6Scheduling Using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Version 1.0
Scheduling Using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Version 1.0
This chapter provides information about how to configure, administer, and use Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Version 1.0. It includes the following topics:
About Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
About Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
About User Profiles for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
About Performing Schedule-Related Tasks in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
About Appointment Booking for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Booking Appointments Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
About Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is available as an alternative to Siebel Scheduler. Siebel Scheduler is available only to new customers in controlled availability. For more information, contact your Oracle sales representative. For more information about Siebel Scheduler, see Scheduling Using Siebel Scheduler.
You can specify the scheduling method to use for each service region. For more information about migrating service regions, see Administering Service Regions.
About Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 extends or replaces the existing Siebel Scheduler capabilities to provide Siebel Field Service customers with support for real-time scheduling, street-level routing, and other features available through Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about the technical aspects of this integration, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide.
Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 supports languages that both Siebel Business Applications and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 support. Supported languages include, for example, French but not Hebrew.
You can implement language deployments for this integration in one language or in multiple languages. A multilingual deployment must use language-specific system regions in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information, see About Service Regions. For language support for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, see the documentation for Oracle-Real-Time Scheduler in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For language support for Siebel Business Applications, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide and Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.
You can programmatically access some of the functionality for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 through Siebel business services. For example, business service methods can be invoked from a workflow process. For more information about these business services and methods, see Business Service Methods for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler.
For more information about method arguments, review the business services and associated data in Siebel Tools. For more information, see Using Siebel Tools, Configuring Siebel Business Applications, and related documentation.
About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
For more information about tasks that you perform in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Go to Oracle Software Delivery Cloud, and click the Oracle Utilities Applications product pack.
Related Books
Quick Install Guide
Installation Guide (Windows)
Installation Guide (UNIX)
Resource Manager User Guide
Resource Manager Web Service Interface Manual
Planner User Guide
Planner Host Interface Manual
Planner System Manual
See also the readme files and release notes for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 products.
About User Profiles for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
User profiles apply to the business functions of the integration that do not include technical functions, such as installation or system administration. For more information about the integration flows for these activities, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide. For more information about field service tasks that you perform using Siebel Business Applications, see other chapters of this guide.
The major user profiles for this integration follow:
Business administrator. Responsible for performing business administration tasks in the Siebel Business Applications (Siebel Service, with Siebel Field Service) and in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Tasks for the Siebel application include employee administration, schedule administration, and address administration. Tasks for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 include shift template administration, speed time window settings, enhancement of employee data, and so on.
Most deployments have from one to ten business administrators.
Dispatcher. Responsible for dispatch management, shift management, and user map management. The dispatcher performs tasks in the Planner client of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Typically, each service region has one or two dispatchers.
Call center agent or customer service representative. Responsible for handling calls in the call center or other customer communications. Agents determine whether they must deploy a field service engineer to the customer location, and can book a suitable appointment for a field service engineer to visit the customer.
The number of agents varies widely by deployment and commonly includes from ten to ten thousand agents. A typical number of agents is several hundred.
Field service engineer. Responsible for performing assigned service activities at customer sites or other locations. These people create and manage data on remote devices using Siebel Mobile applications.
The number of field service engineers varies widely by deployment and commonly includes from a few hundred to a few thousand engineers.
About Service Regions
Service regions in the Siebel Business Applications map to system regions in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For information about defining and mapping service regions, see Administering Service Regions.
You use language-specific system regions when you deploy this integration with multiple languages. In a multilingual deployment, each system region applies to only one language. You must create one or more system regions for each language. For more information, see About Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 error messages appear in only the language you specify when configuring the Resource Manager Web Service instance.
Customers who require error messages to appear in multiple languages can custom-develop such a solution. This solution involves using multiple language-specific system regions. The language in which an Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 error message appears depends on the system region for a request, and not on the language code in effect for the Siebel application user. (However, the Get Geocode and Address Transfer features do not depend on system regions, and error messages generated when invoking these features are always in the language of the default system region.) For an example of a custom-developed solution, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide.
About Employee Administration
Siebel documentation provides information about creating and administering employees in the Siebel application. However, some fields apply to Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, and some requirements related to how such data is used in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 apply. For more information about creating and administering employees in the Siebel application, see Siebel Security Guide and Siebel Applications Administration Guide.
Integration Changes for Employee Administration
For this integration, some of the changes and requirements for administering employees follow:
You must populate Start Home Address and End Home Address data for employees with corresponding latitude and longitude values. For more information about associating geocodes with addresses, see Administering Addresses.
Start Home Address and End Home Address data in the Siebel application correspond to employee logon and logoff addresses in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. This Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 data is mandatory.
Start Date and End Date fields are included for each employee. (For a terminated employee, set the End Date field to the last date of employment, and update Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 accordingly.)
The following fields do not apply to this integration and are not synchronized with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0:
Start Depot Address
End Depot Address
Service Role
Cost Per Hour
Overtime
Start Shift From
End Shift At
Sending Employee Data to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Employee data is sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in the following cases:
When the employee is associated with a service region that Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 configured for scheduling, and
When the employee has Start Home Address and End Home Address data that is populated with addresses that are associated with geocodes.
Note: When employee data is sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, the employee’s Can Work and Preferred zones are the same as the employee’s service region. The employee is associated with an Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 view that has the same name as the service region.
If you change an employee’s name in the Siebel application, then a new employee (driver) record is created in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. The unique key for an employee record in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 contains the employee name. The unique key has the following format: SiebelEmpRowID~FirstNameLastName (the Siebel employee’s row ID concatenated with the employee’s last name and first name, with the tilde (~) symbol between them). The business administrator must manually end-date the earlier employee record in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 to avoid confusion stemming from multiple records for the same employee.
