System Center Service Manager Operations

Guide
Microsoft Corporation
Published: April 16, 2010

Authors
Anat Kerry, Bill Anderson, John Downing, and Liza Poggemeyer

Applies To
System Center Service Manager 2010

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Revision History
Release Date Changes

April, 2010 Original release of this guide.

Contents
System Center Service Manager Operations Guide.......................................................................6
In This Section............................................................................................................................. 6

Searching for Information................................................................................................................ 6

Managing Incidents and Problems.................................................................................................. 7

In This Section............................................................................................................................. 7

Sample Scenario: Managing Incidents and Problems....................................................................8

Scenarios for Managing Incidents and Problems........................................................................8
Managing Incidents.................................................................................................................. 8
Troubleshooting Incidents........................................................................................................ 9
Managing Problems................................................................................................................. 9

Managing an Incident.................................................................................................................... 10

Managing Incidents Overview....................................................................................................... 11

See Also.................................................................................................................................... 11

How to Manually Create a New Incident.......................................................................................12

How to Change an Existing Incident.............................................................................................13

How to Contact a User From an Incident Form.............................................................................14

How to Create an Incident View and Personalize It......................................................................15

How to Resolve and Close an Incident......................................................................................... 16

How to Publish an Announcement for an Incident........................................................................17

Troubleshooting Incidents............................................................................................................. 18

How to Troubleshoot an Incident Using a Service Map.................................................................19

Managing a Problem..................................................................................................................... 20

How to Create and Edit Problem Records....................................................................................21

How to Resolve Problem Records and Related Incidents Automatically.......................................23

How to Link an Incident or Change Request to a Problem Record...............................................23

Managing Changes and Activities.................................................................................................24

In This Section........................................................................................................................... 24
Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities....................................................................25
Scenarios for Managing Changes and Activities.......................................................................25
Initiating and Classifying Change Requests..............................................................................26
Approving Change Requests..................................................................................................... 26
Suspending and Resuming Change Requests..........................................................................26
Implementing and Closing Change Requests...........................................................................27
See Also.................................................................................................................................... 27

Initiating and Classifying a Change Request................................................................................27

How to Create a New Change Request........................................................................................ 28

How to Add Related Items to a Change Request..........................................................................29

How to Add Manual Activities to a Change Request.....................................................................30

Approving and Modifying Change Requests.................................................................................31

How to Edit a Change Request..................................................................................................... 32

How to Add a Change Reviewer................................................................................................... 32

How to Approve a Review Activity Using the Console..................................................................33

Suspending and Resuming a Change Request............................................................................34

How to Put a Change Request on Hold........................................................................................34

How to Resume a Change Request.............................................................................................35

How to Unblock a Failed Change Request...................................................................................35

Implementing and Closing a Change Request..............................................................................36

How to Complete or Fail a Manual Activity....................................................................................37

How to Close a Change Request.................................................................................................. 37

How to Send Automated Activity and Change Request Notifications............................................38

Viewing and Running Reports...................................................................................................... 40

Reports available in Service Manager..........................................................................................41

How to View the Report Catalog................................................................................................... 42

How to Add Permissions for Reports............................................................................................ 42

How to Run a Report.................................................................................................................... 43

How to Export Report Data........................................................................................................... 45

How to Create a Linked Report in Service Manager.....................................................................46

How to Add a Report to the Service Manager Favorite Reports Folder........................................46

How to Configure Report Subscriptions........................................................................................ 47

How to Schedule a Service Manager Report................................................................................47

System Center Service Manager Operations
Guide
The System Center Service Manager 2010 Operations Guide provides information about how to
use the Service Manager console for day-to-day tasks that you perform to manage service desk
functions for your organization’s computer infrastructure. It provides detailed procedures for the
following tasks:

In This Section
Searching for Information
Describes how to search for configuration items and other incidents, problems, and
knowledge articles.

Managing an Incident
Describes how incidents and incident views are created, edited, and resolved.

Troubleshooting Incidents
Describes how to troubleshoot incidents using service maps, running tasks, and by
publishing announcements.

Managing a Problem
Describes how create and edit problem records, resolve problems and related
incidents automatically, and how to link incidents or change request to a problem
record.

Viewing and Running Reports

Describes how view and run reports.

6
Searching for Information
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the search feature in the Service Manager
console to look for information. The search box is in the upper-right corner of the Service
Manager console. By default, the search feature looks for all objects. The results can include
incidents, change requests, problems, and configuration items of Windows-based computers. You
can filter search results by using the filter bar. You can also perform an advanced search for these
items plus the following items:
 Knowledge articles
 Announcements
 Domain users
 Manual activities
However, only knowledge articles are returned when you perform a knowledge search.
When you search for most items in Service Manager, only exact keyword matches return results.
However, partial matches are returned for configuration items of Windows-based computers.
Searches that use wildcard characters are not supported.
When you search for items and when you open a view that displays a large number of items, and
there are more than 5,000 items in the results, the complete results can take a few minutes to
appear.

Managing Incidents and Problems

Microsoft System Center Service Manager 2010 helps your company manage incidents and
problems by implementing and automating help desk ticketing processes so that these processes
comply with the best practices that are described in the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF)
and in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). For more information about MOF 4.0, see Microsoft
Operations Framework (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=116391).
If you need to add or extend the functionality of Service Manager to implement custom processes
for handling incidents and problems, you can use standard Microsoft development tools and the
Service Manager SDK.
The procedures in this section are organized according to common problem and incident
management scenarios. Even though the sample scenarios refer to a fictitious organization,
Woodgrove Bank, the scenarios and steps are based on real use and describe how to use the
problem and incident management features in Service Manager.

In This Section
Sample Scenario: Managing Incidents and Problems
Describes the scenarios that involve incidents and problems in Service Manager.

7
Managing an Incident
Describes how to create, edit, and resolve incidents and incident views.

Troubleshooting Incidents
Describes how to troubleshoot incidents by using service maps, by running tasks,
and by publishing announcements.

Managing a Problem
Describes how to create and edit problem records, how to resolve problems and
related incidents automatically, and how to link incidents or change requests to a
problem record.

Sample Scenario: Managing Incidents and

Problems
This sample scenario for System Center Service Manager 2010 helps you achieve your goal of
managing incidents and problems by using multiple scenarios end-to-end. You can think of this
sample scenario as a case study that helps put the individual scenarios and procedures in
context.

Scenarios for Managing Incidents and Problems

Scenario Description

Managing an Incident Describes how incidents and incident views are

created, edited, and resolved.
Troubleshooting Incidents Describes how to troubleshoot incidents using
service maps, running tasks, and by publishing
announcements.
Managing a Problem Describes how to create and edit problem
records, resolve problems and related
incidents automatically, and how to link
incidents or change request to a problem
record.

8
Managing Incidents
In the scenario that encompasses incident management, Phil uses incident management to
restore regular operations as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible. For example, by using
the E-mail Incident template to populate a new e-mail-related incident, he can quickly create an
incident and ensure that the correct impact, urgency, assigned analyst, and support tier fields are
configured. Carrying the example further, he creates a new incident for a user who is unable to
view an e-mail that was sent with restricted permissions. Phil creates an incident view so that he
can easily work with all incidents that are created for e-mail problems. When changes are made
to an incident, the he edits the incident to reflect changes.
In another example, an end user experiences a printer problem, so she sends an e-mail message
to the help desk. Upon receipt, Service Manager automatically creates an incident from the
message. Phil investigates the problem, in part, by viewing the service. After the underlying
problem has been solved, the he resolves and closes the incident.
At Woodgrove Bank, connectors are configured so that Service Manager imports configuration
items and alerts from System Center Operations Manager, so some new incidents are
automatically created. Phil reviews the automatically created incidents for accuracy.

