LANDesk Service Desk 7.6includes several components.First of all, there is the consolefor executing administrativetasks, such as databasemaintenance and process design.Web Desk, by contrast, serves asthe interface for analysts, i. e. thepersonnel dealing with supportrequests. Self Service finally, isthe interface used forcommunicating with end­userswho submit their inquiries andrequests and receive responses.Mobile Self Service is one of thehighlights of LANDesk ServiceDesk 7.6. Its touch­optimizedinterface allows end­users toutilize almost all of thefunctionality of the Self Serviceinterface via a smart phone ortablet PC. LANDesk thus makes“anywhere access” a reality,giving users access to the servicemanagement application,regardless of their currentlocation. That way, they receiveinformation related to theservices they used no matterwhere they are, and they canalways report problems, submitrequests, view FAQs and notes,etc. The option to access tips andFAQs contributes significantly tousers helping themselves: Userscan often find the answers totheir problems themselves, thus

reducing the workload for the ITservice department. The SelfService Portal can be accessedvia a browser; hence there is noneed to install additionalsoftware on the endpoint device.The support for multilingualITSM (IT Service Management)is also of interest. It enables aseamless service managementacross various languages andallows for implementing a globalbusiness environment, whereanalysts may be locatedanywhere around the world.Multilingual ITSM letsadministrators create content inone language and distribute it inmany languages, so that all of thepersonnel always receive their

information in their ownlanguage. Apart from this,Service Desk 7.6 is ITIL v3certified and with its verificationfor 15 processes, it has achievedthe highest PinkVERIFY statusaccording to Pink Elephant's ITILv3 software certification scheme.The SystemIn addition to the above­mentioned features, LANDeskService Desk 7.6, of course, alsooffers functionality for managingITIL processes, such as incidents(network events), problems, andchanges. Changes refer tochanges in the IT environment,e.g. server updates orinfrastructure­related projects.The product also includes tools

Testing: Landesk Service Desk 7.6

Perfect ServiceDr. Götz Güttich

With Service Desk 7.6, LANDesk delivers a powerful IT service management solution forIT service providers and support organizations. The fully process­driven product isfairly easy to configure and can be customized in a very flexible way to meet therequirements of the respective client environment. Service Desk 7.6 is available as anon­premise solution for installation and as a service via the cloud. In our test, wehave taken a closer look at the installable program option.

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for managing knowledge baseentries and integrates withdesktop and networkmanagement tools. The majorityof the features are offered forseveral platforms, like mobiledevices and Windows desktops.Since all activities are carried outby an integrated, flexible processengine, the system features asingle, unified component

handing all process steps. Theprocess engine also allows forintegrating the service desksolution into other products, forexample, to visualize servicedisruption reports via GoogleMaps, or to view data inSharepoint or other web­basedapplications, or to createworkflows.The TestIn this test, we used the ServiceDesk environment on a computerwith a 2.4 gigahertz dual­coreprocessor and Windows Server2008 R2. Memory size was 4gigabyte, and the hard drive hada capacity of 40 gigabyte. Theenvironment operates with threedifferent services which can bedistributed on several servers.Service number one is thedatabase. It can run under

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 withService Pack 2, SQL Server2008, or SQL Server 2008 R2, orOracle 11g, 11g R1, and 11g R2.Add to this LANDesk ServiceDesk Web Server and LANDeskService Desk ApplicationServices Server. These requireWindows Installer 3.1, MDAC2.8 Service Pack 1, and IIS 6 or7. Operating systems that can be

used are: Windows Server 2003with Service Pack 2 up toWindows Server 2008 R2, eitherthe 64­bit version (if available),or the 32­bit version.The Service Desk console canalso be used on client systems.For this, administrators needworkstations with Windows XPService Pack 3, Windows Vista,or Windows 7, again the 32­bit orthe 64­bit version. Service Deskofficially supports the followingbrowsers: Internet Explorer 7 to9, Firefox 8, Safari 5, Chrome15, as well as the mobilebrowsers of Android, Blackberryand iOS.To be able to test all of thesolution's features, themanufacturer provided us with ademo environment which was

