Change Management with OneDesk

Change management is an approach for managing organizational changes, which can include processes, infrastructure, or technology. The goal is to implement changes smoothly, with minimal risk to users. In the help desk context, the process is usually in reference to IT change management. This article outlines a basic IT change management process with OneDesk. You can change this flow as you see fit in order to align with your organization or goals. 

A change management process involves:

• Initial request – End-users or IT staff raise a change request with expectations or possible risks. 
• Assessment and planning – The team reviews the request and documents requirements. 
• Approval – The appropriate manager reviews and approves the plan.
• Implementation – Changes are shipped.

How it will work together 

Before we discuss the actual setup, let’s get an overview of how this change management process works. 

The process will start when an end-user or IT team member submits a request. End-users can access your webform (and other customer apps) wherever you deploy them; typically from your website via a link or the web widget. End-users will submit the change request from the webform. This request will come in as a ticket with the necessary information, as filled out in the form. IT agents can submit a change request internally from OneDesk using a templated form.  

Upon creation of the request, an automation will assign the relevant agent(s). The assigned agent will perform the assessment and planning, documenting the process and discussing with other teammates as necessary. Once the assessment and planning phase is over, the agent will update the status of the ticket and set it as needing approval. The manager will be notified that the request needs approval via an automated email. If an end-user or stakeholder performs the approval, they can do so using the ticket portal. If an end-user submitted the request they can also monitor progress or engage in conversation within the ticket portal. If the manager doing the approval is a OneDesk user, they can approve the request via the main web or mobile OneDesk app. 

After implementation, set the request status to complete. You can enhance the change management process by documenting your processes using the knowledge base.  

Setup your change management workflow

Step 1: Create a ticket type

In OneDesk you can have multiple ticket types for different services or processes. Each type can have separate statuses, forms, and automations. The first step to set up your change management process is to create a ticket type for it. 

Go to Admin > Tickets > Ticket Types > select ‘Show Hidden Types. Enable a new type and give it an appropriate name, such as ‘Change’. 

Tip: You can create ticket types for different categories of changes such as standard changes or emergency changes. 

Beside this new ticket type, select ‘Manage Statuses.’ Configure the relevant statuses corresponding to the steps of your change management workflow.

For example, the following statuses would work for a simple change management flow: 

‘New’ – Not started state

‘In Planning’ – In progress state

‘Needs Approval’ – In progress state

‘Implemented’ – Finished state

Step 2: Create relevant custom fields 

Next you’ll probably need to create some custom fields for your tickets. Custom fields can help you capture information about the change request specific to your business. 

Go to Admin > Custom Fields > Create Custom Field. 

Some examples of custom fields you might create include: Urgency or Department. In the custom field creation window, be sure to add it to the ticket detail panel. We will add it to the customer-facing webform later. 

Learn more about Custom Fields. 

Step 3: Create your internal form template

An internal form can be used by your IT team to initiate a new change request in OneDesk.

Go to Admin > Forms. Select the form under the ‘Change’ ticket type. Add the custom fields you created to the form. You can set default values to any field on the form. Default values will be pre-populated when you create a new change, meaning new requests are faster to create. 

Tip: You can create multiple forms for your change ticket, each with different default values.

Step 4: Create the form for your end-users / customers 

A webform can be used by end-users, customers, or stakeholders to submit a new change request. Go to Admin > Webforms > Create a new webform for the ‘Change’ ticket type.

Configure the form menu, title, and subtitle to your preference. 

Add appropriate fields (including the custom fields you created earlier) to your webform. To ensure all information is captured, you can set fields as required. 

Tip: After submission, the requester can view the request from the ticket portal.

Step 5: Automate the workflow 

Lastly, let’s set up some automations to make everything run smoothly and efficiently. Automations run on requests upon meeting a condition, then perform an action.

You’ll want to create least two automations to facilitate the change management process

• First, to assign an agent (or multiple agents) to the initial request
• Second, to notify a manager that the request needs approval.

For the first automation, select runs on the ‘change’ ticket type. For the trigger, select ‘item is created.’ For the action, select Assignee and add the relevant agent(s) who will work on the initial step. 

For the second automation, select the ‘change’ type for runs on. For the trigger, select Lifecycle status changes to ‘Needs Approval’. For the action select Send Email Template. Enter the Email that will be sent to the manager or stakeholder when the request needs to be approved. 

You can configure these automations to your needs. For example, you can assign the request based on selected custom fields, move the request into a specific project, and more. 

Learn more about automations: About automations

Your change management workflow is now set up. Feel free to modify the workflow to your needs or as processes change.