Continuing improvements to TDX ticketing post-launch

This article was originally published in the September 2, 2021 IT Weekly.

Thank you to all who continue to raise insightful questions about the TeamDynamix ticketing application, which contributes to the continuous improvement of the tool and our documentation. Here are some of the highlights:

Notifications: To address issues of missed notifications, comments will default to public beginning on Friday, September 3. Only the requestor receives notifications automatically, so if you submit a ticket on behalf of another person, make sure the person needing updates is listed as the requestor. To add additional recipients to notifications, add them to the “Notify Other People” field. To notify everyone already associated with the ticket, click on the blue people icon in the “Notify” field. 

TDX also allows you to flag tickets or create alerts. Tickets can be flagged under the action menu within the ticket, and they will appear under “My Flagged Tickets” on the default desktop. You can also create an alert under the My Alerts tab within a ticket, which will email you when the ticket is in process, due, overdue, or complete, depending on the alerts created. 

Accessibility: Several people have expressed concerns about the lack of rich-text editing in ticket comments, especially regarding accessibility. Links can be added as plain text and they will resolve, but screenshots need to be added as an attachment. Bulleted steps can be indicated via a plain text list, with each line beginning with “Step one:” or “Step two:” and so on. Additional guidance related to accessibility concerns is coming soon, and once knowledge management is implemented, knowledge base articles will allow many more options to format end-user help.

Workflow: Workflows are designed to be a guide to route tickets to the correct teams. If they are a hindrance rather than a help, they may be removed. Please note that tickets without workflow will not automatically move from resolved to closed after seven days. The service desk runs a report to catch tickets that need to be manually updated, however the primary assignee should take responsibility to manually close the ticket. 

Removing a workflow is particularly useful for internal or misclassified tickets. To change a ticket classification, the workflow must be removed initially, and once you select the correct form, you do not need to re-add another workflow, unless you want it to go back to the service desk. For internal tickets where you already know the correct assignee, you may remove the workflow and alert the assigned team about the ticket. 

Ticket tasks: For complex tickets, ticket tasks can be used to keep track of required steps to complete a ticket or to assign parts of a ticket to other people. You can also request a ticket task template using the (Ticketing Tools) TeamDynamix/TDX service request if your team works tickets that require the same set of tasks on a regular basis. 

Visit the TDX FAQ website for a full list of FAQs. Please continue the conversation in the OHIO IT TeamDynamix channel or submit feedback on the post-launch feedback survey, and remember to report incidents or submit requests using the (Ticketing Portal) TeamDynamix/TDX ticket forms. The management of these tickets is shifting to a service team with a prioritized backlog so that the core team can focus on the implementation of remaining modules. More information on those coming soon!