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Matrix42 Self-Service Help Center

Configuration and properties of combined services

A detailed description of the combined Services manual configuration and properties overview.

Details

Simple Service is a type of service that includes a single product item that can be potentially offered to the Self Service Portal users. 

Simple Services are configured in the Service Catalog and include a number of specific properties which are described below.

To create a new simple Service go to Service Catalog application → Service Catalog menu → Bundles / Groups / Sets  → Add Service action:

combined_services_add_bundle1.png

For a general overview of simple and combined services manual configuration and their properties comparison please check Service Catalog overview page.

Combined Service has the following configurable properties grouped by tabs:

General 

The General tab contains general internal service-related information, such as the name of the service, its status, approval workflow, etc.

Field Description

Name

The internal name of the service.

Service Type

Category under which the service falls, e.g. Hardware, Software, Network, Hosting, Office Furniture, etc. 

Status

Current status of the service. Statuses available for selection here are described in the Service Lifecycle article.

  • Only Operational services can be ordered through the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.
  • Services with the Released status are visible but cannot be ordered.
  • The Discontinued status is set automatically by the system if the date that was set under Operational Until is reached. This service is then no longer shown in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.

In the Service Catalog application in Service Catalog navigation item, you can find only the Services, Bundles, Groups, and Sets with the Released and Operational statuses.

Service Classification

Classifies the service as a Business Service, Operational Service, or Supporting Service. According to ITIL:

  • Business Services represent direct value to customers. Examples of the Business Services are an office desk, Apple iPad, Autodesk Volo View Express, and Internet access.
  • Supporting Services are necessary supplementary blocks for Business Services. An example of a Supporting Service would be a network infrastructure that is necessary to provide Internet access to customers. 

Business Impact

Impact on operations in case of an incident. Specify whether the incident impacts only the User, Workgroup, or whether the impact is Company wide.

Operational From/Operational Until 

Date from/until which the service can be ordered in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal:

  • Blank: if you leave both fields empty, the validity of the service is unlimited.
  • Specified date: if the date is defined, the time from which or until which the service can be ordered becomes limited.

The from and until date will be ignored, if the status of the service is already set to 'Operational'.

Contact

Employee of your company who is responsible for identifying compliance, assessing the resulting action options, and coordinating the corresponding measures.

Technical Owner

Employee of your company who is professionally responsible for the service and can be used for approval in approval workflows.

Support Contracts

Agreement(s) under which the service is offered.

Approval Workflow

Select a specific approval workflow for the service which will be started after the general approval workflow if it is defined in Service Catalog Settings.

In Matrix42 Service Catalog, workflows are used to perform multistage business processes. The workflows control the various process steps and monitor the overall progress of the process. The workflows are initiated in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal when services are ordered. The approval workflow covers the approval process in which one or more deciders have to approve or decline the services that are ordered. If the approval is granted, the provisioning workflow which controls the actual delivery of the service is initiated.

Allow uninstallation without approval

  • Skip approval: select the checkbox if no approval is required to uninstall/return the service (e.g. a laptop or software).
  • Approval is required: uncheck the checkbox if you would like the approval of the persons who are responsible for the cost center to be required to return the service.

Allow repair without approval

  • Skip approval: select the checkbox if no approval of the persons who are responsible for the cost center is required for the repair of the service. 
  • Approval is required: uncheck the checkbox if you would like the approval of the persons who are responsible for the cost center to be required to repair the service.

Show Service as featured in Self Service Portal

Select the checkbox to show the service as featured in the Self Service Portal:

featured.jpg

There are only five spots on the Featured Services list. Featured services appear in alphabetical order. 

Description

An additional internal description of the service.

Portal Display

The Portal Display configuration tab contains a set of portal display related settings that determine the look and feel of the service in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal. 

Field Description

Portal Name

Name of the service displayed to the end-users in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.

Service Description in Business Context

Description of the service which is displayed in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.

Tags

Keywords which you can use to easily locate the service via search:

tags.jpg

Image (URL)

Upload an image for the service. This image will be displayed in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal (see the image of the access network printer in the above screenshot).

Portal Categories

Assigns categories under which the service is listed in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal. Examples of portal categories include Gadgets, Work equipment, Workplace, Access Rights, Accounts, etc.:  
categories.jpg

For more information about Portal Categories, see the Service Catalog page.

