Getting Started with NSP

The objective of this section is to be a guide for start using NSP (Nilex Service Platform).

When the system is installed you need to go through a number of steps to prepare the system for use in live production. You should adjust it to your company, to your business and the needs and requirements of your service delivery. This section describes those steps.

This is an advisory guide, the document should be used as a checklist. Which steps you have to carry out could vary due to your company´s business structure, service requirements or NSP configuration.

Installation

The NSP application could be installed in two different ways:

•  On Premise. NSP is installed on an in-house server.

•  Cloud. NSP is installed on a foreign server and you reach the application via internet.

In both cases you need to know the URL to start the application. You need an administrator login (Email Address=Username and Password) to enter the system first time. This first user is defined during installation. If you haven´t done the installation yourself (Cloud installation) you maybe have got the URL and login information in an email.

If you forgot this Admin username and/or password for your installed application then you need to uninstall and reinstall the NSP application.

 

Login

Upon ordering the online solution of NSP, you were supplied with an Account ID, Username, Password, and login URL. Use the details to login to the system. A unique domain will be provided for each request. No account has access to any other account.

If the application is installed on your System you need to install web server and create URL. Default port after installation is 1800.

You might have received username and password in two ways:

1.  You created username and password during installation setup. In this case, you can login in to the installed NSP application.      

2.  You have received username and password by an email from NSP. In this case, you can only login in to online version of NSP.

 

For login to NSP application, perform following steps:

Open any web browser and input URL to NSP application. If the application is an on premise installation, then shortcut for the application has maybe already been created and you just need to click the shortcut to open the application.

NSP Start page

Use the login details to login to NSP (Email Address and Password) created when application was installed.

Clicking an Information button,, anywhere in the system opens a popup containing information help text regarding the current displayed function or page. In the popup you can find a Read more… link. This link will open User Manual page for the current function.

 

License

Normally NSP License is already active when you log in first time. If there is no valid license activated when you have logged in you will be redirected to the License/Subscription page:

Here you can activate the License you got from the provider.

Read more: License and Subscription.

 

License/Subscription

 

Google API

Map view uses Google Maps, a web mapping service developed by Google. It offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views of streets. To use Google Maps in NSP you have to receive an API key from Google for the application. The use is free of charge for up to 2500 map queries per day.

Read more how to get an API key and enter it to NSP Database:

Google Maps API Key

 

Company Information

After successful login, the next step is to configure Company Information. To access this page:

Click Configuration icon  > Click Account Management in Settings menu > Select Company Information tab:

Company Information

Read more: Company Information.

Branding

In this step you can customize the NSP application by selecting favicon and color theme associated to your company profile.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Account Management in Settings menu > Select Branding tab:

Configure Branding

Read more:

Branding.

The Theme Builder allows you to create and manage different themes for NSP. You can use it to customize the look and feel of NSP:

Theme Builder.

 

Time Settings

In this step you select default Time Format. This is default settings, they can later be overridden by Agents individually by doing own settings in their User Profile.

Date Format is always controlled by selected language, and default value could not be defined.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Account Management in Settings menu > Select Time Settings tab:

Read more:

Date and Time Settings.

 

Language Management

The next step in the process is language configuration. NSP Standard Language was defined during installation of the application. All Language Management starts from this language. In Language Management you define which other languages should be available for use in the system and you select default languages for Agent Portal and Self Service Portal. In Translation Management you handle translations of texts to different languages and export/import of language text files.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Language & Translation in Manage menu.

Functions available are described here:

Language & Translation.

If you have received language files (xml format) for your language(s) delivered separately, you should import these. You find description of the import function here:

Import/Export Language files.

 

Email Configuration

Email Accounts can be setup as support channels in NSP. You can set up the email account using different email service providers supported by NSP like Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Office 365, Gmail, Yahoo or Custom (POP or IMAP).

Normally you need to configure at least one Email Account in NSP. Emails sent to NSP become tickets or comments in existing tickets and Email Notifications sent from the system uses the account marked as default.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Email Configurations in Channels menu.

Details about how to setup Email Accounts in NSP you will find here:

Email Configurations.

Email Rules

To hinder spam mails creating tickets we recommend creating E-mail rules. You can apply one or more rules describing how to handle emails received in the configured Email Account. You find details how to apply Email Rules here:

Email Rules.

 

Text Templates

The next step in the process is to modify and create Text Templates. Text Templates are used to format the text in Notifications, Comment or Prints. Using templates, you can generate the format once and can use it several times. Using templates also secure that e g notifications or comments always have correct and uniform format.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Text Templates in Manage menu.

The figure below shows a lists of standard Text Templates that are already created, and included in a basic NSP system.

If you intend to use those standard templates you have to modify them to adjust the texts to your company profile. You also should inactivate templates that you not plan to use.

