Update 21A

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

Date	Product	Feature	Notes
10 FEB 2021	Core Application	View Existing Schedule Reports From Core Application	Updated document. Revised feature information.
22 JAN 2021			Created initial document.

Overview

This guide outlines the information you need to know about new and improved functionality in Oracle Field Service Update 21A. Each section includes a brief description of the feature, the steps you need to take to enable or begin using the feature, any tips or considerations that you should keep in mind, and the resources available to help you. For a listing of browsers supported by Oracle Field Service, log in to our support site and access Answer ID 8415.

Oracle Field Service Best Practices Guide: Please be sure to download our Oracle Field Service Best Practices Guide found on the Oracle Service Cloud Support Portal Answer ID 8215 (requires a login). This book contains many helpful hints and suggestions to help you improve and get the full benefit from your Oracle Field Service subscription.

GIVE US FEEDBACK

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content. Please send us your feedback at https://documentation.custhelp.com/ci/documents/detail/5/4/12.

Feature Summary

Administration

Consider Missing Pairs in Pre-Calculation of Travel

Earlier, the pre-calculation of travel statistics algorithm considered travel keys that had enough number of activities (at least 4) and had learned estimations to fewer than three other keys. This works well for new customers or customers who are expanding to newer areas. However, the algorithm does not find keys that match these conditions for some existing customers. Hence, the number of requests that are sent to SLR are reduced drastically and is even zero (0) in some cases. It results in a situation where there could be nearby pairs of travel keys without learned statistics, but the pre-calculation algorithm still does not send any more pairs of locations, because it does not find the keys that are connected to fewer than three other keys. (That is, when every key is connected to at least three other keys, the algorithm stops producing additional requests.)

To ensure that the pre-calculation algorithm keeps sending requests until all the keys are connected to all of their neighboring keys, these changes are made to the algorithm:

• Criteria to consider a travel key for pre-calculating travel statistics is reduced to any one activity that is not cancelled or deleted (instead of the currently used weight of 12). If there is only one activity considered in the travel key, the same location is used as the median and medoid.

• In the earlier releases, if there are no learned statistics from the key to itself then the travel (from the mediod to the left most activity and back to the mediod) is sent to the Locations services to get the travel estimated for the key to the same key. This is now done only if there are at least four activities with the coordinates within the key.

• The algorithm considers travel between keys if the distance between the medians is less than 150 km.

• The algorithm starts with the key that has the maximum number of activities and starts the first request from that key to the nearest non-connected key within 150 km. The next request starts from the next popular key. This process is repeated and continued.the same way. After a request is sent from the last key, the next request starts again from the first key.

• The process continues until 1000 requests are sent on the day or no more non-connected neighboring pairs are left to be sent.

This feature helps ensure that the pre-calculation algorithm continues to send requests till all keys are connected to all of its adjacent keys.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Administering Oracle Field Service

Redesigned Themes Configuration

Earlier, you could not choose a color for the application page background and buttons. Starting with Update 21A, you can choose your organization’s branding color for the application page background and the Submit button.

Apart from selecting the color, these improvements are implemented:

• Classic and Vanilla themes are removed and Redwood is the default theme. If you had selected Classic or Vanilla as the default theme, it is replaced with the Redwood theme.

• The Add theme and Edit theme dialog boxes now include the ‘Preview’ section. Preview provides the tablet and mobile views of the theme. The elements in Preview are dynamically updated as you change the settings.

CONFIGURE A THEME

1. Click Configuration.
2. In the Displays section, click Themes.
3. Click Add new. The Add theme page appears. 
4. Complete these fields:

Field	Description
General Tab
Name	The name by which you want to identify the theme.
Copyright	Add the copyright information. The text should contain placeholders for {YEAR} and {VERSION} that will be automatically replaced with the current year and major version. Example: © 2003-{YEAR} Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. Version {VERSION}. The maximum length of this string is 255 characters.
Logo Tab
Logo	Select the logo in .png format. This logo is used with screens of width 1024 and more, or between 320 and 768. This logo is used in the header on all the pages, except the Login page. Make sure that the size of the logo and the size of the file do not exceed the limits specified on the page.
Logo for Login page	Select the logo in .png format. This logo is used in the Login portal. Make sure that the size of the logo and the size of the file do not exceed the limits specified on the page.
Color Scheme
Header color	Select the color for the application header. Click this field and select a color from the color editor. Or, enter the hexadecimal code for the color. The selected color is displayed in the preview section.
Page background color	Select the color for the application page. Click this field and select a color from the color editor. Or, enter the hexadecimal code for the color. The selected color is displayed in the preview section.
Submit button color	Select the color for the Submit button. Submit buttons across the application are displayed in this color. Click this field and select a color from the color editor. Or, enter the hexadecimal code for the color. The selected color is displayed in the preview section.

5. Click Set default, if you want to reset the colors.
6. Click Save. The theme is saved.

Result: The page background and the 'Submit' button colors are applied to the pages that are mainly used by field resources, such as 'Activity details, 'Inventory details', 'Activity list', and forms. The colors won't be shown on these groups of pages:

• Pages on which the content takes the entire screen width, for example, Dispatch console, Manage, Maps, and Calendars
• Configuration pages
• Pages that have their own specific background, for example, About, Dashboard
• Hints and context-menus

This image shows the General tab, where you can notice that the copyright details appear in the preview:

General Tab

This image shows the Logo tab, where you can notice that the logo appears in the preview:

Logo Tab

This image shows the Color scheme tab, where the preview shows the selected colors:

Color Scheme Tab

ELEMENTS REMOVED FROM THE TEMPLATE

'Page title' and 'Small logo' fields are removed from the 'Add theme' and ‘Edit theme’ pages and are no longer supported.

MIGRATION OF EXISTING CUSTOM THEMES

If you have configured custom themes before Update 21A, they will be migrated to the Redwood experience. Migration preserves all the configured attributes and you will still be able to modify, set as default, disable, or delete these themes.

EXPORTING AND IMPORTING THEMES

You can migrate your custom themes between instances using the 'Export/Import' function. You can migrate themes between the instances running on Update 21A, you can export themes from previous platform versions and import them to instances having Update 21A. However, you cannot migrate themes backward, that is, you cannot export from Update 21A and import to previous platform versions.

OTHER VISUAL CHANGES WITH THIS FEATURE

Some of the other visual changes that are implemented with this feature are:

• Resource hint, Activity hint, and Date editor are updated with the Redwood style.
  • This image shows the Resource hint:

    Resource Hint

  • This image shows the Date editor:

    Date Editor

• The 'Actions' drop-down list on the 'Activity details' and 'Activity list' pages is replaced with the three vertical dots icon. This image shows the Activity details page:

Redesigned themes configuration improvements are designed to create a sense of structure and to provide a consistent user experience to both back office and mobile resources.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Administering Oracle Field Service

APIs

Use Capacity REST APIs to Provide Booking Options

Starting with Update 21A, a new endpoint ‘showBookingGrid’ is added to the Capacity REST API to simplify the booking process through integration. This API function provides booking information for all configured Capacity Areas and makes it easy to implement booking flows.

