**REMEDY SERVICE TICKET**

**TRACKING SYSTEM**

**FEBRUARY 2008**

(Version 5.8)

**Prepared by:**

# THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION technology

**(301) 496-HELP or ITHELPDESK.NIH.GOV**

**National institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human
services**

![](media/image1.png){width="0.90625in" height="0.8958333333333334in"}

![](media/image2.png){width="0.8958333333333334in"
height="0.8958333333333334in"}

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**Table of Contents**

[INTRODUCTION 3](#__RefHeading___Toc122421454)

[INSTALLING THE REMEDY CLIENT 3](#__RefHeading___Toc122421455)

[LOGGING ON 3](#__RefHeading___Toc122421456)

[TICKET LIFE OVERVIEW 5](#__RefHeading___Toc122421457)

[FormS 6](#__RefHeading___Toc122421458)

[SEARCHING OR UPDATING A CUSTOMER RECORD
7](#__RefHeading___Toc122421459)

[ADDING A NEW CUSTOMER TO THE CUSTOMER DATABASE
9](#__RefHeading___Toc122421460)

[ALTERNATE LOCATION 9](#__RefHeading___Toc122421461)

[CREATING a SERVICE Ticket 11](#__RefHeading___Toc122421462)

[CHECKING service tickets assigned to you
15](#__RefHeading___Toc122421463)

[ReassignING a ticket 15](#__RefHeading___Toc122421464)

[Hot News 16](#__RefHeading___Toc122421465)

[LOOKING UP A KNOWLEDGE BASE ENTRY 17](#__RefHeading___Toc122421466)

[WORKING WITH STAFF ATTENDANCE 17](#__RefHeading___Toc122421467)

[CLONING TICKETS 19](#__RefHeading___Toc122421468)

[ADVANCED SEARCHING CUSTOMER OR SERVICE TICKETS
21](#__RefHeading___Toc122421469)

[PARENT/CHILD TICKETS 24](#__RefHeading___Toc122421470)

[MACROS 25](#__RefHeading___Toc122421471)

[REPORTING 27](#__RefHeading___Toc122421472)

[SHORTCUT KEYS 28](#__RefHeading___Toc122421473)

[CHANGE HISTORY 30](#__RefHeading___Toc122421474)

**[INTRODUCTION]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421454 .anchor}

The Action Request (AR) system, better known as Remedy, is a
client/server based SQL database system hosted by CIT for all of NIH. It
is mainly used by the NIH Helpdesk and NIH Institutes/Center's (ICs)
Desktop/Network Support staff to log and track user Information
Technology (IT) requests (tickets). Some branches of CIT and some ICs
use Remedy to track other IT related service requests, but this tutorial
focuses mainly on NIH Helpdesk and Desktop/Network Support.

There is a web client available for accessing Remedy:
<http://support.cit.nih.gov/remedy>. This thin client works well for Mac
Remedy users and can also be used to update/close tickets when working
in the field, away from your own PC. The web based thin client does not
yet support all of the functionality of the PC based Remedy client, but
will meet most of your day to day requirements.

If you have questions regarding the use of Remedy or other CIT services,
please contact the NIH Helpdesk at the phone number or email address
listed on the cover of this Tutorial.

**[INSTALLING THE REMEDY
CLIENT]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421455 .anchor}

***[Note]{.underline}**: Discuss this procedure with your Local IT
Support Team before continuing. The procedure will vary depending on
location.*

1\. Download and print the Remedy Client installation instructions from
<http://sdp.cit.nih.gov/downloads/utilities.asp>.

2\. Download and run user.exe from the appropriate directory (this will
vary depending on your location, but is available at
<http://sdp.cit.nih.gov/downloads/utilities.asp>).

**[LOGGING ON]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421456 .anchor}

Each IC has staff designated to request Remedy accounts. Ask your
manager for your requester. Your Remedy User Name and Password should be
your NIH network login and password by default. If you do not use your
NIH network login to authenticate, you should have a temporary password
and login ID. To change it, login and choose the Launch Pad from the
main toolbar on any form (CIT Customer Database or CIT Service Ticket)
and select "Change My Password."

***[Note]{.underline}**: You can have your account changed to use your
NIH network (AD) login credentials if it doesn't already. Contact the
NIH Helpdesk and submit a request.*

1.  Click on the **AR System User** icon on the desktop. When prompted,
    enter your user name and password and click **OK**. Do not fill in
    the Preference Server or Authentication fields. Your username and
    password will likely be your AD Authentication information (Network
    login).

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: If you are using Remedy from a Citrix Server,
> you will have to click on **Accounts**, **User**s and specify a folder
> for your Home folder. Check with you local support staff for details
> and settings.*
>
> ![](media/image4.png){width="3.5833333333333335in"
> height="2.8854166666666665in"}

2.  After logging on for the first time, click **Tools , Options** from
    the top menu and set the following options;

> Under the **General** tab, choose "Save Windows Workspace" in the "On
> Exit" section. *This will bring up the last form you had open when you
> last exited Remedy, every time you login.* If you want to Maximize the
> window on startup, check **Maximize Window** and **Maximize Remedy
> User**.
>
> Under the **Advanced** tab, enter "rx.nih.gov" in the Reports Server
> field. The TCP and RPC fields remain blank. Also check **ODBC Use
> Underscores.**
>
> Under the **Behaviors** tab, choose "Keep Previous Field Values" in
> the "On Search" section. This feature is useful if you use the Search
> option often and by pressing F3 in a List window, it will return you
> to the Search window, keeping all of your original search field
> values. Also check "Show most recent first" for the Diary Field.
>
> Under the **Reports** tab, set both options in the "Misc. Defaults"
> section to "Page". This results in much better looking reports.
>
> You have the option to modify information about your user login within
> the ticketing system. From any form, select the Launch Pad and "Modify
> My User Info."

