Manually assigning tickets to the right technicians is a task that seems simple but consumes coordination time and introduces delays in the start of service. – The Smart Assign module automates this decision based on category or group rules, ensuring fair distribution and faster service.
The problem
In service desks without automatic assignment, there is always a bottleneck: someone needs to look at newly opened tickets and decide who to route them to. This role – usually performed by the team coordinator or the most experienced analyst – is repetitive, manual, and error-prone.
The result is a queue that grows during peak periods while no one responds, or an uneven distribution where one technician is overloaded while others have idle capacity. Both scenarios harm SLA and user satisfaction.
Smart Assign eliminates this bottleneck: as soon as a ticket is opened, the module evaluates configured rules and automatically assigns it to the correct technician, before the queue is even viewed by the coordinator.
How Smart Assign works
The module operates via hooks in the ticket creation and update cycle. Configuration is done by category or group, with two distribution modes:
- Assignment by Category – Defines which technician or group receives tickets from a given category. Ideal for specialized teams where each category has a fixed responsible person or a dedicated group.
- Assignment by Group – Distributes tickets among group members using one of the two modes below.
- Balancing mode (fewer tickets) – The ticket is assigned to the group technician with the lowest number of open tickets. Ensures balanced workload distribution.
- Round-robin mode (sequential) – Tickets are distributed in sequential order among group members, regardless of current load. Useful when all technicians have the same capacity and volume-based balancing is unnecessary.
- Automatic adaptation – When the group composition changes (new technician added or removed), the module adapts automatically without manual reconfiguration.
- Automatic logs – Each assignment is logged in the
plugin_nextool_smartassign.logfile, enabling traceability and auditing.
How to activate
- Install the NexTool plugin on GLPI
- Go to Setup > NexTool > Modules
- Activate the Smart Assign module
- Go to Setup > General > NexTool > Smart Assign > Configure
- Define assignment rules by category and/or group, choosing the distribution mode for each
Who is it for
Smart Assign is recommended for any support team that still manually assigns tickets. The benefits are most evident in:
- Teams with 3 or more technicians where uneven distribution is a recurring problem
- Service desks with volume peaks where the coordinator is overwhelmed with triage work
- Environments with well-defined categories and specialized teams by area (infrastructure, development, ERP, etc.)
- Operations that need assignment traceability for process or SLA audits
Compatibility
- GLPI: 10.x and 11.x
- Plan: FREE
- Plugin: NexTool 3.x+
- PHP: 8.1+
Next step
Smart Assign is part of NexTool, a modular plugin for GLPI. Explore all available modules or contact the team for a demonstration.
This content was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the Nextool Solutions team. Screenshots are from the real GLPI environment with the NexTool plugin.