The showBookingGrid API function makes the booking process for a user or an integrator simple. This function accepts activity information as an input, and displays the list of options where it may be booked as the result.

Note that other API functions do not support the Capacity Areas with Direct Assignment booking specific to Capacity and Quota.

Method: POST

URL: https://<instance_name>.etadirect.com/rest/ofscCapacity/v1/showBookingGrid

The supported request parameters are:

• activity (object):  Indicates the keys of an existing activity or activity field values.

• identifyActivityBy (enum): Indicates the identification of an activity if keys of an existing activity are available. Allowed values are "activityId", "apptNumber", and "apptNumberPlusCustomerNumber".

• dateFrom (string): Indicates the first date for which the booking options are searched. Format of Date is "YYYY-MM-DD".

• dateTo (string): Indicates the last date for which the booking options are searched. Format of Date is "YYYY-MM-DD". Values allowed are Minimum: (dateFrom), Maximum: (dateFrom+14). Default value (dateFrom+7)

• returnReasons (Boolean): Indicates the reasons for success/failure of bookings. Default value is FALSE

• includeTimeSlotsDictionary (Boolean): Indicates whether to return the dictionary of time slots in the response. Default value is FALSE

• includeResourcesDictionary (Boolean): Indicates whether to return the dictionary of all resources in the response. Default value is FALSE

• resourceFields (array): Indicates the list of resource fields labels and properties which should be added to each resource in the dictionary. Available values are “resourceId”, “parentResourceId”, “resourceType”, “name”, “email”, “phone”, “timeZone”, “status”. Custom properties can also be added.

These values are returned in the response:

• Duration (integer): - Indicates the estimated duration of the activity in minutes.

• travelTime (integer): Indicates the average travel time (in minutes) to reach the activity area.

• workZone (string):  Indicates the label of the work zone determined for the activity.
  • resourcesDictionary (array): Indicates the set of resource items depending on the 'resourceFields' parameter. Available fields are “resourceId”, “resourceName” and other fields that requested using "resourceFields" parameter
  • areas: Indicates the list of Capacity Areas. Available fields are “label”, “name”, “bucket”, “timeZone”, “areaTimeSlots”, “timeSlotsDictionary”, and “dates (including date and timeslots)”

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command to findBookingOptions for an existing activity:

cURL Command for an Existing Activity

EXAMPLE REQUEST BODY

Here is an example request body:

Example Request Body

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command to findBookingOptions for new activity:

cURL Command for a New Activity

EXAMPLE REQUEST BODY

Here is an example request body:

Example Request Body  

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY WITH DIRECT ASSIGNMENT CASE

Here is an example response body with direct assignment case:

Example Response Body with Direct Assignment Case

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY WITH QUOTA BUCKET CASE AND SHOWREASON=’TRUE’

Here is an example response body with quota bucket case and showReason=’True’:

Example Response Body with Quota Bucket Case

This feature helps ensure that the Capacity REST APIs provide the necessary booking options.

Steps to Enable

Review the REST service definition in the REST API guides, available from the Oracle Help Center > your apps service area of interest > REST API. If you're new to Oracle's REST services you may want to begin with the Quick Start section.

Key Resources

• REST API for Oracle Field Service

Use REST APIs to Chat with Helpdesk

The Collaboration REST APIs allow external applications to integrate with the Collaboration service and initiate a conversation with the Collaboration users.Starting with Update 21A, you can use the Collaboration REST APIs to initiate chat messages with a helpdesk group and can get responses from an operator. In addition, while sending messages, you can attach images and share activity, inventory, and resource details. You can also get chat conversations, messages, and contact details of the users and helpdesk groups from the user’s address book.

This includes updates to the following Collaboration REST API functions:

• Initiate a new chat with the helpdesk user
• Send message to an existing helpdesk chat
• Get a chat message
• Get address book

INITIATE A NEW CHAT WITH THE HELPDESK USER

This operation creates a new chat with helpdesk user or a conference chat with a group of users.

Method: POST /rest/ofscCollaboration/v1/chats

These are the supported request parameters:

• text (String): The content of the message
• attachment (object): Type of attachment. Values allowed are "activity", "resource", "inventory", and "image"
• helpdesk (integer): The ID of the helpdesk user/contact

This information is returned in the response:

• chatId (integer): The unique identifier of the chat in the collaboration server
• type (string): The type of the chat
• startedTime (string): The time (in UTC standard) when the chat started. The time is in 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' format
• startedBy (string): The login details of the user who started the chat. This field is present only for the chats started by a user
• participants (array): The list of participants of the chat

These response codes are supported:

• 200 - Indicates that the chat was successfully created
• 400 - Indicates that a self-chat is not allowed
• 403 - Indicates that the user does not have the permission to perform this operation

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command:

Example cURL Command

EXAMPLE REQUEST BODY

Here is an example of Request body:

Example Request Body

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY

Here is an example of Response body:

Example Response Body

SEND MESSAGE TO AN EXISTING HELPDESK CHAT

Method: POST ofscCollaboration/v1/chats/{chatId}/messages

This operation sends a message to an existing helpdesk chat.

This is the supported path parameter:

• chatId (integer): The unique identifier of the chat in the collaboration server

These are the supported request parameters:

• text (String): The content of the message
• attachment (object): Type of attachment. Values allowed are "activity", "resource", "inventory", and "image"

These are the supported request parameters:

• text (String): The content of the message
• attachment (object): Type of attachment. Values allowed are "activity", "resource", "inventory", and "image"

This information returned in the response:

• chatId (integer): The unique identifier of the chat in the collaboration server
• text (string): The content of the message
• author (string): The login details of the user who created the message
• time (string): The time (in UTC standard) when the chat started. The time is in 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' format
• sequenceNumber (integer): The sequence number of the message in the chat
• messageId (integer): The identifier of the message in the collaboration server

These response codes are supported:

• 200 - Indicates that the message is successfully added to the chat
• 403 - Indicates that the user cannot send the message to a private chat
• 404 - Indicates that the user is trying to send the message to an invalid chat ID

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command:

Example cURL Command

EXAMPLE REQUEST BODY

Here is an example of Request body:

Example Request Body

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY

Here is an example of Response body:

Example Response Body

GET A CHAT MESSAGE

Method: GET ofscCollaboration/v1/chats/{chatId}/messages

This operation retrieves the contents/message of a chat.

