SLA
Service Agreements
Modify Agreement
If this is your first time using the SLA/SLM module, it's recommended to read the help files in the order specified in the section "How to use these help files".
Defining SLAs
The following series of tabs allow you to build your service level agreement according your required specifications. Depending upon your specific SLA, you may or may not need to configure each of these tabs. Read below to find a short description of each tab followed by instructions for configuring that tab.
After you have finished configuring your SLAs as described below, make sure you have attached your users and companies to the appropriate SLA as described in "Creating and modifying SLAs." You're then ready to configure measurements so you can track your SLA performance.
Click on a tab to view instructions for that tab:
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
This tab allows you to give your SLA a name, or to modify the name of an existing SLA. Click OK or Apply after entering the new agreement name.
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
Routing rules allow you to have specific service records automatically assigned to administrators or admin groups without having to even look at them. This is useful in cases where you know in advance who will work on a specific service record.
Routing can be based on:
Company: This is the company the request user of the service record belongs to.
User group: This is the user group the request user of the service record belongs to.
Category: This is the category of the service record.
You can route to administrators and/or administrator groups.
Note: Under Service Desk --> Service Desk Settings --> General Settings, there is an option to Reroute Service Records, based on routing rules, when the details of the request change. If this option is checked, then any time either the category or request user of a service record changes, routing rules will be applied again.
To create a new routing rule:
To modify a rule:
1. Click the modify icon 
. The line you are modifying will become active allowing you to make changes, and the icons will change to Save and Cancel.
2. Make any necessary changes. To save the changes, press Save. To discard changes without saving, press Cancel.
To delete a rule, click the delete icon 
. Please note that there is no delete confirmation, so make sure you are sure you are certain you are deleting the correct line.
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
The priorities tab allows you to specify certain conditions under which a service record will receive a priority other than the helpdesk default priority. You may create a priority rule based upon:
(See screenshot for corresponding numbers)
1 Asset group (e.g. servers): Asset groups can be configured under Asset Management.
2 Individual asset (e.g. your mail server)
3 Company: Company is determined by request user
4 Department (e.g. Finance): You can modify your list of departments from Customize --> Customized Lists
5 Individual user (e.g. your CEO)
You can also use the Priority Matrix to specify priority. For more information about using the Priority Matrix, please go here. Please note that entries in the Priority Matrix will only appear while editing an SLA if they are attached to the selected SLA; entries attached to all SLAs do not appear.
To create a new priority rule:
To modify a rule:
. The line you are modifying will become active allowing you to make changes, and the icons will change to Save and Cancel.
To delete a rule, click the delete icon . Please note that there is no delete confirmation, so make sure you are sure you are certain you are deleting the correct line.
Priority = Urgency, etc.
When setting up priority rules, you have the option to choose Priority = Urgency, Priority = Urgency + 1, Priority = Urgency -1, etc. As you remember, urgency is chosen by the end user, so selecting one of these options means that the priority will also be determined by the end user. Keep in mind that Priority = Urgency + 1 will result in a priority which is lower than urgency, and Priority = Urgency -1 will result in a priority which is higher than urgency. Refer to the charts below for a visual representation of your options.
| Priority = Urgency | Priority = Urgency + 1 (priority is lower than urgency) |
Priority = Urgency - 1 (priority is higher than urgency) |
||||||||
| Urgency | Priority | Urgency | = | Priority | Urgency | = | Priority | |||
| Urgent | = | Highest | Urgent | = | Very High | Urgent | = | Highest | ||
| Very High | = | Very High | Very High | = | High | Very High | = | Highest | ||
| High | = | High | High | = | Normal | High | = | Very High | ||
| Normal | = | Normal | Normal | = | Low | Normal | = | High | ||
| Low | = | Low | Low | = | Low | Low | = | Normal | ||
These options will behave in the same manner if you add or remove entries to your priority and urgency lists.
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
Due date rules will automatically assign due dates to your service records. Any service record that matches all of the requirements in one of your due date rules will automatically receive the due date you specify here.
Please note that the calculation of due dates is based on the operating times of the specific agreement (see operating times below). If, for example, a ticket is submitted with a due period of 6 hours, but there are only 3 hours of operating time left in the day, then the due date will be 3 hours after the start of the next operating day.
To create a new due date rule:
To modify a rule:
. The line you are modifying will become active allowing you to make changes, and the icons will change to Save and Cancel.
To delete a rule, click the delete icon . Please note that there is no delete confirmation, so make sure you are sure you are certain you are deleting the correct line.
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
For a full description of escalation rules, please go here.
| Details | Routing Rules | Priorities | Due Dates | Escalation Rules | Operating Times |
The SLA operating time configuration specifies the operating days and hours of the help desk for your SLA. Holidays can be specifically excluded. Due dates, escalation rules, and timers will use these definitions.
Modifying an operating time configuration