Service Workflows
Define the steps a batch of Chromebooks goes through, from unboxing and asset tagging to summer tuneup and long-term storage, and run it against a collection. Each device is tracked step by step, and a failed step can open a repair ticket on its own.
What it does
Most of a technology department’s hands-on work happens in batches: a pallet of new devices in August, the whole fleet through a tuneup in June, a closet of returns to inspect before they go back out. The work is repetitive, the steps are the same every time, and the thing that goes wrong is a device that quietly skipped one.
A workflow in UserAuthGuard is an ordered list of steps chosen from a fixed set: unboxing, asset tagging, enterprise enrollment, visual inspection, summer tuneup, white glove service, retest, repair and long-term storage. Each step has an estimated duration and, where it makes sense, a pass or fail. You run a workflow against a collection of devices, and every device in it progresses through the steps individually. The queue shows what is waiting at each step and who is working it.
What happens on a failure is set per step: open a repair ticket for that device, carry on to the next step, stop the workflow, or allow a retry. Models the district has stopped repairing can be routed to the parts-donor queue instead, so a cracked device of a retired model becomes screens and keyboards for the ones you still run. Each workflow can carry a price, a labor rate and a dead-on-arrival cost, for districts that charge back to buildings or run a service center.
- ✓ Ordered steps, chosen from a fixed setUnboxing, asset tagging, enterprise enrollment, visual inspection, summer tuneup, white glove, retest, repair, long-term storage. Build the sequence that matches your bench.
- ✓ Pass or fail per stepInspection and tuneup steps record a result per device, so “we checked them all” has a record behind it.
- ✓ Failures open repair ticketsOr continue, stop or retry: your choice per step. A device that fails inspection lands in the Repair Queue with the step that failed it.
- ✓ A parts-donor queueName the models you no longer repair. When one fails, it goes to the donor queue instead of a repair ticket.
- ✓ Progress per device, per batchSee what is waiting at each step across the collection, and the step history of any single device.
- ✓ Time and cost per stepEstimated minutes per step and optional pricing per workflow, for planning the summer and for charge-backs.
Requires
- The Enterprise plan, with the service desk modules (Support Queue, Repair Queue, Inventory).
- A collection of devices to run against, created in UserAuthGuard by scan or by list.
Does not
- Provide a student self-service drop-off kiosk. Workflows are for technicians processing batches; students report problems from the extension, which opens a ticket in the Support Queue.
- Invent steps. The step types are fixed; you order them and set what happens on failure.
- Enroll devices for you. The enrollment step records that enrollment was done; the enrollment itself happens on the device.
Where it fits
New devices in August
Unboxing, asset tagging, enterprise enrollment, visual inspection. Every device in the shipment passes through each step, and the one with a dead keyboard out of the box is a ticket before it reaches a student.
Summer tuneup
The returned fleet goes through inspection and tuneup. Failures become repair tickets; models you have retired go to the donor queue. By August you know how many good devices you have, not how many came back.
Retiring a model
Devices past their retirement date go through a long-term storage step so they are recorded as pulled, and the Fleet Lifecycle Planner stops counting them as in service.
Frequently asked questions
How does a device get into a workflow?
You create a collection, by scanning devices in or by importing a list, and choose the workflow it should run. Every device in the collection then has a current step and a status.
What happens when a device fails a step?
Whatever that step is set to do: open a repair ticket, continue, stop, or allow a retry. If the device is a model on your parts-donor list, it goes to the donor queue instead of repair.
Can we have more than one workflow?
Yes. Keep one for new-device intake, one for summer tuneup, one for returns inspection, and mark one as the default. Each has its own steps and failure rules.
Is there a student drop-off or pickup kiosk?
No. Students report a problem from the UserAuthGuard extension on their Chromebook, which opens a ticket with the device attached. Workflows are the technician side: what happens to a batch of devices once they are on the bench.
Run the bench the same way every time
Service Workflows are part of the Enterprise plan, priced per student, à la carte. Start free first: the gap report lists every device with no owner and every student with no device.