Jira Service Management is a powerful tool that allows organisations to efficiently manage incidents and service requests. However, despite its robust capabilities, organisations may struggle with optimising their incident and service request processes.
Devoteam was contacted by a financial services firm where they were rapidly expanding the business. The service desk team was also expanding but was not delivering the desired outcomes of completing more work at the rate expected. Vocal complaints were received from both the team and the business:
- No visibility of ongoing issues
- Long resolution times
- Email being the main method of contacting IT
- Incomplete information in initial communications requiring ‘back & forth’ via email
After assistance from Devoteam, the financial services firm services desk, was able to complete the following 3 months after go live:
How to get started?
Before you can start improving your incident and service request processes, you need to identify the underlying issues. This requires gathering data and feedback from your users and customers. Here are some common issues that your organisation may face:
- Slow response times
- Lack of transparency
- Poor communication
- Inconsistent workflows and ways or working
- Unclear service level agreements (SLAs)
Once you identify the underlying issues, you can start to develop a plan to address them and improve your incident and service request process.
Streamline Workflows
One of the most effective ways to improve your incident and service request processes is to streamline workflows. This means identifying the steps in the process that are causing bottlenecks and delays and finding ways to simplify and automate them. For example, you can automate the process of triaging incoming incidents and service requests by using Jira Service Management’s built-in automation features. Some examples of this are:
Use the service catalogue option selected drive an automation rule to assign the incident/request to the correct team/individual(s).
Use automations to create linked tickets for different teams in different projects.
Automation rules to notify the correct people when an SLA is about to breach.
Automation to transition tickets between customer and agents when someone responds to a ticket.
Auto-reminders to prompt members of the team and users for responses.
Any system driven emails address which are integrated into the service desk, have an automation rule to direct it to the correct team/individual(s).
This can be achieved in Jira Service Management Standard, Premium & enterprise tiers. However premium/enterprise is better placed to deliver this functionality due to it having a significantly higher execution limit for cross project automations.
Additionally, you can implement a system for managing approvals and escalations to ensure that incidents and service requests are addressed in a timely manner. This will involve defining clear workflows and roles, as well as establishing guidelines for prioritisation and escalation.
Set Clear SLAs and Metrics
To ensure that your incident and service request process is effective, it is essential to set clear SLAs and metrics. This will help you measure the performance of your team and identify areas for improvement. For example, you may decide to track the average response time for incidents and service requests, or the number of incidents and service requests that are resolved within a specific timeframe.
When setting SLAs and metrics, it is important to involve all stakeholders and ensure that everyone understands the goals and objectives. This will help to build buy-in and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.
Built out your Service Catalogue
Creating or simply reviewing your service catalogue displayed on your portal is an effective method for meeting your SLAs, increasing customer satisfaction and making a more effective team.
This gives your customers and/or colleagues the ability to raise an incident or service request where it will be given to the correct team and correctly prioritised. This allows teams to work on the most important thing, at the right time. As your users will be entering the required information for the option they have selected in the portal, there is less back and forth between them and your agents. This, in turn, boosts both customer and agent satisfaction and drives down resolution times.
Continuously Monitor and Improve
Finally, it is essential to continuously monitor and improve your incident and service request processes. This means tracking metrics, gathering feedback from stakeholders, and making adjustments as needed.
By taking a continuous improvement approach, you can ensure that your incident and service request process is always evolving to meet the changing needs of your organisation and customers.
Conclusion
Improving your incident and service request process on Jira Service Management requires a holistic approach. By identifying the underlying issues you can identify areas where you can streamline workflows, set clear SLAs and metrics, improve communication, and continuously monitor and improve. This can all lead to the creation of a more efficient and effective process that delivers better outcomes for your organisation and customers.
For assistance in improving your incident and service request processes, do not hesitate to contact us.
About Devoteam A Cloud
With 500 clients across Europe, Devoteam A Cloud offers excellent know-how on AWS technologies since 2012. Our team of 550+ AWS experts supports customers with scalable infrastructure, new ways of thinking and operating enabled by AWS so that they can explore new possibilities, re-invent their business, and evolve into an enterprise platform.
Devoteam is an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner, we have passed the strictest training requirements and have a tried-and-true business model that can scale from serving small to very large clients. We are well equipped to manage a variety of customer solutions and have an established run rate of Atlassian business. With a team of Global Certified Individuals, we try to improve our and your business as much as possible. We try to provide amazing products and services tailored for your team.
