Retrospective Tabs

Overview

Specify custom tab details

Create a custom field

Field type examples

Manage custom fields

ServiceNow custom field integration

 

 

Overview

Blameless retrospectives can include multiple custom tabs, each of which is comprised of one or more custom fields. This functionality helps Administrators to build out a more customized experience for organizations as they leverage retrospectives to gain more insight into their incident management performance!

1. From the Blameless UI, in the left sidebar, select Settings.
2. Expand the Retrospective Preferences section, and then select Retrospective Tabs (formerly Custom Tab).

 

 

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Specify details of a custom ta

By default, there is a single custom tab by default. You can edit the details of a custom tab including renaming, specifying incident types, and specifying questions by using the Overflow icon.

Once you click Edit, you will be presented with a modal that allows you to specify various details related to the Custom Tab.

Start the custom tab creation process by specifying a name and any incident types. Blameless automatically saves all entered data. In the step below, we will create a custom tab entitled "Internal Workflow" that will be applied to all retrospectives for all incident types.

1. In the Tab Name field (required), enter a name for the new tab (30 characters or less).
2. In the Incident Types field, click the field and select all incident types whose retrospectives will include the custom tab. To apply the custom tab to all incident types, leave blank.

 

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Create a custom field

Next, we will create a multiple choice custom field entitled "Knowledge Sharing". To learn more about the custom field types available, see Field type examples.

1. In the Custom Fields section, click + Add Field.

2. In the Field Name field, enter a name for the new field. 
3. In the Description field (optional), enter a brief description of the field.
4. In the Field Type field, select either Short Text, Paragraph, Dropdown, or Multiple Choice (see Field type examples). In this example, we are creating a multiple choice field.
   1. Short text: When selected, a single line text field is produced.
   2. Paragraph: When selected, a text paragraph field is produced.
   3. Dropdown: When selected, a single-choice dropdown menu with options is produced.
   4. Multiple choice: When selected, a multi-choice array of options is produced.
5. In the Required to publish retrospectives field, select the checkbox to require completion of the custom field.
6. In the Sync field, select to sync the custom field to an existing ServiceNow custom field (see ServiceNow custom field integration).
7. In the Enable and show field on the tab field, toggle the switch to enable the custom field.
   1. Note: In order to preview a custom field, you must first enable it.

8. Click Preview to see what your custom field looks like.

1. 1. A window with the preview appears. Click Done to close.

9. When satisfied with the custom field(s), select Activate and, in the Activate the tab toggle switch, select to activate the tab. The new tab will take affect on all new and unpublished retrospectives; for existing retrospectives, refresh the page to see new custom tabs.
   1. Note: A custom tab must have a) a name and b) at least one enabled custom field before being eligible for activation in your retrospectives.

10. To see the custom tab, navigate to a retrospective. If it is an existing retrospective, remember to refresh the page to see newly-created custom tab(s).

 

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Field type examples

Blameless' retrospective custom tabs are available in four types:

• Short text
• Paragraph
• Dropdown
• Multiple choice

About data retention

Note that all field types feature data retention. Meaning, if a user has entered information in a field and that field has been subsequently disabled, Blameless still retains and displays that data in the retrospective.

For example, in the Short text field type below, a user entered data into the field ("Mr. John Doe"), but afterwards the field was disabled (i.e., the Enable and show field on the tab toggle is disabled). Blameless will continue to display the data in the event that it's required for analysis, despite the field being disabled.

 

Short text

When selected, a single line text field is produced.

Creating the custom field:

As it appears in a retrospective:

 

Paragraph

When selected, a text paragraph field is produced.

Creating the custom field:

As it appears in a retrospective:

 

Dropdown

When selected, a single-choice dropdown menu with options is produced.

Creating the custom field:

As it appears in a retrospective:

 

Multiple choice

When selected, a multi-choice array of options is produced.

Creating the custom field:

As it appears in a retrospective:

 

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Manage custom fields

 

Reorder custom fields

On the left side of a custom field, drag the 3x3 movement cube and drop in a desired position.

 

Delete a custom field

1. Click the trash bin icon to delete a custom field.

2. In the deletion confirmation dialog box, click Delete. The deletion takes immediate effect on new and unpublished retrospectives; in-use retrospectives will be updated on page refresh.

 

Remove a field option

To remove a field option, select the minus icon to the right of the field you wish to remove.

 

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ServiceNow custom field integration

The Sync field enables administrators to synchronize Blameless custom fields with associated custom problem fields in ServiceNow. When two custom fields are synced, then any information entered in a Blameless custom field by a user will automatically appear in the associated ServiceNow problem field.

 

Prerequisites to enable auto-sync

Complete the following prerequisites to enable auto-sync for Blameless custom fields and ServiceNow problem ticket fields. For detailed instructions about how to set up the ServiceNow - Blameless integration, please see our ServiceNow integration documentation.

1. Ensure that OAuth 2.0 authentication is selected for the Blameless and ServiceNow integration.

2. Ensure that the Enable ServiceNow field and Create ServiceNow Problem per Incident field are both enabled.

 

Sync fields between Blameless and ServiceNow

1. Log on to the ServiceNow platform as an administrator.
2. Create a field for a problem ticket in ServiceNow. For reference:
   • Create a new field: How to add a field into a ServiceNow form.
   • Field types: Different types of fields you can create in ServiceNow.
   • Form designer: Visual tool for designing forms in ServiceNow.
3. Retrieve the field ID for a ServiceNow field:
   1. Navigate to a problem ticket, right-click on the field you wish to sync with Blameless, and select Show - '<field ID>'.
      1. In the example below, we right-clicked on the Lesson Learned field and then selected Show - 'u_bl_lessonlearned'.

1. 2. In the Field field, copy the value.
      1. In the example below, we copied u_bl_lessonlearned to the clipboard.

4. Associate the ServiceNow field with a Blameless custom field.
   1. Return to the Blameless UI, expand a custom field, and ensure that the Sync field is enabled.
   2. In the Dictionary Name field, paste the name of the ServiceNow field ID.
   3. Ensure that the Enable and show field on the tab is enabled in order to view the custom field on the custom tab.

5. The Blameless custom field and the ServiceNow problem ticket field are now synced. Whenever a Blameless user enters information into the custom field, that text will also appear in the associated ServiceNow problem ticket field.