Getting Help

When you encounter an issue in HCSS Events Platform that you cannot resolve on your own, there are several support channels available. This guide explains each option and when to use it.

In-App Help

The platform includes built-in help resources accessible from any page in the application.

The Help Icon

Look for the ? (question mark) icon in the top-right corner of the navigation bar. Clicking this icon opens the help panel, which provides:

• Contextual help -- a brief explanation of the current page and its features, tailored to the page you are viewing.
• Quick links -- direct links to relevant documentation articles for the current page.
• Keyboard shortcuts -- a reference card of available keyboard shortcuts.
• What's new -- a summary of recent feature updates and changes.

tip

The help panel content changes based on which page you are viewing. If you are on the Travel tab, the help panel shows travel-related guidance. If you are on the User Management page, it shows user management guidance.

Tooltips and Inline Help

Throughout the application, you will find:

• Tooltip icons (small i circles) next to form fields and table headers. Hover over these to see a brief explanation of the field or column.
• Validation messages that appear when a form field contains invalid data. These messages explain what is wrong and how to fix it.
• Empty state messages on pages with no data, explaining what the page is for and how to get started.

Documentation Site

You are currently reading the documentation site. It provides comprehensive guides for every area of the platform.

How to Navigate the Documentation

• Sidebar -- use the left sidebar to browse documentation by category (Getting Started, User Guides, Admin Guide, Troubleshooting, etc.).
• Search -- use the search bar at the top of the documentation site to find articles by keyword.
• Breadcrumbs -- use the breadcrumb trail at the top of each article to navigate back to parent categories.

Key Documentation Sections

Section	Contents	Best For
Getting Started	First login, MFA setup, navigation basics, role overview.	New users onboarding for the first time.
User Guides	Detailed guides for events, caregivers, surveys, travel, and on-site operations.	Day-to-day usage and workflow questions.
Admin Guide	User management, roles, system settings, audit logs, email, reference data.	System administrators configuring and managing the platform.
Troubleshooting	Solutions to common problems (login, imports, surveys).	When something is not working as expected.
Reference	Glossary, API reference, and technical details.	Looking up specific terms or technical information.

Searching for Answers

When looking for help in the documentation:

1. Start with the search bar -- type a keyword or error message.
2. If search does not return useful results, browse the relevant section in the sidebar.
3. Check the Troubleshooting section for common problems and solutions.
4. Look for "See also" and "Next Steps" links at the bottom of articles for related content.

Contacting Support

If the documentation and in-app help do not resolve your issue, contact the HCSS support team.

Email Support

Send an email to the HCSS support team with the following information:

• Subject line: A brief description of the issue (e.g., "Cannot send survey to caregivers in Event X").
• Your name and email (the email address associated with your the platform account).
• Event name (if the issue is related to a specific event).
• Steps to reproduce: A numbered list of the steps you took before the issue occurred.
• Expected behavior: What you expected to happen.
• Actual behavior: What actually happened, including any error messages.
• Screenshots: Attach screenshots of the error or unexpected behavior.
• Browser and OS: Note which browser and operating system you are using (e.g., Chrome 120 on Windows 11).

tip

The more detail you provide in your initial support request, the faster the team can diagnose and resolve the issue. Vague descriptions like "it doesn't work" require back-and-forth clarification that delays resolution.

Support Response Times

Priority	Description	Target Response Time
Critical	The system is completely unavailable or a security breach is suspected.	Within 1 hour
High	A core feature is broken for multiple users (e.g., surveys cannot be sent, login is failing for a group).	Within 4 hours
Medium	A feature is partially broken or a workaround exists.	Within 1 business day
Low	A minor issue, cosmetic defect, or a question about functionality.	Within 2 business days

What Happens After You Contact Support

1. You will receive an acknowledgment email confirming that your request has been received and assigned a ticket number.
2. A support engineer will review your request and may ask follow-up questions.
3. The engineer will diagnose the issue and provide a resolution, workaround, or timeline for a fix.
4. Once the issue is resolved, you will receive a resolution email with details of the fix.
5. You may be asked to confirm the resolution -- please respond to close the ticket.

Support Hotline for Urgent Issues

For time-sensitive issues that cannot wait for email support -- particularly during active strike events when system downtime has immediate operational impact -- a phone support hotline is available.

