3.5 About Roles

3.5.1 User Roles

There are seven access levels in the system that determine the functionality and privileges. These include the Administrator and Customer Roles, plus five User Roles:

A Default Role is assigned if multiple Roles are allocated to an individual.

A User can have more than one Role but only one of the licensed Roles of:

  • Supervisor

  • Partner

  • Technician

Default Portal

Individuals can be allocated more than one Role. For Users assigned more than one Role, define a Default Portal within their Information screen. When they log into the system, the Default Portal is displayed and they can move to other Portals using the links provided next to their login name.

The Default Portal options include Customer, Setup for system Administrators and User, for those assigned a Supervisor/Technician/Partner, Finance and Manager Role(s).

When a person has multiple Roles, the Default Role is used to log into the system and the privileges of multiple User Roles are consolidated in one view. For example, if a User is assigned Finance, Manager and Supervisor/Technician access, they can view all functionality related to these Roles within the User view.

When the User is also assigned Admin and Customer access, next to their login name, the options of Setup and Customer will be displayed.

The Administrator can access the admin functionality within the Setup view. If the Administrator is also assigned User and Customer access, next to their login name, the options of Setup and Customer will be displayed.

Users or Administrators who are also assigned Customer access can view the Customer Portal through the Customer link displayed in the sub-menu bar. Whilst logged in as the Customer, the options of User and Admin Portal will be displayed within the Customer Portal sidebar Menu.

To move to another User Role portal:

  1. Log in using the credentials for the default User Role

  2. Click on the Setup/User/Customer link, as required.

    The screen defaults to the selected functionality.

3.5.2 User Processes

The service management application includes processes to manage the different types of requests:

  • Service Requests

  • Incidents

  • Problems

  • Change Requests

  • Release and Deployment

  • Service Level Management

    NOTE:Service Requests, Problem, Change, Release and Deployment Management apply based on installed license.

When User accounts are created, access to Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Deployment, Request, Service Level, Configuration and Knowledge Management processes are allocated to the Roles. Allocating processes gives the User access to requests and information within each assigned process.

Providing access to the licensed processes of Incident, Problem, Change and Service Requests means the User can be assigned as a member of support Teams within that process.

Setting access to the support process of Service Level Management displays the Service Tab for the User when they log into the application. This allows the User to create and edit SLAs, OLAs and Underpinning Contracts.

When the privileges of Configuration and Knowledge are selected, the options to define control at a more granular level are displayed in the User Information screen, and Users can be assigned permission to create, edit, delete and publish elements within these processes.

The following User Roles have limitations for the processes they are assigned:

  • The Finance Role can only be assigned Configuration and Service Level Management

  • The Management Role can be allocated all processes but with 'Read Only' access.

3.5.3 User Roles & Privileges

Service Manager User Roles and Privileges

Administrator

Supervisor

Technician

Partner

Finance

Manager

Customer

Modules & Features

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Setup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Email Setup and email customization

Yes

Create Custom Fields

Yes

Set User, Customer & System Privileges

Yes

UI customization

Yes

Dynamic database switching

Yes

Schedule LDAP/ADS Integration

Yes

Item import via AMIE or .CSV file

Yes

Customer Import

Yes

Scheduled Reports

Yes

Incident Analyzer for Problem Management

Yes

Enable Billing module

Yes

Customize Workflows

Yes

Customize System Messages and Keywords

Yes

Chat

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Context Sensitive Help

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create Users

Yes

Yes

Assign User Roles & Processes

Yes

Yes

Create Teams, Escalation layers & Workgroups

Yes

Create Customers

Yes

Yes

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Enable Customer access

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View/ Edit Customer

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Search Customers

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Re-enable deleted Users & Customers

Yes

Create Organizational Units

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Assign Contracts to Cust Org. Units

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Incident Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Edit Incidents

Yes

Yes

Yes

Delete Incidents

Yes

View/ Edit other Technicians'

Incidents

Yes

Setup

Re-assign Incidents

Yes

Setup

Setup

Escalate Incidents

Yes

Setup

Setup

View all Incidents

Yes

Setup

Handshaking

Yes

Yes

Yes

Incident Groups

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Impact analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View Proposed Solutions

Yes

Yes

Yes

Incident analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Subscribe to RSS feeds

Yes

Yes

Yes

Request Fulfilment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Edit Service Requests

