---------------------------------------------------- -------- ---------------- ------- ----------- -------- ---------------
  ![](media/image1.png){width="1.1826388888888888in"            **NIH Help Desk:                              
  height="0.6645833333333333in"}                                Hot News User                                 
                                                                Guide**                                       

  Process Owner :                                      Chief,                    EDIT    07/25/207   EDITED   Lovell White
                                                       Help                      DATE:               BY:      
                                                       Desk                                                   
                                                       Branch                                                 
  ---------------------------------------------------- -------- ---------------- ------- ----------- -------- ---------------

**NIH Help Desk**

**Hot News User Guide**

Table of Contents

[1 Background and General Guidelines
3](#background-and-general-guidelines)

[2 PROCEDURES 4](#procedures)

[2.1 Creating a Hot News 4](#creating-a-hot-news)

[2.2 Updating a Hot News 7](#updating-a-hot-news)

[2.3 Closing a Hot News 9](#closing-a-hot-news)

[2.4 Creating Event Templates 10](#creating-event-templates)

[2.5 Relating Service Tickets to a Hot News
10](#relating-service-tickets-to-a-hot-news)

[2.6 Updating All Related Tickets 13](#updating-all-related-tickets)

[3 HOT NEWS COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT 14](#hot-news-compliance-agreement)

# Background and General Guidelines

NOTE: The Hot News functionality is based on a Remedy form. It is
expected that Hot News users are familiar with the Remedy tool and the
personnel resources at NIH. The NIH Help Desk has a team in place to
assist with creating and managing customer communications via the Hot
News tool. Please feel free to rely upon this team to provide this
service or to consult with this team for assistance with this service.
Contact <citdcscap@mail.nih.gov> for more information.

The NIH Help Desk has a commitment to communicating with its partners
and its customer base. One of the primary tools available for such
communication is the Hot News form in Remedy. The Hot News form collects
an information set, creates a record, and forwards an email notification
to the prescribed distribution lists, and offers the option to post to
the NIH Help Desk website and the NIH Portal.

Permission Levels:

-   All Remedy Users can access the Hot News form, complete the fields
    and save the form.

-   Sending out notifications and posting items to the website, however,
    requires a specific permission role in Remedy.

-   Managing Hot News items initiated by other users requires another
    specific permission role in Remedy.

-   Access to the additional Remedy roles can be achieved through a
    short training session and a permission request. Contact
    <citdcscap@mail.nih.gov> for more information.

Basic principles for generating a Hot News:

-   As a communication tool, a Hot News item is designed to alert the
    extended NIH IT community 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.

-   A Hot News should be designed to explain what the problem is, how it
    specifically impacts systems, how it affects personnel and work
    progress, and when resolution can be expected.

-   A Hot News should NOT detail who or what actually caused the
    event\--it is not a forum to assess blame to any particular party,
    product or service.

-   The audience of a Hot News item can be any email recipient or
    website visitor.

    -   Publicly posted/delivered events should be written in a thorough
        but user friendly manner.

    -   Highly technical content should be designed for technical
        distribution lists, and should not be posted to the website.

    -   All content must be properly spelled, grammatically correct and
        as technically accurate as possible.

    -   Peer review prior to publication is highly encouraged.

# PROCEDURES

## Creating a Hot News

-   Login to Remedy.

-   File...Open... and search for the Form title "Hot News". Add it to
    Favorites as desired.

-   Click the \[New\] button to open the form.

![](media/image2.png){width="5.9944444444444445in"
height="3.576388888888889in"}

-   *Incident Manager Information* tab

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Incident Manager:** The Incident Manager will be responsible for
    creating, updating and closing the Hot News item.

    -   The Incident Manager defaults to the logged in user. Hit
        \<Enter\> to populate the rest of the fields in the tab.

    -   Change the default entry by clicking on the picklist
        ![](media/image3.png){width="0.20833333333333334in"
        height="0.20833333333333334in"} to select another user or type
        in the Remedy name of the target user. Please note that the list
        of users may or may not have the proper roles for notifying
        customers or managing Hot News items.

