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Configuring service requests

A service request is a detailed record of a request or a complaint from a client. Service requests are used to manage and track client issues. You can manage service request templates and mailboxes from the Service Request Management tab on the Customize workspace.

In order to manage service request templates, you need to have been assigned to the Service Request Admin privilege group, which has gServiceRequestAdmin privileges.

Service request templates

Service request templates are used to create the service requests that are available to NexJ CRM users.

They represent different kinds of service requests and can be customized to use your desired icon, description, or set of stages. The properties of the template will automatically be applied to service requests that are created from the template.

Adding service request templates

You can add service request templates.

To add a service request template:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab on the Customize workspace and select the Select Request Templates tab.
  2. In the Service Request Templates list, click the Add button .
    The Add Service Request Template dialog opens.
  3. In the Title field, provide a title for the service request template.
  4. [Optional] In the Template Description field, you can provide a description for the template.
  5. In the Icon field, click the Select button  and select an icon.
  6. [Optional] In the Target Entity Type drop down, you can select the type of entity that this service request template is for.
  7. [Optional] In the Severity drop down, you can specify the default severity for service requests created from this template. The severity defines how severely an issue is impacting your client's business.
  8. [Optional] In the Priority drop down, you can specify the default priority for service requests created from this template. The priority defines the order in which your organization will resolve a service request.
  9. [Optional] In the Channel drop down, you can specify the default communication channel for service requests created from this template.
  10. [Optional] In the Notes field, you can include text that will be automatically included in the Notes field for service requests created from this template.
  11. [Optional] If you want the template to be active when it is added then the Active checkbox should remain selected.
  12. To add stages, which are the states that a service request moves through, click the Select button .
    The Select Stage dialog opens.
  13. Select the required stage and click the Add button . Repeat this step as required.
  14. Click OK.
    The Select Stage dialog closes and the list of stages displays in the Stages tab of the Add Service Request Template dialog.
  15. [Optional] In the Stages tab, you can change the order in which stages occur by clicking the corresponding Move Up or Move Down button for the stage. You can also specify the order for stages by entering a number in the # column for each stage in the Stages tab. You can also delete a stage by clicking the Action button for a stage and selecting Delete. The order of stages in the list is the order in which they occur as a service request progresses through its life cycle.

    You can create additional stages to add in service request templates by adding values to the SSRSTAGE enumeration in the Enumeration page in NexJ Admin Console.

    There can only be one instance of each stage in the service request template. If you have a stage in the service request template already and click Add All, then there will be a duplicate stage resulting in an error.

  16. Click OK.
    The Add Service Request Template dialog closes and the template is activated and is available for users to select on the Service Requests workspace.

You can deactivate the template when you no longer want users to create service requests based on it by clicking the Action button  for the template and selecting Deactivate.

Editing service request templates

You can modify service request templates in the Service Request Management tab.

To edit a service request template:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Service Request Templates tab.
  2. Click the Action button  next to the template that you want to edit and click the Edit button .
    The Edit Service Request Template dialog displays.
  3. Make your desired changes.
  4. Click OK to save your changes.
    The Edit Service Request Template dialog closes.

The service request template is modified.

Adding mailboxes for support teams and assigning user groups

From the Service Request Management tab on the Customize workspace, you can add a mailbox to a user group so that your customers can send emails to the support team represented by the user group.

A mailbox represents the email address that is used to receive customer emails. When a customer sends a request or complaint, a service request is created, and is sent to the support team using the assigned mailbox.

To add a mailbox to a user group:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab on the Customize workspace and select the Mailboxes tab.
  2. Above the Mailboxes list, click the Add button .
    The Add Mailbox dialog opens.
  3. In the Name field, enter the name of the mailbox.
  4. [Optional] In the Description field, you can provide a description for the mailbox.
  5. In the User Group field, click the Select button  and select a user group that represents your support team.
  6. In the Group Owner field, click the Select button  and select a group owner. The group owner needs to have ServiceRequestManage permissions to manage service requests.
  7. In the Host URL field, enter the network address for the mail server.
  8. In the Mailbox Address field, enter the email address of the mailbox.
  9. In the Password field, enter a password for the mailbox.
  10. In the Encryption Type drop-down, select an encryption.

    If you select No encryption, the NexJ CRM method for encryption is applied to the mailbox.

  11. Click OK.
    The Add Mailbox dialog closes.

You have added a mailbox to a user group.

Editing mailbox details

You can modify mailbox details in the mailboxes list. The mailbox details are the values you entered when you created the mailbox.