This path parameter is supported:

• chatId (integer): The unique identifier of the chat in the collaboration server

These are the supported request parameters:

• limit (integer): The number of items to be returned in the response. If the specified value is greater than 100, then it defaults to 100
• offset (integer): The number of items to be skipped in the response. If the parameter is not present in the request, then it defaults to zero
• direction (string): The order (either ascending or descending) in which chat messages are displayed

These are returned in the response:

• totalResults (integer): The total number of items retrieved
• limit (integer): The maximum number of items retrieved
• offset (integer): The index from which the items are retrieved
• direction (string): The order (either ascending or descending) in which chat messages are displayed
• items (array): An array of message entities

These message entities are supported:

• messageId (integer): The identifier of the message in the collaboration server
• sequenceNumber (integer): The sequence number of the message in the chat
• text (string): The content of the message
• attachment (Object): Type of attachment. Values allowed are "activity", "resource", "inventory", and "image"
• author (string): The login details of the user who created the message
• time (string): The time (in UTC standard) when the chat started. The time is in 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' format.
• type (string): Indicates whether this a direct message or a system generated message

These attachment entities are supported:

• type (string): Type of attachment. Values allowed are "activity", "resource", "inventory", and "image."
• id (string): Entity ID of the attachment (activity, resource or inventory ID.) No ID field required for image type
• content (Object): Content type of the attachment. Required only for image type. The maximum size allowed for the image type of attachment is 5MB

These content entities are supported:

• filename (string): Name of the image file
• mediaType (string): Media type of the image file
• imageData (string): base64 value of the image content

These response codes are supported:

• 200 - Indicates that the chat was successfully created
• 404 - Indicates that the requested chat cannot be found

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command:

Example cURL Command

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY

Here is an example of Response body:

Example Response Body

GET ADDRESS BOOK

Method: GET ofscCollaboration/v1/addressBook

This operation retrieves the addressBook of the helpdesk user.

These are the supported request parameters:

• limit (integer): The number of items to be returned in the response. If the specified value is greater than 100, then it defaults to 100
• offset (integer): The number of items to be skipped in the response. If the parameter is not present in the request, then it defaults to zero

This information is returned in the response:

• totalResults (integer): The total number of items retrieved
• limit (integer): The maximum number of items retrieved
• offset (integer): The index from which the items are retrieved
• items (array): An array of contact entities

The following contact entities are supported:

• name (string): The name of the contact
• online (boolean): Indicates whether the contact is online
• contactId (string): Indicates the loginID or the contactID of the user
• Type (string): Indicates the type of user, whether, helpdesk or user

This response code is supported:

• 200 - Indicates that the chat was successfully created

EXAMPLE cURL COMMAND

Here is an example of cURL command:

Example cURL Command

EXAMPLE RESPONSE BODY

Here is an example of Response body:

Example Response Body

The Collaboration REST APIs allow external applications to initiate chats with Helpdesk.

Steps to Enable

Review the REST service definition in the REST API guides, available from the Oracle Help Center > your apps service area of interest > REST API. If you're new to Oracle's REST services you may want to begin with the Quick Start section.

Key Resources

• REST API for Oracle Field Service

Capacity Management

Activity Booking Improvements

Earlier, you could book activities only for Capacity Areas with time-slot based Quota configuration. You could also use the Book Activity page only to book new activities. Starting with Update 21A, the activity booking feature (Quota configuration page and Book Activity page) includes these improvements:

• You can book activities directly to field resources
• You can book activities based on the available quota and not just the time-slot based quota
• You can see the recommended options among the available options
• You can use the Booking page not just for new booking, but for rescheduling existing booking as well

ACTIVITY BOOKING OPTIONS

Now there are three types of booking:

• Direct assignment booking
• Quota based booking:
  • Time slot based
  • Booking interval based (or availability based)

NOTE: The activity booking functionality, Quota management page, and the Capacity Area configuration functionality are available only with the "Oracle Field Service Enterprise Cloud Service" subscription.

DIRECT ASSIGNMENT BOOKING

Activity booking uses the activity information and finds all the Capacity Areas that match the activity requirements. If a Capacity Area is configured for booking using direct assignment, the activity is created (or reassigned) in a technician’s route, provided the technician meets the activity requirements and has enough time to complete it. When there are many available resources that can work on the activity for a particular date and time slot, Oracle Field Service assigns the activity to one of them. The application typically finds a technician that has a smaller set of working skills than a technician with a wider skillset. This way, resource selection is optimized, so that the following activities that require booking have more available options. With this feature, you can control the booking strategy that is used on a Capacity Area level. You can also configure different capacity areas to use different booking strategies. This image shows the Quota Configuration page for the Use Direct assignment option:

Quota Configuration Page

AVAILABILITY-BASED BOOKING

You can now book activities for Capacity Areas with booking interval based quota configuration. You can use the booking interval based quota when your time slots overlap or, you have a significant variation in the activity duration. When you choose the booking interval based quota, you must select the booking intervals on the Quota Configuration page. If you do not select the booking intervals, the application uses the default Capacity intervals that you have configured on the Business Rules page. 

This image shows the Quota Configuration page for the Based on booking interval option:

Quota Configuration Page Showing Booking Interval values

When you configure a Capacity Area for booking using Quota (time slot based or availability based), then the activity is created (or reassigned) on the bucket that is associated with the Capacity Area. If there are multiple Capacity Areas, the technician must select a Capacity Area, select the day and time slot on which they want to perform the activity, and book it.

You can get the booking details in two ways:

• Through the Activity Booking page
• Through the new API function showBookingGrid. This API simplifies the process of integrating the Booking functionality with external applications.

Regardless of the method, the application uses the activity information you have entered and provides you the list of options where it may be booked.

BOOKING RECOMMENDATIONS

You can choose to include recommendations for booking activities for each Capacity Area independently. The application typically recommends time slots that reduce overall travel expenses. 

The application tries to optimize travel time, so if there are some booking options that allow better activity distribution, it marks those options as preferable or recommended. The application recommends a booking option if the travel time that appears after the booking is less than the default travel time for the activity type. The application provides recommendations in the same way for both, direct assignment booking and for booking by Quota. The only difference is, for the direct assignment the application uses the travel time estimation (minutes), whereas for booking by Quota the application suggests the options by optimizing the distance to other existing activities in the bucket that are close by time and place.

The application considers these travels:

• Travel to the booked activity, if there is a preceding activity close enough with small or no idle time.
• Travel after the booked activity, when there is a following activity with small or no idle time.
• Average of travels "to" and "after," if a new activity is booked between two others with small or no idle time.

Example of a technician route when the application recommends the booking option. In the example, the option may be preferred, if the travel time after the booked activity is smaller than the default travel time. This image shows the technician route:

Technician Route

Oracle Field Service does not mark the available options as recommended or preferred, if:

• The application cannot estimate any of the travels (before or after)
• The idle time before and after the activity is big, which means that later on another activity might be added and the travel might change
• The estimated travel is bigger or equal to the default travel time

Example of a technician’s route with a big idle time before and after the activity. This option may be used for booking, but the application cannot recommend it over the other booking options:

Example of the Book Activity page with some recommendations. The options marked with a special sign give a bigger probability of decreased overall travel expenses.