Maintaining Employee Skills
A business administrator maintains employee skills and skill items in the Assignment Skills view in the Employee view of the Administration - User screen. If an employee is associated with a service region configured for scheduling by Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, then any updates to employee skills must be synchronized with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
A limitation of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is that changes to employee values and attributes such as skills, exception hours, zones, cost profile, and so on, do not affect schedules within the schedule horizon. The Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 engine uses such changes only for schedules beyond the schedule horizon. To make changes effective within the schedule horizon, a business administrator uses the shift management views in the Planner client of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Employee-Related Tasks Performed in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Additional employee-related tasks that a business administrator performs in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 by using the Resource Manager client include the following tasks:
Maintaining employee exceptions
Maintaining employee zones
Maintaining employee cost profiles
About Performing Schedule-Related Tasks in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Some tasks related to scheduling are specific to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Such tasks include defining and administering periods of unavailability (POUs), slots and slot groups, cost profiles, system regions, zones, and other entities. Observe all applicable dependencies. For more information about the tasks that you perform in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
The following tasks are specific to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0:
You define POUs in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. However, every POU must be associated with start and end addresses. You define start and end addresses in the Siebel application. If a POU address does not exist in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, then you must create it in the Siebel application and transfer it to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 so that it is available for association with a POU. The Addresses view of the Administration - Data screen includes a button for transferring an address to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
You define slots and slot groups in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. However, the display value of the Slot Group LOV (LOV type SLOT_GROUP_CD) in the Siebel application must be the same as the slot group name in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Other entities that you can administer in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 include:
System regions
Archive settings
Sequence locking parameter settings
Auto direct settings
Employee daily limits
Cost control and cost profile settings
Speed time windows settings
View definitions
About Appointment Booking for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
In a typical scenario for appointment booking, a customer contacts your company and requests service of some kind. Commonly, the customer contacts your company on the telephone. Alternatively, the customer might send email, use chat, or visit a sales or service counter in a store.
A customer service representative uses the Siebel application to create a service request to capture information about the customer issue. If the representative cannot resolve the issue by consulting a knowledge base or a product specialist, then a customer visit (on-site service call) from a field service engineer might be necessary.
The customer service representative enters additional information in an activity for the service request, then books a specific appointment time or appointment window (slot) for the customer, and confirms the appointment with the customer. For more information, see Booking Appointments Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
You book appointments for the particular service region that matches the zip code or equivalent postal code for the customer. Appointment booking uses the scheduling product associated with the service region. This scheduling product is Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 or Siebel Scheduler. For more information about appointment booking using Siebel Scheduler, see About Appointment Booking for Siebel Scheduler.
Using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, a customer service representative can book an appointment for a service region if the service region was successfully migrated to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, and if the Engine field on the service region is Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
The Engine field value determines whether the slot request is routed to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 or Siebel Scheduler as follows:
If the Engine value is ORS, then the request is routed to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
If the Engine value is iLog, then the request is routed to Siebel Scheduler.
You book appointments for activities from the Service screen or the Activities screen. For more information about working with service regions, see Administering Service Regions.
Manually Updating Booked Activities
You can click Update Activity to synchronize manual updates for a booked activity with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. However, updating the activity status automatically triggers an update in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For information about updating the activity status, see Service Activities. For information about working with activities in Siebel Mobile applications, see Siebel Mobile Guides on Siebel Bookshelf.
You maintain status mapping between the activity status in the Siebel application and the stop status in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in Oracle Fusion Middleware as a domain value mapping. For more information about this mapping, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide.
A customer service representative can also update employee skills and related attributes for an activity.
When assignment attributes change for any entity related to the job, such as a service request, activity, order, order line item, and so on, a representative must send the update to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 so it can consider the changes for reassignment. For example, a repair job has an incorrect value of Installation for the activity type. The customer service representative updates the activity type to a value of Repair. Also for example, a product is obsolete, and all customers who ordered the product automatically receive a new upgraded product.
To send these updates, the representative can click Update Activity for the activity. Choosing this command triggers an update for the stop in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. If no resource is available for the appropriate slot, then Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 might not schedule the activity.
User Interface Elements for Activity Schedule Detail View
Some fields and other user interface features for this integration are included in the Activity Schedule Detail view, or developers can add these interface elements to this view and other views. Some of these fields are available only in business components. When these fields apply to your company’s requirements, developers can display the fields in the application user interface and populate field values.
The user interface elements for this integration include the following items:
Zone. An MVG (multivalue group) with a default value that is the name of the service region. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Time Zone. The time zone of the service region. This time zone must also be the time zone of the specified account address. Values sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 must represent UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) offsets, such as UTC - 8 for Pacific Standard Time. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Slot Group. The group of slots. For more information about slots, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Account Address Pick Applet. A MVG applet that includes the Latitude and Longitude fields. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 has geocode requirements. For more information about addresses, see Administering Addresses.
Late Cost. The relative cost of arriving late. The default value is 1. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Capacity Type. An LOV (List of Values) that defines the type of capacity a stop consumes. If you specify None, then the capacity type does not match that of any other stop or shift. The default value is Null. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Shift Promotion Multiplier. The multiplier by which the shift-promotion cost for the stop can increase or decrease. The default value is 1. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Job Value. The value of the job. The default value is 1. (This field is only available in the business component.)
Error Reason. The reason for the error. If a job is disabled in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, then the error reason is populated in this field. This field maps to the Warn Text field for a stop in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Latitude and Longitude. The geocode coordinates. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 has geocode requirements. For more information about addresses, see Administering Addresses.
