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Manager Administration
Guide
Version 8.1
March 2008
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Contents
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide 1
Chapter 1:
Whats New in This Release
Chapter 2:
Finding and Using Assignment Manager
Information
How to Use the Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide
Important Assignment Manager Resources
14
Information on Assignment Manager Seed Data
Chapter 3:
16
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager
Assignment Manager Terminology
Assignment Concepts
17
19
Essential Assignment Manager Building Blocks
22
Optional Assignment Manager Building Blocks
28
Assignment Manager Operating Modes
30
Specialized Assignment Manager Features
Modes for Processing Assignment Rules
Chapter 4:
32
33
Planning Your Assignment Manager
Implementation
Guidelines for Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation
Planning Your Assignment Manager Deployment
Guidelines for Creating Assignment Rules
Planning Optimal Assignment Rules
35
36
37
37
Scenarios for Using Assignment Manager
Chapter 5:
13
39
Assignment Rule Administration
About the Assignment Manager Administration Views
About Assignment Rule Administration
41
43
Before Defining Assignment Rules 43
Process of Defining Assignment Rules 44
Creating Assignment Rule Groups 46
About Some of the Assignment Rule Fields
48
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Creating Assignment Rules 51
Adding Employees, Positions, and Organizations to Assignment Rules 54
Adding a Sequence Number to Assignment Rules 57
How Assignment Manager Determines the Sequence in Which Rules Are Evaluated 58
Defining Assignment Rules to Use a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects 59
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee 60
Defining Server Key Maps for Assignment Rule Groups 61
How Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to Load Rules to a Particular Siebel
Server 62
Preparing to Release Assignment Rules 63
Releasing Assignment Rules 64
About Migrating Assignment Rules 65
Assignment Methodology and Examples for Creating Assignment Rules
65
Assignment Methodology 66
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules Based on Territories 70
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules That Combine Criteria
72
Example of Creating Assignment Rules for Service Organizations 74
About Assignment Criteria
76
Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods 76
Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods 77
About Assignment Scoring 79
About the Required Field for Assignment Criteria 80
Removing Assignment Criteria from Assignment Rules
82
Process of Adding Criteria and Values to Assignment Rules
82
Adding Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules 82
Adding Criteria Values to Assignment Criteria 86
About Assignment Skills, Expertise Codes, and Weighting Factors
88
Scenario for Using Assignment Skills 90
Associating Skills with Employees, Positions, and Organizations 90
Example of Using Assignment Skills in Assignment Rules 92
Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors
93
How Assignment Manager Balances Workload Among Candidates
Process of Defining Assignment Workload
97
98
Creating Assignment Workload Distribution Rules 99
Applying Assignment Workload Distribution to Employees, Positions, and Organizations
100
About Assignment Policies
103
Process of Defining Assignment Policies for Dynamic Assignment
Deactivating Assignment Policies to Disable Dynamic Assignment
Generating Assignment Reports
4
103
105
105
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Chapter 6:
Basic Assignment Manager Configuration
About Performing Basic Assignment Manager Configuration Tasks
About Assignment Manager Object Types
108
109
About Assignment Manager Object Type Hierarchy and Relationships
About Assignment Objects
111
113
Configuring Assignment Object Properties 114
Configuring Assignment Objects for Interactive Assignment
Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills 119
Example of Enabling an Assignment Object for Skills 120
Viewing Predefined Skills 121
115
Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules
121
Creating Assignment Attributes 122
Enabling Assignment Attributes for MLOV 125
Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy
Component Column 125
Creating Assignment Criteria 127
Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria 129
Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects
132
Creating a Workflow Policy Component for Two Objects 132
Mapping a Column to the Workflow Policy Component 133
Mapping the Workflow Policy Component to the Assignment Attribute
Example of Using a Single Criterion for Two Objects
133
134
Creating a Workflow Policy Component Using the Account and Opportunity Objects 134
Mapping the Opportunity Workflow Policy Component to the Opportunity Lead Contact
Assignment Criteria 135
Mapping the Account/Opportunity Workflow Policy Component to the Lead Quality Code
Assignment Attribute 136
About Inactive Assignment Manager Workflow Policy Components
About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills
Disabling Assignment Attributes
137
138
140
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations
Chapter 7:
141
Working with Dynamic Candidates
About Dynamic Candidates
143
About Dynamic Candidate Types
144
Examples of Dynamic Candidate Assignment
146
Example of Assigning Dynamic Candidates to the Same Object
148
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates
150
Configuring Assignment Objects for Dynamic Candidates 151
Configuring Join Specifications for Dynamic Candidate Object Definitions
Mapping Columns From Source Tables to Team-Based Criteria 154
Copying Dynamic Candidate Attribute Columns to the Team Table 155
Adding Dynamic Candidate Teams to Assignment Rules 156
Chapter 8:
152
Assignment Rule Administration for Delegated
Assignment
About Delegated Assignment
159
Scenario for Delegated Assignment 160
Sample Delegated Assignment Process Flowchart 162
About Setting Up Assignment Rules for Delegation 163
About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy
163
The Rule Group Explorer 163
Parent and Root-Level Rule Groups 165
Assignment Owners and Designees 166
Assignment Rule Inheritance 166
Rule Group Visibility and Permissions 166
Automating the Menu Options: Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy and Rule
Group Hierarchy 167
Regenerating Rule Groups Hierarchy 167
Regenerating Rule Hierarchy 167
Setting Up Assignment Responsibility for Designees
168
Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable
169
Creating Child Assignment Rule Groups 169
Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List 170
Adding Criteria Templates to Assignment Rules 170
Process of Inheriting and Refining Delegated Assignment Rules
Inheriting Delegated Assignment Rules 172
Applying Criteria Templates to Inherited Assignment Rules
Examples for Using Delegated Assignment
171
172
173
Scenario for Working with Delegated Administrators 173
Delegated Assignment Example 1: Assignment Administrator Tasks 175
Delegated Assignment Example 2: Second-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks 177
Delegated Assignment Example 3: Third-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks 178
Delegated Assignment Example 4: Third-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks for Partners
179
Summary for Examples of Working with Delegated Administrators 180
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Chapter 9:
Running Assignment Manager
Preparing to Run Assignment Manager
181
Checking the State of Assignment Manager and Server Request Broker Components
Modifying the Assignment Manager Server Component Parameters 182
Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn Parameter Information 191
Setting the Log Level of Assignment Manager Events 193
About Server Administration Requirements After Configuration 194
About Server Administration Requirements for Assignment Modes 195
Running Assignment Manager in Denormalization Mode
Running Interactive Assignment
196
198
Running Interactive Assignment from the UI 198
Example of Running Interactive Assignment for Service Requests from the UI
About Running Interactive Assignment in Rule Group Mode 200
Running Dynamic Assignment
199
200
Process of Running Dynamic Assignment 201
About Tuning Dynamic Assignment for Performance 207
Activating Contact Denormalization for Dynamic Assignment
About Running Batch Assignment
207
208
Running Batch Assignment 208
Running Batch Assignment Using the Command-Line Interface 211
About Running Multiple Instances of Assignment Manager in Batch Mode
About Tuning Batch Assignment for Performance 213
Running Mobile Assignment
182
212
214
About Assignment Manager Rule Cache Files
216
About Using External Components to Invoke Assignment Manager
217
About Tuning Assignment Manager for Performance in a DB2 Deployment
218
About Using an Object Where Clause to Restrict the Number of Records Processed
219
Chapter 10: Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration
Requirements for Completing Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration
Creating Assignment Objects
Creating New Skills
222
222
223
Example of Using Skill Tables
223
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Assigning Objects Based on the Primary Address
224
Assigning Child Accounts Based on Parents Primary Address
Reassigning Accounts to a Different Primary Position
Maintaining the Manually Assigned Primary Position
Routing of Assignments to Mobile Users
225
227
229
230
Stopping Assignment of the Default Organization
Stopping Assignment of Organizations for Accounts
230
231
Setting the Lock Assignment Default Value for Activity Assignment Objects
232
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy Additional Columns to the Team Table
Example of Copying Additional Columns to the Team Table
233
234
Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring
235
Extending an Objects Base Table for Team Scoring 236
Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring 236
Example of Configuring the Opportunity Assignment Object for Team Scoring
About Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns
237
239
Process of Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy Columns 240
Copying Columns Using the UI 241
Copying Columns Using the Command-Line Interface 242
240
Configuring Assignment Manager to Use Reporting Tables and Columns
Configuring Assignment Objects for Multitiered Assignment 246
Scenarios for Using Multitiered Assignment with Sales Assignment Rules
Configuring Assignment Manager to Add Scores Across Rules
243
247
252
Chapter 11: Availability-Based Assignment
About Availability-Based Assignment
255
About Assigning Employees to Assignment Rules Based on Availability
256
How Assignment Manager Creates Activities for Employees During Availability-Based
Assignment 257
Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment
258
Extending an Assignment Objects Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment 259
Configuring Assignment Object Properties for Availability-Based Assignment 260
Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for Availability-Based Assignment 263
Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment Object for Availability-Based
Assignment 265
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
Chapter 12: Assignment Load Splitter Configuration
How Load Splitter Configuration Works
269
Scenarios for Load Splitter Configuration
Setting Up Load Splitter Configuration
270
270
Examples for Administering the Load Splitter
Load Splitter Operating Modes
Distribute Data Method
272
273
274
Appendix A: Troubleshooting: Assignment Manager Error
Messages
Viewing Assignment Manager Error Messages
Assignment Manager Error Messages
277
277
Index
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Contents
10
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Whats New in This Release
Whats New in Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide,
Version 8.1
This guide has been updated to reflect product name changes.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
11
Whats New in This Release
12
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Finding and Using Assignment
Manager Information
This chapter covers how to find and use information in the Siebel Assignment Manager
Administration Guide and in other sources relevant to Oracles Siebel Assignment Manager. It
includes the following topics:
How to Use the Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide on page 13
Important Assignment Manager Resources on page 14
Information on Assignment Manager Seed Data on page 16
How to Use the Siebel Assignment
Manager Administration Guide
This guide provides information necessary to configure, administer, and implement Assignment
Manager. Chapters are organized in a way that allows users to move throughout the guide for various
tasks. Use Table 1 as a guideline to determine which chapters you should review and familiarize
yourself with before using Assignment Manager.
Table 1.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Organization
Chapter or Appendix
Administrator
Developer
Chapter 1, Whats New in This Release
Chapter 2, Finding and Using Assignment Manager Information
Chapter 3, Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager
Chapter 4, Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation
Chapter 6, Basic Assignment Manager Configuration
Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration
Chapter 7, Working with Dynamic Candidates
Chapter 8, Assignment Rule Administration for Delegated
Assignment
Chapter 9, Running Assignment Manager
Chapter 10, Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration
Chapter 11, Availability-Based Assignment
Chapter 12, Assignment Load Splitter Configuration
Appendix A, Troubleshooting: Assignment Manager Error
Messages
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
13
Finding and Using Assignment Manager Information Important Assignment Manager
Resources
Important Assignment Manager
Resources
Assignment Manager is just one of many server processes available in Siebel Business Applications.
Several other server processes contribute to Assignment Manager functionality. The resources
described in this topic provide additional information relevant to Assignment Manager.
Technical Documentation
The following Siebel documentation should be used as additional references when using Assignment
Manager with these processes:
Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide for information about business processes
and workflows
Siebel Object Types Reference for descriptions of and usage comments for assignment object
properties
Using Siebel Tools for information about how to modify standard Siebel objects and create new
objects to meet your organizations business requirements.
Siebel Deployment Documentation Suite, including:
Siebel System Administration Guide for details on how to administer, maintain, and expand
your Siebel servers
Configuring Siebel Business Applications for information about configuring Siebel Business
Applications using Siebel Tools
Siebel Deployment Planning Guide to familiarize yourself with the basics of the underlying
Siebel application architecture
Siebel System Monitoring and Diagnostics Guide
Going Live with Siebel Business Applications for information about how to migrate
customizations from the development environment to the production environment
Siebel Security Guide for information about built-in seed data in the enterprise database,
such as employee, position, and organization records.
Siebel Performance Tuning Guide for information about tuning and monitoring specific areas
of the Siebel applications architecture and infrastructure, such as the Siebel Server
infrastructure and Siebel Workflow.
Siebel Data Model Reference for information about how data used by Siebel applications is stored
in a standard third-party relational DBMS such as DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, or Oracle as well
as defines some of the data integrity constraints validated by Siebel Business Applications. Plan
to use this guide for data entry, running limited scope queries, and managing processes like call
scripting.
Siebel eScript Language Reference for information about writing scripts to extend Assignment
Manager functionary.
Siebel SmartScript Administration Guide for information about one way of triggering
assignments.
14
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Finding and Using Assignment Manager Information Important Assignment Manager
Resources
Oracle Technology Network and OracleMetaLink 3
These Oracle technical support Web sites provide search-engine access to Technical Notes, Siebel
Alerts, troubleshooting information, topics on the Siebel Bookshelf, and other important information.
Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network
(OTN). A definitive list of system requirements and supported platforms for the release, including
the following:
Information on supported third-party products
A description of supported upgrade paths
Lists of product and feature limitations; either unavailable in the release or in certain
operating environments
It is located on OTN at http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/siebel.html.
Siebel Release Notes on OracleMetaLink 3. The most current information on known product
anomalies and workarounds and any late-breaking information that the Siebel Assignment
Manager Administration Guide may not yet contain. Release Notes are now categorized as a
Readme Doc Type on OracleMetaLink 3.
Siebel Maintenance Release Guides. Important information about updates to applications in
maintenance releases. Maintenance Release Guides are now categorized as a Readme Doc Type
on OracleMetaLink 3.
Technical Notes. Important information on specific Assignment Manager issues. Technical
Notes are now categorized as a Bulletin Doc Type on OracleMetaLink 3. Technical Notes of
particular importance include:
Doc ID 476985.1: Information about troubleshooting issues for Dynamic Assignment. This
document was formerly published as Siebel Technical Note 436.
Doc ID 477360.1: Information about setting up the Activity assignment object for
availability-based assignment. This document was formerly published as Siebel Technical
Note 527.
FAQs. Information on various Assignment Manager topics. FAQs are now categorized as a How
To Doc Type on OracleMetaLink 3. FAQs of particular importance include:
Doc ID 475577.1: How Do You Run the Contact Denormalization Object in Dynamic and Batch
Mode? This document was formerly published as Siebel FAQ 1004.
Doc ID 476384.1: How to remove Contacts from Accounts and Opportunities that have the
Indirect Flag set? This document was formerly published as Siebel FAQ 1629.
Doc ID 476619.1: How can tracing be increased for Assignment Manager? This document was
formerly published as Siebel FAQ 1762.
Doc ID 478127.1: Can Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy and Regenerate
Denormalized Rule Group Hierarchy Menu Options Be Automated in Siebel Version 7.7.x?
This document was formerly published as Siebel FAQ 2202.
Alerts. Time-critical information on key product behaviors and issues. Alerts are located on
OracleMetaLink 3.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
15
Finding and Using Assignment Manager Information Information on Assignment
Manager Seed Data
Information on Assignment Manager
Seed Data
Siebel Business Applications include a sample database that contains example data of various kinds
and that you can use in demonstrating, evaluating, or experimenting with the Siebel client and Siebel
Tools. For more information about the sample database, see the Siebel Installation Guide for the
operating system you are using.
The enterprise database of your default Siebel application contains some built-in seed data, such as
employee, position, and organization records. You can use this seed data for training or testing, or
as templates for the real data that you enter. For more information about seed data, including
descriptions of seed data records, see Siebel Security Guide.
16
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Overview of Siebel Assignment
Manager
This chapter provides an overview of Siebel Assignment Manager concepts and functionality. It
includes the following topics:
Assignment Manager Terminology on page 17
Assignment Concepts on page 19
Essential Assignment Manager Building Blocks on page 22
Optional Assignment Manager Building Blocks on page 28
Assignment Manager Operating Modes on page 30
Specialized Assignment Manager Features on page 32
Modes for Processing Assignment Rules on page 33
Assignment Manager Terminology
Siebel Assignment Manager uses different terminology than what you may be accustomed to in
standard business terminology. Table 2 compares some of these terms and describes how they differ
from standard business terminology and what they represent in the context of the Assignment
Manager application. You should familiarize yourself with these terms before planning and creating
your assignment rules.
Table 2.
Differences Between Siebel Assignment Manager and Standard Business Terminology
Business
Term
Siebel Assignment
Manager Term
Territories
Assignment Rules
Description
In standard business terminology, a territory is a collection
of accounts, contacts, and or assets that are managed by a
team of positions. Usually a territory is based on a
geographic area: either a collection of postal codes or
geographic zones.
In Siebel Assignment Manager, an assignment rule is a
collection of logical business boundaries. These business
boundaries include:
Geographic. ZIP Code, Province, City, State, Country,
and so on.
Non-geographic. Named Accounts, Industries, Products
and Product Lines, Revenue, Sales Stage, Lead Quality,
Service Request Area, Service Request Subarea, and so
on.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
17
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Assignment Manager Terminology
Table 2.
Differences Between Siebel Assignment Manager and Standard Business Terminology
Business
Term
Siebel Assignment
Manager Term
Territories
(continued)
Assignment Rules
(continued)
Description
You can also enforce additional business rules using
assignment rules. For example, you can define a rule so that
a specific account manager manages a particular account
and the accounts related opportunities.
NOTE: The word territory is used in other places in the UI,
where it is not related to the assignment territory features
described in this guide. For example, the terms described in
this table are not the same as the terms used with the
Siebel Territory Management application.
