The Knowledge Base consists of Articles submitted by Users with Knowledge creation and publication rights. It is also the repository for Solutions, Backout Procedures, Workarounds and general information. Customers and Users can search Articles to find resolutions to common issues in order to handle the support load efficiently.
The Knowledge tab defaults to the Articles sub-menu screen that displays the My Content filter view. This lists all the Articles created by the User logged into the application. The other available filter options include:
Filter View |
Description |
|---|---|
All Articles |
Lists all Articles, regardless of publication status. |
All Backout Procedures |
Lists all Backout Procedures. |
All FAQs |
Lists all FAQs, regardless of publication status. |
All Solutions |
Lists all Solutions, regardless of publication status. Articles with the Visibility of Assigned Request are included in this filter view. |
All Workarounds |
Lists all Workarounds. |
My Content |
Lists all Articles created by the logged in User, regardless of publication status. |
My Content Under Development |
Lists the User's content with the status In Development. |
Pending Content |
Lists the User's content that has a status of Pending. |
Published Content |
Lists the User's content, which is approved for publication and accessible via a Knowledge Base search. |
Redundant Knowledge |
Lists KBAs that are associated with Items and Item Classifications that have been deleted. |
Unused Knowledge |
Lists content that has never been viewed. |
To apply a different filter to the list of Articles displayed, select the relevant option from the Filter drop-down menu. For details about searching the Knowledge Base, see: Knowledge Base Search.
To create a new Article:
Select Knowledge> Articles
In the Articles screen, click New
Select
the Article Type - Article or FAQ
In this example we will create an Article. For more information about
creating an FAQ, see: FAQ's.
Select the degree of public visibility from the Visibility drop-down menu
Visibility Options |
Description |
Users |
Accessible to internal Users only (i.e., not to Customers). |
Users & Customers |
Visible to internal Users and Customers logged into the application. |
Everyone |
Available publicly, without logging into the system. |
Select the Status of the Article from the drop-down menu options, as follows:
Status |
Description |
In Development |
The Article is under development and
is not accessible via a Knowledge Base search. |
Pending Publication |
The Article has moved from development
but requires approval before it is accessible via a Knowledge
Base search. |
Published |
The Article has been approved and is included in a Knowledge Base search. |
Archived |
The Article is no longer accessible in the Knowledge Base. Users can search on Archived content and return to a Published state, if required. |
Select
an Item Category
The Item Type search box and Classification list is displayed.
Assign the Classification for the Article from the drop-down options
Set
the Review Date
This option is displayed if Review KBA is enabled within Admin>Setup>Privileges>System.
If the Review Date field is left blank, it will be auto-completed
based on the system Setup. To remind Users to review article content,
an alert and email will be sent to the author of the Article based
on the number of days set for the Review KBA Alert in the system Setup.
If the User is no longer active in the system, the reminder will be
sent to the Supervisor of the User.
Select at least one Item Type or Item.
An item type must have an item associated with it for there to be visibility for the knowledgebase articles created within Service Desk.
Enter
a Title, Summary and Content for the Article
Click Save.
A Direct Link field is displayed when an Article is published and has the visibility defined for Technicians & Customers or Everybody. This link can be sent to system Users as a means of providing instant access to the Article.
For each Article, the Statistics field shows:
when an Article was created
when an Article was last reviewed
the number of times it has been viewed
the date an Article was last viewed
an
average rating score.
The Related tab lists Similar Articles and the percentage of relevant text contained in the Article. To view the content of an Article included in the Similar Articles screen of the Related tab, with the Article in Edit mode, select the Article No. link.
Files can be attached to the Article by
clicking on the New button under the Attachments tab of the Article editor.
Choose the file to be attached and click 
. If the
attachment is not to be available to Customers, tick the Private field.
Stop the upload process by selecting 
.
To delete an attachment, tick the box to the left of the attachment link and click Delete.
To view the historical changes of a Knowledge Base Article, select the History tab inside the Article editor. The History is an audit trail of the Article, recording all activities from creation to publication of the Article. If changes are made to the Article a historical entry is recorded, and displayed with a Rollback option. This option allows the Article to be returned to a previous state, if the change is not required or permitted.
Rolling back an Article:
To rollback to a previous version of an Article:
Select Knowledge > Article
Select the article number and click Edit
Move to the History tab
Select
the history ID# hyperlink to view changes to the Article
Select the Rollback button to re-enable content in the Article
Click Save.
By setting the status of a newly created Article to In Development the Article can be held in the author’s Development list until it is ready to be submitted for approval.
When it is ready for approval, the author can move the Article status to Pending Publication. Articles with a status of Pending are accessible in the Pending Articles filter of the Knowledge Base.
Articles are made available for reference in the Knowledge Base when they are assigned a Published status.
When the Control KBA via Request option is enabled in the Setup>Privileges>Request tab, Knowledge Base content with a Pending Publication status automatically generates a request that requires approval by Users with publishing privileges before the content is accessible in the Knowledge Base. (See: KBA Content Approval)
Users are designated publishing rights within the User Information screen.
Users that have the Edit privilege can modify the content of an Article by clicking the number in the Articles list, updating the content and selecting Save.
When the Control KBA via Request option is enabled and published KBA content is edited, a request for approval will automatically be generated when the edited content is saved. However, until the request is approved, the Article retains its published state and displays the pre-edited content.
Users are designated editing rights within the User Information screen.
Users that have the Delete privilege can delete a published Article by clicking its number in the Articles list and selecting the Delete button.
When the Control KBA via Request option is enabled and a published KBA is marked for deletion, a request for approval is automatically generated. However, until the request is approved, the Article remains accessible in the Knowledge Base.
Users are designated deleting rights within the User Information screen.
When the Review KBA is enabled within Admin>Setup>Privileges>System each new KBA is created with a review date. If the Review Date field is left blank at the point of creation, it is auto-completed based on the system Setup. Article authors are sent an alert and email reminding them to review content when the reminder Alert date is triggered.
To review an Article, within the Knowledge Tab:
Open the relevant Article
Click Edit
Update content in the relevant fields
Click Review
Complete the Next Review Date field, or leave blank for the system to auto-populate the field based on system settings
Click Save
Click Done.
When the Control KBA via Request option is enabled in the Setup>Privileges>Request
tab, Knowledge Base content with a Pending Publication status automatically
generates a request that requires approval by Users with publishing privileges
before the content is accessible in the Knowledge Base. (See: KBA
Content Approval)
When a Solution or Workaround is assigned within a request, the Article editor will display an additional tab, called Requests. This tab will list all the requests that have been associated with the Article.
If at any time it is suspected that the catalogue of Articles within the Knowledge Base is corrupted, the Knowledge Base can be re-indexed. The main symptom of corruption is that the results returned by the knowledge search will begin to be irrelevant to the search queries entered. Re-indexing will re-catalogue the Knowledge Base Articles.
To re-index the Knowledge Base requires the Administrator go to the Setup> Privileges>System tab and click on the Re-Index button. The size of the Knowledge Base will affect the length of time this process takes, so consider selecting a time that is suitable for all Users of the application.
The privilege to create, edit, delete and publish Articles is defined for Users within the User Information screen.
For information regarding the implementation of the Knowledge Base content approval process, see: KBA Approval Process.