Implementing Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward

This chapter discusses how to implement Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward.

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Overview
• Installing the Mobile Application Patches
• Customizing Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC Using Custom Components (Custom Hooks)
• Confirming Required Enterprise Setups
• Setting Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications
• Creating and Managing Mobile Users
• Assigning Customers to Mobile Field Service Technicians
• Testing the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications Implementation

Overview

This chapter describes how to implement Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward. The following are the basic steps needed to do this:

1. Verify dependencies.

   See "Oracle Mobile Field Service Installation Dependencies".

2. Implement the Mobile Application Foundation.

   See Chapter 3, "Implementing Oracle Mobile Application Foundation".

3. Publish the mobile application.

   See "Installing the Mobile Application Patches" .

4. (Optional) Customize the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application using custom components (Custom Hooks).

   See Customizing Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC Using Custom Components (Custom Hooks).

5. Confirm the required enterprise setups.

   See "Confirming Required Enterprise Setups" .

6. Set profile options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications.

   See "Setting Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications".

7. Create and manage mobile users.

   See "Creating and Managing Mobile Users" and Assigning Customers to Mobile Field Service Technicians.

8. Test the mobile application implementation.

   See "Testing the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications Implementation".

Installing the Mobile Application Patches

Refer to the Oracle Mobile Field Service Release Notes and My Oracle Support for details on the correct patches, dependencies, and the like. Depending on the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application that you are implementing, install the required patches using the AD utility.

Complete the following steps to install the required patches for the desired Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application:

1. Shut down the Oracle10g Lite mobile server.

2. Install the required patches using the AD utility.

3. Start the Oracle10g Lite mobile server.

4. After applying the patch, ensure that the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications concurrent programs are running.

   See Scheduling Concurrent Programs for Mobile Application Foundation.

Customizing Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC Using Custom Components (Custom Hooks)

Optionally, using the Mobile Field Service call outs for the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC (custom hooks) the functionality and user interfaces for the application can be enhanced and customized using a custom component.

This functionality includes a set of predefined interfaces provided by Oracle. Customers can develop a COM Component by implementing these interfaces. The COM Component will have implementation of all the methods defined in the interface, which the COM Component is implementing. These methods are also referred to as "Custom Hooks".

Custom COM Components need to be installed and registered on the Windows Mobile device where the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application is running. The Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application at run time will detect the custom COM component and invoke the hooks with the required parameters.

Implementation of these hooks can use these parameters in various ways to achieve enhanced functionality and a personalized user interface:

• Reposition controls on the screen.

• Show/Hide controls on the screen.

• Get/Set values to/from the controls on the screen.

• Enforce custom validation.

• Set cursor/focus to specific control on the screen.

• Setting default value to a drop down list.

• Add/Remove values to/from a drop down list.

• Invoke custom screens.

• Invoke specific Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application screens.

• Initialize specific variables to be used in the screen to default values.

Custom hooks will be invoked from the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC after initialization (post-UI-initialize) and before exiting (pre-save and pre-exit) for the following screens:

• Task Details

• Debrief

• Flex Fields

• Create Debrief Labor Line

• Update Debrief Labor Line

• Create Debrief Part Use

• Update Debrief Part Use

• Create Debrief Multiple Part Use

• Create Debrief Part Return

• Update Debrief Part Return

• Create Debrief Expense

• Update Debrief Expense

For more information on this functionality, see My Oracle Support.

Confirming Required Enterprise Setups

This section describes how to set up the enterprise-side system so certain mobile features work properly on the mobile computer device.

Setting Up Service Requests

The following table lists the service request setups that can be used to create, view, and update tasks in an Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application.

Component	Required or Optional
Service Request Statuses	Required
Service Request Severities	Required
Service Request Types	Required
Service Request Urgencies	Optional
Problem Codes	Optional
Resolution Codes	Optional
Service Request Templates	Optional

For details, refer to the Oracle TeleService Implementation Guide.

Linking Service Request Statuses to Service Request Types

Service request statuses have to be linked to service request types. Use the following procedure:

1. Switch to the Field Service Manager responsibility.

2. Navigate to Field Service Setup > Service Requests > Request Types.

3. Click to select a service request type from the table.

4. Click Related Statuses.

5. In the window, link Service Request Statuses to the Service Request Type.

6. Click Save.

7. To finish, close the window.

For more information, refer to the Oracle TeleService Implementation Guide.

Setting Up Tasks

The following table lists the task setups that can be used to create, view, and update tasks in an Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application.

Component	Required or Optional
Task Statuses	Required
Task Status Transitions	Required
Task Types	Required
Task Priorities	Required
Task Templates	Optional

Set up the required components listed above. For details, refer to the Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide for these Field Service-specific setups.

• The task status that is selected during service-task-creation is the one from the Field Service profiles: CSF: Default In Planning Status. You cannot change this.

• When a service task is created, there will be no task assignment automatically created.

Setting Up Oracle Field Service Debrief

Oracle Field Service Debrief is part of the Oracle Field Service application and is used to report all material, expense, and labor transactions. From the Oracle Field Service Debrief page, you can update inventory, install base, and charges.

When material, expense, and labor transactions are recorded in one of the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications, all transactions are shown and updated to inventory, install base, and charges from the Oracle Field Service Debrief.

