Playbook

A playbook visualizes a workflow in a simple, task-oriented view and guides the agent through sequences of tasks.

A stage in a playbook is a grouped sequence of activities.
An activity in a stage represents an individual task for an agent to complete. Stages can also include automated activities, such as sending a notification to a customer when a stage or activity is complete.

The Technology product support process page provides access to the playbook in CSM Configurable Workspace.

For detailed information about the stages and activities, see Technology product support case playbook stages and activities.

Technology product support process page variant

The Technology product support process page variant is included with the Technology Product Support Case application (sn_tech_product_support). A page variant is a version of a page that has unique settings. This page variant includes the following settings.

表 : 1. Technology product support process page variant settings
Setting	Description
Active	Enabling the Active check box makes the page variant available to the selected audience. The technology product support process page is active by default. The active setting combined with the page order determines the page that CSM Configurable Workspace uses to display record information. For more information, see Set record page order.
Order	Each record page has an order which indicates the page priority. The lower the number, the higher the priority. The default order for the Technology product support process page variant is -100.
Conditions	Conditions determine when a page variant is displayed. The Technology product support process page has the following condition: table=sn_tech_product_support_case This condition limits the use of the page variant to records from the Tech Product Support Case [sn_tech_product_support_case] table.
Audience	The audience determines who can see the page variant. The Technology product support playbook variant audience includes the Technology Support Agent.

To access the settings for this page variant:

Navigate to All > Now Experience Framework > UI Builder.
Select the CSM/FSM Configurable Workspace experience.
In the Record section of the Pages and variants list, select Technology product support process page.
Select Settings at the top of the page.

Technology product support process page components

Technology product support process page variant includes the following components.

表 : 2. Technology product support playbook components
Component	Description
Form heading	The form heading displays the case short description and also includes the action bar and record tags.
Record tags	Agents can create multiple tags for a record and then use the tags to group and organize records. For more information, see Tags.
Action bar	The action bar contains the actions available to users while working on case records. The specific actions are determined by factors such as the user role, case state, and other attributes.
SLA component	A service level agreement (SLA) defines a set amount of time for a task to reach a certain condition. This ensures that tasks resolved according to the expectations set for customers. For more information, see SLA definitions.
Account and contact lookup components	Agents can use the account and contact lookup components to do the following: Search for an account or contact. Create an account or contact. Link or unlink an account or contact. Edit and save a linked account or contact record. Select a reference field on a lookup card, such as a contact name, to open the reference in a sub-tab. Select an email address on a lookup card to open a draft email in the email composer in a sub-tab. Select a phone number on a lookup card to make a call. The account and contact lookup components display information in record cards. These cards display account and contact information and provide quick access to customer details such name, email, and phone.
Case highlights component	The case highlights component displays important details about the case including the case number and priority.
Case summarization component	The case summarization component appears in the left side panel. When an agent opens a case record, the component is collapsed and in the default state. Agents can use this component to do the following: Summarize case details. Post the summary to the activity stream. Refresh the summary. The case summarization component requires that the Now Assist for Customer Service Management (CSM) application is installed and the case summarization skill has been configured.
Playbook	The Technology product support process page includes a horizontal playbook that guides the agent through the following stages: Intake Triage Troubleshoot Resolve Close For more information about the playbook, see Technology Product Support Case playbook stages and activities.
Contextual side panel	The contextual side panel component includes different tools that agents can use to research and resolve customer issues. The contextual side panel in the Technology product support process page includes the following tabs. Activity stream Recommended Actions Related Items Attachments Templates Response Templates Email Templates Run diagnostics For more information, see the following sections: Activity stream component Recommended Actions / Search component Related Items component
Modeless dialogs	Agents can use modeless dialogs to create comments, work notes, and email messages.
Workspace form view	The Technology product support process page provides agents with the option to toggle between the playbook stages and activities and the record details. When viewing record details, the Technology product support process page uses the Workspace form view, which includes the following sections: Case Details Issue Details Initial Response Technical Action Plan Other Case Details Related Records Notes Closure Information These sections can be expanded and collapsed to display the fields within each section. The Workspace form view also includes a menu with additional form actions, such as personalizing the form, exporting data, and copying the URL. For more information about the fields that appear in these sections, see Tech Product Support Case table.