Appointment Booking Beyond the Schedule Horizon
Every system region in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 has a defined schedule horizon. This horizon represents the interval within which you can normally schedule appointments. However, sometimes a customer might request that you schedule appointments beyond that window.
For example, a system region has a schedule horizon of one week. However, customer wants the appointment to occur no sooner than ten days from when the customer contacts the service center. Also, the customer cannot wait to make the appointment later. In this scenario, the slots that Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 returns do not have planned start and end values. When the activity moves within the horizon, the scheduler populates these values. After consulting with the customer, the customer service representative selects and confirms a slot.
Similarly, when a customer requests a range of start times, and some times are within the horizon and some times are beyond it, Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 can return slots that straddle the end of the schedule horizon.
Booking Emergency and Contract-Based Appointments
Sometimes you might want to request and fulfill immediate or urgent appointments. For example, you might schedule some appointments because of an emergency or because of contractual obligations involving service-level agreements.
Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 can evaluate such considerations and book an appointment for the customer. The customer service representative requests the appointment by clicking the Insert Activity button for the activity. (This button is available in the Schedule view in the Activity List view of the Activities screen.)
In this type of scheduling, no slots are returned to the customer service representative. The appointment is booked automatically by using the activity settings that the representative designates. An activity is inserted into the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 database. After clicking the Insert Activity button, the representative clicks Refresh Activity to get the latest details about the inserted activity.
For example, a service-level agreement for a customer stipulates that a booked appointment start within an hour after calling. The customer service representative can use the contract scheduling functionality to create an appointment that might not otherwise be easily fulfilled. Contract scheduling might affect other existing appointments, but Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 attempts to minimize schedule disruption.
Refreshing Activities
The Refresh Activity menu option is available in the lower applet of the Activity Schedule view.
When you book an appointment in the Siebel application, a corresponding stop entity is created in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. This stop maps one-to-one to the activity in the Siebel application. The stop is continually optimized, and the planned start, planned end, owner, and status values of the stop keep changing until the stop is dispatched to a field service engineer.
The Refresh Activity menu option allows the customer service representative to get the latest activity details from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 because the Siebel activity and the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 stop are not synchronized at all times. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 stop data is automatically synchronized with the Siebel application only when the stop status is Dispatched or Inactive.
Canceling Appointments for Activities
To comply with customer requests, you can cancel scheduled appointments. The customer service representative can display the relevant activity, then click Refresh Activity to view the latest activity data from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. As appropriate, the representative then clicks Cancel Appointment. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 frees up the appointment slot, and changes the job status to Cancel.
Rescheduling Appointments
To comply with customer requests, you can reschedule scheduled appointments. The customer service representative can display the relevant activity, then click Refresh Activity to view the latest activity data from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. As appropriate, the representative then updates the earliest and latest start times, and clicks Book Appointment. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 returns new appointment slots that the representative can select.
About Activity Skills
In a typical Siebel Field Service scenario, a field service engineer arrives at a customer location to perform a job such as installation, upgrade, or repair. For Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 to schedule the correct person to perform a job, it must determine the necessary skills to perform the job, and it must schedule a person with the required skill set to complete the work. To facilitate this outcome, the Siebel application passes the required skills to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information, see Managing Activity Skills for Skills-Based Assignments.
For example, a customer needs a plumber to fix a leak in a kitchen sink between 10:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. on November 15, 2011. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 must schedule a field service engineer with a skill value of Plumbing to visit the customer location during this time. As part of appointment booking, the request to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 includes the time and date range as well as the skill value of Plumbing. Consequently, a person with the required skill is scheduled at the appropriate time.
Evaluation of Activity Skill Rules
As part of the appointment booking process, activity skill rules are evaluated as follows:
The customer service representative navigates to the Activities screen, then the Schedule view.
The customer service representative creates an activity record, populates the necessary fields, and then clicks the Book Appointment, Insert Activity, or Update Activity button.
All active skill rules are evaluated.
For the rules with met criteria, the skills and category are sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Categories include Must Have, Must Not Have, Pref Have, and Pref Not Have. For more information about these categories, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
The lowest-ranked rules are evaluated before evaluating the next higher-ranked rule. If the criteria for the lower-ranked rule is met, then the higher-ranked rule is not evaluated.
Any skills that you manually enter in the Activity Assignment Skills view are appended to the skills obtained from the rules evaluation and sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
About Dispatch Management
Dispatch management includes tasks for viewing and managing shifts and associated entities, such as activities and breaks. The dispatcher might also view and manage maps showing locations of activities and field service engineers. You perform dispatch management tasks in the Planner client of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about tasks that you perform in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Managing Disabled Stops
Stops (or activities in the Siebel application) can convert to a disabled state in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 when the scheduler cannot incorporate them into the schedule because of data inconsistencies. This result can occur for one of the following reasons:
The time window on the stop is in the past.
There are no field service engineers with the skills required to perform the job.
The dispatcher must monitor disabled stops and try to fix data inconsistencies so that such stops can be scheduled. If the dispatcher cannot fix a disabled stop, then the dispatcher must update the status to Inactive, and update the Warn Text field in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 with suitable comments.
Inactive stops are automatically synchronized with the Siebel application. The corresponding Siebel activity is updated to Unscheduled, and the Error Reason field is populated with comments in the Warn Text field.
