The CERN Problem Report Management System (PRMS)

DRAFT

User Guide

 

 

Alan Lovell

 

 

Table of Figures *

The CERN Problem Report Management System (PRMS) *

Introduction *

Background *

The Remedy User Tool *

Installing the User Tool *

Configuring the User Tool *

Starting PRMS *

The PRMS Application *

1. The Header Area *

2. The Case Description *

Summary *

Details *

Work Log *

Reply *

3. The Case Details *

Case ID *

Domain *

Category *

Type *

Item *

Source *

Case Type *

Priority *

Status *

4. The Assignments *

Support Level *

Group *

Individual *

Return To Helpdesk *

5. The Page Field *

1. Requester Profile *

2. Status Details *

On Hold Reason *

Submitted By *

Duplicates *

3. Machine Details *

Hostname *

IP Address *

Hardware Address *

Socket ID *

Serial Number *

Service ID *

Operating System *

Hardware Type *

GetHostInfo Button *

4. Time Information *

Arrived *

Assigned *

Fixed *

Modified *

5. Solution Look Up *

Listing Solutions *

Keyword *

Creating new solutions *

6. Attachment *

7. Trace Log *

8. The Copy Reply To: Box *

Submitting A Request *

Searches *

Quick Searches *

Defined Searches *

Searches Which Use Macros *

Search-by-example *

Advanced Searches *

Examples of Advanced Searches *

1. Searching for a Date Range *

2. Searching for Requests that are "Open" or "On Hold" *

3. Searching for Requests which arrived after 08:00 Hrs Today *

4. Searching for Requests which have been modified *

Saving a Search *

The Results List *

Editing A Request *

Setting Reminders *

Reporting *

Printing a Request *

 

 

Table of Figures

 

Figure 1 : Login Panel *

Figure 2 : User Tool Configuration *

Figure 3 : User Tool - Tools Menu *

Figure 4 : Options *

Figure 5 : User Tool - File Menu *

Figure 6 : Find Forms *

Figure 7 : Create Window *

Figure 8 : Header Area *

Figure 9 : Case Description *

Figure 10 : Case Details *

Figure 11 : Assignments *

Figure 12 : Requester Profile *

Figure 13 : Status Details *

Figure 14 : ARERR (10016) *

Figure 15 : Status Details - Work at external company *

Figure 16 : Status Details - Work at external company/Support List *

Figure 17 : Status Details - Sent to External Analyst *

Figure 18 : Scheduled Completion Date - Calendar *

Figure 19 : Duplicate Cases - Selection list *

Figure 20 : Duplicate Cases - Selection list 2 *

Figure 21 : Machine Details *

Figure 22 : Time Information *

Figure 23 : Solution Look Up *

Figure 24 : Keyword Search *

Figure 25 : PRMS:Solutions - Search Results *

Figure 26 : Creating a Solution *

Figure 27 : The Trace Log *

Figure 28 : Copy Reply To *

Figure 29 : PRMS Defined Searches *

Figure 30 : Search Macros *

Figure 31 : Search-by-example *

Figure 32 : Selecting the Advanced Search Option *

Figure 33 : The Advanced Search Bar *

Figure 34 : Advanced Search Selection Lists *

Figure 35 : Advanced Search - List of Avalable Fields (Partial) *

Figure 36 : Advanced Search - Field Selection Values *

Figure 37 : Advanced Search - Keywords *

Figure 38 : Relational Operators Used in Search-By-Example *

Figure 39 : Search-by-Example/Advanced Search *

Figure 40 : Save Search *

Figure 41 : The Search Results List *

 

 

The CERN Problem Report Management System (PRMS)

 

Introduction

The CERN PRMS (Problem Report Management System) is a general purpose tracking system that is available to all CERN Experiments/Support Groups. It is based on the Action Request System (ARS) from the Remedy Corporation. The Action Request System is a development tool, which allows the design of a tailored system with an easy to use graphical interface. The system runs on a central server machine, which is a Sun 450 and uses an Oracle database. Client (or User) tools are available for Windows platforms (Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows 2000) and Solaris and HP Unix systems. There is also a web interface.

