REQUEST A DEMO

Solution Workflow

When we talk about workflow within our CRM systems, we commonly talk about cases, subcases, part requests, etc. But every queueable object within our Clarify/Dovetail system can have its own workflow. Including Solutions. Many people don’t think about a workflow around their knowledge. I wanted to touch on this, and show an example of a business process, or a workflow, for Solutions.

Quick recap: what is a Solution?

A Solution is a description of a known problem with one or more workarounds and/or resolutions. It is a piece of re-usable knowledge. Some refer to it as a KB or KnowledgeBase article.

Here’s what a Solution looks like within DovetailAgent:

solution

Pretty simple. An ID number, a title, a status, a description of the problem, and one or more workarounds/resolutions.

Simple Workflow

Here’s an example of a simple workflow for a Solution:

workflow1

  • The Solution is created, and has a status of Draft
  • The Solution is Dispatched to the Solution Review Queue
  • The Solution is accepted out of the queue by someone in the Knowledge Management workgroup
  • If the Solution is NOT approved, then the status of the Solution is changed to Rejected, and then assigned back to the Creator.
  • If the Solution is approved, then the status is changed to Approved, the solution can be marked as public, and then assigned to the Solution Librarian.

Hooray workflow!

Solution Librarian?

You may have  noticed that I referenced a Solution Librarian above. I often use Solution Librarian as a holding place for Solutions. The Solution Librarian is a dummy user. It’s not an actual person. Because Solutions can’t be closed, they are always in someone’s WIPbin. There’s no need to clutter a user’s WIPBIN, so I create a dummy user called Solution Librarian, and then assign Solutions to that user. Easy. In a later post, perhaps I’ll show how you can actually close solutions.

Workflow Helpers

Now to assist in all of this, we can add in some workflow helpers, namely auto-destination rules, and business rules.

How those fit into our workflow:

workflow1a

Auto-Destination Rules for Dispatch

Here’s what the Auto-Dest rule looks like for getting a Draft solution to the correct queue:

dispatch_autodest

Auto-Destination Rules for Assign

Here’s what the Auto-Dest rule looks like for sending:

  • an Approved Solution to the Solution Librarian (login name=solution)
  • a Rejected solution back to the creator

assign_autodest

Business Rule

Here’s the business rule for notifying queue members when a solution has been dispatched

Object Type: Solution
Rule Name/Description: Notify queue members
Start Events: Dispatch
Cancel Events: None
Conditions: None
Action Title: Notify 
Who to Notify: [Current Queue Members]
Start Action: 0 minutes
From: Event Creation
Using: Elapsed Time
Repeat : Never
Message:

RE: [Object Type] [Object ID] Dispatched to Queue [Current Queue].

[Object Type] [Object ID] has been dispatched to queue [Current Queue].
Please take appropriate action.
Link to Solution in Dovetail Agent: http://localhost/agent/console/console.asp?command=solutionbyid&param1=[Object ID]

 

Additional Workflow: Review Solutions

Here’s an additional workflow or business process that can be used. We can set up the system so that Solutions are queued for re-review after 6 months. This allows the knowledge to be reviewed periodically. The Solution can be edited with new information, reviewed for accuracy, etc. The Solution can then be Retired, or set to Approved again.

workflow2

 

Workflow: Not just for cases!

And there you have it. A few examples of how we can define business processes and workflow around Solutions.

Enjoy.