OTRS Quick Reference

Transcription

1 OTRS Quick Reference / OTRS / Copyright 2015 IXIASOFT Technologies. All rights reserved. Last revised: March 02, 2015

2 2 OTRS Quick Reference Table of contents Using OTRS OTRS overview 4 Log into OTRS 6 Log into OTRS for read-only access 6 Creating tickets 7 Create a new ticket directly in OTRS 7 Create a new OTRS ticket via 11 OTRS priorities 11 Reviewing tickets 13 Review and edit your existing tickets 13 Ticket states 15 Ticket queues 17 Follow up on an OTRS ticket 18 Ticket evaluation 19 Close a ticket 20 Reopen a ticket 21 Delete a ticket 21 Searching for tickets 21 Search for a ticket 21

3 Table of contents 3 Search for a ticket using a saved template 24 Change your OTRS preferences 24 View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 25

4 4 OTRS Quick Reference Using OTRS OTRS overview What is OTRS? OTRS is IXIASOFT's online ticket-reporting system. It enables you to easily report any issues or problems you encounter when using the DITA CMS. It also enables you to ask any questions that are not answered by the online help or PDF documentation. Not only does OTRS record the initial question, it also keeps track of IXIASOFT's responses to you and your replies back to IXIASOFT. After your initial submission, you receive s for each communication. You can respond directly to these s if that is more convenient for you, and your responses are recorded in OTRS with the ticket. Within OTRS, you can view a list of all your tickets and their statuses, to quickly see all resolved and outstanding issues that you have all in one place. OTRS stands for "Open-source Ticket Request System." You can learn more about it at How do I use OTRS? Using OTRS is very simple. During your implementation, you received an URL, or Web address, for OTRS. You also received a login and initial password to OTRS. You access the URL via a Web browser and log in. From the OTRS screen, you can create a new ticket, review existing tickets, attach files to the ticket, respond to IXIASOFT comments on the ticket, and close the ticket when it's successfully resolved. Always submit a new ticket for each new issue. For updates to existing issues, please update the existing ticket. If IXIASOFT support staff determine that a new issue is related to an existing issue, we will merge the two to ensure that all responses are kept together. To access the OTRS ticket system, use the following link: To submit a ticket via , use the following address: support-dita@ixiasoft.com. When should I use OTRS? You should use OTRS any time you have a question or encounter a problem when using the DITA CMS after your initial implementation phase. While you might want to send these questions or issues directly to someone at IXIASOFT, it's much more efficient to submit them via OTRS

5 Using OTRS 5 because that way, both you and IXIASOFT can track the progress and keep the entire conversation together in one place, rather than scattered throughout multiple s. In fact, if you send the question or issue directly to somone at IXIASOFT, he or she will often forward it to OTRS anyway, for just this reason. Who can access OTRS? Anyone at your company can access OTRS to view outstanding and resolved tickets. You have a general login that is read-only in OTRS; usually this user name is the name of your company. This name was assigned to you during your implementation or shortly after. Use this login and the password assigned to it. Certain users that you designate as ticket enterers each have their own unique login. For them, the initial password is also soleil, which they should change as soon as possible. Who should enter tickets into OTRS? During implementation, you select a few key DITA CMS users or support staff in your organization to handle the initial reporting of issues from CMS users before a ticket is submitted to IXIASOFT. These people should be those who are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the DITA CMS and the Output Generator. Many times, the issue that users experience are due to misunderstandings or incorrect use of DITA and/or the CMS according to your organization s guidelines. Limiting OTRS usage to one or two users helps ensure that your team is not entering tickets for questions or issues that you could easily resolve internally, or that multiple people are not entering similar tickets. What information should I include in an OTRS ticket? The more information you include, the better IXIASOFT support is able to start resolving the issue right away. Please include as many of the following items as apply: a description of when the problem occurred and steps to recreate it log files (Output Generator, Eclipse, Textml) CMS, Eclipse, and Output Generator build numbers pertinent configuration files from the CMS or Output Generator pertinent DITA files from the CMS Before you report an error, check to see if there was a job running in the background or if another user was doing a large operation such as changing the status of many topics at once. These things can cause an error that would not otherwise occur.

