Improve Service Desk Ticket

Queue Management
Strong queue management is the
foundation to good customer service

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Analyst
Perspective
Secure your foundation before
you start renovating.
Service Desk and IT leaders who are struggling with low efficiency, high backlogs,
missed SLAs, and poor service desk metrics often think they need to hire more
resources or get a new ITSM tool with better automation and AI capabilities.
However, more often than not, the root cause of their challenges goes back to the
fundamentals.
Strong ticket queue management processes are critical to the success of all other
service desk processes. You can’t resolve incidents and fulfill service requests in time
to meet SLAs without first getting the ticket to the right place efficiently and then
managing all tickets in the queue effectively. It sounds simple, but we see a lot of
struggles around queue management, from new tickets sitting too long before
being assigned, to in-progress tickets getting buried in favor of easier or higher-
priority tickets, to tickets jumping from queue to queue without progress, to a
seemingly insurmountable backlog.
Once you have taken the time to clearly structure your queues, assign resources,
and define your processes for routing tickets to and from queues and resolving
tickets in the queue, you will start to see response and resolution time decrease
along with the ticket backlog. However, accountability for queue management is
often overlooked and is really key to success.
Natalie Sansone, PhD
Senior Research Analyst, Infrastructure & Operations
Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group | 2
Executive Summary
Your Challenge
• Tickets come into the service desk via multiple
channels (email, phone, chat, portal) and aren’t
consolidated into a single queue, making it difficult
to know what to prioritize.
• New tickets sit in the queue for too long before
being assigned while assigned tickets sit for too
long without progress or in the wrong queue, leading
to slow response and resolution times.
• Tickets quickly pile up in the queues, get lost or
buried, or jump between queues without finding the
right home, leading to a seemingly insurmountable
backlog and breached SLAs.
Common Obstacles
• All tickets pile into the same queue, making it difficult
to view, manage, or know who’s working on what.
• There are no defined rules or processes for how
tickets should be assigned and routed, meaning they
often take too long to get to the right place.
• Technicians have no guidelines as to how to prioritize
their work, and no easy way to organize their tickets or
queue to know what to work on next.
• Nobody has authority or accountability for queue
management, meaning everyone has eyes only on
their own tickets while others fall through the cracks.
Info-Tech’s Approach
• Clearly define your queue structure, organize the
queues by content, then assign resources to relevant
queues depending on their role and expertise.
• Define and document queue management processes,
from initial triage to how to prioritize work on
assigned tickets. Ensure everyone who handles
tickets is clear on their responsibilities.
• Establish clear ownership and accountability for
queue management.
• Once processes have been defined, identify
opportunities to build in automation to improve
efficiency.

Info-Tech Insight
If everybody is managing the queue, then nobody is. Without clear ownership and accountability over each and every queue it
becomes too easy for everyone to assume someone else is handling or monitoring a ticket when in fact nobody is. Assign a Queue
Manager to each queue and ensure someone is responsible for monitoring ticket movement across all the queues.

Info-Tech Research Group | 3

Timeliness is essential to For every 12-
customer satisfaction hour delay in
And timeliness can’t be achieved without good
response
queue management practices. time*, CSAT
drops by 9.6%.
As soon as that ticket comes in, the clock starts ticking… *TO EMAIL AND WEB SUPPORT
TICKETS

A host of different factors influence service desk response time SOURCE: FRESHDESK, 2021