Action bar

The following actions are available on the Technology product support process page action bar. The specific actions that are available are determined by factors such as the user role, case state, and other attributes.

Record details: Select this icon to view the record details.
Playbook details: Select this icon to view the playbook stages and activities.
In-progress Actions: Provides a list of minimized modeless dialogs and includes a badge that displays the number of items in the list. From this list, an agent can select an item to open the minimized comment, work note, or email.
Request Information: The agent requests information from the customer. Selecting this action moves the case state to Awaiting Information.
Information Received: The agent acknowledges that information was received from the customer. Selecting this action moves the case state to Work in Progress.
Discuss: starts a Sidebar discussion. For more information about using the Sidebar feature, see Exploring Sidebar.
Compose: Compose comments, work notes, and emails in modeless dialogs.
Save: Saves changes to the case record.
Accept Solution: The agent can accept the proposed solution on behalf of the customer. Moves the case to Closed.
Reject Solution: The agent can reject the proposed solution on behalf of the customer. Moves the case to Work in Progress.
More Actions: enables users to take additional actions such as proposing a major case or reporting a knowledge gap.

Account and contact lookup components

The account and contact lookup components enable agents to do the following:

Look up an account or contact by name, phone number, or email address. As the agent types characters in the search box, matching information appears in record cards below the search box.
Select an account or contact after searching by selecting the desired record card. The selected record card replaces the lookup component.
Create a new account or contact by selecting the + icon on the lookup component, filling in the fields for the account or contact, and selecting Save. A record card for the new account or contact replaces the lookup component.

Agents can perform the following actions from a record card:

Remove a linked account or contact from a case record by selecting the more actions icon and then selecting Unlink. Then save the form to apply this change.
Edit and save a linked account or contact record by selecting the pencil icon, editing the information for the account or contact, and selecting Save.
Select a reference field on a lookup card to open the referenced record in a subtab.
Select an email address on a lookup card to open to open the email composer in a subtab.
Select a phone number on a lookup card to make a phone call.

Case summarization component

The case summarization component provides agents with a summary of a customer service case, including the issue and the actions taken. Agents can generate summaries to understand case context and post summaries to the case work notes.

The case summarization component appears in the left side panel on the Technology product support process page variant. Upon first opening a case, the component is collapsed and in the default state.

Using this component, agents can:

Select Summarize to create a summary of the case details.
Select Share to work notes to copy the summary text to the activity stream.
- Review the summary text in the Share to work notes popup window and modify the text as needed.
- Select Save to work notes on the popup window to add the text to the activity stream.
Select the refresh icon in the component footer to refresh the text and get the latest summary.

注:

If the case does not contain enough text to summarize, the system displays the following message: "This case doesn't have the minimum number of words required for summarization yet."

To use the case summarization component with the Technology product support process page variant, activate the Now Assist for Customer Service Management (CSM) application and configure the case summarization skill in the Now Assist Admin console. For more information, see:

Contextual side panel component

The contextual side panel component includes different tools that agents can use to research and resolve customer issues. The contextual side panel in the Technology product support process page includes the following tabs.

