WarningReleaseNotes

Version 2023.2 - Build 2023.2.111.0
(17/04/2023 SaaS - 24/04/2023 On-Premises)

What's new

XLA (Experience Level Agreement )

The XLA (Experience Level Agreement) functionality introduced in the previous Service Manager version has been enhanced with the addition of a new service level dedicated to managing XLAs.

This new version enables you to:

• See an overview of how IT services are provided, consumed and perceived by users through a comparison of SLAs and XLAs.
• Measure user experience by ensuring that your perception of the quality of IT services corresponds to what customers are obtaining and their perception of it.
• Access XLA reports in Service Manager.

New XLA service level

A new menu item called Experience Level Agreements (XLA) has been added to the Service Design > Service Levels menu. It is dedicated exclusively to XLAs.

Note: You can access the other agreements defined in the Agreement Types reference table, such as SLA, OLA or UC, in the Service Levels menu item.

XLAs management

• A new entry has been added to the Agreement Types reference table. You can access this entry by selecting References > Other References > Agreement Types in the menu. It is used for managing XLAs.
  Note:
  • Rules have been defined to prevent users from deleting the four main types of agreements, i.e. SLA, OLA, UC and XLA.  Any other type of agreement added by users can be deleted.
  • You cannot delete any type of agreement as long as it is in use in the application. If you try to do so, a blocking error message will appear.

• A new Service Design > Service Levels > Experience Level Agreements (XLA) menu item enables you to create XLA forms.
           

XLA reports

You can access XLA reports in the dedicated Reports tab in XLA forms.

Implementation principle
1. Go to the XLA form.

2. Go to the More list and select the Reports tab.

Note: Once reports are attached to the XLA form, the tab will be moved to the Related Elements list.

3. Click +.

All XLA reports that the user profile is authorized to access will appear.

4. Click one of the reports in the list. It will automatically be associated with the XLA form.

Green IT

Green IT, or responsible digital technology, designates the solutions that enable companies to reduce the carbon impact of their information systems and energy consumption.

This functionality was already present in previous Service Manager versions. With the enhancements made in this new version, the aim is to help companies:

• Integrate sustainability reports and measures on their Service Manager platform in line with their Green IT and sustainability initiatives.
• Cut carbon emissions by 30% by reducing the number of user devices and by increasing the adoption of Cloud services.
   

The new functionalities enable you to:

• Measure the impact of equipment manufacturing.
• Simulate energy savings and costs when replacing certain equipment.
• Monitor suppliers and manufacturers using the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) indicator.

Measure the impact of equipment manufacturing

New fields specific to Green IT have been added in Equipment and Location forms.

• Location form:
  • A new section called Green IT has been added.
  • It includes a new field called Carbon intensity electricity (Kg) (CARBON_INTENSITY_KG). This is used to specify the amount of CO2 emission (in kg) for each kWh of energy by country, based on the type of energy source, e.g. geothermal, solar, wind, biomass, natural gas, oil, nuclear, etc.
             

• Equipment Catalog form :
  • A new section called Green IT has been added.
  • It displays two existing fields, Estimated Usage Percentage (ESTIMATED_PERCENTAGE_USE) and Estimated Electricity Consumption (Watts/Hour) (ESTIMATED_POWER_CONSUMPTION_WH).
  • It also includes two new fields, Estimated CO2 during production (Kg) (ESTIMATED_CO2_CONSUMPTION_KG) and Estimated Water during production (L) (ESTIMATED_WATER_CONSUMPTION_L).
             

• Create Equipment wizard in the Equipment form:
  • Two new fields have been added, Estimated CO2 during production (Kg) (ESTIMATED_CO2_CONSUMPTION_KG) and Estimated Water during production (L) (ESTIMATED_WATER_CONSUMPTION_L).
             

• Equipment form:
  • The data type of the Electricity Consumption (Watts/Hour) (POWER_CONSUMPTION_WH) field has been modified from INT to FLOAT for greater precision and reliability in calculations.
  • The Consumption section has been renamed Green IT: Consumption.
    • It displays two existing fields, Estimated Usage Percentage (ESTIMATED_PERCENTAGE_USE) and Estimated Electricity Consumption (Watts/Hour) (ESTIMATED_POWER_CONSUMPTION_WH).
    • It also includes a new field called Estimated CO2 during use (Kg) (ESTIMATED_CO2_CONSUMPTION_USE_KG) that displays the results of the CARBON_INTENSITY_KG * POWER_CONSUMPTION_WH calculation, provided that both fields contain values.
  • A new section called Green IT: Manufacturing has been added.
    • It includes the new fields also found in the Create Equipment wizard, *Estimated CO2 during production (Kg) (ESTIMATED_CO2_CONSUMPTION_KG) and *Estimated Water during production (L) (ESTIMATED_WATER_CONSUMPTION_L).
  • The Recycling section has been renamed Green IT: Recycling.
             