 

Background

It was originally designed as a tool for monitoring the Desktop Support Services, which are provided by an External Service Provider. The application was designed at the end of 1998/beginning 1999 and first went into production, with a single support 'Domain' (see below), in April 1999. The initial Domain was the Desktop Support Domain. Two "special" Domains were included in June 1999 for the User Support and EDMS Services. These were special in that the requests received in these Domains were not treated within PRMS but were passed onto different Remedy applications. During the first months of 2000 the system was expanded to include reporting Domains for ATLAS, CMS, LHCb and OPAL. During the course of 2000 the system continued to expand with the addition of more Domains and the User Support application was also merged with PRMS. There are currently nine Domains:

ATLAS

CMS

Desktop Support

Divisional Support

EDMS Support (external application)

IT Services

LHCb

OPAL

User Support

Each of the Domains is independent from the others and, unless special privileges have been granted, a user may only access his/her allocated Domain.

 

  

The Remedy User Tool

Installing the User Tool

The user tool may be downloaded from from the following web page:

http://it-div-ts-ir.web.cern.ch/it-div-ts-ir/

Full instructions for installation are given on the relevant pages. During the installation you will be asked for the name of the Server, it is:

remedy01.cern.ch

You will also be asked if you would like the notification tool to be started on system startup. The notification tool is not generally used in the PRMS application so you should answer No to this question.

Both the Windows and Unix client tools are available from this page, however please note that Remedy will soon stop support for Unix client so the use of these versions is deprecated. Instead it is recommended that Unix users user the Web interface which may be accessed on the url:

http://hep-service-prms.web.cern.ch/hep-service-prms/

 

Configuring the User Tool

If you are using a windows platform and you have installed the User Tool as described above you may start the tool by clicking on:

Start/Programs/Action Request Systemâ 4.0/Remedy User

The Action Request system should start and the login panel will appear prompting you for a username and password.

Figure 1 : Login Panel

 

If you do not already have a username/password for the Remedy system then you should send a mail to Remedy.Support @cern.ch requesting that you be registered. In the email please include the following information:

Before you login for the first time check that the correct Server has been set up in your user tool. To do this click on the "Accounts" button in the login panel. The "Accounts" panel will then be displayed:

 

Figure 2 : User Tool Configuration

The entry should look like the example above with the server "remedy01.cern.ch" in the server list and a down arrow in the "AR Svr" column. If there is no down arrow click in this column until one appears. The column "Ntfy Svr" should be empty.

When the server setting has been verified login using the username and password that you have been given by your Remedy Administrator. The next step is to set the "view" of the application that you are going to use. Within PRMS there are various views defined for different requirements. For most support staff the "Support" view should be used. This should be set in the User Tool. To do this, go to the "Tools/Options..." menu as shown in Figure 3 below:

 

Figure 3 : User Tool - Tools Menu

This will display the "Options" panel. You should then select the "Advanced" tab and enter "Support" in the "Default Form View:" field as shown below. Please note that this is case sensitive. Select OK when you have finished.

 

Figure 4 : Options

 

Starting PRMS

Now that the User Tool has been correctly configured you may start PRMS. To do this go to the menu bar of the User Tool and select "File/Search For/More Forms... Ctrl+S" (or "File/Create a New/More Forms... Ctrl+S" if you wish to create a new request) as shown below:

 

Figure 5 : User Tool - File Menu

 

This will open a new window giving you a list of forms to choose from. The contents of this list will depend on the privileges that have been allocated to your user account. Most support staff will see the following forms (see also Figure 6 below):

 

PRMS:ProblemMgmt

The main PRMS Application.

PRMS:SimpleCases

This is a special application designed to allow the Helpdesk staff to record calls that they have been able to solve rapidly at the Helpdesk, without the overhead of the main PRMS Application

PRMS:Solutions

The PRMS Solution Application - See the section on Solutions.

PW:ChangePassword

A form which you may use to change your Remedy password. The user will simply be promted for the old and new passwords.

 

You should choose the "PRMS:ProblemMgmt" application. This is the principle form for the PRMS application and for most users all operations can be carried out from this form. This includes searching for or creating solutions, setting reminders, creating reports etc. These functions are explained later in this document.

 

Figure 6 : Find Forms

The PRMS Application

The form, shown in Figure 7, is divided into six basic areas:

 

 

Figure 7 : Create Window

 

Note:

Fields labelled in bold characters are required fields. It will not be possible to submit the request unless these fields have been completed.

