Field Service Heroes: Working in ServiceMax Better & Faster [Salesforce Navigation]

[richard_lewis]

I want to get connected with others who are working in ServiceMax and Salesforce every day. Does that sound like you?

For this first post, I’m hoping to hear from other customers who are interested in collaborating around field service, cloud software, ServiceMax.

Are you your team’s subject matter expert? Are you looking to become one?

Please reply if you are interested in the topics below, if you have a similar goals for your team, or if you are just checking this out and could be interested in the future. Let’s build a group of people who want to share and learn together - comment to get involved!

I’m a member of the ServiceMax VIP Program and the Community Champions group here on the ServiceMax Community.  I was interviewed by Deirdre Yee regarding the blog series I’m authoring: Field Service Heroes: Working in ServiceMax Better & Faster. I’m excited to share my insights around field service software with this community, and I really want to get the conversation going with other members. The ServiceMax Community can be a great place to help people and to get help from others in the industry. When you put questions out there, you’ll see responses!

So what is my blog series, Field Service Heroes: Working in ServiceMax Better & Faster, about?

Like the title says, it is focused on tips that help field service team members get their work done faster. A small change might save you 20 seconds. If you have to go through that process dozens of times a day, you'll notice the great amount of time you can save and how meaningful it is. It’s taken me years to find these tricks and shortcuts. Sometimes the most efficient way forward is not obvious.

If you work in ServiceMax and Salesforce, there are many resources available, and in some ways that makes things easier. There are a series of helpful resources like training videos, Field Service University courses, release webinars, and design time events on this platform. And on the salesforce​ side, the Trailhead training program is a great asset.

But in some ways there are too many sources of information. Trailhead is weeks of training. That’s not something you can wade through in your first week on the job. When you look at all the training offered, it might not be something you can master in your first year.

I’m hoping this blog series will help people hone in on the simple items that will increase their productivity and efficiency.

I’d also like to incorporate input from others. For each post, we can make this a collaborative conversation. I’ll consolidate the tips we share so that it is a living, evolving, and growing document.

What topics will we cover?

• Salesforce Navigation

Tips for searching, browsing the Salesforce browser, basic information on customizing the work order view

• Administrator and Configurator: Tips and Tricks

Advanced settings, translations, SFDC translation workbench, ServiceMax translations, custom labels

• Dashboards and Reports

The power of one and more tips on reporting

• Chrome and External Programs

Integrations, apps, useful steps to take

• Support Processes

Support and training resources

What other subjects are you interested in?

I hope you’ll reply below. Please share your tips, weigh in on what’s important, and tell us what makes your day easier and more efficient.

Other Posts in This Series

Field Service Heroes: Working in ServiceMax Better & Faster [Salesforce Navigation]

[lisa_mercer]

Michael Majerus​ This may be of interest to you.

[lisa_mercer]

Roni Kullachanda​  This might be helpful to your team!

[Nicole_Guzzo]

This is great, Richard! I can't wait to read everyone's tips and tricks.

[terry_cavender]

Richard, we cant have all this without a blog on governor limits :-)

[rvanwaveren]

Definitely interested...

[gbragagni]

Very much interested , looking forward

[chad_formea]

Following.......

[ahomoly]

Definitely interested

[richard_lewis]

@ mentioning the Customers with the most points on the Community to ask for any tips and tricks they would be willing to share or any particular areas of functionality they would like to see covered.

Brenden Burkinshaw​Adam Cooper​Michael Majerus​ Nick Sauer​Alex Langston​ Aidan Kirkpatrick​Hans van Mil​Steve Nava​Mark Taylor​John Welisevich​Russell Jacobs​Dan Schiess​Joshua Phillips​Ramesh Kotamareddy​Susan Michel​David Brieck​Gill Cook​Beth Koehl​

Thanks in advance, Richard

[mmajerus6]

Richard, thanks for heading this up!