Troubleshooting Incidents
In the scenario that encompasses troubleshooting incidents, Phil is conducting an initial
investigation of the problem that Joe is experiencing. Phil suspects that the root cause of the
problem is that Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 needs to be applied to Joe’s Exchange
server. However, there are other Exchange servers at Woodgrove Bank that probably also need
to be updated. Phil starts his investigation by viewing the service that Garret created for the
Exchange Service. When any incidents affect a service component, that component is marked
with an orange icon resembling a square containing an exclamation point. When a change
request affects a service component, the component is marked with a special blue icon
resembling a square containing a right-pointing arrow. Phil uses the map view on the Service
Components tab to view configuration items and view incidents associated with them. Then he
opens other configuration items and adds them to the open incident.
To further troubleshoot, Phil wants to ping a remote computer that is exhibiting problems. He can
use tasks that are part of the Service Manager console instead of having to use various other
tools. After Phil completes his troubleshooting, he can publish an announcement to all Self-
Service Portal users notifying them of the problem. He can remove the announcement after the
problem has been resolved.

Managing Problems
In the scenario that encompasses problem management, Phil has created a change request
asking the Exchange Administrators group to apply a service pack that is expected to resolve the
problem. When a root cause is found and mitigated or resolved, the change request is completed
and Phil is notified. He then uses the following procedures to resolve a problem and automatically
resolve incidents associated with the problem.
9
Managing an Incident
The procedures in this section describe how to manage incidents by using System Center
Service Manager 2010.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for managing incidents and problems, see
Sample Scenario: Managing Incidents and Problems.
Help desk analysts use incident management to restore regular operations as quickly and as
cost-effectively as possible by creating new incidents. They also work in partnership with Service
Manager administrators to ensure that incidents that are created automatically or by end-users
are correctly categorized and reassigned to appropriate personnel. Methods that analysts use to
accomplish these duties include:
 Using the E-mail Incident template to create new incidents
 Reviewing automatically created incidents
 Reviewing and updating incidents created by end-users who have sent requests by e-mail
 Publishing announcements for incidents to the Self-Service Portal, when necessary
Follow these steps to manage an incident.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Manually Create a New Describes how to create new incidents in
Incident response to a call from a user or from an e-
mail request. Also describes how to create new
incidents automatically from the System Center
Operations Manager Alert connector.
Step 2: How to Change an Existing Incident Describes how to make changes to an incident
in response to new information.
Optional step: How to Contact a User From an Describes how to contact a user by e-mail or
Incident Form instant message while you have an incident
form open.
Step 3: How to Create an Incident View and Describes how to create a view of incidents
Personalize It that match the criteria you define.
Step 4: How to Resolve and Close an Incident Describes how to resolve and close an incident
after the underlying problem is solved.
Optional step: How to Publish an Describes how to publish an announcement for
Announcement for an Incident an incident to all Self-Service Portal users.

Managing Incidents Overview

Help desk analysts use incident management to restore regular operations as quickly and as
cost-effectively as possible.

10
Using the E-mail Incident template to populate a new e-mail-related incident, you can quickly
create an incident and ensure that the correct impact, urgency, assigned analyst, and support tier
fields are configured.
If you configure connectors so that Service Manager imports configuration items and alerts from
System Center Operations Manager, some new incidents are automatically created. An analyst
reviews the automatically created incidents for accuracy.
In System Center Service Manager 2010, incidents are automatically created from e-mail
requests by users. If the user is recognized as a Service Manager end user, the request sent to
the helpdesk e-mail address automatically creates a new incident.

Note
Service Manager can automatically generate new incidents from e-mail requests only
after a Service Manager administrator enables inbound e-mail processing. By default, the
impact and urgency of every incident created by e-mail submission is set to medium, and
no category is assigned.
Normally, you create incidents only for user accounts in your organization that have Active
Directory Domain Services (AD DS) accounts that are synchronized with Service Manager.
However, you might occasionally need to manually create incidents for users. For example, you
might need to create an incident for a new user whose account is not yet in AD DS or if an Active
Directory account is not yet synchronized with Service Manager. You can also manually create
incidents to support external vendors who do not have Active Directory accounts. In another
example, you might need to open an incident for an on-site technician who does not have an
Active Directory account but who needs to report an incident. Or, you might need to open an
incident for an externally-supported customer who does not have an Active Directory account. In
all these examples, you must manually create a user in Service Manager. For more information,
see How to Manually Add a User in the System Center Service Manager Administrator’s Guide.
IDs that are assigned to change requests and incidents are not created in sequence. However,
newer change requests and incidents are assigned IDs with a higher number than ones created
previously.
Optionally, you can publish an announcement that is visible to Self-Service Portal users for an
incident.

See Also
Managing an Incident

How to Manually Create a New Incident

In System Center Service Manager 2010, incidents are automatically created from e-mail
requests by users. However, you can use the following procedures to manually create a new
incident in the Service Manager console. For example, you might want to manually create a new

11
incident for a person who is experiencing an e-mail-related problem. You can link other affected
items, such as various computers, to indicate that the issue affects more than one computer.

To create a new incident from a configuration item view

1. In the Service Manager console, click Configuration Items.
2. In the Configuration Items pane, expand Configuration Items, expand Computers,
and then click All Windows Computers.
3. In the All Windows Computers view, filter for the computer for which you want to
create an incident, and then select the computer. For example, select
Exchange01.woodgrove.com.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Create Related Incident.
5. In the Tasks pane, click Apply Template.
6. Under Templates in the Apply Template dialog box, select Software Issue Incident
Template, and then click OK.
7. In the Title box, type a new description, or modify the description inserted by the
template. For example, type User is unable to open an e-mail message that has
restricted permissions.
8. In the Affected user box, select the user who reported this incident. For example,
select Joe Andreshak.
9. Optionally, in the Alternate Contact Method box, enter additional contact information
for the affected user.
10. Click the Related Items tab.
11. In the Attached Files area, click Add.
12. In the Open dialog box, select the file that you want to attach to this incident, and then
click Open. For example, select the screen shot of an error message that the affected
user has received.
13. Click OK.

To create a new incident by e-mail

1. In an e-mail program, create a new e-mail message, and then enter the help desk alias
or e-mail address in the To box. For example, enter
[email protected] in the To box.
2. In the Subject box, type a subject. For example, type Unable to print checks.
3. In the message body, type additional information that the help desk analyst can use to
correct the problem. For example, type The check printer has a paper jam. I will use
a backup printer until the jam is fixed.
4. Optionally, attach files that the help desk analyst can use to correct the problem.

To validate the creation of a new incident

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.

12
 2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click All Incidents.
New incidents appear in the All Incidents view.

How to Change an Existing Incident

You can use the following procedures to change the urgency of an incident, to edit an unassigned
incident from System Center Operations Manager, and to link a knowledge article to an incident.
Users create simplified incidents using the Self-Service Portal based on the Incident portal
template. Because user-created incidents are simplified, analysts often need to revise new
incidents with additional information. Additionally, there is no functional difference between
incidents created with the Self-Service Portal using either the Need help with a problem or
Need repair or fix options.

