Staff & Agent Management

This guide covers creating and managing staff accounts, assigning roles and permissions, designating Project Managers, and configuring access control.

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Staff Account Types

Type	Description	Identification
Administrator	Full system access, can manage all settings	Admin flag in staff record
Project Manager (PM)	Budget unlock authority, documentation review	Listed in PMS_REAL_LIST
Agent	Standard ticket handling staff	Department + role assignment

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Creating a New Staff Account

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to Admin → Agents → Add New Agent
2. Fill in required fields:

Field	Required	Description
Username	Yes	Login credential (typically email prefix)
First Name	Yes	Display name
Last Name	Yes	Display name
Email	Yes	Staff email address
Phone	No	Used for SMS alerts (if configured)
Mobile	No	Alternate contact
Department	Yes	Primary department assignment
Role	Yes	Permission set (see Roles below)
Assigned Teams	No	Team membership(s)

3. Set initial password or send activation email

4. Configure Permissions tab:

   • Can create tickets
   • Can edit tickets
   • Can assign tickets
   • Can transfer tickets
   • Can close tickets
   • Can delete tickets
   • Can ban users

5. Click Save Changes

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Roles & Permissions

Roles define what actions a staff member can perform. Multiple roles can exist, and staff are assigned one role per department.

Default Roles

Role	Typical Permissions
All Access	Full ticket management, user management, reports
View Only	Can view tickets but not modify
Limited	Can respond and update status, cannot delete or transfer

Permission Categories

Category	Permissions
Tickets	Create, Edit, Assign, Transfer, Close, Delete, Merge, Refer
Tasks	Create, Edit, Assign, Transfer, Close, Delete
Knowledgebase	Create FAQ, Edit FAQ, Manage Categories
Misc	Ban Users, Manage Canned Responses

Creating a Custom Role

1. Navigate to Admin → Agents → Roles
2. Click Add New Role
3. Set role name and select permissions
4. Save — role is now available for staff assignment

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Project Manager Designation

Project Managers have special system privileges beyond their role:

• Can unlock over-budget tickets
• Receive documentation acknowledgment requests
• Appear in PM-specific dashboards and reports
• Receive escalation notifications

Configuration

PMs are defined by staff ID in include/ost-config.php:

// All staff who can see PM views (including senior staff)
define('PMS_LIST', serialize([19, 22, 1, 4]));

// Actual PMs with unlock/acknowledge authority
define('PMS_REAL_LIST', serialize([19, 22, 4]));

// Staff ID → PM assignment mapping
define('GLOBAL_PM_MAPPING', serialize([
    5 => 19,   // Staff ID 5 reports to PM 19
    7 => 22,   // Staff ID 7 reports to PM 22
    // ...
]));

caution

Changing PM designations requires editing ost-config.php and restarting the web server. This is not configurable via the admin UI.

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Department Assignment

Each staff member has a primary department and can be extended access to additional departments:

Primary Department

• Set during account creation
• Determines default ticket visibility
• SLA and auto-assignment rules apply from this department

Extended Access

1. Navigate to Admin → Agents → (select staff member)
2. Go to the Access tab
3. Add additional departments with per-department roles
4. Staff will see tickets from all assigned departments

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Team Assignment

Teams are cross-departmental groups:

1. Navigate to Admin → Agents → Teams
2. Create or select a team
3. Add staff members to the team
4. Teams can be assigned tickets (all members see them)
5. Alert routing can target teams

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Deactivating Staff

When a staff member leaves:

1. Navigate to Admin → Agents → (select staff member)
2. Uncheck Active status
3. Do NOT delete the account — this preserves ticket history attribution
4. Reassign any open tickets to another staff member
5. Remove from teams and extended access

note

Deactivated staff cannot log in but their name still appears on historical thread entries and assignments.

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Staff Notification Preferences

Each staff member can configure their notification preferences:

1. Staff logs in to their account
2. Navigate to profile settings
3. Configure:
   • Browser notification permission (allow/deny)
   • Per-event notification subscriptions
   • Email notification preferences
   • SMS opt-in/out (if phone configured)

See Notifications for the full notification system documentation.

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Bulk Operations

Import Staff

Currently not available via UI. Staff accounts are created individually through the admin panel.

Export Staff List

-- Quick staff directory query
SELECT staff_id, firstname, lastname, email, dept_id, isactive
FROM ost_staff
ORDER BY lastname, firstname;

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Staff can't see tickets	Check department assignment and role permissions
Staff can't login	Verify account is active; reset password
PM features not showing	Verify staff ID is in PMS_REAL_LIST in config
"Access Denied" on actions	Check role has the required permission
Staff notifications not working	Check notification preferences and browser permission