Managing Cases

This chapter provides overviews of the configurable case, case access, case management and discusses how to:

• Access new and existing cases.

• Manage basic case information.

• Validate errors reported by callers.

See Also

Processing Cases

Understanding the Configurable Case

In this release, one Case component supports all call center applications and industry solutions. Display Templates that are associated with the Case component control the appearance and behavior of the Case component and its pages to support the varied business needs of the call center applications. Implementers can choose to show or hide pages, sections, fields, and can control field labels.

This new technology replaces the Page Configurator of previous versions that was used to hide and display fields in the self-service application case component.

Understanding Case Access

This section discusses:

• Case creation.

• Existing case retrieval.

• Saved searches.

Case Creation

There are several methods for creating new cases:

• The basic method for creating a new case is to navigate to your call center application (Support, HelpDesk, or HR HelpDesk) and select Create a Case.

  When users want to add new cases, they will be taken directly to the Case component in Add mode. Users can search for customers/employees directly on the Case page, thus increasing efficiency and usability—users can enter information about the case before identifying the customer.

• Quick Create.

  You can use the Quick Create function to provide service quickly to create new customers, consumers, contacts, and workers.

• Use a computer telephony integration (CTI) system to identify a caller.

  The CTI system enters caller information on the 360-Degree View page. From there you can access the Add a New Case page to create a new case. The system populates customer or contact information on this page from the 360-Degree View page.

• Clone an existing case by clicking the Clone Case button on the case toolbar.

  Use this method when the new case is substantially similar to another case.

• Create a new case from the Related Cases page of an existing case.

  Use this method when the new case is related to an existing case. This method enables you to establish the relationship between the cases at the same time that you create the new case.

  Using this method, you can select the type of information to copy to the new case. If you do not copy caller information, you use the identify the caller from the new case page.

• If agents enable the view option for the Agent – My Cases pagelet, they can create cases without leaving their personal case access portal.

• In the email workspace, agents can make use of email-handling options to create and associate a case to an email to support the completion of the correspondence. Cases include standard Support and HelpDesk cases as well as those that are specific to industry solutions.

  See PeopleSoft ERMS.

See PeopleSoft CRM CTI, Accessing the 360-Degree View, Managing Related Cases.

Default Contact Information

When you create a new case, the system enters default contact information for the caller.

When both the customer and contact are selected, the contact information is obtained from the contact's preferred primary phone and email information.

Case Retrieval

To access an existing case, you can access it directly from your My Cases pagelet, or you use the Case Search page. You can perform a search based on case information (such as the case number) or caller information.

If you know the case number, you do not have to identify the business unit before searching. If you are searching based on other criteria, enter a business unit before performing the search.

Note. The number and type of information fields on the Case Search page to use in searching for cases is determined in the Configurable Search Definition, which is associated to the Display Template.

See Configuring Display Templates, Configuring Search Pages.

If you use CTI to access the Case page, the system normally bypasses the Case Search page because the CTI system provides the data that would otherwise be found through the search mechanism. However, if a caller provides an invalid case number, the system cannot go directly to the Case page. Instead, it displays the Case Search page and enters the data that is provided by CTI into the search fields. Because the appearance of the Case Search page indicates that the case number is invalid, you must delete the invalid case number before performing the search.

Note. When a case is secure , only agents in the assigned provider group have authorization to open the case. If you use CTI to access the Case page, and the system tries to send the case to an agent who is not authorized, the agent receives a message stating that he or she is not authorized to open the case. To avoid this situation, consider the secure case scenario when you configure your CTI routing rule.

See Also

Understanding Call Center Business Units

Configuring CTI Application Pages

Using PeopleSoft Support Pagelets

Saved Searches

Saved searches enable you to reuse case search criteria. Searches are saved under your user ID; the system maintains separate lists of saved searches for each user as well as separate lists of searches for PeopleSoft Customer Relationship Management (PeopleSoft CRM) call center applications.

The behavior of the saved search depends on how the search page was set up on the Configurable Search Setup page. The system administrator can choose to populate the results grid automatically with the most recently used search criteria or with the user's default saved search. If the administrator selects the check box that enables users to choose how the results grid is initialized, then users have the option to:

• Save search criteria.

• Personalize available search fields.

• Decide how the results grid is initialized.

See Also

BO Searches on Configurable Search Pages

Understanding Case Management

This section discusses:

• Case page activities.

• Quick Code.

• Case Information Security.

• Product Identification.

• Case toolbar functions.

• Upsell opportunities.

• Case closure.

