Creating Work Orders

The IDI platform lets you create work orders from multiple modules and objects.  You can create work orders from:

• an order via workflow actions.

• Manually in any of these web modules

  • a Customer Care account.

  • a Ticket.

  • Workflow.

Note:

When you create a work order directly from the Workflow application, the customer and site information needs to be entered manually, so it is recommended that a work order be created from a Customer, Ticket, or workflow action.

The following sections demonstrate each of the above methods.

From a Web Order Via Workflow Actions

The Workflow actions gallery has several actions to support this. The Create Work Order is required. The Wait for Signal action is optional but recommended. Also, the Set Work Order Extended Data action lets you automate setting extended data on a work order. It gives you the flexibility to determine when in your business process you want to update the extended data.

Create Work Order Action

This action is required and is located in the gallery under the Field Service Order category. It creates a work order in the IDI platform and sends the work order to Zinier.

The single action performs three functions:

• Creating/updating the Zinier customer account.

• Creating/updating the Zinier work order site.

• Creating the work order.

Review the required and optional parameters below and determine how to source the values. You can:

• Populate the values manually using user defined extended data.

• Populate the values automatically using data lookups.

• Populate the values using a combination of data lookups and manually updated data.

Parameters marked with an asterisk are required.

Note:

The Extended Data Output Key parameter and the Primary Link parameters below it apply when using extended data.

Below are examples of data lookups to populate the Customer ID and Customer Name parameters:

• Customer ID = #[Order(@[CartID]).CustomerID]

• Customer Name = #[CustomerSummary(@[CustomerID]).CustomerName]

Set Work Order Extended Data Action

The Set Work Order Extended Data action lets you update the extended data on the work order based on your specific business process. The action is available under the Field Service category.

The action has two parameters:

• Work Order ID: This is the ID of the IDI Work Order that you’re adding extended data to.

• Extended Data: This contains a JSON string of the extended data property and value you want to populate the property. For example, the JSON syntax: {“OrderID”: “@[CartID]”} will update the OrderID extended data value with the submitted order.

Note:

Ensure the property names in the JSON string match the Field Label of the Extended Data configured on the Work Order Type.

Wait for Signal

The Wait for Signal action is optional (but recommended) and is located in the gallery under the Workflow category. It provides a way for external systems to impact a running Workflow instance. This action lets the field service platform trigger the completion of the task when the work order is completed, allowing workflow to move to the next configured step. The action will remain in-process until a signal is received from an external system. When a signal is received, the system will complete all running instances of the task that have the same Signal Name.

Signals provide an abstraction over the workflow instance, allowing the workflow to be triggered without the external system needing to know anything about the workflow instance, such as specific WorkItemInstanceID values.

Signal names are simple string values assigned the Wait For Signal task. Signal names should be human readable for easier interpretation about how the signal is used. For example, a signal that indicates a field service work order was completed could have the name  FIELDSERVICE_WORKORDER_COMPLETED. Signal names are case insensitive to avoid confusion. Make the names unique within a workflow definition. They can be reused across multiple workflow definitions.

Items to Consider When Creating the Workflow Definition

Here are some items to consider when adding the field service workflow actions to a new or existing workflow definition.

When and Where:

• What types of service require field service?

  • Determine the services like fiber, hosted voice, etc., that may require a site visit.

• What types of orders (new install, disconnect, etc.) and corresponding workflows require field service?

  • Determine what types of order actions require a site visit.

• Does the workflow always require field service or should the action be placed behind a conditional?

  • Determine the type of work orders the workflow should generate and whether they’re always or conditionally required. For example, the customer site already has fiber running to the premises, so all that is required is to install the service.

• Where in the workflow should we add the actions?

• Are there steps that must be completed before creating the work order?

• Can steps run in parallel while the work order is being completed?

• What steps depend on the work order being completed?

Data Collection:

• Where should we source the information required to create a work order?

  • The information can be collected manually using User Defined Extended Data.

  • The information can be automatically populated using data lookups.

• Where am I sourcing the site address information from?

• Can I always source the site address from a consistent source, like the customer’s primary customer address?