Assigned instances of this service are visible to their consumers in Self Service Portal

Checkbox options:

  • Selected (default): the service is visible to the users who have ordered this service in Self Service Portal →  Workplace → My Services.
  • Disabled: uncheck the checkbox to hide the service from the Matrix42 Self Service Portal →  Workplace → My Services. The checkbox is useful, for example, for ordered technical services, such as installation services for bundles, which the customer does not need to see.

 

Pricing  

The Pricing dialog page contains service costs related to controls. Keep in mind that some of the controls may be disabled (grayed out) depending on the options you select in other controls. 

Field Description

Service charge

 

Payment Method

Type of payment for the service: PurchaseHire, or Free of Charge.
 

Payment Cycle

The field is enabled only when the Hire option is selected in the Payment Method drop-down and determines how often the payments for the service are due: MonthlyQuarterlySemi-Annually, or Annually.
 

Unit

Quantity unit for the service, such as a Piece, Device, License, User, Terabyte, Gigabyte, Megabyte, Day, Hour, and Minute
 

Day/Month/Year

 Date when the payment is due.
 

Amount

Amount of the payment due in the selected currency.

Installation/Repair/Uninstallation Charge 

 

Included

No additional fees are incurred for repair or (un)installation of the service. 
 

Additional Charge

Additional amount of repair or (un)installation costs.
 

Additional Service

Additional service that is required for repair or (un)installation. Useful if, for example, a monitor has to be installed by a service engineer. An additional fee can also be defined here for the selected additional service.
 

Total repair charge/Total (un)installation charge

Total amount of repair or (un)installation costs for the service.
 

Ignore installation/uninstallation charge for rebooking

Select the checkbox for the installation/uninstallation charge to be ignored for rebooking the service in the Self Service Portal. 

 

Settings for 'Amount' must not be changed to allow changing the currency as this is not supported by the service catalog business logic. Using different currencies is only supported by adding additional catalogs. 

Provisioning 

The Provisioning dialog page allows you to set up the Provisioning workflow, which controls the actual delivery of the service, and other provisioning related settings. Fields that are shown on this dialog page depend on the selected provisioning workflow.

Field Description

Provisioning Workflow

Provisioning workflow that will be run after the service is ordered and the order is approved. The provisioning workflow controls the actual delivery of the service. Provisioning can be automatic (by using the integration framework of Matrix42 Service and Software Asset Management) or manual (by a support employee). For more information about provisioning workflows, see Provisioning Process.

Target Type

Type of the required Technical Target, such as an AD AccountComputer, or AAD Account indicating the target where the service should be provisioned (installed). The control determines whether the end-user should specify an installation target for the service when ordering the service.  

Required: appropriate Technical Target is selected by the end-user on the Self Service Portal when ordering service. According to the target type, specified in the service provisioning settings, the system suggests available for the end-user targets.  To order the service the end-user must enter a target into this field.     

For more information on the technical target settings and use cases, see Using Services as Technical Targets page.

Allow Multiple Allocation

Determines whether the service is allowed to be allocated only once or multiple times for one and the same target (e.g. a Computer or Mobile Device). Possible values:

  • Yes (default): choose Yes to allow multiple orders of the service for one and the same target. 
  • No: select No to allow the service to be used only once for the selected target.
    Example: a specific operating system (OS) can be installed only once on the same computer. Set "Allow Multiple Allocation" to No for the Windows 10 service to allow the service to be installed only once on the selected target (Computer). The Computer with the installed Windows 10 will no longer be available for selection in the Self Service Portal.

Repair Mode

Defines from where, if at all, it is possible to perform the Repair action.
  • Only by Service Desk Staff: Repair action will be allowed only in the Service Desk and Service Catalog. 
  • By Service Desk Staff and Self Service: Repair action will be allowed in the Service Desk, Service Catalog and in the Self Service Portal for the end-users.
  • Not Supported: Repair is not allowed and repair action for the service is not available.

Uninstallation Mode

Defines from where, if at all, it is possible to uninstall services.
  • Only by Service Desk Staff: Uninstallation will be allowed only in Service Catalog and Service Desk. 
  • By Service Desk Staff and Self Service: Uninstallation action will be allowed in the Service Desk, Service Catalog and Self Service Portal for the end-users. 
  • Not Supported: Uninstallation is not allowed.

