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Helpdesk Sandbox Workout

Before You Start

Sandbox Access

URL: http://66.23.224.253:8888

Training accounts:

Username Password Role
manager1 manager1 Manager (full access)
csr1 csr1 CSR (can submit tickets)

You can also log in with any Scott Recycling employee email using password training.

This is a safe copy of our real system. Nothing here affects production. Practice freely.

The sandbox resets periodically from a fresh copy, so don't worry about "breaking" anything. The Helpdesk module is pre-installed and ready to use.

Sandbox Limitations

  • The sandbox may not have tickets pre-loaded — you'll create them as part of the exercises
  • Email notifications won't send in the sandbox
  • Some portal features may not be accessible from the sandbox URL

Prerequisite

Complete the Helpdesk Fundamentals course first, or at least skim it. These exercises assume you understand the concepts.

Training Path Overview

Complete these exercises in order. Each one builds on the previous. Plan for about 2 hours total.

# Exercise What You'll Practice Time
1 Find the Helpdesk App Navigation, main menu, views 10 min
2 Explore the Dashboard Team cards, stats, drill-down 10 min
3 Create Your First Ticket Form walkthrough, all fields 15 min
4 Work a Ticket Through Stages New → In Progress → Done 15 min
5 Assign & Reassign Tickets "Assign to me", manual reassignment 10 min
6 Use Search & Filters My Tickets, Unassigned, Group By 10 min
7 Merge Duplicate Tickets Create duplicates, merge wizard 15 min
8 Create a Maintenance Request From ticket, wizard walkthrough 15 min
9 Explore Reporting Pivot, graph views 10 min
10 Real-World Scenarios Realistic situations 20 min

Exercise 1: Find the Helpdesk App (10 min)

Goal: Know where the Helpdesk app lives and how to navigate its main sections.

Steps

  1. Log in at the sandbox URL as manager1 / manager1
  2. From the main Odoo dashboard, find and click the Helpdesk app icon
  3. You'll land on the Dashboard — this shows team cards with ticket counts
  4. Explore the top menu:
    • Click Dashboard — team overview with To Do, Unassigned, Unattended, High Priority counts
    • Click Tickets — you'll see submenus for My Tickets and All Tickets
    • Click Reporting — ticket analytics (pivot and graph views)
    • Click Configuration — Settings, Channels, Categories, Stages, Teams, Ticket Tags
  5. Go to Helpdesk → Tickets → All Tickets
  6. Try the different view options in the top-right corner:
    • List view (lines icon) — table format
    • Kanban view (squares icon) — card columns grouped by stage
    • Pivot view — data analysis table

Checkpoint

  • Can you find the Helpdesk app from the main dashboard?
  • Do you know where Tickets, Reporting, and Configuration live?
  • Can you switch between List, Kanban, and Pivot views?

Exercise 2: Explore the Dashboard (10 min)

Goal: Understand what the Dashboard tells you and how to drill into the numbers.

Steps

  1. Go to Helpdesk → Dashboard
  2. Look at the team cards — each card shows:
    • Team name at the top
    • To Do — total open tickets
    • Unassigned — tickets needing an owner
    • Unattended — tickets still in "New" stage
    • High Priority — "Very High" priority tickets
  3. If any numbers are shown, click them — each number links to a filtered ticket list
  4. Click the team name on any card — this opens the team's ticket list
  5. Return to the Dashboard and look at the overall picture:
    • Which team has the most open tickets?
    • Are there unattended tickets that need attention?

Think About

  • The Dashboard is your morning check-in — open it first thing to see what needs attention
  • "Unattended" tickets are the ones nobody has started — these should be picked up quickly
  • "Unassigned" tickets need someone to take ownership

Checkpoint

  • Can you read the team stats on the Dashboard?
  • Did you click a number to drill into the ticket list?
  • Do you understand the difference between Unassigned and Unattended?

Exercise 3: Create Your First Ticket (15 min)

Goal: Create a helpdesk ticket with all fields filled in correctly.