***[Note]{.underline}**: You only have to set these Options once on each
PC you use the Remedy system on.*

> ![](media/image5.png){width="4.28125in" height="4.21875in"}
>
> ***[Note:]{.underline}** If you are logged into Remedy another
> computer or Remedy abnormally stopped working, you may get an error
> after you log in and try to open a form. You have the option of
> waiting 2 hours for it to reset, or you can call the Helpdesk and
> request it be reset by the Remedy Administrators.*

**[TICKET LIFE OVERVIEW]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421457
.anchor}

Before going into details of the system, we need to cover the life of a
typical Action Request (Ticket) within Remedy. Requests are initiated
when a customer or user requests a service. These requests can arrive
via phone, email, web or in person. Regardless of what the request is,
the first step is always to open the CIT Customer Database and verify
the customer information. If the customer has contacted you about an
existing ticket you can easily search their ticket history. In very few
cases a customer record may need to be created, which is covered in the
Adding a Customer to the Customer Database section.

From this point a Ticket can be created, or updated and then populated
with validated customer information as well as information about the
problem. Email notifications will be sent to most customers and the
ticket Assignee when their tickets are initially created and saved.

Once a Ticket has been created, it can be closed if the problem is
**completely** resolved or assigned to another person or group for
resolution. In some cases a ticket may need to be reassigned more than
once to completely resolve a problem. Tickets can also be "cloned" from
another ticket when needed, which can save time when opening multiple
tickets for the same problem or user. Tickets should normally never be
closed unless the problem is completely resolved and that is verified
with the customer. An email notification/survey will be sent to most
customers when their tickets are closed.

**[FormS]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421458 .anchor}

Forms are used to search or view different data sets within the Remedy
system. The two main forms Remedy users will utilize are the **CIT
Service Ticket** and **CIT Customer Database** forms.

1.  From the main Remedy window, click the **Open** button (a clipboard
    with a √ ) located on the left side of the toolbar, or choose
    **File, Open**.

    ![](media/image6.png){width="5.5569444444444445in"
    height="3.2118055555555554in"}

    ***[Note]{.underline}**: The list of forms will vary depending on
    your rights in the Remedy system.*

2.  If you have forms that you use more often than others, you can right
    click and mark them as **Favorites**, which will put them under the
    **Favorites** tab and make them easier to locate. You can also use
    the **Recent** tab to select a recently used form and also right
    click on the forms there to add them to your **Favorites**.

**[SEARCHING AND UPDATING A CUSTOMER
RECORD]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421459 .anchor}

The CIT Customer Database is the starting point when creating most
tickets in Remedy. If necessary, you can add, verify or update
information here. Be sure to verify the customer's phone number,
building, room number and email address. The database is linked to NIH
Enterprise Directory (NED), so normally, when NIH staff are added to, or
updated in, NED their record in Remedy is updated or created
automatically. An Admin Officer (AO) typically handles these NED
additions, deletions and updates. Please keep in mind; if a person is
set to Inactive in NED, their Remedy record will become inactive. If
there is a mismatch between data in NED and Remedy, the user will
receive an email notification (every 30 days at the most) directing them
to update NED and contact their AO if needed.

1.  Select the CIT Customer Database from the **All** tab. Either
    double-click on the form name or highlight it and click the
    **Search** button at the bottom of the window. This will bring up a
    blank search window.

> ![](media/image7.png){width="6.183333333333334in"
> height="1.7805555555555554in"}

2.  Enter the customer's last name in the **Last Name** field and the
    customer's first name in the ***FN*** (First Name) field. Partial
    name entry is allowed, but this may return a large number of
    customers.

3.  Press **Enter** or click the **Search** button. For more common
    names you may want to limit your search further by entering data in
    other fields such as **Org Unit** or **Building**.

4.  A list of customers matching the entered criteria will appear. The
    matches to your search will show in the top half of the screen, with
    the currently highlighted customer record showing on the bottom
    half. Inactive customer records are displayed in Red (see below).

> ![](media/image8.png){width="5.909027777777778in"
> height="3.5416666666666665in"}
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: If the selected customer has open tickets,
> the "NOTE: Customer has open tickets" button will be displayed. Click
> the button to open a list of these open tickets*.

5.  If the list of results is too long to review, press **F3** or click
    the **Search** button (binoculars) to go back to the CIT Customer
    Database Search window and enter additional search criteria, such as
    **Org Unit** (same as IC) or **Building** to shorten the list. It is
    good practice to verify the spelling of first **and** last names
    (i.e., Kathy, Katherine, Cathy or Cathey). You can ask the customer
    what their NED ID is (it's printed on the bottom edge of their ID
    card) or go to NED.nih.gov and attempt to look them up. With that
    information you can search based only on the NED ID which is located
    on the **Additional Information** tab of this form. If there is a
    NED record for the customer, they should appear in the CIT Customer
    Database automatically.

6.  If the customer still does not appear on the results list, press the
    **F3** key to return to the CIT Customer Database Search window to
    add the customer (see Adding a New Customer to the Customer
    Database).

7.  Once you have located the customer's record, update any information
    that you possibly can and click **Save**.

**[ADDING A NEW CUSTOMER TO THE CUSTOMER
DATABASE]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421460 .anchor}

If the customer you have tried to inquire about is not found, you can
add them to the Remedy Customer database. This is unusual, but can occur
when contractors working off NIH Campus, Volunteers, Fellows or non NIH
staff put in service requests.

Before creating a new customer check *[both]{.underline}* NIH Enterprise
Directory (NED) and the Outlook Global Address List (GAL) to see if the
customer already exists. You can also search the customer form for the
NED ID of the customer.