Ensure that Oracle Field Service Debrief is fully implemented and set up as described in the Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide.

Setting Up Install Base

This procedure is only required if you are using Install Base. If so, Install Base should be set up to support Install Base updates when doing material transactions in an Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application. This should be set up after performing the setup steps necessary for debrief reporting.

An Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application supports two scenarios that affect Install Base:

• Removing a part

• Installing a new part

The following procedures are required to set up Install Base:

• Setting up system items for Install Base transactions

• Setting up Install Base profile options

• Removing and installing parts in Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop

See Appendix A, "Item Handling for the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications" for complete details.

Note: Changing the install base replication profiles during operation becomes effective when the value is changed. Information will not be changed with retroactive effect based on the profiles.

Setting Up Counters

The set up of counters is only required if you are using Install Base. The following are the setups for counters that must be performed to report counter readings in an Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application:

• Counters

• Counter groups

• Counter properties

• Miscellaneous reading types

Refer to the Oracle TeleService Implementation Guide.

Note: Only counters of type REGULAR are supported by the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications. Both counter values and counter property values can be entered in an Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application.

Setting Up Messaging

Confirm that Messaging has been successfully installed and implemented.

Setting Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications

You can set profiles within the Windows or Self Service applications (Functional administrator: Core Services > Profiles).

The following sections describe Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward features that are controlled through profile settings.

Setting Up Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop

For Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop, set the profile options listed in the following table. The table indicates the profile option name, a brief description, and available options.

Profile	Description	Options
CSF: Restrict Service Request Creation to Scheduled Sites	Validates customer to prevent technicians from creating a service request if that customer does not have a task with working status.	If the profile value is set to Yes, then the application checks for open tasks for that customer site. If the profile value is set to No, then technicians are able to copy any service request. Default: No
CSF: Capture travel information	This profile determines if capturing travel information is enabled, within the Debrief page.	None: Default Time Distance
CSF: Default Commit task status	This profile option defines the default status when the task is committed.	All defined task statuses. Assigned is the default.
CSF: Default Debrief Business Process	The business process selected with this profile option is the default business process within the Debrief page.	All defined business processes.
CSF: Default Debrief Service Activity Code	The service activity code selected with this profile option is the default service activity code within the Debrief page.	All defined service activity codes.
CSF: Default Distance Unit	The default unit of measure for distance.	Miles: Default Kilometers
CSF: Default Return Reason (For Material Debrief)	The return reason selected with this profile option is the default return reason during debrief.	All defined return reasons.
CSF: Default Task Type for Personal Tasks	Default task type for personal tasks.	All defined task types. The Private attribute is set to Yes.
CSF: Default Task Status for Personal Tasks	Default task status for personal tasks.	All defined task statuses. The Assignment and Assigned attributes are set to Yes. The Rejected, On hold, Cancelled, and Schedulable attributes are set to No.
CSF: The unit of measure for hours	You must define this setting to correspond with the value in the MTL_UNITS_OF_MEASURE table.	-
CSF: The unit of measure for minutes	You must define this setting to correspond with the value in the MTL_UNITS_OF_MEASURE table.	-
CSFW: Planned Task Window	Planned task window in days.	-
CSM: Data Routed to Group Owner	Used during the synchronization of data for the members of a multiple user laptop group. When set to Yes, the data is routed to the owner of the group that the user is a part of. When set to No, the data is routed to the individual user.	Yes: Default. Data will be sent to the group owners out queue. No: Data will be sent to the individual users out queue.
CSM: Labor Line Total Check	Reasonability check to ensure total time at site does not exceed total labor time plus delta. For debrief reporting in Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop, the difference between max (last labor end date/time) and min (earliest labor start date/time) must not be more than one hour greater than the sum of labor line durations. Max - min <= sum of labor lines + T T is the time in hours. The profile setting provides the value for this.	0: Default. The check is not valid. 1: T = 1 2: T = 2
CSM: Purge Interval (Days)	Defines the number of days before purging data from Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop. This is executed only for closed tasks. For example, if this profile is set to 5, a closed task after five days is purged from the laptop. The associated service request is also purged if there are no other open tasks for that service request.	A value representing the number of days before data is removed from Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop. If you specify zero days, the data is never removed.
CSM: Time Reasonability Check Apply	Reasonability checks to ensure that valid inputs are entered during debrief and task creation on the mobile computer device. The following reasonability checks must be added to Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop, to ensure quality of data entered by the technician: Values entered for Planned Start date/time must be greater than Incident date/time on service request header for create/update of task. Values entered for Planned End date/time must be greater than Incident date/time on service request header for create/update of task. Values entered for Service Date and Labor Start date/time on Debrief may not be less than Incident date/time on service request header. Values entered for Service Date on Debrief may not be less than Incident date/time on service request header Values entered for Labor Start date/time and Service Date on Debrief may not be future-based on current date/time on the device. Values entered for Labor End date/time and Service Date on Debrief line item may not be future-based on current date/time on the device. Values entered for Labor End date/time and Service Date on Debrief may not be less than Incident date/time on service request header.	Yes: default No

Setting Up Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC

Set the profile options listed in the following table. The table lists the profile option name, a brief description, and available options.

