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Introduction

The Task system assists Circulation users in organizing and prioritizing work to be completed. Tasks can be generated automatically by entering or processing Customer Service transactions, processing a Targeted Marketing product, or running certain reports. They can also be added manually. Tasks can be assigned to either individual users or task groups.

Tasks are viewed, completed, reassigned, escalated, and annotated in the My Task or All Tasks module (see My Tasks and All Tasks), and also in Customer and Route Services (see Tasks). In the My Tasks and All Tasks modules, task status is displayed in real-time; new tasks and updates to existing tasks are broadcast instantly.

Task setup is done in the Tasks module. This includes:

Defining task groups
Defining task types
Defining reason codes for updating tasks (activity codes)
Specifying which automated processes create tasks
Defining alerts, which are events that automatically modify tasks

Setup Menu

This section guides the user through the menu options that are available under the Setup menu.

Task Group

Task groups are similar to user groups, but they pertain only to the task system. Users may belong to multiple task groups. Supervisors may also be assigned to the task group; these are users who have access to additional task options, such as deleting tasks and changing task due dates.

To define a task group:

Select Setup | Task Group to display the Task Group Setup window.

Click Add and enter a task group ID and a description of the task group. In the User Access field, indicate whether this is a “random” task group (group tasks may only be selected by group users at random) or “full” task group (group tasks will be listed in the My Tasks module and can be specifically selected).
Click OK to add the task group.
Now you are ready to assign users to the group. Click the Users button to display the Task Group User Setup window.

Click Add and enter a task group (the group being currently defined will default) and a user belonging to the group. Also indicate whether this is the user’s primary group. Users may belong to many groups, but only one can be designated as primary. If a task group is already flagged as primary for the user, the flag will be removed if another task group is subsequently flagged as primary. The primary group determines the user’s supervisor(s), and the task group under which they can manually add tasks.
Click OK to add the user to the group. Note that you can also click Show All to display all users for each task group. Once all users are added, click Cancel to return to the Task Group Setup window.
Assign supervisors to the task group, if applicable. This is similar to assigning users, only there is no Primary field.

User Notification

An e-mail message (i.e., notification) can be generated and sent to a user whenever that user is assigned a task. E-mail notifications will be sent only when a task is created for an individual. Tasks created for groups will not cause an e-mail notification to be produced.

To set up user notifications:

Select Setup | User Notification to display the User Notification Setup window. Users who belong to at least one task group will appear in the list.

Select a user and click Modify.
Enter the user’s e-mail address in the Email Address column.
In Always Notify, select “yes” if this user should receive an e-mail notification each time a task is assigned to him/her.

Task Type

Task types represent the different categories of tasks; for example, complaint follow-up or new account verification. Task types defined here are linked with event types (new start processing, complaint entry, etc.) in the Task option, discussed next.

To define a task type:

Select Setup | Task Type to display the Task Types window.
Click Add and define the task type by completing the following fields.
Field
Type
What to enter
TASK TYPE
open (16)
Enter an ID for this task type, such as “ComplaintF” for complaint follow-up.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which the task type will be in use. End Date can be blank.
DESCRIPTION
open (30)
Enter a description of this task type, such as “Complaint Follow-up”.
INSTRUCTIONS
open (unlimited)
Enter instructions for the user working the task, for example “Call subscriber and verify that the paper has been delivered.”
Click OK to add the task type.

Task

Use this option to set up the automated creation of tasks. Transaction entry (in Customer Service), Transaction Processing, certain reports and Targeted Marketing can all create tasks. This option also allows you to define the task types available for manual task entry. You should add one entry for each process that should create tasks.

To configure task creation:

Select Setup | Task to display the Tasks window.
Click Add and specify the event, task type, assign-to group, and other options for task creation. The fields are described below.
Field
Type
What to enter
EVENT
predefined
Indicate which process should generate the task: Account Payment Entry, Audit, Disputed Invoice, Manual Entry, Payment Processing, Process Log Alert, Process Log Detail, Report Processing, Returns Import, Security Threshold, Targeted Marketing, Transaction Entry, or Transaction Processing.
Select Manual Entry if you are specifying which task types can be entered manually.
EVENT SPECIFIC
predefined
Select the specific event or item that should create the task. For example, to create a task when a complaint is processed, select “Transaction Processing” in Event and “Complaint” here. The events specifics available for each process are listed in the table on step 3.
START DATE, END DATE
date
Enter the date range during which tasks should be generated for this event.
GENERATE WHEN
yes/no
If more than one task is generated by this event, indicate whether a task with the task type below should always be created, or only if it has the highest priority, based on the Event Priority field. For example, a “call subscriber” task might be defined for stop entry with a priority of 5. Another task, “call carrier”, might also be defined for stop entry with a reason code of “Service” and a priority of 3. If a stop with a reason code of “Service” was entered, the “call carrier” task would be created, while the “call subscriber” would not. If one task has this field set to “always”, it will be created and the other tasks will not, regardless of the priority. If both are set to “always”, both tasks will be created.
EVENT PRIORITY
integer (3)
If Generate When is set to “highest priority”, assign a priority to this task. This determines if the task will be generated, if more than one task is defined for a specific event. The lower the number, the higher the priority.
TASK TYPE
setup
ASSIGN TYPE
setup
When tasks are created for this task type and event, indicate whether they should be assigned to an individual user or a group.
ASSIGN TO
setup
Select the group or user to whom tasks created by this event and task type should be assigned. Note that only users who are assigned to at least one task group may be selected. When entering a manual task for an individual assign type, in addition to defined users, you can select <create user>, <group member>, and <supervisor>. If you enter <create user>, the user creating the manual task will automatically be assigned to it; <group member> and <supervisor> will allow the user entering the task to assign a user or supervisor belonging to the group entered in Event Specific. However, you cannot use <create user>, <group member> or <supervisor> for tasks that are intended to be used with the Circulation API.
ESCALATE TYPE ESCALATE TO
setup
These fields are similar to Assign Type and Assign To, but they determine the group or user to which the tasks will be escalated, if escalation occurs.
TASK PRIORITY
integer (1)
Indicate the priority for this task, when created. The priority will display with the task detail information when viewing tasks in Customer Service.
DEFERRED START DAYS
integer (3)
The date on which the task will become active will be the event date plus the number of days entered here. Manual entry and report processing use the current date as the event date, while transaction entry and processing use the transaction date, and Targeted Marketing uses the delivery date entered in processing. For example, if 1 is entered in this field, and a task is set up to be created for stop entry, a stop entered for 7/2 would cause a task to be created with an activation date of 7/3.
DAYS TO COMPLETE
integer (3)
Specify the number of days users should be given to complete the task. This number will be added to the task activation date to determine the due date.

