Customer Knowledge Base access without Jira Service Desk/Management

[Katrina Owens]

Hi all, HNY.

We do not use Jira Service Desk.

We have set up a Knowledge base. How do I give customers access to that space only through a login?

Thanks,

Kat

[Mike Bowen · Accepted solution]

HNY @Katrina Owens, 

Prerequisite for Customer Portal / Knowledge Base.

• Jira Service Desk
• Confluence Space

1. Create a new project in Jira, (select General Service Project). 
2. Name it and a make sure Key is unique.
3. Click Create. 

It will open up in the Jira Service Desk screen. There is no need to mess with queues or raise a request, instead of click into the Knowledge base. Here you can create new categories and or new articles. But for now, we'll leave this section for later. 

Click Back to project.

Click on Project Setting at the bottom. I'll only run through the important parts, the rest you can ignore. 

1. Details - Here you can update the Description, Project category/Type, URL, set the project lead and default assignee (although there is no need). 
2. People, Features, Summary, Issue Types, Request Types - Ignore
3. Customer permissions - under service project access select the first radio button - Customers added by agents and admins. Under Customer sharing select the first radio button - Customers can search for other customers within their organizations, Save. 
4. Language Support - Ignore
5. Portal Settings - The only change to make is under Announcements - select the second radio button - No, only service project administrators can add announcements to this portal, Save. There are other things you can change such as the look and feel and introduction text. 
6. Email Requests - Ignore
7. Customer notifications - leave everything on. 
8. Widget, Satisfaction settings - Ignore
9. Knowledge base - Here you need to link or create a space on Confluence, which will host your knowledge base. Once this is done, you want to hover your mouse over the hidden Settings button to the right of the work (unlink). When the button is clicked it opens the Confluence space Permissions page. Here you can grant internal folk permission to add, modify or delete content. I would strongly leave anonymous permission disabled. 
10. Ignore all the other menu items (SLA's, automation, Apps, workflows, screens, fields, versions, components, etc etc). 
11. Click Back to Project. 
12. Customers - Add organizations:- If you have multiple customers and want to keep everything neat and tidy then I would suggest creating an organization, it is like a folder and you will then invite all related users of that organization to access the knowledge base.
13. Customers - Add customers:- If you don't care about grouping users from the same organization together. 
    
    Note: If at any point in time you decide to use the Jira Service Desk feature to allow customers to raise requests, then #12 else it will be a manual set up later on. 

That is it. I hope that helps. 

Kind regards,

Mike

[Jack Brickey]

yep but don't get the request in OP about "without JSD"

[Katrina Owens]

Hi there. Thank you so much. Going to look at the option of using free JSD as well as Jack's advice.

[Katrina Owens]

Hi again Mike.

We already use Jira Software and Confluence. I've been asked to come up with a high level plan to build in Jira Service Management (free version) to use in tandem with a Confluence knowledge base that we've created but not yet populated (slow migration process intended). We will have at least two different types of users who we want to access two different sets of docs within the single, customer-facing KB as they are from two different industries.

Can you guide me as to the steps that this would involve from our current scenario? High level steps are all that's required at the moment but any info would be greatly appreciated. I am an experienced Confluence Author but haven't done much admin so far as that was part of someone else's role.

Thanks,

Kat.

[Gideon Benari]

Regarding point 3 of the instructions above "Under Customer sharing select the first radio button - Customers can search for other customers within their organizations, Save. "

Is it possible for customers to search the content but without knowing who raised the initial question / comment?

[Dirk Ronsmans · Accepted solution]

HI @Katrina Owens ,

You say you don't use JSD/JSM but only use the Knowledge base so that means then only a Confluence instance?

Or is there still some kind of JSD project behind it all and you are using the portal?

How exactly are your customers reaching your Knowledge base? If you only use Confluence you will need to grant them access to the Space in Confluence and if you want them to have it by providing a login/username you will need to have a license assigned to them.

Otherwise that would be anonymous (no license) but also no username/login

[Jack Brickey]

if this isn't associated w/ JSM and is Confluence only we need to relocate to the proper collection.

[Katrina Owens]

Thanks so much for your help! Just gathering info atm. Will follow up tomorrow.

[Jack Brickey · Accepted solution]

Customer have access to the articles via the portal by searching in the search bar. As they enter text the portal will offer potential hits.