Monitor suppliers using the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) indicator

The new dedicated field, (POWER_USAGE_EFFECTIVENESS), has been added to monitor suppliers using the Power Usage Effectiveness.

• Supplier form: The PUE field appears in the new Green IT section.
           

• The PUE field has been added in List view for suppliers.
           

• Equipment Catalog form: The PUE field has been added to the Potential Suppliers tab.
           

• To facilitate the selection of green suppliers, the PUE field appears in all supplier lists in the catalogs (e.g. Equipment Catalog, CI Catalog, etc.).
           

Monitor manufacturers using the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) indicator

The new dedicated field, (POWER_USAGE_EFFECTIVENESS), has been added to monitor manufacturers using the Power Usage Effectiveness.

• Manufacturers reference table: The PUE field has been added to the New Manufacturer/Publisher wizard.
           

• The PUE field has been added in List view for manufacturers.
           

• To facilitate the selection of green manufacturers, the PUE field appears in all manufacturer lists in the catalogs (e.g. Equipment Catalog, CI Catalog, etc.).
           

Developments and enhancements

Designer mode improvements: Import/Export workflows containing REST steps

The import/export of workflows containing REST steps has been reviewed to integrate and solve certain post-import issues related to synchronization and connection.

• The export uses a new filter called REST. This filter automatically displays all of the required REST objects for exporting workflows with REST steps, i.e. services, connections, resources.

• Note: The REST objects must be exported simultaneously for the initial export of the workflow. Then only the modified REST objects should be selected with the workflow.
   

Implementation principle
1. Create REST objects used by the workflow, i.e. service, connection and resource.

2. Export the REST Workflow package via the Administration > Import / Export > Export menu.

• Select the new filter, REST.
• Select the workflow and the REST objects that it uses, i.e. service, connection and resource.
           

3. Import the REST Workflow package via the Administration > Import / Export > Import menu.

• Select the REST package that was generated earlier.
           

• Note: The password is not overwritten during the import.
           

New design in satisfaction surveys

The presentation of satisfaction surveys has been enhanced with a new functionality that allows you to apply a color gradient to the satisfaction rating scale.

Implementation principle

1. Open a questionnaire by selecting References > Other References > Questionnaires in the menu and run the Manage Questions wizard.

2. Display the Satisfaction survey question.

3. Define the color gradient using the two new fields, Gradient start color and Gradient end color, that have been added to the question editor.

Default mail template for certain wizards

Mail templates are templates of emails that can be used when sending an email from a ticket, action or certain wizards.

Mail templates are now available in the following wizards:

• Close
• New Task
• Reopen and Requalify
• Place on Hold / Continue
• Assign
• Create Related Action
   

Reminder: Mail templates can now be used in the wizards above. Mail templates were already available previously in the three wizards below.

• Send Email to Requestor
• Notify Support Person
• Transfer

Menu pane: Default display of menu items

Now, when you add a menu item, you can specify the type of display you want by default.

Note: A message will appear if the selected display is not available for the menu item. If this is the case, the default one will be applied.

Employee password policy

PasswordPolicy

EndPasswordPolicy

Modified Definition of Password Policies wizard

PasswordPolicy_ConfigurationServiceManager

EndPasswordPolicy_ConfigurationServiceManager

Integrations

New integration with WhatsApp

A new integration with WhatsApp is now available. It uses a Microsoft Power Automate flow to create tickets automatically in Service Manager when a WhatsApp message is received.

New authentication method, Service Manager (Access token)

This new authentication method enables you to use an access token with a higher level of security than the Basic authentication method for accessing the Service Manager REST API.

 Implementation principle

1. Create an access token specific to the Service Manager REST API by selecting Administration > Access Management > Access Tokens in the menu.

Note: This token is valid as long as it has not been revoked.

2. Create a new service for the Service Manager REST API by selecting Administration > REST > Services in the menu.

• Select the Service Manager (Access token) authentication method.
• Specify the information on the access token generated earlier.
• Specify the URL for accessing the Service Manager REST API.

Developments to the Bearer Token authentication method

New parameters will now appear when you create a service using the Bearer Token authentication method (Administration > REST > Services menu).

• Scopes: Used to identify the scopes of the authorized resources.