6 6 OTRS Quick Reference Log into OTRS During your DITA CMS implementation, IXIASOFT sets up selected users at your company for access to OTRS. 1. Access OTRS using the following link: 2. Enter your login. Your login is always the address that IXIASOFT uses to communicate with you. 3. Enter your password. The first time you log into OTRS, your password is the default soleil. You should immediately change your password using the OTRS preferences. See Change your OTRS preferences on page 24 for more information. If you don't remember your password, click the Lost your password? link on the Login screen and you will receive an with instructions for resetting your password. 4. Click Login. Log into OTRS for read-only access During your DITA CMS implementation, IXIASOFT sets up an account for read-only access to OTRS so that anyone at your company can review existing tickets. 1. Access OTRS using the following link: 2. Enter the read-only login. This login is generally your company name, although this can vary. If you aren't sure, check with somone at your company or with IXIASOFT Support (via an to 3. Enter your password. The password is generally the default soleil. If this password is not correct, again, check with someone at your company or send an to IXIASOFT Support requesting that it be reset. 4. Click Login.

7 Using OTRS 7 Creating tickets Create a new ticket directly in OTRS 1. Log into OTRS using your assigned username and password. When you initially log in, the screen displays tickets that you have entered yourself. If you have no existing tickets, the screen looks like this: If you have already entered tickets, the screen looks like this:

8 8 OTRS Quick Reference Note there are three links in the upper left corner: All, Open, Closed.You can toggle between these three links to see all your own tickets at once, or just those that are open or closed. 2. Quickly review existing tickets to be sure there is not already a ticket addressing your issue or question. If there is, update that ticket rather than creating a new one. Important: Be sure to also review all of the tickets for your company, not just your own. To view all company tickets, select the Tickets tab and then Company Tickets. 3. To create a new ticket, do one of the following: Click Create your first ticket. Click the black Tickets tab and then select New Ticket. The following screen appears:

9 Using OTRS 9 4. In the To field, select DITA CMS or DITA CMS Mekon. 5. In the Subject field, enter a brief summary of the issue or question. Although there is not a lot of space here, the more specific you can be, the better able IXIASOFT is to spot and classify your ticket quickly. Avoid general subjects like "Need help," or "Question." 6. In the large text area, enter your question or issue. Again, provide as many details as possible so that we can get to work right away on the ticket without having to ask you for a lot of additional information. The standard Rich Text controls are available for formatting your message, such as font, size, text alignment, hyperlink and image insertion.please don't paste a log as-is into the box, but instead attach it. The interface doesn't react well when a message has more than 1000 lines! 7. Click Browse beside the Attachment field to attach a file or files. Please do not attach very large files. (The maximum attachment size is 10MB.)If you are in doubt, ask us whether you should attach a file and we will let you know whether to do so or whether to place it on the FTP site.

10 10 OTRS Quick Reference 8. Select the appropriate priority for the ticket. The default is 3 - Normal. Most tickets fall into this priority. For guidelines on prioritization, refer to OTRS priorities on page 11. Here is an example of a completed ticket: 9. Click Submit. The ticket is submitted to IXIASOFT and a window similar to the following appears:

11 Using OTRS 11 You do not receive a follow-up from Support-Dita after initially submitting a new ticket. However, when an IXIASOFT Support representative takes a look at the ticket and responds, either to offer a solution or to ask you for more information, you will receive a follow-up . Create a new OTRS ticket via As an alternative to logging into OTRS to create a new ticket, you can send an to support-dita@ixiasoft.com. The same guidelines apply when submitting a ticket via . Please provide the same information as you would provide in an OTRS ticket. Don't paste the text of a long log file. Instead, attach the log. There is a maximum attachment size of 10MB. OTRS priorities To help the IXIASOFT Support team address tickets in the most efficient and timely way possible, it's important that you assign an appropriate priority to your tickets when you submit them. The following guidelines can help you determine what priority is appropriate for your ticket. 5 - Very High System Failure/System Down This priority has a critical business impact. Use this priority when the CMS is not functioning for anyone. Examples: Majority of users cannot use a critical functional aspects of DITA CMS (e.g. lock,release topic) and no workaround is possible Data, indexes are corrupt or lost TEXTML does not start Output Generator does not start - the system cannot produce any documents No users can connect or use the WebAuthor Java/Eclipse related errors (systemic behaviour - all users are impacted) Counter Examples (not typically classified as Very High): System is still operational following a one time outage; root cause analysis required First time installation - pilot project or staging area