Assuming 100% as the number of all booking options shown on the page, then:

• Gold: Approximately 5% of all the booking options, which are the best from the possible travel reduction
• Silver: Approximately 5 to 20 % of the options

Let’s say, a booking screen shows 80 cells for booking an activity, where there are many options for the activity to be booked close to an existing activity. Oracle Field Service recommends those options that optimize traveling expenses. Not more than 20% of all the options are shown as recommended (84 / 100 * 20 = 16), giving 16 marks, 4 of which would be the gold recommendations (84 / 100 * 20 = 4.2) and the remaining 12 would be silver recommendations.

However, the actual number of recommendations may vary and depend on the number activities with close coordinates. If there are equally good options, then the recommendations can become more than 5 or 20 percent of the options, because Oracle Field Service cannot choose which option to recommend. So, in the example, there could be more than 4 gold and more than 12 silver recommendations, if identical options are available.

RESCHEDULE A BOOKED ACTIVITY

You can now use the Activity Booking page to not only book a new activity, but also to reschedule an existing activity. You can configure the page layout to show the activity information with the booking options. You can also configure the activity properties that must be modified while rescheduling, for example, the "Reason for Reschedule" property.

PREREQUISITES FOR USING THE ACTIVITY BOOKING FEATURE

If you want to use the Activity Booking feature, you must complete these tasks:

1. Configure the radius within which you want Oracle Field Service to consider the activities. You must configure the Nearby Radius field on the Business Rules page for this. Go to Configuration, Business Rules to specify the Nearby Radius value.
2. Add the fields required for booking activities to the Book new activity Visual Form Editor. Typically, you need activity type, activity address, work skills for the activity, work zone it belongs to, activity duration, and the coordinates of the activity. On the Schedule booked activity Visual Form Editor, configure the fields that your technicians see when they reschedule an existing activity. Go to Configuration, User Types, Screen configuration, Book new activity (or Schedule booked activity) to add the fields.
3. Add the Book (create) activity and Book (reschedule) activity buttons to the Activity details and the Activity hint Visual Form Editors. Technicians use these buttons to book and reschedule activities. Go to Configuration, User Types, Screen configuration, Edit/view activity or Activity hint to add the buttons.
4. Configure the Capacity Areas for booking activities. You can configure a different type of booking option for each Capacity Area. See the Configure Capacity Areas with Direct Assignment Booking procedure.
5. Configure the booking recommendations. You can show or hide the booking recommendations for each Capacity Area separately. See the Configure Capacity Areas with Direct Assignment Booking procedure.

CONFIGURE CAPACITY AREAS WITH DIRECT ASSIGNMENT BOOKING

1. Click Quota.
2. Select the capacity area for which you want to configure direct assignment.
3. Click Configuration.
4. Click Use Direct assignment.
5. Edit the Available time slots field and select the time slots during which you want to allow your field resources to book activities.
6. Click Show recommendations in activity booking screen. When you select this check box, the Book Activity page might show a time slot with a special icon, indicating a recommendation. The recommendation is a time slot that has a bigger probability of decreased overall travel expenses.
7. Click Save.

You can use the Book Activity page only to book new activities.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Capacity

Core Application

Assignment Assistant: Enhanced Flow of Direct Move

Starting with update 21A, Assignment Assistant supports Move activities using drag and drop action.

When the user drags and drops an activity to move that activity, these actions occur:

• Selected resource to whom an activity is assigned is displayed on the top of the list. This resource remains on the screen when scrolling the list of resources.
• Alert message is displayed for selected (top) resource if the resource is violating, 'Show all' resource constraints. 
• Other resources are displayed in the 'Other suggested resources' section.  
• 'Show all' checkbox is not selected by default. That means, 'Show all' resource constraints are applied to the list of resources.
• The same behavior is applicable for the Buckets tab.

This image displays the Assign Assistant screen with a Move activity in progress:

Move Activity - Drag and Drop Action

Assignment Assistant supports Move activities using drag and drop action.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Assignment Assistant: Support Visit Functionality

Starting with update 21A, Assignment Assistant supports Visit functionality when the user enables and configures it on the Business Rules screen. If there are other activities matching the same visit bundling keys as moved activity then system suggests that you move them along with the moved activity.

These options may be available on the Select activity is part of a visit dialog:

• Move selected activity only

• Move selected and other activities matching the same visit bundling keys from current resource. Only activities for the date of selected activity are considered. Other activities are presented by activity identifier and ETA date.

• Move selected and other activities matching the same visit bundling keys from all available resources. Only activities for the date of selected activity are considered. Other activities are presented by activity identifier and ETA date.

This image displays the options available for a Visit functionality in the Select activity is part of a visit dialog:

Assignment Assistant - Selected Activity is Part of Visit Dialog

Click the Continue button to navigate to the Assignment Assistant main screen.

To improve the KPI goals and better user experience, we recommend to utilize this feature when making any manual changes. This helps save the travel time and mileage and achieve improved utilization of resources. 

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Disable Location Gathering in Browser-Based Application

Sometimes field resources log in to the application through the Oracle Field Service Mobile for Android and iOS app on the field and on a laptop at home or work. The application collects active geo location data from multiple sources. This leads to inaccurate calculation of travel time on the Where is My Technician page. Starting with Update 21A, you can configure the application to stop collecting the location details when the user logs in from a laptop or a desktop using the browser-based application, and use only the details collected from a device with Installed Application.

This feature allows you to enable the application to stop collecting the location details when the user logs in to Core Application from a laptop or a desktop.

Steps to Enable

You can use the 'Limit location gathering to installed Android or iOS applications' permission on the User Type page to block the application from gathering location details from Core Application. Be aware that even if you select this option, resource positions can still be sent through APIs.

CONFIGURE GATHERING LOCATION DETAILS

Follow these steps:

1. Click Configuration, User Types.
2. Select the user type for which you want to configure gathering location details.
3. Under Permissions, select Enable GPS Telemetry, and then select Limit location gathering to installed Android or iOS applications.

This image shows Permissions section:

Permissions Tab

4. Click Save. Oracle Field Service does not collect resource locations from Core Application for the users of this user type. It collects the location details only for the installed applications. If you don’t select this permission, Oracle Field Service collects the location details from all the interfaces that the field resource has logged in to.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Download Images in Full-Size

Earlier, you could not view the images uploaded by field resources in their full size, in Core Application and Oracle Field Service Mobile for Android and iOS applications. Starting with Update 21A, you can download the images taken by technicians in the field or view the images in their full-size dimensions. Field workers can view the photos and download them on their mobile devices, if needed.

The Download and Clear options are available automatically when you add an image element to a Visual Form Editor. The Download and Clear options are also added to the File attachment and Signature elements.