1. The Header Area

 

Figure 8 : Header Area

The header area gives the name of the application and the server that it is running on.

 

2. The Case Description

Figure 9 : Case Description

 

The case description box contains the following fields:

 

Summary

A short summary (max 128 characters) of the problem. This is a required field.

 

Details

Full description of the Case. This is a required field.

 

Work Log

The work log is a diary field. A diary field is an append only field which contains a history of the actions made on the request. Each entry in the diary field is stamped with the date, time and login id of the person who made the changes. Although this is not a required field a reminder will be displayed if the case has been modified without updating the work log. The work log will be automatically updated when:

Further details of these conditions are given below.

 

Reply

This field is used to dialogue with the requester. Any entry in this field will be sent to the user unless the "No Notification" flag is set (see below). A copy of this entry will also be appended to the Work Log and, if the status of the case is set to "Fixed", the contents will be copied to the "Solutions" field. The field is then cleared ready for the next modifications. These actions occur on "Save". If the report status has been set to "Fixed" the maintainer will be forced to update this field in order that the work log and solutions fields are kept up to date.

3. The Case Details

Figure 10 : Case Details

The information in this area is used to define the case in greater detail. The fields used are:

 

Case ID

This is a unique identification number for the case, which is automatically generated by the system. The number can contain 15 characters and for the PRMS:ProblemMgmt application this number has the prefix "CT".

 

Domain

This field defines the current "Domain" to which the case has been assigned. There are nine domains:

ATLAS

The ATLAS Experiment

CMS

The CMS Experiment

Desktop Support

The desktop support services supplied by an external service provider

Divisional Support

Divisional Support Services

EDMS Support

CAD CAM services supplied by the AS Division. This services uses a different Remedy application running on a different server. For this support line the PRMS application serves only as an entry point. Requests in this Domain are automatically transferred to the AS Server and closed in PRMS.

IT Services

IT Support Services

LHCb

The LHCb Experiment

OPAL

The OPAL Experiment

User Support

Services offered by the IT User Support Group

Each of the Domains is independent from the others and, unless special privileges have been granted, a user may only access his/her allocated Domain. For most support staff , who are using the 'Support View', this field will be preset to the domain to which they are attached. In this case the field will be hidden from view and the maintainer concerned may only work within the preset domain.

 

Category

This menu field offers the requester the option to choose the category of the problem, e.g. Unix Workstation. This is a required field.

 

Type

Once the Category has been chosen, this field allows the user to select an appropriate type. For example, if the category is Unix Workstation, the types available on this menu might be AIX, ASIS, Dunix, HPUX, Linux, Solaris and Xterm. This is a required field.

 

Item

Once the Type has been chosen, this menu allows the submitter to choose a specific item. For example, if the Category is Unix Workstation, and the Type is Dunix, the Item might be Installation or Operating System. This is a required field.

 

Source

This field represents the method by which this case entered the system:

Phone

The case was taken by a member of the helpdesk/support staff over the phone.

Requester

The requester submitted the case directly using the Action Request System or personal visit to the Help desk/support staff.

Email

The case was received via email to the help desk or support staff.

Web

The requester submitted the case via a web browser.

Direct

The request was submitted directly via Email to one of the support mail accounts (aix.support@cern.ch, afs.support.....)

If no selection is made, the field defaults to Phone. This is a required field.

 

Case Type

This identifies the type of case:

Support

General support request. All cases submitted using the direct mail interface (aix.support@cern.ch etc.) are set to this by default.

Documentation

A problem with the documentation.

Change Request

A request for a change in behaviour.

Move

A move of equipment from one location to another.

Installation / Upgrade

Installation and upgrades of hardware or software.

If no value is supplied for this field, it defaults to Support. This is a required field.

 

Priority

The priority that the help desk staff has defined for the case. The Priority determines when the case gets escalated and allows the help desk staff member to set priorities within the work load. The following priority levels are available:

Low

The product or component is working in general but lacks features, has irritating behaviour, does something wrong or doesn't match its documentation. Also applies to planned interventions, installations or upgrades and bulk requests.