Profile	Description	Options
CSF: Default Labor Debrief Date/Time	This profile is used in the Labor Debrief screen to define labor debrief start and end times based on status updates to task assignments.	Status Change: Start time and end time are defaulted from the task assignment audit table. In cases where technicians select a working status more than once, the last set of transition times are defaulted. For example: From any status to a status with a Working flag enabled defines labor start. From a Working status to any other status without the Working flag defines labor end. Schedule Date: Start time and end time are defaulted from a task's scheduled date. This is the default. System Date: Start time and end time are defaulted from the system date. None: Nothing is defaulted.
CSF: Default Service Activity Code for Labor	The service activity code selected with this profile is the default service activity code for labor within the Labor Debrief screen.	All defined service activity codes. Null: default
CSF: Default Service Activity Code for Travel	The service activity code selected with this profile is the default service activity code for travel within the Labor Debrief screen.	All defined service activity codes. Null: default
CSF: Mandatory Labor Debrief (Y/N)	If this profile is set to Yes, technicians cannot complete or close a task until they create a labor line. Note: Sometimes technicians have only travel debrief lines and no labor debrief lines. In such cases, profile CSF: Mandatory Labor Debrief honors travel debrief lines.	Yes No: default
CSF: Mandatory Resolution Code (Y/N)	If the profile is set to Yes and the resolution code is not entered, technicians cannot change the task assignment status to statuses with complete or close flags enabled until they enter the resolution code. The Debrief Summary screen checks whether a resolution code exists for the service request when technicians change the assignment status to Completed or Closed.	Yes No: default
CSM: Allow Free Form Installed Base Identifier	If set to Yes, this profile allows data that is uploaded from a client to be checked for free form data. If such data is present, then itis processed.	Yes No
CSM: Email Account Name for Message Interception	This profile operates in the context of one of the ways that a server can notify a client to initiate background synchronization. The profile holds the name of the e-mail account configured in the Pocket PC for which incoming e-mails are intercepted.	SMS: The application intercepts SMS messages. Null: The application executes DM commands to initiate automatic synchronization.
CSM: Enable Create Task	Enables or disables the create task functionality.	Yes: default No
CSM: Enable Create SR	Enables or disables the create service request functionality.	Yes: default No
CSM: Enable Online Access	Provides Pocket PC technicians with limited access to the Mobile Field Service Wireless application.	Y N: default
CSM: Enable Update Task Assignment Status	Enables or disables the functionality to update the task assignment status.	Yes: default No
CSM: Enable View Customer Product	Enables or disables the functionality to view a customer product.	Yes: default No
CSM: Mobile Field Service Wireless URL	Defines the URL for the Oracle Mobile Field Service Wireless application. This URL is used to access the application from the S&F Pocket PC.	A URL. This value is null by default.
CSM: Mobile Query Schema Name	Defines the name of the custom schema that holds objects for the SQL type of query. This profile can be set at either site or responsibility level.	A name, which must be for a non-EBS, custom schema. It is null by default.
CSM: Restrict Number of Items to Search for in LOV	Limits the number of search results that are displayed in the search pages, if there are too many items. You can limit the search by using a filter to reduce the number of items retrieved in the search.	Can be 1 to any number. The default is 100.

Setting Up Profile Options Common to Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop and Pocket PC

Set the profile options listed in the following table. The table lists the profile option name, a brief description, and its available options.

