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OTOBO Community Guide

Managing OTOBO Services

To optimize your service desk performance and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction, it is essential that requests and issues are properly categorized and forwarded to the right expert team. Without a clear assignment based on the affected service, your agents could be confronted with requests that fall outside their area of expertise or access rights. This could unnecessarily prolong resolution times and lead to dissatisfaction among your customers. OTOBO, a leading ticket system and service desk software, offers the ability to effectively manage services to overcome such challenges.

With OTOBO, you can easily add and manage all services that you offer to your customers. By linking these services to Service Level Agreements (SLAs), you can ensure a fast and effective solution for customer issues based on established agreements. Configuring and managing your services in OTOBO is a crucial step to optimize your customer support system and increase your team’s efficiency.

You can find the service management screen under the Services module in the Ticket Settings group. It is important to note that a fresh OTOBO installation does not contain any services by default, which is why you should configure this area immediately after installation.

Service Management Screen [1]

Before you begin, however, ensure that the Ticket::Service feature is enabled in the System Configuration under the Administration group. This setting is necessary so that services can be selected in the ticket screens. If you receive a warning message, you can navigate directly to the corresponding configuration setting via the link in that message.

Managing Services

Section titled “Managing Services”

Adding and managing services is a straightforward process. To add a new service, click on the “Add service” button in the left sidebar and fill in the required fields before clicking on “Save”.

Add Service Screen [1]

Please note that services cannot be deleted from the system. Instead, they can be deactivated by setting the validity option to “invalid” or “invalid-temporarily”.

To edit an existing service, select it from the service list, change the corresponding fields, and then click on “Save” or “Save and finish”.

Edit Service Screen [1]

For more efficient management of your services, it is recommended to use the filter field to search for specific services. Simply enter the name of the service you are looking for to filter the results.

You should pay special attention to changing object names. Certain setups such as dashboard filters, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and processes can be affected by a name change. Thorough documentation of your setup is essential here to prevent potential difficulties.

Important Service Settings

Section titled “Important Service Settings”

When adding or editing a service, various setting options are available to you. Fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory.

  • Service: The service name, which can contain any characters, including uppercase letters and spaces.
  • Subservice of: Allows you to assign the service to an existing service as a subservice.
  • Validity: Determines whether a service can be used in OTOBO. The service is only active if this option is set to “valid”.
  • Comment: Here you add additional information that is also visible in the overview table.

Finally, it is important to mention that a service is only selectable in the ticket screens if it is assigned to the ticket’s customer or set as a default service for all customers in the Customer User Services screen.

SLAs

Section titled “SLAs”

Compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is of the utmost importance for companies that want to offer efficient and customer-oriented services. SLAs define the standards for service quality, including response and resolution times, and are crucial for building trust and ensuring customer satisfaction. By managing service agreements, OTOBO, a comprehensive service desk and ticket system solution, provides the tools to consistently meet and exceed the expectations of your customers.

OTOBO’s offering for SLA management is particularly flexible and can be scaled with your business needs. It allows you to create numerous service agreements tailored to the specific requirements of your services and customers. Each SLA can include various services and regulate in detail which escalation times and availabilities apply.

Service Level Agreement Management Screen [1]

It is important to note that using this feature requires the Ticket::Service setting to be enabled in the System Configuration under the Administration group. This ensures that services and SLAs are selectable in the ticket screens. If you receive a warning message regarding this topic, you can navigate directly to the corresponding configuration setting via the link contained in the message.

Managing Service Level Agreements

Section titled “Managing Service Level Agreements”

Before you can add SLAs, it is required that services already exist in the system. Therefore, ensure that you create them first in the “Services” area.

To add a new SLA, follow these steps:

  1. Click on “Add SLA” in the left sidebar.
  2. Fill in the required fields.
  3. Confirm with “Save”.

Add Service Level Agreement Screen [1]

Please note that once created, service agreements cannot be deleted. However, you have the option to deactivate them by setting the validity to “invalid” or “invalid-temporarily”.

To edit an existing service agreement, select an SLA from the list, adjust the desired settings, and save your changes.

Edit Service Level Agreement Screen [1]

If there is a high number of SLAs in the system, you can use the filter field to search for specific service agreements by their name and edit them more quickly.

Settings for Service Level Agreements

Section titled “Settings for Service Level Agreements”

The following options are available when you add or edit a service agreement. Fields with an asterisk (*) are mandatory.

  • SLA*: The name of the service agreement; any characters can be entered into the field, including uppercase letters and spaces.
  • Service: Here you select one or more services that should be covered by this SLA.
  • Calendar: Define the calendar that determines the working hours for this service agreement. Calendars can be set in the System Configuration.

Escalation options include the First response time (minutes), which defines the maximum working time before an agent makes contact with the customer for the first time, and the Update time (minutes), which defines the maximum allowable period between agent contacts. It should be noted that the first response time is not triggered for an email ticket or a phone ticket created by an agent.

