Jira System Administrators Project Guide

This guide provides Cybersecurity support technicians with step-by-step instructions and definitions for using Jira Service Management within the Cyber Security project. It covers how to manage queues, handle tickets, understand statuses, and follow escalation and automation workflows.

Jira Service Management Definitions

Service Desk Queue Definitions

Below are the primary ticket queues used within the Service Desk project. Understanding these will help ensure tickets are routed and escalated appropriately:

Stefanini Queue
⤷ This queue handles Tier 1 support tickets. Most service requests submitted by customers will be routed here. If additional support is needed, tickets can be escalated from this queue to the Central IT Service Desk queue.
Central IT Service Desk Queue
⤷ This queue handles Tier 2 support tickets. Some service requests submitted by customers will be routed directly to this queue. It primarily manages escalated tickets from the Stefanini Queue, and if necessary, tickets can be further escalated to the Central IT Escalated queue.
Central IT Escalated Queue
⤷ This queue handles Tier 3 support tickets and primarily receives escalations from the Central IT Service Desk queue.
Assigned To Me Queue
⤷ This queue displays all tickets currently assigned to you. Use it to view, update, and manage your individual workload.
All Open Queue
⤷ This queue shows all unassigned tickets. It’s a useful view for applying temporary filters to locate specific tickets across the service desk project.

Status Definitions

Below are the definitions for ticket resolution statuses within the Service Desk project. These help ensure tickets are closed appropriately:

Waiting For Support
⤷ The ticket is awaiting action from a technician. It’s in the queue but has not yet been started.
In Progress
⤷ A technician is actively working on the issue.
Pending
⤷ The ticket is on hold due to an external dependency (e.g., vendor input, approvals). No action is required from the technician until the blocker is resolved.
Waiting For Customer
⤷ The technician has reached out and is waiting for the customer to respond. An automated workflow will send reminders and auto-close the ticket if there's no reply.
Customer Responded
⤷ The customer replied, and the ticket was automatically updated. A technician should now review and respond.
Escalated (Do not use)
⤷ The ticket was escalated by Jira automation to another queue. It is system-managed and should not be applied manually.
Closed Escalated (Do not use)
⤷ The ticket was closed after being escalated to another project (e.g., System Administrator Project). It is system-managed and should not be applied manually.
Resolved
⤷ The issue has been addressed, and the ticket can be closed.
Canceled
⤷ The issue was not resolved, but the ticket was closed because it's no longer needed or was submitted in error.

Resolution Status Definitions

These statuses indicate the final outcome of a ticket when it is closed. Choosing the correct resolution helps maintain accurate records and reporting across the Service Desk project:

Done
⤷ The issue was resolved successfully and no further action is required.
Duplicate
⤷ The ticket is a duplicate of another existing ticket and does not need to be worked separately.
Declined
⤷ The request was reviewed but will not be fulfilled (e.g., outside of scope, invalid, or not approved).
Wont Do
⤷ The request is acknowledged but will not be acted on, often due to business decisions, low impact, or lack of priority.

Jira Definitions

This section outlines basic Jira Service Management terms to help support agents better understand key concepts and navigate the system effectively.

Ticket (or Issue)
⤷ A Ticket (also called an Issue) is a record of a request, incident, or task submitted by a customer. Each ticket tracks communication, status, assignment, and progress through the support process.
Queue
⤷ A Queue is a filtered view of tickets based on certain criteria (e.g., status, assignee, priority). Queues help support teams stay organized and prioritize work.
Filters
⤷ A Filter in Jira is a saved set of search criteria that returns a specific list of issues (tickets). Filters are built using Jira’s search interface (Basic or Advanced) and can be reused at any time to view the same subset of issues.
Project
⤷ A Project is a workspace in Jira that contains related issues, settings, queues, and workflows. In your case, the Service Desk is a project where support tickets are created and managed.
Assignee
⤷ The Assignee is the technician responsible for working on a specific ticket. Tickets can be reassigned or left unassigned depending on workflow.
Reporter
⤷ In Jira Service Management, the reporter is the person who submitted the ticket. This individual is requesting help, reporting an issue, or submitting a service request. At Trucordia, we used to call this person the end user, but to align with Jira terminology, we now refer to them as the customer, which is the same as the reporter in most cases.
Status
⤷ The Status shows where a ticket is in the workflow (e.g., Waiting for Support, In Progress, Resolved). It updates as the ticket moves through different stages.
Workflow
⤷ A Workflow defines the path a ticket follows from creation to closure, including the available statuses and transitions between them.
Priority
⤷ Priority indicates how urgent or important a ticket is (e.g., Low, Medium, High). It helps determine how quickly the ticket should be addressed.
Comment
⤷ A Comment is any note added to a ticket for communication between the technician and the requester. Comments can be public (visible to the requester) or internal (visible only to agents).
Labels
⤷ Labels are custom tags added to tickets to help categorize or search for them easily. They're optional but helpful for filtering.
Automation
⤷ Automations are rules that trigger actions in Jira (like sending reminders, escalating tickets, or closing tickets automatically) to reduce manual work.

Manage Cybersecurity Queue

How to open the Cyber Security ticket queue within the Cyber Security project.

Open Jira Service Management.
On the left-hand navigation panel, click to expand Service Desk.
Expand Queues > Default.
From the list of queues, select Cyber Security.
Select an open ticket.
In the Details tab on the right-hand side, click Assign to me or choose Unassigned, then assign the ticket to the appropriate technician.

Note: Once a ticket is assigned to a technician, it will automatically be removed from the Cyber Security queue.

