How to ask for product help: PMRs, RFEs, and more

RFE = Request For Enhancement
PMR = Problem Management Record. Also known as a Service Request (SR). The terms are interchangeable


This is the general approach I would recommend:

  1. Create a forum post here as you start your investigation and gather data so that others are aware of the issue. Post links to any relevant documentation you are using to investigate / try to work around the issue. This will also give others an oportunity to add to the discussion and suggest fixes, particularly if they have had the same issue. This will also make it easier for you to keep track of the issue as it develops and what you tried as you try it. What doesn’t work to solve the problem is still valuable information to have.
  2. If things aren’t working, and there are no working suggestions, then file a PMR. I would recommend including a link to the forum post in the PMR.
  3. File an RFE for every item you come across that could use an improvement regardless of filing a PMR or not and regardless if you figured out the problem on your own. If there is something that can be improved in the product to either prevent the issue in the first place, mitigate it easier, or aid in detecting the issue, then file an RFE. You should file more RFEs than PMRs and almost every PMR should result in at least one RFE. Please include a link to any related posts on the BigFix forum in the RFE.

An RFE goes to Product Managers, developers, and is public to anyone who is interested.
A PMR goes to support who works with developers if needed. PMRs are private.


Read about how to register and file a PMR / SR here: https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm

Direct link to the PMR / SR tool: https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=de45c412c312310015519f2974d3ae1b

Submit RFEs through here: https://bigfix-ideas.hcltechsw.com/


And a longer explanation:

Basically everything is an RFE, but an RFE has no actual time line for being fulfilled, it is a bit like a suggestion box. Expect them to be addressed in the 3 month to 3 year time frame, if at all.

PMR is how you get direct support from BigFix. This should be the place to go if things are broken.

I file RFEs for many items that are not truly broken, but would be nice improvements for the future.

Almost every PMR I file ends up with multiple RFEs associated with it. The resolution to a PMR is often a work around, but not a true improvement or long term fix that would mitigate / prevent the issue entirely.

If you do file an RFE, I would recommend creating a forum post here about it / them so that others are made aware of it and can vote on it. Posting relevant info around the RFEs, documentation you used that is posted in various places around the web, etc… is all very helpful. If you followed step 1 and created a forum post around the issue in the first place, then it would all go in that post. Otherwise, put enhancements in this category: https://forum.bigfix.com/c/enhancements


I have filed PMRs and have been told that the product works as designed, told to open an RFE, and the PMR is closed. Sometimes there is a fine line between a product being broken and it acting as intended and requiring enhancement, and it often depends on which side of the fence you are on. ( This is not really a BigFix thing, this is just the way support often works, even in my own organization… we just don’t call it PMRs and RFEs )


Originally posted here: Suggesting some sticky topics

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Some good information you may want to integrate into your pinned post here:

There is a Software Support Guide for customers to help them understand the IBM support process, it is linked to here:

http://www-304.ibm.com/support/customercare/sas/f/handbook/home.html

The part of the guide I find the most useful (albeit all sections are useful) in regards to PMRs and expectations on both IBM’s side and the customer’s side is this section here:

http://www-304.ibm.com/support/customercare/sas/f/handbook/getsupport.html

And lastly, this article is a great guide for building a complete problem description of the issue the customer is having and what information to provide ahead of opening the PMR:

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21505708

I am currently working on building out all of our Data Collection (Must Gather) guides for each of the various BigFix components and applications (this will take some time); however the one’s currently linked to from this article are a helpful start.

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@jgstew it appears that the following TechNote http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg2150763984 you have referenced has been archived. Could you update your post here to point to http://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/servicerequest/quick_start.html instead, please?

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I wonder how long it has been broken.

Since June apparently. Curious to know if the forum runs a link checker from time to time … Would need to inform owner of their posts all current broken links for them to remove or update if they wanted…

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A dead link checker does seem like something that could be added to the forum software or as a plugin or something that could be done manually.

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I’m told this may have some dead links again and need other updates. It is now a wiki post, so anyone can update it.

James,

Do you know if Service Requests are still in use? When I follow this link https://www-946.ibm.com/support/servicerequest/newServiceRequest.action and select “I am having a problem with software” I come to a page that says
"No associated ICN found

You are not registered with any IBM Customer numbers. Please click Software registration to register with an IBM customer number."

I have tried to register, but after 2 weeks, the status is still “Pending access requests, Pending upgrade approval”.

Via the My IBM page I found this page: https://www.ibm.com/mysupport/s/ and opened a case for my problem described in this thread: Going through BSOD hell after upgrading to WADK 1809/MDT 3.10.10.

After about 24 hours, I received an update saying "hello

we are review​ing this case you are reporting, regarding the crash you get when using

MDT 1803 and MDT1809 to capture and PXE-boot in VMware workstation 12.x

we’ll inform you about out findings

Thanks

regards"

That was six days ago, and nothing has happened since…

Regards,
Harald