Territory
Conditions
Assignment Criteria
In standard business terminology, territory conditions
constrain the accounts, contacts, and assets that can be
assigned.
In Siebel Assignment Manager, assignment criteria enforce
business conditions when applied to assignment rules. An
assignment rule can have one or more assignment criteria.
For example, if a sales representatives territory is Northern
California, but excludes City Y and Z for Products A, B, and
C, then there are three territory conditions (assignment
criteria) that define the sales representative's territory. The
three conditions are:
Territory
Condition
Values
Assignment Criteria
Values
Province, City, or ZIP Code (to identify Northern
California)
City Y and City Z (for exclusion)
Products A, B, and C
In standard business terminology, territory condition values
are applied to territory conditions to further constrain the
accounts, contacts, and assets that can be assigned.
In Siebel Assignment Manager, assignment criteria values are
applied to a specific assignment criterion for a particular
business condition. For example:
18
A ZIP Code assignment criterion could have the
following criteria values: 94401, 94402, 94403, or
94406.
A service request assignment criterion could have the
following criteria values: CD-ROM, 401K Account,
Billing, or so on.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Assignment Concepts
Table 2.
Differences Between Siebel Assignment Manager and Standard Business Terminology
Business
Term
Siebel Assignment
Manager Term
Business
Entity
Assignment Object
Description
In standard business terminology, business entities can be
Accounts, Opportunities, Contacts, Sales Leads, Orders,
Campaigns, Service Requests, Trouble Tickets, Activities,
eMail, and so on. The business representatives for these
entities include field service agents, telesales
representatives, account executives, and so on.
In Siebel Assignment Manager, business entities are known
as assignment objects. An assignment rule is associated
with one or more assignment objects.
Territory
Managers
and Territory
Teams
Assignment
Candidates
In standard business terminology, territory managers and
territory teams are generic terms used mostly in sales
organizations. For a given business boundary, territory
managers and their teams manage accounts, opportunities,
contacts, or other business entities (or a combination of any
or all of these). They are associated with a particular sales
business entityAccount, Opportunity, Contact, and
Partner, and so onbecause they satisfy or qualify for the
business conditions enforced by their organizations.
In Siebel Assignment Manager, assignment candidates
apply not only to sales entities but to service entities as
well. Service objects (entities) include Service Request,
Product Defect, and so on. For sales organizations,
candidates are positions or organizations. For example, a
territory for a sales representative might be Northern
California, with the exclusion of City Y and City Z for
Products A, B, and C. For service organizations, candidates
are employees or organizations. For example, a territory for
a field service installation technician might be City A and
City B.
Assignment Concepts
Siebel Assignment Manager routes business entities and work items to the most appropriate
candidates by enforcing business rules set by sales, service, and marketing organizations.
Assignment Manager does this by matching candidates (that is, employees, positions, and
organizations) to predefined and user-configurable assignment objects. To assign the most qualified
candidate to each object, Assignment Manager applies assignment rules that you define to each
candidate.
To define assignment rules, you select:
Objects to at each assignment rule applies
Rule groups to which each assignment rule belongs
Candidatesperson (employee or position), organization, or bothfor each assignment rule
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
19
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Assignment Concepts
Criteria for each assignment rule
(Optional) Values for assignment criteria
For rules that match attributes of an assignment object with attributes of candidates, you can
optionally define:
Skills to match assignment rules to candidate attributes
A skill is a generic row-level attribute that qualifies a person, organization, or assignment object
row. For example, if an employee speaks English and Spanish, language is the skill he or she
possesses, and English and Spanish are the skill items. Employee, position, and organization
skills are used to store skills possessed; the skill tables for objects are used to store skills
required. Assignment Manager uses skill tables to do skill matching by comparing the skills on
the object with the skills of an employee, position, or organization to determine who passes the
rule.
Expertise levels to weigh skill scores (to measure competency in a certain area for each
candidate)
Scores for each assignment rule, criterion, and value and a personal score for each individual
candidate
For example:
In a sales organization, you can create an assignment rule that scores positions (candidates)
based on territory definitions (criteria) for an opportunity (object).
In a service organization, you can create an assignment rule that scores employees
(candidates) based on product expertise (criteria) for a service request or product defect
(object).
Using the sum of scores at the assignment rule level, Assignment Manager assigns the best
candidate for each rule and the best candidates for the object.
Defining workload distribution rules to balance work among the candidates
Define workload distribution rules if you want to distribute the workload rules evenly between
the candidates or if your business logic includes limits on the maximum amount of work that can
be handled at one time.
You can also customize the way Assignment Manager makes assignments by:
20
Defining how attributes are matched by:
Using different comparison methods
Making criteria required (compulsory) or optional
Using inclusion and exclusion methods
Using workload distribution rules
Using wildcard values
Defining how assignment rules are matched by using:
Assignment rule groups
Assignment rule sequencing
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Assignment Concepts
Defining how candidates are assigned based on person and organization relationships using
multitiered assignment
Creating and configuring your own entities, including:
Assignment objects
Assignment criteria
Assignment attributes
Workload distribution rules to make assignments based on current workload
Dynamic candidates and candidate teams that are assigned dynamically depending on the
object row assigned
Running Assignment Manager in different operating modes to process assignments:
Interactively in real time
Dynamically when object rows are created or attributes on object rows are changed by
connected or mobile users
Periodically assigning objects in batches
Running Assignment Manager against reporting tables to test the desired behavior of assignment
rules and rule groups before running against production tables
Checking availability before assigning employees to objects
Defining which servers are used to run selected groups of rules
Delegating the task of creating business logic through rules and criteria to others
Summary of Assignment Manager Customization Tasks
Table 3 summarizes the Assignment Manager customization tasks and where you can find more
information.
Table 3.
Summary of Assignment Manager Customization Tasks
Task
For More Information, See
Define assignment rules
Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44
Match attributes of an assignment object
with attributes of candidates
About Assignment Skills, Expertise Codes, and
Weighting Factors on page 88
Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with
Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors on
page 93
Eliminates candidates with a workload of more
than two items if the workload distribution rule is
marked as Required on page 97
Process of Defining Assignment Workload on
page 98
Defining workload distribution rules to
balance work among the candidates
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
21
Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Essential Assignment Manager Building
Blocks
Table 3.
Summary of Assignment Manager Customization Tasks
Task
For More Information, See
Define how attributes are matched
Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration
Define how assignment rules are matched
using rule groups and rule sequencing
Creating Assignment Rule Groups on page 46
Adding a Sequence Number to Assignment Rules
on page 57
Define how candidates are assigned based
on person and organization relationships
using multitiered assignment
Configuring Assignment Objects for Multitiered
Assignment on page 246
Create and configure your own entities
Chapter 6, Basic Assignment Manager
Configuration
Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration
Chapter 7, Working with Dynamic Candidates
Chapter 10, Advanced Assignment Manager
Configuration
Run Assignment Manager in different
operating modes to process assignments
Chapter 9, Running Assignment Manager
Running what-if analysis on possible
assignments before making actual
assignments
About Running Assignment Manager in Reporting
Mode on page 214
Define which servers are used to run
selected groups of rules
How Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to
Load Rules to a Particular Siebel Server on page 62
Delegate the task of creating business logic
through rules and criteria to others
Chapter 8, Assignment Rule Administration for
Delegated Assignment
Check availability before assigning
employees to objects
Chapter 11, Availability-Based Assignment
Essential Assignment Manager Building
Blocks
Siebel Assignment Manager consists of several essential building blocks. A brief description of each
is provided in the following subtopics; each subtopic is described in greater detail in other chapters
throughout this guide.
Assignment Rules
An assignment rule is a logical collection of business conditions, and Assignment Manager evaluates
potential candidates based on these rules. For example, assume the U.S. Western Sales
Representative position is responsible for sales of Products A, B, and C in Zip codes 944401, 94402,
94403.
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In Siebel Assignment Manager, this example translates as follows:
An assignment rule exists for the US Western region.
The assignment rule candidate is the US Western Sales Representative.
One criterion for the assignment rule includes only those accounts with 94401, 94402, and 94403
Zip Codes.
Another criterion for the assignment rule includes only products in the Product A, B, or C product
line.
Siebel Assignment Manager uses assignment rules to match assignment objects to candidates.
Multiple assignment rules can be active for each assignment object. An assignment rule can also
apply to multiple objects.
Assignment rules use criteria and scores to rate candidates and select potential assignees.
Candidates that qualify for an assignment rule have the assignment rule score added to their total
score. For example, if you have an assignment rule with the Score field set to 20 points, each
candidate that meets the rule's criteria has 20 points applied to his or her total score.
Each assignment rule also has a candidate passing score value. After the total score for a candidate
is calculated, Assignment Manager compares this score with the candidate passing score for the
assignment rule. If a candidates score is less than the candidate passing score, the candidate does
not meet the criteria and is not assigned.
Assignment Objects
In Siebel Assignment Manager, assignment objects represent assignment entities to which
candidates are matched based on assignment rules. The concept is analogous to business objects in
Siebel Business Applications. You must associate every assignment rule with at least one assignment
object.
Assignment Criteria and Criteria Values
Assignment criteria are the fundamental building blocks for assignment rules. You translate the
assignment business logic you determine into assignment criteria. Assignment rules use criteria to
determine which candidates qualify as potential assignees. Criteria also determine which assignment
rule should be evaluated in assigning an object. An assignment rule can include none (zero), one, or
many criteria.
An assignment criterion is usually defined along with criteria values. For example, assume you want
an assignment requirement that employees speak German. When you create your assignment rule,
you select the predefined Language rule criterion and German (or DEU, which is the language code
for German) as the criterion value.
You can have several criteria values for the same criterion. For example, Figure 1 shows a Language
rule criterion that uses four languages as criteria values: German, Spanish, Italian, and French.
Assuming this assignment rules candidate passing score is 10 points, and each language is worth 5
points, candidates for this assignment rule that possess expertise in at least two of these languages
qualify for the assignment rule.
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Figure 1.
Sample Assignment Criterion with Multiple Criteria Values
Assignment Manager provides predefined criteria values that are available dynamically based upon
the criterion you select, or you can create your own criteria values using Siebel Tools. For example,
if you want activities of type Repair or Break-fix handled by a certain employee, create a rule criterion
called Activity Type with two criteria values, Repair and Break-fix. For more information about
creating new criteria with values, see Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment
Rules on page 121.
Assignment Rule Groups
Assignment Manager allows you to group assignment rules, splitting them up by business function
or other categories. An assignment rule group can include multiple assignment rules, however, an
assignment rule can belong to only one rule group. You must associate each assignment rule with a
rule group.
TIP: If you do not want to create your own rule groups, you can associate all assignment rules to
the Default Rule Group. The Default Rule Group is provided in the Assignment Manager seed data.
Rules upgraded from versions prior to version 7.7 Assignment Manager are automatically associated
with the Default Rule Group, if you have not already assigned a specific rule group.
Before the introduction of rule groups, Assignment Manager processed all active rules, which
required several administration tasks to execute Assignment Manager only on a subset of rules. For
example, one of the tasks required was to expire all unwanted rules. Since the introduction of rule
groups in version 7.7, you can split rules and execute a subset of rules at any time.
For example, you can have one set of business rules for assigning repair activities and another set
of rules for assigning similar, but different, activities, such as appointment activities. In this
situation, you could create two rule groups with five rules each. Then, when assigning a particular
activity, you specify the rule group you want Assignment Manager to process. Only the five rules from
the rule group you specified are processed during assignment of the activity, for example, the five
repair activity rules.
NOTE: Typically, you want to split rules into rule groups based on business logic.
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Assignment Candidates
In Siebel Assignment Manager, candidates represent the people or organizations who are evaluated
as potential assignees for objects. Depending on the assignment rule you use, and the object to
which a candidate is assigned, candidates can be positions, employees, or organizations, and can be
assigned as individuals or as members of a team. Alternatively, you can associate all people or all
organizations defined in the database as candidates for a rule. You can also specify a particular
candidate or one member of a team as the primary assignee on a specific assignment rule.
Static Versus Dynamic Candidates
When processing rules, Assignment Manager determines potential candidates either statically or
dynamically. Assignment Manager determines candidates statically when:
Candidates are explicitly added to an assignment rule
The All People or All Organizations flags are checked on an assignment rule
When qualifying candidates based on their skills
Static candidates do not change as Assignment Manager processes rules (unless you intentionally
associate other, different candidates) whereas dynamic candidates are identified during assignment.
Dynamic candidates can come from different, but related business entities. For example, Assignment
Manager can assign an activity related to an asset and then dynamically generate a candidate list
from the asset team.
Assignment Manager determines dynamic candidates as potential assignees for objects from an
attribute on the object row. For example, assume you have an activity that is associated to an asset.
The asset, in turn, is associated with a list of employees. You may want Assignment Manager to treat
the list of employees associated with the asset as potential candidates for assignment of that activity.
In this situation, the potential candidates are dynamic candidates because they are not statically
associated with an assignment rule; instead, they are identified during assignment. In addition, if
the activity gets associated with a different asset that is associated with a different set of employees,
the list of potential candidates for the same activity can change during the next assignment.
In summary, the following points explain how static candidate assignment differs from dynamic
candidate assignment:
For static candidate assignment, candidates for each assignment rule are loaded when the server
processes start up.
For dynamic candidate assignment, candidates are retrieved from related business entities
(attribute team table) with respect to the object row during an assignment.
Employee Candidates
Employees represent candidates distinguished by their skills and product expertise and are typically
used as candidates in service organizations. For example, a service organization would want to
assign employees with the proper skills and expertise to objects, because these employees possess
specific skills that are related to the service request or activity. Assignment Manager can also take
into account a specific employees work schedule, calendar, and regional schedule when determining
assignments by creating rules based on an employees availability. For more information about
availability-based assignment, see Chapter 11, Availability-Based Assignment.
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Position Candidates
Positions represent candidates distinguished by their job functions and are typically used as
candidates in sales organizations. For example, a sales organization would want to assign positions
to objects, because these positions are responsible for a region or territory.
By assigning objects to positions, you can have one sales representative inherit the opportunities,
accounts, and contacts from another representative by reassigning the employee responsible for a
specific position.
NOTE: An assignment object can be either position-based or employee-based, but not both.
Assignment Manager does not support assignment of employees and positions to the same
assignment object.
Organization Candidates
An organization represents a group of positions that has limited visibility to particular application
data. For example, your company can create separate and distinct organizations to distribute specific
information to organizational groups both inside and outside of your enterprise. Both internal and
external users are granted access only to the information that they should see (such as accounts,
opportunities, and contacts) and data they need to see (such as price lists, products, and literature).
By assigning objects to organizations, you can maintain better security and promote proper business
practices by controlling data access and visibility between different organizations. For example, you
can limit your distributors data access by giving them visibility to product information, but restricting
their visibility to price lists for the products. To restrict price list visibility, you can create a separate
organization for your distributors that does not have access to the price list data. In this case, the
price lists are not available to your distributors even if they are assigned to the products.
Some objects allow the assignment of a single organization, whereas other objects allow the
assignment of multiple organizations to the same object. For more information about which
candidates can be assigned to each of the predefined assignment objects, see Table 4 on page 27.
Teams Versus Individual Candidates
A team represents a group of employees or positions. Assigning a team allows you to assign a group
of individuals that possess various skills or job functions to a particular object.
In sales organizations, teams are typically assigned to objects. For example, you can assign a sales
representative and a sales consultant to an opportunity. Alternately, you can assign a team of sales
professionalssuch as two district representatives, a regional manager, and a sales engineerto
work a single, large sales opportunity.
An individual represents a single employee or a position. Assigning individuals allows you to assign
exclusive ownership to an individual who possesses a specific skill or expertise for a particular object.
In service organizations, individuals are typically assigned to objects. For example, you can assign
a customer service representative with expertise in disk drives to all service requests that are
marked for this area.
Assignment objects can be team-based, individual-based, or both. That is, the same assignment
object can be team-based for employees and individual-based for organizations.
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Table 4 shows which candidates can be assigned to some of the predefined assignment objects. This
table also shows which assignment objects are restricted to a single assignee, and assignment
objects that are capable of incorporating a team of assignees. S indicates the ability to allow only
single owner assignments; M indicates the ability to allow multiple owners or team assignments.
Table 4.
Individual Versus Team Assignments Listed by Assignment Object
Position
Candidate
Organization
Candidate
Campaign
Campaign Contact
Contact
Opportunity
Assignment Object
Employee
Candidate
Account
Activity
Product Defect
Project
Project Team
Service Request
TM Account
TM Asset
TM Contact
NOTE: If you want to assign different candidates, such as assign accounts to employees or assign
projects to positions, you must configure the assignment object using Siebel Tools. For more
information about this, see Creating Assignment Objects on page 222.
Primary Assignees
A primary on an assignment rule represents the candidate (employee, position, or organization) that
is assigned as the primary owner of an assignment object if the candidate passes the criteria for that
object. The primary is the main owner, that is primary assignee, of an assignment object. This
assigned primary is usually the highest-scoring assignee from the highest-scoring assignment rule.
Alternatively, you can configure Assignment Manager to assign one member of a team as the primary
assignee. In addition, you can manually assign a particular candidate as the primary assignee on a
specific assignment rule.
NOTE: For assignments that allow only single assignees, the single assignee also becomes the
primary assignee.
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Overview of Siebel Assignment Manager Optional Assignment Manager Building Blocks
Optional Assignment Manager Building
Blocks
Siebel Assignment Manager provides several optional building blocks you can use with your
assignment rules. A brief description of each is provided in the following subtopics; each subtopic is
described in greater detail in other chapters throughout this guide.