• Grant Type: A new option, password, has been added. This is used to enable authorization using a user login and password. If selected, the Username and Password fields will appear.

Service Manager REST API: New methods

New methods are now available for the Service Manager REST API.

Groups and Employees

• Create a group

• Update a group

• View a group

• View a list of groups

• Add an employee to a group

• Delete an employee from a group

• View the list of employees in a group

• View the list of groups for an employee

Questions and Questionnaires

• View a list of questions associated with a questionnaire

• View a list of questions associated with all questionnaires

Version 2023.1 - Build 2022.1.133.0.01
(01/23/2023 SaaS - 01/30/2023 On-Premises)

Enhancements

Board display mode: Movable cards

You can now drag and drop cards to move them in views compatible with Board mode.

Characteristics

• You can manage this functionality using a new property called Allow Drag&Drop (Board) available in edit mode in views.
• The functionality is enabled by default for views built using the AM_ACTION table. It is disabled by default for views built using other tables.
   

 Implementation principle

• Display the relevant view and select Board mode.
  Reminder:
  • Board mode is available when data is grouped by a criterion in a view, e.g. by recipient, status or priority.
  • Board mode is not available if the view is a list or a tree structure with grouping levels such as department or location.
• If required, enable the drag and drop functionality for the view. To do so, edit the view and select the Allow Drag&Drop (Board) option.
    
• Select one of the cards in the view and click and drag it to a new group.
   

Note

• In views built using the AM_ACTION table, the Undefined value will appear by default if the view has not been modified since the latest version upgrade. Once you modify the view, this value will no longer appear.
      

Views: Default sort order

You can now select the column and the sort order to be used for displaying records by default for each view.

Characteristics

• You can manage this functionality using a new property called Sort available in edit mode in views.
   

 Implementation principle

• Display the relevant view in edit mode.
• Select the field to be used for sorting records from the new Sort drop-down list.
    
• Specify if records should be sorted in ascending or descending order.
    
   

     Note:

• You can select any of the fields in the view as the default sort column except for Memo fields and Tree fields.
• If you do not select any field, the current sort order will be applied, i.e. records will be sorted using the first column in the view, in ascending order for text and in descending order for dates.

Notifications: new functionalities

• The  icon will now appear next to subscription notifications.
• The subscription notifications displayed now include the subscriptions of the logged-in user as well as of all users who subscribed to the same form objects or form fields as the logged-in user.
    

• New functionalities enable you to hide notifications and to delete them individually or all in one go.

Questionnaire: Modification of answers prohibited

You can now prohibit users from modifying the answer to a question when the same questionnaire is run a second time.

Characteristics

• You can manage this functionality using a new property called Single answer in the Manage the Questions of the Questionnaire wizard.
• If you select this option for a field, this field will appear grayed-out (read-only) when the same questionnaire is run a second time.
   

 Implementation principle

• Open the relevant questionnaire and run the Manage the Questions of the Questionnaire wizard.
• Select the Single answer option for the fields that must not be modified when the same questionnaire is run again.
    
• Run the questionnaire. You can enter answers in all of the fields as this is the first time the questionnaire is run.
    
• Run the same questionnaire a second time. Only fields where the Single answer option was not selected can be modified.
    

Memo fields: Images added by copying and pasting

A new WYSIWYG component can now be used in Memo fields. It enables you to add images simply by copying and pasting them.
  

     Note:

• You can click within the field to display the toolbar. It will appear at the bottom of the field.
• When you click the image, a context-specific toolbar will appear.
    

Quick creation of tickets

A new button called + Create a ticket is now available next to the search bar. 

• It enables you to create a new ticket quickly by opening the creation form.
• The name of the logged-in user will automatically be loaded in the Recipient field.

Search for users belonging to a Service Manager group from Self Help

You can now display a list of the members belonging to a Service Manager group by running a Self Help procedure.

Implementation principle

• Go to Service Manager and import the new report called List of technicians by group.

  Report List of technicians by group

• To retrieve the URL of the report, display the report. Click  in the top banner and select REST API URL.

• Access the Self Help Desktop Studio and open your procedure.
• Create a form for entering the name of the group to be found.
• Add the Internal Query endpoint (alias: internalQuery) of the Service Manager project to search for the list of technicians belonging to this group.
• Specify the following input parameters of the endpoint.
  • pInQueryGuid: ID of the query found in the report URL.
  • pInFilterGuid: ID of the filter found in the report URL.
  • pInViewGuid: ID of the view found in the report URL.
  • pInSearch: Enter the instruction below and replace <Language Code> with the relevant language code, i.e. EN or FR.
    Caution: The <Search Value> is case-sensitive.