Self Service Portal Form

A service form that is additionally displayed for ordering of this service in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal and, if specified, should be mandatorily filled in by the customer. In case a provisioning process (Provisioning Workflow) requires additional information, it could be done by means of the Self Service Portal Form. Any CI that has a Dialog can be defined as a Self Service Portal Form. The data from the Form can later be used in the Provisioning Workflow

Instance Type

If you want to use this service as a technical target when assigning the service or ordering it in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal, select the type of instance that is provided by the provisioning workflow, e.g., a computer. This selection also depends on the choice that you make in the Target Type field.

For more information, see Using Services as Technical Targets page.

Minimum/Maximum Delivery Time

Minimum/maximum time that remains until the service is delivered to the customer. This value depends on whether the service is available in stock and is shown in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal for each approved service both in the catalog and in the service booking details.

Create multiple bookings

Select this checkbox if a separate booking should be created in the order (as shown in the screenshot below). selected.jpg

Click to clear the checkbox to create one booking and have the Order Amount changed instead. This way you can avoid duplicate bookings in the order. Instead of the two identical DEMO Additional Software bookings shown in the above screenshot, you will have only one DEMO Additional Software booking with the Order Amount set to "2". 

Attachments 

For this service, copies of digital documents can be saved and later reopened. These attachments are shown in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.

Notes 

Comments and notes of a general nature. You can edit these entries later. They are not shown in the Matrix42 Self Service Portal.

Service Elements  

The Service Elements dialog page (available for service bundles, groups, and sets) lists services from the Matrix42 Service Catalog that are contained in this bundle, group, or set. If a new service element is added to this bundle, group, or set, a new catalog item with the default pricing is added to all related catalogs. The system will inform you about it with a message.

By default, added service elements are not mandatory. This may lead to a case when a service bundle/group/set is ordered on the portal or assigned in the Service Catalog, but none of its elements have been selected. If you wish to avoid this, you can select the At least one optional service should be ordered checkbox on the Service Elements dialog tab for this record.

Here you can do the following:

  • Add a new service element to the bundle/group/set by clicking Add
  • Remove service element(s) from the bundle/group/set by selecting them in the grid and clicking Remove. 
  • Export the grid data into an .xlsx file by clicking the Export icon located on the right, above the grid. 

Adding a Service Element  

To add a Service Element to a  combined service (Bundle, Group, or Set): 

  1. Open the Service Bundle/Group/Set dialog and switch to the Service Elements dialog page. 
  2. Click Add located above the Service Elements grid, in the top left-hand corner of the dialog page. 
  3. Provide the following information on the Add New Service Element page that appears.
  4. Click OK at the bottom of the dialog to save the changes.

 Service Elements settings
edit_service_element.png

Service From the list of available options, select a service, bundle, or group that will be offered as an element of the package.
Behavior Within Set Controls in this section allow you to define the behavior of the new Service Element within the Bundle/Set/Group.
Service Group

Select a group where the service should be available as a part of a package supplied within a  combined service.  The selected option defines how the added service will be grouped in a combined service and how each of the added service element options is represented: as an option button, a check-box or as an item of the drop-down list. Service element representation form is defined by the selected service group, as each of the service groups has specified representation form defined by the Service Group settings of the Administration application.  Available service groups include but are not limited to: 

  • Hardware (Radio Buttons)
  • Add-Ons (Checkboxes)
  • Operating System (Radio Buttons)
  • Applications (Checkboxes)
  • etc. 
Position Specify a numeral, e.g. 2, to define the position of the Service within the Bundle/Group/Set.
Price Type

Select how the service elements should be paid for as part of the package. Available options include:

