Define Question Library

RAD_QA_LIBRARY

Marketing, Advisor Dialogs, Define Question Library, Define Question Library

Create a folder of related questions for reference purposes. Generally, questions in each library have a common theme.

Set Up a Question

RAD_QUESTION

Marketing, Advisor Dialogs, Define Question, Set Up a Question

Create questions and associate them with an existing question library.

View Question Usage

RAD_QA_LOOKUP

Click the View Question Usage link on the Set Up a Question page.

View where a question is used. Use this page to determine which dialogs are affected by modifications to a question. Changes made to a question are reflected in all dialogs that reference the question.

Define Explanation

RAD_EXPLANATION

Marketing, Advisor Dialogs, Define Explanation, Define Explanation

Create text explanations to attach to either dialogs or questions. You can also attach URL explanations that can be used with questions.

View Explanation Usage

RAD_EXPLAN_LKUP

Click the View Explanation Usage link on the Define Explanation page.

View the usages of explanations. You need to know which dialogs, if any, are affected by modifications to an explanation. Changes made to an explanation are reflected in all dialogs that reference the explanation.

Merge Terms

RAD_TOKEN

Click the Merge Terms button on the Define Explanation page or Set Up a Question page.

Select available terms from a tree to automatically fill in the code for the term for each of the different brackets that have been left blank in the question body. Terms represent available information in the system.

Question Type

Displays Single Selection, Multiple Selection, Numeric, Yes/No, or Freeform Text.

Explanation Name

Associate the question with an explanation. At runtime, the question is marked to indicate that an explanation is available for the question. Explanations are retrieved from a common repository where all explanations are stored, including the ones used for pages. The dialog creator can create a new explanation if no suitable explanations exist.

See Defining Explanations.

Navigation Text

Enter a short description. This text is used in the path guide, which is displayed to the user. This field has a 75-character limit.

Library

Select a question library to store the question. You can move a question from one question library to another by changing this value.

Context Name

Select the context to apply. The context is used by the PAF to resolve terms and conditions, and it specifies the information that is needed for the resolution. The context is usually the calling application that uses the dialog where the question is used.

View Question Usage

Click to see which dialogs currently use the question. Use this link when modifying questions to ensure that you don't modify existing dialogs inappropriately. Changes to questions referenced by dialogs are reflected immediately (even in deployed dialogs, because questions are not versioned).

Question Text

Enter the question text that the user sees. This field has a 245-character limit.

Note. To merge terms into a question text, enter an opening bracket and a closing bracket in the location in the text where a term will be placed. If the term is already known, the user can enter it into the text enclosed in brackets. When the Merge Terms button is clicked, the application automatically verifies that the entered term exists for the current context. If it does exist, the term is merged; if the text entered is not a valid term, it is cleared and treated as if empty brackets were entered in that place in the question text.

Merge Terms

Click to access the Merge Terms page and select available terms to automatically fill in the code for the term for each of the brackets that have been left blank in the question body.

Note. The user must click the Merge Terms button to embed any terms entered in the question text. Otherwise, any bracketed text is treated as regular text and not an embedded term.

Insert Brackets

Click to insert brackets in the question text where you want to insert a term. The empty terms are inserted at the end of the current text.

Yes/No

Select this to define a question with answers of yes or no.

Default Yes/No

At runtime, a drop-down list box is available for the use to select either Yes or No. Enter a default value to appear at runtime.

Numeric

Select to define a question with a numeric answer and to prompt the user to enter a numeric value in an edit box at runtime.

Default Number

Enter a default numeric value to appear at runtime.

Freeform Text

Select to enable the user to enter free-form text. The text is stored by the dialog at completion or when saved. Free-form text questions collect information from the user. Free-form answers cannot be used in transition definitions and target group definitions.

Single Selection

Select to present the user with radio buttons for possible answers under the question. The user can select only one answer from the list.

Multiple Selection

Select to present the user with a grid of answers with a check box adjacent to each answer. The user can select any combination of answers by selecting the appropriate check boxes.

Answer Name

Enter the name of the answer. The name is displayed in the Advisor Workbench tool. The answer name is used in weighting and transition logic for easy identification, but it is not displayed to the user. This field has a 50-character limit.

Answer Text

Enter answer text to display to the user at runtime. This field has a 254-character limit.

Navigation Text

Enter a short text description to display to the user at runtime. Navigation text appears in the path guide. This field has a 75-character limit.

Default

Select one answer as the default. This answer is preselected when the question first appears to the user.

Description

Displays the name of the dialogs that use the question.

Question Usage

Describes the location of the question in the dialog.

Version Status

Displays the status of the version of the dialog in which the question appears.

See Defining Statuses.

Context Name

Select the context to apply. The context is used by the PAF to resolve terms and conditions and to specify the information that is needed for the resolution. The context is usually the calling application that uses the dialog in which the explanation is referenced.

View Explanation Usage

Click to view which dialogs use the explanation. Changes made to an explanation are reflected in all dialogs that reference the explanation.

Text

Select to store the explanation in the database as text and display it to the user either at the top of a page or when the user drills into a question for explanation. This text can be plain text, or it can include HTML formatting.