already populated with personneldata, incidents, and otherinformation. During the testing,we created new incidents andchanges, checked the processflow, added data, and examinedthe work flow in thisenvironment, both from an end­user's perspective and from ahelp desk analyst's perspective.In addition, we carefullyexamined all of the product'sfeatures, including the system'sunderlying process management.Since the solution can be freelyconfigured, i.e. it can easily beadapted to the requirements ofthe individual organization, aLANDesk Service Deskenvironment does not need todisplay the same characteristicsas those described in this test.The interface, as we used it,corresponded to themanufacturer's default settings,and this will be broadlyconsistent with what the majorityof customers will be using.Service Desk from an end­user's perspectiveWhen end­users log in to the SelfService Portal with their accountcredentials using a browser, theycan immediately access a varietyof information via variousdashboards and gadgets. Theaccess rights for thesecomponents can be set up basedon the user accounts, allowingadministrators to ensure that allusers can only view informationthat is directly relevant to them.The first item on the Self Servicepage is called “Support Me” andoffers an overview over currentlyactive incidents, problems,services and news. This is alsothe page, on which users submitnew requests. To do so, they justneed to switch to thecorresponding topic area under

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Users can use the Self Service page to stay up­to­date on their requests, to solveproblems and create incidents, anytime

“Help Me” (“General Support”,“Email Issue”, “Printer out ofToner”, “Password Reset”, or“Ask a Question”) and describethe problem there. An entryconsists of a summary providingan overview, the details, thecategory in which it should beentered (Desktop, Software,Hardware, Infrastructure, etc.),the urgency (High, Medium,Low), as well as information likethe date, the owner, or similar.You can add notes andattachments to each entry. Whenthe user has entered all of therequired information, he cansubmit the request. In return, thesystem will send back a numberunder which the request will beprocessed. The number will alsobe displayed on the overviewpage under “My Support”.IT managers can make softwareprograms, hardware, data andservices (e.g. VPN access, etc.)available via Service Catalogue.There is also the option torequest new user accounts thoughthis channel, for example, inActive Directory. All of thecomponents listed in the catalogcan be placed into a virtualshopping cart (just like in anonline shop) and ordered. Thetransaction is then assigned to amanager for approval beforefulfillment. Besides the objectitself, an order also includes theinterested party with contactinformation, the person whorequested the particularcomponent, the date, and, asneeded, a reason or description ofthe request, as well as anindication of its importance andurgency. Requests or orderssubmitted via Service Catalogueare handled as processes in thesame way as any other request inthe Service Desk environment.

Another important area of theSelf Service Portal is its FAQcollection. Here, administratorscan post instructions for solvingregularly occurring IT problems,thus enabling the users to addresstheir everyday issues and knownproblems on their own. Links canbe added to the FAQs to guideusers to additional information.The “How We're Doing” taboffers users information on the ITsupport itself. This includesnotifications about activeincidents (e.g. a mail server isdown), the number of incidentsreported by category, thecustomer satisfaction (accordingto the latest surveys in theorganization), and the servicelevel performance. The later isvery important in environments,where Service Level Agreement(SLAs) are tracked using theService Desk software.LANDesk offers three types ofagreements to monitor definedsupport levels. In addition to thetraditional SLAs, the solutionalso offers support forOperational Level Agreements(OLAs) and UnderpinningContracts (UCs). SLAs are theagreements between end­usersand the service desk, andOperational Level Agreements(OLAs) are agreements betweenthe service desk and otherinternal groups involved inproviding support. UCs areagreements between the ITdepartment and any externalsuppliers. The LANDesk producthence provides full support forthe use of service levels.The last area of the Self ServicePortal is called “QuestionForum”. This is a discussionforum, where users can askquestions and answer questionsor exchange information. All

