Product Feature List

General Functionality

• SMART Desk has a CMDB (Configuration Management Database) for managing key ITIL functions and processes: IT Service Desk, Incident, Problem, Change, Release, Configuration, Service Level, and Financial Management
• Supports ITSM process with configurable workflows for ticket assignment and electronic request approvals
• Supports a web and mobile interface for end users and support agents / managers
• Has ITIL best-practice processes, categorization and templates embedded in the tool for accelerated ITIL implementations
• Simple and advanced search capabilities in all ITSM processes
• Can add new forms, for all key ITSM processes with zero code.
• The solution has current responsive design and modern web design principles
• Supports System Outages, news flash within the graphical user interface
• The system also displays the organization, news and outages within the Graphical User interface.
• A Rich feature of Dashboards and SMART auto refresh screens are available to display the key information on a single screen.
• Request status and updated notes can acknowledge via email notifications and a link will be provided in the email for a direct access to the ticket.
• Approvals can be made via email.
• The parent - child relationship between the cases of all ITIL processes such as (Incidents, Problems, Service Requests, Change and Release Records) can be maintained through process relations
• Multilingual application available for all major world languages

Incident Management

• Supports the creation, modification, resolution and closure OR cancellation of incident records
• The System will automatically generate a unique ID for each Incident created
• Can link Incidents to Problem Records, Service Requests, known workarounds and RFCs
• Can link Incidents, Service Requests, Problem, Change and Release Records to the Configuration Items / Assets in CMDB)
• Can close and notify incident owners when the associated problem is resolved
• Stores historical incident data and other Incident related information, including an audit history with updates and resolutions
• Supports flexible incident classification and schemas for quick logging of incidents
• Incident matching and trending information is available at ticket level
• Supports feedback satisfaction surveys, upon the close of an incident.
• Workflow supports automatic prioritization, assignment and escalation of Incidents based on the service
• Can have hierarchical or functional escalation, as per workflow rules and/or service-level clock expiration.
• Integrates with event and alert monitoring tools, and allow for automatic creation, update and closure of Incident, Problem, Change tickets
• Can input free text, file attachments for the recording of incident descriptions and resolution activities.
• Define and use reason for closure categorization codes upon incident closure.
• Can use knowledge base and/or support scripts for incident diagnosis and resolution.
• Supports creation of Service Request for Change or Problem from an incident with automatic population of fields.
• Supports feedback satisfaction surveys, upon the close of an incident.
• Initiate a ticket on behalf of someone else - list the requestor as different than the creator of the ticket
• Allows incidents to be placed on hold, with a reason code
• Resolved tickets will automatically trigger an email to the user
• The customer can choose to receive an Email/SMS/Surveys as their preference
• Can send multiple resolutions for tickets, if the resolution is rejected by the end user or customer
• Supports assignment of multiple tags to an incident and report/search on those tags.

Request Fulfillment

• Supports quick Logging of Service Requests from creating service request form or from service catalog
• Supports generation of different workflows (with different subtasks auto creation) for different types of requests for both IT and Non IT Services
• Allow for the automatic sending, receiving and logging of approvals for requests, from IT and Business users.
• Automated status updates to requestors when a request reaches specific points in the workflow. But elect to opt-out if needed.
• For request owners to reply via email and have an email automatically entered in the notes about the job
• Interface with Procurement and IT Financial Systems, and manage URL's from ECM
• Frequently Asked Questions support capability for requestors.
• Submit attachments as part of a service request and they are stored with the service request.
• Ability for support staff to make private work notes on incident/service request records which are not viewable by customers.
• Automate request routing for appropriate authorizations (e.g.: Financial, security, etc.).
• Route and assign service request records to pre-defined support staff or groups including IT, HR, Procurement or other business functions.
• Automate the recording, reporting and billing of the ongoing costs of request management against particular cost centers or accounts.
• The ability for the user to opt-out of receiving updates for specific requests
• Insert screenshots into the notes, without having to save and attach as an attachment.
• Search for jobs, and select the "back" button without having to perform the search all over again
• Manage other SLA's that are not defined by the KM ITIL Based Service Framework - e.g. for specific requests received for ECM that have an agreed turnaround, such as workflows or new logos etc).
• Delegate entire worklist or multiple jobs to someone else (e.g. If going on leave)
• Utilize a certain template based on request type
• Ability for template entered information to be automatically entered into the solution
• Reassign multiple requests to another agent in a single action
• Put a request on hold, so that the time does not count against SLA, and when the ticket is resumed SLA is re-calculated for the balance of SLA time.
• If the clock is put on hold, then record and report on multiple hold reasons

