Configuring TPM Escalation


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Escalation

In Tivoli Problem Management, escalation is the process of increasing the awareness of an issue (a call or problem) as it continues to remain open. For example, if a problem stays unresolved for too long, it should be escalated to someone's attention.

Note: Escalation also occurs in Tivoli Change Management, see Configuring TCM Escalation Rules and Understanding TCM Escalation Rule Types.

When a help desk analyst opens a call or problem, Tivoli Problem Management automatically assigns the lowest escalation level to it. As an issue is escalated, its escalation level is incremented by one. Escalation levels are associated with periods of time called escalation intervals. You can configure the escalation levels and intervals and specify the users or groups of users to notify when a call or problem is not resolved within the indicated interval.

Escalation Monitor scans the Tivoli Service Desk database periodically for issues that have been open for longer than their defined escalation interval. For each such issue it finds, it does the following:

  • Notifies the specified users or groups of users of the escalation
  • Notifies the owner of the issue, if appropriate
  • Increases the escalation level of the issue by one level

Note: If you do not run Escalation Monitor, escalation does not occur.

Escalation types

You can configure one or more of the following types of escalation:

Escalation by default

You can set up default escalation rules that specify the criteria for escalating issues not covered by an escalation rule. If you do not set up any escalation rules or if you do not have an escalation rule that covers a particular issue, Tivoli Problem Management uses the default escalation rules.

The default escalation settings specify the minimum and maximum escalation levels to assign to issues, the user or group to notify upon escalation, the escalation interval, and the polling period for Escalation Monitor. The polling period is the interval at which Escalation Monitor scans the database looking for issues that have been open longer than their specified escalation interval.

Escalation by level

Escalation rules are the criteria that specify the users or groups of users to notify when Escalation Monitor locates an issue that has been open for longer than the specified escalation interval. You can create simple rules that are based only on escalation levels or you can create more specific rules based on severity levels or conditional data.

You can define rules for as many escalation levels as you want, from 1 to 99. Also, because open problems and calls are stored separately in the database, you can configure a different set of escalation rules for each.

The following points apply to escalation rules:

  • Escalation levels must be numbered in strict numerical order, without gaps: 1, 2, 3, and so on.
    Example: If you define only escalation levels 1, 5, and 7, Escalation Monitor does not work correctly. It executes the rules for escalation level 1, but because there are no rules for level 2, it stops the escalation process and ignores the rules for level 5 and 7.
  • Escalation rules have an explicit order and are evaluated in that order.
  • Escalation Monitor keeps trying escalation rules at a given escalation level until it finds one that applies to the current issue (call or problem).
  • Only one rule is ever used for a given issue. Once Escalation Monitor applies a rule, it notifies the specified users and groups, then stops working with that issue.

Example: The following table illustrates three rules based only on escalation level.

Escalation Level Interval (Minutes) Notify Notify Owner?
1 120 TAWILLIAMS YES
2 60 MGRS YES
3 20 EXECS NO

TAWILLIAMS is the user ID for the supervisor, MGRS is a group of department managers, and EXECS is a group that consists of the senior management team. Escalation level 1 is for a problem that you opened.

In this example, the following occurs:

  • No escalation occurs for this problem for two hours (120 minutes).
  • After two hours, Escalation Monitor notifies the problem owner and the supervisor (TAWILLIAMS) of the escalation. Escalation Monitor increments the escalation level to 1.
  • If the problem is still open an hour later, Escalation Monitor notifies both the problem owner and the department managers (MGRS group) and increments the escalation level to 2.
  • If the problem stays open for another 20 minutes, Escalation Monitor notifies the senior executives of your company (the EXECS group), but does not notify the problem owner and increments escalation level to 3..
  • Escalation Monitor does not escalate the issue beyond escalation level 3 because there are no rules defined for escalation level 4.

Escalation by severity

You can add a severity level to an escalation rule criteria if your business wants to escalate issues based on severity level. For example, you might want more critical issues to escalate faster or to different users and groups than less critical issues.

