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  • USU Service Management
  • Introduction

Introduction

Welcome to the USU Service Management - User Guide. This guide covers the fundamentals of using the application such as navigation, menus, main working areas. It also describes key elements of the application GUI: business views, InfoObjects, editors and catalogs. Note that extensive resources dealing with USU Service Management customization, administration and business functionality are available as PDF files accessible via USU KnowledgeHub.

USU Service Management

USU Service Management is a modular software suite for efficient support of IT service and enterprise service management. Its important characteristics are:

Functionality portfolio

Due to its high level of customizability, USU Service Management can be used in almost any field of business administration. Current standard business functionality covers the following areas:

  • IT Service Management, HR Service Management, Facility Service Management, Field Service Management

See USU Service Management web pages for more information.

Operating models

USU Service Management can be run as on-premise installation or in the SaaS scenario.

  • On-premise installation - Install and run USU Service Management in your own data center.

  • Software as a Service - Use USU Service Management as a cloud-based solution.

See SaaS & On premise on USU Service Management web pages for more information.

Web and Rich client

From the end user perspective, USU Service Management is a browser-based application. Its customization is performed on client machines with JAVA runtime. These two alternatives are referred to as Web client and Rich client, respectively.

  • Web client - Client communicating with a server which does the actual data processing and presents the results in an HTML format. Used by end users.

  • Rich client - Application installed and run on individual client machines. Provides tools for extensive customization. Used by customization experts and technical administrators.

GUI elements

USU Service Management user interface is based around the following main elements:

  • Business Modules and Business Views - Functionality covering individual fields of business administration is internally organized into so called Business Modules. In the GUI, a Business Module can be represented by one or more Business Views. Business Views define the desktop layout and available tools.

  • Perspectives - A Business View may provide one or more Perspectives. Perspectives are desktop layouts optimized for a certain set of tasks.

  • InfoObjects - A Perspective consists of a number of InfoObjects. InfoObjects are independent GUI elements displaying certain type of information in a certain form. InfoObjects can be added to and deleted from individual perspectives.

Main tools

Viewing and processing of actual business data takes place in catalogs and views.

  • Catalogs - A catalog displays a set of business objects of a certain type, often fulfilling a predefined condition. Catalogs are lists of business objects used to search for objects and open them for further editing.

  • Editors - An editor displays data contained in a business object and its relations. Editors are also used for object creation and data modification.

USU products context

In addition to USU Service Management, a new platform based on cutting edge technologies is currently being developed by the company. You will encounter the following terminology:

  • USU Service Management

    USU Service Management is the subject of this help. It refers to the USU Service Management core framework and its business functionality, covered by individual business modules.

  • USU Platform

    The term USU Platform refers to the new platform framework in which specific business functionality is provided as individual apps.

Related documentation

This help is targeted at USU Service Management end users, with first-time users especially in mind. Administration and customization experts are encouraged to consult PDF resources available in the Manuals section of USU KnowledgeHub.

The USU Service Management manuals page provides the following sets of documents:

  • Basics

    A PDF version of this help plus USU Service Management Installation guide.

  • Business functionality

    Documents describing individual business modules. Relevant for those using standard USU Service Management business functionality without additional customization.

  • Core functionality

    Documents covering USU Service Management customization and administration topics.

  • General release information

    Miscellaneous technical information: system requirements, supported platforms, database conventions, etc.

 

Version info: Application version 5.4 / Help 5.4 v1.01

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