Note
Incidents are automatically created by System Center Service Manager 2010 when the
Operations Manager Alert connector is enabled. You can edit the new incidents that are
generated when an Operations Manager alert is raised and assign the incidents to
analysts.

To change the urgency of an incident

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click All Open E-
Mail Incidents.
3. In the All Open E-Mail Incidents view, select the original incident. For example, select
the Unable to print checks incident.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Edit.
5. In the Incident form, in the Urgency list, select High.
6. Optionally, type a comment in the Comment box. If you do not want end users to be
able to read the comment, select the Private check box that is above the Comment
box. For example, in the Comment box, type The user called to say that the backup
printer is unavailable and that this issue is now urgent. Then, click Add. The new
comment appears as a log entry.
7. Click OK to close the form and to save your changes.

To edit an unassigned incident from Operations Manager

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click All Open
Operations Manager Incidents.
3. In the All Open Operations Manager Incidents view, select an incident that was

13
 created automatically from an Operations Manager alert.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Edit.
5. In the Incident form, under Support Group, select Tier 1.
6. Under Assigned to, enter the name of the help desk analyst who will investigate the
problem.
7. Click OK to close the form and to save your changes.

To link a knowledge article to an incident

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click All Open
Operations Manager Incidents.
3. In the All Open Operations Manager Incidents view, select the incident that was
created automatically from an Operations Manager alert.
4. In the Tasks list, click Search for Knowledge Articles.
5. In the Knowledge Search dialog box, type a search term in the Search for box, and
then click Go. For example, type MICR Check Printer Article.
6. Select the article, click Link to <IncidentName>, click OK to close the informational
dialog box, and then click Close.

To validate incident edits

 Open the incident, and then verify that your changes appear. For example, verify that
the comment you entered appears as a log entry.

How to Contact a User From an Incident

Form
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can contact a user by e-mail or by instant message
when an incident form is open. The presence indicator is shown in the form next to the affected
user’s name and it displays their current status, if known. For the presence indicator to accurately
reflect a user’s status, the user must have an Active Directory account, and the user must be a
member of the same domain in which the Service Manager management server has its computer
account. Additionally, the computer running the Service Manager console must have Microsoft
Office Communicator installed.

Note
If a user’s account belongs to a domain other than the domain in which the Service
Manager management server has its computer account, the presence indicator might not
accurately display the user’s status.

14
 To contact a user by e-mail
1. In an open incident form, click the presence indicator next to the Affected user box,
and then click the arrow icon next to the box.
2. Click Send Mail.
3. Your e-mail client program opens and adds the user’s name to the To field. Compose
the e-mail message, and then send it.

To contact a user by instant message

1. In an open incident form, click the presence indicator next to the Affected user box,
and then click the arrow next to the box.
2. Click Send Instant Message.
3. Your instant message program opens.  Compose the instant message, and then send
it.

How to Create an Incident View and

Personalize It
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedures to create and
customize an incident view.
Views let you group incidents that share certain criteria. For example, the following procedure
helps you create a view that lists all the incidents in which the classification has been set to E-
mail Problems or to some other classification. You can also customize the All Incidents view.

To create an incident view

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management.
3. In the Tasks pane, click Create View.
4. In the General section of the Create View dialog box, type a name for the view in the
Name box. For example, type E-mail Incidents.
5. In the Description box, type a description. For example, type All incidents in which
the classification is E-Mail Problem.
6. Click Criteria.
7. Next to the Search for objects of a specific class list, click Browse.
8. In the Select a Class list, under View, select Combination classes, select Incident
(advanced), and then click OK.
9. In the Related classes box, ensure that Incident is selected. In the Available

15
 properties list, select Classification Category, and then click Add. You might need to
scroll to see the Add button.
10. At the end of the Criteria section, in the Criteria definition area, select E-mail
problems. When complete, the criterion resembles [Incident] Classification
Category equals E-Mail Problems.
11. Click Display, and in the Columns to display list, select Status, Classification
Category, and Description. Next, under Assigned To User, select Display Name.
Then, click OK.

To personalize an incident view

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then select an incident
view. For example, select All Incidents.
3. Right-click any view column heading to resize columns, to remove items from the
results, or to change column sorting and grouping. Repeat this step until you are
satisfied with the results.

To validate the incident view creation

 In the Work Items pane, ensure that an E-Mail Incidents view exists under Incident
Management. Ensure the view displays all the incidents in the E-Mail Problems
category.

Note
It might take a few seconds for the new incident view to appear.

How to Resolve and Close an Incident

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to resolve and
close an incident.
After you research a problem and resolve its source, you can resolve and close the incident. An
incident is considered resolved when the required change has been made. When the affected
user has confirmed that the problem that caused the incident has been eliminated, the incident
can be closed.

To resolve and close an incident

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click E-Mail
Incidents.
3. In the E-Mail Incidents view, select the incident you want to resolve and close.

16
 4. In the Tasks pane, click Resolve.
5. In the Resolve dialog box, select the appropriate category for resolving this incident in
the Resolution Category list. For example, select Fixed by higher tier support.
6. In the Comments field, type a comment that explains the resolution. For example, type
Resolved by installing Service Pack 1 on the Exchange server, and then click OK.
7. In the Tasks pane, click Close.
8. In the Close dialog box, type a comment about the closure of the incident, and then
click OK.

To validate that an incident was resolved and closed

 In the All Incidents pane, the status for the incident or incidents changes from Active
to Resolved when you resolve an incident and from Resolved to Closed when you
close the incident.

Note
It might take a few seconds for the new status to appear. To immediately view
the change, click Refresh.

How to Publish an Announcement for an

Incident
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to publish an
announcement to all Self-Service Portal users for incidents. Announcements are displayed in the
Self-Service Portal until they expire or are deleted.

Note
Typically, you access the Self-Service Portal by using a Web browser to open https://
web_server_name/enduser/home.aspx. In the URL, the Web server name you type is the
same name that was specified during Service Manager setup.

To publish an announcement for an incident

1. In the Service Manager console, click Administration.
2. In the Administration pane, expand Announcements, and then click All
Announcements.
3. In the Tasks pane, click Create Announcement.
4. In the form that appears, type a name for the announcement in the Display Name box.
For example, type Check Printer IR302.
5. In the Title box, type a title for the announcement. For example, All check printers

17
 will be offline from 1 P.M. to 2 P.M. today.
6. In the Body box, type the content of the announcement. For example, type Printer
technicians are servicing the MICR check printers from 1 P.M. to 2 P.M. today as
part of their annual maintenance program.
7. In the Expiration Date box, set a future expiration date for the announcement.
8. In the Priority list, select the appropriate priority level.

To validate the announcement publication

 Open the Self-Service Portal, and verify that the new announcement appears under IT
announcements.

Troubleshooting Incidents
The procedure in this section describes how to troubleshoot incidents.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for troubleshooting incidents, see Sample
Scenario: Managing Incidents and Problems.

Follow this step to troubleshoot incidents.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Troubleshoot an Incident Using Describes how to troubleshoot an incident

a Service Map using a service map to view the configuration
items that are part of a service.

Note
You might not be able to successfully troubleshoot all incidents with this step.

