Tag: workflow

Automatically routing cases using Dovetail Carrier’s AutoDest Toolkit Extension

August 15, 2018 Dovetail Carrier has a number of extensions that greatly enhance your Dovetail/Clarify system. One of the more recent extensions is the AutoDest Toolkit Extension. AutoDest Toolkit Extension This extension allows for automatically assigning or dispatching workflow objects based on an auto-destination rules. Typically, these messages will originate from Dovetail Rulemanager (such as from a business rule action), although they can also originate from custom applications as well. Example Message type=CallToolkit toolkit=AutoDest method=execute ObjectType=case Operation=DISPATCH Id=12345 This example would evaluate the DISPATCH auto-destination rule for case 12345, and if a destination queue is found, the case would be dispatched to that queue. Auto-Dest Rule Here's an example of an auto-destination rule: (calltype2gbst_elm:title = "Equipment Repair") -> "Equipment Repair"; (calltype2gbst_elm:title contains "Payroll" ) -> "Payroll"; (calltype2gbst_elm:title contains "Benefits" ) -> "Benefits"; (title contains "Benefits" ) -> "Benefits"; objid > 0 -> "Support…

Automatically Scheduling and Tracking Work Items

April 3, 2018 I recently heard a customer question regarding how to manage scheduled work - such as task-based initiatives that need to be done at specific times of the week, month or year. How could I setup a task based scheduling system where I could build out my list of tasks, the frequency, attach the job aide/work instructions, then have the system assign it to a specific queue when the time for the task to be done comes up. These would all be scheduled items. Once I set the frequency of the task, there would be an engine/function that would create these tasks. I would also like to be able to report on these tasks, if they were completed, etc. As I was thinking about this, I broke it down into a few items: How could we track/manage an individual piece of work? How…

Business Rule Usage Reports in Dovetail Agent

September 12, 2017 A few years ago I wrote a post titled Getting the most out of your business rules. Most of the information in that post is still relevant today. In that post, I discussed how we can analyze the data inside our database to see which rules are firing and how often. We can do this using a Business Rule Usage Report. This report tells us what business rules are firing along with how often. Perhaps even more importantly, it allows you to see the rules that are not being fired. Perhaps those rules could be removed, or made inactive, therefore simplifying business rule administration. Or maybe they should be firing, and need further investigation.These reports are now available within Dovetail Agent. Makes sense to have this data available right alongside where you create and edit your business rules. Business Rule Usage ReportFrom the Manage…

Parent-Child Cases Extension in Dovetail Carrier

September 5, 2017 One of the available extensions within Dovetail Carrier is the Parent-Child Cases Extension, which allows for automating workflow processes involving parent and child cases. Quick Refresher on Parent and Child CasesWith parent and child cases, we can relate a group of similar problems with a root cause. The parent case identifies the root cause. A child case is a customer problem that arises due to the root cause and is linked to the parent case.For example, suppose someone knocks out a utility pole, which causes an internet outage for many customers.Each customer may call into the call center and report the outage. We can relate all of these cases to a parent case, which is where the repair is being tracked. Updates on the repair are tracked within the parent case. Only one case needs to be updated, thus removing duplicate…

Action Items 101

July 18, 2017 Dovetail Agent has a number of Work Item types. The most common are Cases, Subcases, and Solutions.In addition, there are Change Requests, Part Requests, and Action Items.Not everyone is familiar with Action Items, so this post will cover the basic of action items - what they are, how you might use them, and how they compare to cases. Action Item BasicsAction Items are simply a task that needs to be completed.The task could be any number of things - depending on how you wish to use them.For example, an Action Item could be used:To setup a customer's online account for SelfService/WebSupportAs an Operations task, such as upgrading a serverTo track a contract renewal processetc. Action Item in Dovetail Agent You can use different action item types for different tasks, so you're not limited to a single use case for…

Free Collection of Business Rule Recipes

July 10, 2017 I've often stated that Rulemanager and Business Rules within Clarify/Dovetail are the most powerful (but often underused) components of the system.And when you combine Rulemanager with Dovetail Carrier, it gets even more powerful.To demonstrate some of this power, I've created a collection of business rule recipes that will educate and inspire you to make the most of your business rules.There's over 30 business rule examples, and they stretch across a number of areas, including:User NotificationsWorkflow AutomationCustomer NotificationsIntegrating with third-party services/appsTask ManagerCalling external apps/scriptsSLA Rules (Service Level Agreement)Bonus!There's also a Business Rule Template, which is helpful when defining new business rules.It can be provided to business users, who can fill out the template and submit it to the technical staff.Get It!This Collection of Recipes and the Business Rule Template is completely free.Simply click the button below to get free access.Access the Business…

How to Automate a Workflow Process by Combining function based Rule Properties and the SDK Toolkit extension

December 21, 2016 When working with parent-child cases, a common workflow is to close the parent case when all the child cases have been closed.We can easily automate this workflow using Dovetail tools and applications. Business RuleHere’s the rule that I want to create:When the last child case is closed, close the parent case.In order for this rule to function, I need to know when the last child case is closed.I can do that by looking at the number of open child cases on the parent case. When this number is equal to zero, I know that all of the children have been closed.But, out of the box, this number is not an available property.But I can easily create my own, using the function-based rule property functionality. NumberOfOpenChildCasesOnParent Rule PropertyFollowing the examples, I can create my own function-based rule property.Given the child case objid, I…

Introducing Custom Function-based Rule Properties

December 20, 2016 Rule Properties Rule properties are used in a number of places throughout the Dovetail suite, including: Business Rule Conditions Business Rule Action Messages Canned Response Variables Task Manager Properties Email Log Templates Traditionally, a rule property would traverse a path through the schema, starting from the base object, and ending at a column. For example, the Contact First Name property for a case would use the path case_reporter2contact:first_name. However, there are instances where a path cannot be traversed, or where a calculation needs to be made. Counts For example, you may wish to fire a business rule only if all of the subcases on a case have been closed. So your two business rule conditions would be: Number of Subcases is greater than zero Number of Open Subcases is equal to zero Or, you may wish to fire…

Customer Success Story: custom workflow using the SDK Toolkit extension in Dovetail Carrier

November 14, 2016 Recently, I talked about the new SDK Toolkit Extension in Dovetail Carrier, which allows for executing methods within the Dovetail SDK Toolkits, without writing any code.I also discussed how I was able to remove some custom scripts from our own production environment, and replaced them with this new SDK Toolkit extension.I absolutely LOVE this new capability within the system, and I’m super excited to see how our customers use this power.I received an email from one of our customers this past week detailing how they’ve been able to take advantage of this new functionality.Just wanted to pass along that we implemented a biz rule action to call into the Support SDK directly in PROD. Pretty awesome stuff! Use case here is that an external process creates cases in our system via a sproc, but they wanted some additional controls as…

Comparing Parent-Child Cases to Subcases

November 4, 2016 Within Dovetail Agent, we support both Subcases, and Parent-Child Cases. A common question is: What’s the difference, and when would I use one vs the other? So lets address that question here. Subcases Subcases allow for multiple employees to work in parallel on a single Case. You can “subcontract” pieces of the work to other employees. For example, we may have a Case for a New Employee. As part of that, we can create 3 subcases: Create a General subcase for setting up the employee’s network account and dispatch to the Network queue. Create an Administrative subcase for ordering business cards and assign to the office admin. Create a General subcase for creating the user’s account in the CRM system, and dispatch to a queue based on auto-destination rules. All of those 3 subcases can be worked by different…