and resolution time, including process optimization and

documentation, workflow automation, clearly defined
prioritization and escalation rules, and a comprehensive and A Freshworks analysis of 107 million
easily accessible knowledgebase. service desk interactions found the
However, the root cause of poor response and resolution time relationship between CSAT and
response time is stronger than
often comes down to the basics like ticket queue management.
resolution time - when customers
Without clearly defined processes and ownership for assigning
receive prompt responses and
and actioning tickets from the queue in the most effective regular updates, they place less
order and manner, customer satisfaction will suffer. value on actual resolution time.
Info-Tech Research Group | 4
A queue is simply a line of people
(or tickets) waiting to be helped
When customers reach out to the service desk for help, their messages
are converted into tickets that are stored in a queue, waiting to be
actioned appropriately.
Email/web
Ideally, the majority of
tickets come into the ticket
queue through email or a
self-service portal, allowing
for appropriate
categorization, prioritization,
and assignment.
QUEUE MANAGEMENT
Queue management is a set
processes and tools to direc
and monitor tickets, or man
ticket flow. It involves the
following activities:
• Review incoming tickets
• Categorize and prioritize
Ticket tickets
Queue Phone • Route or assign
For IT teams with a high volume appropriately
of support requests coming in • View or update ticket sta
through the phone, reducing wait
• Monitor resource worklo
time in queue may be a priority.
• Ensure tickets are being
Chat actioned in time
Live chat is growing in popularity as • Proactively identify SLA
an intake method and may require breaches
routing and distribution rules to
prevent long or multiple queues. Info-Tech Research Group | 5
Ineffective queue management can
bury you in backlog
Ticket backlog with poor queue management
Without a clear and efficient
process or accountability
for moving incoming tickets
to the right place, tickets
will be worked on randomly,
older tickets will get buried,
the backlog will grow, and
SLAs will be missed.
Ticket backlog with good queue management
With effective queue
management and ownership,
tickets are quickly assigned
to the right resource, worked
on within the appropriate
SLO/SLA, and actively
monitored, leading to a more
manageable backlog and
good response and resolution
times.
Info-Tech Research Group | 6
A growing backlog will quickly lead to
dissatisfied end users and staff
Failing to efficiently move tickets from the queue or monitor tickets in the queue can
quickly lead to tickets being buried and support staff feeling buried in tickets.

Common challenges with queue management include: This leads to:

• Tickets come in through multiple channels and aren’t consolidated into a single queue • Long response times
• New tickets sit unassigned for too long, resulting in long response times • Long resolution times
• Tickets move around between multiple queues with no clear ownership • Poor workload distribution
• Assigned tickets sit too long in a queue without progress and breach SLA and efficiency
• No accountability for queue ownership and monitoring • High backlog
• Technicians cherry pick the easiest tickets from the queue • Disengaged, frustrated staff
• Technicians have no easy way to organize their queue to know what to work on next • Dissatisfied end users

Info-Tech Insight
A growing backlog will quickly lead to frustrated and dissatisfied customers, causing them to avoid the service desk and seek
alternate methods to get what they need, whether going directly to their favorite technician or their peers (otherwise known as shadow IT).
Info-Tech Research Group | 7
Dig yourself out with strong queue
management
AS QUEUE MANAGEMENT MATURITY INCREASES:
Strong queue management is the
foundation to good customer service.

Build a mature ticket queue management process that

allows your team to properly prioritize, assign, and work Response time decreases
on tickets to maximize response and resolution times.

A mature queue management process will:

• Reduce response time to address tickets. Resolution time decreases
• Effectively prioritize tickets and ensure everyone
knows what to work on next.
• Ensure tickets get assigned and routed to the right
queue and/or resource efficiently. Backlog decreases
• Reduce overall resolution time to resolve tickets.
• Enable greater accountability for queue
management and monitoring of tickets.
• Improve customer and employee satisfaction. End-user satisfaction increases

Info-Tech Research Group | 8

Ten Tips to Effectively Manage Your Queue
The remaining slides in this deck will review these ten pieces of advice for designing
and managing your ticket queues effectively and efficiently.

01. Define your optimal queue structure 06. Always keep ticket status and
documentation up-to-date

02. Design and assign resources to

relevant queues 07. Shift left to reduce queue volume

03. Define and document queue

management processes 08. Build-in automation to improve
efficiency

04. Clearly define queue management

responsibilities for every team member 09. Configure your ITSM tool to support and
optimize queue management processes

05. Establish clear ownership &

accountability over all queues 10. Don’t lose visibility of the backlog

Info-Tech Research Group | 9

#1: Define your optimal queue structure
There is no one right way to do queue management; choose the approach that will result in
the highest value for your customers and IT staff.

SAMPLE QUEUE STRUCTURES

Incoming tickets Triage and Assign

from all channels
• All incoming tickets are assigned to an appropriate queue based
on predefined criteria.
Auto or manual • Queue assignment may be done through automated workflows
queue based on specific fields within the ticket, or manually by a
assignment
Queue Manager, dedicated coordinator, or Tier 1 staff.
• Queues may be defined based on:
• Skillset/team (e.g. Infrastructure, Security, Apps, etc.)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
• Ticket category (e.g. Network, Office365, Hardware, etc.)

*Queues may be defined by skillset, role, ticket category, priority, • Priority (e.g. P1, P2, P3, P4, P5)
or a hybrid. • Resources may be assigned to multiple queues.
Info-Tech Research Group | 10
Define your optimal queue structure (cont.)
Incoming tickets Tiered generalist model
from all channels
• All incidents and service requests are routed to Tier 1 first,
Generalists focused on
who prioritize and, if appropriate, conduct initial triage,
Tier 1 troubleshooting, and resolution on a wide range of issues.
first tier resolution
• More complex or high-priority tickets are escalated to
resources at Tier 2 and/or Tier 3, who are specialists working
Specialists split between
T2/3 T2/3 T2/3
projects and support on projects in addition to support tickets.

