CSM integration with IT Service Management overview

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of CSM Integration with IT Service Management Overview

    The Customer Service Management (CSM) integration with IT Service Management (ITSM) enables seamless interaction between CSM and various ITSM applications including Incident, Problem, Change, and Request Management. This integration is facilitated through specific plugins and roles that enhance case management capabilities for customer service agents.

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    Key Features

    • Required Plugins:
      • Customer Service with Service Management plugin (com.sncssm)
      • Customer Service with Request Management plugin (com.sncssmrequest)
    • Role Assignments:

      The integration does not add new roles but requires assigning CSM/ITSM integration roles from the Incident Management application to customer service agents for feature access.

    • Case Record Management:

      Agents can create or associate incidents, problems, changes, and requests directly from the Case form using the Additional Actions menu. Once a record is created or linked, the option to create further records is removed.

    • Related Records Viewing:

      The Case form displays related records such as incidents, problems, and requests, allowing agents to track connections efficiently. The Related Records list widget is also available for external users on the Customer or Consumer Service Portal, offering visibility into record associations.

    • Case Resolution Codes:

      Agents can utilize predefined case resolution codes to document case outcomes effectively.

    • Major Issue Management:

      The integration supports major issue management, allowing major case managers to create and manage related records across major and child cases, with synchronized updates for tracking changes.

    Key Outcomes

    With the CSM integration, ServiceNow customers can expect improved case management efficiency through streamlined incident and request handling, enhanced visibility of related records, and a structured approach to resolving major issues. This integration ultimately leads to better customer service outcomes and more effective IT service delivery.

    Customer Service Management provides an integration with the Incident, Problem, Change, and Request Management applications.

    Plugins

    Customer Service Management integration with Service Management requires the following plugins:
    • Customer Service with Service Management plugin (com.sn_cs_sm)
    • Customer Service with Request Management plugin (com.sn_cs_sm_request)
    For additional information, see Integrate with Service Management.

    Roles

    The Service Management integration plugins do not add any roles to the customer service agent (sn_customerservice_agent) role. To enable the Service Management integration features, you must assign the CSM/ITSM integration roles included with the Incident Management application to the agents who need this capability. For more information, see Assign CSM/ITSM integration roles.

    Creating records for a case

    The Service Management integration plugins add the following menu items to the Additional Actions menu on the Case form. Agents can use these menu items to create records for a case.
    • Create Incident
    • Create Problem
    • Create Request
    • Create Normal Change
    • Create Standard Change
    Note:
    Agents can create or associate one incident, problem, or change record with a case. After a record is created or associated with a case, the corresponding menu items are no longer available on the Additional Actions menu.
    For more information, see Creating incident, problem, change, and request records from Agent Workspace.

    Viewing incident, problem, and change records related to a case

    The Service Management integration plugins add the Related Records form section to the Case form. This section includes the following fields:
    • Incident
    • Problem
    • Change Request
    • Caused by Change
    When an incident, problem, or change record is created from a case, or an existing record is associated with a case, the record number is added to the corresponding field in the Related Records form section.

    Viewing requests related to a case

    When a request is created from a case, or an existing request is associated with a case, the request record number is added to the Requests related list on the Case form.
    Note:
    Agents can create multiple requests for a case.

    Related records list widget for external customers

    When viewing a case on the Customer or Consumer Service Portal, external users can see other records that are associated with the case in the Related Records list widget. These records can include problems, changes, and requests. Users can click a record in the Related Records widget to view additional details in a pop-up window.

    Note:
    If a case does not have any related records, the Related Records widget does not appear on the case view page.
    From the Customer and Consumer Service Portals, users can view lists of cases and requests by doing one of the following:
    • Clicking My Lists in the portal menu header.
    • Clicking Requests > All Requests in the portal menu header.
    For more information, see View records related to a case from the Customer and Consumer Service Portals.

    Using case resolution codes

    The Service Management integration plugins provide the following case resolution codes.

    Agents can select these codes from the Resolution code field in the Resolution Information section on the Case form.
    • Solved – Fixed by closing related PRB
    • Solved – Workaround provided based on open PRB
    • Solved – Fixed by closing related Change Request
    • Solved – Fixed by closing related Incident
    • Solved – Related Request is Closed Complete

    IT Service Management integration and Major Issue Management

    The major issue management feature works with the CSM integration with IT Service Management as follows:
    • A major issue manager with the itil role can create incident, problem, change, and request records from a major case.
    • When a major case candidate with an associated record is accepted as a major case:
      • A new major case is created and the candidate becomes a child of the major case.
      • The related record information is copied from the child case to the major case.
      • For the child case, the options to create related records are removed from the Additional Actions menu.
      • For the child case, the fields in the Related Records form section are read-only.
      • Updates to the related records appear in the work notes of the major case. These updates are added to the child case when fields are synchronized from the major case to the child case.
    • A major case and child cases can have different types of related records. This can happen when an existing case with a related incident, problem, change, or request record is added as a child of a major case. When updates are made to the record related to the child case, information about the update is added to the child case work notes.
    • If a major case and child cases have the same related record, updates to that record are added to the major case work notes. These notes are copied from the major case to the child cases if:
      • The sn_customerservice.case_fields_to_sync property is enabled.
      • The field in the in the Related Records form section is added to the sn_customerservice.case_fields_to_sync property.
    • If a major case and child cases have different related records of the same type, updates to the records are copied only to the respective cases.