How to Troubleshoot an Incident Using a

Service Map
You can use the following procedures to troubleshoot an incident using a service map. A service
map is a visual representation of a service from the perspective of the business and user that
shows critical dependencies, settings, and areas of responsibility. Because a service map can
show the relationship between incidents and configuration items, it is especially useful when you
troubleshoot issues that might affect multiple incidents and configuration items. For example, if an

18
incident affects one configuration item, other configuration items that are part of the service might
also be affected. If necessary, you can add additional configuration items as items that are
affected by the same open incident.
Additionally, when you use the Service Components tab to view the service map, you can easily
determine whether there are active incidents or change requests open for a service component.
When any incidents affect a service component, that component is marked with an orange icon
resembling a square containing an exclamation point. When a change request affects a service
component, the component is marked with a special blue icon resembling a square containing a
right-pointing arrow.

To view incidents that affect service components

1. In the Service Manager console, click Configuration Items.
2. In the Configuration Items pane, expand Business Services, and then click All
Business Services.
3. In the All Business Services list, double-click a business service. For example,
double-click Exchange Service.
4. In the dialog box that opens, click the Service Components tab.
Note that the list of service components includes configuration items. For example, the
list might include computers running Microsoft Exchange Server. When a service
component is marked with an icon, the icon indicates that an incident is associated
with the service component.
5. Select a configuration item. For example, select the Exchange01.woodgrove.com
server.
Note the ID of the record that appears under Related work items for the selected
item.

To add related service components to an open incident

1. In the list of service components, select an item that has an active incident.
2. Under Related work items for the selected item, select a work item and then click
Open to open the incident.
3. Under Affected Items, click Add.
4. In the Select objects dialog box, select the configuration item to add to the incident,
click Add, and then click OK.
5. Click OK to update the incident, and then return to the Service Components tab for
the service.
6. Repeat the previous steps to add other service components to the open incident.
7. Click OK to close the service item.

To validate that the service components were added to an incident

 Open the business service to which you added the incident, and then click the Related

19
 Items tab. Verify that the new incident appears under Work items affecting this
configuration item.

Managing a Problem
The procedures in this section describe how to manage problems in System Center Service
Manager 2010.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for managing problems, see Sample
Scenario: Managing Incidents and Problems.
In Service Manager, problems are records that are created to help prevent future problems and
incidents from happening, to eliminate recurring incidents, and to minimize the impact of incidents
that cannot be prevented. Analysts can use the Service Manager console to create problem
records and to associate incidents with problems.

Follow these steps to manage problems.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Create and Edit Problem Describes how to create and edit problem
Records records to group related incidents.
Step 2: How to Resolve Problem Records and Describes how to resolve a single problem to
Related Incidents Automatically automatically close the related incidents.
Step 3: How to Link an Incident or Change Describes how to link an incident or change
Request to a Problem Record request to an associated problem record.

How to Create and Edit Problem Records

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedures to create new
problem records and then edit them by using the Service Manager console. You can create a new
problem record from the Service Manager console, from an incident view, or from an incident
form.

To create a new problem record from the console

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Problem Management, and then click Active
Problems.

20
3. In the Tasks pane, click Create Problem.
4. In the Title box, type a title for the problem. For example, type Outlook E-Mail
Restricted Permissions.
5. In the Description box, type a description of the problem. For example, type Users
cannot view e-mail messages sent with restricted permissions.
6. If you want to assign the problem to an analyst, enter the name of the analyst in the
Assigned to box.
7. In the Source list, select the source of the problem request.
8. Select the appropriate values in the Category, Impact, and Urgency boxes.
9. Click OK.

To create a new problem record from an incident view

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Incident Management, and then click All Incidents.
3. In the All Incidents list, search for incidents whose titles match the problem record
that you want to create, and then click Search. For example, search for restricted
permission.
4. In the search results, select the incidents for which you want to create a problem
record. In the Tasks pane under Selected Items, click Create Problem.
5. In the Title box, type a title for the problem. For example, type Outlook E-Mail
Restricted Permissions. When you create a problem by using this method, the
problem form inherits the title from the open incident if a single incident was selected. If
multiple incidents were selected, the Title box is blank. You can change the title of the
problem record.
6. In the Description box, type a description of the problem. For example, type Users
cannot view e-mail messages sent with restricted permissions.
7. If you want to assign the problem to an analyst, enter the name of the analyst in the
Assigned to box.
8. In the Source list, select the source of the problem request.
9. Select the appropriate values in the Category, Impact, and Urgency boxes.
10. Click OK.

To create a new problem record from an incident form

1. Make sure that an incident is already open. Then, under Tasks, click Create Problem.
2. In the Title box, type a title for the problem. For example, type Outlook E-Mail
Restricted Permissions. When you create a problem using this method, the problem
form inherits the title from the open incident. You can change the title of the problem
record.
3. In the Description box, type a description of the problem. For example, type Users

21
 cannot view e-mail messages sent with restricted permissions.
4. If you want to assign the problem to an analyst, enter the name of the analyst in the
Assigned to box.
5. In the Source list, select the source of the problem request.
6. Select the appropriate values in the Category, Impact, and Urgency boxes.
7. Click OK.

To edit a problem record

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Problem Management, and then click Active
Problems.
3. In the Active Problems view, double-click a problem. For example, double-click the
Outlook E-Mail Restricted Permissions problem.
4. In the problem form, edit information that needs to be changed. For example, if a
workaround is found for the problem, click the Resolution tab. Then, in the
Workarounds field, type the workaround steps.
5. Click OK.

To validate the creation of a new problem record

 In the Tasks list, click Refresh to view the new problem record, or open the problem
record to view the revised information.

How to Resolve Problem Records and

Related Incidents Automatically
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to resolve a
problem record and the incidents that are associated with it.

To resolve a problem record and the incidents that are associated with it
1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Problem Management, and then click Active
Problems.
3. In the Active Problems view, double-click the problem record that you want to resolve.
Then, in the Tasks pane, click Resolve.
4. Click the Resolution tab, and then click to select the Auto-resolve all incidents
associated with this problem check box.
5. In the Resolution category box, select the appropriate category.

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 6. In the Resolution description box, type a summary of the resolution for this problem
record. For example, type Application of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 fixed the
restricted permission problem that affected users across forests.
7. Click OK.

To validate problem and incident resolution

 Verify that the incidents associated with the problem record appear in the All Incidents
view and that they have a status of Resolved.

Note
It might take a few minutes for the incident status to be updated to Resolved.

How to Link an Incident or Change Request

to a Problem Record
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to link an incident
or change request to a problem record if you created a problem record without linking it to an
existing incident or change request.

To link an incident or change request to a problem record

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Problem Management, and then click Active
Problems.
3. In the Active Problems view, double-click a problem record. For example, double-click
the Outlook E-mail Restricted Permissions problem record.
4. In the problem form, click the Related Items tab.
5. Under Work Items, click Add.
6. In the Select objects dialog box, either select a work item, or search for and select
one or more work items to link to the problem record. Click Add, and then click OK.
7. Click OK to close the form.

To validate the link

 In the Active Problems view, open the problem record to which you linked a work
item, click the Related Items tab, and then verify that the items you linked appear
under Work Items.

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Managing Changes and Activities
IT departments must manage changes to their IT environment and the risk associated with such
changes. The change management features in System Center Service Manager 2010 help you
manage change by providing repeatable, predictable, and measured processes to implement
change.
The topics in this section are organized according to common change management scenarios.
Even though the sample scenarios refer to a fictitious organization, Woodgrove Bank, the
scenarios and steps are based on real use and describe how to use the change and activity
management features in Service Manager.

In This Section
Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities
Describes the scenarios that involve change requests and activities in Service
Manager.

Initiating and Classifying a Change Request

Describes how change requests are started and classified and how to add items and
activities to change requests.