Note. To merge terms into an explanation text, enter an opening bracket and a closing bracket in the location in the text where a term will be placed. If the term is already known, the user can enter it into the text enclosed in brackets. When the user clicks the Merge Terms button, the application automatically verifies that the entered term exists for the current context. If it does exist the term is merged; if the text entered is not a valid term, it is cleared and treated as if empty brackets were entered in that place in the explanation text.

Merge Terms

Click to access the Merge Terms page and select available terms to complete the empty term brackets in the explanation body.

Note. The user must click the Merge Terms button to embed any terms entered in the explanation text. Otherwise, any bracketed text is treated as regular text and not an embedded term.

Insert Brackets

Click to insert brackets any place in the question text where you want to insert a term. The empty terms are inserted at the end of the current text.

Edit Text

Click to edit the explanation text.

Web URL

To use a web-based explanation instead of text, provide a URL in the URL field. This field has a 254-character limit. URL explanations can be used for questions only, and not for pages or templates. The contents of the URL appear in a popup window if a user drills into a question for more information.

Reference Name

Displays the name of the dialog, template, or question that uses the explanation.

Status

Displays the status of the dialog, question, or template in which the explanation appears.

Next and Previous

Click to move to the next or previous set of brackets.

Note. The user can also click the actual term or empty brackets to jump directly to a term to insert or update.

Edit Text

Click to edit the text in which terms are merged and to insert brackets for adding terms to the text.

Switch to Search Mode

Click to search for terms.

Select Subject Area

Select terms from the tree to place into the text.

Advisor Workbench

RAD_ADVISOR

Marketing, Advisor Dialogs, Advisor Workbench, Advisor Workbench

Create the main elements that constitute a dialog.

Select Questions

RAD_ADVISOR_QAS

Click the Select Questions link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Select the questions to include in a dialog.

Question Library

RAD_ADVISOR_LIB

Click a library name in the Question Libraries group box on the Select Questions page.

Add or remove questions from the dialog. You can also create a new question, edit questions, or clone existing questions.

Edit Questions

RAD_QUESTION

Click the Edit button on the Question Library page.

Edit an existing question.

Define Conditions

RAD_ADVISOR_CND

Click the Select Conditions link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Select external conditions to influence target groups and transitions.

Create a Condition

RAD_CONDITION_SEC

• Click the Condition Name link on the Define Conditions page.

• Click the Create Condition button on the Define Conditions page.

Create or edit a condition to include external system and user information.

Select Terms

RAD_SRCHTRM_SEC

Click the Select Term link on the Create a Condition page.

Select or search for a term for a condition statement.

Layout Pages & Transitions

RAD_ADVISOR_STA

Click the Layout Pages & Transitions link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Define the flow of the dialog by creating pages and transitions between those pages.

Create a Page

RAD_STATION

• Click the Create a Page button on the Layout Pages & Transitions page.

• Click a page name in the Pages & Transitions group box on the Layout Pages & Transitions page.

Add a new page to the dialog or edit an existing page.

Create Page Transitions

RAD_ADVISOR_TRN

Click the button (Edit Transitions) on the Layout Pages & Transitions page.

Define the transitions that determine the path that a user takes through a dialog.

Map Page Transitions

RAD_STATION_MAP

Click the Map Page Transitions button on the Layout Pages & Transitions page.

View a snapshot of current pages, page transitions, and transition conditions in the advisor dialog. This indicates the pages that can be reached from a given page.

Define Target Groups

RAD_ADVISOR_SEG

Click the Define Target Groups link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Segment an audience based on answers to selected questions. Target groups are used in a dialog to group users and target recommendations.

Create a Target Group

RAD_SEGMENT

• Click the Create a Target Group button on the Define Target Groups page.

• Click a target group name in the Target Groups group box on the Define Target Groups page.

Define a new target group by creating question and answer combinations. Click the existing target group name to edit an existing target group. You can rank the relevance of a target group compared to other target groups.

Selected Characteristics

RAD_ADVISOR_CHR

Click the Select Characteristics link on the Advisor Workbench page.

View selected characteristics in the dialog. Objects with these characteristics and values are available for recommendation. Selected characteristics can also be removed from the dialog.

Select Characteristics

RAD_ADVISOR_VAL

Click the Add a Characteristic button on the Selected Characteristics page.

Add a new characteristic to the dialog.

Select Characteristic Values

RAD_CHAR_VAL

• Click the Select Values button on the Select Characteristics page for a characteristic to add to the dialog.

• Click the name of a characteristic in the Characteristics group box on the Selected Characteristics page.

Add a new characteristic value or remove existing ones from the dialog.

Create Recommendation Model

RAD_ADVISOR_WGT

Click the Create Recommendation Model link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Set the weightings of the characteristic values. Weightings are the basis of the recommendation model and subsequently control the recommendations that are presented.

Weight Characteristic Value

RAD_WEIGHT

Click the Weight button on the Create Recommendation Model page, for a characteristic value.

Weight a characteristic value on a scale of -100 to 100 for how applicable it is to each target group. If the characteristic value is neutral, leave it blank or enter 0.

