Customers on activities

The customer associated with an activity in the Activities and Tasks (SP) application determines the classifications, attributes of classifications, assets, locations, and configuration items (CIs) that are processed with the activity. The customer also determines users who can see the activity record.

When you create customer records, you create detailed agreement and pricing information for the customer and the services that you expect to provide. By associating customers with activities, you can provide the appropriate response to the customer at the specified location, for the specified assets, and with the specified configuration items. You keep the activity actions limited to the appropriate records based on customer filtering. You associate customers with assets, locations, and CIs in the Assets (SP), Locations (SP), and Configuration Items (SP) applications.

When you associate customers with activities, you also can keep the activity records restricted to the users who have permission to access the data of a particular customer. You associate customers with users in the Security Groups (SP) application.

When you create an activity, information about the primary customer on the location, asset, or CI is copied over copied to the activity. The combination of location, asset, and customer on the activity is used to determine the best matches when a service desk agent or workflow process searches for service level agreements, price schedules and response plans.

You can create an activity for a location, asset, or configuration item, These items must be associated with an active customer in order for the customer information to be copied to the activity. The lowest level of these items on an activity determines the customer on the activity, as follows:

If the activity has a CI that is associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the CI is applied to the activity.
If the activity does not have a CI, or the CI is not associated with a customer, and the activity has an asset associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the asset is applied to the activity.
If the activity does not have a CI that is associated with a customer or an asset that is associated with a customer, but has a location that is associated with a customer, then the primary customer of the location is applied to the activity.
If the activity does not have a CI, asset, or location that is associated with a customer, then you can add a customer directly in the Customer field.

The customer on the activity also determines the classifications, and attributes of classifications, that the activity can process. All activities can use global classifications and global attributes. When you want to use customer-specific classifications or customer-specific attributes, the customer on the activity (or parent of the customer) must match the customer on the classification or attribute.

Adding, changing, or removing a customer on an activity can affect the classification and attributes of the activity when the activity is classified. The classification or one or more attributes might no longer be relevant to the new customer, and the classification might have attributes that are now relevant to the new customer. However, classifications and attributes are never automatically removed from or added to an activity when you change a customer association. You change the customer on an activity by changing the value in the customer field directly, or by changing the location, asset, or CI that determines the customer on the activity. If you do so, you should first remove any classifications from the activity, and then re-apply the appropriate classifications after the new customer is selected.

You can apply a customer agreement or price schedule to an activity if the activity has an active, customer associated with it.

If the customer on the activity is derived from an asset or location, the cost center and customer charge account from the asset or location are copied to the activity.

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