Approving and Modifying Change Requests

Describes how to modify change requests by adding change details and change
reviewers. Also describes how to approve a review activity.

Suspending and Resuming a Change Request

Describes how to pause, resume, and unblock a failed change request.

Implementing and Closing a Change Request

Describes how to complete manual activities to track tasks, how to close a change
request after you finalize the changes, and how to notify users.

24
Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and
Activities
This sample scenario for System Center Service Manager 2010 helps you achieve your goal of
managing changes and activities by using multiple scenarios end-to-end. You can think of this
sample scenario as a case study that helps put the individual scenarios and procedures in
context.

Scenarios for Managing Changes and Activities

Scenario Description

Initiating and Classifying a Change Request Describes how change requests are started
and classified. Also describes how to add items
and activities to change requests.
Approving and Modifying Change Requests Describes how to modify change requests by
adding change details and change reviewers.
Also describes how to approve a review
activity.
Suspending and Resuming a Change Request Describes how to pause and resume a change
request.
Implementing and Closing a Change Request Describes how to complete manual activities to
track tasks, how to close a change request
after you finalize the changes, and how to
notify users.

Initiating and Classifying Change Requests

In the scenario that encompasses initiating and classifying a change request, Julia, the
messaging support analyst, wants to propose and track a change. To do this, she creates a
change request to capture information that she and others will use to evaluate, plan, develop,
test, deploy, and assess changes. Julia starts by initiating the change request and then identifying
its priority and category.
In incident management scenarios, Phil created an incident in which a user had a messaging
problem, and he completed an initial investigation of the problem. In this scenario, Julia continues
to investigate the same incident. She verifies that the cause is a known issue and that
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 fixes it. She also determines that all Exchange servers
need the service pack, not just a single server. Next, Julia views the service map for the
Exchange service configuration item that requires the service pack, and she opens a change
request from the service’s configuration item form. Lastly, Julia attaches a saved screen shot to
the change request, which might help later with the change request review.

25
After the change request is created, the change reviewers at Woodgrove Bank must approve the
change request, and the change implementers must complete the actions that are required for
the change. These review and implementation steps are defined in the change request as a set of
review activities and manual activities.

Approving Change Requests

In the scenario that encompasses approving a change request, Garret wants to enforce the
Woodgrove Bank business process of requiring approval of any IT infrastructure changes before
the changes are deployed. He wants to enforce this business process by using Service Manager
to associate review activities for a change request. By requiring approval, the change request is
implemented only after decision makers at Woodgrove Bank agree that the change is necessary.
Garret can set up various review methods, such as unanimous voting, percentage of positive
votes, or automatic approval.
The procedures that are related to this scenario s describe a change to Woodgrove Bank’s IT
infrastructure that is approved before deployment.

Suspending and Resuming Change Requests

During the course of reviewing the readiness of a change request, Garret occasionally wants to
put a change request on hold and then later resume that change request. For example, Julia
previously created a change request. That change request depends on the additional work of an
external team. Garret wants to put that change request on hold until the external team completes
its work. Garret will resume the change request after the external team's work is complete. Garret
also wants to occasionally unblock failed change requests.

Implementing and Closing Change Requests

After changes to Garret’s IT infrastructure are tested and approved for deployment, his final step
is to finish any remaining manual activities that are associated with the change request. A manual
activity must be designated as either completed or failed. When all manual activities are
completed, the change request is automatically set as completed, and it appears in the "Change
Requests: Completed" view. If a manual activity fails, the change request is automatically set as
failed, and it appears in the "Change Requests: Failed" view. When the change request appears
in either view, Garret can close the change request. After it has been closed, a change request
cannot be reopened.
In the scenario that encompasses implementing and closing change requests, Aaron completes a
warranty review manual activity. Next, Garret sets the change request’s remaining manual
activities to completed and closes the change request. Garret opens a second existing change
request, sets the post-implementation manual activity to failed, and then closes that change
request.

26
See Also
Initiating and Classifying a Change Request
Approving and Modifying Change Requests
Suspending and Resuming a Change Request
Implementing and Closing a Change Request

Initiating and Classifying a Change Request

The procedures in this section describe how to initiate and classify a change request in System
Center Service Manager 2010 from start to finish.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for initiating and classifying a change request,
see Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities.
A change request normally results in a change to a configuration item, so it is important to
understand the difference between a related item and a linked or affected item. A related item
indicates that an association exists between the change request and a configuration item or other
change requests. In other words, the change request might affect the related item or it might not.
An affected or linked item indicates that the change request is tied directly to the item and that
the change will affect the item itself.

Follow these steps to initiate and classify a change request.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Create a New Change Request Describes how to create a new change request
for a service to modify server infrastructure.
Step 2: How to Add Related Items to a Change Describes how to add items, such as files, to a
Request change request.
Step 3: How to Add Manual Activities to a Describes how to add a manual activity to a
Change Request change request to manage tasks.

How to Create a New Change Request

You can use the following procedure to create a change request for servers that are part of a
service. First, you view items from the service dependency view. Then, you navigate to the
configuration items and open a change request template. Lastly, you assess the priority, impact,
and risk level of the request. Although you create the change request from a service dependency

27
view, you can also create a new change request from other places in System Center Service
Manager 2010.

Note
IDs assigned to change requests and incidents are not created in sequence. However,
newer change requests and incidents are assigned IDs with a higher number than ones
created previously.

To create a change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Configuration Items.
2. In the Configuration Items pane, expand Business Services, and then click All
Business Services.
3. In the All Business Services pane, double-click the service. For example, double-
click IT Messaging Service.
4. In the dialog box that opens, click the Service Dependents tab.
5. In the Expand to list, click Level 1, and then view the items in the list. Notice the
server names. For example, Exchange01.woodgrove.com and
Exchange02.woodgrove.com appear in the list.
6. In the Service Dependents list, select a computer, and then click Open. For example,
select and open Exchange01.woodgrove.com.
7. In the computer form, click Create Related Change Request under Tasks.
8. In the Select Template dialog box, click a template, and then click OK. For example,
click Changes to messaging infrastructure template.
9. In the Title box, type a name for the change request. For example, type Apply
Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1. Notice that various values in the form are
populated with information from the change request template.
10. In the Description and Reason fields, type a description and the reason for the
change request. For example, type Apply Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 to
these servers in the Description field, and type The service pack fixes the problem
that these servers have in the Reason field.
11. In the Assigned To field, enter the name of the person to whom you want to assign the
change request. For example, type Aaron Lee.
12. Specify the priority, impact, and risk. For example, In the Priority list, select Medium.
In the Impact list, select Standard. In the Risk list, click Medium.
13. In the Config Items To Change list, make sure that one server is listed, and then click
Add.
14. In the Select Objects dialog box, select another item to add to the change request,
and then click Add. For example, select Exchange02.woodgrove.com, and then click
OK.
15. Click OK to close the change request form.

28
 To validate the creation of a change request
1. Open the service that contains the items for which you created the change request,
and then click the Service Dependents tab.
2. In the Service Components list, notice that the two servers you opened the change
request for are marked with YES under the Affected By Change column.
3. Click Cancel to close the service.

How to Add Related Items to a Change

Request
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to add a related
item to a change request. You can add related items such as configuration items, incidents, other
change requests, files, and knowledge articles. When you add files such as saved screen shots,
saved written procedures, and knowledge articles, reviewers and implementers can more easily
review, approve, and implement the change.
To add files to any work item, including change requests, you must first enable the appropriate
option. For more information, see How to Configure General Change Settings
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=178233) in the Service Manager Administrator’s Guide.

