Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment

When you configure assignment objects for availability-based assignment, Siebel Assignment Manager can review an employee's calendar as a criterion for assignment. If the employee's calendar has no activities booked at the time required by the object, and has a sufficient time period available for the object's duration, then the employee qualifies for assignment.

Requirements

Before configuring the assignment object, make sure that the following information is satisfied:

• The Field Service component group is enabled.

  For more information about the Field Service component group, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

• A mapping of the server to the Field Service components and region exists.

  For more information about Field Service components and regions, see Siebel Field Service Guide.

• Employees are associated with service regions.

  For more information about Field Service regions, see Siebel Field Service Guide.

• The object that you are configuring for assignment availability has the necessary columns in its database table.

  For more information about configuring for availability, see "Extending an Assignment Object's Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment’".

By default, the Activity assignment object has the required columns in its database table for Start Time and Duration; however, one column must be extended if the Early Start Time property is desired. All other assignment objects must have their base tables extended if you want them enabled for availability-based assignment.

To configure assignment objects for availability-based assignment, you must perform the following tasks:

1. "Extending an Assignment Object's Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment’"

2. "Configuring Assignment Object Properties for Availability-Based Assignment"

3. "Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for Availability-Based Assignment"

Note: It is recommended that you review the topics on extension tables and columns in Configuring Siebel Business Applications before completing this process.

Extending an Assignment Object's Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment’

Using Siebel Tools, you extend an assignment object's base table for availability-based assignment by performing the following tasks.

This task is a step in "Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment".

To extend an assignment object's base table for availability-based assignment’

1. Start Siebel Tools.

2. In the Object Explorer, expand the Table object, and then select Column.

3. In the Tables window, query for the appropriate table.

   For example, if you are extending the Service Request assignment object, then query for the S_SRV_REQ table.

4. With the table selected, choose Tools, then Lock Project (or Alt+L), to lock the project.

5. In the Columns list, choose Edit, then Add New Record, to add the records as described in the following table.

   Property	Record 1(Required)	Record 2(Required)	Record 3 (Optional)
   Name	X_DURN_MIN	X_START_TIME	X_EARLY_START_TIME
   Physical Type	Number	UTC Date Time	UTC Date Time
   Length	22	7	7
   Precision	22	Not applicable	Not applicable
   Scale	7	Not applicable	Not applicable
   LOV Type	APPOINTMENT_DURATION	Not applicable	Not applicable
   Cascade Mode	Ignore	Ignore	Ignore
   TxnLog Code	TRUE	TRUE	TRUE

   
   

6. After you have created the new records that you need in the Table column window, click Apply.

   Doing this sends the new columns to the appropriate tables in the database.

7. Complete the fields in the Apply Schema dialog box.

   1. In the Tables field, click the select button, and choose one of the following:

      • All

      • Current Query

      • Current Row

   2. In the Table Owner Password field, enter the appropriate value.

   3. Click Apply.

   The base table is now extended with the following three columns: X_DURN_MIN, X_EARLY_START_TIME, and X_START_TIME.

Note: For IBM DB2 for z/OS, you must create a storage control file to accommodate the table space. You provide the location of the control file in the Apply Schema dialog box accordingly. Create the storage control file from the SIEBSRVR_ROOT/bin directory, with a buffer pool size of either 16 KB or 32 KB. If the Siebel Server is running on UNIX or Linux, then the storage control file generation is command-driven. If the Siebel Server is running on Windows, then you generate the storage control file using the GUI.

With the appropriate columns in place, you can now configure availability criteria for the assignment object.

Configuring Assignment Object Properties for Availability-Based Assignment

Using Siebel Tools, you configure an assignment object for availability-based assignment by setting the assignment object property and user property values and exposing some of those values in the user interface.

This task is a step in "Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment".

To configure an assignment object for availability-based assignment

1. Start Siebel Tools.

2. In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object and select the assignment object.

3. With the object selected, choose Tools, then Lock Project (or Alt+L), to lock the project.

4. In the Assignment Objects list, set the property values, as shown in Table 11-1.

Table 11-1 shows the assignment object property values that you set for availability-based assignment. Each property is specified as one value string.

Table 11-1 Assignment Object Property Settings for Availability-Based Assignment

Property	Description
Calendar Activity Additional Fields	(Optional) When this property is specified, Assignment Manager sets the field value to the row ID of the assignment object when it creates the activity. Assignment Manager also sets the additional fields to the specified field values. For example, for the Service Request object, you can specify the following fields: Activity SR Id, Type, To Do.
Calendar Early Start Time Column	(Optional) The table column that references the early start time of the object. For example, X_EARLY_START_TIME.
Calendar Start Time Column	The table column that references the start time of the object. For example, X_START_TIME. If a value is not specified in the Calendar Start Time Column property for an assignment object, then Assignment Manager does not check calendars when assigning that object, even if the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule. Instead, Assignment Manager assigns all candidates who meet the criteria for the rule. For example, if you do not specify the Start Date or Due Date for an activity, then Assignment Manager does not check calendars when assigning this activity, even if the assignment rule has the Check Employee Calendar flag checked. Instead, Assignment Manager assigns all candidates who meet the criteria for the rule.
Calendar Duration Column	The table column that references the duration of the object. For example, WORK_TM_MIN.
Calendar Create Activity	(Optional) Check this column if you want an activity created for the assigned employee. TRUE = Activity is created in employee's calendar FALSE = Activity is not created in employee's calendar Note: You must configure this property if you plan to use the Appointment Booking System to detect conflicts. For more information about the Appointment Booking System, see "About Availability-Based Assignment" and see Siebel Field Service Guide.