Medium

The product or component is not working properly or significant functionality is missing but a workaround is available so the user can continue to work or the user agrees that he/she can continue to work on another task. Problems that would otherwise be considered "High" are rated "Medium" when a workaround is known.

High

The product or component is completely non-operational or some essential functionality is missing. A workaround may exist but requires an intervention.

Urgent

A medium or high priority request has not been handled within the time period defined by the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for this support line.

When a request is set to the priority "Urgent" PRMS may be configured so that an SMS message is sent to a predefined GSM number. One pnone number may be defined for each notification group.

This is a required field. The default for this field is medium priority.

 

Status

These radio buttons are used to select the current status of the request. The states are:

 

New

A new request which has not been assigned to a support group or individual.

Assigned

The request has been assigned to a support group (also known as a notification group) or an individual. On arrival the request will be automatically assigned to a support (notification) group and each member of that group will be notified.

Open

A member of the support group has accepted the case and has started working to resolve the case. The field "Individual" should contain the name of the person working on the case.

On Hold

The case cannot be resolved at the current time and has to be suspended for a defined reason. There are five possible reasons for putting the case "On Hold". These are:

    • Waiting for parts
    • Work at external Company
    • Requester Information
    • Sent to External Analyst
    • Scheduled Intervention

A full explanation of these is given in the section "2. Status Details" below.

Fixed

A possible solution has been found and the requester informed.

Closed

The case has been solved and the requester is happy with the solution. A request which has been in the fixed state for 5 working days will be automatically set to closed. A closure code should be given if the request is set to closed manually. This can be set in the "Status Details" section of the form and there are four possible codes:

  • Successful: The solution has worked as expected.
  • Successful with problems: The solution given is good enough to allow the user to continue working, however, it is only a work around (such as pending a new software release).
  • Unsuccessful: A working solution has not been found.
  • Automatically Closed: The case was closed automatically.

 

This is a required field.

 

4. The Assignments

 

Figure 11 : Assignments

These fields contain the assignment information for the case. In general the assignments are carried out automatically and these fields will only require manual modification when reassigning the request to another individual or another support group. All other assignments such as the initial assignment or reassigning to another group are based on the categorisation of the request.

 

Support Level

This is the support level to which the case is currently assigned.

Helpdesk

When a case arrives at the helpdesk the staff have 10 minutes to solve the problem before passing it on to the next level.

Second Level

Second level support staff (Contract staff or CERN staff according to domain and category).

Third Level

Expert staff with a detailed knowledge of the product in question. Possibly external.

 

Group

This field holds the name of the Support group to which the case is assigned.

 

Individual

This field holds the name of the Support person (staff member) to whom the case is assigned.

 

Return To Helpdesk

If a problem has been incorrectly assigned by the helpdesk staff to a particular support line this button may be used to set the necessary fields so that the case may be returned to the helpdesk. This is a two stage operation because the web pages do not support the auto commit action. For this reason it is necessary to first press the "Return To Helpdesk" button and then the "Save" (see Fig. 1 on page 2) button. The case will be re-categorised in a special helpdesk category and the helpdesk staff will be informed of the action via a notifier message (a mail to the helpdesk would create a new request).

 

5. The Page Field

The page field contains seven different pages of information. Each of these pages may be selected using a tab. This allow many fields to be contained in a small area and avoids having to scroll through a long form, thus making it easier to use. The page field contains information pages for:

Each of these pages are described below.

1. Requester Profile

Figure 12 : Requester Profile

This page contains information concerning the person who is asking for support. The following fields are used:

2. Status Details

 

Figure 13 : Status Details

 

This page contains additional status details for the case. The snapshot above displays all of the fields on this

page, however, in normal use the "External Analyst/Company Email" and the "Scheduled Completion Date" fields are hidden until there are needed. Further explanation is given below. The fields available on this page are:

 

On Hold Reason

When the case is placed in the "On Hold" state a reason for this must be given. If an attempt to save the request is made without a reason having been selected an error message will be given:

 

Figure 14 : ARERR (10016)

 

There are five predefined "On Hold Reasons":

These are described in detail below:

 

Waiting for parts: The repair cannot be completed until some necessary parts have been delivered.

Work at external company: The problem could not be resolved in house and has been referred to an external company for further analysis. When this reason is selected the "External Analyst/Company Email" field will appear.

