Working with Future Dated Requests

Future dating a request enables you to assign a time label to the request with a date in the future for that request to be completed and closed.

This enables you to make changes now that won't be applied to the active view until a specified point in the future (for example, you can make requests for changes that won't take effect until the next quarter).

When requests that have been assigned a future time label get submitted they go through the normal approve and commit stages, and then when all of the policies are met they are held until the date and time in the time label is reached (similar to blockout period processing). The requests are then placed in Future Dated status. When the date and time in the time label is reached, the system attempts to complete and close them (see Completing a Future Dated Request, below).

Considerations

• You can assign, modify, or remove a future time label from a request if one of the following is true:
  • The request is in the Submit stage and you are the request owner.
  • The request is in the Approve or Commit stage and you are an invitee for at least one policy that allows a future time label to be assigned. See Creating and Enabling Approval Policies and Creating and Enabling Commit Policies.
• Request with a future time label can only be consolidated with other requests that use the same time label. When you consolidate requests that use the same time label, the consolidation request that gets created is also assigned that time label. You can also assign a future time label to a consolidation request. See Consolidating Requests.
• If the time in a future time label is reached before the request is submitted, you cannot submit the request with that time label. You must remove or change the time label in order to submit it.
• If the time in a future time label is reached after the request is submitted but before it has completed all of its policies, the request is processed as normal upon when the policies have been completed. For example, if you submit a request on a Monday with a future time label of Wednesday but the final policy isn't completed until Friday, when the final policy is completed the request is completed and closed without being put into future dated status. The time label date is still displayed in the request inspector for historical information.

Assigning, Modifying, and Removing a Time Label from a Request

You assign, modify, or remove a future time label from a request from the request details pane in an open view.

1. Create a request or open an existing request for which you are an owner or invitee.
2. In the request details pane, from the request header click Request Actions , and then click Set Time Label.
3. Select the time label for the request, or select None to remove the current time label from the request. The currently set time label is indicated by a check mark.

   Note:

   You can select from any valid future time labels that have been defined for the view. If the time in a time label has already been reached, it can no longer be assigned to a request. See Future Time Labels.

Viewing the Time Label for a Request

You can view the time label that has been assigned to a request in the following areas:

• Requests pane in an open view: Time labels are displayed under the description of future dated requests. Hover over the time label icon to display the time label name, date, and time. A "Future Dated" status badge is also displayed in the request header.
• Request details pane in an open view: When you click on a request in the request pane, the time label is displayed in the request header. Hover over the time label icon to display the time label name, date, and time. A "Future Dated" status badge is also displayed in the request header.
• Request Activity worklist: A status of Future Dated and the stage is displayed in the Status and Stage column. The time label name and date is displayed in the Time Label and Date column. You can also filter on Future Dated status in the Status filter (see Working with Request Activity).
• Request inspector: On the Summary tab, the request status is displayed as Future Dated, and the time label name, date, and time is displayed in the Time Label field. See Inspecting Requests.

Completing a Future Dated Request

After the time in a future time label on a request is reached, the system attempts to complete and close the request:

1. Requests that have been assigned an expiring time label are processed in the order in which they were submitted.
   • Requests without validation issues are completed and closed.
   • If a request cannot be completed due to validation issues, the owner is notified.

   Note:

   If the viewpoint is also in a blockout state when the time in the time label has been reached, the request enters Blocked status until the blockout expires. See Requests and Blockout Periods.
2. When the request is completed:
   • The stage and status are updated to Closed and Completed.
   • The time label timestamp is displayed in request activity and on the request inspector.