Note. This chapter discusses the case page activities. Subsequent chapters discuss additional case processing that take place on other pages in the Case component.

Case Management Activities

Depending on the display template, the Case page can be divided into the following sections:

• Partner Information

• Customer Information*

• Problem*

• Case Information*

• Actions*

• Add a Note

• Incident Address

• Dispute Information

• Complaint Details

Note. Sections marked with an asterisk (*) are delivered enabled out of the box. The display template controls the visibility of the other sections.

See Processing Cases.

See Configuring Display Templates for Components.

Partner Section Information

Partner section options appear on the display templates only if PeopleSoft Enterprise Partner Relationship Management is installed. To display the options on the case page, you must select the desired options from the Partner section. You can elect to display the options grouped in a section of the case page or as separate fields (such as Partner and Partner Contact) on the Case information (Main sub-page) of the case page.

If you have purchased PeopleSoft Enterprise PRM for Service, the display template contains partner section and field options, which are delivered disabled. There are two display layout options: on the Case Information section or as its own “Partner” section on the case page. There is no benefit to using both layout options.

Customer Information

In the Support application, the case's Customer Information section contains Customer fields; the same section for a HelpDesk or HR HelpDesk case contains Employee fields.

Consider the following when using the Customer Information section:

• If you are searching for a company, you can enter a partial value of the company's name and click the Search button. The system returns a list of companies that begin with the value you entered in the Company field. If there is only one company that matches your search, a page with all of the contacts for that particular company appears. When creating a case for a company, you must identify a contact person. A contact person is optional if you are creating a case for a consumer.

• If you are searching for a consumer, you can enter a partial value in either the First Name or Last Name fields and click the Search button. Do not enter anything in the Company field.

• If you want to edit a contact's contact method, click the Edit hyperlink to launch the Contact Detail page. This page lists the contact information for the selected contact. Only address information is listed for HR Helpdesk cases.

• The display of Customer search fields and some of the display fields are controlled by the Business Object Search.

  See Understanding BO Search and Quick Create Setup.

The Customer Section is grouped using an “Expandable Group Box” layout. Use the display template to control which fields are displayed in which section.

See Configuring Display Templates for Components.

Problem Section

This section consists of two fields: the Problem Summary and the Problem Descriptionfields.

The Problem Summary field is required.

The system can be configured so that values for the Problem Summary and Description fields can be entered by default on the Case page when the user selects a quick code. If a Problem Summary is already entered on an existing case, a quick code will not overwrite the Problem Summary and Description.

Case Information Section

The fields on the Case Information section are grouped using the configurable “Embedded Tabs” section layout—by default, the Main and More tabs. Use the display template to determine the number of tabs, their labels, and the fields to be displayed on them.

In this section, you can:

• Secure a case.

• Enable the creation of a case with an anonymous caller.

• Enable the creation of a case that specifies a site as the “customer” rather than a person or company.

  This capability is useful for service calls that must be specified by location rather than by a contact name or billing entity.

• Display the business unit associated with the case.

• Select a quick code.

  You can configure a quick code to populate other fields.

• Categorize a case.

  Note. The Category, Specialty Type, and Detail fields can affect the way in which the system assigns provider groups and agents to the case.

• Assign a case.

  There are many ways to assign a case. You can configure the system to automatically suggest a provider group and/or agent.

• Associate and describe a product for which support is extended.

  You can record its placement within a product hierarchy, serial number, where it was purchased, and whether it is installed.

• Record asset information.

  Track company equipment with identification numbers, and whether it is installed.

• Track the reported problem.

  You can prioritize and categorize it by type and severity, create and assign error codes and messages to attach to it, and record the response and outcome.

• Perform an entitlement search.

  PeopleSoft call center applications enables you to set up agreements and warranties that govern and track customers' and employees' entitlement to support.

• Authorize a credit card.

Actions Section

The link categories that you or your implementation team set up during installation appear in the Actions section on the main Case and Summary pages. You can link to pages such as those in the Human Resources database (used in HR Helpdesk), or you can link to Related Actions.

By using the Active Analytics Framework or by selecting a quick code, you can configure your system to automatically suggest an action. If you manually select an action, you can do so from the Actions section, or you can access the Related Action page on the Case component.

Only those link categories and definitions that are associated to a link group —which is associated to a display template—appear in the Actions section.

See Viewing and Modifying Link Groups.

Add a Notes Section

Delivered hidden, the Add a Notes section allows you to provide agents with a note field right on the main case page, saving them the time and extra steps of clicking to display the Notes and Attachment or Summary pages. In addition, agents can edit an existing note. However, agents must use the Notes and Attachments tab for attachments.

