BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC. TECHNICAL SUPPORT GROUP ASSETWISE ASSET PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (APM)

Transcription

1 BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC. TECHNICAL SUPPORT GROUP ASSETWISE ASSET PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (APM) 2015

2 ... 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n... 3 Purpose... 3 W o r k i n g w i t h A P M T S G... 4 Account contacts... 4 APM Support notification options... 4 From Consultant to Support... 5 Remote access... 5 FTP site... 5 Test and Customization Environments... 6 Planning an Upgrade... 6 S e r v i c e R e q u e s t s... 7 What is a Service Request?... 7 Reporting a Service Request... 7 Service Request life cycle... 9 S o f t w a r e D e l i v e r a b l e s Releases Hotfixes Issues Enhancements Support Alerts A p p e n d i c e s Appendix A: Techniques for Reporting a Service Request Appendix B: Setting up your Bentley Profile to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 2

3 I n t r o d u c t i o n Purpose This document describes the normal operations of the Bentley Assetwise Asset Performance Management Technical Support Group (APM TSG). The goal of Bentley Support is to ensure that all our Accounts receive the assistance they require for the successful use of Bentley business applications. This document relates only to the support of APM (formerly Ivara) products. Support includes many benefits, such as new Releases and periodic software corrections. In addition, it allows you to draw upon the APM s team expertise to help with any questions, concerns or issues you are facing. The services we provide are further detailed in the remainder of this handbook. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 3

4 W o r k i n g w i t h A P M T S G Account contacts We have found that the most effective and efficient way to work with any organization is through interaction with up to three identified Account Contacts. These persons are charged with first line support for users of the APM product in your organization. As such, your Account Contacts should be aware of all aspects of the APM software implementation. Generally, one of these contacts is also the Administrator for the APM software. Ideally, one of your other contacts is a technical professional who has the ability to run scripts on the database and has some IT authority within your organization. It is recommended that all your contacts have thorough knowledge of the APM software and an intimate knowledge of how you are using the application. All contacts must have completed APM Application and Technical Training courses for the application. It is also helpful if your contacts are good troubleshooters and have had some role in the implementation of the APM software. The strength of your designated contacts in these areas is a key factor in ensuring that your relationship with the support group is successful. If any contact information changes, keep profiles updated using the Account Management tools on the Support page of the Bentley SELECTservices web site. If you are replacing or adding a new contact, they should be provided a copy of this guide, and arrange for an Introduction to APM TSG conference call with one of our Support Representatives to review our policies and procedures and to answer any questions they may have about information in the guide. If someone not known to be a Support Contact should submit a Support Request, your identified contacts will be informed. APM Support notification options As we progress in our conversion to using Bentley Support processes, we will be posting solutions, Support Alerts, notice of availability of Service Packs and Releases on the Bentley Products Community under Assetwise/Asset Performance Management forum. All APM Support contacts must setup their Bentley profile and specify notification options to subscribe to our notifications. See Appendix B for information on setting up your Bentley Profile. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 4

5 From Consultant to Support During your implementation process, an APM Consultant will typically report any problems to APM TSG as necessary. Once implementation is complete, it becomes the Account s responsibility to contact Support directly. This change is known as the Turnover Process. To facilitate this change and ensure a smooth transition, a TSG representative will host an Introduction to APM TSG conference call near to implementation completion. This meeting is arranged by your APM Consultant and should be attended by your two or three designated Account Contacts, as explained above. During this meeting, APM TSG Policies and Procedures are presented and any questions or concerns your contacts may have are discussed. Once this meeting has occurred, questions regarding APM Software should be directed to Bentley Support and no longer to the APM Consultant. Remote access It is often useful for the APM TSG team to have remote access to your environment. This allows us to more efficiently diagnose and correct any problems you may be experiencing. Remote access can be accomplished through a VPN connection, Citrix, WinTerm, or other client application that you may have available to you. APM TSG are more and more frequently using web conferencing software to assist with troubleshooting, which allows screen sharing and remote control. FTP site The Ivara FTP site is still active, and still used to deliver software Product packages up to Newer releases are only delivered via Bentley Select Services download page which does require a Bentley SELECT Agreement to gain access. Each Account is assigned an exclusive and secure Account Folder on the site, to be used for confidential file exchange with APM TSG. These Account specific folders are not shared with or visible to any other parties. You are provided with a username and password to access this site. For maximum efficiency, it is necessary for you to be able to both download from and upload to the Ivara FTP site. Please make necessary arrangements with your corporate IT team to provide access. If you require your username, password or have problems accessing the FTP site, please contact APM TSG. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 5

