Helpdesk Automation Rules

Automation rules is an if this - then do that engine built-in right into the helpdesk app. You can read more about it here.

Basically, a rule says when X happens - and Y conditions are met - do Z

Some great examples are:

1. "When a ticket becomes overdue - send an alert to administrator" (comes handy for SLA policies)
2. "When a new ticket is created and the subject-line contains 'XYZ' - move the ticket to category ABC"
3. "When a new ticket is created and the category is XYZ - assign the ticket to technician John Doe"

Every rule consists of three parts:

1. a trigger - which can be "new ticket created" or "ticket becomes overdue" etc.
2. one or more conditions - like "ticket is assigned to John" or "ticket comes from company XYZ" etc.
3. one or more actions - "close the ticket" or "add a reply" or "send an email" etc.

Note about time-based triggers

Time based automation rules ("ticket becomes overdue" and "ticket hasn't been updated for X hours") run ONLY ONCE for a given ticket. Otherwise things break. Say, you have set up an overdue alert for your tickets - you would be getting this alert every hour, forever, because the ticket would STILL be overdue (until someone moves the due date).

Important Note on Building Automation Rules

When building automation rules, you are essentially entering the realm of programming. By configuring triggers, conditions, and actions that execute when these conditions are met, you are essentially writing a computer program. This can involve setting up rules that trigger other rules, and then more rules, creating a complex chain of automated processes.

This capability provides incredible power, allowing you to streamline and automate various tasks within the helpdesk system. However, with this power comes significant responsibility and potential risks. You may encounter bugs, issues, sometimes even infinite loops (for example, a rule updates a ticket, which triggers another "ticket updated" rule, causing it to update again, which triggers the same rule again, and so forth).

Therefore, it is crucial to exercise caution when creating and managing automation rules. Test your rules thoroughly, monitor their behavior, and be prepared to troubleshoot and adjust as necessary to prevent unintended consequences.