Service Desk User Tasks (Connector for CA Unicenter® Service Desk and CA Software Change Manager for Distributed)

Service Desk User Tasks (Connector for CA Unicenter® Service Desk and CA Software Change Manager for Distributed)

This section contains the following topics:

How to Integrate Service Desk to CA Clarity PPM User Tasks

How Service Desk to Harvest User Tasks are Integrated

How to Integrate Service Desk to CA Clarity PPM User Tasks

This section describes the connection between Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM when Harvest is not also installed.

It describes how to:

• Create CA Clarity PPM change order tasks using Service Desk.
• Create CA Clarity PPM incidents and ideas
• Monitor integration progress using Service Desk Change Order Activity Log.

Create CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

Service Desk analysts use basic Service Desk functionality to manage and evaluate Service Desk change orders. When integrated with CA Clarity PPM, an additional Project field is available on the Service Desk Change Order form.

Service Desk includes predefined change order categories that are associated to predefined workflows. Your Service Desk administrator can define additional categories and workflows using these out-of-the-box components. If a Service Desk change order represents work to be tracked and managed on an existing CA Clarity PPM project, select the appropriate category.

When you create a Service Desk change order task, CA Clarity PPM sends an update to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.

To create a CA Clarity PPM change order task from Service Desk

1. Open Service Desk change order.
2. At Category, select Project.Maint Clarity Only from the drop-down.

   Note: If you have Harvest connected with CA Clarity PPM and you use Harvest to manage the source code, select Project.Maint Clarity Harvest.

3. Complete the required fields listed in the following table:

1. Click Save.
2. Change the Service Desk change order Evaluate Clarity Task workflow task status from "Pending" to "Evaluate". The workflow invokes the integration process between Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM, and the CA Clarity PPM change order task is created on an existing CA Clarity PPM project.

   Note: The changes you make to workflow tasks do not display until you save the ticket.

3. Click Save.

Create CA Clarity PPM Incidents from Service Desk

Service Desk analysts typically initiate CA Clarity PPM incidents after the change order representing the demand is analyzed and it has been determined that the change order be managed in CA Clarity PPM. The CA Clarity PPM incident can remain as an incident, or the CA Clarity PPM change manager can convert the incident to a project.

To create a CA Clarity PPM incident from Service Desk

1. In Service Desk, with the change order open, click Category.
2. Select the Project.Other Maint Work change order category.
3. Complete the required fields listed in the following table:

1. Click Save.
2. From the Workflow Tasks tab, click the sequence number associated with the Create Clarity Work Request workflow.

   The Change Workflow Detail window appears.

3. Change the Service Desk change order Create Clarity Work Request workflow task status from "Pending" to "Complete".

   The workflow invokes the connection between Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM, and the incident is created.

   Note: The changes you make to workflow tasks do not display until you save the ticket.

4. Click Save.

Note: See the Demand Management User Guide for more information.

Note: For more information about Service Desk workflows, see the Unicenter Service Desk Administrator Guide or Service Desk online help.

Create CA Clarity PPM Ideas from Service Desk

Service Desk analysts typically initiate CA Clarity PPM ideas after the change order representing the new application or product idea request is analyzed and is determined that the change order will be managed in CA Clarity PPM. The CA Clarity PPM idea can remain as an idea, or the CA Clarity PPM demand manager can convert the idea to a project.

To create a CA Clarity PPM idea from Service Desk

1. In Service Desk, with the change order open, click Category.
2. Select the Project.New System Development change order category.
3. Complete the required fields listed in the following table:

1. Click Save.
2. From the Workflow Tasks tab, click the sequence number associated with the Create Clarity Idea workflow.

   The Change Workflow Detail window appears.

3. Change the Service Desk change order Create Clarity Idea workflow task status from Pending to Complete.

   Note: The changes you make to workflow tasks do not display until you save the ticket.

4. Click Save.

Note: See the Demand Management User Guide for more information.

Note: For more information about Service Desk workflows, see the Unicenter Service Desk Administrator Guide or Service Desk online help.

Monitor Integration Progress

When you have Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM connected, certain CA Clarity PPM actions trigger an update to be sent from CA Clarity PPM to Service Desk. These updates are logged as comments on the Service Desk Change Order Activity Log.

The following is a list of the CA Clarity PPM actions that trigger comments to be logged on Service Desk Change Order Activity Log:

• Converting CA Clarity PPM incidents to project
• Converting CA Clarity PPM ideas to project
• Marking CA Clarity PPM change order tasks as Scheduled
• Creating Harvest packages from CA Clarity PPM change order task
• Canceling CA Clarity PPM change order tasks
• Marking CA Clarity PPM change order tasks as Complete
• Marking CA Clarity PPM projects as Complete

When Service Desk is integrated with Harvest, certain Harvest actions trigger an update to be sent from Harvest to Service Desk. These updates are logged as comments on Service Desk Change Order Activity Log.