表 : 3. Technology product support process page tabs in the contextual side panel
Tab	Description
Activity stream	The activity stream component displays a list of the activities occurring on a case record.
Recommended Actions search	The Recommended Actions tab includes AI search functionality. Agents can use AI search to find relevant resources or resolutions for customer issues. The search feature displays an initial set of search results based on the text in the case short description. This initial set of results includes knowledge articles. Agents can also enter different search keywords and repeat the search. From the list of search results, agents can do the following: Select a source to see search results of that type. Filter the list of search results. Sort the list of search results. Open the search results in full view in a record sub-tab. Take the following actions: View and attach article Link to case Perform other actions such as reading articles in full view, flagging articles, or marking articles as helpful or unhelpful. View successful actions by selecting the Actions history icon. For more information, see Use AI search in Recommended Actions to resolve cases. 注: Using Recommended Actions in the contextual side panel requires the Recommended Actions application (sn_cs_nb_action) which is included with the CSM Configurable Workspace application.
Related Items	The Related Items tab provides access the case related lists. The Technology product support playbook incorporates related list functionality into the contextual side panel. These lists appear in an accordion format that agents can expand and collapse as needed. An indicator displays the number of records available in a related list. When expanded, the records in a related list are displayed in card format.
Attachments	The Attachments tab provides access to case-related attachments. From this tab, agents can view and download attachments.
Templates	The Templates tab provides access to available form templates which enable agents to automatically populate fields on new records. Agents can manually apply a template when creating a new record such as an incident or change.
Response Templates	The Response Templates tab provides access to available response templates. These templates contain reusable messages that agents can copy to provide quick and consistent messages to customers.
Email Templates	The Email Templates tab provides access to available email templates. These templates contain default values for fields that agents can add to email messages. These default values can include the recipients (email addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields), the sender, the subject of the email, and text to include in the message body.
Run diagnostics	The Run diagnostics tab provides access to run the diagnose and identify the root-cause of the problem.

Activity stream component

The Technology product support process page includes the activity stream in the first tab of the contextual side panel.

The activity stream component displays a list of the activities occurring on a case record. The activities in the list can be collapsed or expanded. When collapsed, the agent can quickly scan the list to get an overview of case activities. When expanded, the agent can see detailed information individual activities.

The technology product support playbook activity stream component lists record activities in a collapsed or expanded format and uses tiles to represent the activity types. — 図 : 2. Technology product support playbook activity stream component

The activities in the activity stream are represented by tiles that use icons and colors to indicate the activity type.

Comment
Work note
Attachment
Field change
Email sent or email received
Chat discussion
Custom icon

When collapsed, each activity in the list includes:

A tile that represents the activity type.
The name of the user responsible for the activity.
A brief one-line summary of the activity.
A badge that indicates if an activity is internal or external.
A relative timestamp.
An expand button that the agent can use to see a detailed summary of the activity.

When expanded, each activity also includes:

A full date and time stamp.
An action label that describes the type of activity.
For comments and work notes, the full text of the comment or work note.
For field updates, the field name and the updated field value.
For emails, detailed message information.
For attachments, a small preview of the attached file.
For chats, a sidebar chat card.

The activity stream uses modeless dialogs for composing comments, work notes, and emails. Use the Compose button in the action bar to create these items.

Compose > Comment: opens the Compose a comment modeless dialog.
Compose > Work note: opens the Compose a work note modeless dialog.
Compose > Email: opens the Compose email modeless dialog.

Recommended actions search component

The Recommended Actions search component appears as a tab in the contextual side panel and provides agents with an AI search capability. Agents can search for information, review and attach knowledge articles, and attach similar cases.

By default the AI search configuration searches on the case short description.

For knowledge articles, an agent can view an article and attach the article to the current case. After attaching an article, the article is displayed in the Attached Knowledge list of the Related Records tab.

Selecting Review and attach article displays the article in the contextual side panel.
Selecting Attach this article attaches the knowledge article to the current case.

注:

Using Recommended Actions in the contextual side panel requires the Recommended Actions application (sn_cs_nb_action) which is included with the CSM Configurable Workspace application.

Related Items component

The Technology product support playbook incorporates related list functionality into the contextual side panel. The Related Items tab provides agents with access to the case related lists. These lists are displayed in an accordion format that agents can expand and collapse as needed.

The Technology product support playbook related lists component in the contextual side panel uses an accordion format to expand and display related list items — 図 : 3. Technology product support playbook related lists component

An indicator displays the number of records available in a related list. When expanded, the records in a related list are displayed in card format. If a related list is empty, agents can select Create one in the list to create a record.

The related items component in the contextual side panel includes the following related lists:

Affected Install Base Items
Tasks
SLAs
Special Handling Notes List
Escalations
Child Cases
Change Requests
Blocked By
Related Parties
Attached Knowledge
Knowledge Gaps
Emails
Draft Emails
Task Skills
Work Orders

Related lists include the following actions:

Create: opens a blank record in a sub tab that the agent can use to create a new item.
View all: opens a list of records in a sub tab.
Show more: is displayed for lists that have more than five items.