With these comprehensive features, OTOBO ensures that your organization complies with the terms of your service agreements, thereby creating the basis for a lasting customer relationship. Just as important as defining the service agreements themselves is the implementation of mechanisms that ensure these agreements are met. OTOBO offers detailed options for this, such as early notification of agents before the agreed times expire and the definition of resolution times for tickets. These features allow your team to act proactively and avoid potential escalations, which ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction.

To further increase the effectiveness of your SLAs, you can make settings in OTOBO that help your agents meet the agreed service times:

  • Notify by: This feature allows you to define percentage values at which notifications are sent before the time limit for first responses, updates, or resolutions is reached. Through this early alerting, agents have the opportunity to prioritize their tasks accordingly and act within the agreed deadlines.

  • Escalation - Solution time (minutes): Here you define the maximum working time within which a ticket must be marked as resolved. An important feature here is that the solution time of a ticket remains unchanged even after reopening. This consistency ensures clarity and helps in adhering to established SLAs.

  • Validity *: As with all resources in OTOBO, you must also define the validity for SLAs. Only resources whose validity is set to “valid” can be used. The ability to temporarily or permanently deactivate resources by setting their validity to “invalid” or “invalid-temporarily” offers flexibility in managing your service offering.

  • Comment: This field allows you to add additional information about a resource. A clear and complete description helps the entire support team to quickly grasp the purpose and relevance of a specific service agreement. The comment is also displayed in the overview table, thus increasing transparency.

  • Dialog message: If a customer selects a specific SLA when creating a ticket, a preset message can be displayed in the external interface. This offers an opportunity to inform the customer immediately about important information regarding the selected SLA.

By carefully configuring these settings in OTOBO, you can ensure a high standard in fulfilling your service agreements. This not only has a positive effect on the efficiency and responsiveness of your support team but also strengthens the trust and satisfaction of your customers.

Evaluating Services in Statistics

Section titled “Evaluating Services in Statistics”

Service data can be evaluated in the statistics. To do this, you must create a new statistic and define the desired filters and display options. Further information can be found here: OTOBO Statistics Management

Frequently asked questions

What are services in OTOBO and why are they important?

Services in OTOBO are a fundamental categorization tool used to classify customer requests based on the specific product offered or the support area involved. Their primary purpose is to ensure that incoming tickets are accurately routed and assigned to the most appropriate expert team. This categorization is crucial for optimizing service desk performance, preventing agents from handling requests outside their expertise or access rights, and ultimately reducing resolution times. By clearly defining services, organizations can streamline workflows and enhance customer satisfaction.

How do Service Level Agreements (SLAs) integrate with OTOBO services?

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are closely linked to services in OTOBO to establish clear expectations and targets for customer support. By associating an SLA with one or more services, you can define specific response and resolution times that apply to tickets categorized under those services. This integration is vital for ensuring compliance with agreed-upon service standards, building customer trust, and maintaining high satisfaction levels. OTOBO's flexible SLA management allows you to create numerous agreements tailored to different services and customer needs, specifying escalation times and availabilities.

What initial steps are required to use services in a new OTOBO installation?

A fresh OTOBO installation does not include any services by default, requiring manual configuration. The first crucial step is to ensure that the Ticket::Service feature is enabled in the System Configuration under the Administration group. This setting is essential for services to be selectable in ticket screens. After enabling this feature, you should proceed to configure your services under the Services module in the Ticket Settings group. This proactive setup is vital for categorizing requests and optimizing your customer support system from the outset.

How can I add and manage services in OTOBO?

To add a new service in OTOBO, navigate to the Services module within the Ticket Settings group. Click on the "Add service" button in the left sidebar, fill in the mandatory fields such as the service name, and then click "Save". For managing existing services, select a service from the list to edit its details. You can change fields like its name, assign it as a subservice, adjust its validity (e.g., "valid", "invalid", "invalid-temporarily"), or add a comment. Remember that services cannot be deleted; instead, they are deactivated by setting their validity to "invalid" or "invalid-temporarily". The filter field can be used for efficient searching of specific services.

What are the important settings when configuring an OTOBO service?

When configuring an OTOBO service, several key settings are available. The Service field is mandatory and defines the service name, which can include any characters. The Subservice of option allows you to organize services hierarchically by assigning a service to an existing parent service. Validity is crucial as it determines whether the service is active and usable in OTOBO; it must be set to "valid" for the service to be active. Finally, the Comment field allows you to add additional descriptive information that will be visible in the service overview table.

What are the implications of changing a service's name in OTOBO?

Changing a service's name in OTOBO requires careful consideration due to potential impacts on various system configurations. Altering a service name can affect existing setups such as dashboard filters, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and processes that rely on the original service name. It is highly recommended to have thorough documentation of your OTOBO setup to prevent potential difficulties or unexpected behavior after a name change. Always verify that all dependent configurations are updated accordingly to maintain system integrity and functionality.

How do I ensure a service is selectable for customers in ticket screens?

For a service to be selectable in the ticket screens by customers or agents, it must meet specific criteria. Crucially, the service needs to be either assigned directly to the ticket's customer or configured as a default service for all customers within the Customer User Services screen. If these assignments are not in place, the service will not appear as an option when creating or editing tickets, even if it is marked as "valid." This mechanism ensures that customers only see relevant services applicable to their profile.