Case Auto-Resolve

Overview

This skill automates the resolution of common, repetitive incidents and cases by leveraging pattern matching against known issues, knowledge base article lookups, and historical resolution data. It enables a zero-touch service desk workflow where routine tickets are resolved without human intervention.

• Identify incidents matching known resolution patterns (password resets, access requests, common errors)
• Match incoming tickets against knowledge base articles with high-confidence solutions
• Analyze historical resolution data for similar past incidents to derive automated fixes
• Apply resolution templates with appropriate work notes and customer communications
• Track auto-resolution success rates and escalate when confidence is low

When to use: When you want to reduce manual ticket handling for repetitive, well-understood issues that have documented solutions or consistent historical resolutions.

Prerequisites

• Roles: itil, knowledge_manager, or incident_manager
• Plugins: com.snc.incident (Incident Management), com.glide.knowledge (Knowledge Management)
• Access: Read/write on incident, read on kb_knowledge, sn_agent_workspace, sys_cs_channel
• Knowledge: Understanding of your organization's common incident categories and resolution patterns
• Data: Sufficient historical incident data (recommended: 6+ months) for pattern matching

Procedure

Step 1: Identify Candidates for Auto-Resolution

Query for new or open incidents that match auto-resolvable categories.

Using MCP (Claude Code/Desktop):

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: incident
  query: active=true^state=1^categoryINsoftware,hardware,network^short_descriptionLIKEpassword reset^ORshort_descriptionLIKEaccess request^ORshort_descriptionLIKEVPN^ORshort_descriptionLIKEprinter
  fields: sys_id,number,short_description,description,category,subcategory,priority,state,contact_type
  limit: 50

Using REST API:

GET /api/now/table/incident?sysparm_query=active=true^state=1^categoryINsoftware,hardware,network^short_descriptionLIKEpassword reset^ORshort_descriptionLIKEaccess request^ORshort_descriptionLIKEVPN^ORshort_descriptionLIKEprinter&sysparm_fields=sys_id,number,short_description,description,category,subcategory,priority,state,contact_type&sysparm_limit=50

Step 2: Build Pattern Matching Rules

Define resolution patterns for common incident types:

Pattern ID	Category	Keywords	Resolution Template	Confidence Threshold
PWD-001	Software	password, reset, locked, expired	Password Reset Procedure	0.90
ACC-001	Software	access, permission, role, group	Access Request Fulfillment	0.85
VPN-001	Network	VPN, connect, tunnel, remote	VPN Troubleshooting Steps	0.85
PRN-001	Hardware	printer, print, queue, jam	Printer Reset Guide	0.80
EML-001	Software	email, outlook, calendar, mailbox	Email Configuration Fix	0.85
DRV-001	Hardware	disk, storage, space, full	Disk Cleanup Procedure	0.80

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: incident
  query: state=6^resolved_atONLast 90 days@javascript:gs.daysAgoStart(90)@javascript:gs.daysAgoEnd(0)^short_descriptionLIKEpassword reset
  fields: sys_id,number,short_description,close_code,close_notes,resolution_code
  limit: 20

Step 3: Search Knowledge Base for Matching Articles

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: kb_knowledge
  query: workflow_state=published^active=true^short_descriptionLIKEpassword reset
  fields: sys_id,number,short_description,text,kb_category,rating,sys_view_count
  limit: 5

Using REST API:

GET /api/now/table/kb_knowledge?sysparm_query=workflow_state=published^active=true^short_descriptionLIKEpassword reset&sysparm_fields=sys_id,number,short_description,text,kb_category,rating,sys_view_count&sysparm_limit=5

Step 4: Calculate Resolution Confidence Score

For each candidate incident, compute a confidence score based on:

1. Keyword match strength (0.0-0.4): How many pattern keywords appear in the short description and description
2. KB article relevance (0.0-0.3): Whether a published KB article directly addresses the issue
3. Historical success rate (0.0-0.3): Percentage of similar past incidents successfully auto-resolved

confidence = (keyword_score * 0.4) + (kb_relevance * 0.3) + (historical_rate * 0.3)

Only auto-resolve when confidence >= threshold defined in the pattern rule.

Step 5: Apply Auto-Resolution

For incidents meeting the confidence threshold, apply the resolution:

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: incident
  sys_id: [incident_sys_id]
  data:
    state: 6
    close_code: Solved (Permanently)
    close_notes: "Auto-resolved: Password reset completed via self-service portal. KB article KB0012345 applied. Confidence score: 0.93."
    resolved_by: [auto_resolve_user_sys_id]
    resolution_code: Solved Remotely

Using REST API:

PATCH /api/now/table/incident/{sys_id}
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "state": "6",
  "close_code": "Solved (Permanently)",
  "close_notes": "Auto-resolved: Password reset completed via self-service portal. KB article KB0012345 applied. Confidence score: 0.93.",
  "resolved_by": "[auto_resolve_user_sys_id]",
  "resolution_code": "Solved Remotely"
}

Step 6: Add Detailed Work Notes

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Add-Work-Notes
Parameters:
  sys_id: [incident_sys_id]
  work_notes: |
    === AUTO-RESOLUTION ANALYSIS ===
    Pattern: PWD-001 (Password Reset)
    Confidence Score: 0.93 / 1.00

