We designed SimpleTicket to accept tickets from a web based client. One of our beta testers is interested in creating an option to submit tickets via email. This was considered but we decided against it for a couple of reasons.
The primary issue is our requirement to login - i.e. anyone can send an email to the ticketing system regardless of whether or not they are a client. We force the login on the web client - we did not come up with a way to do this from emails.
The good news is that one of the beta testers is going to work on a way accept ticket via email. If you have any ideas please let us know…
January 9, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Trouble Ticket | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
Several of our potential beta-testers have inquired about the client-side of SimpleTicket. I previously blogged about our decision to avoid Ajaxian effects on the client-side in the first release. The client is a very simple web client - i.e. just a simple webpage.
In our workflow we create a link on the user’s desktop that automatically fills in their username and password into the system. From the end-user’s perspective they click the button and see the tickect screen where they can complete their trouble ticket.
Shortly after we rollout SimpleTicket to the Architel client base we will be including a Visual Basic executable that will do two important things:
- Collect a quick inventory of hardware and software currently running on the machine.
- Retrieve the IP address of the machine (i.e. as they sometimes change we need the current one).
Architel will be using the IP address information to populate a small button on SimpleTicket that will automatically create a VNC session from the engineer’s workstation to the end-user’s workstation.
January 8, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Open Source , Trouble Ticket , New Feature , Architel , Ajax , Ajaxian , Visual Basic | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
SimpleTicket has been developed using Ruby on Rails and as a result we are able to incorporate Ajaxian effects. The Ajax libraries for Ruby on Rails are quite extensive and we have tried to include effects when they add to the user experience. We have also taken note that not all users have browsers that will play nice with our effects so here is our Ajax strategy:
- Ajax in the backend. We have determined that the majority of IT support folks use a standards based browser like Firefox. Our effects help the workflow and are nice to look at.
- No Ajax in the frontend. Users simply hit a simple webpage, without the cool Ajax effects. Most of our end-users use IE and would have fits trying to get the effects to work with their browsers.
We expect that in the near future Microsoft is going to get on the clue train and release a standards based version of IE, but until then we are sorry buy your end-users won’t know how cool SimpleTicket really is.
January 7, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Open Source , Trouble Ticket , Rails , Architel , IT Support , Ajax , Ajaxian , Ruby on Rails | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
In part three of our description of the Architel workflow we will detail the pending and contacted que found in SimpleTicket. As previously stated, the workflow for SimpleTicket was developed to meet the needs of Architel, a small IT support company located in Dallas, Texas.
What is the Pending Que? We call ‘new’ tickets ‘pending’ tickets within SimpleTicket. Basically, the idea was that these tickets are pending - i.e. they need to be resolved. Pending tickets must be addressed within 30 minutes or an alert is sounded in our Network Operations Center. In our system pending tickets are not necessarily new. In general they represent new trouble tickets entered by end-users; however, in some cases they are not. When they are not new they are called ‘contacted’ in our system.
Why are their some tickets marked as ‘contacted’ within the pending que? Often an engineer would open a pending trouble ticket and realize that he needed more information from the end-user to begin work. He would call the enduser and when he could not reach them he would leave the ticket in his ‘open’ ticket que. More frequently than not, the end-user would call back and leave a message for the engineer (he would be busy working on other issues); however, there was usually someone else available to talk to the end-user. So instead of needlessly making end-users speak to the engineer who just happened to open their ticket (but not begin work), we decided to have the engineer place the ticket back into the ‘pending’ que only to mark the ticket as ‘contacted’. When they are placed back in the pending que they are not bound by the 30 minute rule. If the end-user calls back, whoever answers the call can pick up the ticket. Saving the end-user time and more efficiently using our resources.
January 7, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Open Source , Trouble Ticket , Architel , IT Support | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
In part two of our description of the Architel workflow we will detail our external notifications from SimpleTicket. As previously stated, the workflow for SimpleTicket was developed to meet the needs of Architel, a small IT support company located in Dallas, Texas.
Email serves as our primary notification tool; however, in the future we hope that adoption of RSS feeds by users will replace email. Here are the current email notifications:
- Upon ‘open’ of the trouble ticket, end-user is notified of the name of the assigned engineer.
- Upon ‘close’ of the trouble ticket, end-user is notified that the ticket is has been closed.
- Upon ‘open’ without successful contact, end-user is notified that we need additional information to work on the ticket.
- Upon ‘open’ and determination that trouble ticket requires on-site support, end-user is notified that we have dispatched an engineer on-site.
We plan to offer various level of notification that a user can set. For example, each time a ticket is updated an end-user may wish to be notified of the update. Or an end-user might desire never to be notified.
January 7, 2006 |
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Tags: SimpleTicket , Open Source , Trouble Ticket | Bookmark on del.icio.us | Digg It
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