To add related items to a change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Change Management, and then click All Change
Requests.
3. In the All Change Requests pane, double-click the change request to which you want
to add an item.
4. Click the Related Items tab.
5. On the Related Items tab under Attached Files, click Add to attach a file to the
change request.

Note
You might need to maximize the form to view buttons on the tab.
6. Under Knowledge Articles, click Add to attach a knowledge article to the change
request.
7. Click OK.

29
 To validate that you added related items to a change request
 To verify that the file and knowledge articles were attached to the change request,
reopen the change request, and then click the Related Items tab.

How to Add Manual Activities to a Change

Request
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to add a manual
activity and then assign it to yourself. For example, when you investigate a new change request,
you might want to add a manual activity to the change request. This manual activity could be any
task that is not defined in the change request template that was used to create the change
request.

To add a manual activity

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Change Management, and then click All Change
Requests.
3. Double-click the change request to which you want to add a manual activity. For
example, double-click Apply Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1.
4. Click the Activities tab, and then click Add. In the Select Template dialog box, click
Default Manual Activity, and then click OK.
5. In the Title box, type a name that describes the manual activity. For example, type
Warranty Review.
6. In the Description box, type a description of the manual activity. For example, type
Verify that the server is still under warranty before approval.
7. Under Activity Implementer, click the ellipsis button (…).
8. In the Select User dialog box, select the name of the person who will perform the
manual activity, and then click OK. For example, select Aaron Lee.
9. Click OK to update the changes to the manual activity.
10. Click OK to update the change request and to close the form.

To validate that the manual activity was added

 Reopen the change request, and then click the Activities tab to view the manual
activity that you added.

30
Approving and Modifying Change Requests
The procedures in this section describe how to approve a change request in System Center
Service Manager 2010.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for approving a change request, see Sample
Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities.

Follow these steps to approve or modify a change request.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Edit a Change Request Describes how to edit a change request to add
or revise details.
Step 2: How to Add a Change Reviewer Describes how to add a change reviewer to a
change request.
Step 3: How to Approve a Review Activity Describes how to approve a review activity for
Using the Console a change request.
Step 3: How to Send Automated Activity and Describes how to notify users when they have
Change Request Notifications an activity that requires approval or when a
change request is closed.

How to Edit a Change Request

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to edit a change
request. For example, you might want to change the priority of an existing change request from
medium to high.

To edit a change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Change Management, and then click All Change
Requests.
3. Double-click a change request. For example, double-click Apply Exchange Server
2007 Service Pack 1.
4. Make the change that you want. For example, if you want to change the priority to high,
select High in the Priority list. Or, type new text in the Description box.
5. Click OK to update the change request and to close it.

To validate an edited change request

31
 1. Double-click the change request that you updated.
2. Verify that your changes are displayed in the change request form.

How to Add a Change Reviewer

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to add a change
reviewer for an existing change request. You can select who reviews change requests in a way
that supports your business processes. For example, if a change affects a process for which
certain people are responsible, you can give those people the ability to approve change requests
that affect the process.

To add a change reviewer

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, click Change Management, and then
click All Change Requests.
3. Double-click a change request to open it. For example, double-click Apply Exchange
Server 2007 Service Pack 1.
4. Click the Activities tab to view the list of manual and review activities.
5. Double-click the activity to which you want to add a reviewer. The activity must have a
status of In Progress or Pending, and in the ID column, the activity must also have
the RA prefix or the prefix you defined for review activities.
6. In the dialog box that appears, click Add, select a reviewer, select Must Vote, and then
click OK. For example, select Aaron Lee.
7. Click OK to close the dialog box, and then click OK to update the change request and
to close the form.

To validate that a reviewer was added

1. Double-click the change request to which you added a reviewer. For example, double-
click Apply Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1.
2. Click the Activities tab, and then double-click the activity to which you added a
reviewer.
3. Verify that the reviewer was added.

32
How to Approve a Review Activity Using the
Console
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to approve a
review activity in the Service Manager console. In many cases, multiple people or groups must
vote to approve a single review activity before its approval is final.

Note
Users can only approve or reject the activities that are assigned to them.

To approve a review activity for a change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Activity Management, expand
Review Activities, and then click In-Progress Activities.
3. Select a review activity. For example, select the Messaging Infrastructure Request
Approval.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Approve.
5. In the Comments dialog box, type any comments that you have for the approval or
rejection, and then click OK.

To validate review activity approval

 If all the reviewers approved the activity, the activity does not appear in the In-
Progress Activities view.
 If an activity is still in progress, it requires approval from other reviewers. Click In-
Progress Activities, and then open the activity to view your voting status.

Suspending and Resuming a Change

Request
The procedures in this section describe how to suspend and resume a change request in System
Center Service Manager 2010.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for suspending and resuming a change
request, see Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities.

Follow these steps to suspend or resume a change request.

33
 Task Description

Step 1: How to Put a Change Request on Hold Describes how to put a change request on hold
indefinitely.
Step 2: How to Resume a Change Request Describes how to resume a change request
that was put on hold.
Optional step: How to Unblock a Failed Describes how to unblock a failed change
Change Request request.

How to Put a Change Request on Hold

You can use the following procedure to put a change request on hold in System Center Service
Manager 2010. For example, you might need to put a change request on hold if an external team
needs to complete a manual activity.

To put a change request on hold

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Change Management, and
then click Change Requests: Manual Activity In Progress.
3. Select a change request to put on hold. For example, select Apply Exchange
Server 2007 Service Pack 1.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Put On Hold.
5. In the Comments dialog box, type a note that indicates why the change request was
put on hold, and then click OK.

To validate that the change request is on hold

 Click the Change Requests: On Hold view to ensure that the change request has
been put on hold.

How to Resume a Change Request

You can use the following procedure to resume a change request that was put on hold in System
Center Service Manager 2010. For example, you might need to resume a change request after
an external team has completed a manual activity.

To resume a change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Change Management, and
34
 then click Change Requests: On Hold.
3. Select a change request. For example, select Apply Exchange Server 2007 Service
Pack 1.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Resume.
5. In the Comments dialog box, type a comment, and then click OK.

To validate the change request was resumed

 If the current activity for a change request is a review activity, click the Change
Requests: In Review view to ensure that the change request was resumed.
 If the current activity for a change request is a manual activity, click the Change
Requests: Manual Activity In Progress view to ensure that the change request was
resumed.

How to Unblock a Failed Change Request

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to unblock a failed
change request. For example, you might need to unblock an activity of a change request that a
review board or other review body has failed. Unblocking the change request resets the change
request so that the change owner can provide more information.

To unblock a failed change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Change Management, and
then click Change Requests: Failed.
3. Select a change request. For example, select Apply Exchange Server 2007 Service
Pack 1.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Return to Activity.
5. In the Return to Activity dialog box, select the failed activity, type a comment in the
Comments box, and then click OK.

To validate the change request is unblocked

 If the failed activity for a change request is a review activity, click the Change
Requests: In Review view to ensure that the change request is unblocked.
 If the failed activity for a change request is a manual activity, click the Change
Requests: Manual Activity In Progress view to ensure that the change request is
unblocked.

35
Implementing and Closing a Change Request
The procedures in this section describe how to implement and close a change request in System
Center Service Manager 2010.
For a detailed description of the complete scenario for implementing and closing a change
request, see Sample Scenario: Managing Changes and Activities.

