Creating metrics

You use the Metric node to create time metrics using calendar items that correspond to service objectives. A Service Manager time metric is the amount of time that occurs between a start time and an end time. Service Manager terminology specifies both of these as “date,” but it is important for you to note that a Service Manager “date” includes the hour, minute, and second information, and is not simply the calendar day.

Service Manager includes the following predefined metrics:

Resolution Time This is the maximum allowed time for incident resolution. Service Manager calculates resolution time using an incident’s creation time and resolution date.

Completion Time This is the maximum allowed time for service request completion. Service Manager calculates completion time, a service request’s creation time, and completion date.

Metrics for incidents and metrics for service requests use separate Service Manager classes. When creating an incident or metric for service requests, you don’t just have to choose creation date and resolution date. You can choose to assign one of the following items for Start Date and for End Date:

Actual Downtime End Date

Actual Downtime Start Date

Actual End Date

Actual Start Date

Closed Date

Created Date

First Assigned Date

First Response Date

Required By

Resolve By

Resolved Date

Scheduled Downtime End Date

Scheduled Downtime Start Date

Scheduled End Date

Scheduled Start Date

To create a metric for incidents, perform the following steps:

1. In the Administration workspace of the Service Manager console, click Metric, under Service Level Management.

2. In the Tasks menu, click Metric, and then click Create Metric.

3. In the Create/Edit Metric dialog box, click Browse.

4. In the Select A Class dialog box, click Incident, as shown in Figure 4-3, and click OK.

FIGURE 4-3 Select a class

5. Provide a name for the metric. On the Start Date drop-down list, select the event that you will use to start measuring the time taken to resolve the incident. For example, you might choose First Assigned Date. On the End Date drop-down list, select the event that will be used to conclude measuring the time taken to resolve the incident. For example, you might choose Resolved Date. Figure 4-4 shows an example of the Create/Edit Metric dialog box for an incident.

FIGURE 4-4 Create/Edit Metric

6. Click OK to create the metric.

To create a metric for service requests, perform the following steps:

1. In the Administration workspace of the Service Manager console, click Metric, under Service Level Management.

2. In the Tasks menu, click Metric, and then click Create Metric.

3. In the Create/Edit Metric dialog box, click Browse.

4. In the Select A Class dialog box, click Service Request, as shown in Figure 1, and click OK.

FIGURE 4-5 Select a Class

5. Provide a name for the metric. On the Start Date drop-down list, select the event that you will use to start measuring the time taken to resolve the service request. For example, you might choose Created Date. On the End Date drop-down list, select the event that will be used to conclude measuring the time taken to resolve the service request. For example, you might choose Completed Date. Figure 2 shows an example of the Create/Edit Metric dialog box for a service request.

FIGURE Create/Edit Metric

6. Click OK to close the Create/Edit Metric dialog box.