Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide > Overview of Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler >

Business Process Task Flow

Figure 1 illustrates a functional overview of the scheduling and dispatch task flow.

Figure 1. Functional Overview of the Scheduling and Dispatch Task Flow

Explanation of Callouts

The scheduling and dispatch task flow includes the following tasks:

1. Employee administration. Allows you to create and update employee data. You use the Siebel client to create and maintain the employee data that Field Service requires. Oracle Fusion Middleware synchronizes this information with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler. You then use the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler client to enter data that is specific to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler, such as employee cost profile mapping.
2. Shift administration. A subprocess that maintains schedules and exceptions. You must do the following:
   • Manually create the schedule record in Siebel CRM.
   • Associate the Schedule with Employees or Service Region.
3. Address administration. A subprocess that manages address data, including updating the latitude and longitude for each address that Oracle Real-Time Scheduler requires. This work includes retrieving geocodes for multiple existing addresses. It also includes creating new addresses and retrieving geocodes for these new addresses.
4. Scheduling administration. A subprocess that includes administration tasks that are specific to the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler scheduling module. You use the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler client to perform these tasks. Example tasks include managing slot groups, cost profiles, and so forth.
5. Dispatch and shift management. Includes tasks that are related to viewing and manually managing shifts and associated entities. You use the Oracle Real-Time Planner client to perform these tasks.
6. User map management. Includes tasks that are associated with using a map to view and manage the location of a technician.
7. Appointment booking. Includes tasks that are related to booking and canceling an appointment. You use the Siebel CRM client to perform these tasks.
8. Mobile data management. A subprocess that handles data synchronization between the Siebel wireless application or Siebel Mobile connected application that the technician uses, the Siebel Server, and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler.

Application Process Flows That This Integration Supports

Figure 2 illustrates the application process flows that this integration supports.

Figure 2. Application Process Flows That This Integration Supports

Explanation of Callouts

This integration supports the following application process flows:

1. Appointment booking. Includes the following features:
   • Book an appointment
   • Confirm an appointment
   • Cancel an appointment
   • Schedule a contract
   • Rescheduling a contract
   • Book an appointment that occurs beyond the scheduling horizon
2. Refresh activity. Gets the following items from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler:
   • Activity status
   • Activity owner
   • Planned start
   • Planned end
3. Tech status updates. Handles status updates from the technician for the following items:
   • Activity
   • Shift
   • Breaks
   • Periods of unavailability (POUs). For example, if a team meeting is scheduled for a technician, then Oracle Real-Time Scheduler creates a POU to represent the team meeting.
4. Employee synchronization. Handles real-time synchronization of administrative data. This synchronization includes the transfer of employee records along with employee addresses, and so forth.
5. Single address geocoding. Uses the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Geocode Server to retrieve a geocode for a single address from the Siebel database in real time. If the Geocode Server returns multiple geocodes, then Siebel CRM displays these multiple geocodes. Geocoding is the process of finding latitude and longitude coordinates from geographic data, such as street addresses or postal codes.
6. Schedule Synchronization. Handles real-time synchronization of administrative data. This synchronization includes the transfer of schedule records, schedule hours, and schedule exceptions.

Data Flows That This Integration Supports

Figure 3 illustrates data flows that this integration supports.

Figure 3. Data Flows That This Integration Supports

Explanation of Callouts

This integration supports the following data flows:

1. Service region data transfer. Transfers employees and activities associated with a service region from Siebel CRM to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler (ORS). If you currently use Siebel Scheduler, then you can use Service Region Data Transfer flow to do the following:
   • Perform a phased migration of service regions from the Siebel Scheduler to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler.
   • Migrate new service regions from Siebel CRM to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler.
2. Service region rollback. Inactivates all crews and cancels activities for the chosen service region in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler. Siebel Scheduler then schedules activities for this service region.

   Siebel Scheduler refers to the existing Scheduling module in Siebel CRM that uses the iLog engine. For more information, see Siebel Field Service Guide.

3. POU, shift, break, and activity synchronization. Synchronizes activity, shift, break, and POU data from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler to Siebel CRM.
4. Multiple address geocoding. Retrieves geocodes for multiple Siebel addresses and writes geocodes directly back to the Siebel database.

In this integration, a service region is a defined grouping of service engineers and the activities that they perform. For more information, see Siebel Field Service Guide.

A service region data transfer is a process that transfers employee and activity data for a service region from Siebel CRM to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler. This capability provides a way for the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler engine to schedule the service region instead of the Siebel Scheduler.