6 Test and Customization Environments Depending on the level of customization you have, you may need to have more than one test environment. Having these environments simplifies support requests as the environments allow for duplication of problems without affecting Production data and can help isolate the source of a problem to one of the following. Customizations Integrations APM product Though APM TSG is the first point of contact for any problems you may be experiencing, should the situation be due to any customizations or integrations, we will refer you to our Professional Services group who will assist in resolution of the problem. Planning an Upgrade If your organization is planning to upgrade to a new Release please notify us via a Service Request stating the release you are currently using and the release you intend to go to with the timing of the move. This helps keep our records up to date ensuring efficient service. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 6

7 S e r v i c e R e q u e s t s What is a Service Request? A Service Request is any inquiry made to APM TSG. The request can be a question, a report of an error or a requested software enhancement. Reporting a Service Request Before you contact APM TSG Bentley maintains up-to-date documentation that contains answers to many questions you may have. This documentation includes online help, Readme files, upgrade guide, technical notes, and an installation guide. We are also building a Support Solutions Wiki in the Bentley APM Community which contains problem/resolution sets. Before contacting us, please review the documentation as it may contain the answers you require. If you have customizations in the area where a problem is occurring, you should test the situation in an environment with custom events disabled. You should also consult with your project team and other Account Contacts to see if the situation has been reported in the past. How to submit a Service Request To submit a Service Request, have one of your Account Contacts log into our SELECTservices web site and navigate to the Service Request Manager application under the Support Tools options Required Information In order to efficiently handle your Service Request, we need to receive a few key pieces of information. Please ensure you follow the steps below when submitting a Service Request. For more details, please refer to Appendix A: Techniques for Reporting a Service Request. Enter an informative subject line with the Priority of your Service Request Outline of the problem stating actual result and expected result Record the environment details Record or screen print related error message(s) Write clear steps that precisely illustrate how to recreate the situation Attach bitmaps to capture UI Record site configuration aspects of the issue If you are requesting an enhancement, the following additional information is required: Intended use of the change Any business process examples you might have The business benefit that having this functionality would achieve An assessment of how important this is to you (High, Medium, Low) to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 7

8 Service Request Priorities There are four priorities that used to classify Service Requests. This determines the impact your organization is experiencing as a result of the problem you re having and allows us to prioritize accordingly. Priority Definition Goal 1: Critical The following situations indicate a Priority 1 Service Request: Production use of the APM software is no longer possible. Work on a Priority 1 Service Request begins immediately. 2: High The following situations indicate a Priority 2 Service Request: Our goal is to remedy the situation as soon as possible. Note: Priority 1 Service Requests are normally the only requests reported to the Support Hotline. This enables us to work on emergency situations as quickly as possible. The Director of APM TSG is notified of a Priority 1 Service Request immediately. Our goal is to remedy the situation within five business days. Important functions are unavailable and no known workaround exists Implementation of the APM software cannot proceed There is serious impact on productivity 3: Medium The following situations indicate a Priority 3 Service Request: Our goal is to remedy a Priority 3 Service Request within 15 business days. Important function(s) are unavailable; workaround exists Less significant feature(s) are unavailable; no workaround exists Moderate to low impact on productivity 4: Low The following situations indicate a Priority 4 Service Request: Our goal is to remedy a Priority 4 Service Request within 30 business days. Production use continues unimpeded Requests for Enhancement Informational Requests APM TSG reviews the progress of outstanding calls on a continuing basis to ensure that your expectations are met or exceeded. Resources are also assessed and assigned accordingly. If your expectations are not being met, please contact the support representative assigned to your call, your concerns will be communicated to the appropriate group in order to arrive at a speedy resolution. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 8

