Are you sending the correct signals?

Processes and Znuny

Znuny leverages processes to automate and optimize various aspects of customer service workflows. The automation characteristics are generally applied in evaluating the process data and state using transition actions. The action is automatically applied to the ticket if a condition is met. Here are some typical transition actions (automated tasks):

• Automatic Ticket Creation
  Processes can be configured to automatically generate tickets when a customer submits a request through different communication channels.

• Ticket Routing
  Processes help determine the appropriate group to handle the ticket based on predefined criteria like ticket type, customer, category, or priority (to name a few).

• Ticket Classification
  Processes can assign priorities, types, states, dynamic fields, and other data to tickets based on specific conditions, ensuring correct handling based on process definition.

Using processes enables businesses to more easily:

• To manage service-level agreements (SLAs) by enforcing Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) and setting response and resolution timeframes based on the process data.

• Easier assigning tasks by automating group assignment of tickets to specific based on expertise.

• We are keeping stakeholders informed by automatically messaging customer users, acknowledging receipt of their requests, and providing initial information or instructions.

• Aid in approval workflows by facilitating specific types of requests, evaluating the needs based on the request, and ensuring that necessary authorizations are obtained.

• In escalation procedures, processes can be set up to automatically escalate tickets that have not been resolved within a specified time frame or based on specific criteria.

In addition to all that, processes can:

• automatically update ticket status, add notes, and send notifications to relevant parties (customers, agents, managers) based on predefined events or conditions.
  Error Handling:
• Processes include routines to handle exceptional situations, ensuring that tickets are managed appropriately even in system errors or data discrepancies.
  Data Validation and Enrichment:
• Processes validate and enrich ticket data to ensure all necessary information is provided before the ticket is processed.

By integration with other systems:

• Processes facilitate automatic data exchange between Znuny and other tools or databases.

Finally, using processes provides data points and events related to ticket handling for reporting and analysis purposes.

By leveraging processes in Znuny, organizations can automate routine tasks, enforce consistent service delivery, and ensure that tickets are handled efficiently and in compliance with established policies. This leads to improved customer satisfaction, quicker response times, and enhanced management of customer support operations.

Starting a process can be done manually and via a signal.

Automated Process Start (Signal Event)

In BPMN, a

• Signal Event represents the receipt of a signal, which is an asynchronous message that triggers a specific behavior within a business process. This can indeed be initiated by a human.
  Manual Event (None Start Event):

• Manual Event (None Start Event in BPMN) is an event that signifies the start of a process and requires a human to initiate it. This is triggered manually by a person without being initiated by an external event.
  So, here's the distinction:

A Signal Event is an event that is triggered by an external signal, which can be initiated by either a human or a system. It represents a response to an asynchronous message or signal.

A Manual Event (or None Start Event) is a specific type of event that signifies the start of a process, but it's initiated manually by a human without being triggered by an external event.

In practical terms, consider the following examples:

Signal Event: If a customer submits a support request through a web form, this event can be captured as a signal that triggers a ticket creation process.

Manual Event (None Start Event): If an agent decides to initiate a process for handling a specific type of request, they manually start the process. This could be done without waiting for an external event to trigger it.

Both types of events can be important in different scenarios. Signal Events are often used for handling asynchronous communication or responding to external triggers, while Manual Events are used when a human needs to kick-start a process manually.

In general, we start processes using the process screen or toolbar; however, a signal event can be represented in a specific use case in which a process can be triggered by other factors. Using the method of signaling to start a process can help you with.

1. Keeping the number of visible processes to a minimum
2. Automate process starts
3. Starting a process via a Web service
4. Triggering a process using a generic agent
5. Using email content to trigger a process.

Process Anatomy

Understanding the process ticket vs. normal ticket.

A process ticket contains two pieces of data, which are used by the process engine and system to:

• Evaluate the process
• Display process information

A “normal” ticket just doesn't contain the information (Dynamic Fields):

• Process ID (ProcessManagementProcessID)
• Activity ID (ProcessManagementActivityID)

Pro-Tipp

To start a process by signaling, you can use any automation tool to pass the ticket this information during TicketCreate or TicketUpdate. By filling or updating these fields, you effectively have a signal start event. If the state of your process is “fade away”, then you can actually have processes that are not selectable and can only be started by events.

Summary

By leveraging the automated application of process information in Znuny, businesses can initiate processes based on external triggers and streamline customer service workflows. This asynchronous processing allows for automated responses to specific events, such as a customer submitting a support request through a web form of a distributor or a monitoring system email. This enables a more proactive and efficient approach to ticket handling, reducing manual intervention and enhancing overall responsiveness. Signal event processing empowers organizations to automate routine tasks, enforce consistent service delivery, and ensure tickets are managed efficiently in alignment with established policies, ultimately leading to improved customer satisfaction and streamlined customer support operations.