Contents
Modeling Ticket Flows With Diagrams
Not all processes use tickets, but for those that do it is helpful to model them out in diagrams to gain additional insight and consensus on where improvements can/need to be made. I've additionally found it helpful for readers to include ticket flow diagrams within procedure documentation.
I'm using a fairly simple example here to show the diagrams and how they might be used, I'm intentionally not diving into how the example process can be improved.
State Diagrams
I've discussed State Diagrams for ticket flows before, where I landed on this diagram to illustrate a simple ticket flow a Service Desk might use:
stateDiagram-v2
[*] --> ToDo : New Ticket
ToDo --> InProgress : Ticket Assigned
InProgress --> Done : Ticket Completed
InProgress --> Paused : Waiting for\n Response
Paused --> InProgress : Got Response
Paused --> ToDo : Needs\nRe-assignment
Done --> [*] : Issue Closed
Class Diagrams
We can build on our State Diagram by misusing a Class Diagrams, the structure of the diagram lends itself to illustrating additional information like Inputs, Outputs, and sub-processes.
classDiagram
class CreateTicket{
User creates a new ticket
+String summary
+String description
ticket(summary,description)
}
class ToDo{
Service Desk prioritizes ticket
+int priority
ticket(priority,status) SLA
}
class InProgress{
SD Member assigns ticket
to themself then works
the ticket
+String comments
ticket(comments,status)
comms(questions) Pause Ticket
}
class Paused{
- SD Member waiting for
information.
- Ticket is reassigned
if SD Member no longer
available when info
is provided.
ticket(status)
}
class Done{
Work is completed,
ticket is closed
ticket(status) closed
}
CreateTicket --> ToDo : Ticket
ToDo --> InProgress : Self-Assigned
InProgress --> Done : Ticket Completed
InProgress --> Paused : Waiting for Response
Paused --> InProgress: Got Response
Paused --> ToDo: Needs Re-assignment
Sequence Diagram
Mapping as a Sequence Diagram can also be helpful.
What stands out in the diagram below is that the communication between the Service Desk and the User bypasses the ticketing system, this could lead to situations where the ticket does not contain all the information because it relies on the service desk member to add any back and forth to the ticket description.
sequenceDiagram
actor User
participant Ticket
actor SDLead
actor SDMember
User->>Ticket: Create Ticket
Ticket->>SDLead: New Ticket
SDLead->>Ticket: Prioritize
SDMember->>Ticket: Get Top Ticket
Ticket->>SDMember: Ticket
SDMember->>SDMember: Work Ticket
loop
SDMember-->>User: Request more info
SDMember->>Ticket: Update Ticket: Paused
User-->>SDMember: More info
SDMember->>Ticket: Update Ticket: In Progress, more info
end
SDMember->>SDMember: Work Ticket
SDMember->>Ticket: Comments / Solution
SDMember->>Ticket: Mark Ticket Complete
Ticket->>SDLead: Completed Ticket
SDLead->>SDLead: Review
alt Verified Resolved
SDLead->>Ticket: Close Ticket
else Not Resolved
SDLead->>Ticket: Comment
SDLead->>Ticket: Update Ticket: ToDo
Note over Ticket,SDLead: Back to 'Prioritize'
end
Ticket-->>User: Issue Resolved Message
User Journey
Taking a page out of Product Management, it can be helpful to map the User Journey for ticket flows.
Try to think of ways to increase the happiness during the low steps. As an example, when the service desk member needs to ask for more information they're not happy, and the user isn't happy having to follow-up to the request, a possible solution is to adjust the ticket template to include examples or questions that reduce the likelihood of having to follow-up.
journey
title Ticket Flow Example
section New Issue
Create Ticket: 2: User
Prioritize Ticket: 3: SD Lead
section Assign Ticket
Review ToDo Tickets: 3: SD Member
Assign next top item to self: 3: SD Member
section Work Ticket
Research Solution: 5: SD Member
Implement Solution: 5: SD Member
Test Solution: 4: SD Member
Ask for more info: 2: SD Member
Respond to info request: 2: User
Wait for response: 1: SD Member
section Complete Ticket
Comment on solution: 3: SD Member
Mark ticket Complete: 5: SD Member
Close Ticket: 5: SD Lead