12 12 OTRS Quick Reference Functional issue but workaround available (e.g. A user cannot do an operation on a map view but the user can open the map in XML and manually intervene) Output Generator is working but the output is not formatted correctly Customer is not available for collaboration with support engineers after hours Feature Request or customization The system developes a behaviour following a customer's unauthorized intervention to system parameters, configuration files or the software 4 - High Critical Issue This priority has a significant business impact. Use this priority when the CMS is having issues that significantly encumber your work. Examples: Degraded system performance not related to the customers infrastructure DITA CMS has a functional issue. A workaround may be possible but implementing the workaround is time consuming and will adversely affect the End User Erroneous behaviour of a DITA CMS function: Content import not working Missing items from search Backup & restore problems but system is running File/object lock issues (experienced by some users issue but not systemic behaviour) Java/Eclipse related errors (some users but not systemic behaviour) Output Generator output that was valid in the past and is not anymore (no modifications were done) Users cannot connect and use the WCR Counter Examples (not typically classified as High): Stylesheets were updated and the output documents are invalid Customer is not available for collaboration with support engineers after hours Feature Request or customization

13 Using OTRS 13 The system developes a behaviour following a customer's unauthorized intervention to system parameters, configuration files or the software 3 - Normal 2 - Low 1 - Very Low This is the default priority for tickets. Use this priority for issues, questions, or enhancement requests that do not need a more immediate resolution. Use this priority for questions or enhancement requests that do not need a resolution in the near future. Reviewing tickets Review and edit your existing tickets 1. Log into OTRS using your assigned username and password. 2. Under the black Tickets tab, select: All to see all your tickets Open to see only your open tickets Closed to see only your closed tickets Tip: By default, you only see tickets that you personally submitted. To see tickets submitted by all users at your company, click the black Tickets tab and then select Company Tickets. You see a screen similar to the following:

14 14 OTRS Quick Reference For each ticket, this screen shows the ticket number, state, queue, and age. It also shows a count of Open, Closed and total issues. 3. (Optional) Click any column heading (for example IXIASOFT#, TITLE, or AGE) to sort the tickets in ascending or descending order based on that column. 4. To open a ticket and review it, double-click it in the list. The ticket opens and appears similar to this example:

15 Using OTRS If you need to add more information to the ticket, click Reply and enter the additional information. You can also click Reply to change the priority or the status of the ticket or to make any other changes. 6. If you made changes, click Submit to update the ticket. You will receive a follow-up from Support-Dita. Ticket states A ticket's state indicates where it is in the OTRS workflow what work is being done on it and who is currently responsible for it.

16 16 OTRS Quick Reference State New Open Waiting for input Resolved Closed successful Closed unsuccessful Pending auto-close Description This is the initial state of all tickets. A ticket moves to open when there is a reply on the case either from IXIASOFT or the customer. Note: If you add additional information to the ticket after initially creating it, the ticket moves to Open. When IXIASOFT Support catches these occurrences, they move the tickets back to New. This state indicates the ticket is currently being evauated by IXIASOFT and a response is pending. This state indicates we are waiting on a response from you. Usually we have requested additional information or files. This state indicates that IXIASOFT has answered the question or provided a resolution for the issue. It is now up to you to implement the solution and let us know if it is successful. If it is successful, please close the ticket. This state indicates that IXIASOFT's solution or response solved the issue and that no further attention is needed. This state indicates that IXIASOFT's solution or response did not solve the issue and that it is unlikely that further work within the CMS or associated applicationsa will fully resolve the problem. For example, perhaps the problem lies with a third-party product and you need to work with that vendor for resolution. Used by agents only. For example, IXIASOFT might reply to a ticket and set it to Pending auto-close. If you are satisfied with the reply and do not reply further to the ticket it will be closed on the date set when it was placed in Pending auto-close. If you do reply then the ticket goes back to Open and the Pending auto-closed is canceled. Pending reminder Used by agents only.