About Mobile Data Management
Field service engineers receive and send activity updates from mobile devices using Siebel Mobile applications. Siebel administrators manage status data for field service engineers, who access functionality for Siebel Business Applications on mobile devices using a Siebel Mobile application, such as Siebel Mobile Application for Siebel Service. After communicating offline with a field service engineer, a dispatcher might also make updates from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about using and administering Siebel Mobile applications, see Mobile Guides on Siebel Bookshelf.
Status Data Sent to Field Service Engineers
Status data that is sent to field service engineers includes the following data:
Dispatched activities
Note: The Siebel Mobile application shows all activities assigned to the field service engineer irrespective of status value. Customers must set appropriate filters to display only activities with the needed status values.Dispatched periods of unavailability (POUs)
Each POU reserves specific amounts of time from a shift for a specific reason. You define POUs in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Note: After a POU is dispatched in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, any updates to the POU (for example, rescheduling) are not synchronized with the Siebel application. If you must reschedule an appointment after a POU is dispatched, then the Siebel administrator can cancel the POU, and create a new POU in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 so that the POU information can flow into the Siebel application.Dispatched breaks
Created or updated shifts
Status Data Sent from Field Service Engineers
Status data that is sent from field service engineers (or that dispatchers who communicate with field service engineers manually update) includes the following data:
Status for dispatched activities
For example, the status is updated when the field service engineer accepts or declines a job, starts a job, or completes the job.
You map activity statuses in the Siebel application to stop statuses in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 using domain value mapping in Oracle Fusion Middleware. For more information, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide.
Additional updates that field service engineers send include:
Shift Started (when a field service engineer starts work for the day)
Shift Completed (when a field service engineer completes work for the day)
Break Started (when a field service engineer starts a break)
Break Completed (when a field service engineer finishes a break)
POU Started
POU Completed
About Fault Handling
The following situations for fault handling apply to Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0:
Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is unavailable, and the Siebel application sends messages to it.
An issue is passed back to the Siebel application and presented to the user as an error message. An administrator can access a monitoring screen to track errors.
For synchronous processes, changes in the Siebel application are not recognized until the changes are synchronized with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For example, if Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 or Oracle Fusion Middleware is unavailable when a user updates the status of an activity, then the Siebel application displays an error message and does not recognize the update.
For asynchronous processes, a table in the Siebel database contains Sync status flags. If an error occurs, then the table is updated with a value of N for the Sync status flag and an error description for the Sync Failure Description.
The Siebel application is unavailable, and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 sends messages to it through Oracle Fusion Middleware.
According to the fault policy configured in Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Fusion Middleware attempts multiple times to access the Siebel application and then terminates if the Siebel application is unavailable. You can set the number of attempts to any number, and you can also configure an interval if the Siebel application might be unavailable for a long time.
The error message is stored in Oracle Fusion Middleware, and an administrator for Oracle Service-Oriented Architecture can view the error console in Oracle Fusion Middleware.
Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is unavailable, but its database is available. Oracle Fusion Middleware picks records from the DESPATCHES and INVALID tables of the database for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, and Oracle Fusion Middleware returns to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 for additional information.
The fault policy configured in Oracle Fusion Middleware applies to this situation. After Oracle Fusion Middleware picks records from the database for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, it attempts multiple times to get information from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. It stops these attempts when Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is available.
Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
The following list shows the tasks that Siebel administrators typically perform to configure Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Your company might follow a different process according to its business requirements.
To configure Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, Siebel administrators perform the following tasks:
Enabling Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in the Siebel Application
Siebel administrators use the procedure in this topic to enable Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in the Siebel application. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is an alternative to Siebel Scheduler.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To enable Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in the Siebel application
Log in to Siebel Tools or Web Tools as a Siebel administrator (see Using Siebel Tools).
Create a workspace.
In the Object Explorer, navigate to Business Component, query for the Action business component, and then complete the following steps:
Lock the object.
Navigate to Business Component, then Business Component User Prop, and query for the Advanced Scheduler Enabled user property.
Change the Value field to TRUE.
In the Object Explorer, navigate to Business Component, query for the Service Region business component, and then complete the following steps:
Lock the object.
Navigate to Business Component, then Business Component User Prop, and query for the Advanced Scheduler Enabled user property.
Change the Value field to TRUE.
Deliver the changes to the Integration Branch.
Configuring the Endpoint URLs for Web Services
Siebel administrators configure the endpoint URLs for Web services to allow the Siebel application to communicate with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. An endpoint URL defines the address for or connection point to a Web service.
Later, they specify these endpoint URLs when configuring Oracle Fusion Middleware components to support this integration. For more information about endpoint URLs, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide and Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Configuring the Endpoint URL for Outbound Web Services
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to configure the endpoint URL for outbound Web services.
To configure the endpoint URL for outbound Web services
Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Outbound Web Services view.
Query for the following Web services for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0:
ABSWebService
ActivityStateRetrievalService
adminDataMgmtWebService
BatchGeoService
RealTimeService
serviceregionmigrationorchestrator_client_ep
ServiceRegionRollback_ep
ServiceRegionSystemRegionMappingWebServiceSoap
StatusUpdatesWebServiceSoap
For each of these Web services, navigate to the Service Ports applet, and update the Address field with a value such as hostname:portnumber, where:
hostname is the name of the computer on which Oracle Fusion Middleware is installed
portnumber is the SOA port number for this Oracle Fusion Middleware installation
Save the record.
Configuring the Endpoint URL for Inbound Web Services
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to configure the endpoint URL for inbound Web services.
To configure the endpoint URL for inbound Web services
Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Inbound Web Services view.
Query for Web Services with a name of *ORS*.
For each of these Web services, navigate to the Service Ports applet, and update the Address field with a value such as hostname:portnumber, where:
hostname is the name of the computer for the Siebel Application Interface that the Siebel Business Applications use.
portnumber is the listening port number for this Siebel Application Interface.