The items in an expanded list are displayed as cards. An expanded list shows one card for each item in the list.

Agents can open an item in a sub-tab.
If a list has more than five items, it includes a Show more option.

Modeless dialogs

The Technology product support playbook uses modeless dialogs to create comments, work notes, and email messages. The following actions are available from the Compose button in the form header:

Compose > Comment: opens the Compose a comment modeless dialog.
Compose > Work note: opens the Compose a work note modeless dialog.
Compose > Email: opens the Compose email modeless dialog.

The following rules apply to modeless dialog visibility:

One modeless dialog of each type (comment, work note, or email) can be active at a time.
One modeless dialog can displayed at a time while the other two are minimized.
Minimized modeless dialogs appear in the In-progress Actions menu in the action bar. This menu displays a badge that shows the number of minimized modeless dialogs.
If an agent opens a second modeless dialog while the first modeless dialog is displayed, the system minimizes the first modeless dialog.

Agents can do the following:

Select the In-progress Actions menu to see a list of minimized modeless dialogs. Each entry in the list includes the title and category of the minimized item.
- For email, the title is the email subject.
- For comments and work notes, the title is the first line of text.
Select an item from the list to open the minimized modeless dialog.

Closure behavior for comments, work notes, and email:

Posting a comment or work note to the activity stream closes the modeless dialog.
Saving the record posts a comment or work note to the activity stream closes the modeless dialog.
Sending an email closes the modeless dialog. The system adds the email to the activity stream and to the Emails related list.

Discard behavior for comments and work notes:

Closing a work note or comment modeless dialog discards the text. The system displays a Close Dialog pop-up window and asks the agent to confirm the action.
- Selecting Continue confirms the action, discards the text, and closes the window.
- Selecting Cancel or the Close Dialog button cancels the action. The modeless dialog remains open and the text remains in the dialog.
The text is discarded in the modeless dialog and on the form field.

Agents can use response templates from the contextual side panel to copy text into the modeless dialogs.

Agents can apply templates to emails in a modeless dialog:

Select a template from the Email Templates tab in the contextual side panel and then select Apply Template. The contents of the template is added to the modeless dialog.
If a modeless dialog is minimized, display the dialog before applying the template.

Agents can also toggle the Rich text editor button in the email modeless dialog to show or hide the TinyMCE formatter.

For more information, see Modeless dialogs.

Update action plans

Agents can update a case action plan multiple times during the case resolution process. For example, an agent can update the plan before transferring the case to another agent.

The Related work activity in the Troubleshoot stage of the playbook includes an Update action plan declarative action that the agent can use to make updates. Selecting this action takes the agent back to the Update action plan activity. After updating the plan and selecting Save, the system posts the action plan to the activity stream and returns the agent to the Related Work activity.

A new filter set (Action Plan) is available in the activity stream. Agents can use this filter set to view only the action plan fields.

Creating a case

Agents can create a technology product support case by selecting Create case from the More Actions menu in the action bar.

Creating a case opens a service selector modal and displays the services defined for the Technology Product Support case type. From this modal, agents can:

Search for a service.
Select a service.
Select Create case.

The system creates the case and launches the playbook associated with the service definition. For more information, see Associate a playbook with a service definition.

注:

This action is active by default for the Technology product support process page.

Using Now Assist for CSM to generate resolution notes for a case

Agents can automatically generate the resolution notes for a case by using the resolution notes generation skill in the Now Assist for Customer Service Management (CSM) application.

When the playbook transitions to the Resolve stage, the resolution notes generation skill adds the information to the Resolution notes field in the Propose resolution activity.

注:

The resolution notes generation skill requires a minimum of 200 words in the case record to generate the resolution notes. If the resolution notes cannot be generated, the system displays a message below the Resolution notes field.

To use the resolution notes generation skill with the Technology product support process page variant:

Technology Product Support Case playbook