VIEW, DOWNLOAD AND CLEAR IMAGES

1. Log in to Core Application or the installed application.
2. Open the Activity details, Inventory details, or the Form history page.
3. To view the image in full-size, click it. The image is displayed in its real size, overlapping the page. This image shows an inventory's image in its real size:

Image in Real Size

Here, real size means:

• For custom properties: The dimensions specified in the property configuration.
• For form elements: The default dimensions.
• Compression applied by the application

4. To download the image, click the download icon below the image. The image is downloaded to your device. This image shows the download and clear options:

Download and Clear Icons

5. To remove the image from the activity or the Form, click the clear icon. The image is deleted from the application. The clear icon is available for the fields that have Read-Write or Mandatory visibility.

A full size download allows users to see the image clearly in order to provide any troubleshooting help or capture any specific information.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Improved Scheduling in Core Application

Earlier, you could not create a recurring shift or working time in some cases. Further, when you applied a new schedule for a few days at a stretch, there were chances that you overrode the non-working days of resources. Starting with Update 21A, you can set a shift with Daily, Weekly, and Yearly recurrence. For example, you can set a working shift that recurs every third day, or a shift that repeats weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can also retain the non-working days of resources when you apply a new schedule for few days at a stretch.

You can set up recurrence for Shifts, On-call Shifts, Custom working time, and On-call working time. You cannot set recurrences for Schedule and Non-working time.

1. Set Up a Shift for a Field Resource.
2. In the resource tree, click the field resource for which you want to update the calendar.
3. Click the hamburger icon and then click Calendars.
4. To set up a shift for one day:
   1. On the calendar, click the starting date for which you want to apply the new schedule.
   2. In the Schedule field, select the shift that you want to apply. The date that you have selected on the calendar is displayed in the End Date field.
   3. Select None in the Repeat field. If you have selected a future date for End Date, it changes to the currently-selected date. 
   4. Retain the selection in the ‘Keep non-working days’ check box to retain the existing non-working days on the resource's calendar. 
   5. Click Submit. The new schedule is applied to the field resource.
5. To set up a shift for several days in a row:
   1. On the calendar, click the starting date for which you want to apply the new schedule.
   2. In the Schedule field, select the shift that you want to apply.
   3. In the End Date field, select the date up to which you want to apply the new schedule.
   4. Select Daily in the Repeat field.
   5. In the Every day field, select 1 (one). A message appears and indicates the number of days for which the shift is applied. 
   6. Retain the selection in the ‘Keep non-working days’ check box to retain the existing non-working days on the resource's calendar. 
   7. Click Submit. The new schedule is applied to the field resource. This image shows a schedule for several days in a row:

Schedule for Several Days in a Row

6. To set up a shift with several days between occurrence:
   1. On the calendar, click the starting date for which you want to apply the new schedule.
   2. In the Schedule field, select the shift that you want to apply.
   3. In the End Date field, select the date up to which you want to apply the new schedule.
   4. Select Daily in the Repeat field.
   5. In the Every days field, select the interval (number of days). For example, if you select 2 here, the shift is applicable every other day from the start date. A message appears and indicates the number of days for which the shift is applied.
   6. Retain the selection in the ‘Keep non-working days’ check box to retain the existing non-working days on the resource's calendar. 
   7. Click Submit. The new schedule is applied to the field resource. This image shows a schedule with several days between a recurrence:

Schedule with Several Days Between a Resource

NOTE: If you use recurrence with days or weeks between the occurrence, all days between the new shift have an empty schedule, or inherit the schedule from the parent Org Unit or Bucket if any.

For example: You want to set a 'Shift 8-15.00' for Mondays and Wednesdays for the whole of December. You select 1 November on the Calendar, select  'Shift 8-15.00', set End date '30/11/20', select Weekly repeat, and select Monday and Wednesday. The shift is applied for all Mondays and Wednesdays. All other days in November are non-working days (displays an empty schedule on the Calendar), if the parent resource doesn't have a schedule. If the parent resource has a schedule, then it is inherited for these days.

7. To set up a shift for specific weekdays:
   1. On the calendar, click the starting date for which you want to apply the new schedule.
   2. In the Schedule field, select the shift that you want to apply.
   3. In the End Date field, select the date up to which you want to apply the new schedule.
   4. Select Weekly in the Repeat field.
   5. In the Every weeks field, select the interval (number of weeks). For example, if you select 2 here, the shift is applicable every other week from the start date.
   6. Select the days of the week on which you want to repeat the schedule. A message appears and indicates the number of days for which the shift is applied.
   7. Retain the selection in the ‘Keep non-working days’ check box to retain the existing non-working days on the resource's calendar. 
   8. Click Submit. The new schedule is applied to the field resource. This image shows a schedule with a weekly recurrence:

Schedule with Specific Weekdays

NOTE: If you use recurrence with days or weeks between the occurrence, all days between the new shift have an empty schedule, or inherit the schedule from the parent Org Unit or Bucket if any.

8. To set up a shift with a yearly recurrence:
   1. On the calendar, click the starting date for which you want to apply the new schedule.
   2. In the Schedule field, select the shift that you want to apply.
   3. In the End Date field, select the date up to which you want to apply the new schedule.
   4. Select Yearly in the Repeat field.
   5. In the End repeat field, select the date when the schedule stops repeating. A message appears and indicates the number of days for which the shift is applied.
   6. Retain the selection in the ‘Keep non-working days’ check box to retain the existing non-working days on the resource's calendar. 
   7. Click Submit. The new schedule is applied to the field resource. This image shows a schedule with a yearly recurrence:

Schedule with Yearly Recurrence

You can set a shift with Daily, Weekly, and Yearly recurrence. You can also retain the non-working days of resources when you apply a new schedule for few days at a stretch.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Legacy Manage Removed

The ‘Use Legacy Manage for Dispatch operations' setting in the “Access settings” section of User Types was deprecated in the 18C (August 2018). Starting with Update 21A, Legacy Manage is removed for dispatch operations.

The changes implemented for this feature are discussed here.

USER TYPES CONFIGURATION

• No user can access Legacy Manage.
• The ‘Use Legacy Manage for Dispatch operations' setting in the “Access settings” section of User Types is not available.
• The Screen Configuration section in of User Types configuration doesn't contain the page layouts that belong to Legacy Manage.

PLUG-IN CONFIGURATION

• The Add / Edit Plug-in configuration page doesn't contain the "Only for Legacy Manage main menu" check box.
• Earlier, the plug-ins that had the parameter "Only for Legacy Manage main menu" selected could not be added to any other context, except the Legacy Manage Main Menu. Now you can add buttons (links) for those plug-ins to Core Application.

USER OPTIONS

• You can now add the "Show placeholder ID" check box to the User Options page layout in Core Application. Previously it was only available in Legacy Manage.