Save the record.
Activate all of the Web services.
Click Generate WSDL to confirm that you can use the Web services.
Assigning Responsibilities to Siebel Views
Siebel administrators use the procedure in this topic to assign suitable responsibilities to the Siebel views for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about setting up Siebel responsibilities and associating views with responsibilities, see Siebel Security Guide.
The following Siebel views are included in this integration:
Administration Scheduling Rule Objects View
Administration Skill Matching Rules - Skills View
Administration Skill Matching Rules View
Administration Skill Rule Criteria
Monitoring Scheduler Admin View
Service Region Activities Admin View - Monitoring
Service Region Employees Admin View Monitoring
Service Region Mapping View
The following views for Siebel Mobile applications are included in this integration.
SWLS Service Scheduler Shift Detail View. In this view, users enter details about shifts, including shift start and end times, for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
SWLS Service Scheduler Shift Display View. In this view, users view and enter shift information for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
SWLS Technician Breaks Detail View. In this view, users enter details about breaks, including break start and end times, for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
SWLS Technician Breaks View. In this view, users view and enter break information for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about transmitting break information from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 to the Siebel application, see Planner User Guide in the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
SWLS Technician POU Detail View. In this view, users enter details about periods of unavailability (POUs), including POU start and end times, for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
SWLS Technician POU View. In this view, users view and enter POU information for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about transmitting POU information from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 to the Siebel application, see Planner User Guide in the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To assign responsibilities to Siebel views
Log in to the Siebel application using one of the following clients:
Siebel Web Client
Siebel Developer Web Client, with the
/editseeddatacommand-line option
In the Responsibilities applet, query for the Siebel Administrator responsibility you want to assign to the administration views for this integration. (For all other views, query for the appropriate responsibility as required for your deployment.)
In the Views applet, click Add, select the first administration view you want to associate with the responsibility, and then click OK.
Repeat Step 3 for all other views for this integration.
After associating the views with the responsibilities, restart the component definition or the Siebel Server.
Enabling Component Groups
Siebel administrators use the procedure in this topic to enable component groups on the Siebel Server.
The following table describes the component groups that you must enable for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. These component groups supplement any other component groups that you need for your applications. For more information about enabling component groups, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
Table Component Groups Required for This Integration
| Component Group | Purpose |
|---|---|
Workflow Management |
Provides the workflow processes to run some of the asynchronous workflows. |
EAI |
Provides inbound Web services into the Siebel Business Applications. |
HandheldSync |
Enables Siebel Mobile clients. |
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To enable a component group
Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Enterprises, and then the Component Groups view.
In the Component Groups view, query for Workflow Management, and then click Enable.
Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Enterprises, and then the Component Definitions view.
In the Component Groups field, query for Workflow Management.
Select all of the records, and then click Synchronize.
Restart the Siebel Server.
Setting Up and Configuring Workflow Processes and Policies
You must perform the procedures in this topic to be able to use real-time synchronization of address and employee data from the Siebel application to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
This topic contains the following related information:
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Activating Workflow Processes
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to activate workflow processes.
To activate workflow processes
Navigate to the Administration - Business Processes screen, then the Workflow Deployment view.
Query for *ORS*.
Click Activate.
Query for the Advanced Scheduler Skill Persistence Process, and click Activate for this workflow process.
Enabling Workflow Policies
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to enable workflow policies.
To enable workflow policies
Navigate to the Administration - Business Processes screen, then the Workflow Policies view.
Make sure that Expiration Date is properly set for all the workflow policies that are not in use.
Query for *ORS*.
Verify that the Expiration Date is not set for these workflow policies.
Shutting Down Workflow Monitor Agent
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to shut down Workflow Monitor Agent.
To shut down Workflow Monitor Agent
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen, Servers, then Component Groups view.
Query for Workflow Management.
In the lower Components applet, query for Workflow Monitor Agent.
Click Shut Down.
Dropping Database Triggers
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to drop database triggers.
To drop database triggers
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen, then the Jobs view.
Create a job for the Generate Triggers component.
In the Job Parameters list, define the job parameter with the values in the following table.
Name Value EXEC
True
Privileged User
MS22116
Privileged User Password
(No example)
Remove
True
Trigger File Name
Droptrigger.sql
Note: The values for Privileged User and Privileged User Password must be the database user name and password that have the privileges to drop and generate triggers. The user name value in this table is an example.Start the job.
Generating Database Triggers
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to generate database triggers.
To generate database triggers
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen, then the Jobs view.
Create a job for the Generate Triggers component.
In the Job Parameters list, define a job with the values in the following table.
Name Value EXEC
True
Privileged User
MS22116
Privileged User Password
(no example)
Trigger File Name
Gentrigger.sql
Note: The values for Privileged User and Privileged User Password must be the database user name and password that have the privileges to drop and generate triggers. The user name value in this table is an example.Start the job.
Configuring Workflow Monitor Agent
Siebel administrators use the following procedure to configure Workflow Monitor Agent.
To configure Workflow Monitor Agent
Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Enterprises, and then the Component Definitions view.
Query for Workflow Monitor Agent, and perform the following steps:
Change the Group Name to ORS Group.
Change the Action Interval to 5.
Click Advanced, and perform the following steps:
Change the Sleep Time value to 5.
Change the Default Task value to 1.
Click Enable to change the status of the new component to Active.
Restart the Siebel Server.
Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
The following list shows the tasks that business administrators typically perform to administer Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Your company might follow a different process according to its business requirements.
