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Designing Assignment Groups

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • What makes a good assignment group
  • How SNWR names its groups
  • Why roles go on groups, not people
  • How to build SNWR’s support groups

🔁 Quick look back: Last time: Locations, Departments and Companies. You learned how to build locations, departments and companies, and link users to them.

1 “There are 90 groups!”

In the old tool, SNWR had a group for almost every person and project.

  • Abel has to pick from 90 groups when he escalates.
  • Some groups have one member, who left last year.
  • Tickets sit in empty groups for days.

🎯 The problem: Too many groups, badly named, send work to the wrong place, or to nobody.

👉 The fix: build a short list of groups, one for each team that does the work, with a manager and clear names.

2 What makes a good group

Key term: Assignment group

A team that tickets can be assigned to. Every member can see and work the group’s tickets.

Key term: Group manager

The person responsible for the group’s work, and often its approver.

  • One group per real team, not per person or project
  • At least two members, so work never waits for one person
  • A clear name that starts with SNWR
  • A manager for every group

💡 Good to know: Need a refresher? See Fundamentals › User Administration › Groups & Group Members.

3 SNWR’s support groups

SNWR's support groups. SNWR Service Desk, L1, manager Daniel Okafor: first line for every incident and request, role itil. SNWR Network Support, L2, manager Beth Anglin: VPN, Wi-Fi and network, role itil, members include Ravi Iyer. SNWR Desktop Support, L2, manager Beth Anglin: laptops, monitors and hardware requests, role itil. SNWR Messaging, L2, manager Arjun Mehta: the SNWR Email platform, role itil.
Figure 1. One group for each team that does the work.

📝 Note: SNWR Service Desk already exists from Fundamentals. You add the three L2 groups.

4 Roles go on groups

Give the itil role to the group, not to each person. Everyone who joins the group gets the role. Everyone who leaves loses it.

⚠️ Heads up: Don’t give itil directly to users. It’s hard to track, and it can use up paid fulfiller seats. You learned this in the packages lesson.

⭐ Remember: Few groups, real teams, clear names, a manager each, and roles on the group.

5 Let’s try it: build the L2 groups

  1. Go to All › User Administration › Groups and click New.
  2. Create SNWR Network Support. Set Manager to Beth Anglin. Save.
  3. In the Roles related list, add itil. In Group Members, add Ravi Iyer and one more user.
  4. Repeat for SNWR Desktop Support (manager Beth) and SNWR Messaging (manager Arjun Mehta).
  5. Open Ravi’s user record. Check that he now has the itil role, inherited from the group.

6 Quick recap

  • One assignment group per real team
  • Each group has a manager and at least two members
  • Names start with SNWR and say what the team does
  • Give the itil role to the group, not to people
  • SNWR has one L1 group and three L2 groups

7 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Why should every group have at least two members? Show answer

So work never waits for one person who is away.

2 Where should the itil role go: on the user or on the group? Show answer

On the group. Members inherit it.

3 Which group takes every incident first at SNWR? Show answer

SNWR Service Desk (L1).

4 Who manages SNWR Messaging? Show answer

Arjun Mehta.

Nice work! SNWR’s assignment groups are ready. 🎉
Next up: Schedules, Time Zones and Holidays

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