7.0 Workflow

Workflow, as a KCS concept, refers to the problem solving process, also known as the incident management process.

Three key steps of Structured Problem Solving (SPS) in KCS are:
1. Seek to understand the customer- understand the situation in the customer's context, then capture and preserve it
2. Seek to understand what the company knows- search to see if the incident is a known problem and what collectively is known about it
3. Seek to solve- ask clarifying questions and validate the information before researching the resolution

The requirements of the workflow process include:
* Function at the speed of conversation
* Integrated toolset
- Knowledge Management
- Incident Management
- E-mail
- Chat
* Support the structured problem solving process

Searching is the task that must be integrated multiple times within the workflow.

* Use It- The ability to leverage an existing solution to resolve an incident
* Flag It- The ability to comment on a solution so that an authorized person can modify it
* Fix It- The ability to modify an existing solution
* Add It- The ability to contribute a new solution to the knowledge base

Everyone involved in the support process who creates or delivers a resolution or answer to a customer's problem or question.

Integration requirements between the Incident Management system and the Knowledge Management system include:
* Search- The ability to search the knowledge base leveraging information in the incident record to launch or refine the search
* Link- The ability to link an existing solution to an incident and to retrieve information from the solution to populate the incident record, such as the resolution
* View- The ability to quickly view a solution that has been previously linked to an incident
* Contribute- The ability to add a solution to the knowledge base from information in the incident record
* Collaborate- The ability to identify subject matter experts related to the problem and quickly contact them