If you are using NSP in other languages, you have to translate the standard templates you intend to use. Name of the template, Subject of the email and the Text Body can be saved in different languages.

 

 

Standard Text Templates

The User Manual describes all details about create and modify Text Templates. You find this description here:

Text Templates.

 

Notifications

You can create Notifications for notifying users in various events. Using Notifications, users get informed for each event that involves them. Different types of Notifications can be created:

•  Notifications for Tickets and Tasks.

•  Notifications for CI, Contracts and KB.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Notifications in Manage menu.

The figure below shows a lists of standard Notifications (Notifications for Tickets and Tasks) that are already created, and included in a basic NSP system.

Standard Notifications

Notification management (Add/Edit) is described here:

Notifications.

Notification are using Text Templates. Read about Text Templates here:

Text Templates.

 

People

People interface in NSP handles manage of users and how to group the users in order to allocate each user adequate privileges in the system.

The People interface consists of a number of tabs:

•  End Users

•  Agents

•  Groups

•  Organizations

•  Roles

•  User Types

 

Users, Groups and Roles

To a Role you define access and permissions to different parts and functions in NSP. The Role is most often a definition of a work unit in the company, e g “2ndline IT Service”.

A Group is an administrative unit in the company, e g “Servicedesk”. The permissions for a Group member is defined by which Roles are assigned to the Group.

Users are named persons having access to NSP. Users are divided into Agents and End Users. Each User could be a member of an Organization.

Roles are assigned to Groups and/or Users. The permissions for a certain User is defined by the merge of all roles the User is assigned to, either via Groups or direct to Roles.

 

Organizations

The use of organizations is optional, but by arranging the End Users in organizations you can keep track of what those organizations are requesting.  The organizations can be used to:

•  Support service level agreements, SLA.

•  Track and manage tickets by company.

•  Manage support requests based on email.

•  Support customers by location and/or language.

•  Define access to forums.

Organizations are managed from the Organizations tab in People interface.

Click Configuration icon  > Click People in Manage menu > Select tab Organizations.

Read more:

Organizations.

 

Groups

The next step is to add Groups. Groups are used to manage privileges in NSP users and to handle the ticket workflow.

Groups can contain Agents and End Users. Agents must be assigned to at least one group but they can be members of more than one. There are some common ways where groups are used:

•  To support service level agreements, SLA.

•  To provide support by expertise.

•  To support customers by location and/or language.

•  To escalate incidents based on their complexities.

A basic NSP system is prepared with a number of pre-defined Groups.

Click Configuration icon  > Click People in Manage menu > Select tab Groups.

Standard Groups

Read more:

Groups

 

Roles

In this step you add Roles and define permissions and privileges for each Role. A basic NSP system is prepared with a number of pre-defined Roles. You can choose to use and adjust them to your need, or you can create new Roles and allocate adequate permissions to them.

Click Configuration icon  > Click People in Manage menu > Select tab Roles.

The figure shows a list of the pre-defined Roles:

Standard Roles

Read more of how to create and manage Roles and assign permissions to Roles:

Roles and Permissions.

 

Users

There are two types of the users in NSP:

•  Agents are the people, who resolve support requests. Agents have different privileges in the system defined by Groups and Roles.

•  End Users are also referred to as customers. They are the people who generate the support requests from any of the support channels available in the NSP.

There is three ways to add Users:

•  Automatically using AD, see LDAP Connections.

•  Manually through NSP People interface

•  Manually by letting each user creating End User account on the Self Service Portal and then as Admin manipulating these on the People interface. The End User accounts can, if so needed be changed to Agent accounts.

 

Click Configuration icon  > Click People in Manage menu > Select tab Agents and End Users respectively.

Description of how to manage users:

End Users (Customers).

Agents

 

Configure LDAP Servers

You can configure LDAP server to allow single sign-on to NSP users from your company’s Active directory. Using this server, NSP can also fetch and sync the user details from Active directory.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Account Management in Settings menu > Select LDAP Connections tab.

Read more:

LDAP Connections.

 

Agent Portal Configuration

We recommend that you customize the configurations for Agent Portal of NSP account. When an Agent logs in to the system, these default settings will be used. The Agent can later individually override some of these settings in the User Profile.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Configurations in Settings menu > Select Agent Portal Configuration.

Clicking this tab opens Agent Portal Configuration, containing settings for e g Timer, Knowledge base search, Tabs, Comment and Map. All of these settings are described in:

Agent Portal Configuration.

 

Self Service Configuration

You do configurations for Login page and Self Service Portal of NSP account in this step.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Configurations in Settings menu > Select Login Configurations.

Click Configuration icon  > Click Configurations in Settings menu > Select SSP Configurations.

Read more about Login Configuration:

Login configuration.

Read more about SSP Configuration:

SSP configuration.