IT Alerts and Outages Process
What Are The IT Alerts Processes for Service Owners?
1. Service owner or delegate sends an email to ITS problems.
2. Service owner or delegate replies to the original email with any updates.
3. Service owner or delegate replies to the email when the issue is resolved.
Where Can I Download ITS Communication Templates?
To download standardized ITS communication templates, select the link below and log in to the ITS Communications wiki page.
What Are the Prerequisites to Create an Outage in ServiceNow?
1. The Service Owner or Support Contact must identify the issue and send an email to ITS Problems before an outage incident is created in ServiceNow.
2. To create and manage outage incidents in ServiceNow, one must be assigned the “outage_manager” role in ServiceNow. If you are in a group that requires this role and do not have it in ServiceNow, please contact your manager.
How Do I Create an Incident in ServiceNow?
If you are a UDC Operator or a Service Desk representative, you can create an incident in ServiceNow using the procedure below. Note that the Service Owner or Support Contact must first identify the issue and send an email to ITS Problems.
1. Create an incident in ServiceNow by logging in as a fulfiller.
2. To create a new incident, type “create new” in the search bar and select create new in the Incident category.
3. Fill in requester information at the top of the incident form and describe the outage in the short description field. Mandatory fields are marked with red asterisks.
- Incident classification fields are at the bottom of the form. Mandatory fields are marked with * fill out all mandatory fields.
- If the configuration item is known, for example, Office 365 Suite, please identify the configuration item.
- Please use the Generic Business Service configuration item in the Affected CI field.
4. Next, complete the right side of the incident form. When selecting a configuration item(CI), always select the Service Offering if it is available. If not, select the Business Service.
5. Click submit. A new open incident will appear under My Open Tickets on your ServiceNow fulfiller homepage.
How Do I Create An Outage Incident in ServiceNow?
To create an Outage from an Incident in ServiceNow, follow the procedure below:
1. First, select the incident from My Open Tickets on your fulfiller homepage in ServiceNow.
2. When the incident is open, right-click on the gray bar at the top of the incident form and select Create Outage.
3. Fill in all required fields marked with a red asterisk.
- To make the outage public, select the public checkbox.
- Click Update to create the outage and return to the incident.
- Click Save to create the outage and remain on the Outage page.
4. A public alert will be created in ServiceNow and end users will be able to see the outage from the public Service Portal homepage.
- ServiceNow will display the Impacted Service name and the Alert/Outage Type.
- The IT@UT Website displays the description entered within the Outage in ServiceNow and the time of the last update.
How Do I Update An Outage in ServiceNow?
To update an outage in ServiceNow, please follow the procedure below. Note that the Service Owner or Support Contact must email ITS Problems with the update.
1. First, select the outage from My Open Tickets on your fulfiller homepage in ServiceNow.
2. When the incident is open, navigate to the bottom of the incident page and select the outage.
3. Update the Latest Update field with new outage information.
4. Select Update.
5. Send a snippet or a screenshot of the alerts page in the email to ITS Problems to provide an easy review and update of the posting to recipients and senior management.
How Do I Resolve an Outage in ServiceNow?
To resolve an outage in ServiceNow, follow the procedure below. Note that the Service Owner or Support Contact must announce the outage resolution to ITS Problems.
1. First, select the outage from My Open Tickets on your fulfiller homepage in ServiceNow.
2. Enter a resolution time.
- The end date will auto-fill.
3. Click Update.
4. Click Resolve Incident on the Incident page.
5. Once an issue is resolved and an end date and time are noted, ServiceNow will check the end date and time, close the Outage, and remove the public alert at the noted time.