Helpdesk in a workspace
Windshift runs a helpdesk inside a workspace. There is no separate helpdesk product, no separate ticket project, and no separate agent licence. A workspace holds the tickets, and the same workspace can hold the team's other work.
The support surfaces
A helpdesk is a workspace with some support surfaces turned on:
| Surface | What it does | Where to configure it |
|---|---|---|
| Customer portal | Customers submit and follow requests. | Channels, Portal type |
| Request types | The forms customers complete and their routing. | Portal channel |
| Email intake | A mailbox turns incoming mail into tickets and threads replies. | Channels, Email type |
| Support queue | A view of the open tickets that need an agent. | Workspace navigation |
| Service levels | Response and resolution targets. | Workspace settings |
| Canned responses | Saved replies an agent inserts into a comment. | Workspace settings |
Each surface is optional. A workspace with only the queue is already useful for internal requests. A portal without email intake still gives customers a form.
Create a helpdesk workspace
The built-in helpdesk pack provisions a workspace for support work.
- Create a workspace.
- In the template picker, select helpdesk.
- Finish creating the workspace.
The pack sets up:
- An item type named Ticket.
- A Support Workflow with Open, In Progress, Pending, Resolved, and Closed.
- Priorities Critical, High, Medium, and Low.
- A Support Ticket Screen.
- The Queue view in the navigation.
- First Response and Time to Resolve service levels, with a Business Hours calendar.
Everything stays editable. Change the statuses, the targets, or the screen like any other workspace configuration.
Add support to an existing workspace
You do not have to start from the template. In an existing workspace:
- Turn on the Queue entry in the workspace navigation.
- Create the portal channel and its request types.
- Connect the mailbox and add an intake.
- Add the service levels and a working calendar.
The queue is off by default in every workspace. It appears in the navigation after you enable it.
Agents are users
An agent is a workspace user. Windshift does not require a separate helpdesk or agent licence. Give each person the workspace role that matches what they do. Channel management is a separate permission that controls who configures the portal, the mailbox, and the queue.
One workspace for support and delivery
Support work and delivery work share the same model. A ticket is a work item, so it appears on the board, in the backlog, and in reports with the same fields, links, and history. You can put a ticket into an iteration, link it to the feature it needs, or move it to another workspace.