Service Desk Software for the Dark Side

I'm sure that each Star Wars fan is currently enjoying the new Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi. It is a thrill seeing their favorite characters, the storyline, and the new technology. Sometimes when watching something as fun and as fanciful as Star Wars, my mind wanders to my work. And then my brain poses strange questions to me that combine the two.

For example, if Darth Vader was real, what ticketing system would he be using for incident support and request fulfillment?

If your brain is as strange as mine, then let’s dive in!

I'm sure that Darth Vader knows how crucial a service desk software is for the empire to control the galaxy, and the Empire probably has invested thousands of Galactic Credit into a service desk software solution that best fits its needs.

The service desk software must fit the empire's goals and objectives. Darth Vader, or at least his underlings, worked with the different management levels in the Empire and tiers under him to understand which features he believed essential to the Empire to run its operations across the galaxy. The software that Darth Vader’s troops are using most probably has high-level "must-have" features, and was fine-tuned to cover all the processes custom to the Empire's needs.

Since Darth Vader wants his troops to focus on defeating the Jedi, if he was smart, then he made sure to give them the ability to create tickets using different support channels depending on where they were in the galaxy. There should have been an option using a self-service portal, live chat, BOTs, or incident alert, as well.

The self-service portal would have a service catalog that lists the most common request types and a predefined incident template with categories and sub-categories. It should also have asked questions about the incident's impact if it impacts the stormtrooper or storm commandos, and would allow attachments of spaceship blueprints.

In terms of functional requirements, the software would have the following:

• Support of multiple languages to manage the languages in the galaxy
• Custom ticket-workflow automation ability based on Empire rules for new, open, and closed tickets
• An escalation capability to the different tiers, with Tier 1 for stormtroopers, Tier 2 for high-rank officers, and Tier 3 for Inquisitors and other VIPs.
• A search function for Jedi using simple or complex queries
• A ticket routing to request approver(s) (in this case, Darth Vader) if the request requires his approval
• An ability to change ticket urgency, status, or assignment in case of a Jedi attack
• Ability to group multiple tickets with a common root cause (Jedi attack, planet invasion, etc.)
• Ability to send reminders to stormtroopers on guard tasks that are scheduled
• Built-in and customizable reports so that Darth Vader can monitor his troops’ performance

Although creating problem tickets is considered one of the functional requirements of any good help desk software, it doesn't seem that Darth Vader and his troops did an excellent job of covering this area. After all, they think that they have defeated the Jedi, but the problem keeps recurring.

Moe Suliman has 18 years of extensive experience in IT service management and operations. Passionate about service management operation improvement, Moe is a hands-on ITSM professional striving to help organizations reach operations excellence and improve their service delivery and operations management practices. Moe has served in ITSM leadership roles in many large organizations in various industries, including investment, financial, retail, health, software development, real estate, and Industrial.