Profile	Description	Options
CSM: Allow Counters Download for Parties	Used during the customer download process to control the amount of data that is downloaded. This profile value controls whether counters should be downloaded.	Yes: Default: All counters will be downloaded. No: No counters will be downloaded. If the profile is set to No, counters tied to item instances will still be downloaded as part of downloading task assignments.
CSM: Allow Service Contract Download for Parties	Used during the customer download process to control the amount of data that is downloaded. This profile value controls whether contracts should be downloaded for a customer during the customer download process.	Yes: Default: All associated contracts are downloaded. No: None of the contracts are downloaded. If set to No, the contracts tied to individual service requests will still be downloaded.
CSM: Allow Service History Download for Parties	Used during the customer download process to control the amount of data that is downloaded. This profile value controls whether service request history records should be downloaded for the Installed Base items of customers selected as part of the customer download.	Yes: Default: All associated service request history records subject to CSM: Number of Previously Closed Service Requests profile value are downloaded. No: No service request history records are downloaded. If set to No, the service request history tied to Installed Base instances will continue to be downloaded.
CSM: Automatic Synchronization Interval for Data Download	Use to set the synchronization interval to download data to a mobile device.	The profile can be 0 or another value. Device Manager initiates synchronization based on the value if this profile is set to a positive integer. Default: 60. Caution: The mobile device also checks the platform level setup such as “time interval” or “specific time” on any day and initiates automatic synchronization based on this platform level setup. Do not set this up in order to prevent Device Manager from initiating automatic synchronization based on this setup.
CSM: Automatic Synchronization Interval for Data Upload	Use to set the synchronization interval to upload data from a mobile device.	The profile can be 0 or another value. Device Manager initiates synchronization based on the value if this profile is set to a positive integer. Device Manager never initiates automatic synchronization if this profile is set to a negative integer. Default: 60. Caution: The mobile device also checks the platform level setup such as “time interval” or “specific time” on any day and initiates automatic synchronization based on this platform level setup. Do not set this up in order to prevent Device Manager from initiating automatic synchronization based on this setup.
CSM: Email IMAP Host Name	Specifies the host name of the server used for retrieving responses to mobile queries based on e-mail.	Default: Null
CSM: Email IMAP User Name	Specifies the user name for the server used for retrieving responses to mobile queries based on e-mail.	Default: Null
CSM: Email IMAP User Password	Specifies the user password for the server used for retrieving responses to mobile queries based on e-mail.	Default: Null
CSM: Email SMTP Host Name	Specifies the host name of the server used for sending mobile queries based on e-mail.	Default: Null
CSM: Email SSL Enabled	Specifies whether to SSL-enable the connection to the mail server for mobile queries based on e-mail.	Default: No
CSM: Enable Auto sync Status Notification	Provides an administrator with the ability to notify a technician whenever background synchronization occurs.	A technician sees a popup message if the profile value is Yes. If you decide not to notify technicians, then set the profile value to No. Default: Yes
CSM: First Alert Timeout Interval	Sets the number of minutes to wait before the first remainder e-mail is sent.	The profile can be to 0 or another value. Default: 60
CSM: Second Alert Timeout Interval	Sets the number of minutes to wait (from the time of the first remainder) before the second remainder e-mail is sent.	This profile can be 0 or another value. Default: 120
CSM: Third Alert Timeout Interval	Sets the number of minutes to wait before the third and last remainder e-mail is sent.	The profile value can be 0 or any other value. Default: 180
CSM: Inbox for Email Interface	Specifies the address to which technicians send mobile queries by e-mail.	Default: Null
CSM: Item Category Filter	Use to filter item categories.	-
CSM: Item Category Set Filter	Use to filter item category sets.	-
CSM: Maximum Attachment Size	A technician can upload service request attachments such as, photos, drawings, and diagnostic data, from their pocket PC to the enterprise. You can view the uploaded data on the enterprise, after synchronization completes successfully. The Attachment sizes are limited to the value entered in this profile.	The value of this profile represents the size in Mega Bytes (MB) of the attachment for each service request/task for each Sync. If this profile option is not populated, the value is considered zero and you cannot upload or download attachments.
CSM: Notification of Synchronization	Provides administrators and technicians with the ability to view errors during synchronization.	Administrators can set this profile at responsibility level to any valid field service resource. Default: Null
CSM: Notifications Scope	Defines to whom messages can be sent.	Resource Group: Default All Users
CSM: Notify on Deferred Records	Provides the ability to notify administrators and technicians whenever an error occurs during the data upload process.	Set this profile option at responsibility level. Administrator can set this profile at responsibility level to any valid field service resource. Default: Null
CSM: Notify on Email Mobile Query Exceptions	E-mail will be sent to the e-mail address of the comma-separated list of user names listed in this profile. The e-mail will be sent as HTML or TEXT or not sent at all, based on the preference set by each user.	Set this profile at the responsibility level. Default: Null
CSM: Number of IB Items at Location	The number of install base items to be downloaded for a given customer location.	Can be 0 to any number. The default is 0.
CSM: Number of Previously Closed Service Requests	Defines the number of previously closed service requests to be replicated. It is recommended that you send down three to five service requests. Do not set very high values because of laptop computer limitations on data set size.	Use 0 to disable the history functionality. The default is 0.
CSM: Synchronous Service History Collection	Sets how previously closed service requests are collected (performance is a factor).	Yes: synchronous history collection. No: asynchronous history collection. This is the default.
JTM: Application Conflict Rule	Enables Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop to handle updates to the database from the laptop and Pocket PC.	Client Wins: Changes made by the mobile user are always applied to the enterprise database. No timestamp checking is executed. Server wins: Changes made by the mobile user are applied to the enterprise database if the record has not been modified since the mobile user last synchronized. If the record was modified in the meanwhile, the mobile user's change is not applied and becomes a deferred transaction.
JTM: Mobile Applications Enabled	Set the profile at the Oracle Mobile Field Service responsibility level to Y. Only after setting the profile value can you enable hooks or business events.	Y: Yes N: No
CSF: Allow Overlapping Debrief Lines	Setting the profile to No does not allow overlapping labor lines within a task. Therefore, a field service technician cannot have two labor lines for the same time period. The second labor line starts only after the first one has finished.	Yes: The technician can enter overlapping actual start and end times for various assignments for a given day. No: Default. The technician cannot enter the overlapping times.
CSF: Business Process	Enables you to specify the order of task completion for the field service technician.	1: The field service technician is to work on one task at a time in a fixed order (ordered by scheduled start date). 2: The field service technician can only work on one task, but in any order. Only the task with a Working status can be updated. If no task is at a Working status, the status of all open tasks can be updated. The field service technician can select a task by setting its status to Working. 3: The field service technician can work on any number of tasks in any order. The working flag is ignored, in this scenario.
CSF: Default Labor Debrief Date/Time (Scheduled Date, System Date, None, Assignment Status)
CSF: Update Planned/Scheduled Times Allowed	Specifies whether field service technicians are allowed to change the planned or scheduled times of the tasks they have received on the laptop computer.	Yes No
Service: Inventory Validation Organization	Defines to whom messages can be sent.	Resource Group: Default All Users

Setting Up Non-Oracle Mobile Field Service Profile Options for Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications

Set the profile options listed in the following table. The table lists the profile option name, a brief description, and available options.