See Adding Notes and Attachments.

Incident Address Section

This section is delivered hidden. If you want the Incident Address section visible, modify the display template to enable this section.

See Configuring Display Templates for Components.

In the Incident Address group box, you record information about the location of the incident.

In this group box, you can:

• Enter either a street address or the intersection for the incident.

  If the system is integrated with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) software to generate maps, the address must include at least the Address 1 field and the zip code. Location by intersection requires two cross streets.

• Describe additional information about the location using free-form text.

Dispute Information

If you have purchased the PeopleSoft CRM Communications solution, you can enable the display of information, fields, and action links specific to the recording of complaint calls concerning telecom services:

• A dispute information section, offering a selection of fields and details specific to handling billing disputes, for example:

  • Bill date and period.

  • Adjustment type and amount.

  • Reason for the dispute.

• A communications-specific case search definition.

• A set of industry-specific action links.

  Actions are:

  • Create RMA (return materials agreements)

  • Create Workflow

  • Defect – Create New

  • Defect – Relate

  • Sales Lead

  • Sales Order

  • Service Order

When enabled, the Dispute Information section appears when the Case Type is Bill Dispute, which is an option available only in the telecommunications solution.

Complaint Information

Although not exclusive of all other call center applications, he Complaint Information section is designed for support response in the insurance and financial services environment:

• A Complaint Details section, offering a selection of specific fields and details, for example:

  • A description of the cause.

  • Reimbursement information.

  • Communications records.

  • Personnel involved.

  • Checkboxes for followup actions.

• An industry-specific case search definition.

• An set of action links for insurance and financial product support.

  Action links are Create Workflow and Sales Lead.

   

  Actions are:

  • Create RMA (return materials agreements)

  • Create Workflow

  • Defect – Create New

  • Defect – Relate

  • Sales Lead

  • Sales Order

  • Service Order

To specify the display of complaint information, select Complaint for the Case Type on the case. Make sure that the section is enabled on the Case display template General Options section.

See Also

Link Definitions

Quick Code

You can use quick codes to populate the following fields on the Case page:

• Summary

• Description

• Status

• Priority

• Impact

• Severity

• Provider Group

• Assigned To

• Case Type

• Category

• Type

• Detail

• Error Code

• Error Message

• Interested Parties

• Notes

• Product ID

• Search Solution Keyword

• Suggested Action

Case Information Security

You can control the visibility of the Secured check box by using a display template. When an agent determines that a case is sensitive, he or she can select the Secured check box in the Case Information section of the template to specify that the case should be viewed only by individuals associated with the provider group on the case.

When a case is marked secured, the agent must specify a provider group before the case can be saved. Once the agent secures the case, it is associated with the provider group. Only agents belonging to the provider group can access the case. If the agent who created the case is not a member of the provider group, the agent cannot access the secured case.

Note. Security is implemented on specific pages throughout the system. If your organization modifies the system to show case summary information on additional pages, you must secure the information appropriately.

The word Secured is substituted for the case summary on the following pages:

• Case Search.

  Secured appears in the Problem Summary field of the search results grid both when accessing a case and when searching for a case to relate to another case.

  Note. The other fields in the search results grid display actual case data; therefore, agents can view the case status or the assigned agent without accessing the case. This limited visibility enables even non-authorized agents to provide limited support when callers inquire about a secure case. The link to access the case, however, is disabled for unauthorized users.

• 360-Degree View for authorized and unauthorized cases.

  There are two case nodes in the 360-Degree View page for PeopleSoft HelpDesk for Human Resources; one for cases that cannot be accesses, and one for those that can.

  Secured appears if the Case node in the action tree is configured to show the case summary. You can also configure the unauthorized node to show the summary of the secured case. PeopleSoft, however, delivers this node without that information.

• Related Cases.

• Solution - Related Actions.

• Solution Advisor.

  Secured appears in the search results grid.

• Worklist.

  Secured appears if the agent is not in the provider group.

• Email notifications (automated and manual).

  To prevent unauthorized individuals from receiving email on secured cases, create a role query. PeopleSoft Workflow uses role queries to determine which users should receive work items. The summary, however, does not change for email notifications regarding secured cases.

  See PeopleSoft Workflow

  See PeopleSoft Query

Note. When an agent prompts for cases, the system displays only those cases that the agent is authorized to access. In order to access a secured case, the agent must be a member of the provider group associated with the case.