Example: Suppose that you want to escalate all issues with a severity level of 1 more rapidly than the other issues; for instance, after 30 minutes at escalation level 1, 20 minutes at level 2, and after 10 minutes at level 3. By adding the following rules, you could configure Escalation Monitor to consider severity when escalating issues.

Escalation Level Severity Level Interval (Minutes) Notify Notify Owner?
1 1 30 TAWILLIAMS YES
1 (any) 120 TAWILLIAMS YES
2 1 20 MGRS YES
2 (any) 60 MGRS YES
3 1 10 EXECS NO
3 (any) 20 EXECS NO

Notice that there are two rules for each escalation level. The first rule covers the specific case of severity level 1 issues. These rules have a value of 1 in the severity column. The second rule for each level leaves the severity column blank; severity level does not apply.

You can add a rule for every severity level defined in Tivoli Problem Management, if you like. Make sure the rules that apply if no other rules apply (in this example, the blank severity level rules) follow the other rules for each escalation level in the sort order.

Example: The following table illustrates an incorrect way to create escalation rules based on severity levels. In this example, Escalation Monitor executes the second rule for any issue with a severity level other than 1 and never executes the third rule.

Escalation Level Severity Level Interval (Minutes) Notify Notify Owner?
1 1 30 TAWILLIAMS YES
1 (any) 120 TAWILLIAMS YES
1 5 180 TAWILLIAMS YES

Example: To execute the first rule for issues with a severity level of 1, then execute the third rule for issues with a severity level of 5, then execute the second rule for all other issues, use the following sort order when defining the rules.

Escalation Level Severity Level Interval (Minutes) Notify Notify Owner?
1 1 30 TAWILLIAMS YES
1 5 180 TAWILLIAMS YES
1 (any) 120 TAWILLIAMS YES

Escalation by condition

You can configure rules that take factors other than severity into consideration during escalation.

You can use any of the data that is related to the issue as a condition of the escalation rule. For example, you might want to escalate problems more quickly if they involve critical systems or a high-priority organization or contact.

Escalation conditions consist of clauses containing database field names and conditional data. These clauses can be connected by the words and and or. This gives you tremendous flexibility and power in configuring escalation rules. And, as you might expect, you can define rules that are based on both conditional data and severity levels. The clauses follow the same rules as those for defining an SQL query, see Performing an advanced search.

Example: You can define escalation rules for different problem types. In the following table, problems involving networks escalate more quickly than problems involving communications. Network problems escalate after remaining open for 45 minutes. Communication problems escalate after one hour. All other problems escalate after 90 minutes.

Escalation Level Condition Interval (Minutes) Notify Notify Owner?
1 (PROBLEM_TYPE = 'NETWORK') AND (SYSTEM = 'FILE SERVER') 30 FTFORD YES
1 PROBLEM_TYPE= 'COMMUNICATIONS' 60 FTFORD YES
1 (any) 90 FTFORD YES

Escalations dialog box

You use the Escalations dialog box to configure escalation rules and escalation defaults for Tivoli Problem Management.

The Escalations dialog box has two tabs:

Tab Function
Rules Maintain Tivoli Problem Management escalation rules. See Adding an escalation rule, Editing an escalation rule, Viewing an escalation rule, or Deleting an escalation rule.
Defaults Configure how Tivoli Problem Management escalates issues that are not covered by any escalation rule. See Configuring escalation defaults.

To access the Escalations dialog box, do one of the following:

  • If you are using the Problem Management Administrator profile, from the Configuration menu, choose Escalations.
  • If you are using the Tivoli Service Desk Administrator profile, from the Problem Management menu, choose Escalations.
  • From the Help menu, choose Your System Profile and follow the instructions under Configure Escalations.

Add Escalations dialog box

You use the Add Escalation dialog box to create new escalation rules for Tivoli Problem Management.

To access the Add Escalation dialog box:

  1. In the Escalations dialog box, choose the Rules tab.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To add an escalation rule for problems, under Rules for, select Problem.
    • To add an escalation rule for calls, under Rules for, select Call.
  3. Choose Add.
    Result: The Add Escalation dialog box appears.

