Using RT for Hardware Grants

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Learning how to use RT well is an important part of working with Hardware Grants as it is what people use to track the current progress of grants, and having access to that information provides transparency to our process and, should you be unable to do so for some reason, allows other people to work with your grants without having to spend too much time figuring out what the state of it is. This page covers the basics required for viewing the Hardware Grants queue, taking tickets, replying to requestors, adding comments, and resolving tickets.

RT Overview

Once you have your RT account and have logged into RT, you should see an overview page similar to this:

RT overview

It should show you a list of the 10 most recently active tickets you own, the newest tickets present in the ticket queues you can see, and a column of queues you can access. In the above image, the Hardware Grants queue is circled in red. To see all the tickets you currently own, click on the "10 highest priority tickets I own" link.

Hardware Grants queue

Clicking on the Hardware Grants queue link on the RT overview page will take you to the Hardware Grants queue:

Hardware Grants queue in RT

The Hardware Grants queue keeps track of all currently open tickets, their owners, and the last time a change was made to the ticket.

Ticket details and taking ownership

Clicking on a ticket's link in the Hardware Grants queue will take you to a ticket's details:

Ticket displayed in RT

If the ticket is owned by Nobody, that means it's up for the taking. If you'd like to take it, simply click on the Take link (circled in red in the above image) to have RT assign it to you.

Replying via RT

Once you take ownership of the ticket, you need to contact the requestor and inform them of their grant's status (e.g. if it's been approved or denied) and possibly schedule a time for them to come in and pick up hardware. The best way to do so is to use RT's reply function, as it will send them a copy of the ticket they submitted if you do so (most people don't have a copy because of the way our hardware grant requests are made, so this helps jog a requestor's memory if they need it). However, don't use the Reply link at the top of the page, as that won't send them a copy. Instead, scroll down the page a bit and use the link circled in red below:

Replying to a ticket in RT

In general, it's a good idea to reply via the Reply link supplied by the requestor's latest message to you, as RT will quote their messages in the conversation.

Commenting via RT

If you need to add a comment to a ticket but don't want or need the requestor to see it, click the link circled in beige below:

Ticket displayed in RT, again

Doing so will bring you to the comments page, which is fairly straightforward.

Using Gizmos To Be Granted, Granted Gizmos Fields, and Grant Status Fields

Please use this section, instead of (or in addition to) comments...just in case another person has to take over on your behalf. It makes everyone's life better.

As tickets often become long and confusing, we need a quick summary of the current progress of any particular grant. In the "Gizmos To Be Granted" field, list all gizmos that will be granted to the recipient. Do not input requested gizmos that are not to be granted. Once gizmos have been disbursed, move the item to "Granted Gizmos" field. If you want to make notes on a Grant's status, e.g. "waiting on laptops", use the "GrantStatusNotes" Field. It is important to keep the "Gizmos To Be Granted" and "Granted Gizmos" fields up-to-date, so if someone has to fill in for you on a disbursement, they can quickly find out what the grant recipient needs.

Grant Statuses defined

There are several GrantStatuses a grant might have at any given point:

Requested

Grant submitted but not yet reviewed.

NeedsClarification

We are missing crucial information and need clarity to proceed.

Pending

We have all information necessary, but have not yet decided.

Denied

We have denied the grant request.

Approved

We have approved the grant request.

InstaGranted (deprecated...do not use)

We have given the hardware out before the next meeting (after consulting another member of the Hardware Grants group).

Finished

The equipment has been disbursed.

Orphaned

The shepherd for this grant has abandoned it.

Provisional (deprecated...do not use)

We have approved the grant request, but there is no shepherd yet.

Resolving tickets

Once you have given out a grant filed the paperwork, disbursed it in the database and ensured the "Granted Gizmos" section is up to date, you should resolve the ticket. You can do so by clicking the link circled in green in the above image ("resolve"). That should bring you to this page:

Resolving a ticket in RT

To properly resolve a ticket, select the "resolved" status from the dropdown menu indicated above, and write what was given out for the grant in the Message field. Once you submit it, the ticket will be closed and removed from both the Hardware Grants and your personal queue.

What if it's just spam?

If you run into a ticket in the Hardware Grants queue that is obviously spam, click the "Basics" link under the ticket title and change the queue to "Spam" and the owner to "Spamholder".