Creating a ServiceNow Incident

Overview

The Actions Center is a tool available to Admin users that can be used to send outbound tickets to ServiceNow, containing information about selected Devices from a query. You may wish to use this feature to alert your IT staff of any device assets that require their attention. For example:

  • Devices with missing or outdated agents
  • Devices running on End-of-Life operating systems
  • Devices belonging to a specific subset of employees in your organization
Opening the Action Center

Add a New ServiceNow Configuration

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This step might have been completed by another user in your Organization. If this is the case, you may skip ahead to the following section.

Before you can send tickets to ServiceNow, you will need to configure the ServiceNow integration. Follow these instructions for configuring the integration.



Creating a New Ticket

In this section, we will review best practices and the steps you should take when creating a ticket.

1. Write a Query

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Please note that a separate ticket will be sent to ServiceNow for each Device you select from the device assets list.

To ensure the correct Devices are included in your ticket, you will want to exclude all other Devices from the Live Inventory device asset list. This can be accomplished by running a query.

In this example we will be querying for Devices with a Automox Agent Version that exists

Example Query

Once your query has been run, use the checkboxes to select any Devices you would like to include in your ticket.

Selecting Checkboxes

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If you would like to include more than one page of results, use the Select all checkbox in the Action panel

2. Create a ServiceNow Incident

Once you have run your query and selected your Devices, you will be ready to begin creating a ServiceNow Incident.

Select the Actions link in the top-right corner of the page followed by the Create ServiceNow incident link. Next, select the Start new incident button.

Opening the Action Center and selecting "start new incident"

3. Fill out the Incident Form

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We recommend referring to the Service Incident Form Fields section of this document before filling our your incident form.

Next, you will need to fill out your incident form. This can be done using a combination of plain text and template language tags. Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*).

4. Send Your Incident

Once you have finished, select the Create Incidents button. This will send your incident ticket to ServiceNow.

Select "Create Incidents" button

An Action initiated message will appear, indicating that your ticket has been sent successfully. From here, you can select the execution logs link to view its delivery status on the Action Center page.

Selecting "execution logs" link

Saving a Ticket Action

For incident tickets you plan on sending out regularly, you may wish to save a ticket action to avoid having to fill out the incident ticket form each time. This can be done direction in the Actions panel on the Device Live Inventory page or from the Action Center page.

Live Inventory

Once you have finished creating your ticket, scroll to the bottom on the panel and select the "Save this action for future reuse" checkbox.

Select checkbox

Two additional fields will appear. Enter a name for your ticket action and an optional description. Once you have finished, select the Create incidents and save action button. This will send your incident to ServiceNow and save the ticket action to your organization in Sevco.

Enter Name and select "create incidents and save action" button

Action Center

Creating a saved action from the Action Center page allows you to save an action without sending a ticket to ServiceNow. To do so, select the New saved action button in the top-right corner of the page.

Selecting "New saved action" button

Enter a name and an optional description for your saved action. Once you have done this, you can continue filling out the incident form like normal. When you have finished, select the Save action button at the bottom of the panel.

Filling out form, click "Save action" button

Once your action has been saved, it will appear in the Saved Actions list.

Saved Actions List

ServiceNow Incident Form Fields

The following are definitions for the ServiceNow form fields you will be filling out.

ServiceNow Configuration – The ServiceNow integration configuration you or another member of your organization set up. If a configuration has not been set up, please refer to these instructions for doing so.

Short Description – This field is used by ServiceNow as the title of the incident you have created

Description – Use this field to include any important information about the Devices you have included in your incident.

Caller – Use this field to enter the ServiceNow User ID of the person who contacted you about the issue your incident is about.

Category – Use this field to enter a Category used in your instance of ServiceNow. A list of default categories can be found here, however you may also use any custom categories you have created in ServiceNow. If this field is left blank, ServiceNow will assign it a default category.

Subcategory – Use this field to enter a Subcategory used in your instance of ServiceNow. A list of default subcategories can be found here, however you may also use any custom subcategories you have created in ServiceNow. If this field is left blank, ServiceNow will default to none specified.

Service – If applicable, use this field to enter an affected Business Service.

Service Offering – Use this field to enter a ServiceNow Service Offering. A service offering consists of one or more service commitments that uniquely define the level of service in terms of availability, scope, pricing, and packaging options. This field enables you to receive different features and their levels of performance for a given service.

Configuration Item – Use this field to enter the item or service affected. Use template language to pass on an asset name to ServiceNow. If the asset name is not recognized, ServiceNow will default to a blank field.

Channel – Use this field to enter the Communication Method used to create your incident. If this field is left blank, ServiceNow will use a default channel. The following options are available:

  • Chat
  • Email
  • Phone
  • Monitoring
  • Self-service
  • Virtual Agent
  • Walk-in

ImpactImpact is a measure of the effect of an incident, problem, or change in business processes. Use this field to enter a number, per your ServiceNow instance's impact scale. If left blank, ServiceNow will use a default rating.

UrgencyUrgency is the extent to which an incident resolution can bare delay before resulting in a business impact. Use this field to enter a number, per your ServiceNow instance's urgency scale.

Assigned to – Use this field to enter the ServiceNow User ID of the person you would like to assign your incident to. If a User ID is not recognized, ServiceNow will default to a blank field.

Assignment Group – Use this field to enter the corresponding ServiceNow Assignment Group for the person you have assigned the incident to. If the assignment group is not recognized, it will default to a blank field. Read More

Additional Notes – Specify any additional fields required for the incident as key-value pairs in JSON format. For user-defined fields to resolve correctly, specify the u_ prefix. (i.e. "Comments":"Sevco finding", "u_custom_field:"value")