Assignment Rule Sequencing
When you assign sequence numbers to assignment rules, Assignment Manager evaluates those rules
in ascending order of the sequence numbers. Assignment rule sequencing provides a means for you
to prioritize the rules that apply to any given assignment object by order of importance, thereby
limiting the number of rules that Assignment Manager processes for assignment. For example, you
might want to run Assignment Manager only for your higher priority rules first, and then if those rules
pass, stop processing additional rules because candidates are already successfully matched.
Assignment Workload
Assignment Manager allows you to apply predefined workload distribution rules, or you can create
your own, to assignment rules to balance workload among candidates. Candidates that have
workloads in excess of the maximum workload are eliminated from the assignment rule. This
workload distribution prevents employees from being overloaded. Each assignment rule can include
multiple workload criteria.
Assignment Scoring
You can add scores to assignment rules to rate candidates and select potential assignees. Candidates
that qualify for an assignment rule have the assignment rule score added to their total score. For
example, if you have an assignment rule with the Score field set to 20 points, each candidate that
meets the rule's criteria has 20 points applied to his or her total score.
You can also assign a candidate passing score value to each assignment rule. After the total score
for a candidate is calculated, Assignment Manager compares this score with the candidate passing
score for the assignment rule. If a candidates score is less than the candidate passing score, the
candidate does not meet the criteria and is not assigned.
Alternatively, you can add scores for the same candidate across multiple assignment rules.
Assignment Skills, Expertise Codes, and Weighting Factors
Skills are a special criteria type that you can use to minimize the number of assignment rules. One
assignment rule can match different candidates to various objects based on the object characteristics
and candidate skills.
Skills are the type of criteria you use most frequently for implementing assignments in a customer
service environment. For optimal assignment, you determine the criteria that you want to evaluate
for each candidate to make sure that the candidate possesses the proper skills to handle the task.
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The Siebel application provides predefined skills, and you enable and configure those skills at the
criteria level using Siebel Tools. However, you can also create new skills using Siebel Tools. After you
enable skills, Assignment Manager matches skills based on an assignment criteria comparison
method in the same manner in which attributes are matched. Assignment Manager then applies
scores and other filters to find the best candidate after a match has been made.
You can apply expertise codes that define an employee's expertise level for a particular skill with
weighting factors to weigh skill scores to measure competency in a certain area for each candidate.
Assignment Manager uses expertise codes to rank skills to find the most suitable candidate. For
example, assume you do not want to assign a novice to a service request that requires an expert.
By using expertise codes, you can prevent assigning objects to underqualified candidates.
Server Key Maps
Server key maps allow you to define multiple rule groups that you want a specific server to load and
process, thus allowing you to use different servers for different business purposes. Server key maps
use an internal key-based routing mechanism to route requests to a particular server; however, this
routing is done in the background and is not apparent. You can also specify multiple servers to load
the same rule group.
Assignment Policies
Assignment policies are specialized workflow policies used to create dynamic assignment triggers.
Assignment policies allow you to define policies that can act as triggers to execute a workflow
process, such as dynamic assignment. A policy consists of one or more policy conditions. When the
policy conditions are met, the policy action is executed. Assignment Manager provides preconfigured
policies for each of the predefined assignment objects. To use assignment policies, you must first
activate them using Siebel Tools.
Denormalization
Denormalization is an assignment mode in which Assignment Manager introduces duplicate data to
facilitate specific visibility requirements. In Siebel Assignment Manager, you use the prebuilt contact
denormalization and product denormalization features to denormalize positions or organizations.
Email Activity Assignment
Assignment Manager can assign or route inbound emails created by Siebel eMail Response to an
appropriate agent. The Communications Server, that is the Communications Inbound Manager server
component, works in conjunction with Siebel eMail Response to create inbound emails as activities.
To assign inbound emails, the assignment administrator creates assignment rules and criteria for the
Activity assignment object. For more information about routing inbound emails, see Siebel Email
Response Administration Guide (Workflow section) and Siebel Communications Server
Administration Guide.
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Multitiered Assignment
By default, Assignment Manager assigns people and organizations independently. Multitiered
assignment allows Assignment Manager to consider the relationship between people and
organizations when determining the proper assignment. This feature requires configuration of
assignment objects using Siebel Tools before implementing.
Availability-Based Assignment
Assignment rules can be created for employee-based objects using availability-based assignment,
which allows Assignment Manager to check an employees calendar and to consider the employees
availability when determining assignment eligibility. This feature requires advanced configuration of
assignment objects using Siebel Tools before implementing.
Assignment Manager Operating Modes
This topic explains the various operating modes available for running Assignment Manager.
Depending on the operating mode, you invoke Assignment Manager using the server administration
views, using the command-line interface to run server component jobs, or both.
About the Assignment Manager Operating Modes
There are three assignment operating modes:
Batch Assignment
Dynamic Assignment
Interactive Assignment
Batch Assignment
You can use batch assignment to assign multiple records in a single batch. For example, you can
assign orders that are created during the business day at the end of business using batch assignment
so that the assignments are made before start of business the next morning. Another example of
batch assignment is when you change assignment rule definitionsyou can use batch assignment to
reassign objects using the new assignment rules. Batch assignment is optimized to process a large
number of items efficiently.
Dynamic Assignment
Dynamic assignment performs assignments automatically as other users and server programs create
records or modify existing records. For example, if a user creates a new opportunity or changes the
revenue amount or the address of an opportunity, dynamic assignment automatically detects the
change and invokes Assignment Manager to reassign the opportunity to a different territory or sales
team, as determined by the assignment rule.
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Interactive Assignment
Interactive assignment allows end users to invoke Assignment Manager by a click of a button or
menu selection, review the list of assignees generated by Assignment Manager, and then accept or
override the assignees.
NOTE: Mobile users running Assignment Manager in interactive mode do not make real-time
assignments, because interactive assignments made by mobile users are not applied to the server
until they resynchronize.
About Different Modes of Running Assignment Manager
You can choose one of two waysdefault mode or rule group modeto run Assignment Manager
depending on what rules you want processed.
Default mode. In this mode, all active rules for all rule groups are loaded and processed. By
default, interactive and dynamic assignment run in default mode. However, you can configure
interactive assignment to run in rule Group mode.
Rule group mode. In this mode, you can process rules of one particular rule group when you
assign an object row.
Table 5 shows the supported operating modes and server components used for running each mode.
Table 5.
Operating Modes for Running Assignment Manager
Mode
Operating
Mode
Description
Default
Batch
Assigns a set of rows in a
single request.
Dynamic
Uses database triggers to
assigns objects as soon
as they are created or
when they are modified.
Interactive
Uses the Assignment
Manager engine to filter
out certain candidates (in
the evaluation phase),
outputs a list of potential
candidates to the user,
and then the user
manually assigns.
Server Component Used
Rule
Group
AsgnSrvr
AsgnBatch
GenTrig/
WorkMon
X
X
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Specialized Assignment Manager
Features
Assignment Manager provides several specialized features. A brief description of each is provided in
the following subtopics; some features are also described in greater detail in other chapters of this
guide.
Mobile Assignment
Mobile Assignment allows mobile users to make interactive and dynamic assignments. Changes to
the mobile clients database are queued and are applied to the server the next time the client
synchronizes.
Assignment Manager automatically performs interactive assignments made by the mobile user after
synchronization. Changes to assignment rules and objects are updated, and affected objects are
reassigned dynamically.
NOTE: Mobile users running Assignment Manager in interactive mode do not make real-time
assignments, because interactive assignments made by mobile users are not applied to the server
until they resynchronize.
Delegated Assignment
Delegated assignment provides assignment administrators (AA) the ability to delegate rule
administration to other administrators and partners to route leads, activities, accounts (and other
assignment objects) to employees or positions. These delegates are known as delegated
administrators (DA). A DA can, in turn, delegate assignment rule administration to others.
This hierarchical assignment feature is well-suited to sales organizations and organizations that work
closely with partners.
Assignment Load Splitter Configuration
The assignment load splitter configuration feature provides assignment administrators (AA) a tool
for performing batch assignment for a significant number of objects. It eliminates the need for AAs
to plan and implement complex load distribution logic.
You can configure Assignment Manager to automatically split objects for processing into separate
batches and submit those batch requests to multiple servers. This balances the task load across
multiple servers, which in turn, improves processing performance.
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Modes for Processing Assignment Rules
As of version 7.8, Assignment Manager supports two modes for processing assignment rulesthe
reporting mode and the production mode. By default, Assignment Manager processes assignment
rules in the production mode.
NOTE: Before version 7.8, only the production mode was available.
Reporting Mode
Assignment Manager provides a special mode for processing assignment rules that allows
assignment administrators (AA) to run and preview trial assignments for what-if analysis before
making actual assignments. Reporting mode stages the simulated assignments into a set of
temporary results tables, known as reporting tables, rather than into the actual database tables.
After this staging process is complete, AAs review the results and when satisfied, apply those
changes by executing Assignment Manager in production mode.
Production Mode
The production mode is the mode in which actual assignments are made. Assignments are written
into the team tables (account/position or contact/position tables) in the Siebel Enterprise database.
For example, an AA might want to perform trial runs to confirm new assignment rules in the reporting
mode. After accomplishing satisfactory results, the AA can then apply the same changes in the
production mode.
NOTE: Reporting assignment and regular assignment are mutually exclusive operations that you can
perform in any combination, that is, in reporting mode alone, production mode alone, or both.
Irrespective of whether reporting is turned on or off, Assignment Manager can write evaluation
results to an actual assignment table.
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Planning Your Assignment
Manager Implementation
This chapter provides guidelines for planning your Siebel Assignment Manager deployment and
scenarios for various types of implementation. It includes the following topics:
Guidelines for Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation on page 35
Planning Your Assignment Manager Deployment on page 36
Guidelines for Creating Assignment Rules on page 37
Planning Optimal Assignment Rules on page 37
Scenarios for Using Assignment Manager on page 39
Guidelines for Planning Your
Assignment Manager Implementation
This topic provides high-level guidelines for planning your Assignment Manager implementation.
Your business or functional teams should verify and confirm the requirements before assignment
administrators begin planning assignment rule creation. The requirements include:
Ensure all the current business requirements and data routing (by way of Assignment Manager)
is captured for the deployment.
When applicable, define strategies to leverage the existing implementation when additional
organizations decide to use Assignment Manager in the future.
For example, your current deployment may only include telesales, marketing, and customer care
users, but you should plan ahead in case sometime in the future you want to include other users,
such as quality assurance, email response, and so on.
Identify the business requirements and map those requirements to Assignment Manager
features, such as assignment rule groups, rule sequencing, exclusivity, scoring, multitiered
assignment, workload distribution, dynamic candidates, delegated assignment, and so on.
Map Assignment Manager deployment modes.
For example, your deployment mapping might include assigning service requests interactively,
assigning opportunities dynamically, assigning accounts and assets using batch mode, assigning
contacts using batch contact denormalization, and so on.
Assignment administrators should develop operational plans based on business requirements and
frequency of assignment using Assignment Manager features, such as load splitter configuration,
Reporting Mode, and so on.
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Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation Planning Your Assignment
Manager Deployment
Planning Your Assignment Manager
Deployment
This topic provides a high-level overview for planning your Assignment Manager deployment. If
appropriate time is invested in analyzing the incoming data and loading up appropriately for the first
time, it can reduce performance and other problems moving forward.
Use the following points to help plan your deployment:
Develop a migration path from an external source to Siebel Assignment Manager and, if using
territory management, also carefully plan import of external alignment rules.
NOTE: This task is even more important if your implementation has mobile users.
Use assignment rule groups to manage large numbers of rules.
Use rule sequencing to prioritize rules by order of importance.
This can be helpful for newly-imported assignment manager rules from an external system
because you can execute batch assignment against just the newly imported rules.
Use server key mappings to run multiple instances of assignment manager with different groups
of rules loaded.
Create custom criteria for date fields (called date criteria).
Date criteria allow you to specify additional selectivity while assigning particular objects, such as
creation date, expiration date, and so on.
If your assignment rules are staticthat is, less frequently changingconsider using dynamic
assignment over batch assignment.
Identify opportunities where you can reduce assignment rules, such as:
Reusing assignment rules across objects
Using skills
Setting up dynamic candidates
For more information about how to reduce assignment rules, see Planning Optimal Assignment
Rules on page 37.
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Assignment Rules
Guidelines for Creating Assignment
Rules
To use Assignment Manager effectively, assignment administrators (AAs) must develop and
document a clear set of strategies that are consistently applied by Assignment Manager or system
administrators.
For each assignment object, AAs should consider how to develop assignment rules that:
Optimally match the attributes of assignment objects to criteria values of the assignment rules.
This is commonly used for traditional territory assignment where territories are managed
exclusively through assignment administration. Employees, positions, or organizations
associated with these rules are potential assignees. Sales organizations typically use this
method.
Optimally match the attributes of assignment objects to employee skills.
Expertise is managed using employee, position, or organization skills. Service organizations
typically use this method.
Reflect a blend of the attributes outlined in the two methods previously described.
For example, sales organizations can benefit from assignment rules using employee skills as well
as territory rules.
Planning Optimal Assignment Rules
In general, the fewer assignment rules, the better. When you use fewer assignment rules, you
achieve the following long-term gains:
Reduce Maintenance. The assignment administrator (AA) has fewer rules to manage, thus
reducing time spent on checking quality of assignment rules.
Scalability. When new organizations or divisions require Assignment Manager capability, there
is no need to rearchitect the existing rules to accommodate the new requirements.
Reduce System Resources. Assignment Manager, like other processing applications, is
resource intensive. By reducing the number of assignment rules, the amount of system resources
required are minimized including database, Siebel Server, and the time window for territory
alignments.
Enhance Performance. Assignment processing and throughput is increased when there are
fewer rules because the Assignment Manager engine has a limited dataset to work on.
For normalization purposes, use the following guidelines to optimize your assignment rules:
Avoid duplication of assignment rules across objects.
For example, an account rule and a professional rule might have the same position assigned
(within the same ZIP Code). In this case, you can collapse these two assignment rules into a
single rule.
For custom assignment criteria with similar values across multiple objects, build a single criteria
so that you can consolidate assignment rules.
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Rules
Consolidate positions across multiple assignment rules.
After assignment rules are created, determine the top 10 positions used in assignment rules. If
one or more positions are used in more than 90% of the assignment rules, you might want to
consider alternate paths.
With a skills model, consider using the built-in Assignment Manager skills feature. Although it is
typically used within a Call Center implementation, this feature can also be leveraged for a sales
implementation.
NOTE: Although it is recommended that you keep your assignment rules to a minimum, you should
continually weigh the advantages of ease of administration with loss of performance as they apply
to your particular deployment.
Examples for Optimizing Assignment Rules
Use the following examples to assist you in determining the number of assignment rules for your
implementation.
Sales Example
A telecommunications sales company is planning their Assignment Manager implementation based
on the following data:
There are 1,200 potential territories for the geographic and product lines served.
There are 600 sales people working these territories.
Ideally, this company would define no more than 600 assignment rules, which is the lower of the two
numbers. However, if this company plans to use additional Assignment Manager features, such as
dynamic candidates, scoring, skills, and so on, the company should consider reducing their rule count
even further.
Service Example
An appliance services company is planning their Assignment Manager implementation based on the
following data:
There are 100 potential geographic territories for their product line and different service
products.
The product line includes refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioning units, and so on. The
services the company provides include: preventive maintenance, extended warranty coverage,
and so on.
There are 1,600 field technicians working with customers in these territories.
Ideally, this company would define no more than 100 assignment rules, which is the lower of the two
numbers. However, if this company plans to use additional Assignment Manager features, such as
dynamic candidates, scoring, skills, and so on, the company should consider reducing their rule count
even further.
In summary, when you create assignment rules, identify the logical territories, the people
participating in these territories, and then determine how you can best optimize your Assignment
Manager deployment.
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Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation Scenarios for Using Assignment
Manager
Scenarios for Using Assignment
Manager
Several scenarios are provided as examples of how you might use Assignment Manager. Your
company may follow a different process according to its business requirements.
Scenario for Using Assignment Manager in Sales Organizations
This scenario gives one example of how you can use Assignment Manager in a sales organization.
You may use Assignment Manager differently, depending on your business model.
Sales organizations typically need to distribute opportunities and accounts to the proper people
within the organization. Assignment of sales opportunities must take place quickly so that sales
representatives can respond to potential revenue-generating opportunities. Information must also
be readily available to salespeople to close the maximum number of sales possible.
Assignments in sales organizations are commonly made to positions responsible for a territory.
Mobile salespeople, who are not connected to a network, can share information and work as a
collaborative sales force on sales opportunities. Sales organizations can therefore use the talents of
their salespeople within their entire organization.
Siebel Assignment Manager allows you to create territories for positions using a wide variety of
criteria. By assigning objects to positions, you can have one sales representative inherit the
opportunities, accounts, and contacts from another sales representative by reassigning the employee
responsible for a specific position.
After you have created the territories using assignment criteria, a major territory realignment can
negatively affect your system resources. If the realignment is large, Assignment Manager may create
a volume of transactions for mobile clients, which increases synchronization time drastically. To avoid
this problem, you can run a database extract server task (DbXtract) again and have the mobile
clients initialize their databases. Because the time required to run a database extract server task for
multiple clients may be significant, try to coordinate territory realignments with database extracts
to occur during a time of low system utilization.
Because sales organizations typically distribute their accounts and opportunities based on territories,
create sales assignment rules based on these territories.
For more information about:
Territory alignments, see Siebel Territory Management Guide.
Database extracts, see Siebel Remote and Replication Manager Administration Guide.
