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Tag: Amdocs Clarify

Improving Case History within the Clarify Classic Client

November 11, 2011   One of my annoyances within the Clarify Classic Client has always been the case history.     Its just one giant text blob. You have no control over the formatting. Its in chronological order. Sometimes this is OK, but typically you have to scroll to the bottom to read the most recent activity. You don't have control over the timestamp format (DD/MM/YY vs. MM/DD/YY, as an example). The timezone of the timestamp isn't clear. It isn't easy to hide/remove certain entries. Its limited to 32K. etc…   I’ve posted in the past about the challenges of the case history, as well as how we’ve improved this within DovetailAgent.   In a recent discussion with a customer, their end users were complaining about the case history. Since they’re not yet ready to move to a Dovetail web app (Agent or…

Extracting ClearBasic code

October 11, 2011 In Clarify, it’s pretty easy to extract one (or a few) Clearbasic code module from the database using CBEX or UI Editor. But on occasion, it’s useful to be able to extract *all* the CB code. It’s not easy to do that with the baseline Clarify tools.   When diving into a customer environment, either to help re-create their environment locally, or to evaluate porting the CB code to a web-based application, it’s nice to have all the code available at once.   It’s also nice to have access to the baseline (Clarify-defined) CB code – which allows us to use baseline functions, as well as mine that code for useful tips and undocumented methods.   We have a of of scripts and utilities that we use here at Dovetail. One of them is a script to extract ClearBasic code –…

Linking a solution to a closed case

August 23, 2011 I’ve talked in the past about the functionality and benefits of linking solutions to cases, and I’ve shown how we’ve simplified the process in Dovetail Agent. One scenario that’s come up more often, especially around here, is the need to link a solution to a closed case. A common workflow we see here is: 1. A case is opened for a customer 2. We work with the customer to figure out a resolution to the issue 3. Customer uses SelfService to indicate that the resolution solved the issue, and the customer closes the case (and you know how much I love when a customer closes their own case) Now that we know that the resolution we provided did indeed solve the problem, we can create a solution, so this knowledge can be reused, should the same issue arise in the…

More on Rule Properties (Data Paths, Expressions, and Contexts)

May 3, 2011 Yuval over at NextGen Consulting has a couple of good posts on Data Paths and Expressions and Path Contexts. Paths are classically used in RuleManager properties, aliases, and auto-destination rules. More contemporary uses include CBO queries, Smart Client forms, and routing rules. A bunch of good information there – go check it out. I’ve also added links back to those posts on the Rulemanager wiki.

Reminder: Mobile Solutions webinar this week

February 28, 2011 Just a little reminder that I will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday of this week discussing Mobile Solutions for Clarify & Dovetail systems. Topics Uses for mobile applications within your support team Using mobile and other light-weight applications to extend system access to others in your organization Mobile web versus native applications Use of SMS and other mobile and telephony technologies Co-existence with existing client applications Dovetail Mobile – an overview and demonstration When Tuesday, March 1, 2011 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Central Time) Register Register at: https://dovetailsoftwareevents.webex.com/dovetailsoftwareevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=662158209

User-Defined List (Hgbst) utility

January 12, 2011 A common source of bad or corrupt data in an Amdocs/Clarify system is in the area of User-Defined lists. It’s not uncommon to find issues such as: orphaned elements duplicate elements a level referencing a non-existing element a level referencing a non-existing parent level lists that don’t have a root level elements linked to multiple levels or multiple lists lists with a loop in the element/show hierarchy etc. Many of these issues can be identified using the Data Verifier utility that is included as part of the Dovetail SDK. However, when the data is really bad, other tools may be useful. How does data get this way? The most common way that I’ve seen data end up in this state is by developers incorrectly trying to add/update user-defined list data programmatically. The data model for this data is confusing. Very…

APIs for Clarify

Static image October 23, 2007 When does it make sense to write a routine from scratch, versus using a proven API that has all the testing done? The answer comes down to time and cost of course, a different equation in each case.   A recent dialog in the ITtoolbox Clarify forum illustrates the dimension of the issue. A user asked for advice on Clarify’s Assign Case functionality, and he was hoping to find some reusable code already existing.   “The objective is: When a case is getting created with a specific information (Keyword) in a user defined field (in one of the tabs), the case needs to be automatically assigned to a specific user.” – Clarify Assign Case functionality   The auto destination rules in Clarify will make this assignment, but it requires studying the documentation – a non-trivial task in itself – to finesse the methodology.…

Clarify Rule Manager: The Final Answer

Static image October 16, 2007 Clarify Rule Manager, and Dovetail RuleManager, are the all-important modules that manage the business rules such as when to escalate an open case to the next level of response. Being able to work with Rule Manager is crucial of course, and questions arise from time to time.   One conversation about Rule Manager and Time Bombs in the ITtoolbox forums lasted for six years. Started in August 2000 with a question about time bomb errors, the thread finally ended (or so it seems) last year, when Dovetail Software, experts in the Clarify install, supplied the last word.   “When a rule changes via the Clarify classic client, Clarify creates a timebomb with the title of the rule and the flag of 131076 (0×20004). No other information on the timebomb are relevant (relations are all null, the times are the zero time, etc.).…

The Future of Amdocs Clarify

Static image June 8, 2007 How does the future look for the owner of the Amdocs Clarify CRM system?   When Amdocs acquired Clarify, it led the way in combining its specialization in billing with CRM. This was an exciting story for the industry as a whole, sparking more acquisitions, and fueling general interest in the broader integration of departments.   The story since then has been a mixed one for Amdocs customers, although the surge in CRM has led to some new integration possibilities. The upgrade path for the once-pioneering Clarify system under Amdocs has had a tortuous history, with no progression outside of the proprietary Clarify codebase, and with Amdocs moving awkwardly into thin-client experimentation. Lately the company has been developing open frameworks.   Even within the main Amdocs constituency of telecommunications, some Clarify owners have looked outside of Amdocs for help, notably with the Dovetail Software enhancements. Amdocs remains…

The Troubled Future of IT

Static image April 27, 2007 Gartner at its annual Symposium/ITxpo this week in San Francisco has presented a number of messages to the IT profession, with few holds barred.   Gartner analyst Steve Prentice said it most bluntly: “Now is not the time for complacency or mediocrity [...] This industry is in danger of becoming one of failure. We’ve come to accept mediocrity as the norm. It’s not a lack of technology or skills. The problem comes down to a lack of vision.”   This message as reported by Larry Dignan says that technology managers are essentially paralyzed, waiting for software vendors to roll out the next upgrade, and no longer capable of leading their company’s development future innovatively.   “Technology managers are mired in mediocrity, wait for technology vendors to innovate and fear being a first mover. The result: The U.S. doesn’t innovate and CIOs risk…