In Service Desk, you can view the Change Order Activity Log List from the Activities tab of the Change Order Detail window. For more information about the Activity Log, see the Service Desk online help.

How Service Desk to Harvest User Tasks are Integrated

This section describes the connection between Service Desk and Harvest when CA Clarity PPM is not also installed. It describes how to create Harvest packages from Service Desk change order maintenance requests. You can send Service Desk change orders directly to Harvest as a new package, without requiring CA Clarity PPM.

How the Service Desk and Harvest Connection is Made

You can create a Service Desk change order for software work that needs to be managed in Harvest as a new package. Each change order represents the work required to fix an issue reported by a Service Desk end-user. After the package is created in Harvest, you can monitor its Harvest lifecycle using Service Desk until the work is completed.

The following steps outline this process:

• Create a Project in Service Desk—First, you must establish an association between Service Desk and the existing Harvest project. The Service Desk analyst must define the Harvest project in Service Desk by creating a Service Desk project CI.
• Create a Change Order to Initiate a Harvest Package—The Service Desk analyst then creates a Service Desk change order for the work that is to be performed, and associates it with the Harvest project that they created.
• Initiate the Harvest Integration Process—The Service Desk analyst initiates the connection by setting the change order Create Harvest Package workflow task to Complete. After the connection is initiated and the package is delivered to Harvest, Harvest developers, testers, and managers begin working on the package.
• Monitor the Harvest Package Lifecycle—The Service Desk analyst is kept informed of the work performed in Harvest, as the package is promoted from the planning to the development lifecycle state, and to the test lifecycle state.
• Close the Change Order—The Service Desk analyst is notified when the package is promoted to the production lifecycle state. This lifecycle state indicates that the package work is complete. The analyst closes the change order in Service Desk.

The Service Desk and Harvest Integration Overview

A typical scenario would involve a request ticket, which is logged into Service Desk by an end-user, requiring some work to be performed on a project. This project also happens to be defined in Harvest. The Service Desk analyst, who reviews the incoming request, decides to create a change order to be managed in a Harvest project as a package. Each time a Service Desk analyst initiates the connection process by creating a change order that is associated with a defined Harvest project and appropriate category, Service Desk creates a new package in Harvest. This package is created in the first of the four Harvest lifecycle states-planning-and can be managed by Harvest users.

When you create a package, an Event Occurred comment is entered in the Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List, which is visible to Service Desk analysts. The connection process also triggers Service Desk to send additional information about the change order to Harvest, which is used to populate the Service Desk Clarity Connector Request for Change form in Harvest. This form is maintained at the package level in Harvest, and it contains Origination information, as well as the original Service Desk change order number that created the package. The default package name assigned in Harvest is the Service Desk change order number that created it. This name can be changed in Harvest by editing the package properties.

A Harvest package, which is a basic unit of work, is stored in Harvest under a Harvest project. There can be multiple packages associated with a project, each representing a work request for the project. The packages created from Service Desk allow Harvest users to become aware of issues originating in Service Desk related to their projects. The package is managed in Harvest as work is being performed, and is promoted through the planning, development, testing, and production lifecycle states by Harvest developers, testers, and managers. The connector also updates the associated Service Desk change order Change Order Activity Log List with the work activities performed in Harvest, such as promoting the package to another lifecycle state. This two-way communication keeps the Service Desk analyst up-to-date on any package events occurring in Harvest which affect the associated change order.

Note: For integration, Service Desk includes default categories and their associated workflow tasks. You should use the Project.Maint Harvest Only change order category when setting up the connection between Service Desk and Harvest.

The following graphic illustrates the creation of a change order in Service Desk and the results in Harvest. In Harvest, notice the change order number and the position of the new package under the planning (PLAN) lifecycle state.

The following sections show you how to create Harvest packages from Service Desk change orders and how to monitor the package lifecycle until it is closed.

Create a Project in Service Desk

Depending on how your Service Desk interface is configured, the project you create will either be an asset or a configuration item (CI). For standard Service Desk, the term asset is used to define components in families such as projects, hardware, software, and so on. If your Service Desk has been configured with an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) interface, the term CI is used instead of the term asset. The examples in this document use the ITIL term CI when defining the Harvest project in Service Desk.

Before you can create a Service Desk change order which will initiate and create a package in Harvest, the Service Desk analyst must create a Service Desk project CI. This identifies the Harvest project to Service Desk. This Service Desk project CI must contain the Harvest Project name. The Service Desk project CI object that you create here will be used later in the Project field when you create the Service Desk change order. You need to create this Service Desk project CI once for each unique Harvest project you want to identify to Service Desk.

To create a Service Desk project CI

1. From the Service Desk File menu, select New Configuration Item.

   The Create New Configuration Item window opens:

   

2. Complete the following fields:
   • Name—enter the name of the Service Desk project CI.

     Note: It is a good idea to use the Harvest project name as the name of the Service Desk project CI so that Service Desk users can easily identify the relationship between the Service Desk project CI and the Harvest project in Harvest.