    -   A notification will be sent from the Remedy system every two (2)
        hours to remind the owner of the open Hot News.

    -   With the proper permissions, a user can takeover a Hot News item
        to make changes to the data if first they input and save
        themselves as the Incident Manager.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   *Submitter Information* tab: Regardless of who is selected as the
    Incident Manager, the Submitter tab will populate with information
    on the individual creating the Hot News item.

-   *Main* tab:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   To create a Hot News, populate the following form fields:

    -   **Event Title:** Displays in the subject line of the email
        notification and as the header line on the website posting, so
        it should be as descriptive and as representative as possible.

        -   **Spell Check** is available.

        -   **Templates** are available via the picklist to the right of
            the field. They are organized by IC. Templates will populate
            all required fields, and provide parameters for entering
            details. You may examine the templates to see if they are
            pertinent. To develop a template, see the Event Template
            section below.

    -   **Event Start Date/Time:** Defaults to a system time stamp, but
        this field can and should be updated to reflect the time the
        reported event starts/started and not when the Hot News is being
        created. It is important to verify both date and time for
        accuracy and include this information when appropriate.

    -   **Event Description:** Displays in the text of the email
        notification and as content on the website posting. Should
        include details such as:

        -   **What** is going on: power outage, service interruption,
            system inaccessibility, website issue, etc. Be specific so
            that users and technical support teams can take appropriate
            actions.

        -   **Who** is affected: certain application users, certain
            buildings, IC-specific, inbound or outbound service, etc.

        -   **When** is resolution expected: Be as liberal with the
            estimate as possible or state that it is unknown, but do
            address it.

        -   **Recommendations:**

            -   Include the day of the week in addition to the date to
                keep people from having to do the math

            -   Use time ranges when possible

            -   Do not use ETR/ETA abbreviations---use real words

            -   Include the sentence as a separate paragraph at the
                bottom of the description to guide users on who to
                contact with questions or concerns. To reference the NIH
                Help Desk, please use the following sentence:  "Please
                contact the NIH Help Desk at 301-496-HELP, 301-496-8294
                (TTY) or helpdesk@nih.gov if you have any questions."

        -   **Spell Check** is available and because so many people will
            see it, please use it! The NIH Help Desk's CAP Team will
            monitor all open Hot News items and make corrections as a
            safety net.

        -   **GRAMMAR CHECK is important, too!** Write it Word, first,
            if you like, to leverage all tools available and then paste
            the perfected text in the Description field.

    -   **Category/**Sub-Cat**:** Select from the picklist. This element
        does not display publicly.

    -   **Status:** Defaults and should stay as NEW.

    -   Severity**:** Not a required field, but indicate as appropriate.
        This element does not display publicly. NOTE: The wall display
        in the NIH Help Desk will scroll the Hot News details for all
        entries marked as High or Critical. Help Desk teams may adjust
        the severity of long-standing Hot News items if the scrolling
        alert is no longer required to alert Help Desk team members.

-   If you do NOT wish to send a notification to users, you can:

    -   Answer YES to the "Available on the Web" option to have the
        Event Title and Description posted on the NIH Help Desk website
        and within the NIH Portal.

    -   Save the record by clicking the \[Save\] button in the upper
        right hand corner.

    -   You can save the record without posting to the web, too. This
        will generate a Hot News item with an associated Hot News ID
        number. Tickets can be related to this item for tracking
        purposes. See *Relating Tickets* section below for more
        information.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   *Notifications* tab: When the Hot News topic is meant to be sent as
    an alert email to the NIH community, this tab will detail who will
    actually receive the message.
    ![](media/image4.png){width="5.989583333333333in"
    height="1.6319444444444444in"}

-   Groups to Notify section

    -   The options are as follows:

        -   Hot News DL (all users who have requested to and continue to
            receive Hot News)

        -   NETLOG-NIH (the LIST-SERV)

        -   NIH Help Desk

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   To distribute to additional users or an alternate DL, use the
    following fields:

    -   **Add Email Notification** field: Type the email address of an
        individual or a distribution list.

