Projects Management. 2. Edit the request type, or create a new request type that you wish to use solely for project work.

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1 Projects Management NetHelpDesk has been developed over the decades to be the very best ticketing system it can be, allowing to track requests from beginning to end, and all actions on the request during its lifetime. The Project Management within NetHelpDesk allows for calls to be linked together to manage a larger project, using Parent and Child relationship style, to allow sleek traceability, time and resource management and fluid communications. Whether your projects are part of your Requests, or separated into their own Projects area, is entirely your decision as a business. Project Requests have all the same wonderful features as any other request type would have, but in this guide, we discuss the options available to you to use them specifically for projects. NOMINATING A REQUEST TYPE AS A PROJECT The first thing, if you want your requests for Projects kept in the separate area of NetHelpDesk called Projects, is to nominate the request type(s) that are used for handling project requests. 1. Go to N > Setup > Main Configuration > Requests. 2. Edit the request type, or create a new request type that you wish to use solely for project work. 3. On the Details tab, select the checkbox that is titled Is a Project. 4. In the Field List and Custom Fields area, move the four fields below, from the left-hand column, to the right-hand column. a. Project Time Budget b. Project Time Actual c. Project Money Budget d. Project Money Actual 5. Your Request types selected will now be kept in the Projects area on the main screen menu option, and not with your requests. PROJECT EXAMPLE 1: Let s say that a new project needs to be raised to get a new Laptop for the new Manager that just started. A parent is raised called New Manager s New Laptop, and that parent ticket is assigned to Jayne, who ensures the project as a whole is completed efficiently, and within budget. As part of that project, Jayne creates 4 child tickets to order the new laptop from the third party Supplier, another to configure it with the standard configuration for Managers, another to create the new user on the network, patch a new phone port at their desk, another one to patch the network port, and assigns all four child tickets to Dan, Andrew, Katie and Teresa respectively, to look after each particular task. In this instance, all four tasks can be done at the same time, and none of them reliant on the other one being completed, in order for work to commence on that task. Net Help Desk Limited Page 1 of 6

2 PARENT AND CHILD RELATIONSHIPS The functionality in NetHelpDesk allows for Parent and Child relationships between Requests. This means that lots of smaller tasks, or Child Requests can be linked to one larger Parent request, which in charge of the Child requests. Each of the requests, regardless of whether parent or child, can be assigned to the Technicians that are in charge of that request. Each request can only be assigned to one Technician at any one time, but can be reassigned if necessary. In Project Example 1, Jayne can update her parent request with notes, and choose to add the same note to the child requests, and also oversee high level status of child tickets from within her parent requests using the Linked Requests tab. The Project Time and Money budgets allow her to track money spent during the requests lifetime, and compare against actual for later reporting. LINKING TICKETS TOGETHER 1. On the main screen view, select multiple requests, by using either the CTRL key on your keyboard to select specific requests, or the SHIFT key to select a succession of requests, the same way you would in Windows Explorer. 2. Right click and select Link Selected Requests. 3. Enter the Request ID to link to. In other words, which ticket number are you nominating as the parent of these child requests. Don t worry if it s one of the tickets you have selected. 4. It will then ask you to confirm. 5. Once done, each child request will get a -c next to the request ID. The parent request gets a -p. 6. Open up the parent request, and click Linked Requests tab to see overview of the child tickets. CLONING REQUESTS Cloning requests can be a fast way to create multiple tickets for use in Projects, so we have added this explanation here for those who will find it beneficial. Net Help Desk Limited Page 2 of 6

3 1. Inside any ticket, simply click it s N button, and go to File > Clone This Request. 2. Confirm that it is ok to copy the request s details, to do list and items issued to create the new request(s). 3. Enter the number of clones required. 4. NetHelpDesk will then make the exact number of duplicates, with an exact replica of the ticket you just cloned. ACTION ON A REQUEST As with all requests, all of the actions you add to a Project request will be recorded against it during its lifetime. The good thing with Request Types in NetHelpDesk is that you can specify a whole host of defaults to occur when raising that call. These include: Making visible to end users via the end-user web interface. Keep an Account Manager informed. Start an Approval Process when it is raised. Override the Charge Rate for all actions. Set a Calendar Colour for all appointments on the request(s) Set status after an end-user update. Set default status Set default priority Set default Section and Technician Set default categorisation. Set Default Mailbox. Override standard SLA grouping for the Request(s) Start a Workflow. Add contacts who will receive a closure upon request s completion. Restrict Status types to this specific request type. All of these can be set by editing the Request s details in the setup. You can use one, a few or all of them. The choice is yours. Net Help Desk Limited Page 3 of 6