When to Use the Hotline

Use the hotline only for Critical and High priority issues:

• The entire system is down and no users can access the platform.
• A security incident is suspected (unauthorized access, data breach).
• A core workflow is completely blocked during an active event (e.g., cannot check in caregivers, cannot book travel, cannot send MFA codes).
• Data loss or corruption is suspected.

Before Calling

Have the following information ready:

1. Your name and organization.
2. A brief description of the issue.
3. The number of users affected.
4. Whether the issue is occurring for all users or specific users.
5. The time the issue started.
6. Any error messages or screenshots (you can email these while on the call).

caution

The support hotline is reserved for urgent, system-critical issues. For routine questions, feature requests, and non-urgent problems, please use email support. This ensures the hotline remains available for true emergencies.

Reporting Bugs

If you encounter a software bug (unexpected behavior, a feature that does not work as documented, or a visual defect), please report it so the development team can investigate and fix it.

How to Report a Bug

1. Navigate to the page where the bug occurs.
2. Click the ? (help) icon in the top-right corner.
3. Click Report a Bug at the bottom of the help panel.
4. Fill in the bug report form:

Field	Description
Title	A short, descriptive summary of the bug (e.g., "Save button does not respond on Edit Caregiver page").
Description	A detailed description of the bug, including the steps to reproduce it, what you expected, and what actually happened.
Severity	How much the bug impacts your work: Blocker (cannot proceed), Major (significant impact, no workaround), Minor (impact but workaround exists), Cosmetic (visual only).
Screenshots	Attach one or more screenshots showing the issue.
Browser/OS	Pre-filled by the system, but verify for accuracy.

5. Click Submit.

Bug Report Best Practices

• Be specific -- "the page crashes" is less helpful than "clicking Save on the Edit Caregiver page shows a white screen with the error 'Unhandled Exception' in the browser console."
• Include steps to reproduce -- numbered steps that someone else can follow to see the same bug.
• One bug per report -- if you find multiple issues, submit a separate report for each. This makes tracking and resolution much easier.
• Note if it is intermittent -- if the bug only happens sometimes, note what conditions seem to trigger it (e.g., "only happens when I have more than 50 caregivers in the list").

What Happens After You Report a Bug

1. The bug is automatically logged in the development team's issue tracker.
2. A developer will triage the bug and assign a priority.
3. For critical bugs, a fix may be deployed in a hotfix release within days.
4. For lower-priority bugs, the fix is scheduled for an upcoming regular release.
5. You may be contacted for additional information if the development team cannot reproduce the issue.

Requesting New Features

If you have an idea for a new feature or an improvement to an existing one:

1. Contact support via email with the subject line prefixed with "Feature Request:".
2. Describe the use case -- what are you trying to accomplish and why the current functionality does not meet your needs?
3. Describe the desired behavior -- what would the ideal solution look like from your perspective?
4. Note the impact -- how many users would benefit and how frequently would the feature be used?

Feature requests are reviewed by the product team and considered for the product roadmap. While not all requests can be implemented, every submission is read and considered.

Self-Service Resources Summary

Resource	How to Access	Best For
In-app help (? icon)	Top-right corner of any page.	Quick, contextual help while working.
Documentation site	Bookmark the docs URL or click "Documentation" in the help panel.	Comprehensive guides and troubleshooting.
Email support	Send an email to the support team address.	Non-urgent issues, questions, and requests.
Phone hotline	Call the support hotline number.	Urgent, system-critical issues during active events.
Bug report	Help panel > Report a Bug.	Software defects and unexpected behavior.
Feature request	Email support with "Feature Request" prefix.	Ideas for new features and improvements.

Tips for Resolving Issues Faster

1. Check the documentation first -- many common questions and issues are already covered. A quick search may save you time.
2. Try the troubleshooting guides -- the Login Issues, Import Errors, and Survey Issues guides cover the most frequently reported problems.
3. Provide complete information -- when contacting support, include all relevant details up front. This eliminates back-and-forth and speeds up resolution.
4. Include screenshots -- a picture is worth a thousand words, especially for visual bugs and error messages.
5. Note the timestamp -- if something went wrong, note the exact time. This helps the support team find the relevant entries in the system logs.
6. Try a different browser -- before contacting support, test the issue in a different browser. If it works in another browser, note this in your support request.