Running server tasks, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
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Scenario for Using Assignment Manager in Service Organizations
This scenario gives one example of how you can use Assignment Manager in a service organization.
You may use Assignment Manager differently, depending on your business model.
In a service organization, service requests can often be resolved by the first customer service
representative (CSR) who services the customer. However, when the request cannot be resolved, or
when the service request is logged through the Internet, ownership must be transferred to a service
representative who possesses the expertise to handle the request.
In this environment, it becomes critical to assign employees with the proper expertise and skills to
service requests. Therefore, you should assign employees to objects because some employees
possess specific skills that are different from those of other CSRs or field service engineers. When
service representatives are on vacation, are promoted, or assume different responsibilities, work
assigned to these employees must be reassigned based on the skills and workloads of other
employees in the service organization.
Scenario for Using Assignment Manager in Marketing Organizations
This scenario gives one example of how you can use Assignment Manager in a marketing
organization. You may use Assignment Manager differently, depending on your business model.
In a marketing organization, you want to route responses from a new product campaign
appropriately to the telesales team responsible for handling the campaign. In this case, the
assignment administrator creates assignment rules using the Campaign assignment object, with
Product and Workload criteria, to make sure there is a fair distribution of leads to telesales personnel.
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Assignment Rule Administration
This chapter explains how to define assignment rules for Siebel Assignment Manager. The tasks
explained in this chapter are for Assignment Administrators (AAs), and as such, the procedures are
documented using the Administration - Assignment screen and views.
NOTE: Even if you intend to use predefined assignment objects, you must define assignment rules
by completing the tasks in this chapter.
This chapter includes the following topics:
About the Assignment Manager Administration Views on page 41
About Assignment Rule Administration on page 43
Assignment Methodology and Examples for Creating Assignment Rules on page 65
About Assignment Criteria on page 76
Process of Adding Criteria and Values to Assignment Rules on page 82
About Assignment Skills, Expertise Codes, and Weighting Factors on page 88
How Assignment Manager Balances Workload Among Candidates on page 97
Process of Defining Assignment Workload on page 98
About Assignment Policies on page 103
Generating Assignment Reports on page 105
About the Assignment Manager
Administration Views
Assignment Manager functionality is administered with two administration screens, Administration Assignment and Administration - Delegated Assignment.
Administration - Assignment Screen
Assignment administrators (AAs) use the assignment administration views (Site Map >
Administration - Assignment) to create and administer assignment rules, and perform the following
tasks:
Create assignment rules
Associate assignment rules to appropriate rule groups (or the Default Rule Group)
Apply criteria to assignment rules
Apply business-defined candidates to assignment rules
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Assignment Rule Administration About the Assignment Manager Administration Views
Territories List View
Within the Administration - Assignment screen, there is Territories List view, which was originally
designed for sales organizations. However, this view functions exactly as the Assignment Rule List
and Assignment Criteria views. The Territory List view has been simplified to allow users to define
their sales territories. For this reason, some of the assignment options covered in this guide do not
appear in the Territory List view.
NOTE: The Territory List view may eventually be phased out from the assignment administration
screens. If your current configuration uses these views, they can migrate to the existing assignment
views with no loss of functionality or data. For further information about Territory views, create a
service request (SR) on OracleMetaLink 3. Alternatively, you can phone Global Customer Support
directly to create a service request or get a status update on your current SR. Support phone
numbers remain the same and are listed on OracleMetaLink 3.
TIP: The Territories List view has no relationship with the Territory Management screen and views.
The data shown for each differs and how the data is used differs.
Administration Delegated Assignment Screen
Delegated administrators (DAs) use the delegated assignment administration views (Site Map >
Administration - Delegated Assignment) to inherit and refine assignment rules and perform the
following tasks:
Inherit assignment rules and further specify assignment rule behavior and candidates
Choose to delegate rule responsibility by creating child rule groups and making rules inheritable
to the owners of those child rule groups
DAs lower in the hierarchy can then inherit the refined rules, modify them, or choose to further
delegate.
NOTE: Delegation and inheritance can go many levels deep within a single hierarchy.
In the Administration Delegated Assignment screen, rule group owners have visibility for their rule
groups (and subtrees). AAs also have visibility for rules only in their organizations but have
unrestricted access to rule administration within those organizations.
For more information about delegated assignment, see Chapter 8, Assignment Rule Administration
for Delegated Assignment.
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
About Assignment Rule Administration
The subtopics in this section include the following:
Before Defining Assignment Rules on page 43
Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44
Creating Assignment Rule Groups on page 46
About Some of the Assignment Rule Fields on page 48
Creating Assignment Rules on page 51
Adding Employees, Positions, and Organizations to Assignment Rules on page 54
Adding a Sequence Number to Assignment Rules on page 57
How Assignment Manager Determines the Sequence in Which Rules Are Evaluated on page 58
Defining Assignment Rules to Use a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 59
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60
Defining Server Key Maps for Assignment Rule Groups on page 61
How Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to Load Rules to a Particular Siebel Server on
page 62
Preparing to Release Assignment Rules on page 63
Releasing Assignment Rules on page 64
About Migrating Assignment Rules on page 65
Before Defining Assignment Rules
There are several preparatory tasks you should perform before using Assignment Manager and
creating your assignment rules.
Before defining your assignment rules, you should:
Review the Assignment Manager planning guidelines and best practice information. See
Chapter 4, Planning Your Assignment Manager Implementation.
Have a good understanding of how Assignment Manager assigns candidates to assignment
objects. See Assignment Methodology and Examples for Creating Assignment Rules on page 65.
Modify assignment object property settings to suit your business requirements using Siebel
Tools. See Configuring Assignment Object Properties on page 114.
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
Process of Defining Assignment Rules
The process of defining assignment rules varies depending on how much you reconfigure or
customize Assignment Manager. This section provides a typical process flow for defining and
releasing assignment rules that you can use as a guide. Your process may differ, depending on your
business model.
Figure 2 provides a sample process flow for defining and releasing assignment rules.
Figure 2.
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
Table 6 lists the various tasks you perform when defining new assignment rules. The steps represent
a typical order of execution when defining a new assignment rule, however, many tasks are optional
and may not be applicable for your deployment.
Table 6.
Administrative Tasks for Defining Assignment Rules
Task
Required
Creating Assignment Rule Groups on page 46
NOTE: You must apply a rule group to each assignment rule. If you do not want
to define your own rule groups, you can use the predefined rule groups or the
Default Rule Group.
Creating Assignment Rules on page 51
Adding Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules on page 82
Adding Criteria Values to Assignment Criteria on page 86
or
Adding Criteria Values as Skills to Assignment Rules Using Expertise Codes on
page 94
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60
Adding Dynamic Candidate Teams to Assignment Rules on page 156
NOTE: The assignment seed data provides two dynamic candidate teams: Activity
Account Team and Activity Asset Team. There is no organization dynamic team
seed data provided. You may need to configure your own teams according to your
business needs.
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60
Associating Skills with Employees, Positions, and Organizations on page 90
Creating Assignment Workload Distribution Rules on page 99
10 Applying Assignment Workload Distribution to Employees, Positions, and
Organizations on page 100
11 (Optional) Process of Defining Assignment Policies for Dynamic Assignment on
page 103
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
Creating Assignment Rule Groups
This topic explains how to create new assignment rule groups using the assignment administration
views. This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
About Assignment Rule Groups
An assignment rule group is a logical grouping of assignment rules, and assignment rules are logical
business boundaries associated with individuals or a team of people to achieve a business goal.
Assigning rule groups to assignment rules allows you to partition rules based on organizational or
corporate goals, or some other grouping, such as email response. Table 7 provides sample rule
groups and their descriptions.
Table 7.
Sample Rule Groups
Assignment Rule
Group Name
Description
North America-USA
Assignment rules related to USA are associated with the North America-USA
rule group.
Service Products
Assignment rules related to service products are associated with a single rule
group.
Email Response
Group
Assignment rules related to email response are associated with a single rule
group.
You can set up Assignment Manager to process only specific assignment rule groups and not others.
See How Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to Load Rules to a Particular Siebel Server on
page 62.
Prerequisites
Before applying rule groups to your assignment rules based on your particular business needs, you
should:
Decide whether you want to use rule groups.
Create rule groups if you want a separate set of assignment rules that you can apply to different
business scenarios. Alternatively, you do not need to create rule groups if you want all rules
processed every time you run Assignment Manager. In this case, use the Default Rule Group that
is provided as part of the Assignment Manager seed data.
Decide whether you need rule group hierarchies
If you plan to use delegated assignment, you need rule group hierarchies.
For more information about the Default Rule Group, see the description for assignment rule groups
in Essential Assignment Manager Building Blocks on page 22. For more information about delegated
assignment and rule group hierarchies, see Chapter 8, Assignment Rule Administration for Delegated
Assignment.
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To create an assignment rule group
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Rule Groups List view.
In the Rule Groups List list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter relevant information.
The new rule group appears in the Rule Group List as well as in the Rule Group Explorer.
Table 8 shows the predefined fields.
TIP: All fields may not be visible in the initial view. Use the Columns Displayed feature to make
fields visible (right-click, select Columns Displayed, use the arrows to move a field from Available
Columns to Selected Columns, and then click Save).
Table 8.
Assignment Rule Group Fields
Field
Description
Name
Name of the assignment rule group.
Parent Rule
Group
A rule group that appears directly above another rule group in the hierarchy.
Owner Position
The owner of the rule group. Each rule group has an owner (and potentially
designees who also have owner rights).
For more information about owners and designees as it relates to delegated
assignment, see About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
Owner Login
The login of the owner position. The owner position has visibility from the
delegated administration views for rule groups and each of the child rule groups.
Activation
Start date of the assignment rule group.
By default, rules within a group inherit the activation date from the group date.
However, if you specify an activation date for a particular rule, it overrides that
date.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Expiration
End date of the assignment rule group.
By default, rules within a group inherit the expiration date from the group date.
However, if you specify an activation date for a particular rule, it overrides that
date.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
Table 8.
Assignment Rule Group Fields
Field
Description
Key Based
Indicates the rule group is intended for key-based routing and usually has a
corresponding server key mapping.
By checking this flag, even if there is no server key mapping defined for the rule
group, this makes sure that the rules that belong to this rule group are not
processed when running the assignment server in default mode.
NOTE: The Key Based field may be a hidden column on the Assignment Rule
Groups list. You can enable the Key Based field by selecting it through the
Columns Displayed feature.
For more information about key-based routing and server key maps, see How
Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to Load Rules to a Particular Siebel
Server on page 62.
Organization
The organization in which this rule group belongs.
If you plan to use delegated assignment, see also Creating Child Assignment Rule Groups on
page 169.
About Some of the Assignment Rule Fields
The subtopics in this section provide detailed descriptions of the following assignment rule fields:
Assignee Filter Field on page 48
Candidates Source Fields on page 49
Check Employee Calendar Field on page 50
Exclusive Field on page 51
Assignee Filter Field
The value in the Assignee Filter field of an assignment rule determines how candidates are evaluated
as potential assignees to the object. Table 9 shows the filters used by Assignment Manager to
determine which potential assignees are assigned to the object for each assignment rule.
Table 9.
Assignee Filter Field Values
Assignee Filter
Description
All, Above Minimum
Use assignees with an assignment score greater than or equal to the
assignment rules candidate passing score. Assigns one or more
assignees.
All, Must Assign
Same as the All, Above Minimum value, except that the highest-scoring
candidate is a potential assignee even if all candidates fail to meet the
candidate passing score. Assigns one or more assignees.
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Table 9.
Assignee Filter Field Values
Assignee Filter
Description
One, Best Fit
Use the highest-scoring assignee with an assignment score greater than
or equal to the candidate passing score. Assigns one assignee.
One, Random
Choose a random assignee whose score is greater than or equal to the
candidate passing score required for this assignment rule. Assigns one
assignee.
NOTE: If you do not use scores, the candidate passing score on the assignment rule and all
qualifying candidate scores are treated as zero. Therefore, every qualifying candidate (every
candidate that passes all required criteria) is assigned depending on the assignee filter.
Candidates Source Fields
For each assignment rule, the administrator determines whether Assignment Manager takes
candidates directly from the assignment rule (statically) or dynamically from the object row by
indicating the candidate source.
There are two candidate source fields:person candidates and organization candidates.
Person Candidates Source Field
From Rule. The candidates are the people (positions and employees) defined for an assignment
rule and are statically assigned. This is the default value for person candidates.
All People. The candidates are all the people (positions and employees) in the database and are
statically assigned.
Teams. The candidates are the person dynamic candidate teams (positions and employees) you
define in Siebel Tools. In Siebel Tools, you choose either positions or employees as the value of
the Team Type property in the Dynamic Candidate object to indicate that the person candidates
for the assignment rule should come dynamically from the relevant attribute on the object row.
Two teamsActivity Account Team and Activity Asset Teamare provided as seed data, but you
can add your own teams using Siebel Tools. In addition, several teams are predefined for use
with territory management.
Organization Candidates Source Field
From Rule. The candidates are the organizations defined for an assignment rule and are
statically assigned. This is the default value for organization candidates.
All Organizations. The candidates are all the organizations in the database and are statically
assigned.
Teams. The candidates are the organization dynamic candidates teams you define in Siebel
Tools. In Siebel Tools, you choose organization as the value of the Team Type property in the
Dynamic Candidate object to indicate that organization candidates for the assignment rule should
come dynamically from the relevant attribute on the object row. There is no organization
dynamic team seed data provided; you need to configure your own teams according to your
business needs.
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Rule Administration
For dynamic candidates teams, the value (employee, position, or organization) of the Team Type
property of the Dynamic Candidate object in Siebel Tools determines what appears in the candidates
source LOV fields in the assignment rule as shown in Figure 3.
The value in the Team Type assignment
object property determines what appears in
the Person Candidates Source and
Organization Candidates Source fields.
Figure 3.
Relationship of Candidates Source Assignment Rule Fields to Team Type Property in Siebe
l Tools
Check Employee Calendar Field
For each assignment rule, the administrator can designate whether Assignment Manager checks the
employees calendars when determining assignment eligibility. By checking the Check Employee
Calendar field in the Assignment Rules List view, Assignment Manager checks for employee
availability.
This feature is used only for employee-based assignment objects, and requires the installation of the
Siebel Field Service application as it depends on a field service component, the Appointment Booking
System. You must first configure the Activity and Service Request assignment objects using Siebel
Tools before this feature is available. For more information about the Check Employee Calendar
feature, see About Availability-Based Assignment on page 255.
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Exclusive Field
For each assignment rule, the administrator can designate whether that rule is exclusive.
If a rule is exclusive and has assignees, then all assignees from other rules are discarded. If there
are no exclusive rules, then the primary rule is the rule with the highest-scoring assignee and the
primary assignee is the highest-scoring assignee. In this case, no assignees from the other rules are
discarded; however, if the assignment object does not allow for more than one assignee, then only
the primary assignee is assigned.
If there are multiple exclusive rules, the exclusive rule with the highest-scoring assignee is chosen
as the only exclusive rule. However, if multiple exclusive rules with equal scores qualify, the default
employee, default position, or default organization is assigned because Assignment Manager is
unable to determine the winning rule. For more information about assigning a default employee,
default position, or default organization, see Step 7 on page 68 in Assignment Methodology.
You make an assignment rule exclusive by checking the Exclusive flag for the assignment rule.
Creating Assignment Rules
Each assignment rule has an activation and an expiration date that you can use to denote a range
of dates for when the rule should be active. If you specify an activation date and no expiration date,
the rule is active from the date denoted by the activation date onwards. If you specify an expiration
date and no activation date, the rule is active until the date denoted by the expiration date. If you
do not specify neither the activation date or the expiration date, the rule is always active.
NOTE: Assignment Manager uses the database time to determine whether a rule is active or not.
Use the following procedure to create your assignment rules. This task is a step in Process of Defining
Assignment Rules on page 44.
To create an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter relevant information for the new rule.
Table 10 shows the predefined fields.
TIP: All assignment rule fields may not be visible in the initial view; use the Columns Displayed
feature to make fields visible (right-click, select Columns Displayed, use the arrows to move a field
from Available Columns to Selected Columns, and then click Save).
Table 10.
Assignment Rule Fields
Field
Description
Name
Name of the assignment rule.
Rule Group
Assignment rule groups applied to this rule. Each rule must be associated to an
assignment rule group.
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Table 10.
Assignment Rule Fields
Field
Description
Objects to be
Assigned
A multivalue group (MVG) field that allows you to select one or more assignment
objects to apply to the rule.
NOTE: These objects are the business entities chosen by the assignment
administrator, such as accounts, contacts, and so on.
Sequence
Sequence number for this rule. Assignment Manager uses this number to
prioritize the execution of a set of rules. By default, assignment rules do not have
a sequence numberone must be assigned by the administrator, if needed.
For more information about rule sequencing, see How Assignment Manager
Determines the Sequence in Which Rules Are Evaluated on page 58.
Activation
Start date of the assignment rule.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Expiration
End date of the assignment rule.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Score
Score eligible for the assignment rule if qualifications are met.
For more information about scoring, see About Assignment Scoring on page 79.
Exclusive
If selected, candidates for this assignment rule supersede candidates that qualify
for any other nonexclusive assignment rules.
For more information about the exclusive feature, see About Some of the
Assignment Rule Fields on page 48.
Person
Candidates
Source
Determines whether the employee or position candidates for this rule are
specified on the assignment rule (statically) or are chosen dynamically using
predefined dynamic candidate object definitions.
The choices are From Rule, All People, and whatever other dynamic person
candidate team records you defined in the Dynamic Candidate object using Siebel
Tools.
