IFS SUPPORT
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONS GUIDEVersion 3.7Issued September 24, 2020Valid until superseded by a later versionIFS SUPPORT OPERATIONS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESTable of ContentsIntroduction. 4Division of Responsibilities . 4First Line . 4Support services . 5Test environments . 5Production copy . 5As-delivered software . 5Environment Remote Access . 5Accessing IFS Support . 6Contact Methods . 6IFS Customer Engagement Center . 6Key benefits . 6Required Information . 7Standard Operating Practice . 7Scope of service . 7Processing Time Definitions . 8Evaluate and Classify. 8IFS Case Severities . 8Response Time targets . 9Case Importance . 9Reproducibility . 9Case Closure . 9Agreeing to a closure request . 9Disagreeing with a closure request . 9IFS Core Software Faults . 9IFS Customized Software Faults . 10Data Repair . 10Enhancement Requests . 10IFS Core Software Enhancement Requests . 10IFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESEach of the above three scenarios will be handled as follows . 10IFS Customization Requests . 11Third-Party Product Support . 11Training . 11Escalation Procedures . 11Product Improvements. 12Fixes . 12Updates . 12New releases . 12Disclaimer . 13About IFS . 13IFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESINTRODUCTIONThe Support Operations Guide describes the interactions between our customers and IFS customer support, services andproduct development. It provides the basis for each organization to understand their respective roles and responsibilities.This document is not intended to define all business processes in each organization but provides the context in whichthey will operate and relate to each other.DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIESThe following section outlines what responsibilities lie with the customer and what the customer can expect from IFS.FIRST LINEThe customer must provide one named Key User to represent themselves and all end-users regardless of the supportservices they have selected.An additional Key User’s deputy (contact person) may also be allowed provided they are fully synchronized with eachother and have a clear understanding of customer responsibilities.The customer is expected to provide traditional first-line activities together with end-user support.For clarification, below is a list of activities which are customer responsibility/customer obligation to perform. This is anexample list only and by no means exhaustive: All end-user support activities including, but not limited to, training, user account management, securityconfiguration, application configuration and printer management All operational activities including, but not limited to, database monitoring, environment cloning, systemperformance, backup and restoration, disaster recovery, hardware maintenance and code delivery deployment Effective use of the Knowledge Search provided via the Customer Engagement Center Ensuring that any useful information learned via the Knowledge Search is used either to resolve the case internallyor added to the case before it is dispatched to IFS Support Ensuring that multiple instances of the same problem are trapped internally within the customer’s organizationand are consequently reported to IFS Support only once Ensuring that any case dispatched to IFS contains an easy-to-follow description, any salient error messages, isclearly worded, with a precise test plan, and contains all information likely to be needed to commenceinvestigation. The IFS Case Tracking tool provides context-sensitive templates to aid this process Ensuring that any case dispatched to IFS can be recreated in the customer’s internal test environment Ultimately, regardless of options undertaken, one named main contact person (the Key User) always bears fullresponsibility for all customer actions related to IFS Support and controls the funnel between end-users and IFSSupportIFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESAlternately, these services may be provided by purchasing the additional options of 1st Line Support and/or ManagedServices.SUPPORT SERVICESIFS is responsible for providing in the English language the services included in the support package the customer haspurchased (as outlined in the Support Services Catalog). Support services are provided by a global network of experts, including personnel located at the heart of IFSProduct Development in Colombo, Sri Lanka IFS is responsible for case ownership from receipt through timely investigation to resolution. Included in IFS’sresponsibilities are resolving issues that require a software fixi and detailed understanding of the software’soperation; merging fixes and updates required with the customer’s solution and maintaining accurate change andconfiguration management records. Some of the merging may be done as billable services (e.g. if customizationsupport has not been purchased)TEST ENVIRONMENTSThe following conditions apply to maximize the efficiency of problem resolution.Production copyThe customer is responsible for providing a test environment where issues are reproduced before creating a case withIFS. A test environment is to be copied from production no less frequently than monthly, thus mirroring the data, softwareand configuration deployed there. If a problem with licensed IFS software cannot be recreated in this test environment,a new copy should be made.As-delivered softwareIf the customer has any form of deviation from the software that is delivered from IFS, it is essential that anenvironment containing the as-delivered software be available to assist with isolating the deviations as causal factorswhen investigating reported faults.ENVIRONMENT REMOTE ACCESSThe customer is responsible for providing IFS Support the ability to connect to the environment(s) by remote access.Passwords and associated information required for remote access are held in a secure and auditable manner by IFSand are restricted to the personnel who have specific need to require them. For the collaborative element of remote support, the required method is to use the proprietary TeamViewer solution For any element of remote support requiring the use of tools to deploy or debug software, the standard method isto establish a VPN LAN to LAN (L2L) tunnel between IFS and the customer site. To achieve this, the customerprovides IPSec-compliant endpoint equipment. Over this connection, the IFS SupportNet solution is run. It is alsothe customer’s responsibility to work with IFS to ensure that only the required level of access is provisioned overIFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESthe VPN; this includes both the VPN connection itself and the level of privilege granted to connect to services andapplications that are accessed via this connection. If the customer chooses to provide an alternative method, including with more time-consuming connectionmethods, IFS may charge a yearly additional fee to cover the costs associated with administration, ongoingtraining, internal maintenance or reduced personnel efficiency. Because of such reduced efficiency, it is also likelythat the level of service provided will be reduced to some degree from that delivered if the normally requiredapproach has been adoptedACCESSING IFS SUPPORTAlthough IFS provide