Attach external links to a helpcenter

[Ebert Cobalchini]

We are currently developing a centralized employee help center using Jira Service Management to provide our staff with a single point of access for all their work-related needs. Our goal is to enable employees to easily find everything required to perform their jobs, including requesting accesses, licenses, managing expense returns, and accessing various internal and external applications.

To achieve this, we have been utilizing the "External resources" feature found under Project settings > Channels & self service within our JSM project. We've added numerous links to critical external applications, documents, and other resources here, intending for them to be discoverable by our users.

Observed Behavior:

We've noticed that when users search the JSM customer portal using keywords or phrases directly related to the titles or descriptions of the external resources we've configured in the "External resources" section, some of these links (or the descriptive text associated with them) are not appearing in the main portal search results. This indicates that the content or references to these external resources are not being indexed effectively by the portal's primary search function, but I couldn't find the pattern for it.

Expected Behavior:

We expect users to be able to search the JSM portal and find relevant external resources listed amongst the search results, similar to how Knowledge Base articles or Request Types are surfaced. Our objective is to create a comprehensive, searchable hub for all employee support and information needs.

Questions for Atlassian Support:

1. Is the "External resources" feature (Project settings > Channels & self service > External resources) the correct or optimal location/method within Jira Service Management to ensure external links and their descriptions are fully discoverable and searchable by end-users via the main customer portal search bar?
2. If this feature is primarily for navigation and not deep search indexing, what is the recommended best practice or architectural approach for making a comprehensive list of external resources (e.g., links to internal applications, shared drives, external SaaS tools, or documentation outside of JSM/Confluence) searchable by employees on our JSM portal?

We are seeking your expert advice to ensure we are configuring our portal effectively to meet our strategic objectives.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

[Andy Heinzer · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I see you also created a support case on this topic over in https://getsupport.atlassian.com/servicedesk/customer/portal/48/PCS-413321

Just for the sake of other users that might have the same concerns, the response from Atlassian Support was as follows:

The "External resources" feature in JSM allows you to add links to external applications, documents, and other resources. These links are displayed as "Related resources" on the first page of the portal. However, they are not deeply indexed by the portal's primary search function, which means they may not appear in search results as you expect.

Limitations:

1. Search Indexing: Currently, the external resources are not fully indexed for search within the JSM portal. This means that while they are visible as related resources, they may not appear in search results based on keywords or phrases from their titles or descriptions.
2. Display Location: The external resources are only shown on the first page of the portal and not on subsequent pages or within search results, as per the current design.

Recommendations for Improved Discoverability:

• Use of Knowledge Base Articles: Consider creating Confluence pages or knowledge base articles that include links to these external resources. These articles are indexed and searchable within the JSM portal, which could improve discoverability.

[Kim Euker]

as Support mentioned, you could use a confluence page which will allow you to search the contents as you are searching the site. 

another option would be to have an “other” request type and embed your Help links and options on that page.