DOCUMENTATION

• The Using Core Manage and Using Mobility Cloud Service guides are removed.
• The information in the Using Core Manage and Using Mobility Cloud Service guides is available in the Using Core Application guide.

ADD THE "SHOW PLACEHOLDER ID" CHECK BOX TO THE USER OPTIONS PAGE

1. Click Configuration, User Types, Screen Configuration for the required user type.
2. Click "User options" and add the "Show placeholder ID" item.
3. Click save.

NOTE: If you change any option on the User Options page, you may have to refresh the page for the setting to take an effect. This is true especially for pages such as those that can work in offline mode.

Legacy Manage is removed for dispatch operations.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Reload or Restart When the Application Could Not Load

Due to server side or in browser functions, a blank screen was displayed when the application did not load. Now, the application will detect such errors arising during the loading process and will try to automatically resolve them. For users this may lead to slightly longer time of loading.

However, all the issues cannot be automatically fixed. In such situations, the solution is to reload the application or in some cases clear the cache and restart the application. Whenever such a situation occurs, the application displays a screen prompting that the application is unable to load:

Reload Screen

We recommend clicking Reload to reload the application to fix the issue with a simple reload. If that doesn't work, then the user should click Clear the cache and Reload. This will clear the cache and reload the application thereby, solving all the cases that were causing the issue. This action will clear data related to Oracle Field Service from the device and any such data that was not synced to the server may be lost. The user will be redirected to the login page from where the user can login to the application as usual.

Now, the application will detect such errors arising during the loading process and will try to automatically resolve them.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Remove an Avatar

Starting update 21A, you can remove photos of the avatar using the Edit Resource screen in the Field Service Core Application. The Remove button is displayed after you upload an image to the Avatar field in the Edit Resource screen.

To upload the avatar, navigate to the Edit Resource screen, click the Add image icon.

This image shows the Add Image icon:

Add Image Icon

This image shows the Edit Resource dialog box with an uploaded icon:

Edit Resource Dialog Box to Upload Image

To remove the avatar, navigate to the Edit Resource screen, click Download or Remove image icon.

This image shows Edit Resource dialog box showing Remove or Download image icon:

Edit Resource Dialog Box to Download Image

To download the avatar, navigate to the Edit Resource screen, click Download or Remove image icon. 

Edit Resource Dialog Box to Remove Image

NOTE: You must first remove an existing photo and then click the Add Image icon to upload a new photo.

Users can now remove photos of the avatar on the Edit Resource dialog box.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Use Decimal Numbers for Non-Serialized Inventory

Many times non-serialized inventory is measured using decimal numbers. For example, 1.5 liters, 4.5 meters. However, earlier, you could use only integers to provide the quantity. Starting with Update 21A, you can provide the quantity in decimal numbers. Further, now the application warns you if you try to install more inventory than you have in the resource pool.

You can define whether a specific type of inventory supports decimal numbers, when you create the inventory type. You can also specify the precision, that is, the number of digits after the decimal point. You can specify the decimal quantity when you perform inventory transactions such as add, install, deinstall, undo install, and undo deinstall inventory. If the precision of the entered value exceeds the one that's configured for the inventory type, the value is rounded off.

ENABLE DECIMAL NUMBERS FOR AN INVENTORY TYPE

You can create serialized inventory and non-serialized inventory types.

1. Click Configuration.
2. Select Inventory Types.
3. In the Inventory Types window, click Add new.
4. Complete these fields on the Add new inventory type page:

   Field	Action
   Label	Enter a unique identifier for this inventory type.
   Active	Select this check box to make the inventory type available in drop-down lists.
   Non-serialized	Select this check box if the inventory type is non-serialized.
   Decimal quantity	Select this check box if you want users to add decimal quantity of the inventory. For example, 1.5 liters. This check box is displayed only if you select the Non-serialized check box.
   Quantity precision	Enter the number of digits you want to display after the decimal. This check box is displayed only if you select the Decimal quantity check box.
   Model Property	Select additional characteristics for this inventory type from the drop-down list.
   Name	Enter a name for this inventory type in each appropriate language field.
   Unit of measurement	If this inventory type is non-serialized, enter a unit of measure. Use a language and a unit of measure appropriate for the country in which this inventory type is used.

5. Click Save.

The inventory type is saved. After you upgrade to 21A, the Decimal quantity option will be disabled for all existing inventory types, to save backward compatibility. If you enable decimals for the existing inventory types, it can affect integration. To use the decimal quantity feature, the best practice is to create a new Inventory type with the Decimal quantity option enabled. All areas in the application support decimal quantity for non-serialized inventory. For example, API, Routing, Daily Extract, Collaboration, BICS/DBAAS/OAC Integration, Expressions and Validations all support the decimal quantity for non-serialized inventory.

This image shows the Edit inventory type dialog box:

Edit Inventory Type Dialog

ADD DECIMAL QUANTITY TO NON-SERIALIZED INVENTORY

You can add decimal quantity to non-serialized inventory when you install, deinstall, or exchange inventory, or change inventory properties. 

1. Click an activity on your home page.  
2. Click Inventory. 
3. Click the inventory that you want to add to display its serial number. Then, click the corresponding number. Inventory actions generally only appear after you have started the activity. 
4. Enter the quantity in the Quantity field. If you enter a value that exceeds the quantity precision that's configured for the Inventory type, then it's rounded off. For example: Quantity precision for an Inventory type = 2. You enter 1.4552; this is rounded off to 1.46. In general, the half-up rounding rule is applied; that is, 0.5 becomes 1 and 0.4 becomes 0. If you enter extra zeros after the decimal point, then all trailing zeros are trimmed and not displayed in the inventory pool. If you try to install more non-serialized inventory than you have in the pool, then the message, 'The quantity 6.5 exceeded your available quantity of 5. Are you sure you want to proceed?' is displayed. 
5. Click Submit. The page updates to show the inventory at the customer’s location, as well as the inventory in the resource pool that you are carrying in your vehicle. 

This image shows the Add to customer page with a decimal number in the Quantity field:

Add to Customer Page

This image shows the Install inventory page with a warning for the Quantity field:

Install Inventory Page

This image shows the Inventory list page with a decimal number for Quantity:

Inventory List Page

CHANGES IN OUTBOUND INTEGRATION CHANNELS (BICS / OAC / DBaaS / OIC)

When you enable the decimal quantity for an inventory type, Oracle Field Service transfers the decimal quantity values to the corresponding inventories in the external applications such as BICS, OAC, DBaaS, and OIC. However, in case of BICS, DBAAS, and OAC the decimal value is shown in the database only when you change the data type of the corresponding column to "float".  You can make this change in two ways:

• BICS, DBAAS, and OAC admin user can access the database and change the data type of the quantity column from "Number" to "Float". After making this change, the data received from the next data transfer is saved as a decimal value. There will not be any change in the existing values. All the existing values in the column with Number data type remain as Number.