    Matching Factors:
    - Keywords matched: "password", "reset", "locked" (score: 0.38/0.40)
    - KB article: KB0012345 - Password Reset Procedure (score: 0.28/0.30)
    - Historical success: 94% of 127 similar incidents resolved successfully (score: 0.27/0.30)

    Resolution Applied:
    - Self-service password reset link sent to user email
    - KB article KB0012345 attached to incident
    - User notified via email with resolution steps

    Escalation: Not required (confidence above threshold 0.90)

Step 7: Handle Low-Confidence Cases

When confidence falls below the threshold, route to a human agent with context:

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Update-Record
Parameters:
  table_name: incident
  sys_id: [incident_sys_id]
  data:
    assignment_group: [service_desk_l2_sys_id]
    work_notes: "Auto-resolve attempted but confidence too low (0.62). Partial pattern match on VPN-001. Requires human review. KB articles KB0034567, KB0034568 may be relevant."

Step 8: Monitor Auto-Resolution Metrics

Query resolved incidents to track success rates:

Using MCP:

Tool: SN-Query-Table
Parameters:
  table_name: incident
  query: close_notesLIKEAuto-resolved^resolved_atONLast 30 days@javascript:gs.daysAgoStart(30)@javascript:gs.daysAgoEnd(0)
  fields: sys_id,number,category,close_code,state,reopened
  limit: 200

Track these KPIs:

• Auto-resolution rate: Percentage of total incidents auto-resolved
• Reopen rate: Percentage of auto-resolved incidents reopened by users
• Average confidence score: Mean confidence at time of resolution
• Time savings: Average MTTR reduction vs. manual resolution

Tool Usage

Tool	Purpose	When to Use
SN-Natural-Language-Search	Find candidate incidents using natural language	Initial ticket discovery
SN-Query-Table	Structured queries for KB articles and history	Pattern matching and validation
SN-Update-Record	Apply resolution to incidents	Auto-resolve or escalate
SN-Add-Work-Notes	Document auto-resolution reasoning	Audit trail and transparency
SN-Get-Table-Schema	Discover available fields on tables	Setup and configuration

Best Practices

1. Start conservative -- set high confidence thresholds (0.90+) initially and lower as you validate
2. Never auto-resolve P1/P2 -- high-priority incidents always require human review
3. Track reopen rates -- if reopens exceed 5%, tighten pattern rules or raise thresholds
4. Keep KB articles current -- stale articles lead to incorrect auto-resolutions
5. Include opt-out -- allow users to flag auto-resolutions as unhelpful
6. Log everything -- detailed work notes enable pattern refinement and auditing
7. Run in shadow mode first -- recommend resolutions without applying them for 2-4 weeks
8. Respect channel context -- check sys_cs_channel for conversation history before resolving

Troubleshooting

"Auto-resolved incident was reopened"

Cause: Resolution did not address the actual issue; pattern match was a false positive Solution: Review the incident description for nuances missed by keyword matching. Refine pattern rules and consider adding negative keywords (e.g., "not" + keyword).

"No KB articles found for pattern"

Cause: Knowledge base lacks coverage for this incident type Solution: Create a new KB article from the historical resolution data. Use knowledge/article-generation skill.

"Confidence score always below threshold"

Cause: Insufficient historical data or patterns too broad Solution: Narrow pattern keywords, increase historical data window, or lower threshold temporarily while monitoring quality.

"Agent workspace not reflecting auto-resolution"

Cause: sn_agent_workspace views may cache stale data Solution: Verify the incident state change propagated. Check business rules on the incident table that may block state transitions.

Examples

Example 1: Password Reset Auto-Resolution

Input: INC0045678 - "My password is expired and I cannot log in to my workstation"

Analysis:

• Keywords: "password", "expired", "log in" -- matches PWD-001
• KB match: KB0012345 (Password Reset Self-Service) -- 95% relevance
• History: 142 similar incidents, 96% resolved with same KB article
• Confidence: 0.95

Action: Auto-resolve with password reset link and KB article reference.

Example 2: VPN Issue with Low Confidence

Input: INC0045679 - "VPN keeps disconnecting after 10 minutes when using video calls"

Analysis:

• Keywords: "VPN", "disconnecting" -- partial match on VPN-001
• KB match: KB0034567 (VPN Troubleshooting) -- 60% relevance (does not cover video-specific issue)
• History: Only 12 similar incidents, 50% resolved with standard steps
• Confidence: 0.58

Action: Escalate to Network Operations with context notes and relevant KB articles.

Example 3: Printer Issue Auto-Resolution

Input: INC0045680 - "Cannot print to the 3rd floor printer, jobs stuck in queue"

Analysis:

• Keywords: "print", "printer", "queue", "stuck" -- matches PRN-001
• KB match: KB0056789 (Printer Queue Reset) -- 88% relevance
• History: 89 similar incidents, 91% resolved with queue clear procedure
• Confidence: 0.87

Action: Auto-resolve with printer queue clear instructions and restart steps.

Related Skills

• itsm/incident-triage - Manual incident triage for complex cases
• itsm/suggested-steps - Generate resolution steps for non-auto-resolvable incidents
• itsm/predict-assignment - Predict assignment group for escalated tickets
• knowledge/content-recommendation - Find relevant KB articles
• knowledge/article-generation - Create new KB articles from resolution data