Business administration tasks for this integration are divided between the Siebel application and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. You manage the minimum data that the Siebel application requires for a successful integration (such as basic employee information, address information, and basic schedule information) from the Siebel application. You manage all business administration processes that are specific to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 clients.
To administer Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, business administrators perform the following tasks:
Creating Schedules and Related Entities
Business administrators can create schedules and related entities in the Siebel application and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
The relationship between schedules, shift template profiles, and shift templates follows:
A schedule in the Siebel application maps to a shift template profile in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. The business administrator creates the schedule record with the same name as the shift template profile in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
A shift template profile is a collection of shift templates.
A shift template represents the shift work for a given day. A shift template profile for a seven-day week has seven shift templates.
You create the schedule record in the Siebel application and a shift template profile with the same name in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. You then enhance the shift template profile with data specific to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, such as shift templates, breaks, limits, and so on.
Schedule exceptions represent nonworking days. Global Holiday is an example of a schedule exception. You create a schedule and maintain schedule exceptions in the Resource Manager client of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Exception synchronization between the Siebel application and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 is not supported. For more information, see About Performing Schedule-Related Tasks in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information about tasks that you perform in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, see the documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 in About Documentation for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
This task is a step in Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To create a schedule and related entities
Create the schedule record in the Siebel application by completing the following steps:
Log in to the Siebel application as a business administrator.
Navigate to the Administration - Service screen, then the Schedules view.
Create a new record, and complete the fields as appropriate.
Only the schedule name is required for this integration. Do not define schedule hours for the schedule because this information is included in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 as part of the shift template profile.
Create the shift template profile and related entities in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 by completing the following steps:
Log in to the Resource Manager client of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Create the shift template profile with the same name as the schedule you create in Creating Schedules and Related Entities.
Note: Make sure that the schedule (shift template profile) names match in the Siebel application and in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.Create the shift templates that are associated with the shift template profile.
Administering Service Regions
Business administrators can define and manage service regions and related data for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information, see About Service Regions.
This topic contains the following related information:
Defining Service Regions Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Checking for Failed Migration of Employee and Activity Data to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Rolling Back Service Regions from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
This task is a step in Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Defining Service Regions Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Business administrators define service regions in the Siebel application using the Service Regions List view of the Administration - Scheduling screen. They must map service regions to system regions in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 using the Service Region Mapping view of the Administration - Scheduling screen. For more information about defining service regions, see Defining Service Regions.
The following fields for service region administration apply to scheduling using Siebel Scheduler, but do not apply to the integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0:
Cost Variables (Cost List, Currency, Travel Cost, and Cost Function)
Configuration Parameters (Parameter Set, Constraint Set, Time Windows, Min Travel Time, Avg Travel Time, Avg Travel Speed, and Unit Of Measure)
Mapping Service Regions
Business administrators use the following procedure to map service regions to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 system regions.
To map a service region
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Service Region Mapping view.
The existing mappings between service regions and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 system regions appear.
Click New to map a service region that is not yet mapped to an Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 system region.
In the new record, select the service region.
Enter the Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 system region to which you want to map the service region, and save the record.
Mapping Time Zones
Business administrators use the following procedure to the map the time zones to use as part of the integration.
To map time zones
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the Time Zone Administration view.
For the service region time zones that are required for the integration, note the Row Id and Standard Abbreviation details.
Log in to the Resource Manager client for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Navigate to Options, Setup, and then Time Zones.
Create a new time zone.
For each time zone that you create, enter the label as SiebelRowID~StandardAbbrev (the Siebel row ID concatenated with the standard abbreviation, with the tilde (~) symbol between them). Select the time zone for the corresponding time zone in the Siebel application.
Note: The Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 Web service server caches time zones, so you must restart the server each time you add a time zone.Open the Web service console window, and press CTRL+C to shut down the server.
Navigate to Start, Programs, ORS, and then Resource Manager Web Service to restart the server.
Migrating Service Regions to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
When it is appropriate to do so according to business requirements, business administrators migrate existing service regions to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. They migrate service regions one at a time.
Before migrating a service region, note the following requirements:
The service region in the Siebel application was mapped to a system region of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Time zones were mapped between Siebel Business Applications and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Schedules were created in the Siebel application, and shift templates with the schedule names were created in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information, see Creating Schedules and Related Entities.
Associating geocodes with address in bulk was performed in the Addresses view of the Administration - Data screen on all addresses for the service region that you migrate. For more information, see Administering Addresses.
Skills transfer rules were defined in the Skills Transfer - Rules Administration view of the Administration - Scheduling screen. For more information, see Managing Activity Skills for Skills-Based Assignments.
As part of the migration, the following events occur:
A zone and a view are created in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Employees, associated addresses, and skills are transferred to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Applicable activities that are based on defined criteria are transferred along with the associated skills. The associated skills are obtained when you click the Persist Activity Skills button.
To migrate a service region to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Service Region List view.
Select the record for the service region that you want to migrate.
Click Persist Activity Skills.
The applicable activities are associated with skills by using the skills transfer rules in the Skills Transfer Rules - Administration view of the Administration - Scheduling screen.
Activity filtration for the current service region is based on the following criteria:
The value of the Status field for the activity must not be Done, Completed or Cancelled.
The value of the Latest Start field for the activity must be NULL or later than today, or the value of the Planned End field must be NULL or later than today.
Click Transfer to ORS.
When the transfer is complete, the Sync Success Description field for the service region indicates a status of Successfully Migrated to ORS, and the Engine field value changes from iLog (for Siebel Scheduler) to ORS (for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0). Also, the Transfer Complete field (if it appears) is checked.