4 PROJECT EXAMPLE 2 Let s say that a similar project to above needs to be raised to get a new Laptop for the new Manager that just started. A parent is raised called New Manager s New Laptop, and that parent ticket is assigned to Jayne, who ensures the project as a whole is completed efficiently, and within budget. As part of that project, Jayne commences a workflow that has 4 separate stages, and each stage needs to be completed before the next one can begin. 1. Order the new laptop from the third party Supplier 2. Item is unpacked, and all packaging recycled correctly. 3. Image the laptop, and setup standard Manager access paths. 4. Take the laptop to the Manager, and show how to setup and use. The four steps are actioned by Dan, Andrew, Katie and Teresa respectively, to look after each particular task. In this instance, all four tasks cannot be done at the same time, and each step reliant on the previous one being completed, in order for work to commence on that task. SETTING UP WORKFLOWS 1. Go to N > Setup > Main Configuration > Actions and Statuses. 2. In Actions, start adding action buttons that you need to use in the workflow process. 3. Ensure that these new action buttons have the Available in all workflows button unchecked. 4. Once all actions are created, go to N > Setup > Main Configuration > Workflows. 5. On the Workflow list, click Add to start a workflow. 6. Give the workflow a name, i.e. New Laptop. 7. Add notes on how the workflow is used, and why, if necessary. 8. Click Add Step to start adding the stages of the workflow. 9. Once the steps are in place, highlight the first step, and click View Step Actions. 10. Add the action buttons to the step, in the relevant order. 11. Click OK to save the workflow. The workflow can now be specified at the Request Type level, to start that workflow when a certain type of request is raised. The great thing is that each action can have its own set of defaults, such as: Status after an action is completed. Set default Charge Rate. Whether the action has a specific system use, such as Set Planned Date. Ensure the Action button uses a specific template on the communication. Net Help Desk Limited Page 4 of 6

5 Make the SLA hold checkbox automatically selected. Make the SLA release checkbox automatically selected. Hide the action from the end-user. Set default billable hours. Set default non-billable hours Start and Approval Process Set default Section Set default Technician. Give Button own unique name, sequence appearance, and picture icon. TO DO LISTS INSIDE TICKETS Against all requests, regardless of whether the request is a project, opportunity or regular request, can have their very own To-Do list. They can be added to during the request s life, pre-populated from a template, or a mixture of both. As you can see from the example above, it is very self-explanatory on how to add To Do items to the list, deleted, add from template, and set actual start date. REQUEST TEMPLATES TO USE FOR PROJECTS With NetHelpDesk, Request Templates have so many features available, which are perfect for a project setup, especially for larger projects, with multiple steps that need to be followed for quality and auditing purposes. If you are going to create templates for parent requests, with child requests attached, start with the child requests first. Then add the child requests to the parent request, whilst you are creating the parent request. 1. Go to N > Setup > Main Configuration > Request Templates. 2. Click Add to create a new template. 3. Specify the Summary and Details fields, and these will populate those fields in the request. 4. Other defaults include: Request Type, Priority, Section, Technician, Category from any 4 of the groups, Estimate time, Exclude from SLA stats, Show on Web and link to KB Article. Net Help Desk Limited Page 5 of 6

6 5. The No URLs/Docs button changes to a URL/Docs (1) button, where the number indicates the number of documents attached to the request. Add as many documents as you need, whether static, moving or web-based. 6. Add the To-Do list items for this particular request type of all steps that must be followed. 7. If adding Child Requests to the template on the Child Requests tab, you can also specify requests that must be closed before another child request is opened. 8. To create project of requests, this can be done on the New Request Details screen. Our Support team are available to assist with anything you may need. Please contact us on - END OF DOCUMENT - Net Help Desk Limited Page 6 of 6