Opening Cases on the IBM Support Site

This document describes opening cases on the IBM Support Site. Refer to the following for additional information:

• Using the Case Details Page
• Using Grouped Cases
• Working with Case Templates
• Instructional Video How to Open Case (4:31 minutes)
• Instructional Video: Sorting And Filtering Your Cases (3:21 minutes)
• Opening Cases Through Support Chat (linked to content within this document)

Opening a Case

Follow these steps to open an IBM Support case. Before you begin, have your system’s serial number and its associated account number. Depending on your product, a serial number may or may not be required.

1. On the Support site page header (callout 1, below) click Cases, then Open a Case. You can also click the Open a Case tile (callout 2) or click Open a Case in the top-right corner of any Support site page (callout 3).
    

   Additionally, you can click Manage Support Account > Product Resources from the header, and then click Open a Case for your product in the My Products area. You do need to be signed in to see "My products"
    

   
   Figure 1. Location of "Open a Case" buttons.
2. Complete and confirm the form data in each section on the Open a Case page. Pay special attention to the following fields.

   Note: The fields on the Open a Case page may change depending on product selection.

3. In the General section:
   1. Select the Type of support you need. Product Support will be used for for IBM and non IBM manufactured products. For all other cases, select Other contracted support services, and then click OKin the notification.
   2. Enter a Case title, to describe your case. The maximum length of the case title is 255 characters.
4. In the Product Information section:
   1. Select or search for your Product Manufacturer. This field automatically displays the manufacturer of the product for the last case you opened, or you can choose from a list a list of the manufacturers you selected recently. 
   2. In Product, enter either the product name or its type. For example, Power System OR L922.
   3. After choosing the Product, you may be prompted to enter a serial number, especially if you are opening a hardware case.  If you enter a serial number and it is not found select, I don’t see my serial number or client asset identifier. I will enter it manually, then enter the correct number or identifier, and then complete Machine type and Machine model. If you selected IBM as the product manufacturer, the serial number must be exactly 7 characters long.  
   4. Note: Machine type and Machine model display only when opening hardware cases
   5. If applicable, select the Service Type needed for this case. The following types are available but may vary based on your product and contracts: 
      • Defect/BreakFix: Help for situations when your product is not functioning correctly. 
      • Installation: Issues related to the installation or decommissioning of products. 
      • Preventive Maintenance: These cases include cleaning, machine inspections, and consumable part replacement. These are intended to extend the stability or lifespan of product or prevent failures by applying patches, code upgrades, or other solutions. 
      • Q&A: General product questions.
      • Health & Safety Check: These cases verify the health & safety of the product or its operating environment.
      • Move/Add/Change: Relocating, upgrading and changing products, as well as software license transfers or modifications. 
      • Account Support: Support services related to an account, but not typically to a specific product.
5. In the Severity and Account Information section:
   1. Select a Severity. Level 1 issues have a critical impact on your production environment.
   2. Enter or search for your Account, or select it from the menu. In many cases based on the information you have already entered on the form, the Account will be selected automatically. 
6. In the Case Description section, describe your problem in the Description field as clearly and completely as you can. Watson analyzes what you type and offers tips to enhance your description. If a solution is available, it displays alongside your description.
   
   Figure 2. Using the Description field
7. In the Attachments and Team Members section:
   1. If you have diagnostic files or screen captures, click Upload, then drag them into or search for them in the IBM File Uploader, and then click Upload.
   2. Enter an optional Client Reference Number for your case. This field allows you to track your case through your company's internal help desk system.
   3. Enter or confirm the Case Contact Number.
   4. To add team members to the case, search for them in the Add Team Members field. You can add team members to the case whether or not they are associated with your accounts. For more information about adding team members, refer to Adding Team Members To New and Existing Cases .
   5. You may Save your case as a template for later use, and then enter a title for your new template to save this case's information to create cases more quickly in the future. For more information, refer to Working with Case Templates.  
8. Click Submit Case. The Case Details page displays. This page includes your case number, which you will need for further contact with Support about this issue.

Section for Hardware cases only

If you are opening a case for a hardware product, it may require a field service technician to visit your location to perform service. You may see these questions appear during the case open process.

Why validate the address?
We need to confirm the service location before we can arrange any field technicians or parts. Validating this address now will avoid delays if field service is required for your case.

Why confirm that this is the location of the asset?
If you confirm the asset is typically in the same location, we will not need to delay field service on future cases as we'll assume it hasn't moved (unless you tell us otherwise).

Depending on how these questions are answered you may or may not see them again. For example, if you verify the address and confirm the asset is typically located at the displayed address, you should not see these questions again for this specific asset. Once verified the overall process of manual asset validation will be skipped therefore avoiding any service scheduling delays. 
 

Opening Cases Through Support Chat

You can also open a case through support offered in a Watson chat. Click Chat with Support from any page in the Support site. In the chat window, send the keywords Open a case. After you confirm that you want to open a case, Watson brings you to the Open a case page and copies the transcript from your chat into the case description. Follow the previous steps to open the case.