1.  From the CIT Customer Database Search window enter at least the
    minimum customer information required to create a record. These are:
    First and Last Name, Phone number, IC (Org Unit) and Email address
    (required to save any ticket in Remedy).

> If you do not have all of required information (i.e., The customer has
> sent in a request via a non-NIH email), enter a \"**?**\" in that
> required field. If there is no valid email address for a customer or
> POC, enter "***none***". If another customer has the same first and
> last name, you will need to include a middle name or initial to create
> a unique record. If you cannot get that information, you can enter a
> "**?**\" if necessary. You should note in the Log of the subsequent
> Service Ticket that you were unable to verify customer's information.
>
> There are additional Tabs on the Customer Form. The **Additional
> Information** tab contains fields you can update to expand on the
> information captured for a customer. The Roles tab contains a list of
> special assignments that are assigned to individuals (IE VIP, IT Pro
> and DEAS are popular roles).

2.  Click on the **Create Customer** button located at the top of the
    form.

**[ALTERNATE LOCATION]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421461
.anchor}

Alternate Location provides a method of defining and saving multiple
work locations for any customer in the Remedy Customer Database. To add
an Alternate Location;

1.  Open an existing customer record and click on the **Alternate
    Locations** tab, *[not]{.underline}* the **Alternate Location**
    button.

> ![](media/image9.png){width="6.268055555555556in" height="1.6in"}

2.  Click the **New Location** button and select a **Location Type**.

3.  Fill in all the fields, select a **Location Type**, **Desktop** and
    add any pertinent **Additional Location Information**.

4.  Click **Save Location** and press **F5** to refresh the page.

> The new Alternate Location will appear in the window. To delete a
> location that is no longer valid, highlight it and click the **Delete
> Location** button.
>
> If you open a customer record that already has an alternate location,
> you will get a popup similar to the following;
>
> ![](media/image10.png){width="4.346527777777778in"
> height="3.095833333333333in"}
>
> You can close that popup. Note that the Alternate Location button is
> highlighted red on the customer record, as shown below;
>
> ![](media/image11.png){width="2.6666666666666665in"
> height="0.5520833333333334in"}

**[CREATING a SERVICE
Ticket]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421462 .anchor}

Before creating a ticket, be sure there is not already an open ticket
for the problem in question. From a customer record you can click the
**Queries** tab and then use the **Defined Searches** pull-down to the
right to select **Customer Tickets**. Review the customer's open and
recent tickets to validate that this is a new request. If there is an
existing open ticket about the current problem, double click it and
update any information provided by the customer and reopen it if needed
by changing the ticket status. Note that Helpdesk staff can not reopen
tickets.

1.  Once you have a valid customer record open and have confirmed that
    their location information is correct, click the **Default** or
    **Alternate Location** button located near the top center of the
    screen. This will create a ticket for the customer with the location
    of choice and open the Service Ticket form.

![](media/image12.png){width="6.018055555555556in" height="3.73125in"}

***[Notes]{.underline}**: The top half of the screen shows the customer
information, copied over from the CIT Customer Database form. If you
change any of this information, it will only be retained in the current
Service Ticket and **not** in the original Customer record. To update
customer information, click the Customer Record button on the top right
and update the information there and in the ticket you just created.*

*The ticket depicted above was created using an Alternate Location. You
can identify this because the Building and Room tags are highlighted
blue. If by the time you get a ticket, the location of the customer has
changed, you can click the **Alt Loc** button to select a different one
or you can click **Pull Cust Data** to select their default location.*

*You can also click the **Push to POC** button if you want the current
customer listed as the POC and choose a different customer by entering
their **Customer ID** and clicking the **Pull Cust Data** button. You
can get the Customer ID in the Customer Database.*

2.  The service ticket will be created with information from the
    customer record and a unique Ticket ID number will be automatically
    assigned (STXXXXXXX).

The Service Ticket form is separated into three sections: \[1\]
*Customer* information at the top, \[2\] *Problem* information in the
center and \[3\] *Tabs* at the bottom.

3.  Enter the problem into the **Problem** field (128 characters
    maximum). As there are a limited number of characters that can be
    displayed, make this entry as concise and direct as possible. This
    is the field that most customers will see as the description of
    their problem when they receive email notification of the ticket's
    creation.

> ***Incorrect**: "Customer called to say that they are having a problem
> with Outlook and can't see their archive folder or contacts anymore."
> **Correct**: "Outlook folder problem."*
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**:* *Use the spell check button (**ABC √**) when
> you fill in the Problem, Log or Resolution fields.*

4.  Enter the work you perform on this ticket into the **Log** field.
    You should also use this field to expand the problem description.
    Record **all** avenues/steps you tried when assisting the customer
    to avoid duplication of effort later. The Log field of a ticket
    should read like a book. If details are left out, the story is
    incomplete and inaccurate. Even if the steps you attempted did not
    resolve the problem, they should be recorded in the Log.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: Passwords or other sensitive information
> **must not** be entered into any Remedy Service ticket. If you must,
> pass along sensitive information in person or by phone.*
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: If the problem and resolution are
> straightforward, you do not need to enter anything into the Log field.
> Simply enter the problem and resolution information and it will be
> automatically saved in the Log after you save the ticket.*

5.  The **Source** field is helpful in tracking how customers contact
    you. Each Remedy user can have a "default" source which you can set
    yourself.

> With a form open, click "Launch Pad" and "Modify My Remedy User Info"
> and set the Source that is most common for your tickets. If you take
> calls regularly, you may wish to use "Phone"; however if you are a
> Desktop Support technician, you may wish to choose "Walk In" as your
> default source. You will still be able to change the **Source** to
> whatever is applicable for a particular ticket.