Edit Escalations dialog box

You use the Edit Escalations dialog box to make changes to TPM escalation rules.

To access the Edit Escalation dialog box:

  1. In the Escalations dialog box, choose the Rules tab.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To edit an escalation rule for problems, under Rules for, select Problem.
    • To edit an escalation rule for calls, under Rules for, select Call.
  3. From the Rule List, select an escalation rule and choose Edit.
    Result: The Edit Escalation dialog box appears.

View Escalations dialog box

You use the View Escalations dialog box to review the information in a TPM escalation rules.

To access the View Escalation dialog box:

  1. In the Escalations dialog box, choose the Rules tab.
  2. From the Rule List, select an escalation rule and choose View.
    Result: The View Escalation dialog box appears.

Notify upon Escalation dialog box

You use the Notify upon Escalation dialog box to select which users and groups are notified when an escalation rule is used.

To access the Notify upon Escalation dialog box:


Tasks

Adding an escalation rule

You can define escalation rules that control the way calls and problems are escalated to the attention of your help desk analysts and management team.

To add an escalation rule, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Add Escalations dialog box, in the Title box, type a name for the rule.
  2. In the Description box, type the purpose of the rule.
  3. In the Level box, type the number of the escalation level for which the rule applies.
    Note: Each escalation level must be an integer (whole number) between 1 and the maximum escalation level defined in Tivoli Problem Management. For more information, see Configuring escalation defaults.
    Warning: If you define rules for multiple escalation levels, you must number the levels with consecutive integers. Otherwise, Escalation Monitor will ignore all subsequent rules once the consecutive sequence is borken.
  4. From the Severity list, select the severity level to which this rule applies.
  5. In the Interval box, type the number of minutes to keep an issue open at this escalation level before escalating it to the next level.
  6. To specify conditional data for the rule, choose Set to open the Search dialog box and create the conditional data as you would create an SQL search query. When you are finished, in the Search dialog box, choose OK and continue to the next step. For more information on defining an SQL query, see Performing an advanced search.
  7. In the Sort Order box, type a number that indicates where the new rule should appear in the sequence of escalation rules. The sort order determines when Escalation Monitor executes this rule, relative to the other escalation rules.
    Note: Escalation Monitor executes rules with lower sort order numbers first. Rules with a sort order of 1 always execute first. You can assign the same sort order to two or more rules if you do not care which one executes first. Sort orders do not need to be sequential. For example, you can have five rules with a sort order of 1 and a sixth rule with a sort order of 100. This ensures that the sixth rule executes last.
    Tip: Do not confuse sort order with escalation level. Sort order determines the order in which the escalation rules are executed. Escalation level is part of the definition of an escalation rule.
  8. To select which users or groups are notified when the rule causes an issue to escalate, choose Add.
    Note: For more information, see Selecting whom to notify about an escalation.
  9. To notify the current owner of an issue when Escalation Monitor escalates the issue using this rule, select the Notify Owner check box.
  10. Choose OK.
    Result: The new escalation rule appears in the Rule List in the Rules tab of the Escalations dialog box.
  11. Choose Close.

Note: The new escalation rule does not take effect until you stop and restart Escalation Monitor. See Stopping a monitor and Starting Escalation Monitor.

Selecting whom to notify about an escalation

You select which users and groups to notify when an escalation rule causes an issue to escalate.

To add a user or group to the Notifications list:

  1. In the Notify upon Escalation dialog box, under User/Group, do one of the following:
    • To add a user, select User.
    • To add a group, select Group.
  2. In the User/Group box, type the user ID or group ID or choose the Browse button to select the user or group.
  3. From the Notification Method list, select the notification method to use for this user or group when the issue escalates.
    Note: Only the non-alarm notification methods that you assigned in the Notifications Options dialog box to this user or group appear in this list.
    If you do not select a notification method here, the system uses the default notification method for the user or group. If the user or group is not assigned a default notification method, Tivoli Problem Management sends an alarm when the issue escalates.
    Note: For more information on assigning notification methods, see Maintaining Notification Methods for Users or Groups.
  4. Choose OK.
    Result: The selected user or group appears in the Notifications list in the Add Escalations dialog box or Edit Escalations dialog box.