Problem Management

• Support free text, screen captures, and file attachments for the recording of problem descriptions and resolution activities
• The ability for the problem management team to communicate status and progress reports, as well as temporary solutions and workarounds to the Service Desk staff
• Increase/decrease the severity or impact classification of a problem, according to the number of associated incidents and/or the number of end users affected
• Create, maintain and monitor a knowledge base
• Link with third party knowledge bases
• Report on the number of proposed knowledge solutions, most used solutions, and least used solutions in the knowledge base
• Publish FAQ’s and supporting reference documents within the knowledge base that is accessible by end-users
• Use solutions developed in response to past incidents to create new knowledge base entries
• Develop templates for recurring problems
• Search for known solutions, workaround and known errors based on the description of the problem
• Track multiple tasks and assignments with a problem
• Document root cause analysis
• When creating a new incident, it automatically displays a list of open problems / known errors, that may apply to the incident

Change Management

• Configurable change process and categorization templates
• Templated workflow best practices and/or ITIL for emergency, normal and pre-approved change
• The basic required change record data fields
• Document back-out plans, installation and turn over documents within the RFC
• Relate post implementation incidents and problems resulting from an implemented change
• Create sub activities or task records for a specific change record, for separate assignment to an individual or support group
• Role-based approval, retracting or rescheduling of RFCs
• Supports the release and deployment management as part of the change process
• Automatically create a change request for unauthorized changes to CIs
• Automatically produce the change schedule (FSC) in calendar format
• A change calendar with scheduled change viewing
• Support maintenance, for change freeze windows
• Easily identify the affected CIs whenever a change is made to a particular CI
• Support a "virtual" CAB (i.e., approvals/issues submitted and stored electronically)
• Select and create "pre-approved changes" from a list of predefined templates with pre-populated content, such as categorization, text, etc.
• Ability to promote one or more RFC(s) to a release, with corresponding notifications
• Change workflow feeds into release workflow
• Open an RFC against an incident/problem/known error record, and automatic population of the RFC
• Reference Change Model that clearly depicts the requirements and activities associated with the change process
• Automated notification of RFC's to appropriate person(s) when change is updated, status change, etc.
• Predetermined fields will be auto-populated when a standard change from the library is entered. Manual entry for certain fields will be permitted.
• Verify and select pre-approved changes from a viewable library
• Edit RFC's based on roles and change status
• Easily reschedule changes and identify scheduling conflicts
• Automated Approval workflow - 1. Automatically send approval requests to designated approvers. 2. Pick up and record approver responses. 3. Change status if approval criteria met. 4. Send notification of approval (rejection) to change owner and change manager
• Customize Change Dashboard by person, group, customer
• Have multiple approvers and electronic routing of those approvals
• Send approval requests several times and to store multiple instances of approvals, reset approval status, resend approval requests and history logged of approval requests.
• Set response thresholds for automated approval process
• Upon submission, a requestor has the view available release windows from FSC
• Ability for automated notifications sent at the scheduled start time to the activity assignee to remind them of the change.
• Send notifications upon implementation for each open assignment.
• Cap link RFC's to projects
• Progress requests through the appropriate stages of authorization and implementation and to maintain clear records of this progress
• Automatic warnings of any RFC's that exceed pre-specified time periods during any stage (OLA)
• Automatic prompting to carry out reviews of implementing changes
• Automatic notices sent out for past due scheduled changes.
• Automatic notification will be sent to the specified stakeholder for any change based on the results
• Automated repeatable metrics
• Real-time dashboards
• Native integration with Incident Management
• Native integration with Problem Management
• Native integration with Configuration Management
• Native integration with Release Management
• Native integration with Service Level Management
• Use different process flows according to urgency
• Clone change records
• Restrict desired deployment dates during RFC submission based on minimum lead times
• Enter of free form text, screen captures, and file attachments as well as the use of codes for recording of change requests
• Monitor and track the lifecycle of a Change request
• Communicate information about changes and schedules that can be distributed to the key groups such as the Service Desk and user groups
• Support time and cost tracking for project based activities as well as a service event based activities
• Identify periods against a specific service or across the board when changes cannot occur
• Automatic notification to requestor when trying to schedule a change in a blackout period