   • Class—enter ECM Project. The Enterprise Change Management (ECM) Project class is a unique class that identifies the Service Desk project CIs that can be used for integration.
3. Enter any other data fields that you require. Make sure to enter some descriptive notes about the project.
4. Click Continue.

   The following detail window appears so you can finish creating the Service Desk project CI:

   

5. At the bottom of the window, on the Project tab, enter the name of the Harvest project in Harvest in the Harvest Project field, and the name of the Harvest server in the Harvest Server field.

   Note: The Harvest project name must match the Harvest project as defined in Harvest using the lifecycle template. If you do not know the name of the Harvest project, contact the Harvest Administrator.

6. Click Save.

   The Service Desk project CI is saved and a message appears at the top of the window indicating it is saved.

Create a Change Order to Initiate a Harvest Package

The Service Desk analyst creates a change order to identify the work to be performed. This information is transferred to Harvest in the package created under the associated Harvest project.

To create a change order

1. Select New Change Order from the Service Desk File menu.

   The Create New Change window opens.

2. Complete the required fields listed in the following table:

1. Complete any other field information that you may require, such as Order Summary.
2. Click Category to select Project.Maint Harvest Only as the required category. This is the pre-defined category you must use for the Harvest integration. It has three workflow tasks associated with it.
3. Click the search icon beside the project. Select the Service Desk project CI that you previously created. This field identifies the Harvest Project to Service Desk and associates the change order you create with the Harvest project.

   

4. Click Save.

   The change order is created.

Initiate the Harvest Integration Process

By default, Service Desk includes categories have been defined and associated with the appropriate workflow tasks for the Harvest and CA Clarity PPM integration. The change order you created has three pre-defined workflow tasks attached. The following workflow tasks are associated with the Project.Maint Harvest Only category used in the change order:

• 100 Create Harvest Package
• 200 Monitor Harvest Package
• 300 Notify Assignee

Note: You can also create your own categories and workflows if necessary.

Service Desk analysts can view workflow tasks on the Workflow Tasks tab in the change order detail window:

To initiate the Harvest integration process

1. Open the change order record in Service Desk, and click the Workflow Tasks tab.
2. Select the 100 Create Harvest Package workflow by clicking the workflow number.

   The Change Workflow Detail window opens.

3. Click Edit.

   The Update Change Workflow window opens.

4. Select Complete from the Status field drop-down and click Save.

   The Create Harvest Package integration macro is started.The workflow is saved, its status is changed to Complete, and a Harvest package is created.

   

When the package is successfully created, Harvest changes the status of the 200 Monitor Harvest Package workflow to In Progress and logs an Event Occurred comment in the Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.

Note: If you do not enter all the required fields in the change order, the status of the Create Harvest Package workflow is set to Failed, and a log comment is entered in the Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List detailing the connection failure. To re-initiate the connection, enter the missing required fields and save the change order. Then, change the status of the Create Harvest Package workflow task back to Complete.

Monitor the Harvest Package Lifecycle

After you initiate the Harvest integration and create the Harvest package, the package lifecycle involves the following tasks:

• The Harvest manager is responsible for manually assigning a resource to the package. The Harvest Manager can review the package and promote the package to the development lifecycle state. A log comment is entered in the associated Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.
• The Harvest developer works on the package fixes it and promotes the package to the test lifecycle state. A log comment is entered in the associated Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.
• The Harvest QA tester tests the package fix and passes the fix. The Harvest Operations Manager promotes the fix to the production lifecycle state. A log comment is entered in the associated Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List, and the status of the 200 Monitor Harvest Package Workflow is set to Complete.

Information from the Service Desk change order that created the package is maintained in Harvest at the package level. For example, you can view the change order number from the Service Desk Clarity Connector Request for Change form, as illustrated in the following:

The Origination tab on the Service Desk Clarity Connector Request for Change form contains data that was transferred from the Service Desk change order that created the package.

Close the Change Order

In Harvest, when the package is promoted to the production lifecycle state, Service Desk automatically sets the status of the 300 Notify Assignee workflow task to Pending. After the notification is sent back to the Service Desk change order Activity Log List, the status of the workflow is automatically changed to Complete. The Service Desk assignee then updates/closes the change order and notifies the Service Desk end-user.

User Actions and Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List

The following table lists the user actions that trigger comments to be entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.

Notes:

• If a Harvest package is deleted, you must manually update Service Desk to change the workflow task. You must also manually close the associated change order.
• If the status of the Create Harvest Package status changes to Failed-for example, due to missing data-you can manually restart the workflow task by changing its status back to Complete.

Harvest package status is tracked in Service Desk and is logged to the originating change order Change Order Activity Log List. In the following example, the list displays the initial change order creation, the Create Harvest Package workflow event, and promotion of the package in Harvest.