multiple channels with which to contact us, our Customer Engagement Center (CEC) is thepreferred method and all others should be treated as exceptions.CONTACT METHODS The IFS Customer Engagement Center is the preferred method of communication for any reported problem. Formore detailed information, please see IFS Customer Engagement Center below. IFS also provide telephone access during the supported hours. PLATINUM customers have telephone access 24/7for Severity 1 and 2 cases (as outlined in Support Policy). Wherever a telephone conversation between customerusers and IFS personnel is required, it will be documented in the case and hence become visible to the customervia the IFS Customer Engagement Center An e-mail address is provided primarily for follow-up where it is not possible to access the CEC, it being noted thatthis method of contact may cause delays between receipt of the email and updating of the caseIFS CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT CENTERThe IFS Customer Engagement Center has a clear objective: To help seamlessly integrate licensed end-users of IFSsoftware with their internal support mechanism and, when required, the wider network of IFS including channelpartners. It is therefore the preferred method of communication with IFS Support and carries the benefits outlinedbelow.The IFS Customer Engagement Center should be used for any aspect at any stage in the lifecycle of implementing,customizing and supporting IFS software at a customer site.Anonymous access is not available. Display and processing of customer-specific data, outside of IFS personnel, isrestricted to registered users of that customer identity.Key benefits Elimination of transcribing time and interpretation risk Powerful knowledge search Solution object for sharing of informationIFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICES Case document attachments Key User to work with IFS Built-in mechanisms to ensure receipt at the correct destination within IFS Full audit trail IFS Product Certification information on lineFurther information is available in the IFS Customer Engagement Center User Guide.REQUIRED INFORMATIONThe IFS Customer Engagement Center enforces some aspects of required information when sending a case to support(Report Issue to IFS) with mandatory fields and encourages the remaining aspects using a case description template.Such functionality is one of the reasons why the IFS Customer Engagement Center is the preferred method of casereporting. When the IFS Customer Engagement Center is not used, it becomes necessary to manually provide thefollowing information when reporting a problem: Is the production system down for all users? If not, specify which users and the impact to the users Give a short description of the issue Please specify the business impact and the urgency Specify the environment/database where the issue occurs. If this is in production, then also specify a non-productionenvironment where the issue has been recreated (or attempted) Specify a detailed test plan with screen names and recreation steps of the issue. Be sure to include screen shots,navigation paths and any prerequisite data setup or any customization details Is the issue one-time or random? If random, what is the frequency? Do you have a known workaround for the issue? If so, specify details When did the issue start to occur? (date and local time) Did the problem start to occur after a system change? If yes, specify details of the changeAlternatively, you can also use the CEC to request a service from IFS (Enter Question or Request to IFS). This provides afreeform case description and will be sent to the appropriate team within IFS to be evaluated.STANDARD OPERATING PRACTICESCOPE OF SERVICEThe following section will describe the case-handling process, including receiving, diagnosing and resolving all casessubmitted.IFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESWhile training is not included in the support packages, it is recognized that in many cases it is hard to judge whether aproblem relates to a licensed IFS core software error before an element of analysis has been conducted. IFS Supporttherefore undertakes to initiate analysis of any case received with what appears to be a qualified level of informationbut will inform the customer’s named main contact person about all activities that are likely to be deemed a serviceand therefore a chargeable activity as soon as this becomes apparent. This process allows the customer to decidewhat best represents its interests before additional cost is incurred. Alternately, additional prepackaged SupportServices can be purchased. For a list of the additional Support Services that can be purchased, please refer to theSupport Services Catalog.PROCESSING TIME DEFINITIONSIFS have targeted milestones based on measured processing times. All time starts from the receipt of a registeredcase. For a list of the milestones that are measured, along with the targets please refer to the Support Policy.EVALUATE AND CLASSIFYWhen IFS receive a registered case during contracted hours, we will begin the Evaluate and Classify process. The start ofthis process is referred to as reaction time. Our goal is to react to all cases within 15 minutes.The primary objective of this activity is to enable fast handling of cases, either solving them or classifying them correctlyfor further handling.This process includes: Initial customer communication (reaction time) Identify and filter according to support scope Identify current customer situation Ensure that we interpreted the issue correctly Identify customer expectations through mutual understanding Set case severity Ensure the customer has fulfilled their obligations Providing quick solutions or clarifications Case classification (Consulting Service or Support) Ensure case is ready for next phase to start investigations (response time)IFS CASE SEVERITIESCase severity is a rule-driven indication of a problem’s impact on the customer’s business. According to the IFS Supportprocess, the customer’s own point of view is expressed through case importance. For a list of definitions of caseseverity please refer to the Support Policy.IFS SUPPORT OPERATIOINS GUIDE V3.7
IFS SUPPORTOPERATIONAL PRACTICESRESPONSE TIME TARGETSFor cases dispatched to IFS that are not resolved within the Evaluate and Classify process, response time targets applyfor the next level response. These targets can be found in the Support Policy.CASE IMPORTANCECustomer expression of severity is freely made by case importance, with one (1) being the highest
The IFS Customer Engagement Center enforces some aspects of required information when sending a case to support (Report Issue to IFS) with mandatory fields and encourages the remaining aspects using a case description template. Such functionality is one of the reasons why the IFS Customer Eng
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Once IFS has attained all of the required documentation to adequately demonstrate that all DOL requirements have been met, IFS will submit the LC to DOL via the online PERM system. IFS must retain all files documenting satisfaction of the requirements in an audit file. This file must be kept at IFS for five (5) years in lieu of a possible DOL .
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