 

Figure 15 : Status Details - Work at external company

 

The email address of the external company should be inserted and when the request is saved an appropriately formatted mail will be sent to the company concerned. If a list of "most used" external companies and analysts has been defined for this support service a menu containing a list of these names will be attached to the "External Analyst/Company Email". The maintainer then simply needs to select the correct address for the case in question.

 

 

Figure 16 : Status Details - Work at external company/Support List

 

Requester Information: Further information is required from the requester.

Sent to External Analyst: The problem could not be resolved by the second (or where defined third) level support services defined for this type of problem within the PRMS application and has been referred to an external analyst. When this reason is selected the "External Analyst/Company Email" field will appear.

 

Figure 17 : Status Details - Sent to External Analyst

The email address of the external analyst should be inserted and when the request is saved an appropriately formatted mail will be sent to the analyst concerned. If a list of "most used" external companies and analysts has been defined for this support service a menu containing a list of these names will be attached to the "External Analyst/Company Email". The maintainer then simply needs to select the correct address for the case in question. See example in Figure 16.

Scheduled Intervention: The case has been scheduled for a later date. When this reason is selected the "Scheduled Completion Date" field will appear. A calendar will be displayed if the grey box to the right of the field is selected. The maintainer may then choose a date and time when the reminder message should be sent.

Figure 18 : Scheduled Completion Date - Calendar

 

Submitted By

The login ID of the person submitting the request. This is a required field which is filled automatically.

Duplicates

The fields in this box allow for the identification of duplicates of the current case. This feature may be used in the following way:

 

Figure 19 : Duplicate Cases - Selection list

 

When entering a request which is a duplicate of a previous entry clicking on the "Duplicate Info" box will produce a selection list of all possible candidates for the "Original" request. Select the relevant entry followed by OK. At this point the "Dup ID" field of the current request will be completed with Case ID number of the "Original"(or master) request. In the case below this will be the number of the highlighted case "CT0000000000029". At the same time the "Dup ID" field of the original case will be modified to contain the word "Original". This procedure may be repeated many times for s for the same original request.

 

Now that the Original and duplicates have been selected, a modification, for example a change of state, for

one of the requests will cause the others in the set to be modified in the same way. Thus it is not necessary to modify each request in turn

The next time that the "Duplicate Info" button is pressed the system will recognise that there are duplicates already flagged and produce a different selection list with the following options (see Figure 20. below):

Select Existing Duplicates: This option will allow you to select a new candidate duplicate case and overwrite the current entry (to be used with care).

Display Duplicates: This option will display all of the duplicates of the current case in a new window.

Figure 20 : Duplicate Cases - Selection list 2

3. Machine Details

 

Figure 21 : Machine Details

 

This page contains, where appropriate, details of the requester's desktop system. These details may be obtained from the CERN network database as explained below. The fields on this page are:

 

Hostname

The hostname of the machine in question (e.g. pcit22). Typing in the hostname followed by a carriage return will force PRMS to search the CERN network database for a matching entry. If one is found the rest of the machines details will be automatically filled in. If the host name is not known then the "GetHostInfo" button may be used. See below for a complete explanation on using this button.

 

IP Address

The system's IP (Internet Protocol) address.

 

Hardware Address

The hardware address of the system's ethernet adapter board.

 

Socket ID

The identification number, of the wall socket, to which the system is connected.

 

Serial Number

The system's serial number. This number is not available from the network database.

 

Service ID

The number which identifies the service to which the system is connected.

 

Operating System

The operating system that is installed on the system.

 

Hardware Type

The make and type of the system

 

GetHostInfo Button

If the hostname of the requester's system is unknown this button can be used to obtain information on the machines that have been registered in the network database under the name given in the "Requester Profile" page of PRMS. If a unique match is found then the information will be automatically filled in from the CERN database. If multiple matches are found a selection list will be presented from which a selection can be made.

4. Time Information

 

Figure 22 : Time Information

The PRMS application has many timers implemented in order to track and follow up on the performance of the outsourced desktop support services. These timers are used to enforce the application of the Service Level Agreements (SLA) which have been defined for this contract. These escalations may also be used, if required, for other areas. For the main part these timers are not visible and the warnings and alarms are sent to the relevant manager via email. This page contains the time information which is visible and consists of two areas. The first (upper) area is for use by the contract staff for those cases where the request has been entered as "Fixed" and hence the normal timers are not used. It allows the staff to manually input the time that has been taken to solve the problem. If this has actually been carried out in several sessions the field "Total Time Spent" will display the sum of the increments.