Profile	Description	Options
Client Timezone	Timezone in which the device is present (field service technicians local time).	-
CSF: Default In Planning Status	Default status that is assigned to tasks that are created in the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications.	All task statuses
HZ: Language for Country Display	This is the default language that is used to translate the country name for foreign address formatting. This is typically the language of the country where the item is mailed.	-
HZ: Reference Language	This is the default language that is used to determine the locale for name and address formatting. If the value is null, the NLS language of the current session is used.	-
HZ: Reference Territory	This is the default territory that is used to determine locale for name and address formatting. If this value is null, the NLS territory for the current session is used.	-
ICX: Date format mask	Date display format: DD/MM/YYYY YY/MM/DD MM/DD DD/MM	-
ICX: Numeric characters	Your numeric characters preference.	-
JTM: TimePicker Format (HH24/HH12)	Time displayed in 12 or 24 hours.	-
Server Timezone	Timezone in which the server is present.	-
Time unit of measure class	This is the unit of measure class, representing time.	Time: default Period
Task Manager: Default assignee status	This profile defines the assignees task status default value.	All defined task statuses. Assigned is the default.
Task Manager: Owner type for a task	This profile defines the default owner type for the task.	All defined owner types.

Related Topics

Uploading Attachments, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide

Using the Messaging Page, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide

Creating and Managing Mobile Users

Before you can use the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications (Pocket PC and Laptop) you need to define a resource with the Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access responsibilities and then download that resource to the mobile application.

For the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application you define individual resources with the Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access responsibilities. For Pocket PC each resource will use one mobile device.

For the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application you can define individual resources or you can define a multiple user laptop group. For individual resources, you will define those resources with the Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access responsibilities, and they will use a single mobile device.

For a multiple user laptop group, you will define several resources with the Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access responsibilities and assign them to a multiple user laptop group. In this case, the group of resources will all use and share a single mobile device.

The Manages Mobile Users concurrent program in the Mobile Application Foundation periodically allocates resources for users that have a mobile responsibility, so there will be a delay between when the responsibility is assigned and when the change will take effect. Refer to "Scheduling Concurrent Programs for Mobile Application Foundation" for information on how to manually run the concurrent program to expedite the creation of a new user.

Access to the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop and Pocket PC applications is based on the same user name and passwords as the Enterprise application. Mobile users can change their passwords from their handheld devices, online, in the Enterprise application, and by requesting that the system administrator make this change for them. For information on changing passwords, see the Oracle E-Business Suite System Administrator's Guide.

Important: It is strongly recommended that you do not change the password at the mobile server level. This is not supported.

If you remove the Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access responsibilities from a user, that user is no longer able to use the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward application and synchronize. However, the application remains on their mobile computer device.

Understanding Multiple User Laptop Groups

Multiple user laptop groups enable multiple resources to be able to use and share a single laptop device for the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application. The Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application does not have this capability. Using a single laptop device saves on hardware cost and enables flexible deployments (groups and single users can share the same laptop) when implementing the application.

This figure illustrates how you would set up a multiple user laptop group.

When you set up a multiple user laptop group each group will contain the following resources with the Role Type of Field Service Mobility and these roles:

• One Field Service Group Owner.

• One or more Field Service Group Administrators.

• One or more Field Service Group Members.

The Field Service group owner has the ability to download, install, activate the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application, and synchronize all the data for the group in the laptop device. Plus, they have the ability to view and reassign tasks to the group members and reassign service requests to related groups.

The Field Service group owner is authenticated during the initial installation of the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application. After the installation of the application, the Field Service group owner will activate the members (group administrators and group members) in the group using the Field Service Administrator Dashboard.

The Field Service group administrator has the ability to synchronize all data for the group, view and reassign tasks to the group members, and reassign service requests to related groups.

The Field Service group member has the ability to synchronize all data for the group, and can view and work on tasks assigned only to them.

Field Service group owners and administrators will use the Field Service Administrator Dashboard to manage their technicians schedules and tasks for the group they are responsible for. The Field Service Administrator Dashboard is similar to the Field Service Technician Dashboard in the Laptop application. For information on the Field Service Administrator Dashboard, see Understanding the Field Service Administrator Dashboard, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide.

Field Service group members (technicians) will use the Field Service Technician Dashboard to view and work on the tasks assigned to them. For information on the Field Service Technician Dashboard, see Understanding the Field Service Technician Dashboard, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide.

Prerequisites

• You have already created a resource for use in the Oracle Field Service application.

For information on creating a resource, see Setting Up Field Service Technicians and Dispatchers in the Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide.

To Create an Individual Mobile User

Assign the Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access Responsibilities to the Resource

1. Navigate to the Users window in the Enterprise application. (System Administrator: Security > User > Define).

   The Users window appears.

2. Query for an existing Field Service resource.

3. Select Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access for the Responsibility field under the Direct Responsibilities tab.

   Field Service/Palm appears by default in the Application field. Plus, the current date appears by default in the From Effective Date field.

4. (Optional) Enter a Description for the responsibility.