Tip: Expand the Jira Navigation Bar

For easier access to queues and navigation, we recommend expanding the Jira side navigation bar.

To do this:

Hover your mouse slightly over the thin scroll bar on the far left.
When the double arrow icon ↔ appears, click and drag to expand the menu.

This will allow you to clearly view all project names, queue titles, and navigation options

How To Escalate a Ticket To The SysAdmin Project

How to escalate a ticket to the SysAdmin Project.

Open Jira Service Management.
On the left-hand navigation panel, click to expand Service Desk.
Click to expand Queues > Default.
From the list of queues, select Cyber Security or Assigned to me.
Select the ticket you’d like to escalate.
In the upper-right corner of the ticket, click the ⚡ Automation icon.
Select Send to SysAdmin Queue.
You’ll be prompted for an escalation reason.

Note: Once escalated, the ticket will be closed with the status Closed Escalated and marked as a duplicate. A cloned version of the ticket will be created and reopened in the SysAdmin Project as the escalated ticket. Your escalation reason will be added as an internal comment.

How To De-Escalate a Ticket

How to de-escalate a ticket that was escalated to the Cyber Security project from the Service Desk project:

Open Jira Service Management.
On the left-hand navigation panel, click to expand Cyber Security.
Click to expand Queues > Default.
From the list of queues, select Cyber Security or Assigned to me.
Select the ticket you’d like to escalate.
In the upper-right corner of the ticket, click the ⚡ Automation icon.
Select De-Escalate Ticket.
You’ll be prompted for a de-escalation reason.

Note: Once de-escalated, the escalated ticket will be closed with the resolution set to Resolved and marked as a duplicate. The original ticket in the Service Desk project will be reopened with the status set to Waiting for Support and reassigned to the original technician. Your de-escalation reason will be added as an internal comment.

How To Resolve or Cancel a Ticket

How to resolve or cancel a ticket within the Central IT Service Desk queue.

Open Jira Service Management.
On the left-hand navigation panel, click to expand Cyber Security.
Expand Queues > Default.
From the list of queues, select Cyber Security or Assigned to me.
Select the ticket you’d like to resolve or cancel.
In the upper-right corner of the ticket, click the status bar to expand the status options.
Choose either Cancel Request or Resolve this issue.
You’ll be prompted to select a resolution status and either respond to the customer or add an internal comment.

Note: If a ticket is closed and the customer replies, the ticket will automatically reopen and the status will update to Customer Responded.

Use Jira Default Filters

How to access and apply the built-in filters in Jira Service Management.

Open Jira Service Management.
In the bottom navigation bar, click Filters > Default Filters.
From the dropdown, you’ll see the list of default filters (e.g., My Open Issues, Recently Created, Watched Issues).
Select the default filter you want to use:
1. My Open Issues – shows all tickets where you are the Assignee or Reporter.
2. Recently Created – lists issues created in the last 24 hours.
3. Watched Issues – displays any issues you’ve added to your watch list.
Once you pick a filter, the results load in the issue search view. You can further refine this view by:
1. Typing keywords into the Search bar.
2. Adjusting fields like Status, Priority, or Created Date in the left-hand panel.
If you modify a default filter (for example, by adding additional criteria) and want to keep it:
1. Click Save Filter (upper right of the search results).
2. Give your new filter a name (e.g., “My Open High-Priority Bugs”) and click Save.

Note: Default filters themselves cannot be altered. If you need a specialized view, always use Save As to create a custom filter—this preserves the original default filter for everyone else.

Tip: Click the star icon next to any filter name (default or custom) to mark it as a favorite. Favorited filters appear above Filters > Default Filters, giving you one-click access.

Example Workflow: Viewing Another Technician’s Active Tickets

This workflow demonstrates how to filter for and review all open/active tickets assigned to another Service Desk technician. By following these steps, you can quickly see their workload and take action if necessary.

To do this:

Go to Filters > All Issues.
Filter by Assignee
- Select Assignee.
- Choose the technician whose tickets you want to see.
Exclude Closed or Completed Statuses
- Under Status, click Status != (not equals).
- Check and exclude these statuses:
  - Canceled
  - Closed
  - Closed Escalated
  - Completed
  - Done

By doing this, you’ll see only the technician’s active, open tickets—making it effortless to monitor and manage their workload.

Note: If you close the filter, all of your All Issues filter settings will be saved.

Waiting for Customer Auto-Close Workflow

To help keep the System Administrators project clean and efficient, tickets placed in the Waiting for Customer status will follow an automated reminder and closure process if no customer response is received.

Auto-Close Timeline

Day 2 – 8:00 AM MST

⤷ A 1st reminder is sent to the customer if no response has been received.

Day 3 – 8:00 AM MST

⤷ A 2nd reminder is sent to prompt a reply.

Day 4 – 8:00 AM MST

⤷ A final (3rd) reminder is sent. If there's still no response, the ticket is automatically closed.

What to Expect as a Technician

Reminder comments will appear on the ticket as the automation runs.
If the customer replies at any point, the automation will stop and the ticket will remain open.
You do not need to manually follow up — the system manages the entire reminder and closure process.

Example Workflow

If a technician replies to a customer and sets the ticket to Waiting for Customer at any time on Monday:

No reminder will be sent on Tuesday.
The 1st reminder will be sent at 8:00 AM MST on Wednesday.
The 2nd reminder will be sent at 8:00 AM MST on Thursday.
The final reminder and auto-closure will occur at 8:00 AM MST on Friday (if no response is received).