If you are making use of Zendesk views to monitor performance against your tickets and you are using the Google Chrome web browser, an extension is available in the Chrome Marketplace to convert the Performset targets into status coloured icons with relative remaining time.

*Please Note: the article named Organising Events into Categories explains how to use event categories to identify the next actionable event based on the specific responsibilities of a group.

Use of Performset Measurements and Metrics in Zendesk Views

The Performset Dashboard provides a tool that can be used by your agents and admins to manage, organize and monitor ticket queues, in a mode that will maximise the opportunity to meet the target for all tickets raised in your Zendesk.

However, depending upon the number and type of ticket and the way in which your agents operate, it might be necessary to make use of standard Zendesk views for this purpose. For example, when there is a short amount of time to respond to each ticket, requiring a need to make use of the Zendesk Views Play feature, to rapidly work through the ticket queue.

In this case the Performset service provides a number of ticket fields holding various measurements that can be introduced as view columns (see Monitor and Measure Performance in Views and Reports).

The most useful of these ticket fields are the SLA Next Event Name and SLA Next Event Timestamp, since these show the date and time of the next event requiring action for each ticket.

Displaying the Next SLA Breach Data as an Icon in a View

If you are using the Google Chrome web browser to process your Zendesk tickets, it is possible to install an extension to convert a view in which the SLA Next Event Name and SLA Next Event Timestamp, are represented as an icon showing the status colour and duration in a single column.

Installing the Performset Chrome Extension

If you are familiar with installing Chrome extensions from the marketplace, follow this link directly to the Performset Chrome extension: Performset Chrome Extension

Otherwise, the following video provides instructions explaining how to install and use the extension (how to install the Chrome extension):

*Note: If the Chrome extension isn't converting your targets into status icons please see Working with a Single or Common Region below.

Using the Options to Configure the Chrome Extension

The Chrome extension has an options panel containing two properties, one to override the timezone in use by each agent and one for use parsing the target timestamps depending upon the format in use.

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These options should be used as described below.

Setting the Timezone in use by an Agent (Agent Timezone Option)

The AGENT TIMEZONE option is used for display formatting by setting the timezone in use.

This is a dropdown containing all timezone offsets. If specified the date time value that appears when hovering over a status coloured icon (in the “Next SLA Breach Zendesk” view column) will be displayed in that timezone.

Example :

If the agent timezone is GMT+0200 and underlying ticket value is “2022-07-10 11:15 (GMT+0000)” the icon title string will display “<event-name> by July 10 2022 13:15”

If no agent timezone option is specified the title will display the date time in the current user’s timezone derived from the browser. Eg For us currently using BST (GMT+0100) a ticket value of “2022-07-10 11:15 (GMT+0000)” will have a icon title of “<event-name> by July 10 2022 12:15”

NB Current behaviour (which should be changed) is that if no agent timezone is specified the icon title will use GMT+0000, irrespective of the current users browser timezone. eg for the same above example it would show “<event-name> by July 10 2022 11:15”

Working with a Single or Common Timezone (Zendesk Account Timezone Option)

The Chrome extension makes use of the timestamp held in the SLA Next Event Timestamp ticket field, and assumes a particular format.

Depending upon you Performset setup in your Zendesk this format might have been adjusted, in which case it will be necessary for your agents to adjust the extension options as follows.

SLA Next Event Timestamp Field Format

Under most circumstances the format of the target timestamp in your Zendesk views will be YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm (GMT+/-nnnn)

where nnnn represent a four digit hour+minutes offset.

It is also possible that the (GMT+/-nnnn) suffix is missing completely which is explained below in Hide Timezone Offset

Zendesk Account Timezone (multiple timezones in use)

1. If a Zendesk account does not have a timezone offset then all the SLA Next Event Timestamp values will have a (GMT+0000) suffix, (except in the Hide TimeZone case described later) Example : 2022-07-01 14:30 (GMT+0000)

2. If a Zendesk account does have a timezone offset, eg GMT+0300 then all the SLA Next Event Timestamp values will have that timezone suffix instead (except in the Hide TimeZone case described later) Example : 2022-07-01 17:30 (GMT+0300)

Hide Timezone Offset (common timezone in use)

If your Performset setup uses a single region or all regions share the same timezone (common timezone) then the timezone suffix above is always omitted and therefore gives no clue as to the actual timezone associated with it. Examples from above :

1. 2022-07-01 14:30

2. 2022-07-01 17:30

Setting the Zendesk Agent Timezone option when using Common Timezones

The ZENDESK ACCOUNT TIMEZONE option is used for ticket field value date parsing and should be set accordingly if a common timezone is in use in your Performset setup (see Hide Timezone Offset (common timezone in use) above).

This is also a dropdown containing all timezone offsets.

The option value should be set to match the Zendesk Account timezone if it has one.

When converting the ticket field into status coloured icons, the chrome extension will search the field value for a (GMT+nnnn) suffix. If none is found then “Hide Timezone Offset” is in force. And the value on the ticket will be in the timezone specified by the Zendesk Account.

In this case the extension will use the matching Zendesk Account Timezone option value to internally supplement the ticket field value with this timezone offset before parsing, so that it will derive the correct underlying UTC datetime.

This will then be formatted in the icon title according to the rules defined by the AGENT TIMEZONE option above.

Example

• Zendesk Account Timezone Option = (GMT+0300)
• Agent Timezone Option = (GMT+0700)
• Ticket Field Value = “2022-07-10 11:15” (Hide Timezone in force)
• Parsed internal UTC Date time is “2022-07-10 08:15”
• Icon title displays “<event-name> by July 10 2022 15:15”