5. (Optional) Enter a To Effective Date to indicate when the responsibility will no longer be active.

6. Save your work.

Download the Mobile Field Service Resources to the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications

7. Navigate to the Submit Request window (System Administrator: Concurrent > Requests).

   The Find Request window appears.

8. Click Submit a New Request.

   The Submit a New Request window appears.

9. Select the Single Request option and click OK.

   The Submit Request window appears.

10. Select Manages Mobile Users in the Name field.

    The Parameters window appears.

11. Click OK and Click Submit.

    The Manages Mobile Users concurrent program is initiated. In the log file of the completed concurrent program request you can view whether the user ID was created successfully for the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC and Laptop applications.

    The Manages Mobile Users concurrent program is part of the Mobile Application Foundation. So, you do not have to manually run the Manages Mobile User program if you have this program set to automatically run at certain times. If this is the case, there will be a delay between when the responsibility is assigned and when the change will take effect.

To Create a Multiple User Laptop Group

Important: Multiple User Laptop Groups are only available for use in the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application. Pocket PC does not have this capability.

Assign the Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access Responsibilities to the Resources for the Group

1. Navigate to the Users window in the Enterprise application. (System Administrator: Security > User > Define).

   The Users window appears.

2. Query for an existing Field Service resource that you want to include in the group.

3. Select Oracle Mobile Field Service and Enable Online Access for the Responsibility field under the Direct Responsibilities tab.

   Field Service/Palm appears by default in the Application field. Plus, the current date appears by default in the From Effective Date field.

4. Save your work.

5. Repeat Steps 2 - 4 for each resource you want to include in the multiple user laptop group.

   One resource will be the Field Service Group Owner, one or more resources will be Field Service Group Administrators, and one or more resources will be Field Service Group Members.

Assign the Multiple User Laptop Roles to the Resources for the Group

6. Navigate to the Resource window (Field Service Administrator: CRM Foundation > Resource Manager > Maintain Resources > Resources).

   The Find Resources window appears.

7. Select the resource Name and click Find.

   The Resource Search Results window appears.

8. Select the resource row and click Resource Details.

   The Resource page appears displaying the Roles tab.

9. For the resource select a Role Type of Field Service Mobility and a Role. Roles are: Field Service Group Owner, Field Service Group Administrator, and Field Service Group Member.

10. Save your work.

11. Repeat Steps 7 - 10 for each resource that you want to include in the multiple user laptop group.

    To define a multiple user laptop group you need to define at a minimum a Field Service group owner and a Field Service group administrator.

Define the Multiple User Laptop Group and Assign the Resources to the Group

12. Navigate to Define Groups window (Field Service Administrator: CRM Foundation > Resource Manager > Maintain Resources > Groups).

    The Define Groups window appears.

13. Enter the multiple user laptop group name in the Name field.

14. Select the Exclusive Flag check box.

15. (Optional) Enter a Description for the group.

16. Select the Used In tab.

17. Select Field Service Mobility and Support for Application Areas.

18. Select the Members tab.

19. Select the Name of resource that you want to add to the group.

    The Category, Number, and Organization fields appear for the resource.

20. Select the resource row that you just added and click Member Roles.

    The Member Roles window appears.

21. Select a Role Type of Field Service Mobility and a Role for the resource. Roles are: Field Service Group Owner, Field Service Group Administrator, and Field Service Group Member.

22. Click OK.

23. Save your work.

24. Repeat steps 19 -23 for each resource you want to add to the multiple user laptop group.

    Important: Defining the same resource in multiple groups (multiple user laptop groups) is not supported.

Download the Mobile Field Service Resources to the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop Application

25. Navigate to the Submit Request window (Field Service Administrator: CRM Foundation > Requests > Run).

    The Submit a New Request window appears.

26. Select the Single Request option and click OK.

    The Submit Request window appears.

27. Select Manages Mobile Users in the Name field.

    The Parameters window appears.

28. Click OK and Click Submit.

    The Manages Mobile Users concurrent program is initiated. In the log file of the completed concurrent program request you can view whether the user IDs and group were created successfully for the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application.

    The Manages Mobile Users concurrent program is part of the Mobile Application Foundation. So, you do not have to manually run the Manages Mobile User program if you have this program set to automatically run at certain times. If this is the case, there will be a delay between when the responsibility is assigned and when the change will take effect.

Install the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop Application

29. The Field Service Group Owner installs the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application on the device to be shared by the group.

    For information on installing the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application, see Installing Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop.

Activate the Resources for the Multiple User Laptop Group

30. Log in to the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application as the group owner of the multiple user laptop group (Field Service Group Owner).

    The Field Service Administrator Dashboard appears.

31. Click the Initialize Member link in the Configuration section of the page.

    The Members page appears displaying all the members of the group.

32. Click the Initialize check box and enter the password for each member you want to activate for the group.

33. Click the Save link and then the OK link.

    The members of the group are now activated and can now use the laptop device to access the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application.

34. Click the Field Service Administrator Dashboard link to return to the dashboard.

Disable Members in the Multiple User Laptop Group

35. Log in to the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application as the as the group owner of the multiple user laptop group (Field Service Group Owner).

    The Field Service Administrator Dashboard appears.