17 Using OTRS 17 Ticket queues A ticket's queue essentially indicates what kind of ticket it is a bug or an enhancement and who is current responsible for it Development, Support, or Services. OTRS queues are found within these three groups: DITA-CMS: for tickets pertaining only to the DITA CMS product DITA-CMS Mekon: for tickets pertaining to a DITA-CMS/Mekon integration Textmlserver: for tickets pertaining to the TEXTML Server product Note: Not all queues are found within all three groups. Queue Enhancement Request In Roadmap Level3 On Hold Reproduced Services Description Tickets in this queue have been determined to be requests for future development to enhance product functionality. They have not been accepted into the product roadmap for definite development. Tickets in this queue consist of issues that have been accepted into the product roadmap for future development. However, they have not necessarily been scoped or assigned to a specific release. This queue is not currently used. This queue is no longer used. Ixiasoft asks you to re-open the case at a later date if required. Tickets in this queue have been investigated by Ixiasoft Support. The problem has been reproduced and observed by Ixiasoft. At this point, resolution might be possible within the CMS as-is or Ixiasoft Support might have to open a bug ticket to have the issue addressed by development in a future release of the product. Tickets in this queue have been moved from Support to Services. Services is investigating them to determine if resolution can be done within the CMS and configuration or whether resolution will require custom development.

18 18 OTRS Quick Reference Follow up on an OTRS ticket When an IXIASOFT Support representative responds to a ticket you have submitted, you receive a follow-up from Support-Dita.This is similar to the following example: If you need to respond, either to ask for more information or to report results, do one of the following: Respond directly to the . Doing this is the same as logging into OTRS and entering a response there. Log into OTRS, open the issue, and review the IXIASOFT response. Click Reply. Enter your response and click Submit.

19 Using OTRS 19 Important: Make sure to leave the OTRS ticket number in the subject of the . The IXIASOFT response is similar to this example: Ticket evaluation When a ticket is evaluated, several things may happen: IXIASOFT support staff resolves the ticket. Support staff determines the ticket is beyond standard support and transfers it to the Service queue. Support staff determines the ticket is a bug and enters it as a bug in Bugzilla (our bug tracking tool). Ticket is resolved When IXIASOFT answers your question or provides a solution to your issue, you must review the solution and determine whether or not it is satisfactory. If so, you can close the ticket. If not, you can re-open the ticket and detail any outstanding problems within it. In addition, the Resolved

20 20 OTRS Quick Reference field will contain a few words describing the solution. If you see just a number like , that means the problem is resolved in that specific build. Ticket is transferred to Service queue Generally, a ticket is transferred to Services when it's determined that resolution requires either custom development (such as adding new functionality or enhancing existing functionality) or more detailed attention (such as integrating specializations or DITA Open Toolkit plugins). At this point an evaluation of the potential scope and associated costs of responding to the ticket may be completed and submitted to you. The intervention must be planned in the IXIASOFT resource timetable and a SOW (Statement of Work) submitted and approved by you before IXIASOFT addresses the ticket. Ticket is entered as a bug If a ticket you opened is due to a bug in the software, a corresponding bug case is created (in Bugzilla, our bug tracking tool) for the Development team. The Bugzilla number is recorded in the original OTRS ticket, the ticket is moved to the Reproduced queue, and IXIASOFT Support informs you that a bug case has been assigned to address the issue. When the bug is resolved the ticket is moved back to the general DITA CMS queue. Close a ticket Whenever a ticket is resolved, you should close it so that your open ticket list accurately reflects only tickets that are actually still in progress and so that IXIASOFT can also have an accurate record of what issues and questions are still outstanding for you. If you enter a ticket in error, you can also close it. Note: "Resolved" indicates that IXIASOFT has fixed the issue or has provided an answer and we now consider the case resolved for IXIASOFT. You must still verify the fix or proposed solution and then close the case if you are satisfied that the issue is no longer present. 1. Login to OTRS using your assigned username and password. 2. Open the ticket you want to close. 3. Click Reply. 4. Enter any comments about the ticket. 5. In the Next state field, select Closed successful if the ticket was resolved