6.  Choose the **Category** (the **Sub-cat***egory* will usually
    automatically fill in), **Service**, and **Desktop** OS for the
    problem. Verifying the Desktop OS is very important because the
    tickets are assigned to different technicians based on Mac, Unix or
    Windows designations.

7.  Choose a **Priority** for the problem, it will be blank by default;

> **Normal:** The standard priority used for most tickets.
>
> **High:** The issue involves, or has the potential to involve, a large
> number of users. The issue involves a VIP end-user; and the issue
> involved work stoppage, but there is a potential work around.
>
> **Critical:** The issue involves a complete work stoppage and the
> issue has immediate time criticality through lost productivity,
> potential fiscal loss, potential slippage of a critical mission
> milestone, or similar reasons.
>
> **Low:** Denotes a work request that does not require a particular
> timeframe or urgency.
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: The Priorities above are defined in the NIH
> Helpdesk Service Level Agreement (SLA) and may vary at other NIH work
> locations.*

8.  Set the **Status** field appropriately (It will default to
    "**Assigned**").

9.  If you need to assign this problem to someone else, click the
    Assignment tab, and select from the **Assignee** menu, or click the
    **Me** button if you are closing or assigning this ticket to
    yourself.

10. You can set a **Severity** for the problem, but it defaults to
    **None**. These and other fields may trigger escalation workflow
    depending on your group's Remedy configuration. These are customized
    for each IC. Check with your supervisor for details.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: If the customer has other open tickets,
> besides the one you have open and saved, a button stating "Customer
> Has Open Tickets" will appear below the Severity field. You can click
> this to pull up all of the customer's open tickets and quickly
> identify possible duplicate tickets. If you identify duplicate
> tickets, notify the Quality Review team (see instructions below).*

11. If you would like to "**Page**", "**Resend**" or get "**CC**"
    notifications for a ticket, click the **Notifications** tab, and
    select from the following;

> **Page:** Select this option to send a page to the Assignee. If the
> Assignee has a pager, email address defined in their user record, a
> notification will be sent to this address. If the Assignee does not
> have a pager email address defined in the user record, an error will
> be displayed. In this case use the option Resend described below. This
> field is cleared after the notification is sent.
>
> **Resend:** Select this option to resend a notification to the
> Assignee. If the Assignee has an email defined in the user record, a
> notification will be sent to this address. This field is cleared after
> the notification is sent.
>
> **CC (One time):** Use this field to send a "one time" notification to
> a user or distribution list. The drop down menu allows the user to
> select a user or group from the Assignee Menu. The field also accepts
> free text; therefore any email address can be entered here. This field
> is cleared overnight. If multiple addresses are required, they must be
> entered manually and be separated by semicolons.
>
> **CC (Permanent):** Use this field to send a notification to a user or
> distribution list every time the ticket is saved. The drop down menu
> allows the user to select a user or group from the Assignee Menu. The
> field also accepts free text; therefore any email address can be
> entered here. If multiple addresses are required, they must be entered
> manually and be separated by semicolons.

12. If you are resolving this problem yourself, enter the resolution in
    the **Resolution** field. This is the field that customers will see
    as the solution to their problem when they receive an email
    notification that their ticket has been closed. Entering "Done" in
    the Resolution field is usually frowned upon. The information here
    can be a reference for future inquiries and should contain pertinent
    details. Change the **Status** field to "**Closed**". You can click
    the "**C**" button which will assign the current ticket to you and
    close it.

13. Once all of the ticket specifics have been entered and verified,
    click the **Save** button.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: All of the above fields can be entered in any
> order. You can also re-**Save** a ticket if you add information or
> need to make changes.*

If you have a Helpdesk related Quality issue to report, Click the
**Quality Review** button and a separate form will open. The Quality
Review form is a tool that can be used to flag service tickets which may
contain quality problems.

The most prominent feature allows users to flag tickets for: Correction,
Escalation or Quality Feedback.

![](media/image13.png){width="4.302083333333333in"
height="1.9166666666666667in"}

-   **Ticket Correction**

    -   Service tickets that contain errors or defects which require
        correction will be escalated back to the NIH Helpdesk for
        reprocessing.

-   **Ticket Escalation**

    -   Service tickets that contain errors or defects which are of
        critical nature will be escalated back to the NIH Helpdesk for
        reevaluation by a manager.

-   **Quality Feedback**

    -   Service tickets that contain errors, defects or other
        deficiencies can be reported to the Quality Team for ticket
        quality assessment, but **will not** be escalated or assigned to
        the Helpdesk.

    -   The ticket will be reviewed upon ticket closure to allow for
        complete ticket review/analysis.

**PUBLIC Comments** are [required]{.underline} for all Ticket
Corrections and Ticket Escalations. To facilitate the reprocessing of
the service ticket, detailed and specific information is requested and
should include "why" the ticket is being sent to the NIH Helpdesk.
[Comments entered in this field will be included in the log of the
service ticket]{.underline}.

**Private Comments** are for discreet communication which may not be
appropriate to include in the log of the service ticket. Comments
entered in this section will be reviewed by the Quality Team and/or
shared with Helpdesk management accordingly.

![](media/image13.png){width="4.427777777777778in"
height="1.6263888888888889in"}

Various quality problems and multiple incidents can occur within a
single service ticket. The Quality Team reviews, analyzes and assesses
the various quality incidents. To facilitate the processing of the
quality problem being reported, it is highly recommended that the
submitter provide their quality assessment.

Example 1:

Ticket incorrectly assigned to an IC where current customer information
was not properly gathered prior to ticket assignment.

![](media/image14.png){width="4.511805555555555in"
height="2.3826388888888888in"}

Example 2:

An IC technician flags a service ticket which did not contain sufficient
information, capturing customer's technical problems.