36. Click the Initialize Member link in the Configuration section of the page.

    The Members page appears displaying all the members of the group.

37. Click the Disabled check box next to the member you want to disable.

38. Click the Save link and then click the OK link.

    The member is disabled from the multiple user laptop group. They can no longer use the device that the group is using.

Assigning Customers to Mobile Field Service Technicians

Before technicians or administrators can create service requests using the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications they need to have customers assigned to them and then the customer information needs to be downloaded to the mobile applications.

If technicians receive task assignments from the Enterprise system during the first synchronization before customers have been assigned to them, they will still be able to create a service request against the customers which are already downloaded to their mobile device.

For information on creating service requests in the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application, see Working with Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide. For information on creating service requests in the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application, see Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Technician Dashboard and Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Administrator Dashboard.

A system administrator will assign customers to the individual technicians or they will assign customers to the field service group owner if you are using a multiple user laptop group. In addition, if you are using multiple user laptop groups you have the option to associate other groups to your multiple user laptop group. Relating these groups together gives the administrator of the group the ability to assign and reassign work within the related groups.

After you assign customers to technicians and associate the related groups you will then run the JTM Master concurrent program to download all the customer and associated group information to the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications.

When running the JTM Master concurrent program to download the customer information you will select the Customer parameter when initiating the concurrent program.

When you run the JTM Master concurrent program the program references three profile options to determine the amount of data it will download related to the customers and products assigned to the technicians. The profile options it references are:

• CSM: Allow Counters Download for Parties: If set to Yes, the counters for all of the Installed Based items associated to the customer will be downloaded. If set to No, no counters will be downloaded. If the profile is set to No, counters tied to item instances will still be downloaded as part of downloading task assignments.

  For each counter downloaded the profile option CSM: Maximum readings per counter controls the number of readings that are downloaded.

• CSM: Allow Service Contracts Download for Parties: If set to Yes, service contracts associated to a customer will be downloaded. If set to No, no service contracts will be downloaded. If set to No, the contracts tied to individual service requests will still be downloaded.

• CSM: Allow Service Request History Download for Parties: If set to Yes, all associated service request history records subject to CSM: Number of Previously Closed Service Requests profile value are downloaded. If set to No, no service request history records are downloaded.

After determining the amount and type of data to be downloaded, the JTM Master concurrent program will then download all the customer and equipment data for the customers assigned to the technicians.

The customer data includes all contacts and addresses for the customer being downloaded. Customers are TCA Organization and person parties. Contacts are the person parties associated to these customer parties with the "Contact of" relationship type. Addresses are the party sites and locations associated to these customer parties.

The equipment data includes the asset and product records in the Oracle Installed Base that are owned by the customer parties being downloaded.

In addition, all the related resource groups to a multiple user laptop group will be downloaded. This will enable administrators of a group to manage the work load within the related groups.

Prerequisites

• The following profile options have been setup:

• CSM: Allow Counters Download for Parties

• CSM: Allow Service Contract Download for Parties

• CSM: Allow Service Request History Download for Parties

To Assign Customers to a Technician that is Not a Member of a Multiple User Laptop Group

1. Navigate to the Technician Customers page (Mobile Field Service Administrator: Oracle Mobile Field Service Administrator > Select the Technician Customer tab).

   The Technician Customers page appears displaying all the employees that are group owners. The Show Group Owners check box is selected by default.

2. Enter search criteria for the user that you want to assign customers to and click Search.

   You can search for users by:

   • Employee Name

   • Group Name

   • User Name

   • Role Name

3. Select the user and click Assign Customers.

   The Assign Customer page appears.

4. Enter search criteria for a specific customer by entering a Customer Name and Address and clicking Search or retrieve all customers by not entering any customer information and clicking Search.

   The customers that match your search criteria display in the Available Customers section of the page.

5. Select the customers that you want to add to this user in the Available Customers section and click the Move link.

   Click the Move All link if you want to move all customers that appear in the Available Customers section to the Selected Customers section of the page.

   Customers are moved from the Available Customers section of the page to the Selected Customers section of the page.

6. (Optional) To remove customers that were previously selected for a user, select the customers in the Selected Customers section and click the Remove link. To remove all selected customers click the Remove All link.

   Customers are moved from the Selected Customers section to the Available Customers section of the page.

7. Click Done.

   The Technician Customers page appears.

To Download the Customer Information to the Mobile Application

8. Navigate to the Submit Request window (System Administrator: Concurrent > Requests).

   The Find Requests page appears.

9. Click Submit a New Request.

   Submit a New Request window appears.

10. Select the Single Request option and click OK.

    The Submit Request window appears.

11. Select JTM Master Concurrent Program in the Name field.

    The Parameters window appears.

12. Select a Category of Customer and click OK.

13. Click Submit.

    The JTM Master concurrent program is initiated. All the relevant customer information is downloaded to the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications for the user.

    The JTM Master concurrent program is part of the Mobile Application Foundation. So, you do not have to manually run the JTM Master program if you have this program set to automatically run at certain times. If this is the case, there will be a delay between when the customer is assigned and when the customer information will be downloaded.

    After successful completion of the concurrent program, technicians will now be able to create service requests for any of the customers and asset or products they are responsible for. For information on creating service requests in the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC application, see Working with Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide. For information on creating service requests in the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop application, see Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Technician Dashboard and Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Administrator Dashboard.

