables you to specify the name of the employee who entered the issue. This information is not linked to the work group.
7 Save.

An input task is created. From now on, you will follow the issue's life cycle. Refer to the Understanding the life cycle of an issue section.

Click on Edit > Send issue by email/fax to send the issue by email.

If you want to change the user or the requester, switch to the modification mode and select the right contacts.

Note

To save time on the input, you can duplicate an issue from an existing issue by clicking on Edit > Duplicate.

Your issue has been created, which automatically generated an input task. To proceed with the initial issue, you must perform tasks (development, tests, etc.), i.e. actions that will be tracked in Akuiteo and therefore valued.

You have just finished Creating an issue.

1 From the issue record sheet, go to Edit > Add task.
2 In the task screen that opens, fill in the Task type field and enter the report with the actions performed.
3 Save.

Once the task is done, you must complete it.

1 From a task record sheet, go to Edit > Complete.
2 Click on Enter time if you want to indicate the number of hours or days spent on the task. This "quick" time input automatically updates your timesheet:
  • Task context: enables you to adapt the scheduled time spent on this task.
  • Time spent on the task (all): check All my time spent this week to show all the timesheet entries and get an overview of the current or previous week (provided the Week box is checked).
  • Time record details: enables you to enter the time spent on the task for the given day.
3 Click on Exit to confirm.
4 In the Complete task window, you can:
  • either complete the task directly by specifying:
    • its start and end dates,
    • the actions performed (task, resolution, closure),
    • its new status (e.g.: Processed) and its new state code (To deliver),
    • the version to correct and the corrective version;
  • or open a new task by checking Launch new task, selecting the task type and filling in the information needed. The task creation process re-starts (selection of a working group, and so on).

Reminder: Do not forget to fill in the Customer response with updates about actions performed for this task.

5 Validate.

Note

If the task end date is not specified, it is possible to enter timesheet entries in the future by enabling the DMF 060346 PROJECTS TIMESHEETS ENTER TIME IN THE FUTURE.

Completing timesheets weekly or monthly

You can easily complete your timesheets for a week or a month:

1 Enable the TPS_TERMINAISON management rule. Enter one of the following values in the first field:
Value Description
Empty field Timesheets are completed monthly.
SEMAINE Timesheets are completed weekly rather than monthly.
SEMAINE_MOIS

Timesheets are completed weekly. However, for the last week of a month, the employee can complete the timesheet both weekly and monthly.

Example

A month ends on Saturday, 31. If the value SEMAINE_MOIS is specified in the TPS_TERMINAISON management rule, the employee can, for the last week:

  • complete the timesheet for the month until Saturday, 31;
  • complete the timesheet for the week, from Monday, 26 to Sunday, 1.
2 Enable the following DMFs depending on the desired timesheets completion:
  • 060353 PROJECTS TIMESHEETS COMPLETE TIMESHEET WEEKLY
  • 060354 PROJECTS TIMESHEETS COMPLETE TIMESHEET MONTHLY

Note

For the SEMAINE_MOIS completion type, both DMFs must be enabled.

3 Restart the Desktop Application.
4 Go to My Akuiteo > My timesheet, then click on Edit > Complete the timesheet for the week or Complete the timesheet for the month.

Automatic reminders are also set up for the interactive personal dashboard:

  • reminder in the personal dashboard if the month is not completed (month preceding the current day)
  • reminder in the personal dashboard if the week is not completed (week preceding the current day)

Modifying the context of an issue after the completion

Once you complete a task, you can then modify the context of the issue. After the context has been modified, the issue's completion window opens again.

If you had scheduled a questionnaire on a customer response for the task completion, you must switch to the modification mode right before the completion to be able to answer this questionnaire.

Otherwise, if the customer response is already filled in (for example using an initialization control or if the questionnaire was already answered), the task can be completed but you will not be able to modify the response during the completion.

You cannot complete a task if the response field is empty and is linked to a questionnaire.

A task can be put on hold if needed to adjust the time counter.

Example

An issue is created at 2 AM, after office hours. You call your customer at 9:42 AM to get more information about the issue but no one answers. To avoid exceeding the delay of response, you must put the issue on hold until the customer answers. Once you get an answer, you can resume the task.

An issue can be put on hold from the issue or the task record sheet.

1 Go to the Edit menu > Suspend.
2 In the on hold screen, indicate the reason and the new status that you want to apply to the task then validate.

In the record sheet header, the ON HOLD status is displayed and the countdown is stopped.

To resume the task, click on Edit > Resume.

Note

The 'lost' work time due to the issue being on hold (calculated on the issue's action schedules) is taken into account when recalculating the due dates for the Guaranteed Response Time and the Guaranteed Fault Repair Time, and is added to the issue's on hold time.

To close an issue from the issue record sheet, this issue must be Resolved.

1 Cliquez sur Edition > Clôturer la demande.
2 In the Closing the issue dialog box, enter the relevant information and validate.

To close an issue from a task, the process is the same than for Marking a task as completed.

To cancel an issue:

1 Go to Edit > Cancel.
2 In the Cancel issue dialog box, specify the issue's closure dates, new status and state code, then validate.

You can also cancel the closure of an issue if needed.

1 From the closed issue, go to Edit > Unclose.
2 In the Unclose the request dialog box, specify the reason for canceling the closure of the issue, enter the new status / state codes, then validate.
3 In the Duplicate task dialog box, fill in the information to recreate a "quick" task. The former issue or task is archived.
To search for an issue

Go to Help Desk > Issues and tasks.

In the fields of the Issue main criteria tab, enter the search information such as the issue number, the customer or information about the issue's life cycle. The Additional criteria tab enables you to refine your search.

To search for a task
1 Go to Help Desk > Issues and tasks.
2 Enter the following information in the fields of the Task main criteria tab:
  • Multiple options: criteria to filter the tasks (In progress, Completed, etc.)
  • General properties: the task title and type
  • Contacts and Responders: the people and groups associated with the tasks
  • Dates and deadlines: all the dates, deadlines and due dates associated with the tasks
  • Text searches: within reports and error messages
3 In the fields of the Task additional criteria tab, enter the following information:
  • Context: contract, service, product, location, etc.
  • Version and Revisions: the product's corrective or to correct revisions via a task
  • Resource requests: profile, deadline, circumstances and duration
  • Timesheet: criteria to select timesheets on tasks