Change Good to Know

CSM uses several features to manage the Change workflow. The Change Form helps create, manage, and track Changes; One-Step™ Actions help move the Change through its workflow; Automation Processes notify stakeholders via email; an Approval process enforces Approvals; and a Change Dashboard notifies stakeholders and tracks metrics.

• Search for one or more Changes that meet a specific criteria by running a Quick Search or Search Group.
• Create a new Change by selecting New > New Change Request.
• If enabled (via an Automation Process), email notifications are automatically created and sent to stakeholders. For example, send emails to:
  • A customer to notify them of a status change.
  • Team owners to notify them of ownership.
  • The user owner to notify them of the ownership.
  • Approvers when a Change requires approval.
• When on a record, you can send an email directly to the current customer (requester) by selecting File > E-mail Current Customer in the CSM Desktop Client or by selecting E-mail > E-mail Current Customer in the CSM Browser Client. You can also select the customer's email address in the Change Form.
• Journals track what occurs during the record's lifecycle (example: Notes to track progress or comments, and History to track important field changes, email correspondence). View or add Journals by selecting the Journal tab in the record's Form Arrangement.
• Fields:
  • Many fields with drop-down lists are driven by a Lookup Table and can be edited in the CSM Desktop Client using Table Management. To see what table is providing the data, select inside the field, and then press F3.
  • Required fields are often conditional, meaning some are required to save a record, some are required to change the status of a record, and some are required to close the record. Required fields are marked with an asterisk by the field label.
  • The Description field is a Rich Text field, so formatting and images/screenshots can be used to complement the text. To format the text or embed an image, select the Zoom button.
  • Some validated fields can recognize what you are typing and will suggest a value (example: If you type "P" into the field, CSM will suggest the first item it finds that starts with the letter P). Use the down arrow button to scroll through other possible values.
  • Press TAB to move to the next field on the form.
    Note: A full list of fields is beyond the scope of this document. Export a schema document from CSM Administrator ( Create a Blueprint > Tools > Export Schema) to view a full list of fields associated with a particular type of Business Object (example: Major).

• Saving:

  • Date, time, and user name information is recorded the first time the form is saved, and each time the form is modified.

  • Selecting Save triggers an audit of fields that are being tracked for modification (example: Status). If a modification is detected in a tracked field, a Journal-History record is created to track the modification. View the modifications in the Journals tab (Form Arrangement).