![](media/image15.png){width="4.497916666666667in"
height="2.3756944444444446in"}

**[CHECKING service tickets assigned to
you]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421463 .anchor}

This feature will most often be used by Desktop Support or Tier 2
personnel after tickets have been created by the Help Desk and
appropriately assigned. To search for tickets currently assigned to you
or your group;

1.  From the **CIT Customer Database** form or the **Service Ticket**
    form, click on the **Queries** tab and select "My Open Tickets" (or
    your Group's name) in the **Defined Searches** field. The defined
    queries will vary from group to group.

2.  A list of all open tickets currently assigned to you, or your group,
    will be displayed. You may double-click on any of these tickets to
    call up the Service Ticket form with that ticket's information.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: The list displayed in the search window is
> only for that moment in time. In order to keep the listing up to date,
> click "Defined Searches" and pick the appropriate search again. Auto
> Refresh will not work for Defined Searched.*
>
> To assign a ticket from a "group" to yourself, highlight the ticket
> and click the **Me** button (far right).
>
> To assign a "group" ticket to someone else, double-click on the ticket
> and choose the correct Assignee under the **Assignee** tab. Once you
> save a ticket and the Assignee has changed, Remedy automatically sets
> the Status to **Assigned**.

3.  Once you have a ticket assigned to you, click the **Acknowledge**
    button and click **Save**. This tells the Remedy that you have
    acknowledged receiving the ticket.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: Ask your supervisor if your group uses this
> feature, you may not have to Acknowledge tickets.*
>
> See the Advanced Searches section later in this tutorial for more
> detail on searches.

**[ReassignING a ticket]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421464
.anchor}

Once your work is finished on a ticket, you will need to either close it
(as described above), or re-assign it to someone else.

1.  If you need to assign a ticket to someone else, click the
    **Assignment** tab, and click the **Assignee** menu.

2.  You should verify and update the **Category, Sub-Cat, Priority** and
    **Severity** fields. These can enable escalation procedures for
    different groups and must be accurate.

3.  Once all of the ticket specifics have been entered, click the
    **Save** button.

4.  **IMPORTANT!** If you receive the following message when you click
    **Save**, you need to take a few extra steps before you really save
    the ticket.

> ![](media/image16.png){width="6.020833333333333in" height="1.3125in"}
>
> Another Remedy user has updated and saved the ticket before you tried
> to save it. If you click **Save** at this point, an important update
> could be over written with the information you just entered.
>
> The best option at this point is to click **No** and copy any
> information you had entered into the Log or Resolution field to the
> Windows clip board. Then close the ticket with out saving it.
>
> Reopen the ticket and review the entry that had been made by the other
> Remedy user. You have the option to paste the information from the
> clip board into the ticket and make any necessary modifications and
> save it.

**[Hot NEws]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421465 .anchor}

The Hot News feature in the Remedy service ticket tracking system is
designed to alert the extended NIH IT community (including IT staff in
other OPDIVS and the Office of the Secretary) of technical problems or
issues at NIH that could affect their work. A Hot News should be created
for any event that will have a negative impact on end users. The
audience can be both technical personnel and end users. A Hot News
should be designed to explain what the problem is, how it specifically
applies to various personnel, and when resolution can be expected; who
or what actually caused the event is not relevant to the reporting of a
Hot News. It is not a forum to assess blame to any particular party.

A separate Hot News Users Guide is available for download at
[http://training.cit.nih.gov](http://training.cit.nih.gov/) if you
search and open the Remedy Service Ticket Tracking System.

**[LOOKING UP A KNOWLEDGE BASE
ENTRY]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421466 .anchor}

1.  From the CIT Customer Database or CIT Service Ticket form click the
    **Open** **KB** link. This will open your default web browser to the
    CIT Knowledge Base (KB)
    <http://dcs.cit.nih.gov/kbweb/ww2_main_query.asp>.

2.  If prompted to, log in to the knowledge base and use "NIH\\" plus
    your domain login and password. This will authenticate you to the
    web server and you will not have to login again as long as you do
    not close your browser.

3.  Type what you are searching for into the into the search window on
    the main CIT KB web page and press **Enter**, or click **Go**. A
    list of matching KB records will be displayed.

4.  Click on a record to review it and use the browsers back button to
    return to the list.

5.  Click on the KB Home button to return to the KB form and start a new
    query if needed.

> ![](media/image17.png){width="6.492361111111111in"
> height="3.314583333333333in"}

**[WORKING WITH STAFF
ATTENDANCE]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421467 .anchor}

Not all ICs use Staff Attendance in Remedy, so check with your
supervisor before you begin.

The Staff Attendance feature of Remedy is a handy tool to prevent
tickets being assigned to technicians when they are not in the office or
unavailable

1.  To set the status of a staff member;

> Click the **Staff** tab. You will see a default list based on who is
> logged in.
>
> To select a different group, click the "Select Another Group" button,
> or;
>
> Click **Launch Pad** from the top menu and select **Staff Attendance**
> and select a different group.
>
> ![](media/image18.png){width="6.095833333333333in"
> height="1.4979166666666666in"}

2.  Double click a staff member from the displayed list.

> ![](media/image19.png){width="6.1819444444444445in"
> height="3.5791666666666666in"}

3.  In the **Attendance** field, you can select a standard message
    chosen from the drop-down list, or enter a customized message by
    typing in the Attendance field.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: This text will be displayed if a ticket is
> assigned to the individual.*

4.  The Automatic "In" Reset button should be set to "Y" (yes), so that
    the Attendance field information will be automatically reset to "In"
    the following day, unless you have set vacation dates.

5.  To set a Compressed Work Week (CWW) day, click the CWW day from the
    pull down menu.

6.  To set an Alternative Work Schedule (AWS) day, click the most recent
    AWS date. The system will calculate from that.

