Creating Change Categories


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Change Management administration

Overview

Creating change categories

In Tivoli Change Management, categories are a classification system for changes. Users are required to specify a change category when creating a change, a model, or schedule blackout. It also enables, but does not require, the user to select a change category when adding a business rule or exporting changes, models, or rules.

As system administrator, you must create and maintain the hierarchy of change categories for your organization.

To create a change category hierarchy, do the following:

  • Create root level categories
    The root level category is the highest level of the hierarchy.
  • Create child level categories
    The child level category is:
    • A lower level category of the hierarchy and beneath a root level or another child level category.
    • A category that has a subordinate association with a root level or another child level category.

The Change Category Manager dialog box

You use the Change Category Manager dialog box to create and maintain change categories and the change category hierarchy of your organization. Tivoli Change Management users select the appropriate change category from the Change Category Manager dialog box when creating a change, model, or schedule blackout to either of these items.

The Change Category dialog box contains these tabs:

Tab Function
Category Detail The Category Detail tab is where you create and maintain change categories. See Creating root level change categories and Creating child level change categories.
Associated Models The Associated Models tab is where you can view the live models associated with the change categories displayed in the Category Hierarchy area. You can also add, edit, view, and delete models.

To access the Change Category Manager dialog box, do one of the following:

  • If you are using the Tivoli Change Management administrator profile, from the Configuration menu, choose Categories.
  • If you are using the Tivoli Service Desk administrator profile, from the Change Management menu, choose Change Categories.
  • From the Help menu, choose Your System Profile and follow the instructions under Work with change categories.

Tasks

Creating root level change categories

The first step in creating the change category hierarchy is establishing the main or root level categories. The root level categories should be the broadest level of categories.

To add the root level categories:

  1. From the Configuration menu, choose Change Categories.
    Result: The Change Category Manager dialog box appears.
  2. From the Change Category Manager dialog box, choose the Category Detail tab.
    Result: The Category Detail tab appears.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • If there are no root level categories, go to step 5.
    • If there are one or more categories, from the Category Hierarchy, double-click a root level category.
      Result: The code and the description of the category appear in the Category Code and Description boxes, respectively.
  4. Edit the category code in the Category Code box. Specify a unique category code.
  5. Edit the category description in the Description box. Go to step 7.
  6. In the Category Code box, type a code for the category.
    Note: The category code is used only in commands and rules. The category description is what appears in the Change Category Manager dialog box.
  7. In the Description box, type the category description.
  8. Choose Paste to Root.
    Result: The category appears in the Category Hierarchy area as a root level category.
  9. Do one of the following:
    • Repeat steps 2 - 4 to add other root level categories.
    • Choose OK.
      Result: The Tivoli Service Desk window appears.

Creating child level change categories

You can classify the changes in each of your root level change categories using smaller, more specific categories. The more specific categories are considered children of the root categories.

Each child category can also be a parent to further child categories. For example, if Hardware is one of your root level change categories, the next level might include more specific types of hardware changes, such as:

  • Hardware Installation
  • Hardware Replacement
  • Hardware Training

The Hardware Installation category could, in turn, be the parent of more specific types of hardware installations, such as:

  • Printer Installation
  • Monitor Installation
  • Memory Installation

To add a change category as a child of another category:

  1. From the Configuration menu, choose Change Categories.
    Result: The Change Category Manager dialog box appears.
  2. From the Change Category Manager dialog box, choose the Category Detail tab.
    Result: The Category Detail tab appears.
  3. From the Category Hierarchy area, select the root level category for the child you want to add.
  4. Choose Add
    Result: The code and description of the category appears in the Category Code and Description boxes, respectively.
  5. In the Category Code box, type a code for the change category.
    Note: If the code is not unique, the Duplicate Node - Make Unique dialog box appears. Type a unique code in the Category Code box and choose OK.
  6. In the Description box, type a description of the change category
  7. Choose Paste.
    Result: The new category appears as a child category in the Category Hierarchy area.
  8. Do one of the following:
    • Repeat steps 2 - 6 to add other child level categories.
    • Choose OK.
      Result: The Tivoli Service Desk window appears.