Unassigned queue
Incoming tickets
• Very small teams may work from an unassigned queue if there
from all channels
are processes in place to monitor tickets and workload balance.
• Typically, these teams work by resolving the oldest tickets first
Unassigned
queue regardless of complexity (also known as First In, First Out or
FIFO). However, this doesn’t allow for much flexibility in terms of
priority of the request or customer.
Info-Tech Research Group | 11
#2: Design and assign resources to
relevant queues
Once you’ve defined your overall structure, define the content of each queue.

Organize Info-Tech
queues by Insight
content.
Customer Problem type Hybrid Start small; don’t
For Workgroup
group create a queue for
example: Queues aligned with Queues are defined every possible
Queues separated For larger companies ticket categories by multiple criteria ticket type.
by skill or serving multiple represent issue type (e.g. a queue for Remember that
workgroup within locations or client (e.g. hardware, each workgroup or someone needs to
the IT department groups, queues may software, Office tier and within
(e.g. server team, be aligned to each be accountable for
suite, ERP). If using some of those
security, apps group representing each of these
this model, be sure queues, queues for
team). where the request your categories are specific issue types
queues, so only
came from. clean and simple. or priorities). build what you can
Assign monitor.
resources Most service desk technicians will be assigned to multiple queues,
to queues depending on their level and area of expertise.
Info-Tech Research Group | 12
#3 Define and document queue
management processes
A clear, comprehensive, easily digestible SOP or workflow outlining the steps for handling new
tickets and working tickets from the queue will help agents deliver a consistent experience.
PROCESS INCLUDES: DEFINE THE FOLLOWING:
• Ensure a ticket is created for every issue coming from • How should tickets be prioritized?
every channel (e.g. phone, email, chat, walk-in, portal). • How should tickets from each channel be prioritized and routed? (e.g. are
• Assign a priority to each ticket. phone calls resolved right away? Are chats responded to immediately?)
TRIAGING
• Categorize ticket and add any necessary documentation • Criteria that determine where a ticket should be sent or assigned (i.e. ticket
INCOMING
• Update ticket status. category, priority, customer type).
TICKETS
• Delete spam, merge duplicate tickets, clean up inbox. • How should VIP tickets be handled?
• Assign tickets to appropriate queue or resource, • When should tickets be automatically escalated?
escalate when necessary. • Which tickets require hierarchical escalation (i.e. to management)?

• Continually update ticket status and documentation. • In what order should tickets be worked on (e.g. by priority, by age, by
WORKING
• Assess which tickets should be worked on or completed effort, by time to breach)?
ON ahead of others. • How long should a ticket be worked on without progress before it should
ASSIGNED • Troubleshoot, resolve, or escalate tickets. be escalated to a different tier or queue?
TICKETS • Exceptions to the rule (e.g. in which circumstances should a lower
priority ticket be worked on over a higher priority ticket).
Info-Tech Research Group | 13
Process recommendations
As you define queue management processes, keep the
following advice in mind:
Rotate triage role
The triage role is critical but
difficult. Consider rotating your
Tier 1 resources through this
role, or your service desk team
if you’re a very small group.
Limit and
prioritize channels
You decide which channels to enable
and prioritize, not your users. Phone
and chat are very interrupt-driven and
should be reserved for high-priority
issues if used. Your users may not
understand that but can learn over
time with training and reinforcement.
Info-Tech Insight
Think of your service desk as an
emergency room. Patients come
in with different symptoms, and
the triage nurse must quickly
Prioritize first assess these symptoms to decide
who the patient should see and
Priority matrixes are necessary for consistency
how soon. Some urgent cases will
but there are always circumstances that require
need to see the doctor
judgment calls. Think about risk and expected
immediately, while others can
outcome rather than simply type of issue alone.
wait in another queue (the
And if the impact is bigger than the initial
waiting room) for a while before
classification, change it.
being dealt with. Some cases
who come in through a priority
channel (e.g. ambulance) may
jump the queue. Checklists and
Consider
criteria can help with this
Define VIP treatment time zone decision making, but some
In some organizations, the If users are in degree of judgement is also
same issue can be more critical different time zones, required and that comes with
if it happens to a certain user take their current experience. The triage role is
role (e.g. client facing, c-suite). business hours into sometimes seen as a junior-
Identify and flag VIP users and account when level role but it actually requires
clearly define how their tickets choosing which expertise to be done well.
should be prioritized. ticket to work on. Info-Tech Research Group | 14
For more Info-Tech’s blueprint Standardize the Service Desk
will help you standardize and document core
detailed service desk processes and functions, including:

process • Service desk structure, roles,

guidance,
and responsibilities
• Metrics and reporting

see • Ticket handling and ticket

quality

Standardize • Incident and critical

incident management

the Service • Ticket categorization

Desk
• Prioritization and escalation
• Service request fulfillment
• Self-service considerations
• Building a knowledgebase

Info-Tech Research Group | 15

#4 Clearly define queue management
responsibilities for every team member
This may be one of the most
Who is responsible for assigning tickets?
critical yet overlooked keys to
Will you have a triage team who monitors and assigns all incoming
queue management success. tickets? What are their specific responsibilities (e.g. prioritize,
Define the following: categorize, attempt troubleshooting, assign or escalate). If not, who
is responsible for assigning new tickets and how is this done? Will
the triage role be a rotating role, and if so, what will the schedule be?

Who will have overall accountability?

Someone must be responsible for monitoring all What are everyone’s responsibilities?
incoming and open tickets as well as assigned tickets Everyone who is assigned tickets should
in every queue to ensure they are routed and fulfilled understand the ticket handling process and their
appropriately. This person must have authority to specific responsibilities when it comes to queue
view and coordinate all queues and Queue Managers. management.

Who will manage each queue?

Someone must be responsible for managing each queue, including
assigning resources, balancing workload, and ensuring SLOs are met
for the tickets within their queue. For example, the Apps Manager may
be the Queue Manager for all tickets assigned to the Apps team queue.
Info-Tech Research Group | 16
 The Queue Manager or Coordinator is

#5 Establish clear accountable for ensuring tickets are routed

to the correct resources service level

ownership & accountability objectives or agreements are met.

Specific responsibilities may include:

over all queues • Monitors queues daily

• Ensures new tickets are assigned to appropriate
If everyone is accountable, resources for resolution
Info-Tech • Verifies tickets have been routed and assigned correc
then no one is accountable. and reroutes if necessary
Insight
Ownership for each queue • Reallocates tickets if assigned resource is suddenly
Lack of authority over and all queues must be unavailable or away
queues – especially • Ensures ticket handling process is met, ticket status
those outside Tier 1 clearly designated.
up to date and correct, and ticket documentation is
of the service desk – complete
is one of the biggest You may have multiple queue
• Escalates tickets that are aging or about to breach
pitfalls we see manager roles: one for each queue,
• Ensures service level objectives or agreements are m
causing aging tickets and one who has visibility over all • Facilitates resource allocation based on workload
and missed SLAs. the queues. Typically, these roles • Coordinates tickets that require collaboration across
Every queue needs make up only part of an individual’s workgroups to ensure resolution is achieved within S
clear ownership and
job. Clearly define the • Associates child and parent tickets
accountability with
responsibilities of the Queue • Prepares reports on ticket status and volume by queu
everyone committed
• Regularly reviews reports to identify and act on issue
to meeting the same Manager role; sample
and make improvements or changes where needed
SLOs. responsibilities are on the right.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement
Info-Tech Research Group | 17
#6 Always keep ticket status Common ticket
statuses include:

and documentation up-to-date •

•
New/open
Assigned
Anyone should be able to quickly understand the status and • In progress
progress on a ticket without needing to ask the technician • Declined
working on it. This means both the ticket status and • Canceled
documentation must be continually and accurately updated. • Pending/on hold
• Resolved
Ticket Documentation
Ticket descriptions and documentation must be kept accurate and • Closed
up-to-date. This ensures that if the ticket is escalated or assigned to • Reopened
a new person, or the Queue Manager or Service Desk Manager
needs to know what progress has been made on a ticket, that
person doesn’t need to waste time with back-and-forth For more guidance on ticket
communication with the technician or end user. handling and documentation,
download Info-Tech’s
Ticket Status blueprint: Standardize the
The ticket status field should change as the ticket moves toward Service Desk.
resolution, and must be updated every time the status changes. This
• For ticket handling and
ensures that anyone looking at the ticket queue can quickly learn and documentation, see Step 1.4
communicate the status of a ticket, tickets don’t get lost or • For ticket status fields, see
neglected, metrics are accurate (such as time to resolve), and SLAs Step 2.2.
are not impacted if a ticket is on hold. Info-Tech Research Group | 18
#7 Shift left to reduce queue volume
Enable processes such as knowledge management, self-service, and problem
management to prevent tickets from even coming into the queue.

