How to streamline request management with Jira Service Management?

[#1]

Dealing with a flood of service requests can be a real headache. Fortunately, if you're using Jira Service Management, you've got some solid tools at your disposal to make life easier for both your teams and customers. 

Here's how you can set up a request management system that increases team productivity and customer satisfaction.

Create the foundation: service projects

The journey begins with creating a service project in JSM. This process involves selecting an appropriate template that aligns with your team's needs.  

 Whether it's for IT support, HR service management, or customer service, by customizing project details such as name or key, you build the basis for managing requests effortlessly.

Define useful request types

Request types serve as categories for different service needs. By setting these up thoughtfully, you guide customers to submit appropriate requests and help your team organize incoming tasks. 

 JSM allows for both creating request types from scratch and using pre-designed templates that offer flexibility to match your specific requirements.

Set adequate workflows

Workflows in JSM define the lifecycle of a request, from its submission to resolution. By configuring workflows, you ensure that each request follows a standardized process that improves productivity. 

Whether you need a very simple workflow or one that includes many approval steps, JSM offers precise customization options.

Design intuitive customer portals

The customer portal serves as the primary interface between your team and your customers. JSM enables you to create an intuitive, branded portal where customers can easily submit and track their requests. 

By organizing request types into logical groups and setting appropriate access levels, you also make the process of raising and resolving requests simpler and more enjoyable.

Customize requests view

While JSM provides a solid foundation for request management, it’s good to take a step further by adjusting the view with requests to the particular user needs. 

With the My Request Extension app you can filter and sort requests, rename displayed fields for better clarity, and set additional permissions. This level of customization also ensures that your customers have access only to the information they need without being overwhelmed by too many details.

Embrace continuous improvement

The key to a successful request management system lies in ongoing evaluation and improvement. Regularly review your configuration and processes, gather feedback from both team members and customers, and add necessary adjustments to ensure that your system evolves and meets changing expectations.

 By implementing the mentioned strategies, you’ll definitely transform request management from a potential source of stress into a smooth, efficient operation. While it requires initial effort to set up, the long-term benefits include a more productive team, satisfied customers, and operational efficiency. 

 Consider giving these approaches a try and share your experience!

[Yatish Madhav]

Thanks @Katarzyna Kornaga _Deviniti_  - this is a great post.

We are busy doing a portal revamp as it has become very confusing for our users. We have about 17 JSM projects and in total around 170 request types across them all.

That in it self has caused the confusion but it is also the way it has been laid out for our IT teams - eg Change management, Security, Privacy, Support, etc

The aim is to simplify it down to 2 or 3 JSM projects only ... Let's see how it goes :)

Thanks again