--- name: service-request-automation description: Automate IT service requests including software provisioning, hardware requests, access requests, and common service catalog items. Use when implementing self-service portals, automating request workflows, managing service catalogs, or streamlining fulfillment processes. Triggers on phrases like "service request", "service catalog", "self-service portal", "request fulfillment", "access request", "software request", "hardware request", "automated fulfillment", "request workflow", "approval workflow", "RITM", "catalog item". --- # Service Request Automation Automate IT service requests including software provisioning, hardware requests, access requests, and common service catalog items. ## Workflow ### 1. Service Catalog Design ``` SERVICE CATALOG STRUCTURE ═══════════════════════════════════════ CATEGORY: Account & Access → Request user access (application-specific) → Reset password → Enable MFA → Request admin privileges (approval required) → Request service account CATEGORY: Software → Request new software (from approved catalog) → Request software license upgrade → Request trial software → Request cloud subscription (SaaS) CATEGORY: Hardware → Request new laptop → Request peripheral (monitor, keyboard, mouse) → Request hardware upgrade (RAM, SSD) → Return hardware (offboarding) CATEGORY: Infrastructure → Request new cloud resource (VM, database) → Request storage increase → Request DNS record change → Request SSL certificate FULFILLMENT MODELS: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Type Example Automation Approval ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Fully Automated Password reset 100% None Semi-Automated Software install 80% Manager Manual Hardware procurement 30% Manager + Budget Escalated Custom request 0% IT Director ``` ### 2. Automated Fulfillment Workflows ``` WORKFLOW: Software Installation Request ═══════════════════════════════════════ Trigger: User submits request via portal Fields: Software name, version, business justification, cost center Step 1: Validation (Automated) → Check if software is in approved catalog → Check if user already has license → Check license availability → If not approved: Route to IT for evaluation Step 2: Approval (Automated routing) → Free software: Auto-approve → Standard software (<$100): Manager approval → Premium software (>$100): Manager + IT Director → Custom software: IT evaluation + budget approval Step 3: Fulfillment (Automated) → Software in endpoint management (Intune/Jamf): Auto-deploy → SaaS subscription: Auto-provision via API (SCIM) → On-prem install: Queue for desktop support team → License assignment: Auto-assign from license pool Step 4: Confirmation → Email notification to user → Portal ticket update → License inventory updated → Cost center charged Average Fulfillment Time: → Auto-deploy: <5 minutes → SaaS provisioning: <15 minutes → Manual install: <24 hours (SLA) WORKFLOW: Cloud Resource Request ═══════════════════════════════════════ Trigger: Developer requests AWS resource Fields: Resource type, size, environment, budget code, duration Step 1: Policy Check (Automated) → Instance type allowed? (no p4d in dev) → Region allowed? (only us-east-1, eu-west-1) → Budget code valid? → Cost estimate within threshold? Step 2: Approval → Dev environment (<$100/month): Auto-approve → Staging (<$500/month): Team lead approval → Production: Engineering manager + FinOps approval Step 3: Provisioning (Automated via Terraform) → Apply infrastructure template → Tag with cost center, environment, owner → Configure networking (VPC, security groups) → Enable monitoring and logging → Set auto-shutdown for non-production Step 4: Notification → Send resource details to requester → Register in CMDB → Enable cost tracking ``` ### 3. Approval Workflows ``` APPROVAL MATRIX ═══════════════════════════════════════ Request Type Approver Escalation SLA ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Password reset None (self-service) — Immediate Software (free) Auto-approve IT Manager 1 hour Software (<$500) Direct manager IT Director 4 hours Software (>$500) Manager + IT Dir CTO 24 hours Hardware request Direct manager IT Director 48 hours Admin access request Manager + Sec Owner CISO 24 hours Cloud resource (production) Eng Manager + FinOps VP Eng 24 hours Break-glass access CISO CEO Immediate Custom request IT Manager CTO 48 hours APPROVAL NOTIFICATIONS: ═══════════════════════════════════════ → Email notification with one-click approve/reject → Mobile approval via service desk app → Slack notification for urgent requests → Auto-reminder at 50% of SLA → Auto-escalation at SLA breach ``` ### 4. Service Request Analytics ``` SERVICE REQUEST METRICS ═══════════════════════════════════════ Monthly Volume (Q4 2024): ═══════════════════════════════════════ Request Type Volume % of Total Auto-Fulfillment Avg Fulfillment ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Password reset 850 32% 100% <1 min Software request 420 16% 75% 45 min Access request 380 14% 60% 2 hours Hardware request 250 9% 30% 3 days Cloud resource 350 13% 85% 30 min Cloud infrastructure 180 7% 70% 1 hour Other 170 9% 20% 5 hours ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── TOTAL: 2,600 100% 65% 2.5 hours Fulfillment Performance: ═══════════════════════════════════════ Metric Current Target Trend ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Auto-fulfillment rate 65% 80% ↑ +5% QoQ Avg fulfillment time 2.5 hrs 1 hr ↓ -15% QoQ SLA compliance 94% 97% ↑ +2% QoQ Customer satisfaction (CSAT) 4.2/5 4.5/5 ↑ +0.1 QoQ Rejection rate 8% 5% ↓ -2% QoQ Cost per request $12 $8 ↓ -10% QoQ TOP OPPORTUNITIES: ═══════════════════════════════════════ 1. Increase auto-fulfillment for access requests (60% → 85%) → Integrate with IAM platform for auto-provisioning 2. Hardware request automation (30% → 60%) → Integration with procurement system (Coupo/Ariba) 3. Reduce rejection rate (8% → 5%) → Improve catalog descriptions and eligibility rules ``` ### 5. Self-Service Portal ``` SELF-SERVICE PORTAL FEATURES ═══════════════════════════════════════ 1. Service Catalog: → Browsable catalog with search → Service descriptions with SLAs → Estimated delivery times → Cost information (if applicable) 2. Request Tracking: → Dashboard of all requests → Real-time status updates → Timeline view → Communication thread 3. Self-Healing: → Password reset tool → Software self-install (approved list) → License self-service → VPN reconnect 4. Chatbot Integration: → Natural language request creation → "Install Chrome" → Creates software request → "I need admin access" → Creates access request → FAQ answering for common issues ``` ## Edge Cases - **Bulk requests**: Mass provisioning for new-hire waves - **Emergency requests**: Expedited approval and fulfillment - **Contractor requests**: Time-bound access, auto-expiry - **Compliance-sensitive**: Audit trail, data handling ## Integration Points - **Service desk**: ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Freshservice - **Endpoint management**: Intune, Jamf, SCCM - **IAM**: Okta, Entra ID, SailPoint - **Cloud**: AWS, Azure, GCP (resource provisioning) - **Procurement**: Coupo, Ariba, Zapier - **Chatbot**: Microsoft Bot Framework, Dialogflow ## Output ### Service Request Summary ``` SERVICE REQUEST REPORT — Q4 2024 ═══════════════════════════════════════ Total requests: 2,600 Auto-fulfilled: 1,690 (65%) SLA compliance: 94% Customer satisfaction: 4.2/5 Cost per request: $12 (↓ 10% QoQ) Top 3 opportunities: → Increase access request automation (60% → 85%) → Hardware procurement integration → Improve catalog to reduce rejections ```