Steps

  1. Go to Helpdesk → Tickets → All Tickets
  2. Click New
  3. Fill in:
Field Value
Title Office printer on 2nd floor not printing
Description "The HP LaserJet on the 2nd floor is showing 'offline' on all computers. It was working yesterday. The printer itself is powered on and shows no error on the display panel. Already tried restarting it."
Team (select any available team)
Priority Medium
Category (select any available category, or skip if none exist)
Channel Phone
  1. Click Save
  2. Note the ticket number that was assigned (e.g., HT00001)
  3. Look at the status bar at the top — the ticket should be in New stage
  4. Scroll down to the chatter and post a message: "Reported by admin assistant. Multiple users affected."

Now Create a Second Ticket

Create another ticket on your own for this scenario: A customer called to complain that their January invoice shows the wrong pickup count. They say they had 3 pickups but the invoice shows 5.

Choose appropriate values for all fields. Think about:

  • What's a good title?
  • What priority should this be?
  • What channel is it?

Checkpoint

  • Did you create two tickets?
  • Did both get auto-assigned ticket numbers?
  • Did you fill in the title, description, team, priority, and channel?
  • Did you post a chatter message on the first ticket?

Exercise 4: Work a Ticket Through Stages (15 min)

Goal: Move a ticket through the full lifecycle from creation to resolution.

Steps — Form View Method

  1. Open the printer ticket you created in Exercise 3
  2. The ticket should be in New stage (shown in the status bar at the top)
  3. Click In Progress in the status bar — you've just started work
  4. Post a chatter message: "Investigating. Checked network connection — printer is connected but not responding to print jobs. Restarting the print spooler service."
  5. Wait a moment (simulating time passing), then post another message: "Restarted the print spooler service on the print server. Test page printed successfully. Asked three users to test — all confirmed working."
  6. Click Done in the status bar — the ticket is resolved

Steps — Kanban View Method

  1. Go to Helpdesk → Tickets → All Tickets and switch to Kanban view (squares icon)
  2. Find the invoice complaint ticket in the New column
  3. Drag the card from "New" to "In Progress"
  4. Click the card to open it and post a chatter message: "Reviewing January pickup records in the system. Comparing against customer's records."
  5. Go back to Kanban view and drag the card from "In Progress" to "Done"

Think About

  • Which method do you prefer — form view or Kanban?
  • The Kanban board is great for a quick overview. The form view is better for detailed notes.
  • In practice, you'll use both throughout the day.

Checkpoint

  • Did you move the printer ticket through New → In Progress → Done?
  • Did you practice using the Kanban drag-and-drop?
  • Did you add chatter messages at each stage?

Exercise 5: Assign & Reassign Tickets (10 min)

Goal: Practice assigning tickets to yourself and to other team members.

Steps

  1. Create a new ticket:
    • Title: Warehouse WiFi dropping connections
    • Description: "Several warehouse scanners are losing WiFi connection intermittently. Started this morning. May be related to the new access point installation."
    • Priority: High
    • Team: (select a team)
    • Do NOT set an Assigned User — leave it blank
  2. Save the ticket
  3. Notice the Assign to me button — click it
  4. Observe that the Assigned User field now shows your name and the Assigned Date is set
  5. Now change the assignment:
    • Click the Assigned User field
    • Select a different user from the dropdown (they must be a team member)
  6. Post a chatter message: "Reassigning to [name] — they have more experience with the network equipment."

Think About

  • "Assign to me" is the fastest way to claim a ticket
  • When reassigning, always leave a note explaining why

Checkpoint

  • Did you create a ticket without an assigned user?
  • Did you use "Assign to me" to claim it?
  • Did you reassign it to another user?
  • Did you post a note about the reassignment?

Exercise 6: Use Search & Filters (10 min)

Goal: Find specific tickets using the search bar, filters, and group-by options.