Accessibility

Setting of the focus in a dialog

When a dialog opens, focus moves automatically to an element contained in this dialog. 

Generally, focus is initially set on the first focusable element.

Persistence of error and warning messages

In Other Parameters, you can now use a new parameter called {ADMIN} Persistence of error/warning messages to indicate if error and warning messages should be shown or hidden on screen.

Reminder: The display of messages on screen complies with accessibility requirements.

By default, messages are hidden (value in Other Parameters = False).
  

Other enhancements

• The size of the AM_COST_CENTER.COST_CENTER field has been increased from NVARCHAR(50) to NVARCHAR(100).

• The Create Log option is now unselected by default when an integration model is created.

New Power BI reports

Reminder: To use Power BI reports, a Report server must be installed. To find out more, please contact your EasyVista consultant.

XLA Management

This new Power BI report is available in the XLA (eXperience Level Agreement) category.

• It enables to analyze data retrieved from satisfaction surveys in the Self Service Portal template.
      

• It offers a trend line of user satisfaction by service.
      

Incident dashboard

This new Power BI report offers a multilingual dashboard displaying over 20 indicators grouped in five pages, i.e. Backlog, SLA/FCR, Support, User, Technician.

New integrations

New integration with Jenkins

This integration enables you to start or stop a Jenkins job via Microsoft Power Automate when modifying the management method of a configuration item (CI) in the Service Catalog (Is a service option selected or unselected in the CI form).

Use case: Start a development platform or an Amazon platform when the Is a service option is selected in the CI form.

Implementation principle:

• Create the MS Power Automate flow to be triggered when the management method of a CI in the Service Catalog is modified in Service Manager.
• Add the fields specific to the Jenkins integration to the Create a new Configuration Item wizard. These new fields, JENKINS_FIELD_1 to JENKINS_FIELD_6, found in the AM_ASSET table, are available fields.
• Add the field called Start Jenkins Flow to the CI form. This is the new START_JENKINS_FLOW field in the AM_ASSET table.
• Select the Start Jenkins Flow checkbox in the CI form to enable the Jenkins flow. (1)
• Select the Is a service option in the CI form to monitor the CI in the Service Catalog. (2)
  or
  Unselect the Is a service option in the CI form if you do not want to monitor the CI in the Service Catalog.
• The Jenkins flow will automatically start or stop.

New integration with TeamViewer

This integration enables you to run a TeamViewer remote control session using a deep link found in an Equipment form or an Incident form linked to an equipment.

Implementation principle:

• Add the field called TeamViewer Identifier to the Equipment form. This is the new TEAMV_IDENTIFIER field in the AM_ASSET table.
• Configure the deep link for this new field, both in the Equipment form and in the Incident form.
• Hover over the TeamViewer Identifier field to start the remote control session on the equipment.

• You can then access the machine using the TeamViewer console displayed in a new Web browser tab.
    

New integration with WhatsApp

This integration enables you to send a WhatsApp message to the recipient of a change request via Microsoft Power Automate after accepting or rejecting the change request.

Implementation principle:

• Create the MS Power Automate flow to be triggered when a change request is accepted or rejected in Service Manager.
• In Service Manager, accept or reject the change request.
• A WhatsApp message will automatically be sent to the recipient of the change request.

Service Manager REST API

New module for managing access tokens

Previously, Service Manager could only support the basic authentication method. From this version onwards, the Service Manager REST API also supports the Bearer authentication method. Authentication is performed using access tokens to access private data.

Access tokens are managed in a new module.

Implementation principle:

• Assign access rights to the new module for the relevant user profiles. Select Administration > Access Management > User Profiles in the menu and tick the new menu item called Administration > Access Management > Access Tokens.
    
• Go to the new menu item called Access Tokens.
    
• Click + New.
• Enter the name of the new access token and select the user authorized to use the token. Click Generate.
    
• The value of the access token will automatically be copied to the clipboard. Caution: You should paste it in your text editor to store it temporarily as it will no longer be available once you close the dialog box.
    

New Bearer authentication method

The Service Manager REST API can now support the Bearer authentication method. The authentication method must be None. You must first create an access token in the new token management module.

Implementation principle:

• Create a new service
  • Authentication Method = None
      

• Create a new connection to the service
  • Authentication Method = None
  • Select the service you just created
  • Key = Authorization
  • Value: Bearer + the value of the access token you created earlier in the token management module
      

New methods

New methods have been added to the Service Manager REST API.

• Create a supplier

• Modify a supplier

• View a list of suppliers

• View a supplier