For more information about this field, see Candidates Source Fields on page 49.
Organization
Candidates
Source
Determines whether the organization candidates for this rule are specified on the
assignment rule (statically) or are chosen dynamically using predefined dynamic
candidate object definitions.
The choices are From Rule, All Organizations, and whatever other dynamic
candidate team records you defined in the Dynamic Candidate object using Siebel
Tools.
For more information about this field, see Candidates Source Fields on page 49.
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Table 10.
Assignment Rule Fields
Field
Description
Assignee Filter
Filters used by Assignment Manager to determine which potential assignees are
assigned. Choices for assignee filters are:
All, Above Minimum
All, Must Assign
One, Best Fit
One, Random
Defaults to All, Above Minimum when creating new assignment rules.
For more information this field, see About Some of the Assignment Rule Fields
on page 48.
Candidate
Passing Score
Minimum score required for candidates to qualify for this assignment rule.
Defaults to 0 (zero) when creating new assignment rules.
Check
Employee
Calendar
If selected, activates Assignment Manager to check employees calendars when
determining assignment eligibility. Used only for employee-based objects.
Primary
Employee
Primary employee for this assignment rule if the rule passes and is the highest
scoring rule for that object. Typically used for service-related assignments.
Applicable only if this employee qualifies from the assignment rule (either from
the rule itself or from dynamic candidates).
For more information about this field, see About Some of the Assignment Rule
Fields on page 48.
However, if the AddScores server component parameter is set to TRUE, the
primary employee is ignored. This parameter overrides primaries on the rule,
merges scores for each candidate across the rules, and then calculates the
primary based on highest total scoring employee that passes for that object.
NOTE: If the assignee filter type is One, Best Fit, then do not select a primary
employee, because the highest-scoring employee is still selected and the primary
employee is excluded.
For information about assigning a particular employee as the primary assignee
on a specific assignment rule, see Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee
on page 60.
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Table 10.
Assignment Rule Fields
Field
Description
Primary
Organization
Primary organization for this assignment rule if the rule passes and is the highest
scoring rule for that object. Applicable only if this organization qualifies from the
assignment rule (either from the rule itself or from dynamic candidates).
However, if the AddScores server component parameter is set to TRUE, the
primary organization is ignored. This parameter overrides primaries on the rule,
merges scores for each candidate across the rules, and then calculates the
primary based on highest total scoring organization that passes for that object.
NOTE: If the assignee filter type is One, Best Fit, then do not select a primary
organization, because the highest-scoring organization is still selected and the
primary organization is excluded.
For information about assigning a particular organization as the primary assignee
on a specific assignment rule, see Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee
on page 60.
Primary
Position
Primary position for this assignment rule if the rule passes and is the highest
scoring rule for that object. Typically used for sales-related assignments.
Applicable only if this position qualifies from the assignment rule (either from the
rule itself or from dynamic candidates).
However, if the AddScores server component parameter is set to TRUE, the
primary position is ignored. This parameter overrides primaries on the rule,
merges scores for each candidate across the rules, and then calculates the
primary based on highest total scoring position that passes for that object.
NOTE: If the Assignee Filter type is One, Best Fit, then do not select a primary
position, because the highest-scoring position is still selected and the primary
position is excluded.
For information about assigning a particular position as the primary assignee on
a specific assignment rule, see Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on
page 60.
Adding Employees, Positions, and Organizations to
Assignment Rules
This topic provides procedures for adding employees, positions, and organizations to assignment
rules.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
Assignment Manager can assign employees, positions, and organizations based on their association
with their parent organization. For example, only employees or positions associated with a specific
organization can be assigned to an assignment object even if other employees or positions
associated with other organizations qualify. Positions assigned to an assignment object can also have
their associated organizations assigned. This functionality is called multitiered assignment, and you
must configure the appropriate assignment object before implementing. For information about
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configuring assignment objects for multitiered assignment, see Configuring Assignment Objects for
Multitiered Assignment on page 246.
Alternatively, you can set a default employee, position, or organization for assignment objects. For
example, if you want records for a given assignment object assigned to a certain employee, you can
change the Default Employee property on the assignment object using Siebel Tools. For more
information about the Default Employee, Default Position, and Default Organization properties, see
Siebel Object Types Reference. For more information about setting these properties, see Configuring
Assignment Object Properties on page 114.
NOTE: Assignment Manager does not prevent you from adding employees to an assignment rule that
performs position assignments. If a particular rule is set for position assignment and the rule has
employees associated with the assignment rule, Assignment Manager considers only the position
candidates.
To add employees to an assignment rule
1
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add employees (Navigate > Site Map >
Assignment Rules List), and then click the Employee Candidates view tab.
In the Employee Candidates list, click New.
In the Add Employees dialog box, select the employees to include for this assignment rule, and
then click OK.
In the new employee record, click in the available fields to enter or edit the relevant information.
If new candidates are added, make sure you release the assignment rules for the changes to take
effect.
For more information about releasing assignment rules, see Releasing Assignment Rules on
page 64.
NOTE: If the All People value is selected in the Person Candidates Source field for the assignment
rule, all candidates are evaluated even if they are not listed in the Employee Candidates list or the
Position Candidates list. Any new candidate is only evaluated after the rules are released.
Table 11 shows select predefined fields available.
Table 11.
Employee Candidates List Fields
Field
Description
Activation
Start date of the assignment rule employee.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Expiration
End date of the assignment rule employee.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Score
An initial score for each employee is permitted in this field to differentiate between
other employees for potential assignment.
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NOTE: For assignment purposes, an employee's organization is the organization corresponding to
the employee's primary position. For example, if Employee A holds Position A where Position A is in
the Sales East organization, then Employee A's organization is the Sales East organization.
To add positions to an assignment rule
1
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add positions (Navigate > Site Map >
Assignment Rules List), and then click the Position Candidates view tab.
In the Position Candidates list, click New.
In the Add Positions dialog box, select the positions to include for this assignment rule, and then
click OK.
In the new record in the Positions list, click in the available fields to enter or edit the relevant
information.
If new candidates are added, make sure you release the assignment rules for the changes to take
effect.
For more information about releasing assignment rules, see Releasing Assignment Rules on
page 64.
NOTE: If the All People value is selected in the Person Candidates Source field for the assignment
rule, all candidates are evaluated even if they are not listed in the Employee Candidates list or the
Position Candidates list. Any new candidate is only evaluated after the rules are released.
Table 12 shows select predefined fields available for editing.
Table 12.
Positions List Fields
Field
Description
Activation
Start date of the assignment rule position.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Expiration
End date of the assignment rule position.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Score
An initial score for each position is permitted in this field to differentiate between
other positions for potential assignment.
After you add positions for an assignment rule, only the active employees for each position are
available. If Assignment Manager assigns the position, employees for the position have visibility to
the assigned object.
To delete system-assigned positions from individual assignment objects, or to manually assign other
positions, see the procedure in Maintaining the Manually Assigned Primary Position on page 229. You
can configure Assignment Manager to define additional fields for Positions associated with an
assignment rule. For more information about defining fields for Positions, see Configuring
Assignment Objects to Copy Additional Columns to the Team Table on page 233.
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To add organizations to an assignment rule
1
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add organizations (Navigate > Site Map
> Assignment Rules List), and then click the Organization Candidates view tab.
In the Organization Candidates list, click New.
In the Add Organization dialog box, select the organizations to include for this assignment rule,
and then click OK.
In the new record in the Organizations list, click in the available fields to enter or edit the relevant
information.
If new candidates are added, make sure you release the assignment rules for the changes to take
effect.
For more information about releasing assignment rules, see Releasing Assignment Rules on
page 64.
NOTE: If the All Organizations value is selected in the Organization Candidates Source field for the
assignment rule, all candidates are evaluated even if they are not listed in the Organization
Candidates list.
Table 13 shows select predefined fields available for editing.
Table 13.
Organizations List Fields
Field
Description
Activation
Start date of the assignment rule organization.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Expiration
End date of the assignment rule organization.
NOTE: By default, Siebel applications use the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)
standard. For more information about UTC, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.
Score
An initial score for each organization is permitted in this field to differentiate between
other organizations for potential assignment.
Adding a Sequence Number to Assignment Rules
This topic explains how to add sequence numbers to assignment rules.
To add a sequence number to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules List list, select the assignment rule for which you want to define rule
sequencing.
In the Sequence field, enter a sequence number.
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How Assignment Manager Determines the Sequence in
Which Rules Are Evaluated
When you assign sequence numbers to assignment rules, Assignment Manager evaluates those rules
in ascending order of the sequence numbers. Assignment rule sequencing provides a means for you
to prioritize the rules that apply to any given assignment object by order of importance, thereby
limiting the number of rules that Assignment Manager processes for assignment. For example, you
might want to run Assignment Manager only for your higher priority rules first, and then if those
rules pass, stop processing additional rules because candidates are already successfully matched.
If none of the rules have a sequence number, or if all of the rules have the same sequence number,
then Assignment Manager processes all the rules. However, if some of the rules in the group have
sequence numbers and other rules do not, the rules with no specified sequence number are
considered to have a sequence number of 0 and are evaluated first. Therefore, it is recommended
that you give every rule a sequence number if you use sequencing.
After processing every assignment rule within a sequence number, Assignment Manager checks to
see if each rule was successfully assigned. When a rule results in successful assignment, Assignment
Manager processes the rest of the rules having the same sequence number and then stops
processing. Subsequently, the rules with higher sequence numbers do not get processed.
As shown in Table 14, Assignment Manager identifies the beginning and end of a segment within a
sequence by the change in sequence number. For example, Assignment Manager first evaluates rules
with a sequence number of 1, then evaluates rules with a sequence number of 2, and so on. It does
not matter, however, how rules within a segment are evaluated.
At run time, Assignment Manager evaluates the rules in the first segment (Segment 1) first, and then
stops to find out whether an assignment has been made. If it has assigned, Assignment Manager
does not continue. If it has not assigned, then Assignment Manager continues to the next sequence
(Segment 2).
Table 14.
Example of a Rule Sequence
Segment
Assignment Rule
Sequence #
Assign Sales Rep West
Assign Sales Rep North
Assign Sales Rep East
Assign Sales Rep West
Assign Sales Rep North
Assign Sales Rep West
Assign Sales Rep North
Assign Sales Rep East
If Assignment Manager is running in default mode and there are multiple rule groups defined, then
Assignment Manager evaluates the rules as if they are part of one big group.
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For example, if there are two rule groups loaded by the same Assignment Manager server with the
sequences shown in Table 15.
Table 15.
Example Group Rules A and B
Rule Group A
Rule Group B
Then, this is the order Assignment Manager evaluates those rules:
A1
A1
A1
B1
B1
A2
A2
B2
B2
A3
A3
B3
B3
B3
Sequence numbers can be assigned to assignment rules when creating new assignment rules or can
be added to assignment rules at a later time.
Defining Assignment Rules to Use a Single Criterion for
Multiple Objects
In some cases, you may want to create an assignment rule that assigns candidates to two or more
objects while using only one objects criteria. This topic uses a specific scenario as an example in
which you create an assignment rule to use only an Opportunity criteria to assign candidates to both
the Opportunity and Account objects. This rule can be used to assign candidates to opportunities and
their associated accounts.
To create assignment rules that assign two objects using only one object criteria, you need to create
and map workflow policy components using Siebel Tools after defining the assignment rule.
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To define an assignment rule to use a single criterion for multiple objects
1
Create an assignment rule and specify the assignment objects that are assigned using this rule.
For this example, create an assignment rule called Account/Opportunity and add the Account and
Opportunity objects to this rule. For more information about creating assignment rules, see
Creating Assignment Rules on page 51.
Create an assignment criteria that applies to only one of the assignment objects in this
assignment rule.
For this example, configure the Lead Quality Code assignment criteria (an Opportunity object
criteria). For more information about creating assignment criteria, see Creating Assignment
Rules on page 51.
After the assignment rule is defined, create a workflow policy component that maps to both
objects.
For information on creating a workflow policy component, see Process of Using a Single Criterion
for Multiple Objects on page 132.
Map the workflow policy component you created with the column.
For information on mapping a workflow policy column, see Mapping Assignment Attribute
Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy Component Column on page 125.
Map the workflow policy component you created to the assignment attribute.
For information on mapping a workflow policy component to assignment attributes, see Mapping
Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy Component Column
on page 125.
Figure 24 on page 137 shows an example of defining an assignment rule for the Account and
Opportunity objects using only the Lead Quality Code assignment criteria.
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee
Assignment Manager provides the ability to influence a particular candidate to act as a primary
assignee for a specific assignment rule. You do so by picking an employee, position, or organization
from the Primary Employee, Primary Position, or Primary Organization pick dialog box in the
Assignment Rules List list. This primary assignee represents the candidate (employee, position, or
organization) that is assigned as the primary owner of the assignment object if the candidate passes
the criteria for that rule.
NOTE: Typically, you choose a primary assignee when creating an assignment rule, however, you
can add a primary to an existing assignment rule at anytime. But, you must release the rule for the
change to take effect.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
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To choose a candidate as the primary assignee
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules List list, select the assignment rule for which you want to assign a
particular candidate as the primary assignee.
In one of the following fields, click the select button.
Primary Employee. If you want to assign a particular employee, query for that employee,
and then click OK.
Primary Position. If you want to assign a particular position, query for that position, and
then click OK.
Primary Organization. If you want to assign a particular organization, query for that
organization, and then click OK.
TIP: The Primary Employee, Primary Position, and Primary Organization fields may not be
visible in the initial view; use the Columns Displayed feature to make the fields visible (rightclick, select Columns Displayed, use the arrows to move a field from Available Columns to
Selected Columns, and then click Save).
Defining Server Key Maps for Assignment Rule Groups
This topic explains how to define server key maps for assignment rule groups. You can at anytime
change a server key mapping to another rule group or another Siebel Server.
To define a server key map
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Server Key Mappings view.
In the Assignment Server Key Mappings list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter relevant information.
Table 16 shows the predefined fields.
Table 16.
Server Key Map Fields
Field
Description
Assignment
Rule Group
The assignment rule group that you wish to associate with a particular Siebel
Server running Assignment Manager.
Siebel Server
Name
The name of the Siebel Server that is running that instance of Assignment
Manager. Note that you should enter the logical Siebel Server name, not the
machine name.
For more information about Siebel Servers, see Siebel System Administration
Guide.
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If you want to exclusively mark certain rule groups for use with server key maps, you can set the
Key Based flag to true for these rule groups (using the Key Based list column on the assignment Rule
Groups List view). These rule groups are not loaded by any Assignment Manager component
operating in default mode. For more information about rule group usage, see Creating Assignment
Rule Groups on page 46.
How Assignment Manager Uses Server Key Maps to Load
Rules to a Particular Siebel Server
For each Siebel Server, you use server key maps to define multiple rule groups that you want that
server to load and process. This allows you to use different servers for different business purposes.
After you define server key maps in the assignment administration views, each assignment server
(AsgnSrvr) process looks for the server name in the key mappings during startup and only loads rules
from those rule groups. The AsgnSrvr also registers the rule group row IDs as keys. When you submit
a request to a server, you must submit the AsgnKey parameter as a row ID of one of the rule group
row IDs assigned to that server.
The server key mapping process uses an internal key-based routing mechanism to route requests to
a particular server, however, this is done in the background and is not apparent. You can specify
multiple servers to load the same rule group. In this case, the Siebel Server Request Broker
component routes requests, based on load balancing metrics, to one of the assignment servers that
loaded that rule group.
You can mark certain rule groups for use only with server key maps. These rule groups are not loaded
by any Assignment Manager component operating in default mode.
The server key mapping feature is supported only in certain environments when using specific
functionality as follows:
Script or workflow process calling a business service. You can invoke Assignment Manager
through a business service from within a workflow process, or from a script, using one of the
following predefined business services:
Server Requests business service. Use this generic business service to submit requests
to a particular component using the server request broker. With this business service, you
can use the Assignment Manager server mapping feature. If you are using this business
service to invoke rules based on rule groups, pass the AsgnKey parameter as the input
parameter, and pass the ReqKey parameter as a request parameter (in the child property set
for the component). Then, set both the AsgnKey and ReqKey parameters to the rule group
Id of the relevant rule group.
Synchronous Assignment Manager Requests business service. This business service
has one method available: Assign. This method sends a request to the Assignment Manager
server component using the AsgnObjName and ObjRowId parameters. All active rules in the
database are processed.
Use this business service:
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To submit requests to assign a single object row
With the Default Group (when no server key maps are defined)
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For more information about business services, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow
Guide. For more information about scripting, see Siebel Object Types Reference.
Interactive assignment. In the default configuration, interactive assignment runs in default
mode. However, interactive assignment can be customized to use the server key mappings
feature using the SetAsgnKey InvokeMethod on the business component base class CSSBCBase.
Using a script, a workflow process, or a business service, you call the InvokeMethod to pass the
row ID of one of the rule groups as the parameter. The interactive assignment uses this
parameter as the AsgnKey and ReqKey parameters when submitting requests to the AsgnSrvr
component.
You call InvokeMethod only once for one session, but subsequent requests in the same session
reuse the rule group row ID. However, when the session is logged out or the server is restarted,
you must call InvokeMethod again to set the AsgnKey parameter. Otherwise, Assignment
Manager reverts to running in default mode.
NOTE: When operating Assignment Manager in default mode, rules from rule groups that have
the Key Based flag checked are not loaded.
