Service categories are categories of services. Service categories can be set up in a hierarchy with as many levels of sub-category as you want. For example, you might set up top-level categories for IT Services, Human Resources Services, Administrative Services, Accounting Services, etc. Under the Human Resources Services category, you might set up sub-categories such as Hiring, Termination, Benefits, Events, Miscellaneous. The Benefits category might have further sub-categories such as Insurance, Time Off, and so on. The Time Off category could have sub-categories such as Vacation, Holidays, Sick Leave, Unpaid Leave, and so on. Beneath those categories, you would eventually list your services, which might be things like "Enter vacation", "Submit request for unpaid leave", and so on. A service category can be any category of service an organization might offer, from services involving hardware to software to tracking time to adjusting payroll, etc. Once a service category has been created, it is added to the Service Catalog automatically.
Create Service Category
To create a service category:
From the FootPrints Toolbar, click CMDB. The CMDB homepage is displayed.
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed. This page is used to configure CI Types and Service Categories.
NOTE
Once at least one service category has been created and the Service Catalog button is displayed on the CMDB homepage, you can add new service categories by first clicking the Service Catalog button and then clicking the Add Category button on the Service Catalog page.
Click the Create button next to the Existing CI Types/*Services list. Just as you see in the name of the list, when a service category is displayed in the list, an asterisk is added to the name of the category. When you click the Create button, the create CI Type or Service Category Editor is displayed, with fields and buttons for creating a service or service category. The fields and actions you can take in this area are as follows:
Name—Enter a name for the service category in the Name field. For example, you might enter "Administrator Services". Later, when you create the services themselves, you will categorize them according to service category. A service in that category might be "Install International Widget Software".
Description—Enter information about the service category in the Description field. The field is provided for maintaining useful information about the service category. Entering a description is optional.
All Statuses and Associated Statuses—The All Statuses and Associated Statuses fields allow you to associate statuses with the service category. Only the statuses you select can be set for the service category. You might have many different statuses, but associate only a few of them with a particular service category. To associate a status with a service category, highlight the status in the All Statuses field and then click the Add button. To remove an association between a status and a service category, highlight the status in the Associated Statuses field and click the Delete button. The status is not deleted, but removed from the Associated Statuses field. Changing the statuses is optional.
Background Color—Select a background color for visualizations representing the service category. The Graphics Visualization field shows the current (default) color. To select a background color, enter the hex value of the color you wish to use or use the color picker. Changing the color is optional. To use the color picker:
Click the Select Color button.
Select from the sample colors and then manipulate the RGB values by dragging the sliders along the color line. The color displayed in the Selected Color area changes as you move the sliders. When you have the color you want to use for the background, click the GO button.
Text Color—Select a text color for visualizations representing the service category. The Graphics Visualization field shows the current (default) color. To select a text color, enter the hex value of the color you wish to use or use the color picker. Changing the color is optional. To use the color picker:
Click the Select Color button.
Select from the sample colors and then manipulate the RGB values by dragging the sliders along the color line. The color displayed in the Selected Color area changes as you move the sliders. When you have the color you want to use for the background, click the GO button.
Icon—Select an icon for visualizations representing the service category. The Graphics Visualization field shows the current (default) icon. Changing the icon is optional. To select an icon
Click the Select Icon button.
Select from the sample icons by selecting the radio button below the icon or upload an icon of your own choosing. When you place the cursor over an icon, a pop-up gives you the item that it represents. Click the Browse button to upload an icon. When you have the icon you want to represent the service category or service, click the GO button.
Service Category—To designate this as a service category, check the Service Category checkbox. If you do not check this box, FootPrints will assume you are creating a CI Type. If you check this box, two more fields are displayed:
Subcategory of—If there are other categories, you can make the category you created a subcategory of an existing category by selecting the higher level category from the drop-down list.
Category Icon—Click the Select Icon button to select an icon to represent the category or subcategory when it is displayed in the Service Catalog. You can choose an icon from the choices displayed by clicking on the radio button below the icon or you can upload an image file of your own by using the browse button. Icons are not sized automatically, so if you select your own icon, you should be careful that it is not too big or too small. The recommended size is 72 X 72 pixels.