Test Recommendation Model

RAD_WEIGHT_TST

Click the Test Model button on the Create Recommendation Model page.

Validate and test the recommendation model. Verify that the recommendation model is consistent and provides the recommendations that you want based on the predefined target groups and weights.

Validate Dialog

RAD_ADVISOR_VALID

Click the Validate Dialog link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Identify errors or potential problems with the dialog in its current state. You must fix all errors to test and deploy the dialog.

Advisor Test Dialog Page

RAD_ADVISOR_TEST

Click the Test Dialog link on the Advisor Workbench page.

Select to test the dialog in either Quiet or Interactive mode.

<Advisor Test Dialog>

RAD_ADVISOR_RUN

Select Interactive mode and click the Test Dialog link on the Advisor Test Dialog Page page.

Read through the dialog as a user would, and view runtime output for the dialog that you have created. Debugging information (such as transition rules and transition reasons) enables you to verify that the dialog works properly.

Dialog Name

Enter a dialog name. This field has a 30-character limit.

Advisor Type

Select a dialog type. The type determines the steps that are available, the statuses that are available, and the object that is recommended. Advisor types are defined during environment preparation. When you save a dialog, this becomes a display-only field.

Note. You define advisor types on the Define Type page.

See Defining Type.

Display Template

Select the template to use with the dialog. Templates control the look and feel of the runtime environment for the user.

See Defining Display Templates.

External Name

Assign the dialog name that the user sees.

Context Name

Select a context to apply. The context is used by the PAF to resolve terms and conditions, and it specifies the information that is needed for the resolution. The context is usually the calling application that uses the dialog.

Start Date and End Date

Enter dates for the dialog to become valid and invalid.

Status

Select Deployed to make the dialog available to calling applications. If you edit a deployed dialog, a new version is automatically created. The original version is still available to the calling application. To make the dialog inactive or unavailable to the calling applications, select Inactive. This status affects all versions of the dialog.

See Defining Display Templates.

View Dialog Versions

Click to access the Dialog Versions page and view all versions of a dialog or edit the latest version (either the edit in progress version or the deployed version). You can clone any version. You can only delete the edit-in-progress version.

Select Questions

Click to access the Select Questions page and choose the questions that form the dialog. Select questions from a question library.

Select Conditions

Click to select external conditions to influence target groups and transitions.

Layout Pages & Transitions

Click to access the Layout Pages & Transitions page and create pages and transitions for the dialog.

Define Target Groups

Click to access the Define Target Groups page and define the target groups used in the weighting model.

Select Characteristics

Click to access the Selected Characteristics page and select characteristics and characteristic values to include in the dialog.

Create Recommendation Model

Click to access the Create Recommendation Model page and weight characteristic values.

Validate Dialog

Click to access the Validate Dialog page and validate the dialog. If the dialog has errors or warnings, you receive messages that indicate how to proceed. You cannot test a dialog that has not been validated.

Test Dialog

Click to access the Test Dialog Information page and test the dialog in Interactive or Quiet mode to see how it appears to the user. Debugging information summarizes the dialog's behavior and the recommendation model's core parts.

Save Dialog

Click to save the dialog in its current state.

Hide Step Descriptions

Select to hide the descriptive text that appears beneath each dialog step on the page.

Use Past Question Answers as Defaults

Select to use previously answered questions from other advisor dialogs as default values for the questions in this dialog.

Save Selected Questions

Click to save all selected questions to a dialog.

Select

Select to add the question to the dialog, or clear to remove the question.

Type

Displays the type of question, such as Yes/No, Single Select, or Multiple Select.

Clone

Click to create a new question with the same elements and save it as a copy.

Edit

Click to edit the question.

Add Selections to List

Click to add the questions that you've selected to a temporary list of questions and remove the questions that you have cleared. You must save the list on the Select Questions page for the dialog's list to be updated.

Create a Question

Click to access the Set Up a Question page and add a new question.

Condition Name

Click the link to access the Create a Condition page and edit the condition.

Condition Statement

Displays the condition statement, including term, operator, and value.

Delete Condition

Click to delete the condition.

Create Condition

Click to access the Create a Condition page and create a new condition.

Term

Displays the term selected on the Select Term page.

Value

Enter a value if the operator requires one.

Select Term

Click to access the Select Term page.

Questions

Displays the questions that appear on the page, separated by commas.

Edit Transitions

Click to edit the transitions for a page. Transitions determine the flow of the dialog.

Delete Page

Click to delete the page from the dialog. You may receive a warning if the page is referenced elsewhere in the dialog. If you delete the page, you must fix relevant references or the dialog cannot be properly validated. Use the Map Page Transitions button or the Validate Dialog link to view invalid page references.

Create a Page

Click to create a new page for the dialog.

Map Page Transitions

Click to view the page flow for the dialog, including transitions and transition conditions.

Page Name

Enter the name of the page as it appears in the Advisor Workbench tool. This field has a 30-character limit.

Start Page

Select to have the page appear first in the dialog at runtime. You must identify one start page for every dialog.

End Page

Select to identify an end page for the dialog; there can be more than one end page, depending on the logic of the dialog.