Batch assignment and dynamic assignment do not read server key mappings
NOTE: You cannot run Default Mode and Server Key Mappings mode on the same assignment server
because the two tasks are mutually exclusive functionalities. For example, you cannot use the same
assignment server to run resource assignment (used for professional service automation and does
not use rule groups) and credit assignment (used for sales and does use rule groups). You should
run assignment for each on different servers.
TIP: Siebel Incentive Compensation and Siebel Marketing are specifically designed to use the server
key maps and rule group features. For more information about each of these Siebel products, see
Siebel Marketing Installation and Administration Guide.
Preparing to Release Assignment Rules
Table 17 lists the administrative tasks for preparing for and releasing assignment rules. Perform
these tasks in the order provided, if they are applicable to your deployment.
Table 17.
Tasks for Releasing Assignment Rules
Task
UI
(Optional) Defining Server Key Maps for Assignment Rule Groups on page 61
(Optional) Set up Assignment Manager for availability-based assignment
Tools
In Siebel Tools, complete several tasks.
See Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based
Assignment on page 258.
In the UI, check the Check Employee Calendar field for each assignment rule
you want to assign by availability.
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Table 17.
Tasks for Releasing Assignment Rules
Task
UI
(Optional) Define load splitter configuration
Tools
See Setting Up Load Splitter Configuration on page 270.
Releasing Assignment Rules on page 64
Releasing Assignment Rules
After you define your assignment rules or make any changes to the rules, criteria, values, or
candidates (employee, position, or organization) for the assignment rules, you must release them to
instruct Assignment Manager to use these rules. After adding new candidates to the database (new
Position, new Organization, new Employees), you must release assignment rules. Releasing
assignment rules also updates the rulecache.dat file.
For more information about the rulecache.dat file, see About Assignment Manager Rule Cache Files
on page 216.
NOTE: The following procedure releases all assignment rules simultaneously. Do not release
assignment rules while associated server tasks are running.
After you have defined your assignment rules, you need to release the rules and possibly perform a
few additional administrative tasks.
To release assignment rules
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules list, click the Release button.
A confirmation message appears indicating the rules have been released.
NOTE: You can also update the rule cache by deleting the rule cache files and restarting the Siebel
Server. Search for *rulecache*.dat in the siebel_server\bin folder.
TIP: If you want to verify that the new or modified rules have been applied, check the timestamp
of the rulecache.dat file or the AsgnSrvr log file.
When a new Siebel Server is installedfor instance, as part of an upgradepending assignment
rules are released (the rule cache is recreated) on the first startup. It is recommended that you
release assignment rules after installation so that servers in the deployment recreate the same rule
cache.
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About Migrating Assignment Rules
You can use Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM) or Application Deployment Manager (ADM)
to migrate assignment rules from one system to another, such as from a test environment to a
production environment. If you add or change assignment objects, assignment attributes, or
assignment criteria, you must also migrate the repository to the server production database.
When migrating, Assignment Manager automatically updates existing assignment rules as follows:
If All People is selected in the Person Candidates Source field on the assignment rule, then the
new value in the PERSON_CAND_TYPE column is All People.
If All People is not selected in the Person Candidates Source field on the assignment rule, then
the new value in the PERSON_CAND_TYPE column is From Rule.
If All Organizations is selected in the Organization Candidates Source field on the assignment
rule, then the new value in the BU_CAND_TYPE column is All Organizations.
If All Organizations is not selected in the Organization Candidates Source field on the assignment
rule, then the new value in the BU_CAND_TYPE column is From Rule.
For more information about migration, see Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager Administration
Guide and Going Live with Siebel Business Applications.
For more information about ADM, see the Application Deployment Manager Administration Guide.
Assignment Methodology and Examples
for Creating Assignment Rules
It is recommended that you have a good understanding of how Assignment Manager evaluates
candidates and determines assignments before you begin creating your assignment rules, or
configure, administer, or use the various assignment features.
Figure 4 on page 66 provides a high-level flowchart of Assignment Manager behavior.
This topic explains assignment methodology and provides examples for creating different kinds of
assignment rules. You may, however, use these features differently, depending on your business
model. The topics are:
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules Based on Territories on page 70
An example of how a sales organization can strategically assign salespeople based on territories.
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules That Combine Criteria on page 72
An example of how a sales organization can distribute its salespeople in the same geographic
location based on revenue potential.
Example of Creating Assignment Rules for Service Organizations on page 74
An example of how to create assignment rules for a service organization.
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Figure 4.
Assignment Methodology Flowchart
Assignment Methodology
Before Siebel Assignment Manager starts to assign candidates to assignment objects, Assignment
Manager checks the ASGN_DT column to determine if a row should be assigned or not. This check
on the ASDN_DT column is performed by Assignment Manager for interactive, dynamic, and batch
assignment. Each time Assignment Manager assigns candidates to a record, the records ASGN_DT
column is populated with the date and time of the assignment.
Assignment Manager checks the value in the ASGN_DT column against the assignment request's
time (request_time). Depending on the mode of assignment used, the assignment request's time is
considered as follows:
For dynamic assignment, a row is inserted into the S_ESCL_REQ table and the CREATED column
in the S_ESCL_REQ table denotes the time when the record triggered the policy. The timestamp
in the S_ESCL_REQ table in the CREATED column is considered to be the request time
(request_time).
For batch assignment and interactive assignment, the request_time is the time when the request
is submitted to the server components (that is, when the tasks belonging to the server
components - AsgnSrvr and AsgnBatch - are evaluating the assignment request).
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Assignment Manager then checks the ASGN_DT column as follows:
If ASGN_DT is greater than the request time for the request being assigned, then the
assignment is not performed on the row.
If ASGN_DT is less than the request time for the request being assigned, then the assignment
is performed on the row.
Siebel Assignment Manager uses the following methodology to assign candidates to assignment
objects.
Assignment Manager finds assignment rules for an object. Assignment Manager finds
active assignment rules for evaluation for the object being assigned. If there are no active rules
for the assignment object, default assignees are assigned. In rule group mode, all the active
rules for the assignment object belonging to the rule group of the request are processed.
NOTE: The Default Employee, Default Position, and Default Organization properties for each
assignment object are defined in Siebel Tools. For more information about these properties, see
Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60.
Assignment Manager evaluates assignment criteria for the object. After Assignment
Manager determines the rules for processing, it processes rules in ascending sequence number
order. For each rule, Assignment Manager first evaluates each criterion with the Compare to
Object comparison method.
NOTE: If criteria marked as Required do not satisfy the objects attributes, then Assignment
Manager stops evaluating the assignment rule.
Assignment Manager determines a list of candidates from each assignment rule. For
each assignment rule that satisfies Step 2, Assignment Manager determines a list of person and
organization candidates relevant to the assignment rule, depending on the Person Candidate
Source and Organization Candidate Source fields on the assignment rule.
Static candidates from rule. If the Person Candidate Source is indicated as From Rule,
then:
If the assignment object uses position-based assignment, the candidate list includes the
positions registered in the Position Candidates view.
If the assignment object uses employee-based assignment, the candidate list includes
the employees registered in the Employee Candidates view.
All People. If the Person Candidate Source is indicated as All People, the candidate list
includes all registered employees or positions in the Siebel database.
Dynamic candidates. If the Person Candidate Source is the name of a team (such as
Activity Account Team or Activity Asset Team), Assignment Manager obtains the candidate
list from the team table related to the object row.
The list of organization candidates for each rule are determined using a similar method.
Assignment Manager evaluates each candidate against assignment rule criteria.
Assignment Manager evaluates each candidate against the criteria using the selected comparison
method as described in Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods on page 76. Workload
distribution rules are also processed for each candidate.
NOTE: Candidates fail if they do not match any required criterion and are not evaluated further
against this rule.
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Assignment Manager scores each qualified candidate for each assignment rule.
Assignment Manager scores each candidate for an assignment rule based on the sum of:
Assignment rule score of each assignment criterion that is satisfied
Each assignment criterion value that is satisfied depending on the inclusion method as
explained in Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods on page 77
Some assignment criteria values (skills) are weighted by expertise.
To rank expertise codes, Assignment Manager uses the Order field in the List of Values
view in the Administration - Data screen.
To define expertise weight, Assignment Manager uses the Weighting Factor field in the
List of Values view in the Administration - Data screen.
Score for the candidate
For static candidates, this value is specified in the Employees Candidates view, Position
Candidates view, or Organization Candidates view. For dynamic candidates, this value is
specified in the Score Column property in the Dynamic Candidate object.
Criterion that is calculated as the prorated score
This is the score based on the current workload of candidates compared to the maximum
workload allowed.
If the Assignment Rule form has the Check Employee Calendar box selected, Assignment
Manager uses the availability-based assignment feature to submit employee availability
information to the Field Service Appointment Booking System (ABS), which reviews qualified
candidates calendars and work schedules to see who is available to undertake the
assignment at the required time. Employees who are not available at the requested time for
the specified duration are eliminated.
At this point, the score for the assignment rule is calculated from either the highest-scoring
person candidate or organization candidate depending on the value in the Assignment
Scoring Mode property for the assignment object.
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Assignment Manager applies the assignee filter to scored candidates to generate a list
of potential assignees. Assignment Manager uses the assignee filters to eliminate candidates
and determine a final list of assignees. The choices are:
All, Above Minimum
All, Must Assign
One, Best Fit
One, Random
Assignment Manager evaluates exclusive assignment rules and determines the primary
assignment rule. If no exclusive assignment rule exists or none of the exclusive rules passed,
the assignment rule with the highest score is the primary assignment rule. If all assignment rules
do not have a score or more than one rule has the same highest score, then the assignment rule
with the lowest row ID is used to break the tie in the process of finding the primary assignment
rule. If the AddScores property is set to TRUE, scores for each candidate are merged across rules,
and the candidate primaries are calculated based on the total scores.
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If at least one assignment rule marked as exclusive passes, the exclusive assignment rule with
the higher score is chosen as the primary rule. Only the assignees in this assignment rule are
kept and all the assignees from other assignment rules are excluded.
If no rules passed or more than one exclusive assignment rule yields the same highest score,
Assignment Manager assigns the object to:
The default employee for employee-based assignments
The default position for position-based assignments
The default organization for organization-based assignments
NOTE: When two or more exclusive assignment rules have the same score and the Keep Man
Asgn Primary Position assignment property is set to TRUE on the object, then the manually
assigned primary position is retained and the default position is added to the team as a
nonprimary.
Assignment Manager determines the primary assignees. Assignment Manager determines
the primary assignees from the primary assignment rule:
For objects that use employee-based assignments, set the primary assignee to the primary
employee selected in the Primary Employee field of the Assignment Rule form applet for the
primary assignment rule. If the selected primary employee is not an assignee that satisfies
Step 6 on page 68, or if there is no primary employee specified on the rule, then select the
highest-scoring employee for the primary assignment rule that satisfies Step 6 on page 68.
For objects that use position-based assignment, set the primary assignee to the primary
position selected in the Primary Position field of the Assignment Rule form applet for the
primary assignment rule. If the selected primary position is not an assignee that satisfies
Step 6 on page 68, or if there is no primary position specified on the rule, then select the
highest-scoring position for the primary assignment rule that satisfies Step 6 on page 68.
For objects that use organization-based assignments, set the primary organization to the
primary organization selected in the Primary Organization field of the Assignment Rule form
applet for the primary assignment rule. If the selected primary organization is not an
assignee that satisfies Step 6 on page 68, or if there is no primary organization specified on
the rule, then select the highest-scoring organization for the primary assignment rule that
satisfies Step 6 on page 68.
NOTE: The primary employee, position, or organization must pass the minimum score required
for this assignment rule for assignment as the primary assignee. The only exception is when the
Assignee Filter is All, Must Assign, in which case the highest-scoring candidate is a potential
assignee if all candidates fail to meet the minimum score. For more information about assignee
filters, see About Some of the Assignment Rule Fields on page 48.
Assignment Manager filters out certain assignees based on multitiered mode. By
default, the assignment mode is set to independently assign qualifying people and organizations.
If you set one of the other assignment modesPerson-Oriented, Organization-Oriented, Person
and Organization-OrientedAssignment Manager filters out unwanted, but qualifying, people
and organizations based on the relationship that exists between them. Assignment Manager
recalculates the primaries, if necessary; for example, if primaries were filtered out by multitiered
filtering. See Configuring Assignment Objects for Multitiered Assignment on page 246 for further
information.
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10 Assignment Manager generates assignments. Assignment Manager writes assignees to the
database to finalize the assignment as follows:
Writes the primary assignment rule and primary assignees to the objects primary table.
For team-based objects, writes assignees to the objects team table.
NOTE: For interactive assignments, assignees appear in the appropriate list applet after
calculation. The candidate that Assignment Manager determines as the primary appears
highlighted. The user can then choose the candidate or candidates for assignment, or the user
can override and assign a different primary by selecting a different record.
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules Based on
Territories
This topic gives one example of how a sales organization can strategically assign salespeople based
on territories. You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
Your sales organization wants to create four territories based on geographic location. In this case,
you may want to create four assignment rules: US NW, US NE, US SE, and US SW, as shown in
Figure 5. Assignment Manager then assigns your salespeople depending on the geographic location
of the sales opportunity.
NOTE: For detailed instructions on performing each step in the following procedure, see Chapter 5,
Assignment Rule Administration.
One of the assignment rules
representing a sales territory (US
NW) highlighted in the Assignment
Rules List view.
Figure 5.
Example of Creating Sales Territories
To create sales assignment rules based on territories
1
Create assignment rules as sales territories.
In this example, in the Assignment Rule view you create four assignment rules, one for each
territory as shown in Figure 5.
Determine the assignment criteria.
In this example, in the Assignment Criteria view, you define Account State as the criteria for each
assignment rule, because the assignment rules are based on territories.
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Define the criteria values.
In this example, in the Assignment Criteria view, you use the states that make up each territory
as criteria values.
The following figure shows an example of defining a sales territory using assignment criteria and
values as described in Step 2 and Step 3.
Add the Positions.
In the Assignment Positions view, add the sales positions responsible for each territory. As an
example, you add Division Manager - West and Field Sales Representative to the US NW
assignment rule.
NOTE: To specify a primary position, you must set the primary at the rule level (in the Primary
Position field in the Assignment Rule List view) and also assign a specific position within that rule
(Assignment Rules > Positions).
Release the assignment rules.
In the Assignment Rules view, click the Release button. You can then run Batch Assignment to
assign objects affected by the assignment rules. For more information about running Batch
Assignment, see Running Batch Assignment on page 208.
After these assignment rules are released, Assignment Manager assigns salespeople based on the
geographic location of the sales opportunity. For example, a sales opportunity in California is
assigned to a Western Field Sales Representative.
NOTE: After an account or opportunity has been assigned to a sales team, the list of Territory
definitions used by Assignment Manager for this item is added to the item record in the Territories
field. This list cannot be edited in the standard user Account or Opportunity detail views.
For an example of how a sales organization can strategically distribute salespeople by using
assignment rules based on territories and revenue, see Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules
That Combine Criteria on page 72.
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Assignment Manager Behavior When All Assignment Rules Fail
If no qualifying assignment rules are found, that is, all evaluations fail, then Assignment Manager
replaces the team and assigns the default position as the primary position. For example, assume you
run batch assignment on the Account assignment object without specifying an object WHERE clause.
In this case, Assignment Manager processes all Account records. For each account, if no matching
assignment rules are found, then Assignment Manager can potentially replace the account team with
the default position. This can ultimately result in reassignment of all accounts.
Example of Creating Sales Assignment Rules That
Combine Criteria
This topic gives one example of how a sales organization can distribute its salespeople in the same
geographic location based on revenue potential. You may use this feature differently, depending on
your business model.
You can create territories that use the same geographic location but different revenue potentials. In
this example, you may want to create two assignment rules: US SW High Revenue and US SW Low
Revenue as shown in Figure 6. Assignment Manager then assigns your salespeople, depending on
both the geographic location and the revenue potential of the sales opportunity.
NOTE: For detailed instructions on performing each step in the following procedure, see Chapter 5,
Assignment Rule Administration.
Two assignment rules, one
for each territory, created
for opportunity objects.
Figure 6.
Example of Creating Assignment Rules with Combined Criteria
To create sales assignment rules that combine criteria
1
Create assignment rules.
In this example, create two assignment rules, one for each territory, as shown in Figure 6.
Determine the assignment criteria.
In this example, select Account State and Revenue as the criteria.
Define the criteria values.
In this example, use the states that make up each territory as the Account States criteria values.
For the Revenue criteria values, select different assignment attributes for each assignment rule:
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For the US SW High Revenue assignment rule, type 100,001 in the Revenue Low assignment
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For the US SW Low Revenue assignment rule, type 100,000 in the Revenue High assignment
attribute.
NOTE: The columns that appear in the Values list applet change dynamically depending on the
criteria selected in the Criteria list applet.
The following figure shows an example of defining the US SW High Revenue assignment rule as
described.
Add the positions for this assignment rule.
In this example, you add a different sales position for each assignment rule:
For the US SW High Revenue assignment rule, add Division Manager - West.
For the US SW Low Revenue assignment rule, add Western Field Sales Representative.
The figure shown in Step 3 shows an example of defining the US SW High Revenue assignment
rule as described.
Release the assignment rules.
In the Assignment Rules view, click the Release button. You may then run Batch Assignment to
assign objects affected by the assignment rules. For more information about running Batch
Assignment, see Running Batch Assignment on page 208.
After these assignment rules are released, Assignment Manager assigns salespeople based on
the geographic location and revenue potential of the sales opportunity. For example, a sales
opportunity in Nevada with a revenue potential of over $100,000 is assigned to the western
division manager. However, a sales opportunity in New Mexico with a revenue potential of
$100,000 or lower is assigned to a western field sales representative.