One of the best sessions that I attended at Maximize was MunMun's SFM course. During the session she showed how to configure a 'Multi-source Process' within an SFM to launch an SFM Process in the background from within an SFM and also talked about best practice of defining 'Field Sets' in order to make the SFM more efficient. I've already talked to my lead developer about both of these items and we're excited to make our config faster for our end users. We use a great deal of SFM functionality including: literals in SFM mapping, SFM formulas, Handovers, and Scheduled SFMs to enhance our offline capabilities.

I think it would be interesting to have an in-depth session on SFM features and best practices. Specifically, I would like to learn more about 'Advanced Lookup filters' in SFMs which can filter records based on fields of related objects. It was really helpful to work through a business use case to see practically how the functionality can enable the business. Copying MunMun Malik Anita D'Souza Lisa Mercer​ bio-rad​

[richard_lewis]

Thanks Michael, I will add this to the list of topics. Great to hear about your highlight of Maximise. Thanks for sharing!

Regards, Richard

[michaelncohen]

Love getting insights from actual customers and users. This is really helpful in learning how people use ServiceMax and how it helps field service.

[brenoburkinshaw]

Happy to join the conversation and learn together to become a better admin for my organisation.

[richard_lewis]

Thanks Brenden, I am working on the next blog and look forward to your feedback as we go through the series. 

Regards, Richard

[russjaco]

Sounds like a great idea, will be happy to join it.

[richard_lewis]

Thanks Russell, let me know if there are any areas you would like me to cover. 

Regards, Richard

[warrenhalbie]

Hi Richard, this sounds really interesting and would be very interested in getting involved.

[richard_lewis]

For those who have said they are interested in this, here is a list of the areas I am considering covering in the blog series. Please share any tips and tricks you have with me directly or as a comment on this blog so I can include them. Also please share any other areas you would like to see covered.

Web Browsers inc plugins, Support Processes, Useful programs, Helpful configuration, dashboards and reports, Resources for Support and Training, SFMs

Regards, Richard

[brenoburkinshaw]

Richard Lewis here are some useful Google Chrome Extensions that I use that should help with the day today.

Salesforce API Fieldnames - Extension shows the API field names on detail pages https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/salesforce-api-fieldnames/oghajcjpbolpfoikoccffglngkphjgbo

Salesforce advanced Code searcher - By using the advanced quick find you can get your code few clicks shorter. Also, you can search any string your code https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/salesforce-advanced-code/lnkgcmpjkkkeffambkllliefdpjdklmi

I've a feeling we're not in a Sandbox anymore - Warns you that you are in a production instance of Salesforce with a noticeable yellow banner https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ive-a-feeling-were-not-in/kagabgbcemdhfgefjnnpfnhfpednebbk

Salesforce Change Set Helper - Change set with sort, view all, and additional information, such as last modified date. Allows comparison with other orgs https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/salesforce-change-set-hel/gdjfanbphogooppaefebaaoohdcigpoi

Linkclump – Ability to open multiple links up as new tabs https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/linkclump/lfpjkncokllnfokkgpkobnkbkmelfefj

Grammarly – Checks your spelling and grammar within Salesforce (and all websites) https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grammarly-for-chrome/kbfnbcaeplbcioakkpcpgfkobkghlhen

Project Naptha – Lets you highlight and copy text within images on the web. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/project-naptha/molncoemjfmpgdkbdlbjmhlcgniigdnf

[richard_lewis]

Thanks Brenden, great extensions! I will check them out and include in the blog post with extensions.

Regards, Richard

[russjaco]

Hi Richard

A couple of things i would like to hear about, one would be testing tools, for version upgrade and development testing, and something about Web Services, and how to set them up and develop and test them, its something we are being ask for more and more.

Thanks

Russ

[richard_lewis]

Thanks Russell, I will add those to the list for consideration for future posts. I am working on getting the next blog post approved at the moment.

Regards

[richard_lewis]

The next blog post in this series is now available

Field Service Heroes: Working in ServiceMax Better & Faster [Salesforce Navigation]

[cpalmer]

Very interested. 

[rose_foster]

Hi @Richard Lewis, can you also add topics to discuss the difference between MFL, FSL and ServiceMax Application?

[richard_lewis]

thanks Rose

[faheem]

Interested & Seems interesting !