• Oracle Field Service administrator can rename the "Quantity" field from on outbound integration channel. This creates a column in the BICS, DBAAS, and OAC database. After this change new quantity values with decimal points are transferred to the new column. So the BICS, DBAAS, and OAC data source will have two columns, one with number values (existing column) and the other one with decimal values (new column). This image shows how to add the Quantity field for the OAC integration channel:

Quantity Field

NOTE: In case of OIC, when you enable the decimal value for inventory quantity, Oracle Field Service transfers only the decimal values. No other configuration changes are required.

API CHANGES

Inbound API

The Inbound API allows to specify fractional quantity value for inventory. For non-serialized inventory, the received value of the quantity field is rounded off in accordance with the inventory type configuration. For a serialized inventory, the quantity field is ignored. It is always considered as "1".

Outbound API

A fractional quantity field may be sent using outbound transactions.

REST API

The REST API inventory operations and activity operations related to the required inventory now support fractional quantity for non-serialized inventory, in accordance with the configuration of the inventory type. The 'quantity' field in API responses is rounded off to the configured precision. The 'quantity' field in API requests is rounded off to the configured precision, before storing in the application. Events that contain inventory 'quantity' field round off the value in accordance to the configured precision at the time of the event generation. The event information does not change if the configuration changes later.

Metadata API

The Metadata API function "GET inventoryTypes" has a new field "quantityPrecision". It indicates whether fractional values are allowed for this type and shows the number of digits after the decimal points that are allowed for this type. The value 0 means that only integer values are allowed.The "quantityPrecision" field is returned only for inventory types that have "nonSerialized" set to ‘true’.

PLUG-IN API CHANGES

'init' message

The "attributeDescription" collection of the "init" message is extended, so the "enum" items of the "invtype" property now contain several additional fields:

attribute collection of 'init' message

Key	Type	Is Optional	Description
nonSerialized	boolean	No	false: Inventory of this type is serialized. (That is, it has a serial number and its quantity is always 1). Examples: Network router, mobile phone, air conditioner true: Inventory of this type is not serialized. (That is, it doesn't have a serial number and its quantity is an arbitrary number.) Examples: Ethernet cable, connector, coolant.
quantityPrecision	integer	Yes	The key is present only if the value of the 'nonSerialized' field is true. The value 0 means that the "Decimal quantity" option is not enabled for the inventory type, so the quantity is always an integer.
unitOfMeasurement	string	Yes	The unit of measurement text that is shown next to the quantity in the user interface. Doesn't affect any calculations. The key is present only if the value of the 'nonSerialized' field is true.

SAMPLE INIT MESSAGE JSON

Here is the sample init message JSON:

Sample Init Message JSON

'open' message

The "inventory" and "inventoryList" collections now may contain fractional values for the "quantity" field, if you have selected the "Decimal quantity" option for the corresponding inventory type.

SAMPLE OPEN MESSAGE JSON

Here is the sample open message JSON:

Sample Open Message JSON

'close' message

The "quantity" field of inventory in the "inventory" and "inventoryList" collections and the "quantity" parameter of all of inventory actions (create, delete, install, deinstall, undo_install, undo_deinstall) can have fractional values. Oracle Field Service rounds off the value before applying the update or action, so it won't have more digits after the decimal point than what is configured for the inventory type (the "Quantity precision" option). The value of "quantity" must satisfy these requirements:·    

• Is a Number or a String for which the parseFloat() function returns a Number (not NaN)·    
• Is less than 9999999999.99999·    
• Is greater than -9999999999.99999 for "inventory" and "inventoryList" collections·    
• Is greater than 0 for inventory actions.

Otherwise, these errors are returned:

• For "inventory" and "inventoryList" collections, the error type is TYPE_ENTITY_PROPERTY, the code is CODE_PROPERTY_VALUE_INVALID 
• For inventory actions, the error type is TYPE_ACTION_PARAM and the code is CODE_ACTION_PARAM_VALUE_INVALID

SAMPLE CLOSE MESSAGE JSON

Here is the sample close message JSON:

Sample Close Message JSON

This feature helps plan the activities based on accurate availability of inventory regardless of the unit type. You should provide precise inventory values to ensure correct vehicle load and specific activity deliveries.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

View Existing Schedule Reports From Core Application

Starting update 21A, users for whom the Schedule Report option is selected can access the Schedule Report option from Core Application. Note that you cannot provide access privileges for users in a new user type.

These improvements were made:

• Schedule report functionality for existing users
• Dashboard style as per redwood design
• A limit of 25000 records is set for the number of records that can be exported. If this maximum limit is exceeded, a warning message is displayed to prevent possible out of memory/timeout issues.
• Removal of the survey reports as the survey functionality is not available for users

SCHEDULE REPORT FUNCTIONALITY FOR EXISTING USERS

Existing users configured with schedule report in legacy manage can now access schedule reports from Core application.

1. Click Configuration.
2. In the Configuration window, select Dashboards. 

This image shows the Configuration window:

3. Click Schedule Reports from the Actions menu.

This image shows the Configuration window.

Dashboards Window Showing Actions Menu

4. The Schedule Reports window is displayed.

Schedule Reports Window

5. Make sure users who have privilege to access schedule report also have access to Dashboards from the Configuration window.

NOTE: You cannot configure view or edit access privilege for a new user type in Update 21A. Existing user types that have access to scheduled reports will have the same access privilege in Update 21A. However, new users cannot modify the existing privilege in Update 21A.

IMPROVED DASHBOARD STYLE AS PER REDWOOD DESIGN

The Dashboard style and icons now appear in redwood style.

• The tabs style improved as per redwood style. 

This image shows the tabs in redwood style:

Improved Tabs Design

•  New icon style added on Available reports section.

This image shows Available reports pane.

Available Reports

This image shows icons available on the Available Reports menu:

Icons on Available Reports

• Actions drop-down menu

This image shows the Action drop-down menu on the Dashboards window.

Actions Drop-down Menu

• Add new predefined dashboard dialog box

This image shows the Add new predefined dashboard dialog box:

Add Predefined Dashboard Dialog Box

• Chart  settings dialog

This image shows the chart settings dialog:

Chart Settings Dialog

• Dashboard configuration page (Available report selection & User type )

This image shows the Dashboards window with Select Users drop-down list and Available Reports:

Dashboards Window with Select Users Drop-Down List

WARNING MESSAGE WHEN EXPORTING REPORTS WITH HUGE DATA

When the user tries to export a report with more than 25,000 records, a warning message "Unable to load data .Change parameters and press apply to export report" appears.

This image shows the warning message when exporting reports that exceed 25000 records:

Warning Message

REMOVAL OF THE SURVEY REPORTS

Further to removal of the survey functionality, reports & charts corresponding to survey functionality will not be available from Update 21A.

• Post Activity Survey Calls & Post Activity Survey Calls – Total reports.

