Automated Ticket Assignment System for ITSM SLA Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a 24x7 operational model, shift managers and team leads face challenges in efficiently managing ticket assignments within a dynamic queue, as the manual process is time-consuming and prone to errors, and requires continuous monitoring to ensure compliance with response service level agreements (SLAs).
Innovation Solution
A method for automatically assigning tickets to IT agents by selecting active tickets from an incident table, searching for candidate agents in a roster table based on search criteria generated from ticket information, and assigning the ticket to the best qualified and available agent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual ticket assignment is used by shift managers, then flexibility in agent selection is maintained, but time consumption and error probability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring search criteria, agent skill profiles, and assignment rules beforehand. When a ticket arrives, the automated system immediately queries the roster table using pre-defined criteria to find suitable agents, eliminating the need for manual checking and comparison that shift managers previously had to perform.
Solution Approach 2:
An automated assignment system acts as an intermediary between ticket creation and agent notification. This intermediary component queries the roster table, applies search criteria, and selects appropriate agents automatically, reducing both time consumption and human error while maintaining systematic control over the assignment process.
2Reliability
If manual monitoring of ticket queue is performed, then compliance with SLAs can be ensured, but continuous attention is required
Solution Approach 1:
The automated system implements continuous feedback mechanisms by monitoring ticket queue status, agent availability, and SLA metrics in real-time. The system automatically adjusts assignments based on current conditions and provides feedback to shift managers about compliance status, ensuring reliable SLA adherence without requiring continuous manual monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated assignment system operates continuously in the background, constantly querying the roster table and monitoring ticket status without interruption. This continuous automated operation ensures SLA compliance is maintained at all times, replacing the need for discrete manual monitoring actions while reducing overall process complexity.
3Productivity
If automated ticket assignment is implemented, then assignment speed increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated assignment system is designed as a universal platform that handles multiple ticket types, agent roles, and assignment scenarios through a single integrated architecture. By consolidating various assignment functions into one system that queries a centralized roster table, the solution increases productivity while managing complexity through standardization rather than proliferation of separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system manages complexity by dynamically adjusting parameters such as search criteria, agent availability thresholds, and assignment priorities based on ticket characteristics and current queue conditions. This parameter-based flexibility allows rapid adaptation to different scenarios without requiring complex hard-coded logic, thereby increasing productivity while keeping the system architecture manageable.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a method for assigning a ticket to an agent, comprising: - selecting (20) from an incident table (ICD) an active ticket to be assigned to an agent, said incident table comprising ticket entries, a ticket entry relating to an incident requiring an action of resolution and comprising ticket information about the incident, - searching (21) for at least one candidate agent by querying a roster table (RST), said roster table comprising entries corresponding to agents, said entries comprising agent information, based on one or more search criteria generated from one or more of said ticket information and applied to said agent information, and - in case one agent has been found, assigning the ticket to said agent.