7.  To set Scheduled Leave, select a beginning and ending date for the
    period you will be away (see the popup Calendar that appears in
    figure above) and before actually leaving, set the Attendance to
    Annual Leave.

8.  To setup a Backup designate, click the down arrow next to Backup and
    browse to the Group that your backup is in and select them. Remedy
    will display a notification message if a ticket is assigned to the
    individual while they are away, informing the ticket creator about
    the attendance issue and will automatically reassign the ticket to
    the Backup.

9.  If there is no Backup designated, Remedy will display a notification
    message stating that the assignee is "Out" and allow the ticket
    creator to either keep that assignee, or select another.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: If you designate a backup that has you listed
> as their backup, you will receive a warning notice.*

**[CLONING TICKETS]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421468
.anchor}

Cloning tickets in Remedy can save time, effort and automates repetitive
tasks of similar nature. In the example below, we use a situation where
I know I have 5 new PCs to install in a training room.

In this example, I have created the first ticket in my own name, because
there are no customers associated with the training room. I have
assigned the call to myself and saved it.

1.  To Clone an existing ticket, with the ticket open and saved, click
    the **Clone Ticket** button.

2.  A window appears providing the options of what sections of a ticket
    you want to clone.

> ![](media/image20.png){width="3.4166666666666665in"
> height="4.319444444444445in"}

3.  If you select All Data, all of the other fields will be selected
    automatically. If you deselect All Data, all of the other fields
    will be deselected automatically.

4.  In the Required group you must select either **Customer
    Information** and/or **Problem/Category.** The reasoning is, if you
    aren't cloning one of these two fields, why clone the ticket?

> If you do not clone the customer information, you will have to enter a
> first and last name in cloned ticket and just press Enter. It will
> auto populate.

5.  The Optional group contains **Assignee, Log** and **Resolution**.
    Depending on your individual situation, the fields you choose to
    "clone" will vary. In the example I am using, if the PCs were for 5
    individuals, I would not want to clone the **Customer Information**,
    as it would be different for each ticket.

6.  Once you have checked the appropriate options, click **OK**. At this
    point a new ticket has not been created, click **Cancel** if you
    wish abort cloning the ticket.

7.  [Update any fields that may vary on each ticket]{.underline}. In
    this case, I want to easily identify the 5 PCs as I install them, so
    I will modify the **Problem** field to indicate PC #2 of 5.

> ![](media/image21.png){width="3.1847222222222222in"
> height="0.6673611111111111in"}

8.  Before you can actually clone the ticket, any required fields that
    you did not select to clone must be filled in.

9.  To create multiple cloned tickets for different customers: Click the
    **Add** button and create additional clones with multiple customers
    without closing the form. Hit enter after each additional first and
    last name you add. Once you have added all of the customers you want
    to create tickets for, click on the **Multiple Tickets** tab and
    click the **Create Clones** button. You can also modify the multiple
    users on this tab.

10. For a single ticket clone, click the **Clone** button to create the
    clone ticket. A new ticket window will open, displaying the new
    ticket information and it will be automatically saved. An entry will
    be added to the Log stating that "This ticket was cloned from
    STXXXXXX", the original ticket number.

**[ADVANCED SEARCHING -- CUSTOMER OR SERVICE
TICKETS]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421469 .anchor}

Searching the databases in Remedy can be greatly simplified and
automated, especially in cases when you use one or more search criteria
on a daily basis.

**Important** **Note:** You are searching the live production system
when you query Remedy in this manner. If you are doing a vague search
likely to return many records, such as all open tickets, you will impact
the performance of the Remedy Server. You will degrade performance for
all Remedy users. If you want to pull data for Reporting, talk to your
Supervisor about getting appropriate rights to the Reports Server.

You may search on various fields on the Service Ticket. By filling in
various fields, and clicking the **Search** button, you can create your
own queries. For these types of query listings there are two options for
refreshing the data;

**Manual Refresh**: Click **View, Refresh Search,** or press **F5** and
the listing will update with the latest ticket information. You may also
press **F3** to return to the Search window and update your search.

Open the database you want to search (typically CIT Service Tickets) as
previously described;

1.  From the search form, fill in the various fields you want to search
    on with the desired values. Use as many fields as possible to better
    define the search.

    For example, if using the Ticket form, one may want to use a Status
    of "Assigned" or "Closed" to search for only those tickets. If using
    the CIT Customer Database form, one may want to look only at Active
    customers in a particular part of an organization (Long_Org).

> Once the search criteria have been entered click the **Search**
> button. This will display a listing of all of the records (if any)
> that meet the criteria selected. To limit or increase the maximum
> number of records that can be returned, click **Tools, Options,
> Behaviors** and modify the maximum number of records.
>
> If you keep your screen on the same search form all of the time, you
> can set an "auto" refresh to refresh at regular intervals. Click View,
> Auto-Refresh to set your preferred time parameters.
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: Keep in mind the escalation scheme at your
> location and select a refresh time **less** than what might trigger an
> escalation.*

2.  For more sophisticated queries, you can use the Advanced Search Bar.
    Select **View, Advanced Search Bar**.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
3.  You can type in your search criteria manually or use the recommended
    method; Click the fields on the form, use the operator buttons and
    select values when available from the **Fields** fly-out menu.