Steps

  1. Go to Helpdesk → Tickets → All Tickets
  2. Click the search bar at the top
  3. Try these searches:
    • Type "printer" and press Enter — find your printer ticket
    • Click Filters → My Tickets — see only tickets assigned to you
    • Click Filters → Unassigned — see tickets with no assigned user
    • Click Filters → Open — see all non-closed tickets
  4. Now try Group By:
    • Click Group By → Stage — tickets are grouped into sections by stage
    • Click Group By → Team — tickets are grouped by team
    • Click Group By → Priority — tickets are grouped by urgency level
  5. Combine filters:
    • Apply Filters → Open AND Group By → Team — see each team's active backlog
  6. Clear all filters by clicking the X next to each filter tag

Think About

  • Filters and Group By are your power tools for managing a large ticket backlog
  • Save a commonly used filter as a "Favorite" (click Favorites → Save current search)

Checkpoint

  • Can you search by keyword?
  • Can you filter to Unassigned or Open tickets?
  • Can you group tickets by Stage, Team, or Priority?
  • Can you combine a filter with a group-by?

Exercise 7: Merge Duplicate Tickets (15 min)

Goal: Create two similar tickets and merge them using the merge wizard.

Steps

  1. Create two tickets that describe the same issue:

    Ticket A:

    • Title: Break room microwave not heating
    • Description: "The microwave in the break room runs but doesn't heat food."
    • Priority: Low

    Ticket B:

    • Title: Microwave in break room broken
    • Description: "Microwave won't heat. Timer works but food comes out cold."
    • Priority: Medium

  2. Go to Helpdesk → Tickets → All Tickets (list view)

  3. Select both tickets using the checkboxes on the left
  4. Click Action → Merge Tickets (or look for the merge option in the action menu)
  5. The merge wizard opens:
    • Choose which ticket to keep as the primary (the one with more detail or the earlier number)
    • Review the merge preview
  6. Click Merge
  7. Open the surviving ticket — you should see messages and followers from both tickets combined

Think About

  • Merge when two tickets describe the exact same issue
  • Don't merge tickets from different contacts or about different equipment
  • The merged ticket keeps the primary ticket's number and fields

Checkpoint

  • Did you create two similar tickets?
  • Did you successfully merge them?
  • Does the surviving ticket have content from both originals?

Exercise 8: Create a Maintenance Request (15 min)

Goal: Create a maintenance request directly from a helpdesk ticket.

Scenario

A warehouse worker reports that the main forklift is leaking hydraulic fluid. They submitted a helpdesk ticket, and now you need to create a maintenance request so the garage team can track the repair.

Steps

  1. Create a new ticket:
    • Title: Forklift leaking hydraulic fluid — warehouse
    • Description: "Main warehouse forklift (Toyota 8FGU25) has a visible hydraulic fluid leak. Puddle found under the forklift this morning. Forklift still operates but leak is getting worse. Parked in bay 3."
    • Priority: High
    • Team: (select a team)
  2. Save the ticket
  3. Look for the Create Maintenance Request button on the ticket form

  4. Click it — the wizard opens:

    Field Value
    Request Type Equipment
    Responsible (select any user)
    Equipment (select an equipment record if available, or leave blank)

  5. Click Create

  6. You should be taken to the new maintenance request
  7. Go back to the helpdesk ticket — notice:
    • A chatter message linking to the maintenance request
    • A Maintenance Requests smart button showing "1"
  8. Click the smart button to navigate to the linked maintenance request

Think About

  • The wizard copies the ticket's title, description, followers, and messages to the maintenance request
  • The ticket and maintenance request are linked but independent — update each separately
  • Use this workflow whenever a helpdesk ticket involves physical equipment repair

Checkpoint

  • Did you create a ticket for the forklift issue?
  • Did you use the wizard to create a maintenance request?
  • Can you see the link between the ticket and the maintenance request?
  • Does the maintenance request have the ticket's description?

Exercise 9: Explore Reporting (10 min)

Goal: View ticket analytics and understand what reports are available.

