Requests

A service request starts with a named requester, a service and a request type. The requested and due dates help the Service Desk Agent and Service Manager place the work in time. The request remains Submitted while the manager checks that the requested action is valid. Approval changes the status to Approved; rejection leaves a clear Rejected outcome rather than an unfinished work item.

An approved request can move into in progress as the agent performs the work. The completion date belongs on the same record when the action is done. This distinction keeps the decision to authorize work separate from the person executing it. The requester reference ties the request to a person, while the service reference shows which operation the work affects.

• Submit. Record the requester, service, request type and requested date before a manager reviews the case.
• Decide. The Service Manager checks the submitted request and records Approved or Rejected.
• Fulfill. An agent moves approved work into progress and records the completion time when finished.

Choose the request types your team will use and who can submit them on behalf of a person. Decide what the Service Manager needs to check before approval, including the relationship between the requester and the affected service. Set a clear meaning for the due date. The manager should also decide how a rejection is explained to the requester outside the status field. An approval should authorize a defined action; it should not be treated as proof that the work has already been performed.

Suppose a person needs a service action before a scheduled date. The Service Desk Agent creates the request with that person, the service and a request type. The manager opens the Submitted requests screen, checks the request and approves it. The agent then opens Request fulfillment, takes the approved work, marks it in progress and records completion when the action is done. A reviewer can distinguish when the request arrived, when it was due and when it was actually completed. If the manager rejects the same request instead, it never appears as authorized work in the fulfillment list.

During the pilot, compare a request that is Approved with one that is Rejected. Both retain the original requester and service, but only the approved case should be taken into fulfillment. The completion date should be entered when the work finishes, even when that is later than the due date. This gives the manager a faithful account of the operating cycle.

• Submitted requests — The manager’s decision queue, with requester, service and due date.
• Request fulfillment — Approved and active requests awaiting execution or completion.

See request fulfillment and service ownership.