To edit the mailbox details:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Mailboxes tab.
  2. In the Details tab, click the Edit button .
    The Edit Service Request Mailbox Details dialog opens.
  3. Make your desired changes.
  4. Click OK to save your changes.
    The Edit Service Request Mailbox Details dialog closes.

You have modified the mailbox details.

Editing the service request configuration for a mailbox

You can modify the service request configuration for a mailbox on the Customize workspace. The service request configuration includes the template title setting and default text setting of the email sent from the mailbox.

To edit the service request configuration:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Service Request Configuration tab.
  2. In the Service Request Configuration tab, click the Edit button .
    The Edit Service Request Mailbox Configuration dialog opens.
  3. In the Default Template drop-down, select a template for the email.
  4. In the Default Title Setting section, select Email Subject or Template Name with Service Request Number.

    If you select Email Subject, the content in the subject line of the customer's email displays in the email title. If you select Template Name with Service Request Number, the template name and service request number displays in the email title.

  5. In the Default Text Setting section, select Email Body or Blank.

    If you select Email Body, the content in the body of the customer's email displays in the email body. If you select Blank, the email body displays no content.

  6. In the Severity Override drop-down, select the severity of the email.
  7. In the Priority Override drop-down, select the priority of the email.
  8. Click OK.
    The Edit Service Request Mailbox Configuration dialog closes.

You have modified the service request configuration.

Changing the status of mailboxes

You can activate and deactivate mailboxes in the mailboxes list. When you create a mailbox, the status is automatically set to active and you can change the status anytime.

To change the status of a mailbox:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Mailboxes tab.
  2. In the mailboxes list, select a mailbox.
  3. Click the Action button .
  4. Select Activate Mailbox or Deactivate Mailbox.

    The Status column in the mailboxes list indicates whether the mailbox is active or inactive.

    You have changed the status of the mailbox.

Rules for service requests

You can use rules to automate tasks relating to service requests or to send notifications.

For example, you can create a rule action to send a notification to a user when the user is assigned a service request or to remind users of a high priority service request's due date.

Examples of rules
Specifying rule criteria
Adding quick responses to a notification
Adding actions to update fields
Rule actions
Tokens for notification messages

Adding blacklisted email patterns

You can add blacklisted email patterns that specify which email addresses should be ignored by NexJ CRM. No service requests will be created for blacklisted emails.

To add a blacklisted email pattern:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Restrictions subtab.
  2. Click the Add button .
    The Add Blacklisted pattern dialog opens.
  3. Enter your pattern using regular expressions and wild card symbols. For example, you could enter test.*@.*\.ca to ignore all emails that start with test and end with .ca. You could enter *.hotmail.com to ignore all emails from hotmail.com.
  4. Click OK.
    Your pattern displays in the list of patterns.

You can also click the Action button for a pattern and select Delete to remove the pattern.

Setting inbound email attachment restrictions

You can set the maximum size of attachments for inbound emails. By default, NexJ CRM will ignore attachments in inbound emails that exceed 2 MB. Also, unsafe file attachments will not be saved.

Attachments that are not saved are listed in log entry records.

To set the maximum size of attachments for inbound emails:

  1. Navigate to the Service Request Management tab and select the Restrictions subtab.
  2. Click the Edit button .
  3. Enter the maximum attachment size.
  4. Click OK.

Configuring service request approvals in business processes

You can define service request approvals using business processes.

When you create business processes for service requests, you configure users as approvers who can approve or reject approval requests for changes to opportunities.

Approval requestors are users with access to an opportunity who can submit approval requests for changes to the service request using a business process form.

You also provide:

  • Criteria that identifies which records will require approvals
  • Workflow information that determines how business processes run
  • Information that needs to be approved by approvers

Request approval when service request exceeds a threshold

The following example shows how a relationship manager requests approval for a service request.

A relationship manager for a large corporate bank is working on a transaction exception-based service request for a wealthy customer in Dubai. This communication from the customer will result in the value for a commercial loan increasing by $100,000, which is beyond the threshold for a relationship manager to approve.

The relationship manager creates a service request and submits the request for approval by the vice president of commercial loans who is the designated approver. The service request is locked until it is approved or rejected. Users can add activities to the service request while it is locked but cannot edit other service request properties.

When the vice president logs in to NexJ CRM, she is notified that there is an approval awaiting for her attention. The vice president navigates to the service request record, reviews the details, and approves the service request. At this point, the service request can be closed by the relationship manager.