    -   To send only the template Initial/Updated/Resolved
        notifications, click the \[Add\] button TO THE LEFT of the Add
        Email Notification field.

    -   To send a notification every time the Hot News form is saved
        with updates or work log entries, click on the \[Add\] button TO
        THE RIGHT of the Add Email Notification field. Please use this
        notification option deliberately since an email could be
        generated often.

    -   The list/s of addressees will be saved with the Hot News, so you
        will not have to re-select for updates or resolutions. You can
        certainly add others as needed throughout the lifecycle of the
        event. NOTE: \[when you re-access the Hot News form, the
        addresses do not display until you click somewhere in the
        Notifications tab.\]

    -   Removing an entry from the list is as simple as highlighting the
        email address in the table and clicking the \[Remove\] button.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   "**Select Hot News Template you would Like to Send**" section.

    -   To initiate a notification message, select the *Send Initial*
        option from this section.

    -   Save the record by clicking the \[Save\] button in the upper
        right hand corner. The notification will be sent to the targeted
        personnel within 3 minutes. NIH Help Desk team members monitor
        all published Hot News items.

-   **Initial Hot News Notification\
    **This is how the HOT NEWS Initial Email notifications look to an
    email recipient:

-   ![](media/image5.png){width="3.990972222222222in"
    height="1.9284722222222221in"}

> This is how the HOT NEWS displays on the NIH IT Help Desk website.
> ![](media/image6.png){width="3.7618055555555556in"
> height="1.2243055555555555in"}

## Updating a Hot News

-   Login to Remedy.

-   From any Service Ticket form, you can click on the Hot News tab in
    the lower section of the screen.

-   ![](media/image7.png){width="4.9375in"
    height="0.3958333333333333in"}

-   File...Open... and search for the Form title "Hot News". Add it to
    Favorites as desired.

-   Click on the \[Search button\].

-   Search on any field or click on the Hot News tab in the middle
    section (blue font) to display a whole list of open Hot News items.

-   Double click on the target Hot News item.

-   Update the fields as appropriate.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Changes to the **Event Description** will be updated on the web
    posting as soon as the record is saved. It will also be updated in
    any notification email that is sent. **Spell Check** is available.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Other activity, i.e. Work Log Updates, can be entered and saved---it
    is not reflected in any notification or posting (unless the incident
    manager has intended to do so by entering email addresses on the
    right hand side of the form).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   The **Event Update** field is the field that will be publicly
    posted, and it has to have content before a notification can be
    sent. **Spell Check** is available. Once the record is saved, the
    content of the Event Update field moves to the **Event Work Log**
    field.

    -   NOTE: If you created and saved a Hot News without sending an
        initial notification, and you would like to send a notification
        at a later date, please contact the NIH Help Desk's CAP team for
        assistance.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Change the **Status** from *New* to *Ongoing*. (The status will
    change to Ongoing after 48 hours).

-   Verify the notification selections and select the *Send Update*
    option from the "Select Hot News Template you Would Like to Send"
    section.

-   Save the record by clicking the \[Save\] button in the upper right
    hand corner. The notification will be sent to the same set of
    targeted personnel within 3 minutes. NIH Help Desk team members
    monitor all published Hot News items. NOTE: The record can be saved
    WITHOUT sending a notification by simply saving the record.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   This is how the HOT NEWS Updated Email notifications look to an
    email recipient:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Updated Hot News Notification\
    **![](media/image8.png){width="4.246527777777778in"
    height="2.0819444444444444in"}

## Closing a Hot News

-   Login to Remedy.

-   From any Service Ticket form, you can click on the Hot News tab in
    the lower section of the screen.

