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Vacations and Group Tasks

DavidMusser

The action Return Group Task from the CC Pro interface is only available to the user who owns the task, and also the Master user... so in order for me not to be the go to guy when someone's on vacation :-) How have other people handled this...

-D

David R Musser
Eye Street Software
540-542-5257
dmusser@eyestreet.com
Win2k, TS 6.5 SP1, OD 6.01

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Migrateduser

You could have the group task timeout to another task which is owned by master user. This task could delegate someone else based on your configuration. I know my explanation is kind of hazy, but that's the basic idea. Perhaps you could go into more explanation of the scenario?

Dave

Current Environment(s):
(1) TS 6.1 SP1 on W2K3
(2) TS 6.1 SP2 on W2K
(3) TS 6.1 on W2K

gzevin

it's not hazy at all, in general IMO, it's a good idea to set timeouts for group tasks. It will ensure that a task is completed within a certain timeframe.

one could also use a parallel dummy task that could de-activate the group task

Greg Zevin, Ph.D. Comp. Sc.
Independent Interwoven Consultant/Architect
Sydney, AU

james1

And/or, the group task timeout could lead to an external task (running as a master) that un-takes the group task, leaving it available for someone else to now take.

-- James

--
James H Koh
Interwoven Engineering

Migrateduser

That's actually where I was going with that. I'm interested in knowing more of Musser's requirements, though, since I think the timeout transitioning to this master-owned externaltask could be what he's looking for.

Dave

Current Environment(s):
(1) TS 6.5 on Solaris 9
(2) TS 6.1 SP1 on W2K3
(3) TS 6.1 on W2K

Migrateduser

Or, the task that timed-out could be forwarded to a supervisor....

lissa

Migrateduser

And maybe, depending on how long it's been since the task was made active, a persistent popup with blinking red text in increasingly large font size could be displayed on the user's screen telling him/her to take the task. The vocabulary used could incrementally become more threatening as time goes by, also.

Of course, I'm not implying that I work in an environment like this

Dave

Current Environment(s):
(1) TS 6.5 on Solaris 9
(2) TS 6.1 SP1 on W2K3
(3) TS 6.1 on W2K

report.zip

pssptest.zip

DavidMusser

That was what I was looking for the blinking red text!!!!!

David R Musser
Eye Street Software
540-542-5257
dmusser@eyestreet.com
Win2k, TS 6.5 SP1, OD 6.01

DavidMusser

On a serious note... I'm just trying to NOT be the one that's called in the middle of the night... cause where I am is a 24 hour a day place... and told... oh we forgot Joe's on vacation and he took this task last week, and we have to get it off his plate now :-)

The other case is that a supervisor is going in and not really taking the task, but more of it's assigned to a group, and that person goes into the properties and says oh Sam should have it... then if the person changes their mind again I'm getting the late night call...

I think what this needs is a custom menu item ;-) Or something added to CCStd or Pro... I think they are called.. links now ;-)

I do like the timeout tasks, but my goups said oh sometimes the task is a couple weeks long etc... so I think I'll create a window that and editor or above can go in, and see all active group tasks for a specific branch, and give them the option to send them back to the group. It's not the most glamours thing in the world, but I think that's the way I'm gonna go.

That or the other thing I was thinking was a parallel group thak that when taken simply takes you down a path that un-takes the other task, and then re-assigns both group tasks...

I just wanted to see how other people handled vacations... A requirement that they've said they want "SOmeday" and thankfully it's in the way out future.. is to be able to say in outlook, or in ldap... I'm on vacation and then they will automatically be removed from the group tasks that are assigned that week (so their inbox) doesn't get clogged, and any tasks that they own are automatically transitioned to another user that they can set... but as I said that's in the future. Anyone doing anything amazing with Vacations?

David R Musser
Eye Street Software
540-542-5257
dmusser@eyestreet.com
Win2k, TS 6.5 SP1, OD 6.01

Migrateduser

Then why not have the timeout transition back to the grouptask in question, but after the transition, it's an unclaimed grouptask? I THINK that addresses what you're saying, but the custom menu item you're mentioning is a great idea and can be a 2nd level of auditing. I've actually done something like this recently but embedded the auditing capability into the CGI task of a parent task -- but, I'm not at all suggesting you put this into a nested workflow if it doesn't have to be!

Dave

Current Environment(s):
(1) TS 6.5 on Solaris 9
(2) TS 6.1 SP1 on W2K3
(3) TS 6.1 on W2K

DavidMusser

Dave,

Yes in someways I want to go to the timeout, but I'm just not sure that they won't keep a task forever, and if I time it out they will say.. .but I own that task...
I'm still thinking on it... Also one of the group tasks I have the group is the admin's who can edit files... so if I timeout the task and they are only partially done the edits...

The same problem is there if they take the task in a gui, but at least then it's a human saying no take this task and not a timer... Thanks again for the input.

David R Musser
Eye Street Software
540-542-5257
dmusser@eyestreet.com
Win2k, TS 6.5 SP1, OD 6.01

Migrateduser

Sorry to say this, but you can do only so much. Your users need to be intelligent enough and have enough business sense to adhere to the rules of their content management system; this is why customers need to sign off on policies and it sounds like you're trying to wear so many hats! They need to take ownership of their own established process and not look to you to invent some black box that'll circumvent the system at their own convenience.

I think a timeout task with perhaps email notification and a GUI auditing tool is entirely reasonable.

Dave

Current Environment(s):
(1) TS 6.5 on Solaris 9
(2) TS 6.1 SP1 on W2K3
(3) TS 6.1 on W2K

DavidMusser

I agree, again I'm just looking for ideas... also to see if anyone has created the I'm on vacation tool in TS :-)

David R Musser
Eye Street Software
540-542-5257
dmusser@eyestreet.com
Win2k, TS 6.5 SP1, OD 6.01

Adam Stoller

I haven't had to create a vacation-tool for TS - but thinking along the lines of what you were saying - consider a cron (or WinAT) job that periodically checks the calendar program or ldap or some list that's maintained through some other GUI for users who are on vacation and that then performs querys to find any active [group] tasks own by those individuals and performs the various operations of 'untaketask' and sending email notification.

It might take a while to finely tune it - but I don't think it would be that difficult to design and implement (the hard stuff would be figuring out where/how you find out about people being on vacation)

--fish
Senior Consultant, Quotient Inc.
http://www.quotient-inc.com