Boosting Efficiency & Preventing Overlaps

Have you ever experienced the frustration of multiple agents working on the same ticket? In today's post, I explain the ticket lock feature in Znuny, which is designed to streamline workflows and prevent task duplication. Learn how this simple but powerful tool can enhance collaboration, assign clear ownership, and ensure smooth ticket management. Don’t miss out on optimizing your support process—read the full post now!

10 Key Concepts of Ticket Locking in Znuny:

1. Locking Mechanism:
   — Znuny uses a locking mechanism to ensure that when an agent is working on a ticket, it is "locked" for that agent, meaning no other agent can respond, move or raise ticket priority.
   — Locking helps avoid cases where two agents might accidentally work on the same ticket, duplicating effort or sending conflicting responses to the customer.

2. Types of Locks:
   Znuny provides two main types of locks:

   — Lock: A hard lock that prevents any other agent from editing the ticket until the lock is released.
   — Unlock: Removes the lock, making the ticket available for other agents to work on.

3. Auto-Locking:
   — When an agent opens an outgoing communication screen, the ticket is automatically locked for that agent.
   — This lock remains in place until the agent explicitly unlocks or closes the ticket.

4. Unlocking Tickets:
   — The agent can manually unlock tickets when they are done working on the ticket, or the system can be configured to unlock tickets automatically under certain conditions.
   — Some tickets may be unlocked based on specific workflow triggers or timeout mechanisms.

5. Ownership and Responsibility ):
   — Locking a ticket typically transfers responsibility to the agent who has locked it.
   — The system tracks which agent locked the ticket and holds them accountable for further actions until the ticket is unlocked or reassigned employing email and front-end notifications.
   — Responsibility (if configured, can be assigned to an additional agent, foregoing the lock restriction for this user. This effectively gives a ticket to two owners.

6. Auto-Unlock or Reassignment:
   — Admins can configure the auto-unlocking of tickets per queue settings. This will unlocked after unhandled tickets after a specific time of inactivity.
   — Admins can automatically unlock or reassign tickets after certain events. For example, when an agent moves a ticket, it's automatically unlocked, making it available for further actions by others.
   — Optionally, the ticket can be reassigned, as unlocked, to the system user upon moving.

7. Granular Control:
   — The system administrator can configure lock behavior at a granular level. You can specify whether certain screens or actions will lock or unlock a ticket.
   — Access control lists (ACLs) can prevent actions or specific ticket attributes from modification using the lock state.

8. Clear Overview
   — The owner has a clear view of all owned and locked tickets.
   — Each dashboard element provides a filter for the user to show only locked and owned tickets.

9. Stop Loss Safety
   — Using the status view or unfiltered dashboard widgets, any user can quickly identify and take over tickets when needed. For example, the owner calls in sick.
   — No tickets get lost.

10. Attention Focus
    — Using the service or queue view, all users are aware of which issues are still unhandled. Only unlocked tickets are shown.
    — In the queue view, the locked tickets can optionally be shown.
    — Total counts in the queue view indicate a total vs available ticket count, allowing users to quickly identify which queues need the most attention.

Practical Example:

• When Agent A opens a reply screen, Znuny automatically locks the ticket for them. If Agent B tries to access the ticket, they will see the lock status and owner information, indicating that the ticket is locked by Agent A. All reserved operations are no longer visible in the ticket and article menus.
• Once Agent A responds to the ticket or completes their work, they can manually unlock the ticket and reassign it (locking this to the new owner), or it can be set to automatically unlock upon completion of certain actions (such as closing the ticket or updating the status).
• Tickets created by agents are unlocked by default. A ticket that has an owner but is unlocked is considered to need attention.
• The owner indicates the last agent to work on the ticket.

Benefits of Ticket Locking:

• Conflict Prevention: This prevents agents from overwriting each other’s work by locking the ticket for exclusive editing by one agent at a time.
• Clear Ownership: This setting clearly indicates which agent is responsible for a ticket at any given moment.
• Better Workflow Management: Ensures that tickets are processed orderly and organized.

Configuration:

Ticket locking behavior can be customized in Znuny's System Configuration under the ticket queue and view settings. For example, you can adjust how locks are applied (screen by screen), the duration of auto-unlock (queue administration), and behavior after ticket closure or events (generic agent).

By fine-tuning the application of the locking mechanism and educating your users on the use and purposes behind ticket locking, you can ensure smooth collaboration among support agents and prevent issues arising from simultaneous ticket access.

Summary

Ticket locking in Znuny is a critical feature that enhances efficiency and prevents conflicts in ticket management. By assigning exclusive control to agents working on a ticket ensures clear ownership, minimizes the risk of duplicated efforts, and maintains organized workflows. Whether you're dealing with complex support queues or high-volume inquiries, mastering ticket locking allows for smoother collaboration, better accountability, and improved customer service. Implementing the right lock settings can transform your team's ticket-handling process, ensuring no ticket slips through the cracks.