Overview
This article details how to create, review and publish publicly facing knowledge base (KB) articles in the IT Services client portal. Public facing KB articles are visible to non-ITS visitors within the IT Service Client Portal.
This article will review:
Drafting an Article
One of the first steps in creating a knowledge base article is to draft it. Drafting an article gives you an opportunity to structure your content and settings before it becomes fully available in the knowledge base.
Note: You will need one of the following roles to create knowledge articles in the IT Services knowledge base.
- Ticketing agent
- Service Owner
- Service Offering Manager
Placing and Creating a New Knowledge Article
1. To start, sign in to the ServiceHub Knowledge Base.
2. Next, find a home for your knowledge article by navigating to an appropriate category or sub-category for it to live in. The category you choose should best match the service or content of your knowledge article.
Don't see a category or sub-category that meets your needs? Contact ITSM Operations to have one created. Visit the Enterprise Service Management page to make a request.
3. Select + New Article to start a new draft.
Article Content
1. Give your article a title by filling out the subject field. Article titles should be specific and descriptive to the content of the article (for example, "How to Update your Profile in the SFU Student Information System").
2. Next, structure the body of your article by using an IT Services KB template. To load a template, select the Templates drop-down menu.
3. With the IT Services KB template loaded, fill out the content of your KB article. Keep in mind your target audience when adding your content. Where possible, use plain language and avoid technical jargon. If you get stuck, consult the SFU communicators toolkit for helpful advice about the tone of voice used at the University.
4. Next, add a short summary for your article. This summary will become the at-a-glance description below your article when it shows up as a link.
5. When ready, select Save. If you are updating an existing article, select Save As Draft.
NOTE: Tables can be tricky. If you are creating a table is more than 4 columns it may not render well. Pictures or attaching an example/template to the article may be best.
Article Settings
After you've saved your article for the first time, you'll be able to go back and edit more settings for it. To see what a setting does, click the ? icon next to a setting name for a detailed description. The following setting tabs let you:
- Content - Modify the body text for your article.
- Settings - Modify the title (subject), category, order, owner, tags and review date and review reminder.
- Permissions - Define which groups are able to see your article in the knowledge base.
- Related Articles - Link related articles to your own.
- Files - A space to upload a file related to your article (e.g. A PDF about model specification...etc.).
- Revisions - Review historical versions of your article.
- Read By - An audit log of who is viewing your content.
- Shortcuts - Review what other categories/sub-categories your article may show up under.
Submitting an Article for Review
Once you’ve finished your edits, it's time to submit it your article for review. Article reviews are required for any content that will be available to a public audience (such as non-IT groups visiting the IT Services client portal). A reviewer is someone who is can approve you article, which includes Service Owners or the ServiceHub operations team.
NOTE: Before submitting the article for review, set the Owner of the article to the Responsibility Group you are a member of and who is tasked with maintaining and updating the content.
Submitting an Article
The first step in having your article reviewed is to submit it. To submit an article, click the Submit Article button.
Once submitted, the status of your article will change to Submitted.
Notifying Reviewers
Once your article is submitted, you'll need to have a service owner approve your article.
Review for New Articles
Notify the Service Owner directly (email, instant message...etc) with a link to the article you'd like reviewed.
Once your article has been reviewed, it will either be rejected or approved.
- If your article is rejected you will get an email with a reason for the rejection. You can then edit your article and re-submit it for another review.
- If your article is approved, its status will change to Approved and it is now ready to be published.
Review for Existing Articles
If you are conducting regular updates to published articles on behalf of a project or as part of normal review activities, ITSM Operations conducts twice weekly reviews of draft articles - Tuesday and Thursday. Provided this cadence satisfies update requirements, there is no need to notify the Service Owner or ITSM Operations unless review and approval are urgent or the Service Owner has requested otherwise.
If review and approval is urgent, contact the Service Owner or ITSM Operations via the ServiceHub Teams channel directly with a link to the article. Alternatively, submit a ticket via the Request to Publish KB Article service offering.
Getting Your Article Published
When your article has been approved, its time to get it published. This final step will engage an IT Services Knowledge Manager who will:
- Review the content of your article with VPFA communicators (as needed).
- Confirm the settings for your article (such as category placement, visibility...etc.).
- Add a review date for your article.
- Publish your article to the IT Services knowledge base.
Make a Request
To submit an article for publishing, make a request to the Enterprise Service Management service.
Publish your article
Confirmation
Once approved, your article will update to Published: Yes.