Service Catalog

• A single source of consistent information on all production services.
• Ability for the Service Catalog to be widely available to those who are approved to access it.
• Have different views of the Service Catalog, such as Technical Service Catalog and Business Service Catalog
• Publish services with associated features, benefits, service levels, pricing/costing, components.
• Support a structured content framework (services, sub services, etc.).
• Organize services into logical groupings or hierarchical structures.
• Assemble services into customer and business relevant packages
• Support different service levels for the same service (e.g., bronze, silver, gold levels).
• Have pre-packaged Service Catalog content out of the box.
• Have configurable service definition templates out of the box.
• Quickly find services via a search engine.
• Handle different service states (for example, services in design versus services in production).
• User training information regarding the Service Catalog (for example: access instructions, navigating the service catalog instructions).
• Automatically create and track Service Requests through the Service Catalog.
• Support distributed, role based Service Catalog management.
• Create and publish service offerings with descriptions, service levels, available service bundles, and pricing related to service levels.
• Ability create and publish Service Components that may include both Professional Services and Technical Services.
• Customize service definition templates and pre-packaged Service Catalog content.
• Support a multifunction service catalog (example: IT, HR, Facilities, Procurement)
• Ability for service catalog to attractive web interface for users that is easy to use to request services.
• Ability for service catalog to contain security features that allow users to only see what is available to them.
• Ability for the Service Catalog to Integrate with the Configuration Management Database.
• The ability for non-IT based people to create service definitions, design service workflow and easily publish these services into the catalog
• The workflow tool allows definition of service from initial request to fulfill, incorporating the support sequential and parallel workflow paths.
• Measure service quality and timeliness against defined benchmarks and/or metric guidelines. (SLA, OLA and UC tracking and reporting)
• Discovery capabilities for service dependencies highlighting the potential impact if a service is added, modified or deleted

Service Level Management

• Manage and monitor OLA's and supplier performance metrics in Underpinning contracts (UC's)
• Handle multiple contract types and contracts per customer
• Handle priority definitions and action times different for each customer
• Automate service availability and performance thresholds monitoring against defined SLA's
• Schedule SLA/OLA/UC review cycles and renewals
• Report on SLA achievements vs. SLA targets.
• Auto verifies that SLA targets are supported by OLA and UC targets

Configuration Management

• Manage leases, depreciation schedules, warranties, and service contracts.
• Support a web-based front end.
• Support both flexible data import/export, and simple points of integration for associated tools.
• Interface with Inventory Control tools to automate gathering of asset and inventory information.
• Interface with and make use of barcode scanners
• Supports integration with bar-code scanners or hand level barcode devices
• Integration with all key ITIL processes
• Support of multiple data sources, including SMART Discovery which automatically discovers asset data
• Detailed technical and financial data, such as location, service contract status, and logistical information (available inventory, in use / operational status, etc.)
• Customizable through codeless configuration, allowing full asset traceability for regulatory compliance
• Easily track and assign of assets to individuals, locations, business units, and cost centers—all based upon enterprise policies and procedures
• Multi-site support for asset inventory, including hardware, consumables, service providers, and more

Software compliance management

• Identify license gaps through reconciliation of all purchased (and non-purchased) installed software
• Software version management through analysis of the versions of software installed and in use, providing you valuable insight during software upgrades, license agreements and license use rights
• Multilevel tracking software: installed, authorized, used, minimum versions
• Fully integrated Asset, License and Financial data, based upon the IT Service Catalog
• Calendar and schedule of contract renewals for both hardware and software, with automated alerts

Knowledge Management

• Embed Web links, images and objects into knowledge articles (e.g., screenshots, etc.)
• Support a variety of search methodologies, including metadata, fuzzy searching, hierarchical/drill-downs, cross-references, attribute queries, category, Web and file system external library searches, and to utilize natural language and proper stemming, and Boolean search methodology
• Allow user feedback to rate/score content for usefulness related to the inquiry
• Knowledge-centered support (KCS) standards and guidelines
• Link to or import existing KB information

