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Controlling Forecasts

This topic describes business component user properties that you can use to control accounts. It includes the following topics:

• Specifying Client Timeouts for Forecasts
• Specifying Server Timeouts for Forecasts
• Specifying Sleep Time Between Forecast Save Attempts
• Specifying Search Specifications for Forecasts
• Specifying Search Specifications for Forecast Rollup
• Specifying Business Components for Forecast Analysis
• Disallowing Users to Pick Dates in the Forecast Date Dialog Box

Specifying Client Timeouts for Forecasts

The Associate: Completion Timeout (Client) user property specifies the maximum number of seconds that Siebel CRM waits on the client for a subordinate forecast to finish before it skips the association and creates an error. If Siebel CRM does not create the association, then the user can manually associate the subordinate forecast. Siebel CRM uses this user property in synchronous mode. The value for this user property must contain an integer that is greater than 0.

You can configure Siebel CRM to deactivate this user property or modify the value for it, but not to create a new instance of it. If you deactivate this user property, then Siebel CRM uses the default value.

Specifying Server Timeouts for Forecasts

The Associate: Completion Timeout user property for the server specifies the maximum number of seconds that Siebel CRM waits for the Siebel Server for a subordinate forecast to finish before it skips the association and creates an error. The description of the value that you use for this user property is the same as the description of the value that you use for the Associate: Completion Timeout user property for the client. For more information about this description, see Specifying Client Timeouts for Forecasts.

Specifying Sleep Time Between Forecast Save Attempts

The Associate: Sleep Time Between Attempts user property specifies the number of seconds that Siebel CRM waits after each attempt it makes to determine if a subordinate forecast is complete. The description for the value that you use is the same as the description for the Associate: Completion Timeout user property for the client. For more information, see Specifying Client Timeouts for Forecasts.

Specifying Search Specifications for Forecasts

The Named Search: Forecast Series Date Range user property specifies the search specification that Siebel CRM applies on the Revenue business component when it creates a forecast. It makes sure that the revenues that the search returns occur in the Forecast Date range, by default.

The value for this user property must contain a valid search specification. This search specification and the Auto and Assoc search specifications can use special variables that the Forecast Series and Forecast Series Date business components define. For example, consider the following default value of this user property:

[Date] >= '&FCST_DATE_LOWER_BOUND' and [Date] <= '&FCST_END_DATE'

This search specification returns the values that exist between the Date - Lower Bound field and the End Date field of the Forecast 2000 -- Forecast Series Date business component. In this situation, the &FCST_DATE_LOWER_BOUND variable represents the Date - Lower Bound field. If this field:

• Contains a value. Siebel CRM sets the value of the History View Date to the value that the Date - Lower Bound field contains.
• Does not contain a value. If the History Edit field:
  • Contains a value. Siebel CRM sets the Date - Lower Bound field to the value that the History Edit field contains.
  • Does not contain a value. Siebel CRM sets the Date - Lower Bound field to the value that the Start Date contains.

You can configure Siebel CRM to deactivate this user property or modify the value for it. If you deactivate it, then you must make sure that the Siebel CRM limits the revenues in the forecast according to date. To do this, you can modify the Auto and Assoc search specifications of the Forecast Series. You cannot configure Siebel CRM to create a new instance of this user property.

For more information, see How This Book Describes the User Property Format.

Specifying Search Specifications for Forecast Rollup

The Forecast Rollup user property contains a search specification that Siebel CRM applies to the Forecast Detail business component during a forecast rollup. Siebel CRM rolls up only the detail records that satisfy the search specification. It rolls up these records into the summary record. The value for this user property must contain a valid search specification.

For example, the following search specification returns forecast details that the current user owns. It also returns any subordinate records that exist that Siebel CRM rolls into this forecast:

[Link Type] = LookupValue('FCST_FCSTITEM_LINK_TYPE','Own Item') OR [Link Type] = LookupValue('FCST_FCSTITEM_LINK_TYPE','Item')

To restrict this search specification according to a series, you can use the Forecast 2000 -- Forecast Series business component.

It is recommended that you do not modify the value of this user property for a predefined business component that Siebel CRM uses for forecasting.

You can configure Siebel CRM to deactivate this user property or modify the value for it, but not to create a new instance of it.

For more information, see How This Book Describes the User Property Format.

Specifying Business Components for Forecast Analysis

The Forecast Analysis BC user property specifies the name of the business component that provides the records that Siebel CRM displays in the lower applet of a forecast analysis view. This type of view allows the user to choose multiple forecasts, and then to view an aggregate summary of records in a lower applet. The value for this user property must contain the name of a business component. For example:

Forecast 2000 - Forecast Item Detail Flat

It is recommended that you do not modify the value of this user property for a predefined business component that Siebel CRM uses for forecasting.

You can configure Siebel CRM to modify the values for this user property, but not to deactivate it or create a new instance of it.

Disallowing Users to Pick Dates in the Forecast Date Dialog Box

The Skip Existing Forecast Series Date user property configures Siebel CRM to not allow the user to pick a date in the Forecast Date dialog box in a Forecast view. It applies this restriction only if a forecast already exists for the current user for the current date. It can contain one of the following values:

• Y. Do not display the date. The user cannot pick another date.
• N. Display the date and allow the user to pick it.

You can configure Siebel CRM to modify the value for this user property, but not to deactivate it or to create a new instance of it.