Force a Recommendation

Select to force a recommendation on the next page in the dialog. When a user clicks the Next button, the system displays the recommendation page. The transitions from this page are used when the Next button on the recommendation page is clicked.

Navigation Text

Enter text to appear in the path guide and on the runtime page, if the template is set up to display the page name. This field has a 75-character limit.

Explanation Name

Select an explanation. For a page, the explanation must be a text explanation. Explanations appear at the top of the page at runtime. The search automatically filters out all nontext explanations.

Display Template

Select a display template for the page. You can override the dialog template to give the page a different appearance from other pages in the dialog.

Question

Select the questions to appear on this page during runtime. You select from the available questions that have been added to the dialog. If a question does not appear, you can add the question to the dialog or create the question. You add questions on the Select Questions page. A question cannot be used more than once per page, but it can be used on multiple pages. At runtime, questions appear in the order in which they appear in this grid.

Required

Select if the dialog requires the question to be answered. The user cannot exit the page at runtime until the question is answered.

Remove

Click to delete the question from the page.

Add a Question

Click to add another question to the page.

Action

Select the actions to display to the user for this page. The sequence of buttons is determined on the Define Actions page during Real-Time Advisor environment preparation.

See Defining Actions.

As the default, go to Page:

Define a default transition for the page. Select the page to transition to if you do not want to define page transitions or if none of the page transitions set up are successful during runtime.

Basic and Advanced

Click the Advanced link to open up fields so that you can use complex logic to create page transitions. With the advanced setting, you can use nesting and full-featured Boolean operators.

Note. You should be familiar with Boolean logic if you plan to use advanced transitions.

Transition Number

Displays the number of the transitions defined for the dialog. At runtime, transition logic is performed according to transition number order.

If the conditions below are met, go to Page

Select from a list of the dialog pages, other than the current page. This is the page that the dialog displays if the transition is successful.

And/Or

If you select And, each statement must be met. If you select Or, then either statement can be met for a successful transition.

Open

Use open parentheses to nest logic. This option is available for advanced transitions only.

Question/Condition

Select dialog questions or conditions. The drop-down list box contains all of the questions and conditions associated with the dialog. Selected questions or conditions are evaluated against the transition logic to determine the flow of the transitions. If the transition uses a question that has not yet been answered by the user, then that part of the statement returns the value False.

Note. Free-form questions do not appear here.

Operator

In Basic mode, the operator is Equal to. All Boolean operators are available in Advanced mode.

Answer

Answers are available for Single-Select, Multiple-Select, and Yes/No question types. If the question requires a numeric answer, then an Answer Number edit box appears instead of the answer. Enter the answer that you want the transition to use in the evaluation. The answer is compared to the answers that a user has given or the condition value to determine if the transition is successful or not.

Close

Use closing parentheses to nest logic. This option is available in Advanced mode only.

Delete Transition

Click to delete the transition.

Add a Transition

Click to add a new transition grid.

Validate Syntax

Click to validate transition logic. The Transition Errors grid appears to identify syntax errors so that you can correct them. In the error grid, the transition number refers to the transition number that is in error. The transition row specifies the grid row that needs to be fixed, and the error text explains the problem.

Preview Transitions

Click to display the transition logic in sentence form beneath each transition. This provides a clear textual view of the transition logic that you have created.

Save Transitions

Click to save transitions. Any changes (including deletions) must be saved to update the transitions for the page.

Note. When you click the Save Transitions button, the Create Transitions button on the Layout Pages & Transitions page becomes an Edit Transitions button for editing existing transitions.

Page Name

Displays the pages that you have created for the dialog. A page marked with an (S) indicates the start page for the dialog.

The arrow indicates that the page has transitions. The red square button signifies an end page that has no transitions.

Transition Destination

Lists the destination pages for the transition. If a page selected as a transition destination has been deleted, this column indicates that the page is no longer valid, and the transition must be fixed before the dialog can be validated.

Default

A green check mark next to the destination page indicates the default destination for the transition.

Transition Statements

Lists the statements by which the transition moves the user to the specified page; same as the clear textual view of the transition logic available through Preview Transitions.

Target Groups

Displays the target groups connected to the dialog. Click the link for the target group to edit a group.

Default Target Group

A green check indicates a default target group. The default target group is the target group that a user belongs to if, after evaluating the user's answers against the existing target groups, the user falls into no other target group.

Note. Only one target group per dialog can be marked as the default.

See Creating Dialogs Using the Advisor Workbench Tool.

Create a Target Group

Click to create a target group.

Relative Value

Enter a value to determine the importance of the target group relative to other target groups. Values range from 0 to 10. The relative value is used as a multiplier during the recommendation process. For example, in the case of product-advising, if users in the target group have predictable buying habits, you can assign the target group a high relative value. If a user belongs to multiple target groups, recommendations are based on the target group with the highest relative value.

Default Target Group

Select to designate the default target group for the dialog. If a user does not fall into any target group based on answers to questions, the user is placed in the default target group.

Note. You must designate a default target group for each dialog.