To remove a group or user from the Notifications list:

You can change an escalation rule so that a user or group is no longer notified when the rule causes an issue to escalate. However, you cannot remove the only user or group in the Notifications list. At least one user or group must be notified when an issue is escalated.

  1. In the Add Escalations dialog box or Edit Escalations dialog box, from the Notifications list, select the user or group, then choose Delete.
    Result: The user or group is removed from the Notifications list immediately.
  2. Choose OK.

Editing an escalation rule

You can make changes to an escalation rule at any time. However, you must stop and restart Escalation Monitor for your changes to take effect. See Stopping a monitor and Starting Escalation Monitor.

To edit an escalation rule:

  1. In the Edit Escalations dialog box, make any necessary changes. For further instructions, see Adding an escalation rule.
  2. Choose OK.
    The Rules tab of the Escalations dialog box appears. Changes appear in the Rule List.
  3. Choose Close.

Viewing an escalation rule

You can make changes to escalation rules only if you have the appropriate security rights. However, you can check the details of escalation rules by viewing an escalation rule. You cannot make changes to escalations rules when viewing an escalation rule.

To view an escalation rule:

  1. In the View Escalations dialog box, view the information on the selected escalation rule. For details on the information displayed here, see Adding an escalation rule.
  2. Choose OK.
  3. The Rules tab of the Escalations dialog box appears.
  4. Choose Close.

Deleting an escalation rule

You can delete any escalation rule that is no longer needed. However, you must stop and restart Escalation Monitor in order to stop using the escalation rule. See Stopping a monitor and Starting Escalation Monitor.

To delete an escalation rule:

  1. In the Escalations dialog box, choose the Rules tab.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • To display the list of rules for problems, under Rules for, select Problem.
    • To display the list of rules for calls, under Rules for, select Call.
  3. From the Rule List, select the escalation rule to delete.
  4. Choose Delete.
  5. When the Warning message appears to confirm that you want to delete the escalation rule, choose Yes.
  6. Choose Close.

Configuring escalation defaults

When Escalation Monitor finds a problem or call for which no escalation rule applies, it escalates the issue based on the default escalation rule. If you do not define any escalation rules, Tivoli Problem Management always uses the default escalation rule.

Regardless of rules, Tivoli Problem Management always uses the default beginning and ending escalation levels and the escalation polling period.

Note: You must stop and restart Escalation Monitor in order for changes to escalation defaults to take effect. See Stopping a monitor and Starting Escalation Monitor.

To configure the escalation defaults, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Escalations dialog box, choose the Defaults tab.
  2. In the Beginning Escalation Level box, type the number of the lowest escalation level (usually 1).
    Result: This is the level that Tivoli Problem Management assigns to all new problems and calls.
  3. In the Maximum Escalation Level box, type the number of the maximum escalation level to which a call or problem can be escalated.
    Result: Escalation Monitor stops escalating any issue when it reaches this level.
  4. In the Escalation Interval box, type the number of minutes in the default escalation interval.
    Result: Escalation Monitor escalates an issue if no escalation rules cover it and it remains open for this period of time.
  5. To reset the escalation level of a problem to the Beginning Escalation Level when a help desk analysts resumes work on a problem, select the Reset Problem Escalation on Resume check box.
  6. To specify a user or group to receive notifications of issues escalated under the default rule, do one of the following:
    • To specify a user, under ID Type, select User ID.
    • To specify a group, under ID Type, select Group ID.
  7. From the Default Notify Target list, select the user ID or group ID for the group or user to receive notification.
  8. To notify the owner of any issue escalated under the default rule, select the Notify Owner on Escalation check box. Otherwise, only the user or group selected from the Default Notify Target list receives notification.
    Note: Tivoli Problem Management uses the default notification method for the user or group. If the user or group is not assigned a default notification method, Tivoli Problem Management sends an alarm when the issue escalates.
  9. Choose OK.