questions and statementssubmitted here will also betreated as processes by thesystem, and — besides dates andstatuses (Not Answered,Answered) — also include adiscussion history A searchfeature covering all of the portalcontents completes the range offeatures of the user interface.Web DeskAfter we used the ServiceCatalogue in the first step tocreate a few requests and ordersvia the Self Service Portal, weturned to “Web Desk”, theanalyst's tool, to check how thesystem can be used from an ITstaff perspective. Once theanalyst has logged in, anoverview page with informationon currently active incidents andsimilar information is displayed.This portal can also becustomized to fulfill therequirements of thecorresponding organization.Therefore, we would like to pointout once more, that the interfacethat we present here is the defaultas defined by LANDesk.The left side of the Web Deskwindow offers several tabs whichallow the user to switch betweendifferent topic areas. Besides theService Desk Overview, there arealso entries for ProblemManagement, ChangeManagement, RequestManagement, KnowledgeManagement, HR Management(i.e. management of humanresources), and forAdministration. Depending onthe active tab, those responsiblefor IT are always only presentedwith the information pertaining tothe corresponding topic areawhich greatly improves the user­friendliness.

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Once the analyst switches to theProblem Management tab, he canview a list of the existingrequests. This list includes theID, the name of the person filingthe original request, the date andcategory, plus, among otherinformation, the current status,for example “In Progress”, “WithCustomer”, or “Closed”. Eachindividual entry can be openedwith a single mouse­click andedited. The dialog for IT staff issignificantly larger than the onefor users, and there are a lot ofadditional options available forthe help desk staff to process anentry. For example, they can flagan incident as “SecurityIncident”, or also assign aresponse level to it. Furthermore,they can search the internalknowledge base and Wikipediafor answers to the questionsasked in the entry, start a remotedesktop session and open acommand prompt. They can alsoview or edit the attachments,notes, etc. linked to thecorresponding entry.A history log of all changes madeto an entry during its lifecycle(for example, the addition of anattachment), as well as variousactions, are part of the featuresWeb Desk offers. The actionsinclude “Close”, “Place OnHold”, “Resolve”, or also “AddAttachment”, “Add Problem”,“Add Task”, “Take Ownership”,and much more. The entriesincluded in the Action pane areseparated by a line. Above theline, there are actions that willchange the status of an entry. Theactions below the line can beused to add additionalinformation to the entry. All ofthe actions interact directly withthe Service Desk processes.Orders placed via Service

Catalogue are processed in asimilar way. If analysts use theabove­mentioned tabs to switchto Request Management, theywill find a list of all currentrequests. Here, they can againview attachments and notes, ifthere are any, and check out therequest history. Actions are set upjust the same way as incidents.Again, there is a dividing linebetween actions that will changethe status of a request(“Authorize”, “Reject”) andactions that will add informationto the request (“Add Note”, “AddAttachment”).In our test, we only approved oneof the orders (in our example,

this was a Windows Phone), andwe used Problem Management tosend a solution to a reportedincident. When we then logged inagain to the Self Service Portal,we noticed that the changesimmediately appeared in the end­user overview, as expected. So,the process engine ensuresimmediate updates. At this point,we also checked out the mobile

versions of the Self Service andWeb Desk interfaces. We usedsmart phones and tablets withAndroid and iOS for thispurpose, and there were noproblems. A notably positiveaspect in this context is the factthat mobile Web Desk offers theexact same range of features asthe “regular” browser interface.Analysts can thus access all ofthe features provided by thesystems even when on the move.Likewise with Self Service,however, the mobile version ismissing some functionality, forexample Service Catalogue.Back to the practical aspects.Incidents can be upgraded to“Major Incidents“. Not only arethese then highlighted in the SelfService Overview, but analystscan also add additional usersaffected. This makes sense, sincethe analysts assigned can thuseasily see who is affected by theincident. Besides, major incidentsare not exclusively shown in theSelf Service Overview ofaffected user, but rather for eachand every user. This makes sense,too, since it is possible that a userwho was not classified as an“Affected User“ by thoseresponsible for IT, might actuallybe affected by the problem. Sincehe can view the incident entry aswell, the LANDesk solutionhelps to avoid the creation of asuperfluous duplicate incident forthe same topic. In this case, all heneeds to do is to indicate that heis affected as well.The Service Desk ConsoleAs already mentioned, workingwith entries is process driven. Allof the processes needed arecreated, edited, and managedusing the Service Desk Console.The Service Desk Console is a