• Should we consider creating a new “Site” contact type that is always used for field service work?

Embedding Workflow Actions in Workflows

When embedding field service actions into your workflow definition, perform the Create Work Order action first. The Wait for Signal action should come after the Work Order is completed.

Note:

Use the same workflow Signal Name value in both actions.

Creating a Work Order Manually

This can be done from an account in Customer Care, from a Ticket, or from Workflow.

Note:

When you create a work order directly from the Workflow application, the customer and site information needs to be entered manually, so it is recommended that a work order be created from a Customer, Ticket, or workflow action.

Basics

This describes the Create Work Order form which applies regardless of where you initiate the manual process. Specific procedures and considerations for Customer Care, Tickets, and Workflow are provided following this Basics section.

Initially the form provides three sections for Work Order, Customer, and Site Information.

Note:

An additional section for Extended Data is provided once the work order type has been selected. Enter the Work Order, Customer, and Site Information as applicable, then proceed to Extended Data as needed.

Managing Extended Data when Manually Creating a Work Order

The Extended Data section will display once the work order type has been selected.

Notes:

• Required extended data values must be filled in before saving and creating the work order.

• Users can change or edit any values before saving.

• Data lookups are executed upon clicking Save. As a result, the property will display the configured data lookup syntax.

Tip:

When configuring the extended data values, move the values being populated manually to the top and the data lookup values to the bottom.

Saving the work order creates the work order in Zinier and the IDI solution and opens it in Workflow. From there you can schedule work order tasks as defined by the Zinier work order template. See Viewing Work Orders in Workflow andScheduling Work Order Tasks.

From an Account in Customer Care

You can initiate a new work order from a customer’s account in Customer Care. The system prepopulates the work order site with address information collected from the account to facilitate creating new work orders. Work orders can be created from two places in Care.

• In the Information Center, select the Work Orders tab (truck icon), then click Create Work Order.

  

• From the Account Summary, select Account > Work Orders. Then click Create Work Order on the Work Orders page.

  

  

Either method displays the Create Work Order form. The first step is to select or search for a contact or service. You cannot choose both. This selection prepopulates the associated address as the work order site. Click the associated Use This Address button to select a contact or service.

Notes:

• IDI recommends using Contact as it prepopulates the Email and Site Name fields.

• Rather than use a listed contact, you can create a new contact.

• For services, the system defaults to primary customer address.  Services linked to Service Addresses are not currently supported.  The service will be displayed on the work order.

This selection enables the Select and Continue button. Click to display the New Work Order form in Workflow. The form is populated with the account, contact, and address information collected from the account. All the data can be added or updated.

Select a Work Order Type and Region, verify all required values are populated, and save.

Note:

The Region selector pulls values directly from the Zinier application to keep the values in sync.

Saving the work order creates the work order in Zinier and the IDI solution and opens it in Workflow. From there you can schedule work order tasks as defined by the Zinier work order template. See Viewing Work Orders in Workflow andScheduling Work Order Tasks.

From a Ticket

You can create work orders and view work order information directly from an IDI ticket. The system prepopulates the work order with data collected on the ticket to facilitate creating a new work order.

To create a work order from a ticket, the following criteria must be met:

• The ticket must be a Customer Ticket.

• The ticket must be assigned to a customer account.

• A contact or service affecting location must be assigned to the ticket.

Select the Work Order tab in the Ticket Information Center and click Create Work Order.

This displays the Create Work Order form. The first step is to select a contact or service. You cannot choose both. This selection prepopulates the associated address as the site for the work order. Click the associated Use This Address button.

Note:

Contact is recommended because it prepopulates the email and phone number fields.

The selection enables the Select And Continue button. Click to display additional fields on the form prepopulated with the account, contact, and address information collected from the ticket. From here the process is the same as initiating a work order from Customer Care.

From Workflow

You can create a work order directly from the Workflow application. The customer and site information needs to be entered manually, so it is recommended that a work order be created from a Customer, Ticket, or workflow action.

The intended use case is for orders not directly associated with a customer’s address. For example, a fiber cut that is not in a customer account location or for network equipment locations.

Select Create Work Order from the Work Order search page.