The lower area of the page displays the following fields which are updated automatically:

 

Arrived

The time that the request was initially filed in the PRMS database.

 

Assigned

The time that the case was assigned to a support group or individual. Most cases are automatically assigned on arrival, hence this time will normally be the same as the "Arrived" time.

 

Fixed

Total time from "the time that the case was registered to when it was fixed.

 

Modified

The time that the entry was last modified.

 

5. Solution Look Up

 

Figure 23 : Solution Look Up

 

The PRMS application has a separate solution form. This was implemented in this way for the following reasons:

  • Not all solutions of PRMS cases will be of interest for future reference. There are many which will contain simple references to such things as quota changes or system upgrades. Although these are of interest for the particular case they will have no relevance for future cases so this information will be copied into the solution field of this page but it will not be transferred to the "Knowledge base".

  • The solutions form allows the support staff to manage their solutions.

  • In the future when it may be necessary to archive some of the PRMS cases it may not be desirable to lose the possible solutions.

  • A look up of a greatly reduced number of items in the solution form will be much quicker and use fewer system resources that a search on the main PRMS application.

The fields in this page allow the maintainer to search for existing solutions or create a new solution in the knowledge base.

 

Listing Solutions

 

Keyword

This field allows the entry of a search keyword. If a keyword is entered and the "List Solutions" option of the selection list displayed when the solutions button is pressed (see below), PRMS will search the solution database for an entry matching the current Category, Type and Item and where the keyword exists in the solution summary. NB: This is not the same (although it could be) as the problem summary of PRMS. The solution summary is added by the maintainer when the solution is created (see below for more information on creating solutions). If the keyword field is left blank then the search will look for entries matching the current Category, Type and Item.

 

 

Figure 24 : Keyword Search

Selecting the option "List Solutions" will search the PRMS:Solutions form for a matching request:

 

Figure 25 : PRMS:Solutions - Search Results

 

Creating new solutions

To create a solution:

  • In PRMS open the case for which you would like to create a solution.

  • In the "Solution Look Up" tab page press the "Solutions" button.

  • Select the "Create Solution" option from the selection list (see Figure 18 0n page 16)

This will open the PRMS:Solutions form and copy the following fields from PRMS:ProblemMgmt to PRMS:Solutions:

PRMS:ProblemMgmt Field

PRMS:Solutions Field

Case ID

PRMS Case ID

Domain

Domain

Category

Category

Type

Type

Item

Item

Summary

Summary

Details

Details

Solution

Solution Details

 

Figure 26 : Creating a Solution

  • A solution summary must be entered.

Hint: Since this field is to be used for the keyword search it is important that a meaningful text is

entered here.

  • Set the solution status. There are three possible states:

 

Current

This is a valid solution which has been tested and is known to work. The solution search option will only list the solutions that are current.

Proposed

A solution which has not yet been proved to work.

Obsolete

A solution which is no longer valid. Possibly superseded by a new release, or a patch to the product.

  • Save the solution

6. Attachment

The attachment page may be used to add attachments to the request.

7. Trace Log

 

Figure 27 : The Trace Log

The trace log page contains information, which is stored in another form, on the history of the case. Each time that a maintainer modifies the request an entry is added to the trace log containing the following information:

Date/ Time

The date and time of the change.

User

The login id of the person who made the change.

Status

The current status of the request.

Assigned to Group

The support group to which the case has been assigned.

Assigned To

The individual to which the case has been assigned.

Time Spent (Mins)

The time spent in minutes for the current action (Desktop Contract Only).

Miscellaneous

Contains entries for changes of Category, Type, Item and On Hold information.

This information is useful for tracing any problems that may arise in the handling of the case.

8. The Copy Reply To: Box

 

Figure 28 : Copy Reply To

If an email address, or a comma separated list of email addresses is entered in this field the contents of the "Reply" field will be copied to this/these address(es).

NB: Whenever PRMS sends a notification a pop up window will appear on the screen as confirmation.