Steps

  1. Go to Helpdesk → Reporting → Tickets
  2. You'll see a default Pivot view. Explore the options:
    • Measures — Change what's being measured (Count is the default)
    • Rows/Columns — Add groupings (Team, Stage, Priority, Category, etc.)
  3. Try these specific views:
    • Add Stage to Rows — see how many tickets are in each stage
    • Add Priority to Rows — see the priority breakdown
    • Add Team to Columns — see distribution across teams
  4. Switch to the Graph view:
    • Try Bar, Line, and Pie chart types
    • Change the grouping to see different data slices
  5. Go back to Pivot view and try:
    • Click a number in the pivot table to drill down to the underlying tickets

Think About

  • Reporting is for managers — use it to spot trends and bottlenecks
  • If one team consistently has more unattended tickets, they may need more members
  • If tickets pile up in "Awaiting", the team may need to follow up faster

Checkpoint

  • Can you find the Reporting section?
  • Can you switch between Pivot and Graph views?
  • Can you group tickets by Stage, Team, and Priority?
  • Can you drill down from a pivot cell to see the underlying tickets?

Exercise 10: Real-World Scenarios (20 min)

Goal: Apply everything you've learned to realistic situations.

Scenario A: Morning Check-In

It's Monday morning. You're a helpdesk team lead and need to check the status of your team.

  1. Open the Helpdesk app
  2. Look at the Dashboard — check your team's stats
  3. Click Unattended — are there tickets nobody has started?
  4. Click Unassigned — are there tickets nobody has claimed?
  5. Open the highest-priority unattended ticket and assign it to yourself
  6. Move it to In Progress and post a chatter note: "Starting work on this. Will investigate this morning."

Scenario B: Forklift Breakdown → Ticket → Maintenance

A driver walks up and says: "The reach truck in aisle 5 won't start. Battery was charged overnight but it's completely dead this morning."

  1. Create a new ticket:
    • Title: Reach truck aisle 5 — won't start, battery dead
    • Priority: High
    • Channel: Other (walk-up report)
  2. In the description, note: "Reach truck in aisle 5 won't start. Battery was on charger overnight. Indicator shows full charge but truck has no power. May be a wiring issue or battery failure."
  3. Create a Maintenance Request from the ticket
  4. Post a chatter note: "Maintenance request created. Garage team notified."
  5. Move the ticket to In Progress

Scenario C: Customer Complaint → Ticket → Resolve

A customer calls to complain that their recycling bin wasn't picked up on the scheduled day.

  1. Create a new ticket:
    • Title: Missed pickup — [Customer Name] — scheduled 2/18
    • Priority: Medium
    • Channel: Phone
    • Category: Customer Service
  2. In the description, note: "Customer reports bin was out by 7 AM on Tuesday 2/18. Truck did not come. Customer wants a makeup pickup."
  3. Move to In Progress
  4. Post a chatter note: "Checked dispatch records. Route was delayed due to truck breakdown. Scheduling makeup pickup for Thursday 2/20."
  5. Post another note: "Makeup pickup confirmed for 2/20. Called customer to confirm. Customer satisfied."
  6. Move to Done

Scenario D: Duplicate Tickets

Two people submitted tickets for the same issue — the office AC stopped working.

  1. Create two tickets:
    • Ticket 1: "AC not working in main office"
    • Ticket 2: "Office is really hot — no air conditioning"
  2. Merge them using the merge wizard
  3. Create a maintenance request from the merged ticket (since it's a facilities issue)

Checkpoint

  • Did you handle the Monday morning check-in?
  • Did you create a ticket for the forklift and route it to maintenance?
  • Did you resolve the customer complaint through the full lifecycle?
  • Did you merge the duplicate AC tickets and create a maintenance request?

Wrap-Up Checklist

By completing this workout, you should be comfortable with:

  • Finding and navigating the Helpdesk app
  • Reading the Dashboard for team workload awareness
  • Creating tickets with all relevant fields filled in
  • Working tickets through the full stage pipeline (New → In Progress → Done)
  • Assigning and reassigning tickets
  • Using search, filters, and group-by to find tickets
  • Merging duplicate tickets
  • Creating maintenance requests from tickets
  • Using the reporting pivot and graph views
  • Handling real-world scenarios — breakdowns, complaints, duplicates

What's Next?

Resource Description
Helpdesk Fundamentals Review concepts and terminology anytime
Helpdesk Software Guide Detailed reference for all Helpdesk module features
Helpdesk Admin Guide Configuration reference for managers

Need Help?

Contact your supervisor or the IT department if you have questions about the Helpdesk module. For system issues, reach out to the development team.