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The Mobile Self Service page

Windows application. It includesa large number of pre­builtdefault processes which can beused as the basis for newprocesses and extended, asneeded. Processes not onlydescribe how an incident,problem, or contribution to a

discussion is handled, they canalso automatically advanceprocessing in the businessoperation, for example, byassigning an incident to aspecific person. Consequently, aprocess comprises statuses, userentries, and automatic actions.For example, if an incident has astatus “Open”, the personsresponsible can perform varioususer actions. These includeclosing the process, addinginformation, or assigning theentry to another analyst. If anadministrator wants to add a newaction to a process (e.g. to addnotes) he can use the ProcessDesigner within the Service Deskconsole.Processes are displayed as chartsin Process Designer to visualizehow the individual steps of theprocesses are to be handled.Since processes may take on anydegree of complexity, most ofthem are not just a linear line

comprising individual steps, butthey rather also include branches(to map alternate problemsolution options or root causes)and functions which will revertthe direction of work, forexample, if a solved problem isre­opened.

To add a step, you just need todrag and drop the correspondingelement from the toolbox ontothe workspace. As soon as thenew entry is placed in the rightlocation of the process diagram, adialog opens where the analystcan enter the parameters neededby the system to properly use thecomponent. For example, if therelevant person wants to assignthe incident to a specific usergroup for further processing andthe assignment tool is placedaccordingly, he needs to indicatethe user group which will be therecipient of the assignment,whether the parties involvedshould receive an emailnotification, and so on. To finishup the addition of the step, allthat remains to be done is torearrange the process flow byclicking the individual elementsthat link the tools and then savethe changes. After that, theelement is processed each timethe process runs. Thus, there are

no programming steps required,and the functionality for editingand modifying the processes inan integral part of the ServiceDesk range of features supportedby LANDesk.Action chains can be created insimilar manner. For example, if arequest is “Open” and the analystresponsible adds data to it, thenthe process can be designed todisplay additional actions (notavailable until then) after theinformation was added. Forexample, if analysts start with theproblem diagnosis and enter apotential cause for the problem,they can indicate in the next step,whether this is a known orunknown error. Know errors willthen be entered into theknowledge base and can bereferenced as information forother problems. The faulthandling shown here will onlybecome evident in the form ofpossible actions, when processexecution has reached thecorresponding process step.Therefore, there is a directconnection between the setup ofa process and the appearance ofthe corresponding user interfaces.Not only can processes be used todefine the structure of themanagement steps, they can alsobe used to define the rights of theindividual users to carry out orview certain process steps.Within the processes, thoseresponsible for support are thusable to combine a multitude ofdifferent steps, to add changes tothe processing of an entry, and, asneeded, to design the individualsteps so that they requireapproval by individualemployees. There are thereforeno limitations when it comes to

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Web Desk provides a huge variety of information to help desk staff

mapping the steps needed withinthe software.A few additional words on theknown errors mentioned before:If an administrator adds such anerror to the knowledge base, hecan not only define a type, add adescription and a resolution, buthe can also define an expirationdate. Once the knowledge basearticle reaches this date, it willautomatically be deleted from theknowledge base and resubmittedto the analysts for review. This isvery effective, since LANDesk isthus avoiding inactive recordsfrom remaining in the knowledgebase. The knowledge base is, bythe way, KCS (KnowledgeCentered Support)­certified andall of the articles included can berated by the readers at any time.Change Management is alsobased upon processes. In contrastto Problem Management, it wasoriginally not intended to be usedfor handling user problems, aswe already mentioned, but ratherfor managing administrative ITtasks, such as upgrades,modifications and repairs. It canbe used, for example, to definescheduled downtimesbeforehand. With changes, thereis also the option to add problemsand edit them, just as with userrequests.The console is also used tomodify objects or create newobjects. These objects are thebuilding blocks of Service Desk.They represent components ofthe IT environment, and theresponsible analysts can modeland depict them within theLANDesk environment and thuswork with them. Service Deskobjects can be physical items,such as users or computers, or