-   ![](media/image7.png){width="4.9375in"
    height="0.3958333333333333in"}

-   File...Open... and search for the Form title "Hot News". Add it to
    Favorites as desired.

-   Click on the \[Search button\].

-   Search on any field or click on the Hot News tab in the middle
    section (blue font) to display a whole list of open Hot News items.

-   Double click on the target Hot News item.

-   Update the fields as appropriate.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Changes to the **Event Description** will be updated on the web
    posting as soon as the record is saved. It will also be updated in
    any notification email that is sent. **Spell Check** is available.

-   Other activity, i.e. Work Log Updates, can be entered and saved---it
    is not reflected in any notification or posting.

-   The **Event Resolution** field is the field that will be publicly
    posted, and it has to have content before a notification can be
    sent. **Spell Check** is available.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Change the **Status** from *Ongoing* to *Closed*.

-   Verify the notification selections and select the *Send Resolution*
    option from the "Select Hot News Template you Would Like to Send"
    section.

-   Save the record by clicking the \[Save\] button in the upper right
    hand corner. The notification will be sent to the same set of
    targeted personnel within 3 minutes. NIH Help Desk team members
    monitor all published Hot News items. NOTE: The record can be saved
    WITHOUT sending a notification by simply saving the record.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   This is how the HOT NEWS Resolved Email notifications look to an
    email recipient:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Resolved Hot News Notification\
    **![](media/image9.png){width="4.245833333333334in"
    height="2.1909722222222223in"}

## Creating Event Templates

Templates can be used to make common Hot News easier to record and
report. The "Event Title", "Event Description", "Category" and "Sub-Cat"
fields can all be automatically completed when a template is selected.
This makes creation of a common Hot News much quicker and Hot News are
standard format.

-   Adding templates is achieved via the toolbar menu:

> ![](media/image10.png){width="3.6661417322834646in"
> height="0.3480314960629921in"}

-   Click on the \[Create Event Template\] button on the toolbar to open
    the *Event Template Form.*

-   **Menu Label:** This is text that will be listed in the picklist for
    users to choose from.

-   **IC/Bureau:** The picklist will be grouped by IC's, so the
    selection here determines the location of the item on the picklist.

-   **IC Order:** IC's who use this feature more commonly can set the IC
    order number by entering a value relative to existing entries. The
    existing entries will display for reference.

-   **Problem:** This is the text that will populate the **Event Title**
    of the Hot News item. Text can be modified after insertion.

-   **Event Description:** This is the text that will populate the
    **Event Description** of the Hot News item. Text can be modified
    after insertion.

-   **Category/Sub-cat:** These fields prescribe the entries for the Hot
    News form.

-   **Status:** Only active items will display in the picklist for
    selection. Only authors (and administrators) can delete or
    inactivate their own entries.

-   Click the \[Save\] button in the upper right hand corner and the
    entry will immediately be available in the **Event Title** field
    picklist.

## Relating Service Tickets to a Hot News

We can now determine how many users have problems relating to a Hot News
event by relating those individual Service Tickets to the Hot News.

-   From the Hot News form, in the *Related Tickets* tab, click on the
    \[Search ST\] button. A new screen will appear with many of the
    fields you would see on the actual Service Ticket form.
    ![](media/image11.png){width="4.4222222222222225in"
    height="2.079861111111111in"}

-   Simply fill in the fields with the information you would like to
    search on and click "Search". Remedy returns the results of the
    search in the table field at the bottom of the screen.

-   In order to prevent large searches from directly impacting the
    Remedy the results are grouped and limited to 10 per group. Click on
    the "Next" button to advance through the list. To return to the
    previous results click on "Previous". Once you find the ticket you
    wish to link simply highlight it and click on the "Relate 2 Hot
    News" button. The ticket will be instantly linked and the table
    refreshed to display the change.