 

Submitting A Request

Submitting a request is simple and fast. Only the required fields are needed and the requester profile can be completed from the CERN phonebook. The required fields are:

    • Summary
    • Details
    • Domain : In most cases this is preset when the form is opened and the field is not visible.
    • Category
    • Type
    • Item : For some support lines this field is not used. In that case the field is set to a

predefined value and hidden.
    • Source : Defaults to "Phone"
    • Case Type : Defaults to "Support"
    • Priority : Defaults to "Medium"
    • E-Mail :

 

If the requester is registered in the CERN phone book then the Requester Profile will be automatically completed if one of the following fields are filled in followed by the Enter key on the keyboard:

    • ID
    • Name
    • First Name
    • E-Mail
    • Phone 1

If multiple matches are found then a selection list will be presented from which the relevant person may be selected.

It is not necessary to select an entry for the Status or for the Assignment details as these will be completed automatically by PRMS.

 

 

 

Searches

This section shows how to create searches within PRMS. It is divided into three sections:

    • Quick Searches
    • Search-by-example
    • Advanced Searches

 

Quick Searches

There are a number of predefined searches available within PRMS. The searches available depend on the view being used. The searches described below are those that are available in the "Support" view. These searches can be accessed from the menu bar of the User Tool, in either the Action Menu or the Cases Menu, as shown below.

 

Defined Searches

Figure 29 : PRMS Defined Searches

 

In the defined searches you will find a number of predefined searches. In each case I have shown how the search was created in order to give examples of how you may create your own advanced searches.

 

Search Name

Description

Action

Today

Today's Requests

'Arrival Time' > $DATE$

Last 7 Days

Requests that arrived during the last 7 days

'Arrival Time' > ($DATE$ - 604800)

Last 14 Days

Requests that arrived during the last 14 days

'Arrival Time' > ($DATE$ - 1209600)

Last 30 Days

Requests that arrived during the last 30 days

'Arrival Time' > ($DATE$ - 2592000)

Urgent Problems

Urgent problems still being worked on

( 'Priority' = "Urgent") AND ( 'Status' < "Fixed")

High Priority

High Priority Problems still being worked on

( 'Priority' = "High") AND ( 'Status' < "Fixed")

Unix Workstation Open

Open reports for Unix Workstation Category

( 'Category' = "Unix Workstation" ) AND ( 'Status' < "Fixed")

PC Desktop Open

Open reports for PC Desktop

( 'Category' = "PC Desktop" ) AND ( 'Status' < "Fixed")

AFS Active

Active AFS Reports

( 'Category' = "File Systems" ) AND ( 'Type' = "AFS" ) AND ( 'Status' < "Fixed")

NB: For searches covering a time period (last 7 days etc.) the time is calculated by taking the current date stamp and subtracting the number of seconds for the period required (e.g. 7 days = 604800 seconds).

 

Searches Which Use Macros

As well as the defined searches in the "Actions" menu there are four macros which have been created to provide some more complicated searches. These macros can be found in the "Cases" menu of the User Tool as shown below:

 

 

Figure 30 : Search Macros

 

 

 

Macro Name

Action

List Requester's Open Cases

This action will list all of the active cases which have been submitted by the current requester.

List Similar Cases

This action will list the cases with the same Category, Type and Item as the current case.

List My Open Cases

This action will list all of the active cases attributed to the person logged in.

List Group's Open Cases

This action will check the PRMS configuration files for the groups to which the person currently logged in belongs. If he/she belongs to more that one notification group then a selection list will appear listing the groups. It is then possible to select the group for which a listing is required.

 

Search-by-example

The simplest method to specify search criteria is to enter the relevant information in the fields, or select choices from the options buttons, of the search window. This is a search-by-example, or Query By Example (QBE). Shown below is an example of a search which would produce a list of all the requests for the Category "PC Desktop" and the Type "Hardware" where the Status is currently "Assigned" and the Priority has been set to "High".

 

 Figure 31 : Search-by-example

 

In is not possible to perform an unqualified search on the CERN server. An unqualified search is one where all of the fields in the query window have been cleared and the search would return all of the requests submitted using the form. In the case of PRMS, where there are a very large number of entries, this would cause performance problems on the server and freeze the users desktop system for a considerable time. For this reason unqualified searches have been disabled and an error message will be displayed.