Release Management

• Log a Release so that changes can be identified and related to the release.
• Capture the release date and time, and who will be implementing.
• Attach and store documentation with the Release record.
• Link resources/approvers to releases.
• Display impacted CIs (information which is derived from the related change records).
• Assign tasks to individuals to be accomplished within a specified time frame.
• Notify the assignee of the task and due date and the associated Release.
• Change status of release and linked changes.
• Change status of release approvals.
• Automatically send approval requests to the appropriate approvers
• Alert release manager when approvals are past due.
• Automatically approve releases when all approvals are returned approved, and communicate with appropriate parties regarding the approval.
• Store approver comments with the approval, and store approval history for a Release.
• Manually kick off approval process or override approval workflow
• Search all releases by any release data attributes captured by the tool.
• Create and publish a Master Release Schedule.
• Associate the Master Release Schedule with the Service Level Agreement information.
• Integrated with Change Management allowing for the linking of Release records to Change records.
• Have full visibility into which changes are associated with which releases.
• Support full life cycle of release management.
• Validate required information from the CMDB for release build and deployment activities.
• Support the establishment and governance of release readiness criteria
• Incorporate or Integrated with a Definitive Media Library.
• Support workflow integration with a DML to support release deployment and provisioning. activities
• Build, bundle and schedule different types of release packages for deployment.
• Identify and control a release package.
• Authorize and schedule release deployments in conjunction with Change Management. processes
• Ensure that release deployments are subject to scheduling and approval requirements managed by the change management process
• Support varying Release models such as large-scale or phased deployments.
• Integrated with the CMDB to support the association of release records to CI records.
• Support the logical association between changes and releases.
• Assign tasks to pools of resources.
• Trace implementation to the authorized version in the DML.
• Verify license and warranty information.
• Trace and track post deployment activities.

Financial Management

• Record activities and time spent
• The tool has the invoice based on time accounting
• The tool is able to integrate with Finance tools for purchasing, accounts payable, and accounts receivable/billing functions and leading ERP Systems
• Support a variety of cost/time allocation methods (i.e., per project, service contract, request)

Self-Service

• The end user has access to self-service portal
• Create new incidents and service requests.
• Track status and updates of existing requests.
• Users can search knowledge-based articles.
• End users have access to frequently asked questions.
• Employees can access news to view announcements.
• Look and feel and logo can be customized

Reporting

• Easily construct queries and reports from any combination of database fields including metadata.
• Report against requests/incidents using a variety of non-related classification types and be reported against timelines and/or comparative periods.
• Further classify by user definable classification types with the filter against organizational structure
• Ability for users and administrators to use drag and drop methods to create their own custom reports.
• Create custom ad-hoc parameters on reports (e.g., the report is called and prompts user to enter query parameter values instead of hard-coding those values in the query). Should be easy for a non-technical person.
• Predefined reports for users and administrators
• Easily export reports and report data for consumption outside the system. (i.e. PDF, XLs)
• "Drill down" capabilities on reports and dashboards.
• Integrated with external data sources.
• Support business analytics (business intelligence tools)
• Restrict access to reports by role.
• Have scheduled reports which are sent automatically to subscribers.
• Ad hoc reporting for all modules.
• Ability for data for dropdown lists to be changed to an "inactive" flag/status and still be available for historical reporting purposes.
• Real-time reporting via graphical and configurable dashboards
• Support a real-time dashboard display for each process that is customizable based on individual, role or informational needs.
• Ability for dashboards to be accessed via a web browser.
• Ability for dashboards to be accessed via a mobile device. (iPhone, iPad, Android)
• Report trending specific to each ITIL process. (Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, etc.)
• Report on usage by end user, department, location, region, etc.
• Report incidents by priority, categorization, service-level adherence, technician and CI
• Run incident age report
• Report incidents linked to problem records
• Report CIs impacted by an incident
• Report time spent and materials used by incidents
• Report First-contact resolution rate
• Report mean time to resolution
• Perform trend analysis of tickets
• Perform trend analysis based on CI items
• Report on the business impact of failed changes
• Report on change blackout dates and times, resulting in change freeze.
• Capture data for and report on KPI's for service delivery
• Capture and report on different KPI's for same service, but different teams
• Capture and report on different KPI's at the subtask level to identify delays/bottlenecks
• Report on job times, i.e. when opened, when closed, when on hold, etc.
• Ability for teams to track and report, triage time, especially for teams that don't do level 1 support
• Reporting based on user groups or roles
• Ability for agent to report on jobs that they have been involved in not just jobs they were assigned and/or closed
• Show workloads, patterns, etc.

Client Management

• Record interactions with a customer, whether it is via face-to-face, telephone, or email
• Record feedback and general requests from customers whilst performing other work such as incidents or service requests
• Report general requests by both specific customers or request type to allow determination of service demand for the organization
• General CRM functionality
• Record information on external customers
• Integrated with leading telephony systems