Options fields
PRODUCT
setup
If tasks should be created for this event only if a certain product is entered, specify the product here, or select “*” to multi-select products using the Ctrl key. Note that this field will not be available for Targeted Marketing-generated tasks (the TM product is already specified in Event Specific).
SELECTION TYPE
predefined
If a product is entered above, you can specify a particular area, region, zone, or district for the task, or choose mail. Leave this field blank to include all subscribers. If a value is selected here, tasks will only be created when the event involves a subscriber in the area, region, zone or district(s) entered below, or a mail subscriber. Selection Type and Selection cannot be used with manual entry tasks or TM.
SELECTION
setup
If a value other than “mail” is entered in Selection Type, specify the area, region, zone or district that should trigger task creation. For example you may wish to create a dispatching task for complaints, but only in certain districts. You can multi-select items by using the Ctrl key.
SOURCE, REASON
setup
You can specify a source or reason code that should trigger task creation, or select “*” to multi-select using the Ctrl key. If specified, tasks will only be created if the transaction has the source or reason code entered. Leave these fields blank to include all source and reason codes. Note that a source and reason may only be defined for transaction entry and Transaction Processing events.
LOG TYPE
predefined
If the event is “Process Log Alert” or “Process Log Detail”, select which log type (Error, Fatal, Warning) should generate a task, or select “*” if all log types should generate a task.
CREATE ON SUSPENDED
predefined
If the event is a Start transaction, you can specify how to handle suspended starts. If you select: • Yes, tasks will be created for both suspended and unsuspended starts • No, tasks will be created only for unsuspended starts • Only, tasks will be created only for suspended starts
SUSPEND REASON
setup
If Create on Suspend is set to “Yes” or “Only,” select a suspend reason here. This will allow, for example, unroutable suspended starts to be handled differently than starts suspended until a payment is received.
SECURITY ID
setup
DUPLICATE TASK DAYS
integer (3)
If the event is a report or Targeted Marketing, you can specify a certain number of days that must pass before the event creates a duplicate task. For example, if a task was created for a subscriber by the End Grace report on 7/15, and the same subscriber is included again on the report when it is run on 7/18, a second task will not be created if this field is greater than 3.
SEND EMAIL NOTIFICATION
yes/no
TASK MESSAGE
open
Enter a message to go with this task, if applicable. Messages entered here will display with other task information when viewing generated tasks.
Event Process
Items that may be selected
Account Payment Entry
A bill source.
Audit
An audit process. Currently “Credit Status Change” (the occupant’s credit status changed due to a stop or other transaction in Customer Service) is the only audit process available.
Disputed Invoice
A bill source.
Manual Entry
Any task groups that have been defined.
Payment Processing
Payment-related transactions: auto renew, NSF payment, regular payment, payment cancel, payment decline.
Process Log Alert, Process Log Detail
Processes that generate process log entries: Account Billing Processing, End Publishing Run, Subscriber Payment Processing, Transaction Processing. The Alert option will create one task if one or more qualifying Process Log entries are written during a single process. The Detail option will generate one task for each qualifying Process Log entry. In both cases, a process must be selected in the Process field when defining the task.
Report Processing
The Account List, Change Credit Status, End Grace, Expiring Credit Cards, Office Pay Expirations, Past Due Letter, Route Type Change, Stopped Subscribers without Restart, Subscriber Activity Export, Summary Age Analysis, and Truck Check reports.
Returns Import
Returns import validation errors: Invalid publication, invalid edition, no draw, over supply, out of date.
Security Threshold
Transactions that can have security thresholds: complaint, expire change, extend grace, grace writeoff, refund variance, subscriber payment adjustment.
Targeted Marketing
Any Targeted Marketing product.
Transaction Entry
Most Customer Service transactions: billing change, complaint, complaints on route threshold, delivery schedule change, grace writeoff, move in, move out, note, delivery placement, rate change, refund, refund writeoff, reroute, restart, start, stop, temp address, temp address end, transfer in, and transfer out.
Transaction Processing
Most transactions that are processed by Transaction Processing: billing change, complaint, delivery schedule change, end grace, expire, renewal, move in, move out, delivery placement, rate change, reroute, restart, start, stop, temp address, temp address end, transfer in, and transfer out.

Tasks Menu

This section guides the user through the menu options that are available under the Tasks menu.