Yes

Yes

Yes

Delete Service Requests

Yes

View/ Edit other Technicians’ Service Requests

Yes

Setup

Setup

View all & re-assign Service Request

Yes

Setup

Setup

Approve Service Request

Yes

Yes

Escalate Service Request status

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Handshaking

Yes

Yes

Yes

View Proposed Solutions

Yes

Yes

Yes

Service Request Groups

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Impact analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Update Workflow State

Yes

Yes

Yes

Problem Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Edit Problems

Yes

Yes

Yes

Delete Problems

Yes

View/ Edit other Technicians’ Problems

Yes

Setup

Re-assign Problems

Yes

Setup

Setup

Escalate Problems

Yes

Setup

Setup

View all Problems

Yes

Setup

Create Known Errors

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Impact analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

View Proposed Solutions & Workarounds

Yes

Yes

Yes

Problem analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create Workarounds

Yes

Yes

Yes

Change Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Edit Change Requests

Yes

Yes

Yes

Delete Change Requests

Yes

View/ Edit other Technicians’ Change Requests

Yes

Setup

Setup

View all & re-assign Change Request

Yes

Setup

Setup

Escalate Change Request/Change CR status

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Approve Change Request

Yes

Yes

Change Groups

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Impact analysis

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create Back Out procedure

Yes

Yes

Yes

Update Workflow State

Yes

Yes

Yes

Release & Deployment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Delete Tasks

Yes

Edit Tasks

Yes

Yes

Yes

View/ Edit other Technicians’ Tasks

Yes

Setup

Setup

View all & Re-assign Tasks

Yes

Setup

Setup

Define a Release

Yes

Yes

Define a Deployment Package

Yes

Yes

Control Release Lifecycle

Yes

Yes

Create and Modify Workflow

Yes

Service Asset & Configuration, Service Portfolio & Service Catalog Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/Edit/Delete Items

Yes

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

View/Edit Items

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Search Items

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Re-enable deleted Items

Yes

Create Item Categories, Types & Classifications

Yes

Create Outages

Yes

Setup

Yes

Yes

View Outages

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Assign Contracts

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Service Level Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Define SLAs

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Define Underpinning Contracts

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Define OLAs

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create Vendors

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Create SLA Breach Codes

Yes

View SLA breaches

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Financial Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create Purchase Orders

Yes

Process Purchase Orders

Yes

Create and Assign Contracts

Yes

Process Contracts

Yes

Create and Process Invoices

Yes

Create, Manage & View Item Costs

Yes

Forecast Service Item Costs

Yes

Knowledge Management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create Articles/FAQs

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Publish Articles

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Create Article Groups

Yes

Setup

Setup

Search Articles

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Administer Forums

Setup

Setup

Setup

Create/Modify/ Reply to topic threads

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Create Surveys

Setup

Setup

Setup

Setup

Complete Surveys

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Reports

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KPI Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Incident Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Problem Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Change Request Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Configuration Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Service Agreement Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Contract Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Organization Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Technician Reports

Yes

Yes

Knowledge Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Finance Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Login Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

System Reports

Yes

Yes

Build Reports

Yes

Yes

Yes

Custom Reports

Yes

Yes

Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create Alerts

Yes

Yes

Setup

View Alerts

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Enable Quick Calls

Yes

Create Quick Call Templates

Yes

Set User Preferences

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Disable receiving personal email

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Dashboard across Processes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Customer Portal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create/View/Edit requests

Yes

Edit & close existing requests

Setup

View Proposed Solutions

Yes

Search Knowledge Base

Yes

View FAQ’s

Yes

View Service Catalog

Setup

Create Items

Setup

View Outages

Yes

Chat Technician regarding request

Setup

Search Forums

Setup

Complete Surveys

Yes

Subscribe to RSS feeds

Yes

3.5.4 Administrator Role

The Administrator Role performs System Configuration and Setup tasks including:

  • Customizing the application and automated messages

  • Configuring the interaction between external systems, including the authentication servers and asset management tools

  • Enabling Customer, User, Request and System Privileges

  • For systems with Problem Management, set parameters for automatic Problem identification and creation.

NOTE:Multiple Administrator Roles can be created within the system

It is recommended that organizations create only one or, at maximum, two Administrators. Only an existing Administrator can create other Administrator accounts.

If a User is assigned multiple Roles, the privileges are consolidated within a single User view. See: Changing Roles.

3.5.5 Supervisor Role

The Supervisor Role provides maximum access to the system for day-to-day management of the service desk and configuration control.

