A ticketing system allows users to submit support tickets for issues or requests they need help with. Categories are used in ticketing systems to organize and group tickets together based on the type of issue or request. Using categories makes it easier for support agents to identify, prioritize and route tickets to the appropriate team or individual for resolution. Some key benefits of using categories in a ticketing system include:
Enables Faster Ticket Routing
Categories allow tickets to be automatically assigned to the correct agent groups based on the category selected. For example, a “Password Reset” category can be automatically routed to the IT support team while a “Billing” category is routed to the finance team. This saves time over manually assigning each ticket.
Improves Ticket Organization
With categories, users can file tickets under the appropriate labels which keeps similar tickets grouped together. This makes it easier for agents to find and work on tickets based on their skills and responsibilities. For example, hardware related issues can be categorized under “Hardware” while software bugs go under “Software.”
Allows for Customized Workflows
Unique workflows can be configured per category to match the steps required to resolve those types of tickets. For instance, a “Refund Request” category can have a workflow that requires manager approval while an “Address Change” category follows a simple workflow.
Enables Reporting by Category
Ticketing system reports can break down metrics like ticket volume, resolution time, satisfaction rate, etc. by each category. This helps identify trends, pain points and areas for improvement per ticket type.
Improves Customer Self-Service
Categories can be leveraged to build a customer support knowledge base with articles organized by topic. Customers can browse articles by category or search for solutions by category, enabling self-service.
How are categories typically structured?
Categories are usually organized into two or three levels to balance complexity with usability:
- Top-level categories – Highest grouping, often by business function, product line, issue type, etc.
- Sub-categories – Breaks down top categories into more specific groupings.
- Optional deep sub-categories – Further divides sub-categories for very detailed organization.
Some examples of top and sub-level categories:
Top Category | Sub-Categories |
---|---|
Sales | Lead Generation, Proposals, Commissions |
Marketing | Email Campaigns, Social Media, Events |
Software | Bugs, Enhancements, How To Questions |
What are some best practices for category design?
Here are some key tips for effectively setting up categories in a ticketing system:
- Involve key stakeholders – Include agents, IT, business leaders to identify needs.
- Start with high-level buckets – Begin with the overarching groups based on business units, products, issue types.
- Iterate based on data – Analyze ticket data to see where more refined categorization may help.
- Use consistent naming – Have a shared vocabulary across the organization.
- Limit hierarchy depth – Try not to go over two or three levels to avoid confusion.
- Review periodically – Revalidate categories since needs change over time.
- Provide category guidance – Give agents guidelines on when to use each category to minimize improper categorization.
What are some common ticketing system categories?
While categories are customized per organization, some commonly used top and sub-level categories include:
By Issue Type:
- Incident – Service disruption or impairment
- Problem – Underlying root cause of multiple incidents
- Request – General user requests like hardware, software, access
- Query – Requests for information or reporting
- Change – Changes and enhancements to systems or services
By Department:
- Facilities – Issues related to physical office space, equipment, supplies
- Finance – Billing, expense reporting, accounting, procurement
- HR – Compensation, benefits, employee records, hiring
- IT – Network, hardware, software, phones, laptops
- Marketing – Website, advertising, campaigns, events
By Product/System:
- ERP System
- CRM System
- Email Platform
- Payment System
- Intranet
By Priority:
- Low
- Medium
- High
- Critical
Should a category schema match the organizational structure?
Aligning categories to the organizational structure can make sense in some cases but may not be the optimal approach in all scenarios. Some factors to consider:
- Will staff know which department to categorize a ticket for shared services like IT, HR, facilities? Aligning to organizational structure in this case may be unclear.
- Does the organization frequently restructure? Categories tied tightly to a changing org structure will require ongoing realignment.
- Are cross-department services and issues common? Aligning strictly to the org structure may not accommodate cross-department collaboration.
Often a hybrid approach works best – top level categories by business function, but shared services and secondary categorization by issue and system type. This takes advantage of the org structure while still allowing flexibility to categorize tickets based on context.
Should categories be customer-facing?
Customer-facing categories can be helpful for self-service in customer support portals. Benefits include:
- Customers can browse and search for solutions by relevant category.
- Reduces wrong category selection by guiding users to appropriate options.
- Provides visibility into the types of issues customers experience.
Best practices for customer-facing categories:
- Use customer-friendly naming conventions – avoid internal jargon.
- Only expose relevant categories – no need to show internal or technical groups.
- Limit categories – 8-12 selections avoid overwhelming users.
- Include a “General” option – for when no category fits.
Should agents be restricted by categories?
Restricting agents to only view and work on tickets from certain categories can have benefits but also drawbacks to evaluate. Potential benefits include:
- Agents focus on specialized areas and gain expertise.
- Sensitive tickets are only visible to authorized staff.
- Work can be distributed across the team more evenly.
Potential downsides:
- Reduced flexibility to cover for teammates.
- Increased hand-offs between agents if multiple categories apply.
- Agents have less context outside their focus area.
Consider balancing specialization with flexibility. Agents could have a primary category but light access across other areas for coverage. Or segments of categories can be assigned versus individual ones.
Can AI help with ticket categorization?
AI and machine learning can help automate categorization by analyzing ticket data to identify patterns and language clues that indicate certain categories. Benefits of AI categorization include:
- Faster routing of tickets since AI can instantly categorize at intake.
- More consistent categorization since AI follows rules.
- Reduced agent workload by minimizing time spent manually reviewing and assigning categories.
- Continuous improvement as AI models learn from human-corrected data.
Key considerations for AI categorization:
- AI works best with large training datasets – number and variety of tickets.
- Clean, structured data is needed – messy free-form text is harder to analyze.
- Human review is still required on some percentage of tickets to validate and improve AI accuracy over time.
- Explainable AI models instill more confidence – transparency into how predictions are made.
How can you optimize ticketing categories over time?
Ways to improve an existing ticketing category schema include:
- Analyze category usage – see which are used frequently vs rarely.
- Review SLA attainment by category – identify areas for improvement.
- Survey agents – get input on categories they struggle to use properly.
- Audit miscategorized tickets – identify terms, Title patterns that confuse agents.
- Standardize synonyms – merging or selecting primary terms.
- Realign based on new systems/products/processes.
- Set thresholds for new categories – when sub-categories should be spun off.
- Enforce usage – require categorization at ticket open and track use.
Categorization should be continually monitored and refined over time as the business evolves. Input from agents and data analysis will reveal improvement opportunities.
Conclusion
Categories are an essential tool for organizing ticketing systems and enabling faster, optimized resolution of issues and requests. Aligning categories to business needs through an iterative design process, enforcing proper usage, and optimizing over time will maximize the value categories provide. Leveraging AI and automation can further boost categorization accuracy and efficiency gains. With thoughtful category design and governance, companies can streamline issue resolution and deliver exceptional customer experiences.