Configuration Issues for Secured Cases

To avoid sending out information about secured cases when you are setting up Active Analytics Framework (AAF), business projects, workflow actions, and email templates, you can use the SECURE_CASE_FLG field in the RC_CASE record to define record field conditions.

For example, suppose that you wanted to suppress secured cases from being viewed by unauthorized users. You could define an event to perform a check for a value equal to N on the SECURE_CASE_FLG field before displaying or distributing case information.

Case Assignments

You can assign a case to any worker (except future-dated workers). The worker to whom a case is assigned is considered the case owner, even if other agents or specialists are helping the assignee.

You can also assign cases to provider groups rather than to individual agents. Provider groups are pools of agents with something in common, like agents who support a certain product or work at a particular call center.

You can assign cases by:

• Entering the provider group or agent name manually.

• Invoking the assignment engine, which suggests an assignee.

  The assignment engine attempts to match the person or provider group with all of the competencies associated with the case category, type, or detail, whichever is the appropriate level for the case.

  Additionally, because you can associate competencies with problem types, the assignment engine attempts to match the person or provider group with the competencies listed for the problem as well.

  You can set up the assignment engine to assign cases to provider groups according to the competencies associated with problem types and then assign cases to agents according to the competencies associated with category, type, and detail.

  See Setting Up and Performing Assignment Searches.

  Note. Based on how you configure the system, the assignment engine will also uses product, customer, region, and location information.

• Entering a quick code.

  You can enter a quick code that is associated with a default assignee (either a provider group or an agent).

• Having the system assign the case at save time.

  auto-assignment options that are configured in the Call Center BU (call center business unit) component occur only if you have not already assigned the case. If you use Active Analytics Framework (AAF) to assign the case, the event definitions determine the conditions under which the assignment occurs.

Assignment Notifications

PeopleSoft delivers call center workflow to send notifications when a case is assigned or reassigned.

If you assign cases to provider groups (without specifying an agent within the group), you can use PeopleSoft's Active Analytics Framework to send an assignment notification to the provider group's worklist. Usually, the worklist monitor assigns the worklist item, the case, or both to an individual.

See Also

Defining Call Center Business Units

Understanding Provider Groups and Group Members

Setting Up and Performing Assignment Searches

Working with Active Analytics Framework

Case Closure

TheCase Status field on the Case page shows where the case is in its life cycle. You close a case by selecting the appropriate status in the Case Status field.

Case status values vary by implementation, but all case statuses fall into one of these categories:

• Open

• Closed

• On Hold

• Canceled

These processing rules are based on the case status categories:

• Your business unit settings determine whether you can reopen canceled or closed cases.

  You can also set up the Call Center BU - Case Defaults page to change the status automatically when an agent obtains a successful resolution.

  See Defining Call Center Business Units and Display Template Options.

• When you close a case, the current date and time are entered in the Closed Date field; if you reopen the case, the Closed Date field is cleared.

• If a case is associated with a solvable action, you can close the case by selecting the action.

• Unless a case is associated with a business project, cases must be resolved or a solvable action applied before they can be closed. You cannot reopen the resolution unless you also reopen the case.

When cascading statuses through related cases, these rules also apply:

• Changing the parent case's status changes the status of all child cases unless:

  • The child case is associated with an open service order.

  • The child case is in a closed or canceled status that is not the same as the parent's original status.

• You can close a case using more than one resolution.

• Closing a parent case cascades the successful solution to the child cases that are associated with the parent case.

• Reopening a parent case changes the successful solutions in the child cases to failed solutions.

• When a case is closed, it becomes read-only except for the Case Notes and Resolution Status fields. This flexibility accommodates instances where multiple resolutions can close a case for that business unit.

See Also

Defining Call Center Business Units and Display Template Options

Understanding Case, Service Order, and Defect Resolution

Case Toolbar Functions

The toolbar at the top of all of the pages in the Case component provides access to several common activities. The toolbar is configurable; these activities are available only if the toolbar is active.

See Configuring Toolbars.

PeopleSoft delivers configurable toolbar definitions—there is one for each application.

Common Call Center Toolbar Buttons

The configurable toolbar in all call center applications contains these buttons:

• Spell Check

• Launch 360-Degree View

• Send Notification

• Send Email

• Time Entry

• Return to Search

• Previous in List

• Next in Search

• Add a New Case

• Find an Existing Case

• Clone Case

• Correspondence Management

Additional Toolbar Buttons for PeopleSoft Support

In addition to the common buttons , the toolbar for PeopleSoft Support contains these additional buttons:

• Upsell Opportunity Alert

• Order Capture

• Map Dashboard

• CTI Dialer

Additional Toolbar Buttons for PeopleSoft HelpDesk

In addition to the common buttons , the toolbar for HelpDesk contains these additional buttons:

• Asset Discovery

  Provided the system and data integration has been accomplished, this button launches a third-party asset management application, in the process passing the desired asset information to the application for reporting.