Follow these steps to implement and close a change request.

Task Description

Step 1: How to Complete or Fail a Manual Describes how to complete or fail a manual
Activity activity to track tasks.
Step 2: How to Close a Change Request Describes how to close a change request after
changes are finalized or after the change
request fails.
Optional Step: How to Send Automated Activity Describes how to send automatic notifications
and Change Request Notifications for activities and change requests.

How to Complete or Fail a Manual Activity

You can use the following procedures to complete or fail a manual activity in System Center
Service Manager 2010.

To successfully complete a manual activity

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Activity Management, expand
Manual Activities, and then click In-Progress Activities.
3. Select the manual activity.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Mark as Completed.
5. In the Comments box, type a comment, and then click OK.

To fail a manual activity

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Activity Management, expand
Manual Activities, and then click In-Progress Activities.
3. Select the manual activity.

36
 4. In the Tasks pane, click Mark as Failed.
5. In the Comments box, type a comment, and then click OK. For example, type The
post-implementation analysis indicates that the new hardware does not
adequately meet our needs and has failed the review.

To validate that a manual activity is complete or failed

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Activity Management, expand
Manual Activities, and then click All Activities.
3. Verify that the manual activity is set to either Completed or Failed.

How to Close a Change Request

In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedures to permanently
close a successful change request or a failed change request. You cannot reopen a closed
change request.

Note
If an end user cancels a software request before the software is deployed to the end
user’s computer, the associated change request might reflect the In Progress status
indefinitely. If this occurs, cancel the request and then close it.

To close a successful change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, expand Work Items, expand Change Management, and
then click Change Requests: Completed.
3. Select the change request.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Close.
5. In the Comment box, type a comment, and then click OK.

To close a failed change request

1. In the Service Manager console, click Work Items.
2. In the Work Items pane, click Change Management, and then click Change
Requests: Failed.
3. Select the change request.
4. In the Tasks pane, click Close.
5. In the Comments box, type a comment, and then click OK.

To validate the closure of a change request

37
  Click the Change Requests: Closed view to ensure that the closed change request
appears in the list.

How to Send Automated Activity and Change

Request Notifications
In System Center Service Manager 2010, you can use the following procedure to notify reviewers
that an activity is available for review. You can use the second procedure to notify users that a
change request has been closed.

Note
Only administrators can configure workflow notifications.

To notify reviewers that an activity is available for review

1. In the Service Manager console, click Administration.
2. In the Administration pane, expand Workflows, and then click Configuration.
3. Select Activity Event Workflow Configuration, and then click Configure Workflow
Rules in the Tasks pane.
4. In the Select a Class dialog box, select Review Activity, and then click OK.
5. In the Configure Workflows dialog box, click Add.
6. In the "Configure workflows for objects of class Review Activity" wizard, click Next on
the Before You Begin page.
7. On the Workflow Information page, type a name and a description for the workflow. In
the Check for events list, ensure that the When an object of class Review Activity
is updated item is selected, and then click Next.
8. On the Specify Criteria page, select the Changed From tab. Under Available
Properties, select Status, and then click Add.
9. Under Criteria, select Pending and then select the Changed To tab. Under Available
Properties, select Status, and then click Add.
10. Under Criteria, select In Progress.
11. On the Apply Template page, clear the Apply the selected template check box, and
then click Next.
12. On the Select People to Notify page, select the Send notifications for this
workflow rule check box.
13. Under User, select Reviewers.
14. Under E-mail Template, if you cannot select a template, click Create E-Mail
Template. Otherwise, select an e-mail notification template to apply.

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15. If you are creating an e-mail notification template, complete the Create E-Mail
Notification Template wizard.
16. After you have selected an e-mail template, click Add, ensure that Reviewers appears
under the User column, and then click Next.
17. On the Summary page, review the summary information, and then click Create.
18. On the Completion page, click Close.

To notify users that a change request has been closed

1. In the Service Manager console, click Administration.
2. In the Administration pane, expand Workflows, and then click Configuration.
3. Select Change Request Event Workflow Configuration, and then click Configure
Workflow Rules in the Tasks pane.
4. In the Configure Workflows dialog box, click Add.
5. In the "Configure workflows for objects of class Change Request" wizard, click Next on
the Before You Begin page.
6. On the Workflow Information page, type a name and a description for the workflow.
In the Check for events list, ensure that the When an object of class Change
Request is updated item is selected, and then click Next.
7. On the Specify Criteria page, select the Changed From tab. Under Available
Properties, select Status, and then click Add.
8. Under Criteria, select Completed.
9. Click the Changed To tab.
10. Under Available Properties, select Status, and then click Add.
11. Under Criteria, select Closed, and then click Next.
12. On the Apply Template page, clear the Apply the selected template check box, and
then click Next.
13. On the Select People to Notify page, select the Send notifications for this
workflow rule check box.
14. Under User, select Assigned To User. Under Template, select Assigned To User
Notification Template, click Add, and then click Next.
15. On the Summary page, review the summary information, and then click Create.
16. On the Completion page, click Close.

To validate receipt of the notification

 The reviewer of the review activity or the user that the change request is assigned to
receives an e-mail message that indicates that a new review activity requires approval
or that the change request was closed.

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Viewing and Running Reports
One of the responsibilities of Jeff Ford, a business analyst at Woodgrove Bank, is to provide a
picture of the overall cost of the service infrastructure. One of the methods that he uses to gather
data is Service Manager reports. Service Manager reports enable him to collect and view data
and trends from across the business environment. For example, he can generate a report that
shows the number of incidents that occur in a specific time frame. He can then use that
information to calculate the cost of each incident (in hours) and also to identify any trends and
take preventative measures to reduce the cost and occurrence of incidences.
Reports are viewable for all Service Manager console users in Reporting. If users can view work
items, they can also view reports in work item task lists. Any user can export report data from a
report they view. Exported reports are saved in a variety of file formats.
The following tasks are addressed in this guide.

Task Reference

Set permissions for reports. How to Add Permissions for Reports

Browse available reports How to View the Report Catalog
View a report in the Service Manager console How to Run a Report
Save a report in various formats How to Export Report Data
Create a linked report How to Create a Linked Report in Service
Manager
Save a report to the Favorite Reports folder in How to Add a Report to the Service Manager
the Reporting view Favorite Reports Folder
Create a subscription to reports through How to Configure Report Subscriptions
SQL Server Reporting Services
Schedule a report to run through SQL Server How to Schedule a Service Manager Report
Reporting Services

Reports available in Service Manager

The following reports are available in Service Manager.

Report area Report name Description

Activity management List of Activities Provides a list of activities

within a certain timeframe and
meeting a specified criteria.
Activity management Manual Activity Detail Provides a detailed view of a
specified activity.

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 Change management List of RFCs Provides a list of RFCs within
a certain timeframe
Change management RFC Detail Provides a detailed view of a
specified RFC.
Configuration management Computer Detail Provides detailed configuration
information for a specific
computer.
Configuration management Computer Inventory Provides a list of computers
available in the management
group.
Incident management Incident analyst report
Incident management Incident detail Provides detailed information
for a specific incident.
Incident management Incident SLA
Incident management List of Incidents Provides a list of all incidents
within a certain timeframe.
Problem management List of Problems Provides a list of all problems
within a certain timeframe.
Problem management Problem detail Provides detailed information
for a specified problem.

How to View the Report Catalog

You can use the following procedure to view the catalog of reports available in System Center
Service Manager 2010.