  • Included in Set: Price for the Service Element is included in the service set charge; no additional fee will be charged for the Service Element. 
  • Surcharge: Additional charge is to be charged for the Service Element to be specified in the next Surcharge field. 
  • As Single Service: Service Element is to be priced as a single service, and not as part of the set; no additional fee is to be charged for the Service Element. 
  • As Single Service with Surcharge: Service Element is to be priced as a single service, and not as part of the set; additional fee specified in the following Surcharge field is to be charged for the Service Element. 
Surcharge Provide the amount of the additional charge in the specified currency. The field is only enabled if the Surcharge or As Single Service with Surcharge is selected in the Price Type field. 
Hide service in set Select the checkbox to make the service element invisible in the service Set/Group/Bundle
Service is mandatory Select Yes to make the Service Element mandatory. Select No to mark the service as optional; end-users will be able to order the Set/Group/Bundle without the optional Service Element. 
Service is selected by default (the checkbox is enabled only when "Service is mandatory" is set to No): deselect the checkbox to make the Service Element deselected by default. End users will have to select the option to add the Service Element to the package. 
Show only for allowed Audience Select the checkbox to show the Service Element only to allowed Audience.
Allow change of quantity

check-box options for enabling service item quantity change:

  • Select the checkbox to allow changing product item's quantity as if the added to the combined service Service Element was an independent service within a parent service.

Product quantity can be changed only for those Service Elements that have "Create Multiple bookings" option disabled in the Simple Service's "Provisioning" setting tab. 

Nevertheless, even if the added to the combined service Service Element becomes an integrate part of the parent element, when the product quantity of the parent element changes the child product items quantity with "Allow change of quantity" option is not recalculated and multiplied accordingly.

Allowed change of quantity setting looks as follows on the Self Service Portal:

allow_change_quantity1.png

  1.  Open Self Service Portal;
  2. Click on the combined service for service items preview;
  3. Select necessary Included Services and click "Add to cart" button;
  4. Modify the combined service's quantity. The quantity of all service elements of the combined service is modified and multiplied accordingly, so if the combined service's quantity is set to 2, each included service's quantity is set to 2 as well. 
  5. Modify Service Element's quantity: service element with enabled "Allow change of quantity" option has its own product counter which allows modifying service element's quantity independently of the combined service.
  6.  Click "Place order" button to finalize the purchase.
Provisioning Dependencies Service elements to be provisioned before this Service Element: Select Service Element(s) that should be provisioned before this Service Element. If the package contains several service elements, you can define the provisioning dependencies for these service elements within the package.
Technical Target

Target Source Type: For service elements that require a technical target, select where the technical target has to be specified. Options available for selection are:

  • Ask User During Order (default): end-users will be asked to provide a technical target for this specific service when ordering the Set, Bundle, or Group to which the Service Element belongs. Please consider that with "Ask User During Order" option selected, the actual technical target settings are taken from the service provisioning settings. Thus,  if the service does not require a technical target, the target for this service as a part of the combined service is not required either. 
  • Provided by Set: the technical target for the service is specified in the Provisioning section of the combined service settings.
  • Provided by Another Service in Set: the technical target of the service element depends on the technical target specified for another service element of the combined service. To use this option, it is necessary to specify the service element in the Provisioning Dependencies field, for example:
    bnd_tech_target1.png

The setting 'Skip Provisioning of Contained Services' can be activated in case the provisioning workflow is defined on Group, Bundle or Set level. Having this option checked will result in ignoring the provisioning workflows of Service Elements. 

Requirements

Services that the customer should already have (Required Services) or should not have (Excluded Services) to be able to order this service. In the Matrix42 Self Service Portal, the requirements are displayed and checked for fulfillment. Missing services are automatically added to the order (see outlined in red in the screenshot below).
requirement.jpg

End-users can't order the service if an Excluded Service is already installed. The confirmation will be shown with a link to the Workplace. End users can manually Return the Excluded Service.

  • Consider service target for requirements: if the checkbox is selected, the required and excluded services are considered (as Required and Excluded) only for the current service's technical target. If the checkbox is deselected, the required and excluded services are considered regardless of their technical targets, if there any. 

 

Catalogs

The Catalogs dialog page lists all the catalogs that contain this service. Catalogs are used to manage the visibility of services. Only services that are added to Catalog are visible in the Portal. With the help of the Catalog Audience, it is possible to restrict the visibility of services to specific Users, Locations, Roles, etc. On the Catalogs dialog page, here you can do the following:

  • Relate the service (if necessary, with different prices) to one or several catalogs by clicking Add
  • Remove the service from catalogs by selecting these catalogs and clicking Remove.