Basic and Advanced

Click the Advanced link to display fields so that you can use complex logic to create the target groups. The Advanced setting provides nesting and full-featured Boolean operators.

Note. You should be familiar with Boolean logic if you plan to use Advanced target-group mode.

And/Or

If you select And, each statement must be met. If you select Or, then either statement can be met for a the segment evaluation to be true.

Open

Use opening parentheses to nest logic. Opening parentheses are available in Advanced mode only.

Question/Condition

Select dialog questions or conditions. The drop-down list box contains questions and conditions associated with the dialog. Selected questions or conditions are evaluated to determine whether the user belongs to the target group. If a target group uses a question that has not yet been answered by the user, then that part of the statement evaluates to false and, depending on the logic, the user may not be part of that target group.

Note. Free-form questions do not appear in this list.

Operator

In Basic mode, the operator is Equal to. All Boolean operators are available in Advanced mode.

Answer

Enter the answer that you want the target group to use in the question evaluation. Answers are available for Single-Select, Multiple-Select, and Yes/No question types. If the question requires a numeric answer, then the Answer Input edit box appears instead of a list of answers. The system compares the user's answers to the answer that you indicate to determine if the user is part of the target group.

Answer Input

For Numeric question types, enter the number for the question answer to use in the question evaluation. The system compares the user's answers to the number to determine if the user is part of the target group.

Close

Use closing parentheses to nest logic. Closing parentheses are only available in Advanced mode.

Validate Target Group Syntax

Click to validate target group logic. The Target Group Errors group box identifies syntax errors so that you can correct them. The target group row indicates the grid row that needs to be fixed, and error text explains the problem.

Preview Target Group

Click to display the target group logic in sentence form beneath each target group. This provides a clear textual view of the target group logic that you have created.

Save Target Group

Click to save the target group. You must save all changes, including row deletions, to update the target group for the dialog.

Characteristic

Displays the characteristics that have been selected for use in the dialog. To edit the existing values for a specific characteristic, click the characteristic name.

Defined Values

Displays whether the characteristic values included in the dialog are selected values (from the value list) or numeric values.

Number of Selected Values

Displays the number of characteristic values that are associated with this characteristic for the dialog.

Add a Characteristic

Click to access the Select Characteristic Values page and add a new characteristic to the dialog.

Select Values

Click to access the Characteristic Value page and select values. After you select values for the characteristic, the characteristic is added to the dialog.

From this number and To this number

Enter numeric ranges for the characteristic. The ranges correspond to the groups that you define in the recommendation model. For example, you might enter price ranges here. Objects with the values that you specify here constitute the recommendation pool. You can make as many groupings as you need, and each can be weighted differently in the recommendation model.

Save Characteristic Values

Click to save all characteristic values. You can then use them in the recommendation model.

Value Description

Select the characteristic values to include in the recommendation model. These characteristic values identify the objects that are available for recommendation, and they must distinguish one object from another.

Save Characteristic Values

Click to save the characteristic values for use in the recommendation model.

Value Description

Displays characteristic values that are in the recommendation model.

Description

Displays the characteristics to which the value belongs.

Weighted

Indicates whether the characteristic value is weighted.

Weight

Click to access the Weight Characteristic Value page and enter weights for the characteristic value.

Graph Selected Values

Select the characteristics to include in the graph, and then click this button to view a graphical representation of the selected characteristics. You can compare the weights of the values based on target groups. This enables you to determine if all of the weights for a given target group are appropriate.

Test Model

Click to access the Test Recommendation Model page to verify and test the model.

See Testing Recommendation Models.

Target Group Name

Lists the target groups that have been defined for the dialog.

Relative Value

Lists the relative values that are derived from the target group. Relative values act as multipliers for weighting purposes.

Score

Enter the score to apply to the target group. Score values on a scale of -100 to 100, depending upon how applicable the characteristic value is to the target group. You score characteristics by determining the importance of the characteristic value to a user in the target group.

Weight

Displays the relative score derived by multiplying the relative value by the score. The recommendation engine uses this final value to determine recommendations for a target group.

A low weight number means that the characteristic value is not favorable to the target group, and a high relative number indicates that the characteristic value is favorable for the particular target group.

Calculate & Graph Weightings

(Optional) Click to calculate the weight and populate the Weight Values Graph region.

Note. This step is optional because Real-Time Advisor calculates the weight internally.

Weight Values Graph

Displays a graph of the weights for the value for each target group.

Save Weightings

Click to save the data and return to the Create Recommendation Model page.

Number of Recommendations

Enter the number of recommendations to return. Use this field with the Use Both Number and Score and Use Number Only filter options.

Note. If you enter 0, the system resets the value to 10 when you click the Test button.

Minimum Score

Enter the minimum score to return. Use this field with the Use Both Number and Score and Use Score Only filter options.

Use Both Number and Score, Use Number Only, and Use Score Only

Select options to filter results.

Test Recommendation

Click to run a test. The recommendation engine runs and returns the recommendation number, which indicates the number of recommendations based on the selected target groups combined with the limiting factors. If recommendation results exist, they appear in the Recommendation Results scroll area.

Note. The maximum score is 99999. Scores greater than that value are reset to 99999.