To view the report catalog

1. In the Service Manager console, click Reporting.
2. Expand Reports, and then click a folder. For example, click Incident Management.
The reports that are available are displayed in the results pane of the Report console.

How to Add Permissions for Reports

By default, all System Center Service Manager 2010 users have access to reports through the
Reporting workspace. However, before users who do not have administrator permissions can
view the Reporting workspace, you need to add permissions through SQL Server Reporting
Services (SSRS). You can grant access at the root level, which enables a user to view the

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Reporting workspace and all the reports in Service Manager. You can also grant restricted access
to specific report folders (such as the Incident report folder) or to individual reports. The following
procedure describes how to grant SSRS access for all the Service Manager reports to an Active
Directory group (woodgrove\SCSMReportAccess).

To add SSRS permissions

1. On the computer on which SQL Server Reporting Services is installed, start Report
Manager.
2. Locate the folder or report for which you want to define access. For example, locate
the Service Manager root folder.
3. Click Properties, and then click Security.
4. Click New Role Assignment.
5. Type the name of the Active Directory group or user in the Group or user name box.
For example, type woodgrove\SCSMReportAccess.
6. Set the roles for the group or user. Select the Browser check box to grant access to
run reports.
7. Click OK.

How to Run a Report

You can use the following procedure to run a report in System Center Service Manager 2010. In
this procedure, you run an incident management report to determine how many incidents were
resolved in the previous week.

Note
Before you can run a report, the ETL process must be complete. For more information
about the ETL process and about how to schedule it to run, see How to Enable Data
Warehouse Jobs Schedules in the Service Manager Administration Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=178233).
The Service Manager data warehouse does not create dimensions for classes or
relationships in unsealed management packs. If you are using an unsealed management
pack, you will not see any data from that management pack in your reports. Because of
this, the best practice is to model all classes and relationships in sealed management
packs.
For this example, you must have previously created an incident. Otherwise, the report will
return no data.

To run a report
1. In the Service Manager console, click Reporting.

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2. Expand Reports, and then expand a report folder. For example, expand Incident
Management.
Click the name of the report you want to run. For example, click List of Incidents
Report.
3. In the Tasks list, click Run Report.
4. Click Parameter Control Header to display the parameter controls for the report. Use
these parameters to customize the report.
Each report has a set of parameters you can use to search and filter for the specific
items you want to include in the report. For example, in the List of Incidents report,
you can set the following parameters:
 Date Filter – you can search by the date the incident was created, by the date it
was resolved, or by the date it was closed.
 Assigned To
 Priority
 ID
 Description
 Resolution Description
 Contact Method
 Source
 Status
 Classification
 Support Group
 Urgency
 Impact
 Resolution Category
5. In the Start Date list, select the date one week before the current date (today), and
then click anywhere in the form.
6. Optionally, specify other criteria that you want to filter.
7. In the Tasks list, click Run Report.
8. In the report, review the data to ensure the incident information that you want to view is
displayed. If you do not see the information you expect, revise the criteria, and then run
the report again by clicking Run Report.
In reports that show lists or additional detail (such as the associated sub-reports in the
List of Incidents report), you might see multiple rows that contain the same information.
This is because an instance can have multiple types (for example, a computer is a
Computer and a Windows Computer and a Managed Windows Computer). The level
of detail for these reports is per type per instance, so these multiple types result in
multiple rows.

Note
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 If there is no data in the report, ensure that the ETL process is complete. A
delay might occur between the start of the process and when data is available
for reports.

How to Export Report Data

You can use the following procedure in System Center Service Manager 2010 to export a report
into several different types of files so that you can use the data from the reports in different tools.
For example, you can export the report data into a comma-separated value (CSV) file and then
import it into Microsoft Office Excel.

To open the report and then export the report data

1. In the Service Manager console, click Reporting.
2. Expand Reports, and then click any view. For example, click Incident Management.
3. In the Incident Management view, select List of Incidents Report, and then in the
Tasks list, click Run Report.
4. Click Parameter Control Header to display the parameter controls for the report. Use
these parameters to customize the report.
5. In the Start Date list, select the date one week before the current date (today), and
then click anywhere in the form.
6. Optionally, specify other criteria that you want to filter.
7. In the Tasks list, click Run Report.
8. In the List of Incidents report, review the data to ensure the incident information that
you want to view is displayed. If you do not see the information you expect, revise the
criteria, and then run the report again by clicking Run Report.
9. Click the Export icon, and then select the format in which you want to save the report.
In the list, select one of the following:
 XML file with report data
 CSV (comma delimited)
 Acrobat (PDF) file
 MHTML (web archive)
 Excel
 TIFF file
 Word
10. Save the file to the desktop with a file name of your choice, and then close the report
form.

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How to Create a Linked Report in Service
Manager
You can use the following procedure in System Center Service Manager 2010 to create a linked
report.
A linked report is a shortcut to a report—it is similar to a program shortcut on your desktop. A
linked report is derived from publicly defined reports from any management pack. A linked report
retains some of the original report's properties, such as the report layout. Other properties of the
linked report, such as parameters and subscriptions, can be different from the original report.

To create a linked report

1. In the Reporting view, select the report you want to use as the basis for the linked
report, and then, in the Tasks pane, click Run Report.
2. In the Report window, click Save as Linked Report in the Task pane.
3. Type a name and an optional description for the new linked report.
4. Select a management pack for the linked report.
5. Click Select Folder, and then select the folder in which you want to save the report.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the report.
8. In the Reporting navigation tree, select the folder in which you saved the new linked
report.
The new linked report is displayed.

How to Add a Report to the Service Manager

Favorite Reports Folder
You can use the following procedure to add a report to the Favorite Reports folder in System
Center Service Manager 2010.
After you have run several reports and determined the best parameters to use to customize the
report contents, you can save a report to the Favorite Reports folder. This enables you to run the
report directly from the Reporting view without having to specify parameters.

To save a report to the Favorite Reports folder

1. In the Reporting view, select the report that you want to use as the basis for the saved
report, and then, in the Tasks pane, click Run Report.
2. In the report window, click Save as Favorite Report under List of Activities.

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 3. Type a name for the report, and then click OK.
4. Close the report window.
5. In the Reporting navigation tree, click Favorite Reports.
The new report is displayed.

How to Configure Report Subscriptions

You can set up subscriptions to your reports through SQL Server Reporting Services Report
Manager (SSRS). Configuring a subscription to a report enables you to automate the delivery of a
report. Report subscriptions can be sent through e-mail, stored on the report server, or even
posted to a Microsoft SharePoint site.
To create the report subscription, follow the procedures in the Subscriptions and Delivery topic in
the SQL Server 2008 Books Online (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=158830).

How to Schedule a Service Manager Report

You can schedule a linked report to run on a regular basis to ensure that the information is up to
date. To do this, use SQL Server Reporting Services Report Manager (SSRS). In SSRS Report
Manager, you can schedule reports to run one time or on a continuous basis at intervals of hours,
days, weeks, or months. You can do the following:
 Schedule report delivery in a standard or data-driven subscription.
 Schedule report history so that new snapshots are added to the report history at regular
intervals.
 Schedule time to refresh the data of a report snapshot.
 Schedule the expiration of a cached report to occur at a predefined time so that it can be
refreshed later.
To configure a schedule for a report, follow the procedure in the Scheduling Reports and
Subscriptions topic in SQL Server 2008 Books Online (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=158822).

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