IPK Statuses
According to ITIL, a call can be logged as an Incident, Problem, Major Incident, Known Error or Service Request, collectively referred to as ‘IPK’ in ASM Core.
Understanding IPK Status vs. Streams in ASM
In ASM, administrators have the capability to manage IPK Statuses and configure security roles, determining who can access and interact with related tickets based on these statuses. This setup ensures structured and effective handling of issues and requests. System Admins and Analysts are often confused though by just exactly what an IPK Status is.
In the context of ASM, the IPK Status essentially signifies the ticket's overall functional area. Is it Broken? Does the client need something? Is there a long-running problem or project?
This serves as a high-level classification, whereas an IPK Stream delineates a more specific area within that functional domain. The analogy to consider is that of a pool; the IPK Status serves as the pool itself, while Streams act as the swim lanes inside the pool. For a more tangible example, under the IPK Status of Incident, you might have distinct streams like "IT", "Facilities", "Security", and "HR", each addressing incidents in their respective areas.
Typically, IPK Statuses can be categorized into several broad ITIL types, such as Incident, Problem, Service Request, or even custom categories like "Subscription Issue", or "Project". These statuses are essential as they help delineate broad areas of accountability and responsibility, allowing specific streams or "swim lanes" to fall under each category.
For instance, if we consider the Facilities department within an organization, they may have numerous teams concentrating on different areas, such as Procurement, Assets, or Maintenance. Despite the variety of teams, they require only one stream dedicated to break/fix issues, which would fall under the Incident category. Additionally, they might have streams under other statuses, such as hiring processes under HR, or tackling complex facility maintenance issues under the Problem status. For the purpose of System Configuration, we only define the stream as Facilities and link it to the IPK Status' to which Facilities needs to be able to work.
Best Practice Recommendation
IPK Statuses are meant to be broad categories that encompass various streams, which provide more precise classification within those categories. When initially configuring ASM, it is critical to exercise caution not to overly complicate or extend the IPK Statuses and streams. Creating overly intricate or lengthy statuses and streams can make it significantly more challenging for analysts to accurately log incidents, problems, or requests into the appropriate status and stream. Simplicity and clarity should be the guiding principles to ensure smooth operations and accurate logging and reporting.
ITIL Aligned IPK Streams in ASM
Incident: A minor issue that disrupts the normal operation of a service but doesn't result in a significant downtime or disruption. An incident can be a warning sign of a deeper underlying issue.
Major Incident: A significant issue that causes widespread disruption to a service. It's essentially a more severe incident with a higher impact on business operations. Major Incidents usually require swift action to restore service.
Service Request: A request from a user for information, advice, a standard change, or access to a service. Unlike incidents, service requests are not about fixing something that's broken but are pre-defined and often involve granting something to the user.
Problem: A deeper underlying cause of one or more incidents. Problems can exist without directly causing incidents. Identifying and resolving problems is key to preventing repetitive incidents and improving service quality.
Known Error: A problem that has been analyzed but not resolved. A workaround may be available. Known errors are documented with their cause and workaround, so that if incidents occur, they can be rapidly addressed or mitigated.
Understanding these terms and their relationships is crucial for efficient ITSM processes and for improving the overall user and customer experience.
In ASM IPK (Incident, Problem/Known Error) statuses identify the call type in ITIL terms. A call is generally logged as an Incident (that is, a minor incident). Major Incidents are usually linked to Incidents, where workaround information is available.
If a number of similar Incidents are logged relating to an issue, one of those Incidents can be promoted to, or can initiate, a Problem. A Major Incident can also be promoted to a Problem.
When the source of the reported issue is diagnosed or identified, Problems can be promoted to, or can initiate, Known Errors.
Users can log a request for service (Service Request) if they want any additional service provided.
Creating an IPK Status
You can create new IPK statuses, but cannot delete the default statuses: Incident, Problem, Known Error, Major Incident, and Service Request.
Before you start
As some parameters are read from the database at application start-up, we recommend that there are no Analysts logged on when you make changes to system settings.
You must have IPK Setup selected in the Admin tab of your General Access Security Role.
Ensure you are in the correct partition before applying the settings.
Enable IPK Statuses and Streams must be selected in the IPK Settings window.
Select ≡ > Admin > System Administration. The System Administration window appears.
In the Explorer pane, expand IPK Management.
Select IPK Statuses to open the window. The statuses are displayed, along with their details. You can adjust the column widths if required.
Select the New icon. A new row is inserted in the IPK Status table.
Complete the details.
Abbr.
A one- or two-character identifier for the IPK status
Color
Using the drop down box, select a color you want to associate with the IPK status. This color appears on the Call Linking Diagram.
Report Grouping
The IPK class used for classifying the current IPK Status. Change the IPK class by selecting a new value from the drop-down list.
The names of the available classes can be changed in the IPK Classes window.
Add Me IPK Status
Select to allow this status to use the Add Me Capability. This will allow you to publish these types to the portal for Users to Subscribe to - or "Add themselves". See the section in Global help for "Add-Me".
Add Me Call Template
Select the call template you want to use for the calls that will be logged when users click "Add Me" from the portal. **Users must have access to this stream in their Self-Service Portal Role to be able to subscribe to these issues.
Knowledge Req
Select to create a knowledge entry every time a call with the current IPK Status is closed.
Matching Calls
Select to display Calls in the Matching Panel of calls with this IPK Status
Matching Knowledge
Select to display Knowledge in the Matching Panel of calls with this IPK Status
Use the buttons to arrange the list in the order in which you want it to appear in drop-down lists.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
Updating an IPK Status
Select ≡ > Admin > System Administration. The System Administration window appears.
In the Explorer pane, expand IPK Management.
Select IPK Statuses to open the window. The statuses are displayed, along with their details. You can adjust the column widths if required.
Rename an existing status by typing over its name and abbreviation.
To change the color assigned to an IPK status, select the drop-down and select a different color.
Select any other relevant values.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
Changing the Order of IPK Statuses
Select ≡ > Admin > System Administration. The System Administration window appears.
In the Explorer pane, expand IPK Management.
Select IPK Statuses to open the window. The statuses are displayed, along with their details. You can adjust the column widths if required.
Select an IPK status in the browse table.
Select the row to change its order in the table. This is the order in which the statuses will be displayed on the Call button when an analyst logs a call.
Use the Up and Down icons to move the row in the table.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
Deleting an IPK Status
Before you start
You cannot delete system-defined IPK statuses, you can only delete ones that have been created after install.
Select ≡ > Admin > System Administration. The System Administration window appears.
In the Explorer pane, expand IPK Management.
Select IPK Statuses to open the window. The statuses are displayed, along with their details. You can adjust the column widths if required.
Select the IPK status you want to delete by selecting in the relevant row.
Select the Delete icon. If you attempt to delete the system default, you will receive a warning message.
Save the changes.
Provide the Change Reasons if prompted to do so.
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