The service region is now ready for scheduling using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. All subsequent appointments for this service region are scheduled using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Checking for Failed Migration of Employee and Activity Data to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
After business administrators migrate a service region to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, they can check whether all applicable employees and activities migrated successfully.
To check for failed migration of employee or activity data to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Cutover Monitoring view.
Select the record for the service region that you migrated.
Click the Employees view tab to see all employees that were not migrated.
The reason for the failure appears in the Sync Success Description field.
Click the Activities view tab to see all activities that were not migrated.
The reason for the failure appears in the Sync Success Description field.
Rolling Back Service Regions from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
When it is necessary for a deployment, business administrators can roll back a migrated service region so that it again uses Siebel Scheduler instead of Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. They roll back service regions one at a time.
After the rollback is complete, the business administrator must make sure that the requirements for scheduling the service region using Siebel Scheduler are satisfied. For information about scheduling appointments using Siebel Scheduler, see Scheduling Using Siebel Scheduler.
To roll back a service region from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Service Region List view.
Select the record for the service region that you want to roll back.
The value of the Engine field must be ORS (for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0).
Click Menu, and select Rollback Service Region.
When the rollback is complete, the Sync Success Description field for the service region indicates a status of Rollback Complete, and the Engine field value changes from ORS (for Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0) to iLog (for Siebel Scheduler). Also, the Transfer Complete field (if it appears) is unchecked.
The mapping between the service region and system region is removed. In Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, the applicable employees are end-dated, and the appointments in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 are cancelled. These appointments continue to exist in the Siebel application, and can be loaded into Siebel Scheduler for scheduling.
All subsequent activities for this service region are sent to Siebel Scheduler for scheduling.
Administering Addresses
Business administrators can administer addresses and related data for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
You can populate the Latitude and Longitude fields for addresses that are synchronized with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 must have addresses that are associated with geocodes to successfully schedule and optimize appointments. Although you create and maintain address data in the Siebel application, you associate geocodes with addresses by using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
This topic contains the following related information:
This task is a step in Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Associating Geocodes with Addresses in Bulk
Business administrators use the following procedure to associate geocodes with a large number of address records.
To associate geocodes a large number of addresses
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the Addresses view.
Specify criteria to query for the appropriate addresses.
For example, you can query for addresses in a particular zip code or equivalent postal code.
Select the appropriate records.
Click Bulk GeoCode.
A batch operation is performed to obtain the latitude and longitude data for these addresses. The following message appears: Batch Geocode Request is submitted successfully.
The value in the Geocoding Fail Description field changes to Geocoding InProgress for selected records in which the Geocode Valid field is set to N.
Successful responses update the Latitude and Longitude fields for applicable addresses. In these cases, the Geocoding Fail Description field is cleared and the Geocode Valid field is set to Y. When multiple geocodes or no geocodes are returned for an address, the Geocoding Fail Description field is updated with the appropriate error message.
If necessary, refresh the view by requerying.
Associating Geocodes with Addresses for Service Regions
Business administrators use the following procedure to associate geocodes with addresses for a service region that they migrate to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To associate geocodes with addresses for a service region
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Service Regions List view.
Select the service region for which you want to associate geocodes.
Click the Zip Codes view tab.
Click Bulk GeoCode.
A batch operation is performed to update the Latitude and Longitude fields for all addresses with a zip code or equivalent postal code value that corresponds to a zip code or equivalent postal code value for the service region in the Zip Codes view.
Associating Geocodes with New Addresses
Business administrators use the following procedure to associate geocodes with new address records.
To associate geocodes with a new address
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the Addresses view.
Create a new address record.
When the Latitude and Longitude fields for a new (or existing) address record are not populated with valid data, click Get GeoCode.
The Get GeoCode button also appears in the following Siebel views that display address data:
Service Details view in the Employees view of the Administration - User screen
Schedules view in the Activity List view of the Activities screen
Select the appropriate latitude and longitude from the GeoCode dialog box.
Select Update Geocode to update only the latitude and longitude data.
Select Update Geocode and Address to update the latitude and longitude data and the address data.
Transferring Addresses to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Business administrators use the procedure in this topic to transfer addresses to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. They use this procedure to transfer period-of-unavailability (POU) addresses.
To transfer an address to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the Addresses view.
Select an address record containing valid latitude and longitude data.
Click Transfer.
The address record is transferred to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. If problems are encountered, and the address cannot be transferred, then an error message appears.
Managing Activity Skills for Skills-Based Assignments
You can use Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 to manage activity skill rules during appointment booking to support skills-based assignment. For more information, see About Activity Skills.
This topic contains the following related information:
This task is a step in Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Defining Activity Skill Rules
Business administrators define the required skills to work on an activity as rules in the Skills Transfer - Rules Administration view.
They can define a skill item as an exact value or as a selectable value, as follows:
For example, the business administrator can define a skill item to include the exact value of a product or product model. The business administrator defines an activity skill rule and an associated skill item in which the value in the Product field represents a specific product or product model that the field service engineer must be skilled with, such as Model 3567.
For example, the business administrator can define the skill to require that the field service engineer is skilled with the product model that is associated with the service request. The business administrator sets the Pick From Object field for the skill item to Y, and uses the Rule Object and Object Attribute fields to specify the field from which the user selects the model name.
To define an activity skill rule
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Skills Transfer - Rules Administration view.
Create a new record to define a rule.
Drill down on the rule name to navigate to the Criteria view.
Define the criteria for the rule.
Navigate to the Skills view to define the skills and skill items for the rule.