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Example of Creating Assignment Rules for Service
Organizations
This topic gives one example of how to create assignment rules for a service organization. You may
use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
Use the following strategy to develop assignment rules for your service organization:
Determine the different assignment objects to be assigned.
Service organizations need to assign ownership of a wide variety of tasks. These tasks may
include service requests, activities, and accounts. In addition, a product development
organization may need to assign ownership of product defects to engineers. For instance, you
may decide to assign only service requests and product defects, because the associated activities
are manually assigned by owners of those objects.
Determine if multiple assignment objects are assigned using the same assignment rules.
Multiple assignment objects can be assigned using the same assignment rules. For example, if
you are assigning accounts and service requests in the same manner, you can use the same
assignment rules by associating those rules with multiple assignment objects.
For each assignment object, determine which of the objects is assigned using the same
assignment rules.
The Compare to Object comparison method allows you to assign different groups of objects using
different rules. Typically, complex service environments assign different groups of service
requests using different rules, such as segmenting the service requests based on service request
priority.
Determine the strategy for each group of objects to be assigned using the same assignment
rules.
Use the skill criteria to minimize the number of assignment rules. One assignment rule can match
different candidates to various objects based on the object characteristics and candidate skills.
To determine optimal assignment, determine the criteria that you want to evaluate for each
candidate to make sure that the candidate possesses the proper skills to handle the task. This is
the primary type of criteria you use most frequently for implementing assignments in a customer
service environment. These criteria are defined using the Compare Object to Person comparison
method in the Assignment Criteria view.
Define workload rules.
Determine the various methods of calculating workloads for employees in your organization.
Each workload rule is associated with a specific assignment object. For instance, you can define
two workload rules to calculate:
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Open Service Requests for an employee
Critical Service Requests submitted through Siebel eService
Define assignment rules, assignment criteria, assignment criteria values, and assignment
workloads.
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Using the strategy, rules, and criteria discussed previously, define the assignment rules and the
corresponding detail using assignment administration views. In defining rules, criteria, values,
and workloads, you can specify scores for each component. These scores are aggregated in
determining the total score for each candidate of an assignment rule.
Define static and dynamic candidates.
For static candidates, use the assignment rule Employee, Position, or Organization Candidates
view (or use the All People value in the Person Candidates Source field or the All Organizations
value in the Organization Candidates Source field) to define eligible employees for assignment.
For dynamic candidates, choose the appropriate value from the Person Candidates Source field.
You may further restrict or weight employees who have different skills using the Compare to
Person assignment criteria.
Define employee skills.
After the assignment rules and the corresponding details have been defined, a customer service
manager must update the employee skill information (such as product expertise, language skills,
and geography). Assignment Manager uses these attributes when evaluating Compare to Person
and Compare Object to Person assignment criteria.
Release assignment rules.
In the Assignment Rules view, click the Release button. You can then run batch assignment to assign
objects affected by the assignment rules. For more information about running Batch Assignment, see
Running Batch Assignment on page 208.
Figure 7 shows a sample assignment rule for assigning support representatives to a service request.
Figure 7.
Assignment Rule for a Service Organization
The assignment rule shown in Figure 7:
Matches any service request:
For Pentium III 600 products
With a priority of High
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Uses two criteria with the following values:
Product Wildcard. A list of products that include the value CPU Pentium III 600
Service Request Priority. A list of service requests whose priority level is High
About Assignment Criteria
Assignment criteria are sets of conditions describing the attributes of objects or candidates, or both,
that are evaluated to determine optimal assignment. Assignment rules use criteria to determine
which candidates qualify as potential assignees. Criteria also determine which assignment rule
should be evaluated in assigning an object. An assignment rule can include none, one, or many
criteria.
Assignment criteria define attributes that can be used in assignment criteria records. Assignment
criteria appear in the picklist that is displayed when you click in the Criteria list column (in the Criteria
subview) when editing an assignment criterion record in Siebel applications.
Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods
Assignment Manager uses criteria comparison methods to qualify objects or candidates, or both, for
an assignment rule. Attributes (object or candidate) can be either attributes or skills depending on
the criterion value.
NOTE: Assignment criteria are evaluated as an attribute first, and then as a skill.
Table 18 lists the different requirements for each comparison method.
Table 18.
Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods
Comparison
Method
Description
Compare to
Object
Compares criteria values to object attributes. The criterion passes if the objects
possess the criteria values.
For example, Account Zip Code = 94040.
Compare to
Person
Compares criteria values to skills of person candidates (employees or positions).
Person candidates that possess the skills required by the criterion qualify for this
criterion.
For example, Language = ENU.
Compare
Object to
Person
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Compares object attributes to skills of person candidates (employees or
positions). Person candidates that possess the skills required by the object qualify
for this criterion. For example, product means compare the product of the
opportunity and the product skills of the person or position.
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Table 18.
Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods
Comparison
Method
Description
Compare to
Organization
Compares criteria values to organization skills. Organizations that possess the
skills required by the criterion qualify for this criterion.
For example, type = gold-level partner.
Compare
Object to
Organization
Compares object attributes to organization skills. Organizations that possess the
skills required by the object qualify for this criterion.
For example, ZIP Code means compare the ZIP Code of the service request and
the ZIP Code of the organization.
Depending on the comparison method, candidates that meet the criteria have the criteria score
added to their total score as follows:
The total score from all criteria of the Compare to Object type that pass is added to all qualifying
person and organization candidates.
The person candidates get the score from the Compare to Person and Compare Object to Person
criteria and values they pass.
The organization candidates get the score from the Compare to Organization and Compare
Object to Organization criteria and values they pass.
NOTE: Assignment rules can be created with no criteria. A rule of this nature functions to make sure
all data items of a particular object type are assigned, that is, all objects of the defined type pass.
Use these rules carefully as a rule defined with no criteria can make assignments that are not
required.
You should be especially careful creating rules with no criteria using batch assignment. This mode
can produce a very large number of assignments, because all objects in the database that have rules
with no criteria pass and are assigned in this mode. Such an increase can result in a backlog of
requests that may cause the whole environment to stop working if the database or file system runs
out of space. Therefore, assignment rules with no criteria should be used sparingly with batch
assignment.
Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods
You specify criteria inclusion methods for assignment rules to determine how criteria values and
candidates will be matched.
Assignment criteria use inclusion methods to:
Determine how many criteria values must be met to pass the criterion
Determine how the score of the criterion values are added to the candidates score
Table 19 shows the types of assignment criteria inclusion methods.
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Table 19.
Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods
Inclusion
Method
Comments
Include
At least one value needs to match:
For Compare to Object, the object attribute must match at least one listed
criteria value.
For Compare to Person, the person attribute must match at least one listed
criteria value.
For Compare Object to Person, at least one value of the person attribute must
match one value of the object attributes.
For Compare to Organization, the organization attribute must match at least one
listed criteria value.
For Compare Object to Organization, at least one value of the organization
attribute must match one value of the object attributes.
Assignment Manager stops processing criteria when one value is matched and the
score of the matching criterion value is added to the candidate's score.
Include All
All values must match:
For Compare to Object, the object attribute must match all listed criteria values.
For Compare to Person, the person attribute must match all listed criteria values.
For Compare Object to Person, all values of the person attribute must match all
values of the object attribute.
For Compare to Organization, the organization attribute must match all listed
criteria values.
For Compare Object to Organization, all values of the object attribute must
match all values of the organization attribute.
If the criterion is met, all the criteria value scores are added to the candidate's score.
However, if just one of the criteria are not met, then Assignment Manager stops
processing the rule.
Include All
Matching
This inclusion method matches in the same manner as the Include inclusion method,
that is, at least one value needs to match.
However, unlike the Include method, Assignment Manager continues to process this
criterion until all criterion values are exhausted. As a result, the scores from all
passing criterion values are added to the candidate's score.
TIP: The Include All Matching inclusion method matches like the Include inclusion
method but scores like the Include All inclusion method.
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Table 19.
Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods
Inclusion
Method
Comments
Exclude
None of the values must match:
For Compare to Object, the object attribute must not match any of the listed
criteria values.
For Compare to Person, the person attribute must not match any of the listed
criteria values.
For Compare Object to Person, no values of the person attribute can match any
values of the object attribute.
For Compare to Organization, the organization attribute must not match any of
the listed criteria values.
For Compare Object to Organization, no values of the organization attribute can
match any values of the object attribute.
NOTE: This inclusion method excludes criterion value scores. If the criterion is met,
only the criterion score is added to the candidate's score.
About Assignment Scoring
Siebel Assignment Manager determines which candidates are assigned to objects by applying scores
to potential candidates. Assignment Manager then ranks the candidates based on their scores and
selects assignees based on the assignee filter.
Assignment Manager calculates the total score for each candidate from each assignment rule from
the:
Assignment rule score
Assignment criteria score
Assignment criteria values score (according to the appropriate inclusion method)
Workload criteria score
Employee, position, or organization score (depending on the candidate)
NOTE: Before implementing Assignment Manager, you should carefully consider the value for each
score. Use scores to assign weights to your criteria. If there are multiple criteria, assign a higher
score to the more important attributes. This is especially useful for finding the best match when not
all criteria are required.
Using Siebel Tools, you can configure Assignment Manager to save the scores of candidates who are
assigned to an object. Other Siebel application modules can then access the saved candidate scores
for various purposes. For example, you might want to produce analysis reports for employee
utilization. Alternately, you can expose the scores to users for review and sorting.
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The scores of each candidate are stored in the appropriate team table by specifying the Employee
Team Score Column, Position Team Score Column, and Organization Team Score Column for the
assignment object. Team member scores are written independently for each type of candidate
(employees, positions, and organizations).
You can also configure Assignment Manager to add scores across assignment rules. For more
information about this, see the Add Scores across Rules (AddScores) parameter in Configuring
Assignment Manager to Add Scores Across Rules on page 252.
NOTE: Typically, you plan your scoring methodology during the design phase. However, you can add
scores to assignment rules at any time, but you must release the rules in order for the changes to
take affect.
About the Required Field for Assignment Criteria
The Required field on an assignment criterion gives you the ability to make certain criteria mandatory
for the assignment rule. If candidates meet this criterion, the candidates score is increased,
providing that candidate a better chance of being assigned. You make assignment criteria required
or not required by selecting one of the following choices from the picklist in the Required field in the
Criteria list for the assignment rule: Always, Never, or When Available.
Required Assignment Criteria
A required criterion means that the criterion must be met. For the Compare To Object type criteria,
if the object does not have the attribute to satisfy the criterion, the rule fails and none of the
candidates from that rule qualify for assignment. For person-based criteria (criteria with either a
Compare To Person or a Compare Object to Person comparison method), if the criterion is not met,
that person candidate fails and does not qualify for that assignment rule. Therefore, further personbased criteria are not evaluated for that person candidate.
For organization-based criterion (criterion with a Compare To Organization or a Compare Object to
Organization comparison method), if the criterion is not met, that organization candidate fails and
does not qualify for that assignment rule. Therefore, further organization-based criteria is not
evaluated for that Organization candidate.
For example, an assignment rule can have a required Service Request Severity assignment criterion
with a Compare to Object comparison method and a criteria value of 1-Critical. In this case, if the
object to be assigned has a service request severity of 1-Critical, the object qualifies for the
assignment rule. An object without a service request severity value or one that has a different service
request severity value does not qualify for the assignment rule.
Required When Available Assignment Criteria
In some cases, you may want to use Required When Available as the required property on the
assignment criterion. Your requirements may dictate that a particular criterion should be applied only
if the object or the candidate has the attribute available. If the attribute is available, the criterion
should be satisfied mandatorily. It is in these instances you use Required When Available. You can
make criteria required when available by selecting When Available from the picklist in the Required
field.
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For example, an assignment rule can have a required when available Service Request Severity
assignment criteria with a Compare to Object comparison method and a criteria value of 1-Critical.
In this case, if the object assigned has a service request severity of 1-Critical, the object qualifies
for the assignment rule. An object that has a lower service request severity value does not qualify
for the assignment rule. However, an object without a service request severity value qualifies for the
assignment rule (because the criteria value is null, or not available).
NOTE: If an assignment criterion uses a Compare Object to Person or a Compare Object to
Organization comparison method, and the attribute value is not found on person, the criterion fails.
Nonrequired Assignment Criteria
Use nonrequired assignment criteria to further determine a suitable match between candidates and
assignment rules. You can make criteria nonrequired by selecting Never from the picklist in the
Required field. Use nonrequired criteria that include scores to apply scores to candidates. These
scores are added to the total scores of the candidates for this assignment rule if they pass the
criteria. By using nonrequired criteria with scores, you can add a higher score to candidates that
satisfy this criteria, while keeping candidates that do not satisfy the criteria.
If a candidate fails a nonrequired criterion, no score is added to the candidate; however, the
candidate does not fail. Person candidates are evaluated for rest of the person-based criteria and
organization candidates are evaluated for the rest of the organization-based criteria.
For example, you should use service-related criteria (such as Service Request Priority) for an
assignment rule that are applied to service-related objects (such as Service Request). If you
create an assignment rule with Server Request Priority as nonrequired criteria, Assignment
Manager does not qualify any accounts for the criteria because Service Request Priority does not
apply to accounts.
If an assignment rule uses only nonrequired assignment criteria, then the assignment rule passes
even if the minimum score for the rule is not satisfied, because the assignment criteria are not
required. To avoid this behavior, you can alter Assignment Manager so that assignment rules
pass only when the minimum score for the rule is satisfied, even if the assignment criteria are
not required.
To require that an assignment rule satisfies the minimum score for the rule to pass, you can use
the UseRuleMinScore server parameter. If you set this parameter to TRUE, each assignment rule
score must be equal to or greater than the rule minimum score to pass. Also, candidates must
have a total score from the rule greater than or equal to the rule minimum score in order to
qualify for that rule as well.
When using the AsgnSrvr and AsgnBatch commands from the command-line interface when
running Assignment Manager, you can change the value for the UseRuleMinScore server
parameter. For dynamic assignment, you change the default value of the UseRuleMinScore
parameter in the Assignment Request (In Process) workflow policy program.
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Removing Assignment Criteria from Assignment Rules
In some cases, you may want to eliminate assignment criteria that appear in the Assignment Criteria
view. To do so, you need to remove the unwanted criteria from the Assignment Criteria view as well
as use Siebel Tools to disable the corresponding assignment attribute, assignment attribute column,
assignment criteria, and assignment criteria attribute object definitions.
Use the following procedure to remove unwanted criteria from the Assignment Criteria view.
To remove unwanted criteria from an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
Select the assignment rule for which you want to remove criteria.
Click the Criteria subview.
In the Criteria list, delete any criteria you want removed.
Perform the tasks described in About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills on page 138.
NOTE: If you want to remove criteria from the list of values (LOV) field, you must use Siebel
Tools to perform Step 5. However, removing the criteria from the rule itself is often sufficient to
make certain the criteria is no longer used for the rule.
Process of Adding Criteria and Values to
Assignment Rules
You can add criteria and criteria values to your assignment rules to evaluate and assign candidates.
CAUTION: Assignment rules can be created with no criteria. However, it is recommended that you
use this type of rule carefully as a rule defined with no criteria can make unnecessary assignments.
To add criteria and criteria values to assignment rules, perform the following tasks:
Adding Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules on page 82
Adding Criteria Values to Assignment Criteria on page 86
or
Adding Criteria Values as Skills to Assignment Rules Using Expertise Codes on page 94
Adding Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules
This topic explains how to add assignment criteria to assignment rules.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting
Factors on page 93 as well as Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
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Criteria are sets of conditions describing the attributes of objects or candidates, or both, that are
evaluated to determine optimal assignment. Criteria are the fundamental building blocks for
assignment rules. An assignment rule can contain none, one, or many criteria. Assignment rules use
criteria to determine which candidates qualify as potential assignees. Criteria also determine which
assignment rule should be evaluated in assigning an object.
CAUTION: Assignment rules can be created with no criteria. A rule of this nature functions to make
sure data items of a particular type are assigned, that is, objects of the defined type pass. Use these
rules carefully as a rule defined with no criteria can make assignments that are not required.
To add an assignment criterion to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules List list, drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to create
an assignment criterion, and then click the Criteria view tab (if not already active).
In the Criteria list, click New.
In the new criterion record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information.
NOTE: If you want to query for an assignment criterion, you must use the name of the
assignment criterion, not the display name for the assignment criterion object you configured
using Siebel Tools. For example, if the name of the Account assignment criteria is ACCOUNT_ID,
then you must use this name for your query, although the display name is Account. The queries
for seed assignment criteria must also be made with their English names, that is, these queries
do not accept non-English characters.
Table 20 shows the predefined fields.
Table 20.
Assignment Criteria Predefined Fields
Field
Description
Example
Rule
Criterion
The criteria evaluated for the assignment rule.
Product Defect
Priority
Comparison
Method
Methods used by Assignment Manager to determine how objects
and candidates are matched. Choices are:
Compare to
Object
Compare to Object
Compare to Person
Compare Object to Person
Compare to Organization
Compare Object to Organization
For explanations of each method, see Assignment Criteria
Comparison Methods on page 76.
NOTE: For assignment criteria that use the Compare to Object,
Compare to Person, or Compare to Organization comparison
method, each criteria includes one or more values.
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Table 20.
Assignment Criteria Predefined Fields
Field
Description
Example
Inclusion
Methods used by Assignment Manager to determine how criteria
values and candidates are matched. Choices are: Include, Include
All Matching, Include All, and Exclude.