Supervisor Users can:

  • Create User and Customer accounts

  • Assign Roles & Processes

  • Build workflows

  • Configure the CMDB

  • Allocate Technicians to Teams and Escalation Layers

  • Define Service and Operational Level Agreements (SLAs and OLAs) for the organization.

The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is the central data repository for the support tool. The CMDB allows centralized management of IT infrastructure through Configuration Items (Items). Within the application, everything is tied to Items in the CMDB. Supervisors control the configuration of the CMDB, which includes:

  • Item Categories

  • Lifecycle Templates

  • Item Types

  • Classifications

  • Configuration Items

NOTE:The ability to create Items can also be assigned to other Roles, if the Administrator has enabled the option

If a User is assigned multiple Roles, the privileges are consolidated within a single User view. See: Changing Roles.

3.5.6 Technician Role

The Technician Role is assigned to service desk staff who work on requests.

Technicians are allocated support Processes and can then be assigned to Teams and Escalation Layers. Technicians can belong to any number of Teams within Processes.

When enabled by the Administrator, Technicians can:

  • Create new Customers

  • Create new Items

  • Reassign requests

  • Edit other Technicians' requests

  • Create Alerts

  • Create, edit, publish and delete Knowledge Base Articles by default.

NOTE:Every Technician must be assigned to a Supervisor

If a User is assigned multiple Roles, the privileges are consolidated within a single User view. See: Changing Roles.

3.5.7 Partner Role

A Partner User is assigned to a Partner Organization and has the same privileges as a Technician User, but can only view and support Customers associated with their assigned Partner Organization.

A Partner Role gives a User the ability to:

  • Manage their Customers

  • Manage their Customers' requests

  • Create and maintain their Customers' Items

  • View reports

Users who are assigned the Partner Role must be associated with a Partner Organization, and this is done manually within the User Information screen or within the Partner Organization > Technician tab. Partner Organizations are used in the management of requests between Customers/Organizational Units and external service providers within the support system. It allows multiple Partner Users to be available within a Team, and assigned at relevant levels of escalations for working on requests.

If a Partner User is created and not associated with a Partner Organization, they cannot be assigned to a Team and therefore cannot be assigned to work on requests.

When a request is created for a Partner Organization's Customer it is automatically allocated to the Partner User within the Partner Organization.

3.5.8 Manager Role

The Manager Role is a User who can oversee the activities of the service desk or specific Processes. Managers have access to most parts of the system, primarily on a read-only basis.

The Manager access can be provided to Users who do not actively participate in the day-to-day happenings of service and support Teams, but may require detailed information about the actions and status of requests.

As a Manager, the User can:

  • Create Customers

  • View requests within their allocated Processes

  • Access the full range of reports

  • Create and modify Items

  • Approve Service and Change Requests. (Based on licenses for Service Manager product.)

Users who manage the service desk and are to be included in Teams with edit access to requests, should be allocated a Supervisor Role.

NOTE:If a User is assigned multiple User Roles, the privileges are consolidated within a single User view. See: Changing Roles.

3.5.9 Finance Role

Users with the Finance Role are assigned Service Level Management and Configuration Management by default. Their Role is primarily for driving the service costing models and, if relevant, maintaining the Billing module that uses system Contracts and Purchase Orders.

A Finance User can:

  • Create Customers and Items

  • Project end to end Service costs

  • Complete access to SLA's and OLA's

  • Access reports

  • Bill for services

  • Process payment for Invoices

  • Cancel Maintenance Contracts

  • Manage IT and Service Assets

NOTE:A User assigned the Finance Role is the only User with the privilege to process the payment of Invoices

This is relevant for systems that have the Invoice option enabled in the Billing Setup.

If a User is assigned the Supervisor and Finance Role, the privileges are consolidated within a single User view. See: Changing Roles.

3.5.10 Customer Role

The Customer Role is for users who submit Service Requests, Incidents and possibly Change Requests to the service desk.

Within the system, based on the system configuration, Customers can:

  • Create and manage requests via email

  • Create, view or edit their requests through the Customer Portal

  • Self-diagnose issues using the Knowledge Base

  • Access proposed Solutions during the request creation process

  • Participate in a live chat with Technicians to discuss their issues

  • Subscribe to RSS feeds for the latest information on their requests

  • Access the Knowledge Base, Forums and FAQs

  • Customers have access to their Items' Outages information

  • View all Services offered by the Service Organization, if enabled for the system

  • Approve Service and Change Requests. (Based on licenses for Service Manager product.)