9 Service Request life cycle The following section outlines the process followed when a Service Request has been reported. Phase 1: Triage As soon as APM TSG receives a Service Request, it is assigned a unique Service Request number that should be referenced on all future inquiries. The Service Request is prioritized according to the abovementioned guidelines. At this stage, a TSG Representative is assigned to the Service Request Phase 2: Investigation Service Requests are worked on in priority/age sequence. Many requests are answered quickly often within the same business day. If your Service Request requires more intensive investigation, you will be informed of its status and progress by the assigned TSG Representative. Typically, this is done via with reference to the Service Request number. Phase 3: Resolution Once the Service Request has reached its conclusion, we ensure that you have agreed that the situation is resolved to your satisfaction before closing the Service Request. However, if there has been no response from you for one month, we will assume that the situation has been resolved and close the Service Request. You will be notified of our intention to close the request once the one-month timeframe has elapsed. Your Service Request can be resolved in any of the following manners: Your question is answered. An alternative approach is presented. An Enhancement is created. An Issue is created and the delivery timeframe is agreed upon Phase 4: Satisfaction Survey From time to time you will receive a request to evaluate your experience for on a recently closed Service Request. Survey is very short, your feedback is appreciated. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 9

10 S o f t w a r e D e l i v e r a b l e s Releases Releases contain major enhancements to the functionality of the software and a significant number of corrections. It is advisable to contact our Services Organization before upgrading to a new Release. When upgrading to a new Release, there could be a change to business processes, retraining might be required, configurations will be updated, customizations will need to reviewed, migrated or eliminated and reports may require updating. New Releases should never be installed directly into the production environment; significant preparation is involved in going to a new Release. Hotfixes A Hotfix is a software change that is delivered to a specific Account. Hotfixes are only generated for you if there is no alternate strategy and/or you cannot wait until the next Service Pack is delivered. A Hotfix will only be generated once all other methods of resolving a Service Request have been investigated. Hotfixes are delivered to you by the TSG Representative handling your Service Request. Instructions will be included for applying and deploying the Hotfix when it is delivered. You will work together with the TSG Representative in a partnership to verify that the Hotfix fulfills your needs and resolves your situation. Issues An Issue is a problem that occurs when the software is not working as it was designed. Once it has been determined that a problem is an Issue, you will work with APM TSG to determine when and how the issue will be addressed. In determining how and when the defect will be addressed, multiple factors are considered such as what it will take to correct it, its importance to you and whether there exists a reasonable workaround. Based on these criteria, the Issue may be Hotfixed, assigned to a Service Pack, or assigned to a future release. Enhancements Enhancements are requests for a change in functionality to the existing APM Software. Unlike Issues, Enhancements are normally delivered in Releases and, typically, are not considered for inclusion in Service Packs. An Enhancement Review Committee meets monthly to review and prioritize newly requested enhancements. The priority of an Enhancement is determined by three factors: 1. Account s Priority 2. Visibility (based on the number of Accounts who have requested this functionality) 3. Product Direction The Enhancement Review Committee evaluates the request and either includes the enhancement in plans for the current Release in development or places the enhancement in a queue to be considered for a future Release. In most cases, new enhancements will not be assigned to a Release upon first review but will be reviewed during the next Release planning cycle. Each Release will have a block of development time set aside to deliver enhancements that have been reported by you, our Accounts. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 10

11 Once the monthly meeting of the Enhancement Review Committee has occurred, the priority and delivery status of your request is available upon request. Support Alerts Occasionally, APM TSG will proactively provide you with useful information regarding the APM Software. When this occurs, an APM Support Alert will be posted on the APM Bentley Community board. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 11