Shift left means enabling fulfilment of

Shift Shift Automate
repeatable tasks and requests via faster,
to to End &
lower-cost delivery channels, self-help
Level 1 User Eliminate
tools, and automation.
• Identify tickets that are often
• Build a centralized, easily • Identify processes or
escalated beyond Tier 1 but
accessible self-service tasks that could be
could be resolved by Level 1 if
portal where users can automated to eliminate
they were given the tools,
search for solutions to work.
training, resources, or access
resolve their issues • Invest in problem
they need to do so.
without having to submit management and event
• Provide tools to succeed at
a ticket. management to fix the
resolving those defined tasks
• Communicate and train root problem of recurring
(e.g. knowledge article,
users on how to use the issues and prevent a
documentation, remote tools).
portal regularly update problem from occurring in
• Embed knowledge
and improve it. the first place, thereby
management in resolution
preventing future tickets.
workflows.

Info-Tech Research Group | 19

#8 Build in automation to improve
efficiency
Manually routing every ticket can be time- For more guidance on implementing
automation and AI within your service desk,
consuming and prone to errors. Once you’ve
see these blueprints:
established the process, automate wherever
possible.

Automation rules can be used to ensure tickets are assigned to

the right person or queue, to alert necessary parties when a
ticket is about to breach or has breached SLA, or to remind
technicians when a ticket has sat in a queue or at a particular
status for too long.

This can improve efficiency, reduce error, and bring greater

visibility to both high-priority tickets and aging tickets in the
backlog.
However, your processes, queues, and responsibilities must be
clearly defined before you can build in automation.
For examples of rules, triggers, and fields you
can automate to improve the efficiency of your
queue management processes, see the next
slide.
Info-Tech Research Group | 20
Sample automation rules
Criteria or triggers you can
automate actions based on:
Ticket type
Specific field in a ticket web form
Ticket form that was used (e.g. specific
service request form from the portal)
Ticket category
Ticket priority
Keyword in an email subject line
Keywords or string in a chat
Requester name or email
Requester location
Requester/ticket language
Requester VIP status
Channel ticket was received through
SLAs or time-based automations
Agent skill
Agent status or capacity
Sample Automation Rules
Fields or actions those
• When ticket is about to breach, send alert to
triggers can automate
Queue Manager and Service Desk Manager.
Priority
• When ticket comes from VIP user, set
Category urgency to high.
Ticket routing • When ticket status has been set to “open” for
ten hours, send an alert to Queue Manager.
Assigned agent
Assigned queue • When ticket status has been set to “on hold”
for five days, send a reminder to assignee.
SLA/due date
• When ticket is categorized as “Software-ERP,”
Notifications/communication
send to ERP queue.
• When ticket is prioritized as P1/critical, send
alert to emergency response team.
• When ticket is prioritized as P1 and hasn’t
been updated for one hour, send an alert to
Incident Manager.
• When an in-progress ticket is reassigned to a
new queue, alert Queue Manager.
• When ticket has not been resolved within
seven days, flag as aging ticket.
Info-Tech Research Group | 21
#9 Configure your ITSM tool to support and
optimize queue management processes
Configure your tool to support your needs; don’t adjust your processes to match the tool.

Most ITSM tools have default queues out of the box and the option to create as many custom
Info-Tech queues, filters, and views as you need. Custom queues should allow you to name the queue, decide
Insight which tickets will be sent to the queue, and what columns or information are displayed in the queue.
It can be
overwhelming to Before you configure your queues and dashboards, sit down with your team to decide what
support agents you need and what will best enable each agent to manage their workload.
when their view is
a long and never- Decide which queues each role should have access to – most should only need to see
ending queue. Set
their own queue and their team’s queue.
the default
dashboard view to
Configure which queues or views new tickets will be sent to.
show only those
tickets assigned to Configure automation rules defined earlier (e.g. automate sending certain tickets to specific
the viewer to make
queues or sending notifications to specific parties when certain conditions are met).
it appear more
manageable and
Configure dashboards and reports on queue volume and ticket status data relevant to each
easier to organize.
team to help them manage their workload, increase visibility, and identify issues or actions.
Info-Tech Research Group | 22
Configure queues to maximize productivity
The queue should quickly give your team all the information they need to prioritize their work, including ticket status, priority,
category, due date, and updated timestamps. Configuration is important - if it’s confusing, clunky, or difficult to filter or sort, it
Info-Tech
Insight will impact response and resolution times and can lead to missed tickets. Give your team input into configuration and use
visuals such as color coding to help agents prioritize their work – for example, VIP tickets may be clearly flagged, critical or
high priority tickets may be highlighted, tickets about to breach may be red.