  Launch from

  • 360-degree view of an employee.

  • Case toolbar.

• Remote Control

  The Remote Control button launches a third-party “remote control” process that allows an IT agent to:

  • Remotely query for data from an installed product or asset

  • Run a process to remotely take control of an employee’s computer in order to resolve a problem.

    You can create Installed Product records for newly identified assets for an employee using this EIP.

See Integrating with Third-Party Asset Management Applications.

Notifications

The Case toolbar includes two buttons that provide convenient access to case-related communication and worklist tasks.

• Notification—Launches the Send Notification page.

   

• Email—Launches the Outbound Email page.

Time Tracking

When you create a new case, the system creates a time record for the case. For the system to do this, you must first set up autonumbering for time records.

Important! Because the system creates a time record for every case, you must set up autonumbering for time records even if you don't track the time that you spend working on cases.

To track the time that you spend working on a case, click the Track Time button in the case toolbar to access the Manage Time page.

Use the Manage Time page to record the start and end times for each block of time that you work on the case. Unless the case is resolved during the first call, there will be separate time records for the different blocks of time spent working on the case. Every person who works on a case needs to record time separately.

The time entry record is created the first time that the case is saved in the agent-facing component. For cases created elsewhere (for example, cases created in self-service, through cloning, or through related case functionality), the system does not create the time record until the case is accessed and saved in the agent-facing component. If a user clicks the Track Time button for a case that does not yet have a time record, the system prompts the user to save the case first.

When you add a new row to the time record, the system enters the name of currently assigned agent into that row. If your name does not appear as the currently assigned agent, change this to your own name.

The system enters the current date and time as the start time. These default values are helpful for agents who create the time record when they start working on a case and then return to the time record later to enter the end time. If you create the record at the end of a block of time when you've worked on the case, you must override the default start time.

Upsell Opportunities

This functionality is available only in PeopleSoft Support.

If a caller reports a problem with an old or superseded product, you might want to recommend that the caller upgrade to a newer product. A flashing button, which appears on the toolbar on the Case page, alerts agents to a potential upsell opportunity. The flashing button is triggered based on conditions set up in the Active Analytics Framework. For example, you can trigger the upsell toolbar button to flash when a customer is identified, or when a product is selected and the case a has a specified priority. If PeopleSoft Enterprise Advisor has been installed, it is used to recommend a product to upsell. If Advisor is not installed, a branch script is used. Branch scripts are associated with specific products. Clicking the button launches either Advisor or a branch script and adds it to the list of Related Actions for the Case.

See Configuring Case Upsell Actions.

From the Actions section on the Case page or from the Related Actions page, you can transfer directly to the Order Capture page. Whenever possible, the system maps branch script answers to corresponding fields on the Order Capture page. This mapping is accomplished using variables associated with the Branch Script. For example, the system maps the Product field (if it appears) to the Order Capture page.

Background Processing

This section discusses case processing that is transparent to the end user.

Active Analytics Framework (AAF)

PeopleSoft Active Analytics Framework is a suite of tools comprising a closed-loop decision-making system where specific business issues can be addressed. Applications can respond when certain conditions are met and certain actions are recommended. Actions include, giving a priority service or a better discount for high-value customers; identification of fraudulent transactions; and displaying alerts and warning messages.

At runtime, applications send requests to the AAF decision engine to evaluate all of the policies pertaining to a trigger point. For policies whose conditions are evaluated to true, their associated actions are invoked.

Your organization can set up Active Analytics Framework (AAF) to trigger various actions under specified conditions. Active Analytics Framework (AAF) can perform several actions that are transparent to the person who triggers the action. AAF can:

• Send general-purpose notifications.

• Send notifications related to entitlements.

  Agreement lines provide customers with specific entitlements such as guaranteed response times and recovery times. Each entitlement can be associated with a workflow rule that sends a notification at predetermined time. Typically, the notification informs you of the impending deadline.

• Track consumption of prepaid cases under an agreement line that covers a specific number of prepaid cases (PeopleSoft Support only).

• Cascade the case status and resolution information to child cases.