 

Advanced Searches

An advanced search allows for the definition of more complex search criteria. This type of search may be used to search for cases that match several values for the same field. For example, you may wish to search for requests that have a status of Fixed and Closed. In order to use the advanced search option you must first display the search bar. This is done by selecting the "Advanced" button in the top right hand corner of the search window.

 

Figure 32 : Selecting the Advanced Search Option

This will open the Search Bar at the bottom of the window:

 

 

 

Figure 33 : The Advanced Search Bar

 

Selecting the "Fields" menu will give access to the selection menus for the:

    • List of fields in the application
    • Lists of the Selection values for fields which have selection lists (not menus) attached.
    • List of available keywords

Figure 34 : Advanced Search Selection Lists

 

Figure 35 : Advanced Search - List of Avalable Fields (Partial)

Use this list to select the fields that you wish to use in the advanced search.

 

 

 

 

Figure 36 : Advanced Search - Field Selection Values

 

Figure 37 : Advanced Search - Keywords

A search pattern may be created using a combination of the options presented in these menus and the operators and wildcards shown on the search bar.

 

The advanced search and the search-by-example may be used in combination. Any criterion which is entered in the search bar is used in addition to the criteria which has been defined in the search-by-example section of the window. The two sets of criteria are used (a logical AND).

The relational operators and keywords may also be used in the fields during a search-by-example:

 

Figure 38 : Relational Operators Used in Search-By-Example

In this example the search would return a list of all the reports that were assigned on the current day or afterwards. The same result could have been achieved with the following entry in the "Assigned" field:

> 23/02/01 : Where "23/02/01" is the current date

 

Examples of Advanced Searches

  1. Searching for a Date Range

    2. If you wish to select and list the requests which arrived in a specific date range.

    'Arrived' > "15/02/01" AND 'Arrived' < "17/02/01"

    This selects all cases which arrived after the 14th February 2001 (the arrived date is greater that the 15th February 2001) and which arrived before midnight on the 16th February 20001.

  2. Searching for Requests that are "Open" or "On Hold"

    3. If you would like to retrieve all of the requests that arrived after a specific date and which currently have the status of Open or On Hold.

    'Arrived' > "15/02/01" AND ('Status' = "Open" OR 'Status' = "On Hold")

    This will find all cases which arrived on the 15th February 2001 and after which are currently Open or On Hold.

  3. Searching for Requests which arrived after 08:00 Hrs Today

    4. Arrived' > $DATE$ + 28800 : 28800 is the number of seconds in 8 hours.

     

  4. Searching for Requests which have been modified

If you would like to find all of the requests for a particular support line which have been modified within a defined time period.

('Category' = "Unix Workstation" AND 'Type' = "Linux") AND ( 'Modified' > $DATE$ - 604800)

Looks for cases in the Category "Unix Workstation" and Type "Linux" which have been modified during the last 7 days (604800 is the number of seconds in 7 days)

('Category' = "PC Desktop" AND 'Type' = "Windows NT") AND ( 'Modified' > $DATE$ - 604800) AND ('Status' < "Fixed")

This looks for the requests in the Category "PC Desktop" and Type "Windows NT" which have been modified in the last 7 days and where the current status is less than "Fixed" (the case is "active").

These searches could also be done using a mixture of search-by-example and the advanced search as shown below. Note that the Domain is already set as the user is logged on as a member of the "Desktop Support" Domain.

 

Figure 39 : Search-by-Example/Advanced Search

Saving a Search

If an advanced search is to be used on a regular basis it may be saved in the user's personal list of searches. To do this you will need to do the following:

  • Define the search in the Advanced Search Bar
  • Perform the search
  • From the "Actions" menu select the "Save Search..." option

 

 

  • This will open a dialogue box and you will be asked to enter the name for the saved search
  • Type in the name of the search and click OK
  • The search will then appear in the "Actions/My Searches" option

 

The Results List

When the search is performed the results will be displayed in the "Results List" at the top of the window:

Figure 41 : The Search Results List

The entries in this list are colour coded according to their priority as follows:

Low : Green

Medium : Blue

High : Brown

Urgent : Red

 

Editing A Request

 

Setting Reminders

 

Reporting

 

Printing a Request