Use this page to build or edit an escalation rule: a rule that automatically checks your service records against criteria you define and takes action once those criteria are met, such as sending a notification, reassigning the record, or raising its priority. Configuring a rule comes down to three sections:
To get here, go to Settings > Customization > Automations > Escalation Rules, then click Create New Rule or Modify for an existing rule.
You can also name the escalation rule and choose if it's enabled or not. An escalation rule that is not enabled does not run.
Make sure to click Save rule at the bottom of the page when you are finished.
Available for:
Customers using SysAid Spaces. If you're using SysAid Classic, see New Escalation Rule.
Which service records are escalated?
The top section of the page allows you to determine the exact scenario in which a service record is escalated. The escalation rule only affects service records that meet all of the requirements you specify here. Using the drop-down menus and the query builder, you make the criteria as granular as you like in determining exactly which service records are affected.
The following escalation rule affects:
All active incidents
With priority set to "Highest"
Are assigned to the "IT G" admin group
Were never reopened
When are the service records escalated?
After having determined which service records to escalate, you must then determine when they will be escalated.
Escalation rules are triggered within a ten-minute (Cloud) window of the time you specify here.
You have three choices:
X hours/minutes after a specific event. The drop-down list includes a selection of date fields from the SR form that represent events in the service record lifecycle.
X hours/minutes before a specific event. The drop-down list includes a selection of date fields from the SR form in the service record lifecycle.
After X amount of time has passed on a particular timer. The drop-down list includes all timers you've configured under Settings > Service Desk > Timers.
Hour calculation:
When the number of hours you enter for event-based rules is 168 or lower, SysAid calculates the hours according to the operating times of the service record's request user.
When the number of hours is higher than 168, SysAid calculates the hours in absolute time - not business hours
You can change this threshold to another number with the Threshold for Operating Hours in Escalation Rules field in the Help Desk settings page. Timer-based rules are not affected by this threshold.
Mode
By default, escalation rules run on the recurring sweep described above. You can use the Mode drop-down to change when the rule runs instead:
Scheduled: Runs on the recurring five-minute (On-Premises) or ten-minute (Cloud) sweep, using the time-based condition you configured above.
On every ticket update: Re-evaluates the rule's condition every time the service record is saved.
On initial ticket submission: Despite the name, this mode isn't limited to newly created tickets. It also runs on the recurring sweep, evaluating against the full backlog of existing tickets, not only tickets submitted after the rule was created. Once the rule fires on a ticket, that ticket is marked so the rule won't fire on it again.
What happens when the service records escalate?
When an escalation rule escalates a service record, you can set any number of things to occur. You can:
Send out a notification, either by email, SMS, or both: Choose who receives the notification using the checkboxes for predefined options, or enter a specific user or admin in the Notify. An Administrator's direct manager is configured on the edit administrator page under User Management.
Refer to Customized Notifications for a full list of tags you can use in your emails.
To send notifications to individuals based on escalation rules that run on the workflow action items they are associated with, use the Notify the following user(s) checkbox. For more details, see the Run Escalation Rules on Workflow Action Items page.
Reassign the service record: Click the 3-dot menu to open a list of all admins.
Change the status of the service record
Change the priority of the service record
Choose an escalation level: Each time an escalation rule runs on a service record, the rule sets an escalation level for that service record. An escalation level serves as an upper limit used by other escalation rules to determine if they should run on the service record.
For example: a service record was escalated by an escalation rule that sets the service record's escalation level field to 10. If an escalation rule set to level 5 contains criteria that would later be applicable to the service record, it would still not run as the service record has been escalated beyond the rule's upper limit. An escalation rule set to level 15, however, could still run on that service record.
If you choose the option "Do not escalate," the escalation level of the service record is reset to zero, and all of the relevant escalation rules continue to run on the service record until the service record is modified in a way that no longer meets the escalation rules' criteria. Be very careful if you use this option, especially if the escalation rule is designed to send out emails.Use the action builder to affect almost any change you would like
The action builder allows you to change any field on a service record at the time that it escalates.
To set a new action for the escalation rule
Click Action Builder.
Choose the field(s) you would like to change.
Enter the new value for the field.
Click Create Filter.
Notice that, unlike other places where the Expression Builder appears, this time you can only select the And statement. All actions you specify are carried out at the time the escalation rule runs. Any data that was previously in the field is overwritten.
