Resolution Types - How do you use them?

[Grace Kim]

We use JSM for our support and maintenance tickets. I see that there is a drop-down of different resolution types. WE have just always clicked "Resolved" (the default) and then the ticket is Done/Closed.

What are some advantages that you have found for using the different resolutions type? Can you report on these? 

[Chris Rogers]

Hi @Grace Kim

The main reason you'd want to use a different resolution is if the "why" or "how" an issue is resolved is important for historical or reporting purposes.  For example, you may have a ticket that ends up being cancelled (the customer no longer needs it) instead of being resolved ("yay, we fixed the thing!") and you want to report on the differences between the two without having separate statuses in your workflow.

In the software/development world, you might use different resolutions to close out a bug that wasn't a bug or a feature request that you decided not to do.  Think of resolution as a special field that you can set to track how something was resolved.

With that said, you can get away just fine with using "Resolved" and keeping it simple; I've worked in sites that are littered with resolutions that were only used a handful of times and didn't contribute anything meaningful. 

[John Funk]

Hi Grace,

You can approach a couple of different ways. You can create different Done category statuses like Canceled, Done, Complete, Aborted, etc. These are very handy for reporting purposes and even automation rules. And it gives you flexibility for transitions to them. And items like Canceled and Aborted would be Done category statuses but you can still have a Resolution for them of Won't Do (or something similar). 

Or you can do what is already suggested and have a single Done category status like Done or Complete and then use different Resolutions like Done, Passed, Approved, Finished, etc. depending on your context.