To Assign Customers to a Technician that is a Member of a Multiple User Laptop Group

1. Navigate to the Technician Customers page (Mobile Field Service Administrator: Oracle Mobile Field Service Administrator > Select the Technician Customer tab).

   The Technician Customers page appears displaying all the employees that are group owners. The Show Group Owners Only check box is selected by default.

2. Enter search criteria for the Field Service Group Owner user that you want to assign customers to and click Search.

   You can search for users by:

   • Employee Name

   • Group Name

   • User Name

   • Role Name

   The employees that match the search criteria appear in the search results table.

3. Select the Field Service Group Owner user and click Assign Customers.

   Important: You can assign customers to individual members of the multiple user laptop group but the customer association will still roll up to the group owner of the multiple user laptop group.

   The Assign Customer page appears.

4. Enter search criteria for a specific customer by entering a Customer Name and Address and clicking Search or retrieve all customers by not entering any customer information and clicking Search.

   The customers that match the search criteria display in the Available Customers section of the page.

5. Select the customers that you want to add to this user in the Available Customers section and click the Move link.

   Click the Move All link if you want to move all customers that appear in the Available Customers section to the Selected Customers section of the page.

   Customers are moved from the Available Customers section of the page to the Selected Customers section of the page.

6. (Optional) To remove customers that were previously selected for a user, select the customers in the Selected Customers section and click the Remove link. To remove all selected customers click the Remove All link.

   Customers are moved from the Selected Customers section to the Available Customers section of the page.

7. Click Done.

   The Technician Customers page reappears.

To Assign Related Groups to the Multiple User Laptop Group

8. Select the Related Groups tab.

9. Select the multiple user laptop group that you want to relate other groups to in the Group Name field and click Search.

   All available groups appear in the Available Related Groups section of the page.

10. Select the groups that you want to relate to this group in the Available Related Groups section and click the Move link.

    Click the Move All link if you want to move all groups that appear in the Available Related Groups section to the Selected Related Groups section of the page.

    Groups are moved from the Available Related Groups section of the page to the Selected Related Groups section of the page.

11. (Optional) To remove groups that were previously selected for a group, select the groups in the Selected Related Groups section and click the Remove link. To remove all selected groups click the Remove All link.

    Groups are moved from the Selected Related Groups section to the Available Related Groups section of the page.

12. Click Done.

    A confirmation message appears at the top of the page stating that the changes were applied successfully.

13. Click Done again.

    The Related Groups page reappears.

To Download the Customer Information to the Mobile Application

14. Navigate to the Submit Request window (System Administrator: Concurrent > Requests).

    The Find Requests page appears.

15. Click Submit a New Request.

    The Submit a New Request window appears.

16. Select the Single Request option and click OK.

    The Submit Request window appears.

17. Select JTM Master Concurrent Program in the Name field.

    The Parameters window appears.

18. Select a Category of Customer and click OK.

19. Click Submit.

    The JTM Master concurrent program is initiated. All the relevant customer information is downloaded to the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications for the user.

    The JTM Master concurrent program is part of the Mobile Application Foundation. So, you do not have to manually run the JTM Master program if you have this program set to automatically run at certain times. If this is the case, there will be a delay between when the customer is assigned and when the customer information will be downloaded.

    After successful completion of the concurrent program, technicians and administrators will now be able to create service requests for any of the customers and asset or products they are responsible for. In addition, administrators will be able to assign service requests to the groups related to their multiple user laptop group. For information on creating service requests, see Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Technician Dashboard and Creating Service Requests, Oracle Mobile Field Service User Guide in the Field Service Administrator Dashboard.

Testing the Mobile Field Service Store and Forward Applications Implementation

After you have implemented the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications, you should then test that the implementation is successful.

Running the Test

Complete the following steps to verify that the implementation of one of the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward applications was successful:

1. Create a test user and then assign the user the Oracle Mobile Field Service responsibility.

   The Oracle Mobile Field Service responsibility is used for both the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop and Pocket PC applications.

2. Install the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Pocket PC application on the desired test mobile computer device.

   For details on how to install Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC, see Installing Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop and Installing Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Pocket PC.

3. Create a service request and task using the Service Request window in the enterprise system.

4. From the Field Service Dispatch Center, schedule and assign the task just created to the test user.

5. Synchronize the mobile computer device using the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Pocket PC application.

   The Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Pocket PC application receives the task.

6. Change the task assignment status for the task on the mobile computer device and then synchronize.

7. Confirm that the task assignment status update is reflected in the Field Service Dispatch Center for the task.

Final Checks

If you have problems running the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Pocket PC application, ensure that you have met the following requirements:

• Material items must be created and associated with the field service technicians inventory.

• The task state transitions must be set up in Field Service.

• Field service technicians must have a location associated with them.

• A request or task must have a location before it can be scheduled.

• The Oracle Mobile Field Service responsibility must be granted to the user, to access the Oracle Mobile Field Service Store and Forward - Laptop or Pocket PC application.

• Labor and expense items need to be set up.

• If you are still experiencing problems, then use the diagnostics described in "Diagnostic Testing Oracle Mobile Field Service" .