After the properties are configured for the assignment object, they must be made visible to the end user by adding them to the appropriate business component and applets.

Configure certain assignment user properties to come from either the object row itself or through constants.

For a procedure on how to do this, see "Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for Availability-Based Assignment".

To make assignment object properties visible to the user

1. In the Object Explorer, expand Business Component, and select the appropriate business component.

2. With the business component selected, choose Tools, then Lock Project (or Alt+L), to lock the project.

3. In the Fields list, add the records as described in the following table.

   Property	Record 1	Record 2	Record 3
   Name	X_DURN_MIN	X_EARLY_START_TIME	X_START_TIME
   Changed	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   Column	X_DURN_MIN	X_EARLY_START_TIME	X_START_TIME
   Text Length	22	7	7
   Precision	22	Not applicable	Not applicable
   Type	DTYPE_INTEGER	DTYPE_DATETIME	DTYPE_DATETIME
   Use Default Sensitivity	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag

   
   

4. In the Object Explorer, expand Applet, and select the appropriate List Applet.

5. With the business component selected, choose Tools, then Lock Project (or Alt+L), to lock the project.

6. In the List Column list, add the records as described in the following table.

   Property	Record 1	Record 2	Record 3
   Field	X_DURN_MIN	X_EARLY_START_TIME	X_START_TIME
   Changed	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   Available	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   Display Name	X_DURN_MIN	X_EARLY_START_TIME	X_START_TIME
   HTML Display Mode	Encode Data	Encode Data	Encode Data
   HTML List Edit	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   HTML Row Sensitive	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   HTML Type	Text	Text	Text
   Runtime	Check the flag	Check the flag	Check the flag
   Text Alignment	Left (that is, first character alignment)	Left (that is, first character alignment)	Left (that is, first character alignment)

   
   

7. Select the appropriate browser from the Target Browser picklist.

   To expose the Target Browser picklist, launch Siebel Tools. Choose View, then Toolbars, then Configuration Context, and select the Target Browser option from the toolbar.

Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for Availability-Based Assignment

Using Siebel Tools, you configure the values of the Activity Type, Activity Priority, and Breakable Flag user properties for an assignment object to come from either the object row itself or through constants.

This task is a step in "Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment".

To configure assignment object user properties for availability-based assignment

1. Start Siebel Tools.

2. In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object and select the assignment object.

3. With the object selected, choose Tools, then Lock Project (or Alt+L), to lock the project.

4. In the Assignment Objects list, choose Edit, then New Record, to add the property values, as shown in Table 11-2.

5. After the user properties are configured for the assignment object, they must be made visible to the end user by adding them to the appropriate business component and applets.

Note: Configure the views and applets with Start Time and Duration fields, such as is the case with Activity.

For information about how to make the properties visible to the end user, see Using Siebel Tools.

Table 11-2 shows the assignment object user property values that you set for availability-based assignment.

Note: A column user property takes precedence over the corresponding value user property. For example, if you define a Breakable Flag Column user property and a Breakable Flag Value user property, then the Breakable Flag Column user property takes precedence. As an alternate method, you can configure the Calendar Activity Additional Fields property on the assignment object to specify the values of certain fields. Assignment Manager assigns in this order: column user property, then value user property, and then Calendar Activity Additional Fields property.

Table 11-2 Assignment Object User Property Settings for Availability-Based Assignment

Property	Description
Activity Breakable Flag Column	The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the value of the Breakable Flag property. When this property is defined and the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment Manager queries for the Activity Breakable Flag Column when it retrieves data from the object row, and passes this value to the Appointment Booking System when evaluating employee availability. For example, you can create a user property for the Activity assignment object with name=Activity Breakable Flag Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity Breakable Flag Value	The constant value that is passed to the Appointment Booking System for the Breakable Flag field in the availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a user property for the Service Request assignment object where the name is Activity Breakable Flag Value, and the value is Y.
Activity Priority Column	The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the value of the Activity Priority. When this property is defined and the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment Manager queries for the Activity Priority Column column when it retrieves data from the object row and passes this value to the Appointment Booking System when evaluating employee availability. For example, you can create a user property for the Activity assignment object, with name=Activity Priority Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity Priority Value	The constant value that is passed to the Appointment Booking System for the Activity Priority field in availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a user property for the Service Request assignment object with name=Activity Priority Value and value=TRUE.
Activity Type Column	The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the value of the Activity Type. When this property is defined and the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment Manager queries for this column when it retrieves data from the object row and passes this value to the Appointment Booking System when evaluating employee availability. For example, you can create an Activity assignment object with name=Activity Type Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity Type Value	The constant value that is passed to the Appointment Booking System for the Activity Type field in availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a Service Request assignment object with name=Activity Type Value and value=TRUE.