Recommendation Score

The maximum score is 99999. Scores greater than that value are reset to 99999.

Errors Found

Displays the number of errors found. Return to the Advisor Workbench page and fix all errors before testing the dialog.

Warnings Found

Displays the number of warnings found. Fix any issues causing warnings to prevent problems at runtime.

Results Explanation

Explains the validation results, including errors or warnings.

Object Name

Displays the object that contains the error.

Dialog Object Type

Displays the type of object that contains the error, such as dialog, page, question, or target group.

Validation Explanation

Explains the error.

Error: No template defined for this dialog. Need to associate a template to the dialog.

You must associate a display template with the dialog to determine its look and feel and to specify the recommendation thresholds. To correct this error, associate a template with the dialog by using the Advisor Workbench main page.

Error: No pages were found for this dialog. Unable to continue with validation.

A valid interactive dialog must include pages that are displayed to the user. To fix this error, access the Layout Pages & Transitions page and create some pages. This error occurs only if the Layout Pages & Transitions page is a required step.

Warning: No pages were found for this dialog.

A valid interactive dialog must include pages that are displayed to the user. To fix this error, access the Layout Pages & Transitions page and create some pages. This warning appears only if the Layout Pages & Transitions page is a shown step.

Error or Warning: No questions were found for this dialog.

Before you can run a dialog in Interactive mode, the dialog must have questions associated with it. To fix this error, access the Select Questions page, select questions, and save the question list. If this page is not available and the dialog involves interactive conversation with the user, you must alter the advisor type. To do so, contact the Real-Time Advisor setup administrator.

Note. An error occurs if the Select Questions page is a required step. A warning appears if the page is a shown step but is not required.

Error or Warning: No conditions were found for this dialog.

Some dialogs may require you to associate conditions with them. Conditions incorporate external information to be used in the dialog for transitions and target groups. To fix this error, access the Select Conditions page.

Note. An error occurs if the Select Questions page is a required step. A warning appears if the page is a shown step but is not required.

Error: No conditions or questions were found for this dialog.

A dialog must have either questions or conditions associated with it. Without either, the dialog cannot make recommendations or prompt the user for answers. Questions gather information from the user, and conditions incorporate external information. Both can be used in transitions and target groups. Depending on the circumstances, a dialog might require questions, conditions, or both. To fix this error, access either the Select Questions page or the Select Conditions page. If neither page is available, you must alter the advisor type. To do so, contact the Real-Time Advisor setup administrator.

Error: No starting page for the dialog.

A valid interactive dialog must include a starting page that is displayed to the user. To fix this error, access the Layout Pages & Transitions page and then edit the page that you want to use as the starting page. Select the Start Page check box and save the page.

Error: Page X is an end page, it cannot have a Next action.

End pages cannot have a Next action. To fix this error, access the Layout Pages & Transitions page and edit the problem page. If the page is an end page, clear the Next action. If the page is not an end page, clear the End Page check box. Then save the page.

Error: No default page to transition to on X page. There needs to be a default page to transfer to.

Pages with Next actions must have valid transitions. When the user clicks the Next button, the transitions for the page run. A default transition page is required. The default becomes the next page if none of the transitions are valid. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Select a page in the As the default, go to Page field. Then save the transitions.

Error: Page X, references a page, which was deleted from the dialog.

The page indicated in the error message references a default transition page that has been deleted from the dialog. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Set the As the default, go to Page field to a valid page. Then save the transitions.

Error: Check the transitions for X page. One of the transitions for the page is missing a page to transfer to.

The page indicated in the error message lacks a go-to page reference in one of its transitions. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Locate the transition that is missing a valid page in the field labeled If the conditions below are met, go to Page. Select a page in this field, and then save the transitions.

Error: The expression used by a transition on page X is not valid. Please check the transitions to make sure the expressions used are valid.

The expression used by the page in one of its transitions is not valid. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Click the Validate Syntax button; it enables you to fix the transition by displaying errors in the transition. Fix the errors and save the transitions.

Error: The expression used by a transition on page X, references a page, which was deleted from the dialog.

The page indicated in the error message has a transition that references a deleted page. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Locate the transition with the (Invalid Value) entry in the field labeled If the conditions below are met, go to Page. Select a page in this field, and save the transitions.

Error: The expression used by a transition on page X, references question Y, which is no longer included in the dialog.

The page indicated in the error message has a transition that references a question that has been removed from the dialog. You can add the question to the dialog or modify the transition. To add the question to the dialog, access the Select Questions page, add the question, and save the question list. To modify the transition, access the Create Page Transitions page, locate the transition that references the question, delete the removed question, and save the transition.

Error: The expression used by a transition on page X, references condition Y, which is no longer included in the dialog.

The page indicated in the error message has a transition that references a condition that has been deleted from the dialog. This problem is unlikely, because you cannot delete a condition from Real-Time Advisor if it is used by a transition or target group. However, if the error occurs, you can fix it by either updating the transition to no longer use the missing condition or by creating a new condition and using it in the transition expression. To update the transition to no longer use the condition, access the Create Page Transitions page and locate the transition that is referencing the condition. Either delete or modify the transition, and then save the transition. To create a new condition, access the Select Conditions page and create a new condition. To update the transition to use the new condition, access the Create Page Transitions page. Locate the transition that references the missing condition, and use the new condition. Then save the transition.

