Activity chains is a methodology used mainly in workflows that involves interaction between service installers (contractors) working in the dpWebmap Contractor application and the Organizer desktop application at the office. The methods are however possible to use in all workflows in Organizer. Following recent development in Organizer (introducing decision points and automatic progress in workflows) the use of activity chains has been successively replaced. It is however still used in the processes for NCP (New Customer Process) and is for that reason described in this section.
Function
Activity chains links together two activity types, and takes action based on this linkage. If, in a workflow, an activity is set to "finished" (meaning it is saved with an end-date) , the system checks if this activity is part of an activity chain. If so, one of the following will happen:
•If the subsequent (linked) activity is not already part of the current workflow: The subsequent (linked) activity will be added to the end of the workflow, and set as started.
•If the subsequent (linked) activity is already present in the current workflow: The subsequent (linked) activity will be set as started, independent of its position in the workflow.
It is possible to configure activity chains so that an activity is linked to more than one subsequent activity (multiple chains). The result will then be that all these activities will be added/started as above.
Activity chains can in this way be used to successively build the workflow in a task which does not have a ready-made structure from start. This, as said, has primarily been used in tasks for NCP (New Customer Process). If choosing to use this methodology, it should be noted that the workflow of such tasks will be difficult to grasp since its forthcoming activities are 'hidden' in the activity chains. In order to get an overview and full understanding of the workflow of a task, it is necessary both to monitor what has been done so far, and what possible additional impact activity chains may have in the further processing.
The activity chain methodology will successively be replaced in Organizer by the use of task templates, decision points and automatic progress in the tasks.
Configuring activity chains
To configure activity chains, the function Administrated activity chain is used, which is located in Organizer's main menu (administrator's role is needed). The selection activates a dialog box.
In the upper left panel, the first activity type Activity type closing is located and marked. In the upper right panel, the activity type to be linked Following activity type is located, together with the inbox that will receive ownership of this activity when inserted. For more information, please reference the section "Inboxes".
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If an activity type lacks an inbox as the owner, the task manager will be set as the owner when the activity is created from the activity chain. |
By pressing the small link symbol at the bottom right of the right panel, the link is created. It is also presented in the bottom panel. Press OK or Apply when finished.
To analyze if a certain activity type is part of an activity chain, the type can be selected in one of the upper panels and then pressing the filter symbol at the bottom of the right upper panel. The system will present the eventual chains which the selected activity (activities) are involved in.
To disconnect a chain, select it in the bottom panel and use the tool Remove links located bottom right.