> *NOTE: It is possible to search the Customer Database through the
> search form by entering a customer's first and/or last names into the
> appropriate fields and pressing "Enter".*
>
> *NOTE: Performing a search on the "Problem" field will look for any
> tickets with the word or phase entered when you perform the search.*
>
> *NOTE: An existing ticket can also be related from the Service Ticket
> form. From the "Hot News" tab on the Service Ticket; simply highlight
> the Hot News that you would like to relate the ticket to and press the
> "Relate Ticket to HN" button. This will enter the HN ID into the
> "Related Incident" field on the "Misc." tab. In order to complete the
> relationship simply Save the ticket.*
>
> *\
> NOTE: You can also manually type the HN ID into the "Related Incident"
> field on the Misc. tab on the Service Ticket and "Save".*

![](media/image12.png){width="6.3in" height="1.4006944444444445in"}

-   **Relating a New Ticket to a Hot News**

    -   From the Hot News form "Related Tickets" tab, click on the "New
        Related ST" button. A form similar to the Service Ticket will
        open. Find the customer for whom you wish to create the ticket.
        Simply enter their first and/or last names into the appropriate
        fields and hit "Enter". Remedy will search the Customer Database
        for the user and pull his/her information into the ticket.
        Should multiple possibilities exist you will be prompted to
        select from a list of possible matches. Should the customer not
        exist, a customer record must be created for him/her before you
        may proceed.

    -   One you have the customer information entered, proceed to fill
        in the information you have for the Ticket. Once you have
        completed filling out the form simply press the "Create ST"
        button. The ticket will be created and opened in Modify mode.
        From here you may either close the ticket from you screen or
        continue to work it as the case may be.

    -   *NOTE: There are two key benefits to creating a Service Ticket
        from Hot News. When you create the ticket it is automatically
        related to the Hot News it was created from. Also, all of the
        required Service Ticket fields are present on the page; no need
        exists to switch between tabs in order to assign the ticket.*

    -   *NOTE: A new ticket which is automatically linked to a Hot News
        record can also be created from the Customer Database. Once you
        have found the customer for whom you wish to create the ticket
        proceed to the "Hot News" tab. Highlight the Hot News you want
        to relate the new ticket to and press "Create Related Ticket".
        The Service Ticket form will then open with the customer
        information you selected and it will also be related to the Hot
        News you had highlighted.*

![](media/image13.png){width="6.279861111111111in"
height="1.3305555555555555in"}

## Updating All Related Tickets

-   It is possible to 'Update' the work logs of all Service Tickets
    related to a Hot News.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   From the *Related Tickets* tab select the \[Update All ST...\]
    button.

-   Fill in the data that you would like to add to all of the ticket
    logs and press the \[Update All\] button. A message will display
    stating that all of the tickets have been updated

-   Closing All Related Service Tickets

-   From the *Related Tickets* tab select the "Close All Related ST..."

-   Fill in the **Resolution** field and add any additional information
    that you like to the Ticket Log. Click the \[Close All Tickets\]
    button. A message will display stating that all of the tickets have
    been updated.

> *NOTE: This process will only update and close related tickets which
> are currently 'Open'. Tickets which are already 'Closed' will not be
> affected in any way.*
>
> *NOTE: If you attempt to close the Hot News with open related tickets,
> a message will appear asking if you would like to close them.
> Selecting "Yes" will bring up the Close Related Ticket Process screen.
> Selecting "No" will close the Hot News leaving the tickets "Open". At
> this time it is not required that all of the Service Tickets be closed
> before "Closing" the event, however, it is highly recommended. This
> process will only close tickets that are within your Long Org/Division
> (i.e. CIT DCS can only close tickets that are still in the CIT DCS
> division).*

# HOT NEWS COMPLIANCE AGREEMENT

In order to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the information
relayed via this system, all personnel who create or manage Hot News are
required to read and understand the Hot News procedures and sign this
agreement. Please detach this page and return to your Relationship
Manager.

I hereby agree to adhere to the Policy and Procedures outlined within
this document.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Printed Name

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Signature Date