It is important to recall that you are using Boolean logic when building
you query. Thus, your query must be structured in a logically meaningful
manner. Notice the query below. We are looking for any tickets for a
certain assignee that might have a Status of "Assigned"
[and]{.underline} "Pending":

> ![](media/image22.jpeg){width="5.761111111111111in"
> height="0.6944444444444444in"}
>
> The problem with this query becomes obvious when you click **Search**.
> A message pops up that there are no records matching these criteria,
> which is true. Any given ticket can only have one "Status" at a given
> point in time, so searching for a Status of "Assigned"
> [and]{.underline} "Pending" at the same time will return nothing.
> Logically that is impossible. The correct syntax of this query is
> using an "OR" operator and add brackets around it:
>
> ![](media/image23.jpeg){width="5.761111111111111in"
> height="0.7347222222222223in"}
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: In Remedy, click Help, Contents and Index and
> type in "Advanced Search" to review other examples and conventions for
> Advanced Searching using Boolean logic.*

4.  Save your Search for future use by clicking **Actions** and **Save
    Search**. Be sure to enter a name that will easily identify the
    search. Click **OK** to save the search.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: A search can be a combination of information
> entered into the Advanced Search bar and values entered into the body
> of the form.*

5.  You can access your saved searches by clicking **Actions, My
    Searches** from the appropriate blank form.

> ***[Note:]{.underline}*** Some sample advanced searches are provided
> below;
>
> \'Create-date\'\>=\$DATE\$ Would yield today's tickets.
>
> \'Create-date\' \>= \$DATE\$ - 86400 Would yield today's and
> yesterdays tickets. The number 86400 is the number of seconds in a
> day. If you wanted to go back two days, double the number.

**[PARENT/CHILD TICKETS]{.underline}** []{#__RefHeading___Toc122421470
.anchor}

The Parent/Child process was designed to provide means of associating
dependent tickets for the same customer. It allows a remedy user, to
create additional related tickets for tasks that are required in order
to complete the original ticket for a specific customer.

1.  To create a Child ticket from an existing ticket, click on the
    **Related Tickets** tab.

> ![](media/image24.png){width="5.623611111111111in"
> height="1.2798611111111111in"}
>
> ***[Note]{.underline}**: The **Duplicate Ticket** button is a quick
> way to remove a second ticket that has been created for one issue.
> With the dupe ticket open, click the **Duplicate Ticket** button and
> enter the ticket number of the original ticket and click
> **Duplicate**. The ticket will be marked as a duplicate and closed.*

2.  Click the **Create Child Ticket** button. A popup notification will
    appear and warn that a Child ticket has been created and the Parent
    can not be closed until the Child ticket (s) is closed. Click
    **OK**.

3.  The Child ticket will be displayed. All of the previously populated
    fields are blank, excepting the customer information. A red letter
    **"C"** will appear next to the ticket number. Likewise a red letter
    **"P"** will appear next to the ticket number on the Parent ticket.

> ![](media/image25.jpeg){width="2.261111111111111in"
> height="1.3319444444444444in"}
> ![](media/image26.jpeg){width="2.2527777777777778in"
> height="1.3444444444444446in"}

Child Ticket Parent Ticket

4.  From this point, the Child ticket can be updated and assigned as
    needed.

5.  With the Parent ticket open, you can click **the Related Tickets**
    tab and see the Child ticket associated with this Parent ticket.
    Double click a Child ticket or click the **Display Child Tickets**
    button.

6.  To display the Parent ticket from the Related Tickets tab on the
    Child ticket, you can click on the **Display Parent Ticket** button.
    Double click a Parent ticket or click the **Display Parent Ticket**
    button.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: You **can not** close the Parent ticket until
> all of the Child tickets are closed.*

**[MACROS]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421471 .anchor}

Remedy macros work the same as macros within MS Office with one
distinction; the first action of any Remedy macro has to be opening a
database. This limits what custom actions you can have a Macro perform.
One common use is to simplify common running searches like the one just
created.

To Create and Save Macro;

1.  If you don't see the Macro bar, from a blank Remedy window click
    **View , Macro Bar**.

2.  Select **Tools, Record Macro** or Click the **Record Macro** button
    (a red circle).

3.  Click **Open** and open the **Service Ticket** database.

4.  Select from top menu, click **Actions, My Searches** and select one
    of your saved searches.

> ***[Note]{.underline}**: You can also manually enter the search
> criteria if you don't have a saved search for your query.*

5.  When the search results are displayed, Select **Save Macro** (the
    green square) and enter a **Macro Name.** Populate the **Help Text**
    if desired. Be sure to use a macro name that easily describes what
    the macro does.

6.  Click **Save**.

> ![](media/image27.png){width="3.8194444444444446in"
> height="1.9618055555555556in"}
>
> You can now execute the search with the Macro pull-down menu.

To delete a Macro or Saved Search from menus ;

1.  Click **Tools, Manage, Macros** (or **My Searches**) and highlight
    the appropriate menu item.

2.  Click **Delete**.

> ![](media/image28.png){width="3.457638888888889in"
> height="3.5131944444444443in"}

To rename or add help text to a macro;

1.  Enter the new name in the **New Name** field or enter help text in
    the **Help Text** field.

2.  Click **Modify.**

You can not edit the actions a macro performs. You would have to delete
and recreate the macro with the actions you want it to perform.

***[Tip]{.underline}**: Due to a glitch in the system, even if you set
an Auto-Refresh interval in your Macro, it will not be saved. It can be
manually changed if desired. Do the following:*

1.  Close Remedy and browse to C:\\Documents and
    Settings\\\<UserID\>\\Application Data\\AR System\\HOME\\ARCmds

2.  Open the .ARQ file for your Macro, using Notepad.

3.  Change the value of the Form-entry-list variable from zero to how
    many minutes you want in between refreshes.

4.  Save the file and test the Macro in Remedy.

**[REPORTING]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421472 .anchor}

For standard reports for each IC use the web site:
**http://support.cit.nih.gov/reports/\<*IC*\>,** where IC is the name of
your specific IC.

While the Remedy Service Ticket Tracking system does have reporting
capabilities, it is recommended that it not be used because it searches
the live database. Any large searches or reports will result in
performance problems for Remedy users across NIH.

