My Service Requests
Overview
The My Service Requests page is your central portal for requesting items, software, hardware, or access from your organization. Rather than relying on informal emails or chat messages, this portal provides a structured, automated, and trackable system for everything you might need to do your job.
From this page, you can browse available services in your project's Service Catalog, fill out dynamic intake forms, and track the real-time status of your submissions.
Why My Service Requests Exists
Organizations often struggle with informal requests made over Slack, email, or in-person conversations. These informal methods cause several problems:
- Missing Information: The IT or Facilities team has to constantly ask follow-up questions because the requestor didn't provide enough detail.
- Lost Requests: Emails get buried, and chat messages are forgotten.
- No Accountability: There is no record of when a request was made, who approved it, or who fulfilled it.
- Approval Bottlenecks: Managers aren't formally notified that their approval is required for a license or hardware purchase.
My Service Requests solves this by:
- Structured Information: Every request type has a specific form, ensuring the fulfillment team gets exactly the information they need the first time.
- Automated Approvals: If a request costs money or requires security clearance, the system automatically routes it to your manager for approval before anyone wastes time trying to fulfill it.
- Tracking & History: You have a permanent record of every request you've made and its current status.
How to Access It
You can access this feature through the main application navigation:
Profile Menu → My Service Requests
Note: You must have a Project selected in your top navigation bar to see the services available for that specific project.
Understanding the Main Screen
The My Service Requests page is divided into two primary sections: Raise a Request and My Requests.
| UI Element | What It Means | What You Can Do |
|---|---|---|
| Category Filter | Pill-shaped buttons (e.g., "All", "Hardware", "Software"). | Click a category to filter the available catalog items below. |
| Catalog Grid | A grid of clickable cards showing available services. | Browse available services. Click any card to open its intake form. |
| "Needs Approval" Badge | A yellow tag on a catalog card. | Indicates that if you request this item, it must be approved by your manager before it is fulfilled. |
| My Requests Table | A table at the bottom of the page showing your history. | View all your past and present requests, their status, and their associated ticket numbers. |
| Refresh Button | A button above your requests table. | Click to fetch the latest status updates for your requests. |
Creating a Service Request
Submitting a request is designed to be as simple as ordering an item online.
Step 1: Select a Service
- Ensure you have the correct Project selected in the top navigation bar. The Service Catalog is specific to the project you are working in.
- In the Raise a Request section, browse the available catalog cards.
- Click the card for the service you need (e.g., "Request Software License", "New Laptop").
Step 2: Complete the Intake Form
A drawer will slide out from the right side of the screen containing the Intake Form.
Because Optima Orbit allows administrators to build custom catalogs, the fields on this form will change completely depending on what you selected.
You may encounter the following types of fields:
- Text Boxes: For short answers (e.g., "Asset Tag Number").
- Text Areas: For longer explanations (e.g., "Business Justification").
- Dropdowns: To select from predefined options (e.g., "Operating System").
- Checkboxes: For yes/no confirmations.
- Email Fields: For providing contact addresses.
[!IMPORTANT] Fields marked with an asterisk ( * ) are mandatory. You will not be able to submit the form if these are left blank.
Step 3: Validation and Submission
The system will check your inputs when you click Submit Request.
- If a required field is missing, or if text does not match required formats (like an invalid email address or a description that is too short), you will receive a red error message.
- Once all fields are valid, the request is submitted.
What Happens After Submission?
Optima Orbit handles the heavy lifting after you click submit. The flow depends entirely on whether the item was marked as requiring approval.
Tracking Your Request Status
You can monitor the progress of your submission in the My Requests table at the bottom of the page. Your request will move through the following statuses:
- Pending Approval: (Yellow) The request has been submitted but is currently waiting for your designated approver (usually your manager) to sign off on it.
- Rejected: (Red) Your approver denied the request. The process stops here.
- Approved: (Green) The request was approved (or didn't require approval in the first place). At this stage, a Ticket is automatically generated for the IT, HR, or Facilities team to actually perform the work.
Service Desk Tickets
Once a request reaches the Approved status, you will see a Ticket Number (e.g., #1042) appear in the "Ticket" column of your history table. This indicates that your request has officially entered the fulfillment team's workload queue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit a request after submitting it? No. Once a request is submitted, it enters the automated workflow. If you made a mistake, you should inform your manager or the service desk, or submit a new, corrected request.
Can I cancel a pending request? Currently, requests cannot be cancelled from the My Service Requests page. If you no longer need the item, notify your manager so they can reject the pending approval.
Why is my catalog empty? If the "Raise a Request" section says "No requestable items in this project's catalog yet," it means your organization's administrators have not yet configured the Service Catalog for the project you currently have selected.
Where do I upload attachments? The ability to upload attachments depends entirely on how your organization's administrators configured the specific intake form. If they included an attachment field, it will appear in the drawer. If not, attachments are not permitted for that specific request type.
Technical Reference
For administrators and developers, the My Service Requests feature operates on the following architecture:
- Route:
/org/service-requests/my - Permission Required:
org.servicedesk.requests.submit - Components:
src/routes/org/servicedesk/MyServiceRequestsPage.tsx
- Services:
src/services/servicedeskService.ts - API Endpoints:
GET /org/servicedesk/catalog- Fetches the active categories and items for the selected project.GET /org/service-requests/my- Fetches the authenticated user's submitted requests.POST /org/service-requests- Submits the request payload.
Data Flow:
The intake forms are completely dynamic, built client-side by mapping over the form_schema (an array of CatalogFormField objects) provided by the CatalogItem. Validation is handled prior to submission using validateCatalogAnswers(), which enforces required, min/max lengths, and custom Regex pattern properties.
If a ServiceRequest is created and does not require approval (or once it passes the approval engine), the backend automatically provisions a Ticket and links it back to the request, populating the ticket_id column.