Set / Change Topic Type needed in Agent Interface (or even on all single Topic views)

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Terry Gauchat
  • updated
  • Under review
  • I use multiple Topic Types for Helpdesk, but they all tend to come in with the default Type. So I need to be able to easily set / change the Topic Type as an Agent
  • Also, Customers often post Feedback in a Forum using the wrong Topic Type.

Currently the Topic Type cannot be changed without using full edit option for the Topic. Since I don't want to change the Title or Text of the Topic, this is excessive effort.


You have most of the classification functionality convenient (e.g., set Needs Review, Status, Category, Performer, ... but not Topic Type):

Image 8643

A side-effect is that I cannot set a custom Topic Status for the applied Topic Type (even after editing the whole Topic currently), without reloading the page. There needs to be some AJAX, perhaps, that refreshes the Status drop-down(s) when the Topic Type is set / changed.

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Vladimir Mullagaliyev co-founder
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  • Under review

Hello Terry,

The "Change topic type" is actually the same action as "Edit Topic". You can change topic type if you have a permission to edit topic only.

So, we do not see a lot of improvement if we will add additional edit option to change topic type only (even with status). It will add one more button and agents will be more confused.


Change the type and Status at the same time is not easy, because each type has own statuses. So, you could select the type first, then we could get statuses and show them to you.


Yes, you are right. If the tiket came from email it will have default type "Ticket". But, actually we have one type only by default. And we do not feel that we need more in the helpdesk, because helpdesk is always ticket. It can have different category if you need.


Notifications:

We do not send notification to the user if you edit the topic (change the type).

We do send notification if you change status, because the user has selected this type of notification. So, he wants to follow up each status change.


So, that's why we do not accept this Idea to our roadmap yet. Still "Under review".



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Terry Gauchat

Suggestion:

Perhaps the "Set Status" pull-down could be enhanced to allow the selection of Statuses from other Topic Types (i.e., Types other than the one currently set for the Topic); just like the "Copy Topic Type Status" menu is on the configuration pages.


This way the Agent could change both the Topic Type and set the correct Status (from within that Type) at the same time! Thanks for considering this!

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Terry Gauchat

This one is becoming more "critical" for me, along with the following two other Ideas.


You see, my other Agent is an developer / coder who really can't be bothered setting the proper Type and Status, etc., etc,. while he is responding to Customers. Also, as mentioned above, Customers can't be expected to select the correct Type (Bug vs. Idea), and, Helpdesk via email will usually not have the correct Type.


So the ability to easily edit Type and Status at the same time, and the ability to make these types of updates without sending an extra Notification would be wonderful features for me.


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Vladimir Mullagaliyev co-founder
  • Answer
  • Under review

Hello Terry,

The "Change topic type" is actually the same action as "Edit Topic". You can change topic type if you have a permission to edit topic only.

So, we do not see a lot of improvement if we will add additional edit option to change topic type only (even with status). It will add one more button and agents will be more confused.


Change the type and Status at the same time is not easy, because each type has own statuses. So, you could select the type first, then we could get statuses and show them to you.


Yes, you are right. If the tiket came from email it will have default type "Ticket". But, actually we have one type only by default. And we do not feel that we need more in the helpdesk, because helpdesk is always ticket. It can have different category if you need.


Notifications:

We do not send notification to the user if you edit the topic (change the type).

We do send notification if you change status, because the user has selected this type of notification. So, he wants to follow up each status change.


So, that's why we do not accept this Idea to our roadmap yet. Still "Under review".



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Terry Gauchat
Quote from Vladimir Mullagaliyev

Hello Terry,

The "Change topic type" is actually the same action as "Edit Topic". You can change topic type if you have a permission to edit topic only.

So, we do not see a lot of improvement if we will add additional edit option to change topic type only (even with status). It will add one more button and agents will be more confused.


Change the type and Status at the same time is not easy, because each type has own statuses. So, you could select the type first, then we could get statuses and show them to you.


Yes, you are right. If the tiket came from email it will have default type "Ticket". But, actually we have one type only by default. And we do not feel that we need more in the helpdesk, because helpdesk is always ticket. It can have different category if you need.


Notifications:

We do not send notification to the user if you edit the topic (change the type).

We do send notification if you change status, because the user has selected this type of notification. So, he wants to follow up each status change.


So, that's why we do not accept this Idea to our roadmap yet. Still "Under review".



Yah... It's the 2-step requirement that's causing the "extra" notification:


  1. Topic is posted by Customer as with Topic Type Bug.

  2. Inexperienced Agent sets the Topic Type Status to Under Review (from type Bug). Notification is sent to Customer.
  3. Agent uses Edit Topic (as there is no Control Bar button) to correct the Topic Type from Bug to Idea. No notification is sent (right?), even though this is a Topic Update?

  4. Agent then needs to refresh the screen (or reload the Topic) in order to get the list of Topic Status's refreshed with those applicable to Idea (since they are completely different records, even if similar names).

  5. Agent must now reset the Topic Type Status to Under Review (from type Idea). Redundant excess notification is sent to Customer (i.e., Customer gets 2 "Under Review" emails: one from step #2 and one from #5.).

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Vladimir Mullagaliyev co-founder
Quote from Terry Gauchat

Yah... It's the 2-step requirement that's causing the "extra" notification:


  1. Topic is posted by Customer as with Topic Type Bug.

  2. Inexperienced Agent sets the Topic Type Status to Under Review (from type Bug). Notification is sent to Customer.
  3. Agent uses Edit Topic (as there is no Control Bar button) to correct the Topic Type from Bug to Idea. No notification is sent (right?), even though this is a Topic Update?

  4. Agent then needs to refresh the screen (or reload the Topic) in order to get the list of Topic Status's refreshed with those applicable to Idea (since they are completely different records, even if similar names).

  5. Agent must now reset the Topic Type Status to Under Review (from type Idea). Redundant excess notification is sent to Customer (i.e., Customer gets 2 "Under Review" emails: one from step #2 and one from #5.).

OK. We think would be better when you change the topic type we will check the status and if the new type has the same status (same name of status) we will update it automatically.

So, you will need to change the type only.

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Terry Gauchat
Quote from Vladimir Mullagaliyev

OK. We think would be better when you change the topic type we will check the status and if the new type has the same status (same name of status) we will update it automatically.

So, you will need to change the type only.

That is a nice and appreicated bit of an improvement choice, thanks, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite fix all my circumstances.


My Topic Type Status values are not always identical between different Topic Types, though they match closely enough that a notification shouldn't be sent. For example, I may have "type=Bug, status=Reproducing", "type=Question, status=Researching".


My suggested approach is to offer a combined Topic Type-Status Edit drop down menu; i.e., a menu that would show:

Bug

Reproducing

Planned

Fixed

etc...

Question

Researching

Waiting for Clarification

Answered

etc...

Idea

Discuss

Planned

Implemented

etc...


This is modeled after your drop-down that is used to move a Topic from one Forum to another (which is a great feature!). In one action, I can move a Topic not only to another Forum, but actually to the specific Topic Type in that Forum.


So that same Edit functionality at the Topic level would be amazing; i.e., in one action, I can change a Topic not only from one Topic Type to another, but actually to the specific Topic Type Status.


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