Service requests approval process

The process for approving service requests automates how changes to service request records are approved prior to execution.

The following diagram shows the high-level workflow for changes to service requests that require approvals.

Service requests approval process

User roles for service request approvals in business processes

This topic describes available roles for service request approvals in business processes.

All users with access to a service request can request approval for a change to that opportunity. These approval requestors submit requests for approval to approvers who approve or reject the changes.

To designate users as approvers, you must add them to the Business Process Approver privilege group that has ServiceRequestApprovalApprove user privileges before they can approve or reject approval requests. Users who need to create new approval processes will need ServiceRequestApprovalRequest user privileges, otherwise they will only be able to view or run an existing approval process.

The following table shows which user roles can perform specific functions.

FunctionAdministratorApproval RequestorApprover
Create and modify business process templates in the Business Processes tab on the Customize workspaceYesNoNo
Create and modify business process forms in the Business Processes tab on the Customize workspaceYesNoNo
Approve or reject a business process by updating the status and the outcome in the Steps tab in the approval request form on the Service Requests workspaceYesNoYes
Approve or reject a business process in the docked to review or docked workspaceYesNoYes
View a business process in the Business Processes tab on the Customize workspaceYesYesYes
View a business process in the docked to review or docked workspaceYesYesYes
View approval steps in the My Approvals tab on the Schedule workspaceYesNoYes

Adding business processes for service request approvals

You can add business processes for service request approvals using business process templates. You must designate users as approvers by adding them to the Business Process Approver privilege group that has ServiceRequestApprovalApprove user privileges before they can approve or reject approval requests. Users who need to create new approval processes will need ServiceRequestApprovalRequest user privileges, otherwise they will only be able to view or run an existing approval process.

When a service request has a pending business process, it is temporarily locked. Users can add activities to a locked service request but cannot edit other service request properties.

To add a business process for a service request approval:

  1. Add a business process template for your business process and select Service Request as the Object Type. See Adding business process templates.
  2. [Optional] Add entry criteria to the template. See Adding entry criteria for business process templates. For example, in a business process template, you can create a step that is assigned to a specified approver only when the severity of the service request is high and the contact is part of the Tier A service level. You create the step, then add a rule in the Entry Criteria subtab with the following parameters.
    1. In the Field file, click the Select button, then select Service Request > Severity.
    2. In the Condition field, select equals.
    3. In the Value field, select High.
    4. Add another rule. In the Field file, click the Select button, then select Service Request > Entity Tier.
    5. In the Condition field, select equals.
    6. In the Value field, select A.
    7. In the field on the right-side of the preceding rule, select AND.

    When the business process is submitted, the task for this step is assigned to the approver only if the severity of the service request is high and if the contact is part of the Tier A service level.

  3. Add a form to your business process template. See Adding forms to business process templates.
  4. Configure your business process form to enable approval requestors to submit requests for approvals for opportunities when the opportunities meet your entry criteria. For example, provide an "Approval Request Review" page with questions, which the approval requestors will answer and then submit to approvers. See Configuring forms.
  5. Add approval steps to the template. See Adding steps. In the Assign Action Item area of the Add Business Process Step dialog, select which users will be approvers for each step:
    User assigned to the plan
    Assigns the approval step to the user that the business process is assigned to.

    This is also the default value that is used if a specific coverage role, user, or work queue is unavailable when the business process is run.

    Coverage Role
    Assigns the approval step to a coverage role that you specify. To select a coverage role:

    1. In the first field, select the coverage group.

    2. In the second field, select the role to which you want to assign the step.
      Specific User

      Assigns the approval step to a user that you specify. Click the Select button to specify a user.
      Work Queue
      Assigns the approval step to a work queue that you specify. Click the Select button to specify a work queue.

  6. [Optional] Add actions to the template or to individual steps. See Configuring exit actions for business process templates and Managing step entry and exit actions.
    For example, you may want to add an exit action that notifies the approver requestor when the request is approved or rejected. For more information, see Adding notification exit actions to business process templates.

  7. Activate the template so the business process is available for approval requestors to run. See Activating business process templates.

The business process is available for approval requestors to run.

Removing business processes from service requests

You can remove business processes that have been added to service requests.

To remove a business process for a service request:

  1. Navigate to the Service Requests workspace. Find and select the service request with the business process that is pending.
  2. In the Business Process subtab, click the Action button  for the business process you want to delete, and click Delete.
    A confirmation dialog opens, asking you to confirm that you want to delete the business process.
  3. Click Delete.

The business process is deleted.