A separate copy of the live Remedy database is in place just for
reporting. It is currently updated over night, so it contains all the
data from the previous day. CIT offers a class and provides training
material on the best uses of the Reports database at
<http://training.cit.nih.gov/>. Type "Remedy" into the Course Search box
and click Submit.

> **[SHORTCUT KEYS]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421473
> .anchor}

Remedy allows you to use keyboard shortcuts to perform many actions.
This is also available in **Remedy Help** (search for "shortcut").

### Keyboard Shortcuts in Form Windows

  ------------------------------------------------------- -----------------
  **Command:**                                            **Type:**

  Copy all contents of all fields onto the clipboard      Ctrl+A

  Copy the selection onto the clipboard                   Ctrl+C

  Display the selected request                            Ctrl+Alt+D

  Delete a request (administrators only)                  Ctrl+D

  Clear all entries in the form's fields                  Ctrl+E

  View the status history for the request                 Ctrl+H

  Open the Run Macro dialog box from where you can run a  Ctrl+I
  macro                                                   

  Open the Open dialog box to open forms, guides, and     Ctrl+O
  applications                                            

  Copy all field information in the current form to a new Ctrl+T
  request while in Search or Modify mode                  

  Open the Print dialog box where you can print the       Ctrl+P
  current window                                          

  Open the Find Forms dialog box                          Ctrl+F

  Fill the fields of the form with default information    Ctrl+U

  Close the current window                                Ctrl+F4

  Close all windows                                       Ctrl+W

  Cut the selection, and copy it to the clipboard         Ctrl+X

  Save the current request, and go to the next request in Ctrl+Y
  the results list                                        

  Reverse (undo) the last action in a character or diary  Ctrl+Z
  field                                                   

  Close a dialog box without saving changes               Esc

  Display context-sensitive help                          F1

  Display What's This help                                Shift+F1

  Switch the Details pane to New mode                     F2

  Switch the Details pane to Search mode                  F3

  Refresh the search                                      F5

  Switch focus between the Results and the Details pane   F6

  Paste the contents from the clipboard to the current    Shift+Insert
  location                                                

  Select the previous request in the results list         Ctrl+Page Up

  Select the next request in the results list             Ctrl+Page Down

  In New or Modify mode, save changes to the request; In  Ctrl+Enter
  Search mode, perform a search                           

  Navigate through forms                                  Ctrl+Tab

  Open a text editor or diary editor for a text field or  Shift+Alt+F7
  diary field, or open a calendar or time control for a   
  date or time field                                      

  Open the menu in a menu field                           Alt+ or Alt+

  Execute an active link in a multiple-line field         Shift + Alt + F5
  (usually used on machines without a mouse)              

  Go to the beginning of the current field                Ctrl+Home

  Go to the end of the current field                      Ctrl+End

  Go to the first field on a form                         Shift+Ctrl+Home

  Go to the last field on a form                          Shift+Ctrl+End
  ------------------------------------------------------- -----------------

### Keyboard Shortcuts in the Report Window

  ------------------------------------------------------- ---------------
  **Command:**                                            **Type:**

  Open the Run Macro dialog box where you can select and  Ctrl+I
  run a macro                                             

  Open the Print dialog box where you can print the       Ctrl+P
  report                                                  

  Open the Save Report Style As dialog box where you can  Alt+S
  save the report definition to file                      

  Delete the currently selected report style              Delete

  Open context-sensitive help                             F1

  Open context-sensitive help                             Shift+F1

  Close the report window                                 Ctrl+F4

  pen the Properties dialog box for the selected report   Enter
  ------------------------------------------------------- ---------------

**[CHANGE HISTORY]{.underline}**[]{#__RefHeading___Toc122421474 .anchor}

  ---------- ---------------------------------------- ------------- --------
  REVISION   DESCRIPTION                              DATE          MADE BY

  5.0        Complete rewrite and format standardized Sept 25, 2005 J.
                                                                    Bosley

  5.1        Added Parent Child section.              Nov 20, 2005  J.
                                                                    Bosley

  5.2        Added Alternate Location section and     Dec 14, 2005  J.
             Change History.                                        Bosley

  5.3        Formatting and Grammar corrections.      July 27, 2006 J.
             Incorporated changes when tickets are                  Bosley
             reassigned, updated Remedy Client                      
             installation for version 6.03 and                      
             updated Alternate Location                             

  5.4        Updated Clone Tickets to include the Add Aug 12, 2006  J.
             feature.                                               Bosley

  5.4        Updated Logging in to include the "Show  Aug 28, 2006  J.
             most recent first" option. Updated                     Bosley
             Remedy standard settings on page 4.                    

  5.5        Updated Cloning to correct cloning for   Oct. 02, 2006 J.
             Multiple customers                                     Bosley

  5.5        Corrected sample search in Advanced      Oct. 30 2006  J Bosley
             Searches                                               

  5.5        Modified Customer DB and Create Ticket   Nov. 9 2006   J.
             to match new requirement for valid email               Bosley
             address or "none.                                      

  5.5        Added Quality Review functionality.      Jan 22 2007   J.
                                                                    Bosley

  5.5        Updated Creating Service Ticket to       June 08 2007  J.
             include "Customer has open tickets                     Bosley
             button.                                                

  5.6        Updated all web links in the document,   Aug 02 2007   J.
             due to new CIT web site.                               Bosley

  5.7        Corrected formatting inconsistencies     Aug 03 2007   J.
             throughout document.                                   Bosley

  5.7        Added sample Advanced Searches.          Aug 22 2007   J.
                                                                    Bosley

  5.8        Added new Quality Review Form details.   Feb 28, 2008  J.
                                                                    Bosley

                                                                    
  ---------- ---------------------------------------- ------------- --------