Is there a simple way to set an Assignment Group for Record Producer (Incident Table)?

[Dot-walker]

Hello Everyone,

I want to create record producers within the self service catalog that enable end user s to report incidents.
Creating the record producer as a catalog item seems straightforward, however, I'm confused about how to automatically route the submitted incident to the correct assignment group.

I know that when creating a service request type catalog item, there are options under the Process Engine tab to link a Workflow to, however, I don't see that same option of the Record producer record.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[jonsan09 · Accepted solution]

For  record producers you can use the script option to set the assignment group. You can either set the assignment group directly to the sys_id of the group or create a system property and have that hold the sys_id of the assignment group. (I would recommend using a system property rather than hardcoding it into the script)

Example above shows populating the assignment group

•  With System Property
  • current.assignment_group = gs.getProperty("Name of your system property");
• Hardcoding
  • current.assignment_group = "Sys_ID of group";

[purdue]

How to select based upon another variable?  I have a application variable which I need to pass in then return the group.

Thanks,

Chad

[Mark Manders]

Do you have different assignment groups, or just one where all incidents land first? If it's the latter, use Jonsan09's solution. If you have several, we will need to know based on what information you are routing. You could use assignment rules.

[Dot-walker]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the information. I plan on creating multiple record producers that route to different teams. I'm open to any other suggestion you may have. I created an example below of some of the use cases that would require me to create separate incident/record producers. Please review, and let me know if you have any clarifying questions.

Note: I will have one standard record producer that routes directly to the Service Desk for 1st contact resolution attempts.
Sample Use Cases:
Example #1 - pp Owner Record Producer (Incident Table
The application owner wants incidents to flow directly to his team and would like to the end user to answer specific questions to assist the support team with quickly diagnosing, troubleshooting, and resolving a particular incident.

Example #2 Security Team
Similar to the first use case, the Security team would like the end user to answer specific questions about the security threat they are reporting. The team wants these items routed directly to them for quick diagnosis, troubleshooting, and resolution.

[Mark Manders · Accepted solution]

Creating different record producers to route to different groups will work as long as you can make it clear to the end user what it is for. A 'Security Incident' is clearly different from 'I broke the screen of my phone'. So a distinction on that level won't be an issue. But don't create the record producers just because they need to end up somewhere else. In that case, use assignment rules. 

In your example: an application owner wants all incidents flow directly to his team. So you create a rule that if that application is chosen, it will end up there, but if any other application is chosen, it's send to the servicedesk. 

The record producers/catalog items you show on the portal need to be clear for the end user and should not bother them with where the ticket is going to end up. An incident with an application is just that: an incident. End user selects the application and tells what is wrong and doesn't care who solves it. Whether it's the CEO or the cleaning lady, it just needs to be solved. 

That even means that a security incident can be created through the same record producer, if you can't make it clear to the end user what the difference is. They can just select 'security related' on the form and it is send to the security team (although these often need more info, so a separate one wouldn't be the worst thing). 

Creating record producers should always be done from the end user's point of view (do they understand the purpose of one/multiple forms?) and the routing is done in the backend.

[Dot-walker]

That is sound information @Mark Manders. Thank you for the guidance. I am starting today, so wish me luck. Have a great day, and an even better weekend.