My team’s tickets My tickets Unassigned Unresolved Closed Sort by

Last
Filters Requester Subject Priority Status Category Agent Submitted Due
updated
My assigned Alexander
Can’t connect to printer Open Printers 05/Jun/22
tickets Cabrera
My open tickets Mae I can’t access the SVN
High In progress Server Allison Wilson 05/Jun/22 05/Jun/22 05/Jun/22
Clarke server
My in-progress
tickets Angela Problems with software Software
Low Assigned Reyna Limon 05/Jun/22 05/Jun/22 10/Jun/22
Novak update update
Recently viewed
Enid
Cannot log in Critical Resolved Access George Zainal 04/Jun/22 04/Jun/22 04/Jun/22
All tickets Friedman
Darell
+ Add new filter Deleted file by accident Medium In progress Other Stefan Castilla 04/Jun/22 05/Jun/22 07/Jun/22
Roberts

Info-Tech Research Group | 23

#10 Don’t lose visibility of the backlog
Be careful not to focus so much on assigning new tickets that you forget to update aging
tickets, leading to an overwhelming backlog and dissatisfied users.

Track metrics that give visibility into how quickly tickets are being resolved Info-Tech Insight
and how many aging tickets you have. Metrics may include:
It can be easy for high priority work to
• Ticket resolution time by priority, by workgroup
constantly push down low priority work,
• Ticket volume by status (i.e. open, in progress, on hold, resolved) leaving the lower priority tickets to
• Ticket volume by age constantly be ignored and users to be
• Ticket volume by queue and assignee frustrated. If you’re struggling with aging
tickets, backlog, and tickets breaching SLA,
Regularly review reports on these metrics with the team. experiment with your team and queue
structure to figure out the best resource
Make it an agenda item to review aging tickets, on hold tickets, and tickets distribution to handle your workload. This
about to breach or past breach with the team. could mean rotating people through the
triage role to allow them time to work
Take action on aging tickets to ensure progress is being made. through the backlog, reducing the number
of people doing triage during slower
volume periods, or giving technicians
Set rules to close tickets after a certain number of attempts to reach
dedicated time to work through tickets. For
unresponsive users (and change ticket status appropriately).
help with forecasting demand and
optimizing resources, see Staff the Service
Schedule times for your team to tackle aged tickets or tickets in the backlog. Desk to Meet Demand.
Info-Tech Research Group | 24
Activity 1.1: Define ticket queues
1 hour

Map out your optimal ticket queue structure using the Service Desk Queue Structure
Input Output
Template. Follow the instructions in the template to complete it as a team.
The template includes several examples of service desk queue structures followed by • Current queue • Defined service desk
space to build your own model of an optimal service desk queue structure and to structure and roles ticket queues and
document who is assigned to each queue and responsible for managing each assigned
responsibilities
queue.

Note: Materials Participants

The template is not meant to
map out your entire service • Org chart • Service Desk
desk structure (e.g. tiers, Manager
• ITSM tool for
escalation paths) or ticket reference, if needed • IT Director
resolution process, but simply • Queue Managers
the ticket queues and how a
ticket moves between queues.
For help documenting more
detailed process workflows or Document in the Service Desk
service desk structure, see the Queue Structure Template.
blueprint Standardize the
Service Desk.
Info-Tech Research Group | 25
Related Standardize the Service Desk
This project will help you build and improve essential service

Info-Tech desk processes including incident management, request

fulfillment, and knowledge management to create a sustainable

Research
service desk.

Optimize the Service Desk With a Shift-Left Strategy

This project will help you build a strategy to shift service support
left to optimize your service desk operations and increase end-
user satisfaction.

Improve Service Desk Ticket Intake

This project will help you streamline your ticket intake
process and identify improvements to your intake channels.

Staff the Service Desk to Meet Demand

This project will help you determine your optimal service desk
structure and staffing levels based on your unique
environment, workload, and trends.
Info-Tech Research Group | 26
Works Cited
“What your Customers Really Want.” Freshdesk, 31 May 2021. Accessed May 2022.

Info-Tech Research Group | 27