When you are done creating your service category, click the Save button. The service category name is displayed in the Existing CI Types/*Services field with an asterisk added to the name to distinguish it from CI Types. Your selections for icon, background color, and text color are displayed in the Graphics Visualization area.
Edit Service Category
To edit an existing service category, from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Click on the service category you want to edit in the Existing CI Types/*Services list to highlight it.
Click on the Edit button. The CI Type or Service Category Editor is displayed.
From this point on, refer to Step 2 in the Create Service Category procedure above for details on the fields in the CI Types or Service Category Editor.
When you are done editing, click the Save button. Any changes you have made to the icon, background color, and text color are displayed in the Graphics Visualization area.
Delete Service Category
To delete an existing service category from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Click on the service category you want to delete in the Existing CI Types/*Services list to highlight it.
Click on the Delete button. A confirmation pop-up is displayed.
Enter your password and then click the GO button. The window is redisplayed and the deleted service category no longer appears in the Existing CI Types/*Services list.
Add, Edit, and Delete Attributes
Add Attributes
To add an attribute, from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Highlight the Service in the CI Types/*Services list for which you want to configure Attributes.
Next to the Attributes and Layout field (bottom half of the page), if Attribute is not selected in the drop-down field by default, select it and click the Add button. The Attribute Editor is displayed.
The fields and actions you can take in this area are as follows:
Name—Enter a name for the attribute in the Name field. For example, you might enter "Vendor". It is mandatory that you enter a name in this field.
Permissions—The permission level chosen here determines both the access and requirement for users
for the field.
Optional—The user has
the option to enter or not enter data in the field.
Mandatory—The user must
enter data into the field in order for the page to be accepted if it is
submitted. If a user tries to submit an Issue without data in a
mandatory field, an error message is displayed to the user, along with
instructions to go back and enter the information. Mandatory fields
appear in red on the Create
Issue and Edit
Issue pages for internal users and in the Customer Submit
Request form.
Attribute
Type—This
defines the type of data the field accepts. Refer to Field Types for descriptions.
Attribute Header—If you would like to include instructions or other information
about attribute fields when they are displayed, you can optionally insert text or HTML headers above
the field. Enter the text or HTML into the Field Header field. The use of HTML also enables you to insert images directly into the Attributes.
Default Value—A default value is either entered or displayed here, depending on the field type. For example, if you select a character field type, you can enter a default value for that field here. If you select a drop-down field type, the default value is entered when the drop-down field is displayed in a field provided for that purpose. All field types can have a default value except for Multi-select fields. In addition, the default choices for Date and Date Time fields are limited to No Default and Today. For Date Time fields, Today means the day and time at which the attribute was saved).
When you have completed entering the attribute information, click the Save button to save the attribute. The attribute is then displayed in the Attributes and Layout
field.
Edit an Attribute
To edit an attribute, from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Highlight the Service in the CI Types/*Services list for which you want to configure Attributes.
Next to the Attributes and Layout field, if Attribute is not selected in the drop-down field by default, select it.
Click on the attribute you wish to edit in the Attributes and Layout field and then click the Edit button. The Attribute Editor is displayed.
Refer to the instructions above in Add an Attribute, Step 3 for further details.
Delete an Attribute
To delete an attribute, from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Highlight the Service in the CI Types/*Services list for which you want to configure Attributes.
Next to the Attributes and Layout field, if Attribute is not selected in the drop-down field by default, select it.
Click on the attribute you wish to delete in the Attributes and Layout field and then click the Delete button. A confirmation pop-up window is displayed into which you must enter your password in order to complete the deletion.
Enter your password and click the GO button. The attribute is deleted and is no longer displayed in the Attributes and Layout field.
Change the Order in which Tabs, Sections, and Attributes are Displayed
To change the order in which tabs, sections, and attributes are displayed, from the CMDB homepage:
Select Administration | CI Types. The Configure CI Types page is displayed.
Next to the Attributes and Layout field, select Attribute, Tab Dialog, or Header from the drop-down field.
Click on the Change Order button to display the up and down arrows.
Click on the item you want to move in the Attributes and Layout field.
Use the up and down arrows beside the field to move the selected item up or down in the order.