Active Analytics Framework (AAF) also triggers actions whose effects are visible in the case where they are triggered:

• Suggest an action.

• Display alert messages and cross-sell and up-sell notifications.

• Recommend a solution, or a product in an up sell or cross-sell.

• Log entries in the Events tab of the Case History page.

• Log entries in the Events tab of the Product History page of an installed product, service, or asset.

• Log entries in the Events tab of the Change Request History page.

• Instantiate a business project.

• Update information on a case page.

• Display a new page from a link (Not available for self-service cases.)

• Display the Upsell button in the toolbar.

See Working with Active Analytics Framework.

Capturing Interactions

Interactions are records of communication between you and your customers. Interactions can be related to transactional objects such as cases, service orders, and so forth. The related transactions are considered subinteractions.

You don't need to set up workflow to capture interactions; the system captures them automatically based on certain actions that you perform.

The system records inbound interactions for a case when:

• You create or access a case from the 360-Degree View page.

• You create or access a case through the CTI system.

• A customer or employee uses self-service pages to access, update, or add a case.

The system records outbound interactions for a case when:

• You create correspondence for a case.

  Note. When an email is sent from a case to an employee, it creates an interaction only if the employee is the customer, contact, or alternate contact for the case.

• You create notifications for a case.

See Also

Understanding Active Analytics Framework

Accessing Existing Cases

This section discusses how to access existing cases:

Pages Used to Access Existing Cases

Accessing Existing Cases

Access the Case Search page.

General Information on Searching for Existing Cases

If the case is secured, the message Secured appears instead of the problem summary. This message comes from the message catalog, so that you can easily modify the text.

If you are using the Secure Case functionality, you must first establish a person ID on the User Profiles – ID page (select PeopleTools, Security, User Profiles, User Profiles, ID) for each user and then associate the person ID with an employee ID in the Worker component (select Workforce, Worker, Add Worker). The system uses the person ID to determine whether the user is in the provider group assigned to a secure case. If a user does not have a person ID when they try to access a case, the system displays an error message.

Most search criteria fields correspond to fields on the Case page. However, on the Case page, you must enter valid values, whereas on the Case Search page, you can enter part of the whole value in most fields (depending on what operators are set for a given search field).

Note. The information that is available for searching on the Case Search page is conditional, based on the template that you or your implementation team have assigned to the business unit.

There are a few exceptions:

• You must enter a complete value in these fields: Case (case number), Business Unit, and National ID (PeopleSoft HelpDesk for Human Resources only).

• You can enter partial values in the Customer and Contact fields, but only after you click the lookup button associated with the field. The system displays the appropriate lookup page, where you can search for and select a customer or contact before attempting the search again.

Basic and Advanced Searches

You can use basic search to perform searches using the most commonly used search fields. Advanced search provides users with a list of less commonly used search fields in addition to the more commonly used search fields available in basic search.

Users can perform Boolean searches using field-level search criteria. The system administrator defines the operators that appear on the Configurable Search Setup page. Users can further refine the list of operators for each field if they are granted permission to personalize their search settings.

The system displays a list of the searchable fields. For each field, you can enter a search operator and the search text.

This table lists the search operators that are available for field-level searching. The operators that appear depend on whether the field being searched is a string or a number.

Note. PeopleSoft does not deliver the contains operator because it may cause performance problems. To add it to the list of available operators, use the Configurable Search Setup page.

See Configuring Searches.

Searches

Depending on how your implementation team configures the search pages for your system, you may not be able to view all of these fields.

Note. If you do not see a field for which you want to perform a search on the basic search page, click the Advanced Search link. If the field that you are looking for does not appear, click the Personalize Search link. The system displays the Personalize Search Settings page (if the system administrator has made this page available to you). You can use this page to select additional fields to display on the search page. If you still do not see the field that you are looking for, contact your system administrator.

Search Criteria Fields for PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk, and HelpDesk for Human Resources

Search Criteria Fields for PeopleSoft Support Only

Search Criteria Fields Specific to PeopleSoft HelpDesk and HelpDesk for Human Resources

Search Criteria Field Specific PeopleSoft HelpDesk for Human Resources

Search Commands

Search Results

After you perform a search, the system completes the Search Results grid. Click any entry in the grid to navigate to the Case page. If you're adding a new case, the system enters the caller information on the Case page.

The fields in the results grid correspond to the search criteria fields. The fields that appear depend on your search criteria. For example, if you searched based on phone number or email address, the Search Results grid displays that information.

Search Strategies

Here are some search tips:

• You can enter partial values in any field except Case, Business Unit, and National ID.

