Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

RT Users
1

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I
read references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to
use to achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

E: christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

2

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

http://www.mail-archive.com/rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com/msg28060.html

:wink:

3

Christian,

I couldn’t find an easy way to do this without a lot of mods to the RT code
(which I’m REAL BAD at as a beginner in perl), so I wrote a scrip
“work-around”. If someone tries to resolve a ticket without any TimeWorked,
I re-set the status to “Stalled” and send them an email telling them what I
did and why. I also set a CF to a value I use for the email notification.
Let me know if that’s the way you want to go.

Kenn
LBNLOn Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 5:46 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I read
references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to use to
achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

4

We use RT for supporting customers and often times there are multiple
phone calls on a single RT case. So simply forcing time Worked on
Resolution is not what I am looking for.

I am trying to track how long each person is taking supporting different
things. I have tried to mandate people to update the Worked field on
every update, but I think I need a to whip them harder or code a better
solution J

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

E: christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink BusinessFrom: rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com
[mailto:rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com] On Behalf Of Kenneth
Crocker
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12:04 PM
To: rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com
Subject: Re: [rt-users] Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

Christian,

I couldn’t find an easy way to do this without a lot of mods to the RT
code (which I’m REAL BAD at as a beginner in perl), so I wrote a scrip
“work-around”. If someone tries to resolve a ticket without any
TimeWorked, I re-set the status to “Stalled” and send them an email
telling them what I did and why. I also set a CF to a value I use for
the email notification. Let me know if that’s the way you want to go.

Kenn
LBNL

5

Christian,

The option I offered you can certainly be modified for a different condition
(like “On Transaction”, or if the value of some other field is modified,
etc.). You just have to decide what condition (simple or complex) you want.
I’ll help you if you want.

Kenn
LBNLOn Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

We use RT for supporting customers and often times there are multiple phone
calls on a single RT case. So simply forcing time Worked on Resolution is
not what I am looking for.

I am trying to track how long each person is taking supporting different
things. I have tried to mandate people to update the Worked field on every
update, but I think I need a to whip them harder or code a better solution
J

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

From: rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com [mailto:
rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com] *On Behalf Of *Kenneth Crocker
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12:04 PM
To: rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com
Subject: Re: [rt-users] Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

Christian,

I couldn’t find an easy way to do this without a lot of mods to the RT code
(which I’m REAL BAD at as a beginner in perl), so I wrote a scrip
“work-around”. If someone tries to resolve a ticket without any TimeWorked,
I re-set the status to “Stalled” and send them an email telling them what I
did and why. I also set a CF to a value I use for the email notification.
Let me know if that’s the way you want to go.

Kenn
LBNL

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 5:46 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I read
references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to use to
achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: <786-363-0460>786-363-0460 | F: <786-363-0206>786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

6

Then that would be great. Can you send me an example of your scrip?

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

E: christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink BusinessFrom: rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com
[mailto:rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com] On Behalf Of Kenneth
Crocker
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12:31 PM
To: rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com
Subject: Re: [rt-users] Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

Christian,

The option I offered you can certainly be modified for a different
condition (like “On Transaction”, or if the value of some other field is
modified, etc.). You just have to decide what condition (simple or
complex) you want. I’ll help you if you want.

Kenn
LBNL

7

Christian,

Sure. The first one checks for TimeWorked when the ticket is resolved. If no
TImeWorked, it sets the status to “Stalled” and sets a CF Value in order to
trigger an email notification:

Scrip1 - Check for TimeWorked:
Condition: On Resolve
Action: user-Defined
Template: Global template: Blank
Stage: TransactionBatch

Custom Action Prep Code:

Set initial values

my $trans = $self->TransactionObj;
my $ticket = $self->TicketObj;
my $cf_obj = new RT::CustomField($RT::SystemUser);
my $timeworked = $ticket->TimeWorked;

Set value for CF “Work-State” if TimeWorked not set

my $cf_name = “Work-State”;
my $cf_value = “TIME WORKED NOT SET”;

unless ($timeworked)
{
$cf_obj->LoadByName(Name=>$cf_name);
$RT::Logger->debug(“Loaded$cf_obj->Name = “. $cf_obj->Name() .”\n” );
$ticket->AddCustomFieldValue( Field=>$cf_obj, Value=>$cf_value,
RecordTransaction=>0 );
$ticket->SetStatus(“stalled”);
}
return 1;

Custom Action Cleanup Code:
return 1;

Of course, you might want to change the condition to “User-Defined” and code
up your trigger.
Then, there is the Email notification that the ticket owner didn’t set
TimeWorked in his ticket:
I had to add a new type of Action called “AutoReply to Owner” so I could use
it.

Scrip 2 - “Notify Owner on No Time”
Condition: User-Defined
Action: AutoReply to Owner
Template: Global template: Owner Time not Set
Stage: TransactionBatch

Custom Condition Code:

Set initial values

my $trans = $self->TransactionObj;
my $ticket = $self->TicketObj;
my $state = $ticket->FirstCustomFieldValue(‘Work-State’);

Check for trans status of “stalled” and the CF “Work-State”

for “TIME WORKED NOT SET”

return ($trans->Type eq “Status” &&
$trans->NewValue eq “stalled” &&
$state eq “TIME WORKED NOT SET”);

That’s it. The reason I had to add the new “AutoReply to Owner” is because I
have my configuration set for “NotifyActor, 0”. So, the owner is the actor
and he wouldn’t get an email when he did that transaction. I believe the RT
Essentials has instructions on this, but if you get confused, let me know
and I’ll send you step by step instructions.