Defining Rule Objects
A rule object defines the link between the Action entity (for activities) and any other entity, such as Service Request, Order, Order Line Item, and so on. Siebel administrators define rule objects. They must define rule objects before a business administrator can specify rule criteria.
If a business administrator must define a rule criteria that is based on an attribute, such as Order Type, then a Siebel administrator must establish a link between the Action business component and the Order Entry business component. When a Siebel administrator creates this link in the form of the necessary rule object, the fields of the Order Entry business component (including the Order Type field) are available in the Criteria view. A Siebel administrator establishes this link by creating a rule object between these two entities. After the rule object creation, the business administrator can pick the rule object in the Criteria field.
The Activity Rule Object and Activity Service Request rule objects are predefined in the seed data.
To define a rule object
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Rule Objects Administration view.
Create a new record to define a rule object.
Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Comments Rule Object
Type the name of the rule object. For example, if you want to establish a link between the Activity and Order Entry business components, then the name might be Activity - Order.
Business Object
Select the business object that you want to link to both the linked business components. For example, if you want to link the Action and Order Entry business components, then the Source Business Object is Order Entry.
Source BC
Select the source business component. In this example, the source is the Action business component.
Target BC
Select the target business component with fields to make available in the Criteria view. In this example, the target is the Order Entry business component.
Source Field
Select the field in the source business component that you want to join to the target field.
Target Field
Select the field in the target business component that you want join to the source field.
Comments
Type comments to describe this rule object.
Booking Appointments Using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Customer service representatives can use the procedure in this topic to book appointments. For more information, see About Appointment Booking for Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
The procedure in this topic assumes that a customer service representative books the appointment from the Service screen. The representative creates the service request, and then must schedule an activity. The representative books the appointment as part of resolving the customer issue.
You can work with activities in many ways. Your process for working with activities depends on your company’s deployment and business requirements and on the nature of the customer communication. For more information about working with activities, see Service Activities.
The functionality relating to the fields in the Schedule view of the procedure in this topic works as expected only if the appropriate data for these fields was previously defined in the appropriate environment and synchronized as necessary between the Siebel application and Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
To book an appointment using Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0
Navigate to the Service screen, then the Service Request List view.
Create a new service request record for the customer issue, and then drill down on the value in the SR # (number) field.
In the Activities view tab, create a new activity record for the service request, and then drill down on the value in the Type field.
Click the Schedule view tab.
Complete the form fields as appropriate.
Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Comments Service Region
Select the service region for the activity. The default service region is based on the zip code or equivalent postal code of the account address.
Work Time
Type the time needed to complete the activity. Work time data is transmitted to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 when you click the Insert Activity button or Update Activity button in this view, or when you click the Confirm button in the dialog box that appears when you click Book Appointment.
Duration
Select the time needed to complete the activity.
For activities scheduled using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, Duration equals Planned End minus Planned Start, and includes only Work Time. Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 does not support activity breaks. The Allow Breaks field does not apply to any activities scheduled using Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
Earliest Start
Select the earliest time and date the activity can begin. This field usually indicates contractual commitments or deadlines. If you do not populate this field, then the current date and time are used for the appointment request.
Latest Start
Select the latest time and date the activity can begin. This field usually indicates contractual commitments or deadlines. If you do not populate this field, then the current date and time, plus seven days, are used for the appointment request.
Slot Group
Type the slot group for the customer.
Lock Assignment
Select this check box as appropriate. This field affects how appointments are returned. In general, the functionality for this field is the same as the functionality for this field in Siebel Scheduler. For more information, see Locking Assignments and Schedules for Activities (End User).
Lock Schedule
Select this check box as appropriate. This field affects how appointments are returned. In general, the functionality for this field is the same as the functionality for this field in Siebel Scheduler. Locking Assignments and Schedules for Activities (End User).
For Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, selecting this field locks the activity within a 20-minute window of the planned start. For example, if Planned Start is at 10:00 A.M., then the activity can start any time between 9:50 A.M. and 10:10 A.M., and is not fixed at 10:00 A.M.
Account
Select the appropriate account for the customer.
Account Address
Select the appropriate account address for the customer. If you try to book an appointment when the address does not have latitude and longitude data, then the following error message appears: The Account Address is not Geocoded. Make sure it is geocoded before proceeding.
You can obtain the latitude and longitude data by clicking the Get GeoCode button in this view. For more information, see Administering Addresses.
Click Book Appointment to request available appointment slots from Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0.
This button is available in the Schedule view in the Activity List view of the Activities screen or in the Activities view in the Service Request List view of the Service screen.
The scheduling engine is associated with the service region processes the request. If this integration is implemented and a service region was migrated, then the scheduling engine is set to ORS, and the request is sent to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0. For more information, see Administering Service Regions.
Unlike Siebel Scheduler, Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 does not lock these slots. Consequently, multiple customer service representatives can see the same slot. The first representative to confirm a slot successfully completes the confirmation, and a list of available appointment slots appears. The slot confirmation fails for other representatives.
If none of the appointments are acceptable to the customer, then complete the following steps:
Click Cancel.
Adjust the appointment range as needed.
Click Book Appointment again.
Select an appointment the customer agrees to, and click Confirm.
Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0 verifies that the cost of the appointment did not change and exceed the maximum cost, and then confirms the appointment. For information about how the maximum cost is defined, see Siebel Field Service Integration to Oracle Real-Time Scheduler Implementation Guide.
The activity status is updated to Scheduled, and the planned start and end dates are populated. When the activity is dispatched in Oracle Real-Time Scheduler 1.0, the activity status updates again to Dispatched. (This update might occur much closer to the appointment time.)