12 A p p e n d i c e s Appendix A: Techniques for Reporting a Service Request 1. Include an outline of the problem Use a descriptive title and include as much information as possible in the problem description field. Attach print screens, log files and exact text of any errors or messages that may have occurred with the problem. 2. Assess the Priority of your Service Request The priority of a Service Request is extremely important as it determines the sequence of when it will be addressed. The Priority of the Service Request is jointly agreed upon by your Account Contacts and TSG Representative. The assigning of priorities ensures that the requests most important to you are investigated and addressed first. 3. Record the environment details If the problem only occurs on a certain type of environment, be sure to include the details in the Service Request. For example, there is a problem that only shows up on a certain operating system or on a particular Terminal Server. These details will enable us to better duplicate the behavior you are experiencing. This may require you to verify the behavior in other environments before placing the Service Request. Some examples of environmental details to include are: Operating System User Security Profile Version of Microsoft Office Thick Client versus Smart Client 4. Provide any asserts or database errors encountered Please forward the client and the server log files for Releases thereafter when ing a Service Request. The location of these files is documented in the Release Installation Guide. 5. Record the error message If the problem you are experiencing includes a warning or error message, please include the text of the message or a snapshot in the Service Request. This allows us to search for the exact error text, resulting in a faster response. 6. Write clear steps that precisely illustrate how to recreate the situation When describing the steps, be specific as to the exact tab on which view and how the method was invoked (Right-mouse button-control, New button, option from a menu, etc.). If ing the Service Request, point form or numbered bullets are helpful. 7. State the actual result and the expected result This will tell the APM TSG Representative exactly what you expected the application to do and where it fell short. Without this information, it is often difficult to determine where the problem lies. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 12

13 8. Attach screen shots Attach images of the UI to your Service Request to make the problem easier to visualize. 9. Record site configuration aspects of the issue If there are site configuration options that are important to duplicating the issue, be sure to include them. However, this may not be necessary if the TSG Representative is familiar your environment. Examples: Approvals are turned on for both Requisitions and Purchase-Orders. The buyer must be defined on the Resource to create a Purchase order. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 13

14 Appendix B: Setting up your Bentley Profile As we progress in our conversion to using Bentley Support processes, we will be posting solutions and Support Alerts on the Bentley Products Communities under Assetwise /Asset Performance Management/Support Solutions. Bentley Communities will become an important source of information for Administrators and Users of the Bentley APM System. We encourage all APM Support contacts to setup your Bentley profile and notification options. CREATING A BENTLEY PROFILE Before you sign up for a profile, let s check to see if you already have one. Chances are you were moved over to Bentley s system with the acquisition of Ivara Corporation. Click Select forgot password. Enter your work and the web code shown. If you are in the system you will get a confirmation (1 2 minutes). The confirmation may go into your spam inbox but once you reset your password you should be able to access your Bentley Profile account. Follow the instructions below to edit your profile so you are still receiving our APM/Ivara software notifications. If your was not in the system you will have to sign up for an account: Click Select Sign Up Now located under the blue sign in button. Fill out the form and make sure you select your function as Architect, Engineer, Executive or Manager. Once you select your function a box will appear called practice area, please set it to Asset Management. SELECTING COMMUNITY PREFERENCES Once you are into your Bentley Profile it is important to set your Communication Preferences. Right click on your login name on the top right of the screen and choose the Profile option. This is where you can check off Asset Performance Management and any other topics of interest that you would like to be updated on. You can always edit these settings so feel free to come back at any time to modify them. To access the APM Community please sign into your Bentley Profile and select Resources from the tab along the Bentley homepage. Then click Be Communities Forums, Blogs & More. You can now search for Asset Performance Management and select the first option to join the APM Be Community. to any third party without Bentley s express prior written consent. 14

15 About Bentley Bentley is the global leader dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. Architects, engineers, constructors, and owner-operators are indispensable in improving our world and our quality of life; the company s mission is to improve the performance of their projects and of the assets they design, build, and operate. Bentley sustains the infrastructure professions by helping to leverage information technology, learning, best practices, and global collaboration and by promoting careers devoted to this crucial work. Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 2,800 colleagues, offices in more than 45 countries, annual revenues surpassing $500 million, and since 1993, has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions. Nearly 90 percent of the Engineering News-Record Top Design Firms are Bentley subscribers, and a 2008 Daratech study ranked Bentley as the world s #2 provider of geospatial software solutions. For more information, visit or call BENTLEY. Contact Bentley Bentley Worldwide Headquarters 685 Stockton Drive Exton, PA 19341, United States BENTLEY ( ) Outside the United States Bentley EMEA Bentley Systems International Limited 2 Park Place Upper Hatch Street Dublin 2 Ireland Phone: Fax: Bentley Asia Bentley Systems Beijing Co., Ltd. Unit , Tower 1 The information contained in this document China is Central proprietary Place, of Beijing Bentley This China information is not to be disclosed to any third party without Bentley s express prior written (+86) consent