21 Using OTRS 21 Closed unsuccessful if the ticket was not resolved but no further action is required or appropriate 6. Click Submit. Note: If you are closing a ticket entered in error, select Closed sucessful. You will receive a follow-up from Support-Dita. Reopen a ticket If Ixiasoft was not able to fully resolve a ticket, and you feel that further work on it is likely to lead to a solution, you can reopen the ticket so that Ixiasoft can take another look at it. 1. Login to OTRS using your assigned username and password. 2. Open the ticket you want to reopen. The ticket should be in either the Resolved or Closed Unsuccessful state. 3. Click Reply. 4. Enter any comments about the ticket. 5. Click Submit. The ticket is automatically re-opened. You will receive a follow-up from Support-Dita. Delete a ticket You cannot delete a ticket from OTRS. Instead, close the ticket (Close a ticket on page 20). Searching for tickets Search for a ticket Over time, you might end up with a large number of tickets, making it difficult to find a specific one in the list. You can use multiple search criteria to find exactly the tickets you need. When you search for tickets, you can only find tickets for your company. 1. Select the Tickets tab, then select Search. The Search screen appears.

22 22 OTRS Quick Reference

23 Using OTRS Enter the search criteria you want to use. These criteria correspond to the ticket information described previously. Some common searches are: Tickets that contain specific text in the subject line (Subject) Tickets that contain specific text in the body (Text) Tickets at a specific priority or state (Priority, State) Tickets created during a certain time period (Time restrictions) You can combine multiple criteria to narrow your search. If you don't see the tickets you expected to find, make your criteria less specific. 3. (Optional) If this is a search you expect to perform often, save its criteria as a template. a) Check the Save as Template? box. b) Enter a name for the template. 4. Select the output type:

24 24 OTRS Quick Reference CSV - to output the results to a.csv file that you can open as a spreadsheet Normal - to display the result onscreen Print - to send the results to a selected printer 5. Click Search. Depending on the output type you selected, one of three things happens: CSV - OTRS asks you where you want to save the.csv file. Normal - the results appear on a new screen. After viewing the results, click the Change search options link at the top left to return to the OTRS Search screen. Print - the Print dialog appears. After printing the results, you need to click your browser's Back button to return to the OTRS Search screen. The Close window link does not work. Search for a ticket using a saved template If you have saved a search template, you can quickly load it and run the search. 1. On the OTRS Search screen, select the template to use. 2. Click Select. 3. Click Search. Depending on the output type associated with the template, one of three things happens: CSV - OTRS asks you where you want to save the.csv file. Normal - the results appear on a new screen. After viewing the results, click the Change search options link at the top left to return to the OTRS Search screen. Print - the Print dialog appears. After printing the results, you need to click your browser's Back button to return to the OTRS Search screen. The Close window link does not work. Change your OTRS preferences You can customize a few aspects of OTRS, including your password, how many tickets are displayed, how often the ticket list refreshes and the OTRS interface language. 1. Log into OTRS using your assigned username and password. 2. On the main OTRS screen, click the Preferences tab. The following screen appears:

25 Using OTRS Do any of the following: To change the language of the interface, select the appropriate language from the Interface language drop-down list. Click Update. To change the number of tickets that are displayed in the ticket list, select the appropriate number from the Number of displayed tickets drop-down list. Click Update. To change how often the ticket list refreshes, select the appropriate interval from the Ticket overview drop-down list. Click Update. To change your password, enter your current password and new password in the appropriate fields under Change password. Click Update. View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) OTRS includes a number of articles written by IXIASOFT staff to answer some of your frequently-asked questions. If you have an idea for a FAQ, please let us know. 1. Log into OTRS using your assigned username and password. 2. On the main OTRS screen, click the FAQ tab. The following screen appears:

26 26 OTRS Quick Reference The right side of the screen shows the most recently created and updated FAQ articles, as well as the 10 most popular articles.the left side of the screen shows the FAQ subcategories. 3. Do one of the following: Click a subcategory to view a list of FAQ articles within it. Click the link for a FAQ article from the three lists on the right.