The dashboard will no longer show an already configured Post Activity Survey Calls & Post Activity Survey Calls – Total reports' tile after the upgrade.

• PAS Response per Resource chart will not be available from Update 21A.

The dashboard will no longer show an already configured PAS Response per Resource chart tile after the upgrade.

You can configure view /edit access privilege for existing user types in Update 21A.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

View More Activities on Landing Page

Earlier, you could see a maximum of five activities on the landing page only after navigating to the Activities list to view the complete list of activities for the day. Starting with 21A, you can configure the number of activities that you want to see on the landing page. If there are more activities, the View more link appears.

This feature provides better user experience by using the landing page space to its maximum capacity thereby, the technician can view as many activities as possible in one view.

Steps to Enable

CONFIGURE THE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES ON LANDING PAGE

Follow these steps:

1. Log in to Oracle Field Service.
2. Click your name in the header and then click Settings. The User options page appears.
3. Enter a number in the Mobile Activity Count field. The number you enter here applies to the Activities list page as well. This image shows the User options page:

User Options Page

4. Click Submit. The number of activities displayed on the landing page includes the Started and Pending activities scheduled for the day. If the number of activities you have is greater than the configured number, the View more link appears on the landing page. This image shows the landing page with the View more link:

   Landing Page

Key Resources

• Using Core Application

Routing

Routing SLA Improvements

Earlier, only one penalty-driven SLA was available for SLA treatment. Starting with update 21A, four additional SLA policies are available for routing to be set up on a filter level. With Default policy, you may prefer to ignore SLA, reduce SLA aging, place activity as late as possible within SLA window or prefer to not route activities out of SLA window. To support more SLA policies, four additional Non Assignment Costs for activity is added and maximum Center Zone cost may now be up to 999 999.

SLA POLICY

We recommend that you define the needed SLA policy based on activity's properties. You may create a new SLA policy or use the existing policies. To utilize this feature, make sure that you have activity filters available for use in routing, and clearly differentiate the activities having different SLA treatment policies.

These choices are available for selection in the SLA Policy drop-down list on the Activity Filter parameters window:

• Default - Execution after SLA End is penalized with prolonged aging period
• Ignore SLA - SLA is less important than other constraints
• Reduced Aging - Execution after SLA End is penalized with shortened aging period
• As Late As Possible - SLA is penalized, but late execution within SLA window is preferred
• Do Not Allow SLA Overstep - Prevent routing activities out of SLA window

This section discusses these SLA policies in detail.

Default

This is the default policy used for all migrated plans and for newly created plans and filters. This policy provides good balance between SLA and other constraints. while it is possible for routing to assign an activity outside of SLA window, such an assignment is penalized and the penalty is increased day to day, which urges routing to assign an activity either within the SLA window or at least not too far away from SLA End.

Ignore SLA

You must use this policy when SLA is less important than other constraints, for example pure internal SLAs. In this case, routing may prefer another activity to an activity with outdated SLA (which is to be ignored) to the activity being within non-ignorable SLA but having e.g. less travel or higher non-assignment cost. However, when routing is to choose between two activities and for both SLA is to be ignored, routing will prefer one with the most outdated SLA.

Reduced Aging

You must use this policy when your SLA is important but the penalty for breaking the SLA window is either fixed or daily penalty is negligible (at least after the first 7 days). In this case routing will try to assign an activity within SLA window. If it's not possible due to resource restrictions or other constraints, routing will put an activity to a most suitable date instead of trying to do it as soon as possible at all the costs.

As Late As Possible

You must use this policy when your contractual SLA window for repeating work (for example regular maintenance) is calculated based on the date of previous work. While it is important to start (and finish) the work within SLA window, the user may prefer to pull the work closer to SLA End so that no extra work is done. However, this may be altered by other ways of route optimization, for example bundling - if a Technician is already on site for the urgent work and the date of maintenance is approaching, the same Technician may do maintenance as well).

NOTE: For Routing to effectively assign the activity having SLA policy As Late As Possible, you should allow routing plan decent view period in days in advance. It is recommended to route such activities with the plans having Apply to activities within day interval set to two weeks or more.

Do Not Allow SLA Overstep

You must use this policy when your SLAs are dictated by law or government rather than being contractual and overstepping the SLA window may imply serious consequences. If this policy is chosen, routing will either place an activity within SLA window, or reject the assignment with corresponding error message (either 6019 - Unacceptable SLA overdue or more detailed message, providing insights why activity is impossible to be done within SLA window).

NON-ASSIGNMENT COSTS

If there is a chance that an activity that meets the conditions of a given filter might not be assigned, then the application selects a setting that it will weigh against other considerations to determine who will be assigned which jobs – and which might remain in the bucket. In essence, this helps the application prioritize certain types of activities.

This table helps you to decide which non-assignment cost to choose for a particular activity. Note that the higher the non-assignment costs, the lesser the chances of this activity to be left in the bucket or being moved from resource's route to the bucket.

Name	Comment
Minimal	non-assignment is acceptable
Low	assign if it costs almost nothing
Normal	assign if it is not expensive
High	assign if there is good match between a technician and an activity
Highest	assign if there is an acceptable match between a technician and an activity
Extreme	assign even if there is poor match between a technician and an activity
Topmost	do the best to assign activity
Ultimate	activity should be assigned in almost any case
At All Costs	non-assignment is unacceptable

For a higher non-assignment cost, use a bigger value for the Center point home zone radius overstep weight value to restrict routing from assignment of important activities outside of this area.

By default, SLA penalty is increasing every day of SLA overstep, so if you have a lot of outdated activities, you should either consider using custom SLA policies (Ignore SLA, Reduced Aging) or use higher non-assignment costs for important activities (while using lower non-assignment costs for not so important activities having outdated SLA).

Do the following:

• To configure the SLA policy, create a new routing plan or select an existing routing plan to Modify. Create or choose an activity filter for a given plan and click Settings.

This image shows the Filter parameters dialog box:

Filter Parameters Dialog Box

In the Filter parameters dialog box, choose the needed value for SLA policy and save the changes.

• To configure the Cost of not assigning an activity, create a new routing plan or select an existing routing plan to Modify. Create or choose an activity filter for a given plan and click Setting. Then, choose the needed value for Cost of not assigning an activity and save the changes.

This image shows the Filter parameters dialog box showing non-assignment costs drop-down list:

Filter Parameters Dialog Box Showing Non-Assignment Costs Drop-Down List

In the Filter parameters dialog box, choose the needed value for SLA policy and save the changes.

CONSTRAINTS AND LIMITATIONS

As of now, only bulk routing supports the SLA Policy and only at the routing plan level. You must make sure that assignment of routing plan having non-default SLA Policy setting is not rewritten by other routing plans with non-default settings and/or manually.

To support more SLA policies, four additional Non Assignment Costs for activity is added and maximum Center Zone cost may now be up to 999 999.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Using Routing