Custom SLA

jmiskey · ‎03-13-2017

So, we have a Service Catalog where users can make requests using Service Portal. Some of these requests are for new employee onboarding. One of the variables in the Service Catalog is the "Due Date", which is the date that the request needs to be completed by. Managers will often make requests for future employees that are dated a ways in to the future. Even if the requests are approved right away, they often cannot be started right away for new employees who aren't starting for a while.

So, the department I am programming this for want the SLAs to work as follows.

The SLA clock should start ticking at the later of the two following dates:

- Date request is approved

- Due Date of request minus the SLA Duration

So, for example, let's say that the enter a request a new employee who starts March 31, and the SLA Duration is 2 Business Days. So then we would want the SLA clock to start ticking March 29, so that the date/time that the SLA breaches is the same as the Due Date they elected.

Alternatively, let's say that they entered a due date of tomorrow and the request is approved today. We want the SLA clock to start ticking upon approval (and not be back-dated).

Does this make sense?

Can it be done?

Will it be rather complicated?

Thanks

Joe McCarty1 · ‎03-14-2017

I'm not sure it simplifies anything because it is still based on a criteria outside the actual request item record. The triggering event is not either the approval date or the due date but how close the current date/time is to those reference points. And SLAs are not continually evaluated to know when the current time crosses that boundary to attach but their conditions are evaluated when the record is updated to see if they meet the start/stop/pause conditions. But the same approach as before should work for these requirements.

Here is a quick workflow I put together to prove it out (with a 10 minute window, more likely to be several days). It assumes a business rule copying the date variable to due date and new field Start SLA to flag when the SLA should attach. :