Error: No way to get off page X. There needs to an action that will move the dialog off this page. These actions include Back, Next, Start Over, or Exit.

A user must have a way to exit a page; the actions that enable a user to exit a page include Back, Next, Start Over, and Exit. To fix this error, access the Create Page Transitions page. Select actions for the page, and then save the page.

Error: Page X, references question Y, which is no longer included in the dialog.

The page indicated in the error message references a question that has been removed from the dialog. You can add the question to the dialog or edit the page to remove the question reference. To add the question to the dialog, access the Select Questions page, add the question, and save the question list. To remove the question reference, access the Create a Page page, remove the reference to the question from the question list, and save the page.

Error: To create a recommendation model you must have all three steps - target groups, characteristics and the weighting model.

To make recommendations, you must be able to define target groups, add characteristics, and define the weighting model. To fix this error, you must update the advisor type used by the dialog to include all three steps. Contact the setup administrator.

Error: The template is missing the recommendation characteristics. These are used to determine what characteristics of the recommended object are displayed.

A template used by a dialog that is making recommendations must know the characteristics to show the user. To fix this problem, click the Choose Display Characteristics link on the Define Display Template page to edit the template used by the dialog. Use the Choose Display Characteristics page to select the advisor type used by the dialog. Add characteristics that should be displayed to the user when a recommendation is made. Select the appropriate check boxes and save the template.

Error: The template is missing the compare characteristics. These are used to determine what characteristics of the recommended object are displayed during comparisons.

If a dialog allows comparisons of recommendations, the template must include information about which characteristics to show the user. To fix this problem, click the Choose Display Characteristics link on the Define Display Template page and edit the template used by the dialog. Use the Choose Display Characteristics page to select the advisor type used by the dialog. Add characteristics that are displayed to the user when a recommendation is made. Select the appropriate check boxes, and save the template.

Error: The template is missing the recommend detail characteristic. This is used to determine what characteristic is used as the name of the recommended object during recommendations.

If a dialog makes recommendations, the template must include information about the detail characteristics to show the user. The detail characteristic is used as the title for the object. To fix this problem, click the Choose Display Characteristics link on the Define Display Template page and edit the template used by the dialog. Use the Choose Display Characteristics page to select the advisor type used by the dialog. Add characteristics that are displayed to the user when a recommendation is made. Select the appropriate check boxes, and save the template.

Error: The template is missing the compare detail characteristic. This is used to determine what characteristic is used as the name of the recommended object during comparisons.

If a dialog allows comparisons of the recommendations, the template must include information about the detail characteristics to show the user. The detail characteristic is used as the title for the object. To fix this problem, click the Choose Display Characteristics link on the Define Display Template page and edit the template used by the dialog. Use the Choose Display Characteristics page to select the advisor type used by the dialog. Add characteristics that are displayed to the user when a recommendation is made. Select the appropriate check boxes, and save the template.

Error: Need to have valid target groups to create a recommendation model.

A dialog that includes recommendations must have target groups, characteristics, and the weighting model defined. To fix this error, access the Define Target Groups page, and create target groups. Then save the target groups.

Error: Need to select characteristics to create a recommendation model.

A dialog that includes recommendations must have target groups, characteristics, and the weighting model defined. To fix this error, access the Selected Characteristics page and add characteristics to the model. Access the Select Characteristic Values page. These characteristics distinguish the recommendation objects and are used later in the recommendation model. Save the characteristic values.

Error: Need weights to create a recommendation model.

A dialog that includes recommendations must have target groups, characteristics, and the weighting model defined. To fix this error, access the Create Recommendation Model page. Weight the target groups against the characteristics. Save the weights, and test the model.

Error: Need target groups to create a recommendation model.

A dialog in which recommendations are made must include valid target groups. To fix this error, access the Define Target Groups page and create target groups to be used in the model. Then save the target groups.

Error: The expression used by the target group X is not valid. Please check the target group to make sure the expression used is valid.

The indicated target group is invalid. To fix this error, access the Define Target Groups page, and edit the indicated problem target group. Click the Validate Syntax button, which enables you determine the problem. Fix the problem, and save the target group.

Error: Question X is used in the target group, but is not being used in the dialog.

To obtain the answer to a question, the question must be displayed to the user on a page. The indicated question is referenced by the target group, but it is not displayed to the user. You can delete the target group or add the question to a page. Access the Define Target Groups page, find the indicated target group, and delete it. Alternatively, access the Create a Page page, and add the question by clicking the Add a Question button and selecting the question. Then save the page.

Error: Target Group X, references question Y, which is no longer, included in the dialog.

The target group indicated in the error message references a question that has been removed from the dialog. You can add the question to the dialog or modify the target group. To add the question to the dialog, access the Select Question page. To modify the target group, access the Define Target Groups page and edit the indicated problem target group. Locate the area of the target group that references the question and modify the target group so that it no longer references the removed question. Then save the target group.