  For example, if you select begins with as the operator and then enter Smi in the Name field, the search results include a list of all people whose last names start with Smi.

• You can enter the least amount of data that is needed to limit the search results.

  Entering extra information is time-consuming and increases the likelihood of a typographical error that prevents the system from finding any information.

  For example, if caller Larry Green provides his name, you can perform a search using that information without asking for his phone number or email address. If there are multiple Larry Greens, you can select one of the Larry Greens from the search results.

• A case number uniquely identifies a case; searching for existing cases by case number displays the Case page (this involves the fewest keystrokes).

• The search is not case-sensitive.

See Also

Setting Up PeopleSoft Customer Relationship Management Security and User Preferences

Managing Basic Case Information

This section discusses how to:

• Perform toolbar functions.

• Record Customer information.

• Enter product and problem information.

• Verify entitlement (PeopleSoft Support only).

• Assign a case.

Note. The information that is available on the Case page is conditional and is based on the template that you or your implementation team have assigned to the business unit.

Pages Used to Manage Basic Case Information

Reviewing Identification Information

Access the Case page in PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk, and HelpDesk for Human Resources.

Performing Toolbar Functions

Access the Case page in PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk or HelpDesk for Human Resources.

The toolbar at the top of the Case page and all pages in the Case component includes a row with buttons and a time zone control. The toolbar configuration controls which buttons appear. As delivered, the button row in the toolbar displays the these page elements:

See Also

Reviewing Case History

Sending Manual Notifications

Configuring Toolbars

Recording Partner Information

Access the Partner section on the Case page. Depending on the display template, this section may be hidden. Modify the display template if you want the Partner Information section visible on the Case page. If you have purchased PeopleSoft Enterprise PRM for Service, the display template contains partner section and field options, which are delivered disabled. There are two display layout options: on the Case Information section or as its own “Partner” section on the case page. There is no benefit to using both layout options.

Partner Company	Displays the partnerwho is related to the case.
Partner Contact	Displays the contact person for this case. Note. The contact must have a currently active relationship with the company to be valid.

See PeopleSoft Enterprise Partner Relationship Management 8.9 PeopleBook.

Recording Customer Information

Access the Customer/Employee section on the Case page in PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk, and HelpDesk for Human Resources.

Customer Information

In PeopleSoft Support cases, this group box displays information about the customer who reported the problem. In HelpDesk and HelpDesk for Human Resources cases, this box displays employee information.

Select the Show Details hyperlink to see more information on the customer.

Note. The visibility of fields in this section depends on the Business Object Search setup, the display template that is used, and how you modify the display template.

Note. These fields are specific to PeopleSoft Support.

Employee Information

In PeopleSoft HelpDesk cases, the Employee Information group box displays information about the employee who reported the problem. Because you've already identified the employee before you ever get to the Case page, the system collapses this region when you first open the page. To view employee information, expand the region.

Note. The visibility of fields in this section is dependent on the display template that is used and how you modify the display template.

Note. These fields are specific to PeopleSoft HelpDesk and HelpDesk for Human Resources.

Contact Method

Select the Edit hyperlink to edit a contact's contact method. A secondary page appears.

Additional Fields in the Customer Section

Depending on the display template, these fields may or may not be enabled. The Billing and Account fields are available only for the PeopleSoft CRM solutions Contact Center for Insurance, Contact Center for Communications, Contact Center for Energy, and Contact Center for Banking.

See Also

Case Creation

Entering Case Information

Access the Case Information section on the Case page in PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk and HelpDesk for Human Resources.

This section contains the Case attribute fields. The fields on the Case Information section are grouped using “Embedded Tabs” Section layout—the Main and More tabs. Use the display template to control which fields are displayed on which tabs. Also, display templates to control the visibility of fields within the section.

Enter information about the case in the following fields.

See Configuring Display Templates for Components.

See Assigning a Case.

Additional Fields in the Case Information Section

Use the display template to control the visibility of these fields. You can choose whether these fields appear on the Main or More sub-page.

See Configuring Display Templates for Components.

See Also

Setting Up Call Center Prompt Tables

Validating Errors Reported by Callers

Tracking Installed Products

Using Business Projects

Assigning a Case

Access the Case page in PeopleSoft Support, HelpDesk and HelpDesk for Human Resources.

You can:

• Assign cases to either provider groups or agents.

• Assign cases manually.

• Ask the system to suggest assignees.

• Allow the system to assign the case automatically based on your business unit definition.