Lot’s of luck.

Kenn
LBNLOn Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 9:37 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

Then that would be great. Can you send me an example of your scrip?

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

From: rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com [mailto:
rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com] *On Behalf Of *Kenneth Crocker
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12:31 PM

To: rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com
Subject: Re: [rt-users] Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

Christian,

The option I offered you can certainly be modified for a different
condition (like “On Transaction”, or if the value of some other field is
modified, etc.). You just have to decide what condition (simple or complex)
you want. I’ll help you if you want.

Kenn
LBNL

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 9:27 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

We use RT for supporting customers and often times there are multiple phone
calls on a single RT case. So simply forcing time Worked on Resolution is
not what I am looking for.

I am trying to track how long each person is taking supporting different
things. I have tried to mandate people to update the Worked field on every
update, but I think I need a to whip them harder or code a better solution
J

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: <786-363-0460>786-363-0460 | F: <786-363-0206>786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

From: rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com [mailto:
rt-users-bounces@lists.bestpractical.com] *On Behalf Of *Kenneth Crocker
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 12:04 PM
To: rt-users@lists.bestpractical.com
Subject: Re: [rt-users] Mandatory Time Worked Field on Ticket Updates

Christian,

I couldn’t find an easy way to do this without a lot of mods to the RT code
(which I’m REAL BAD at as a beginner in perl), so I wrote a scrip
“work-around”. If someone tries to resolve a ticket without any TimeWorked,
I re-set the status to “Stalled” and send them an email telling them what I
did and why. I also set a CF to a value I use for the email notification.
Let me know if that’s the way you want to go.

Kenn
LBNL

On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 5:46 AM, Pena, Christian < Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com> wrote:

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I read
references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to use to
achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

*E: *christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: <786-363-0460>786-363-0460 | F: <786-363-0206>786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

8

Not tested, but very close. Should work with 3.8.9 and may be a few
versions older.

file: local/html/Callbacks/MandatoryFields/Ticket/Update.html/BeforeUpdate
content:

<%ARGS>
$TicketObj
$ARGSRef => {}
$skip_update => undef
$results =>
</%ARGS>
<%INIT>
my $value = $ARGSRef->{‘UpdateTimeWorked’};
return if defined $value && length $value;

$$skip_update = 1;
push @$results, loc(“You have to define time worked”);
</%INIT>On Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 3:46 PM, Pena, Christian Christian.Pena@corp.earthlink.com wrote:

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so
bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I read
references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to use to
achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

E: christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business

Best regards, Ruslan.

9

Christian,

While I hope that Ruslan’s solution works for you - and it may be one that I implement myself. I’ve approached this problem differently in the past. Generally, I’ve viewed this issue as a management issue. As such I’ve developed external reports from RT that tell me how much time individuals have worked on specific queues. The SQL query I use to build these reports gives me a detailed report that I then use Excel PivotTables to provide the summaries I need.

Here is the SQL:

SELECT t.id, t.Subject, tr.TimeTaken, tr.Created, u.Realname
FROM (Tickets AS t INNER JOIN Transactions AS tr ON t.id = tr.ObjectId) INNER JOIN
Users AS u ON tr.Creator = u.id
WHERE t.EffectiveId = t.id AND
t.Status = ‘resolved’ AND
t.Resolved >= ‘2010-03-01%’ AND
(t.Status NOT LIKE ‘%Event%’ OR t.Status NOT LIKE ‘Log File%’) AND
tr.ObjectType = ‘RT::Ticket’ AND
(tr.Type = ‘Comment’ OR tr.Type = ‘Correspond’) AND
tr.TimeTaken > 0
ORDER BY u.RealName, t.id, tr.Created;

While some of this SQL is specific to my situation (i.e. the entire " (t.Status NOT LIKE ‘%Event%’ OR t.Status NOT LIKE ‘Log File%’) AND" line can be removed), the command provides all the information you will need to provide very detailed reports on Time Worked across Tickets. (NOTE in the SQL I also ONLY look for transactions with Time (i.e. tr.TimeTaken > 0) you can easily remove that line or change it to tr.TimeTaken = 0 to include Transactions in which there is no time entered.

Anyway… I use this report to keep my technicians in line by showing them the difference of how much work time they logged compared to actual time worked. Also, this type of analytical data is very useful during reviews, such as if a person is only accounting for 50-60% of their time, then they aren’t following company policy very well.

I’m sure you get the idea… and if you are looking for simple enforcement Ruslan’s method looks pretty clean - as always!

Thanks,

MikeOn Mar 15, 2011, at 8:46 AM, Pena, Christian wrote:

This is something that has probably been asked on the lists many time so bear with me.

I want to make the “Worked” field mandatory on every ticket update. I read references on the need to do Call Backs but not sure what Syntax to use to achieve this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Christian Pena
Network Engineer Supervisor
EarthLink Business

E: christian.pena@corp.earthlink.com
O: 786-363-0460 | F: 786-363-0206
STS Telecom is now EarthLink Business