they can be abstract items, suchas problems or settings.The Object Designer is used toexpand and add to the ServiceDesk database, or to edit it.LANDesk offers a large numberof predefined objects that arecategorized in groups for the sakeof clarity, e.g. “AssetManagement”, “HumanResources”, “IncidentManagement”, “KnowledgeManagement”, “Lifecycle”, and“System”. All of the objectsthemselves contain attributes; fora workstation object, these mightbe entries for the computer ID,

model, operating system, disksize, and similar. The individualattributes contain the so­calledproperties, like description, datatype, and so on.The attributes associated with theobject can also be combined andlinked several times. This makesit possible, for example, to linkseveral documents to oneincident. Powerful wizards

provide support for working withobjects and attributes andsimplify everyday use of ServiceDesk significantly. They assistthe user with steps like addingattributes to objects, definingaccess privileges, and specifyingthe data type. Objects arepopulated with data usingactions, and object linking isachieved though drag and drop.An interesting way to use theobjects is impact analysis. Itallows analysts to definedependencies between objects.They have the option to visualizethe impact of a component failure

(e.g. a server down) on the rest ofthe network and the associatedservices.Apart from Process Designer,Object Designer and KnowledgeManagement, the console offersseveral other features foradministration. These include anextensive dashboard whichprovides the relevant personswith information on the status of

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The Service Desk console's dashboard

their environment, at any time.Also worth mentioning: Queryand Report Designer which isused to create queries andreports. Reports can be createdwith drag and drop as well.

To increase the security level ofthe solution, each element of theconsole can be hidden or shown,or only be made available forspecific users and groups. Thatway, you can make only thosefeatures accessible to the relevantpersons that they will need tocomplete their specific tasks.Email alertsLANDesk Service Desk offers apowerful email notificationfeature to ensure that users andthose responsible for IT arealways informed whenever thestatus of their requests changes,without having to log in to theservice portal. If an incident isassigned to a specific help deskstaff member, then he receives anemail with a correspondingnotification, if the process was

designed accordingly. The sameis true for resolving a problem.The relevant end­user isimmediately notified, when theanalyst tags his message as“Resolved”. Using the Service

Desk solution, unnecessarydelays can most likely beexcluded.ConclusionLANDesk Service Desk 7.6 madea very good impression whentested. The solution does not onlyoffer a very attractive range offeatures, it can also becustomized in a very flexible wayto meet the requirements of therespective organization. In thisrespect, we want to particularlyhighlight the fact that thiscustomization is virtually alwayspossible without additionalprogramming effort.Processes can be modified bysimple drag and drop operationswith icons, and the workspacesare dynamically adapted to the

structure of the process. Workingwith the objects is also a veryflexible process. Due to thisflexibility, those responsible forIT can quickly integrate thesolution into their environment.The product does not only offerhelp desk functionality, but also aseamlessly integrated knowledgebase and a service catalog forcustomer requests which left aparticularly favorable impression.These functionalities were notbought from third­party vendorsand subsequently integrated intothe system, but they were integralparts of the solution's range offeatures from the very beginning— a seamless integration whichis well noticeable duringoperation. Also positive: Theprocesses standardized by usingProcess Designer ensure thatcompliance requirements are met,updates are completed quickly,and workflows stay efficient.The ability to partially automatethe workflow and use templatesmakes working with the systemreally easy. Furthermore, it isworth mentioning that allinformation can be categorizedand prioritized according to theimportance and urgency.LANDesk Service Desk alsoallows for an easyimplementation of Service LevelManagement, and the mobileinterfaces made an excellentimpression during testing. Thus,the product is very well suited forenvironments where a wide rangeof features is as important asmeeting compliancerequirements, and the possibilityto manage a high number ofusers. Providers as well as ITexperts from organizationsshould definitely take a look atthis solution.

Process Designer helps the relevant person with editing and modifying existingprocesses

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