See Also

Defining Business Rules for a Call Center Business Unit

Setting Up and Performing Assignment Searches

Related Actions Section

The Action Link Groups that you or your implementation team set up during installation appear in the Related Actions group box on the Case page. You can link to Related Actions like creating a Service Order or a Defect. In Helpdesk for Human Resources, you can link to pages in the Human Resources database.

PeopleSoft Support and HelpDesk applications offer the capability to link to pre-defined actions from the case page. You can execute actions on the Actions section on the Case Page, the Summary page, or the on the Related Actions page.

See Managing Related Actions.

PeopleSoft delivers a number of pre-defined actions.

• Creating a Branch Script

• Creating an RMA

• Create Workflow

• Defect – Creat New

• Defect – Relate

• Sales Lead

• Sales Order

• Service Order

• Asset Discovery

• Change Request

• Remote Control

Suggest Action

Displays a suggested action that the agent can perform. The system automatically suggests the Action, which is driven by policies set up in AAF.

See Configuring Case Suggested Actions.

Links

Displays the category name (for example, HRMS, Benefits, Related Actions), specific links in that category, and a Go button.

Depending on the security established for the links that are set up as CREFs, an agent can view all links or a subset of the links. If the user does not have access to any links in a category, the category does not appear.

See PeopleSoft Human Resources PeopleBook

See PeopleSoft Benefits Administration PeopleBook

See Also

Setting Up Links to PeopleSoft HRMS Pages and Related Actions

Setting Up Content References

Validating Errors Reported by Callers

These links are delivered hidden. If you want to validate errors reported by callers, modify the display template to enable these links.

This section provides an overview of error validation and discusses how to validate errors.

Error Message Validation

When you support products such as software or electronics that provide users with diagnostic error messages, looking up frequently used solutions using the error message is an efficient way to resolve cases.

You record error information on the Case page. The system does not force you to select from known error messages. Instead, you can enter whatever error information the caller provides. After you enter an error code and move your cursor to another field, the Validate link appears next to the Error Code field.

When you enter an error code, the system goes through the following process to ensure that there is a corresponding entry in the Error table:

1. The system checks whether the data that you entered is an unambiguous match for a single known error.

   If a match is found, the system associates the case with the known error.

   An unambiguous match is not necessarily an exact match. For example, suppose that the case does not specify the error code, but has a message that is an exact match for a known message, the system considers the match an unambiguous match. However, an error code by itself is never sufficient for an unambiguous match, because different products might use the same code for different purposes.

2. If no unambiguous match is established, you can click the Validate link to access the Error Validation page.

   From this page, you can:

   • Search for similar errors.

     If you find and select an error, the system associates the case with that error. The search is a Verity-based keyword search, so it does not require an exact match—a close match suffices. This helps you find the error even if you don't type the full text of the error message or if you have typographical errors in your data.

   • Create a new error record, using the error code and error message that you entered on the Case page.

     This process facilitates the process of adding error records to the database. Error records are established as the errors are reported, and you can avoid the up-front effort of creating records for all possible errors.

Page Used to Validate Errors

Validating an Error

Access the Error Validation page.

Error Code and Error Message	Displays the error code and error message that are prepopulated using the data from the Case page.
Search	Click to search for existing errors.
Create New Error	Click to create a new error record using the error code and message on the Error Validation page. If you have changed the information on this page, the error code and message on the Case page are updated to reflect the change. When you create a new error, the system associates the underlying case with the system-generated ID that is assigned to the error. The presence of an error ID on the case record indicates that the error has been validated.
Return to Case	Click to leave the page without validating the error. As long as the error remains unvalidated, the Validate link on the Case page remains available.

Integrating with Third-Party Asset Management Applications

PeopleSoft HelpDesk gives IT support personnel the ability to pass case information to a third-party asset management application in the performance of asset management tasks. Assets can be any network-connected device, such as a computer, peripheral, or router.

PeopleSoft HelpDesk provides the framework to launch the third-party application from the case toolbar and from the Related Actions area. The are two toolbar buttons—one for Asset Discovery and one for Remote Control. These launch a third-party asset management application and pass information specific to the case to the third party applications. The information from the case is passed in the URL. Case information passed is typically person or asset IDs, such as employee ID number, or the asset tag. The Asset Management toolbar buttions are displayed only when the Asset Management Integration check box is checked; they are hidden if unchecked.

A Case/Event History entry is created to capture the date and time that the asset management application is launched.

To set up case information transfer:

• Set up the link in the Link Definition page.

• Modify the content reference and point it at the Asset Management application installed at your site.