Error: Target group X, references condition Y which is no longer included in the dialog.

The target group indicated in the error message references a condition that has been deleted from the dialog. This problem is unlikely, because you cannot delete a condition from Real-Time Advisor if it is used by a transition or target group. However, if the error occurs, you can fix it either by updating the target group to not use the condition or by creating a new condition and using it in the target group. To update the target group to not use the condition, access the Define Target Groups page and locate the target group that references the condition. Modify the expression to no longer access the missing condition, and then save the target group. To create a new condition, access the Select Conditions page, create the condition, and save it. To update the target group, access the Define Target Groups page. Locate the target group that is references the missing condition, and use the new condition. Save the target group.

Error: There is no default target group defined in the dialog.

A default target group must exist. To fix this error, access the Define Target Groups page, and edit the target group to use as the default target group. Select the Default Target Group check box, and save the target group.

Error: Advisor type used by the dialog is missing from the database.

The advisor type used by the dialog is missing from the database. Contact the setup administrator.

Warning: Today's date is not within the start or end date for the dialog.

The current date must be within the dialog start and end dates for the dialog to run. To correct the warning, edit the start or end date on the Advisor Workbench page.

Warning: Page X is not referenced in the dialog. It is not the starting page, it is not referenced by any pages, or the referencing page does not have a Next button.

A page needs to be referenced by other pages for it to be displayed to the user. A page is referenced either as the starting page or in a transition from another page. To fix this warning, determine where the indicated page should appear in the flow of the dialog. Then access the Create Page Transitions page and make the necessary edits to transitions to include the page in the dialog flow. Save the transitions. If you know that the page is referenced, check the page where it is referenced and verify that the page has a Next action. Without a Next action, transitions are not used.

Warning: The question X is not being used in the dialog.

To fix this warning, remove the question from the dialog or add the question to a page. To remove the question from the dialog, access the Select Questions page, click Remove button next to the question, and save the page. To add the question to a page, access the Create a Page page, click the Add a Question button, select the question, and save the page.

Warning: The condition X is not being used in the dialog.

To fix this warning, remove the condition from the dialog or use the condition in a transition or a target group. To remove the condition from the dialog, access the Select Conditions page, and click Remove button next to the condition. To add the condition to a transition, access the Create Page Transitions page, add the condition to the transition, and save the transition. To add the condition to a target group, access the Define Target Groups page, and locate the target group that you want to use the condition. Modify the target group so that it uses the condition in an expression, and save the target group.

Warning: The Advisor Type, X, used by this dialog does not have a drill class path associated with it. This class path used in conjunction with the class is used when the user asks for details on a recommended object.

The advisor type used by the dialog must include drill class information. This information is used when selecting a recommendation object; it enables the user to view details of the object. The advisor type needs to be edited and the drill class information added. To do so, contact the setup administrator.

Error: Page X is a start page, it cannot have a Back action

Start pages cannot have a Back action. To fix this error, access the Layout Pages & Transitions step and edit the problem page. If the page is a start page, clear the Back action. If the page is not a start page, clear the Start page check box, then save the page.

Display Template

Select a template to use for the test. The template associated with the dialog is used as the default. An error may occur if the template selected does not contain adequate information for the dialog.

Runtime Mode

Select Quiet or Interactive mode.

Question/Condition

Displays the questions and conditions associated with the dialog. In Quiet mode, questions and conditions are shown to prepopulate the environment.

Answer

Select a possible answer to test the dialog.

Select Multiple

Click to select multiple answers.

Test Dialog

Click to preview the dialog. In Quiet mode, the recommendation results are shown.

Path Information

Displays the path through the dialog (as seen at runtime) and shows the previously accessed pages.

Transition Information

Displays a summary of the transitions to the current page.

Transition Rules

Displays the page's transition rules, which determine the next page transition.

Target Group the User is in Based on the Question Answer Log

Displays the target groups to which the user belongs, based on answers given so far.

Question and Answer Log

Displays the questions and answers provided by the user.

Dialog Versions

RAD_ADVISOR_VER

Marketing, Advisor Dialogs, Dialog Versions, Dialog Versions

Edit the latest version of a dialog, copy any version, delete the edit in-progress version, or view a past version.

Clone Dialog

RAD_DLGCLONE

Click the button (Clone Dialog Version) on the Dialog Versions page.

Make a copy of the selected dialog version.

Click to make a copy of the dialog version.

Click to view a past deployed version of the dialog in the Advisor Workbench tool.

Click to edit the latest version, either the edit-in-progress version or the deployed version if no version is in progress.

Dialog Name

Enter a name for the new dialog. This name should be unique.

Template Name

Select a display template. The default is the display template of the dialog version that is being copied.

Start Date

Enter a date that the dialog becomes valid.

End Date

Enter a date that the dialog becomes invalid.

External Name

Assign a dialog name that is viewable to the user. This name can be shown to the end user at runtime.

Clone Dialog

Click to clone the dialog.

Transfer to Cloned Dialog

After the dialog version is cloned, this link appears. Click to access the Advisor Workbench tool.