Change Groups Tab

Change Groups

Change Requests that are related can be linked to form Groups. Once the Group has been created, RFCs can be managed as one.

For example, RFCs can be grouped if:

They are all logged by Users of one department
They are all logged by one Customer
They are all logged for the same Configuration Item
They have a common Description or Solution.

New Groups must consist of RFCs that are not already linked, unless the merge facility is used to combine existing Groups..

Users can group Requests manually through the Change Groups tab or Change Request List (see: Grouping Change Requests). Change Requests that have multiple Items assigned to them during the Request creation process, are also listed within the Change Groups tab. The Change Groups list can be exported using the PDF, Excel and Project buttons.

Creating a New Group via the Change Groups Tab

To create a new Group via the Change Groups Tab:

Select Change >Change Groups Tab
At the Change Groups screen, click New

Enter a Name for the Group
Assign an Item Type, if applicable
Assign a Classification, if an Item Type is selected
Assign a Group Priority
From the drop-down list, select a Status (i.e., Open, Closed or Resolved)
Enter a Group Description
The screen will default to the Analysis Tab, which allows the User to group existing RFCs.
Check the field next to the relevant Request # to add the RFC to the Group
Select Add
Click Done to record the new Change Group.

Creating a Change Group using a Group Template

To create a new group using a Group Template:

Select Change>Change Groups
Click New
Select the Use Template checkbox
A list of Group Templates will be displayed.
Select an appropriate Template
The Group details are listed.
Enter a Name, as unique identifier for this Group
The selected requests for the Group are displayed. These requests are the Quick Calls assigned to the Group Template.
Click Next
The Find Customer field is displayed.
Search and select the Customer to be associated with the tasks included in the template
If the Customer details are not in the database and are to be created as part of the tasks included in the template, assign a default customer and update the details in the Customer tab of the Request, when the Customer details exist in the system.
Review the Selected Requests displayed for the Group
These Requests are the Quick Calls assigned to the Group Template. To exclude any of the Requests from the newly created Group, untick the checkbox next to the Template name.
Define the Creation option:

On Save for all the requests to be created when the Request Group is saved
In Sequence for the first request to be created when the Request Group is saved.

Click Save.
The Group is created including all requests.

The type of group created, whether it be an Incident, Problem or Change, will depend on the Quick Call Tasks assigned to the Group Template. For example:

If there are Incident Quick Calls, the Group will become an Incident Group
If there is at least one Problem Quick Call, the group will become a Problem Group
If there is at least one Change Quick Call, the Group will become a Change Group.

Analysis Tab

RFCs can be linked to a Group in the Analysis screen of a Change Group. To search for Requests to add to the Group, use the system Filters or the Search option.

The system filter includes the following:

Unassigned Requests	Description
Project Requests	Requests that have been assigned to the Change Group/Project.
Unassigned Requests	All Requests that exist in the system and have not been assigned to the Group.
Potential Requests - Item Type & Classification	Requests in the system that match the Item Type and/or Classification of the Group.
Potential Requests- Keyword match	Requests with keywords that match between the Request description and the Group description. The match is only performed on the first 250 characters of the description.
All Change Requests (sys)	Lists all Requests in the system irrespective of Workflow State or User assignment. Note that this option is not visible to Technicians when the privilege to View All Requests is disabled by the Administrator.
My Change Requests (Active) (sys)	Displays all Requests in an active Workflow State that are assigned to the logged-in User.
My Change Requests (All) (sys)	Displays all Requests, in active and inactive Workflow States, that are assigned to the logged-in User.
My Teams Change Requests (Active) (sys)	Displays the all the RFCs in an active Workflow State allocated to the Teams with which the User is associated.
My Teams Change Requests (All) (sys)	Displays the all RFCs, in active and inactive Workflow States, allocated to the Teams with which the User is associated.
Pending Approvals (sys)	If the User has Manager privileges, this view provides them with a list of Requests that are assigned an Approval stage of the Workflow.

To link Requests within the Change Group Analysis tab:

Go to Change>Change Groups
Select the Change Group # link
Move to the Analysis tab
Choose the Filter option
Select the relevant RFC checkbox on the left
Click Add
Click Done to return to the Groups list.

Elements Tab

The Elements tab displays all the Requests that belong to the Change Group. From this screen, any Request can be removed.

To remove a Request:

Go to Change > Change Groups
Select the Change Group # link
Move to the Elements tab
Select the checkbox of the relevant RFC
Click the Remove button.

Merging Change Groups

Existing Change Groups can be merged within the Change Groups tab, to allow all related RFCs within the Groups to be managed as one.

To combine Change Groups:

Go to Change>Change Groups
Check the fields next to the relevant Group #'s
Click Merge
The screen defaults to the Details tab for the Merge Group.
Set the Name, Item Type, Classification, Status, Priority and Description that best defines all associated Requests
Click Save.
The History tab records details of the Groups merged to form the new Group. Click the No. hyperlink to view the details. The Impact Tab records the Type and Number of requests associated with the Group.

Closing a Change Group

To close a Change Group and all related requests:

Go to Change>Change Groups
Select the Change Group # link
Move to the Elements tab
Select a Request # hyperlink
The Summary tab of the Request is displayed.
Click Edit
Within the Related sidebar check all related Change Requests
Select the Bulk option
The Bulk Editor screen is displayed.
Select the relevant Exit State
Click Save
Click Save and Done.
The Details tab of the Group now displays a Status of Closed - Resolved.

When an RFC is duplicated, the new RFC is linked to the original RFC creating a Change Group. RFCs can be unlinked through the Group's Related tab.