Include
For more information about each inclusion method, see
Assignment Criteria Inclusion Methods on page 77.
NOTE: Depending on the Inclusion method, candidates that meet
the criteria value have the criteria value score added to their total
score. Criteria values can be defined as constants or can use
wildcard characters to include a wider selection of potential
matches between assignment rule and object.
Required
Determines whether the criteria is required. Choices are:
Always
Never
When Available
For detailed information about the required field, see Adding
Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules on page 82.
Score
Score for this criteria. Candidates that satisfy this criteria have
this score added to their total score.
For more information how you can use the criteria score, see
Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods on page 76.
Minimum
Score
Minimum score required to qualify for this criterion. This field can
be left blank.
If the total score from all matching criterion values (calculated
based on the inclusion method for the rule) is greater than or
equal to the minimum score specified for the criterion, then the
criterion passes.
Inherited
If selected, indicates the criterion was inherited from a parent
rule. This is a read-only field.
NOTE: If the Inherited flag for a criterion is true in the
Administration - Assignment view, the Read Only flag is true in
the Administration - Delegated Assignment views.
TIP: If the Inherited field is not visible, use the Columns
Displayed feature to make it visible (right-click, select Inherited,
use the arrows to move Inherited from Available Columns to
Selected Columns, and then click Save).
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Table 20.
Assignment Criteria Predefined Fields
Field
Description
Template
If selected, Assignment Manager excludes the criterion when
processing rules.
Example
Assignment Manager does not process criteria templates until an
inheritor chooses to apply a template to an assignment rule. For
more information about applying criteria templates, see Adding
Criteria Templates to Assignment Rules on page 170.
NOTE: When a rule with a criterion using a template is inherited,
the criterion is not automatically inherited with the other criteria.
You must explicitly apply the criterion to the inherited rule. After
the criterion is applied to the inherited rule, you can modify the
criterion as you would any other criteria.
TIP: If the Template field is not visible, use the Columns
Displayed feature to make it visible (right-click, select Columns
Displayed, use the arrows to move Template from Available
Columns to Selected Columns, and then click Save).
DA Read
Only
If selected, makes a criterion read-only for delegated
administrators. By checking this field, the assignment
administrator (AA) makes sure the criterion is read-only to all
users who view the rule from the delegated assignment views,
including the owner of that child rule group.
For example, if the AA creates Rule A in a rule group and that rule
gets inherited as Rule B in a child rule group, the AA can add a
criterion to Rule B and make it read-only. The owner of the child
rule group cannot change this setting. Without this flag, the
owner of the child rule group could delete that criterion because
it was not inherited from the parent rule.
NOTE: If the DA Read Only field for a criterion is true in the
Administration - Assignment view, the Read Only flag is true in
the Administration - Delegated Assignment view.
TIP: If the DA Read Only field is not visible, use the Columns
Displayed feature to make it visible (right-click, select Columns
Displayed, use the arrows to move DA Read Only from Available
Columns to Selected Columns, and then click Save).
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Figure 8 shows an example of an assignment criterion using the values from Table 20. This example
shows a required always Product Defect Priority rule criterion for an assignment rule that is compared
to service objects using the Include inclusion method.
Figure 8.
Example of an Assignment Criterion
Adding Criteria Values to Assignment Criteria
This topic explains how to add criteria values to assignment criteria. Each assignment criterion has
one or more criteria attributes (values) that are shown as columns in the Values list applet.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting
Factors on page 93 as well as a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
About Criteria Values
Criteria values are details associated with criteria that are compared to an object or candidate. For
assignment criteria that use the Compare to Object, Compare to Person, or Compare to Organization
comparison method, each criterion includes one or more criteria values. A value represents the
actual string, number, or date that is used in matching. Criteria values can be based on MLOVs,
picklists (a pop-up pick applet from where you can choose a record), or simple free text fields.
Depending on the inclusion method, candidates that meet the criteria value have the criteria value
score added to their total score. Criteria values can be defined as constants or can use wildcard
characters to include a wider selection of potential matches between assignment rule and object.
There are predefined criteria values available dynamically based upon the criterion you select, or you
can create your own criteria values using Siebel Tools. Each criteria value can include one or more
attributes. For example, the Account City State Country criterion has three attributes: one each for
City, State, and Country. This type of criterion is known as a composite criterion. Each of the
assignment attributes appear as list columns in the criteria value applet. For more information about
assignment attributes, see Creating Assignment Attributes on page 122.
Criteria values are considered differently when child components are involved. For example, consider
a rule that uses both of the following criteria on the attributes coming from an Opportunity
component; assume also that both criteria are configured to be available to the Account and
Opportunity assignment objects:
Opty Criteria1=value1
Opty Criteria2=value2
Scenario 1: When the rule assigns to the Opportunity object
The Opportunity component, in this context, is the primary component so both criteria work on
the same record, which means that the opportunity record must match both criteria if it is to be
assigned.
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Scenario 2: When the rule assigns to the Account object
The Opportunity component, in this context, is the child component, so all the opportunity
records associated with the account represent one entity. This means that the criteria are
evaluated on all child records. If only one of the child records matches, then the criteria match.
As a result, the rule passes if one of the opportunities matches Opty Criteria1, and one of the
opportunities matches Opty Criteria2.
To add criteria values to an assignment criterion
1
With the appropriate assignment criterion selected in the Criteria list (navigate to the
Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view, select a rule, and click the
Criteria tab), scroll down to the Values subview.
In the Values list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information.
NOTE: The assignment attributes for criteria values that are available differ depending on the
assignment criterion you select in Step 1.
You define different types of criteria values depending on the assignment attribute. Some criteria
values appear as list of value (LOV) fields from which you choose a value (such as Account State),
some criteria values show a pick dialog box from which you choose a value (such as Account), and
some criteria values are numbers which you choose using the calculator button, while other values
are dates which you choose using the calendar select button.
Table 21 shows examples of assignment attributes for the assignment criterion created in Adding
Assignment Criteria to Assignment Rules on page 82.
Table 21.
Available Assignment Attributes
Criteria Value
Example
Score
10
6
Product Defect Priority
1Very High
2High
Avoiding Duplicate Assignment Criteria Values
It is possible to create duplicate criteria values for an assignment criterion. If both criteria values
use scores in this case, then both scores are added to the assignment criterion if the criteria value
passes. This can happen when you create criteria values that use ranges, such as criteria values for
the Revenue assignment criterion.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you do not create duplicate criteria values for the same
assignment criterion, even though Assignment Manager allows this. If both criteria values use scores
and you use the Include inclusion method, the score added to the passing candidate may be
inconsistent. If you use the Include All or Include All Matching inclusion method, both the scores are
added to the passing candidate.
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Using Wildcard Characters When Defining Criteria Values
Wildcard characters can also be used when defining specific criteria values. This option allows for a
greater range of assignment object matches. For example, if you create an assignment rule for
Account objects with the Account City as assignment criteria, the corresponding criteria value City
can be defined as A*. This setting matches Accounts in cities beginning with the letter A.
If a criterion value includes the special characters ?, *, and \ that are used as literals, the
escape identifier character (\) must be added before each special character in the value field. For
example, the criteria value Tri*Laptop is entered into the Values field as Tri\*Laptop.
Criteria values that include alphanumeric entries are stored as string values. These values are sorted
lexicographically, that is, in dictionary order, when determining specific ranges for assignment rules.
For example, the value AB10 is sorted between AB1 and AB9 even though you may require AB10
placed greater than AB9.
Figure 9 shows an example of creating Product Defect Priority criteria values using the procedure in
Adding Criteria Values to Assignment Criteria on page 86 and the values in Table 21 on page 87.
Figure 9.
Example of Adding Criteria Values to an Assignment Criterion
About Assignment Skills, Expertise
Codes, and Weighting Factors
Assignment Manager provides predefined skills, expertise codes, and weighting factors. These
optional building blocks allow you to determine the criteria that you want to evaluate for each
candidate to make sure potential candidates possess the proper skillset to handle the task.
Assignment Skills
A skill is an attribute associated with a person, organization, or base table row. Assignment Manager
can perform assignments based on skills by associating the skills with employee, position, and
organization candidates. For example, if an employee speaks English and Spanish, language is the
skill he or she possesses, and English and Spanish are the skill items. Employee, position, and
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organization skills are used to store skills possessed; the skill tables for objects are used to store
skills required. Assignment Manager uses skill tables to do skill matching by comparing the skills on
the object with the skills of an employee, position, or organization to determine who passes the rule.
The Siebel application provides predefined skills, however, you can create new skills using Siebel
Tools. You enable and configure skills at the criteria level using Siebel Tools. After skills are enabled,
Assignment Manager matches skills based on the assignment criteria comparison method in the
same manner in which other attributes are matched. Assignment Manager applies scores and other
filters to find the best candidate after a match is made.
Expertise Codes
Expertise codes define an employee's expertise level for a particular skill item. For example, an
employee might have an Expert level expertise in networking products but only a Novice level
expertise in printer products. You apply expertise codes to skills to eliminate underqualified
candidates. Assignment Manager uses expertise codes to match an assignment object to people.
After you select an expertise code for a skill, Assignment Manager matches assignment rules based
on the assignment criteria comparison method. Table 22 shows the different results based on those
methods.
Table 22.
How Assignment Rules are Matched Based on Expertise Code and Comparison Methods
If the Criteria Comparison
Method Is
The Assignment Rule Passes if the
Compare to Object
Skills expertise code is equal to, or higher than, the
objects expertise code.
Compare Object to Person
Candidates expertise code is equal to, or higher than, the
objects expertise code.
Compare Object to Organization
Organizations expertise code is equal to, or higher than,
the objects expertise code.
Compare to Person
Candidates expertise code is equal to, or higher than, the
skills expertise code
Compare to Organization
Organizations expertise code is equal to, or higher than,
the skills expertise code.
For more information about assignment criteria comparison methods, see Assignment Criteria
Comparison Methods on page 76.
Weighting Factors
Optionally, you can apply weighting factors to expertise codes. While you can use expertise codes to
eliminate underqualified candidates, using weighted expertise codes allows you to weigh skill scores
to find the most suitable candidate by further eliminating overqualified candidates. For example, you
may not want to assign an expert to a service request that can be handled by a novice.
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Using weighted expertise codes allows you to prevent assigning objects to overqualified candidates
by applying a weight to the skill score. Each expertise code has a defined value, which is its weighting
factor. The expertise code with the highest defined weighting factor represents the maximum
weighting factor (Max Weighting Factor).
The weighting applied to a skill or criteria score is the percentage defined by an expertise codes
weighting factor over the maximum weighting factor. For an example, see Table 23 on page 95.
Weighted scores are calculated differently based on the comparison method chosen for the
assignment rule:
For the Compare to Person, Compare to Object, and Compare to Organization comparison
methods, the weighted score is determined as follows:
Score = Criteria Score + Skill Score*(Weighting Factor/Max Weighting Factor)
For the Compare Object to Person and Compare Object to Organization comparison methods,
because neither of these comparison methods can define skill scores, the weighted score is
determined as follows:
Score = Criteria Score*(Weighting Factor/Max Weighting Factor)
NOTE: When using the Compare Object to Person or the Compare Object to Organization
comparison method, weighting factors are only applied if the expertise code is defined for both
the object assignment skill item and the candidate skill item. If the expertise code is not defined
for both, the weighting factors are excluded.
Assignment Manager applies the weighted skill scores and other scores to find the most suitable
candidate when a match is made.
Scenario for Using Assignment Skills
This scenario provides an example of how Assignment Manager can automatically route an SR
(service request to the most qualified field service representative. Your company may follow a
different process according to its business requirements.
A software application company places a call to your Call Center stating they have a malfunctioning
cable modem. To handle the incoming request, a call center service agent creates an SR, and then
associates that service request with the Cable Modem PL/12 product. Based on the predefined
assignment rule, Assignment Manager automatically assigns the SR to the most qualified field service
representative who has expertise with this cable modem product line.
Associating Skills with Employees, Positions, and
Organizations
You use skills to find the best matching candidates to assign to assignment objects. Skills can be
associated with individual employees, positions, or organizations. During the assignment process,
Assignment Manager identifies candidates that have the relevant skills for assignment to a particular
item. For example, a service request requiring an agent who has expertise for a particular product
is routed to someone who has that product expertise as a part of their skill set.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
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You enable and configure skills at the criteria level by using Siebel Tools. For more information about
defining criteria for skills, see Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and
Weighting Factors on page 93.
NOTE: Assignment Manager caches employee, position, and organization skills when the Siebel
Server is started. Every time rules are released, employee, position, and organization skills are
updated and cached. If you want to automatically refresh employee, position, and organization skills
at a periodic interval, set the value of Refresh people skills interval (the MaxSkillsAge AsgnSrvr
component parameter) to the desired interval of update.
To associate skills with an employee
1
Navigate to the Administration - User screen > Employees view.
In the Employees list, select the employee for whom you want to define skills, and then click the
Assignment Skills tab.
In the Assignment skills list, click New to add a new record.
In the Skill field, select a skill from the drop-down list.
In the Assignment Skill Items list, click New to add a new record, and then complete the
necessary fields.
The columns that display in the Employee Skill Items list depend on the skill chosen from the
drop-down list in the Assignment Skills list.
NOTE: Employees can also track and update their own skill profiles in the User Preferences Profile
view (navigate to User Preferences > User Profile > Assignment Skills).
To associate skills with a position
1
Navigate to the Administration - Group screen > Positions view.
In the Positions list, select the position for which you want to associate skills.
In the Assignment Skills list, click New.
In the Item field, select a skill from the drop-down list.
Scroll down to the Position Skill Items list, click New to add a new record, and then complete the
necessary fields.
NOTE: The columns that display in the Position Skill Items list depend on the skill chosen from
the drop-down list in the Assignment Skills list.
To associate skills with an organization
1
Navigate to the Administration - Group screen > Organizations view.
In the Organizations list, select the organization for which you want to associate skills.
In the Assignment Skills list, click New.
In the Item field, select a skill from the drop-down list.
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Scroll down to the Organization Skill Items list, click New to add a new record, and then complete
the necessary fields.
NOTE: The columns that display in the Organization Skill Items list depend on the skill chosen
from the drop-down list in the Assignment Skills list.
Example of Using Assignment Skills in Assignment
Rules
This topic gives one example of using skills to determine who passes an assignment rule. You may
use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
The following procedure explains how to configure Assignment Manager so that only employees who
speak Spanish are assigned a service request.
To configure Assignment Manager to assign a service request only to employees
who speak Spanish
1
Create a service request with Language as the skill and Spanish as the skill item.
In the Service Request skill table for the service request, create one record and specify Language
as the skill.
In the child Service Request skill item table, create one record and specify Spanish as the skill
item.
Create an assignment rule that filters employees based on their language skills.
Create an assignment rule and apply the Service Request assignment object.
Create a criterion called Language and use the Compare to Person assignment rule comparison
method.
This criterion, and therefore the rule, passes only employees who have the Spanish language
skill.
NOTE: The previous example used the Compare to Person comparison method, however, skill
matching can be used with other comparison methods. For more information about comparison
methods, see Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods on page 76.
Assignment Manager can also do skill matching with expertise codes and can use weighting factors
to assign weighted scores to different expertise codes. For more information about skill matching
using expertise codes and weighting factors, see Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with
Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors on page 93.
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Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with
Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors
You define skills in the same manner as you define criteria values. Defining criteria values as skills
with expertise codes is a preconfigured feature of assignment criteria values and works with
assignment rules for service objects (or any other object you configure to use skills). By default,
sales objects do not use skills.
To define criteria values as skills with expertise codes and weighting factors, perform the following
tasks:
(Optional) Creating Expertise Codes for Skills on page 93
Adding Criteria Values as Skills to Assignment Rules Using Expertise Codes on page 94
(Optional) Defining Weighting Factors for Expertise Codes on page 95
These tasks are one step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
NOTE: Criteria and skills need the same Assignment Criteria Attribute enabled for Assignment
Manager to perform skill comparison. For more information about enabling Assignment Criteria
Attributes, see Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria on page 129.
Creating Expertise Codes for Skills
Expertise codes apply only to skills and are global; after they are defined, assignment criteria share
the same set of expertise codes. Expertise codes are predefined for the following skill types
(assignment criteria):
Language Code
Product
Product Line
Product Line Wildcard
Product Wildcard
The three predefined expertise codes are Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. For most deployments,
the predefined skills are sufficient, however, you can create new ones. Expertise codes are stored
inand can be modified, added to, or deleted fromthe Administration - Data screen > List of Values
view. To create new expertise codes, use the following procedure.
NOTE: You should perform the procedures in this section only if the default expertise codesNovice,
Intermediate, and Expertdo not meet the requirements of your organization.
To create an expertise code
1
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen > List of Values view.
In the List of Values list, click New.
In the new record, click in the fields to enter the relevant information for the expertise code.
In the Type field, click the select button, query for EXPERTISE_CD in the Pick Value Type dialog
box, and then click OK.
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In the Display Value field, type the name of the expertise code as you want it to appear.
In the Language-Independent Code field, type in the exact value that you entered in Step b.
In the Language Name field, click the select button to select the appropriate language in the Pick
Language Name dialog box, and then click OK.
In the Translate field, click to place a check mark (if not already checked).
In the Order field, type a numerical value for the rank of the expertise code.
The numerical value you type in this field determines the rank of the expertise code. Use a
higher value to apply a greater rank to the expertise code, and a lower value to apply a lesser
rank.
The new expertise value appears in the List of Values list and also becomes a valid expertise code
selection in the criteria value drop-down menu when defining skills.
Figure 10 shows an example of creating a Manager expertise code that is ranked higher than the
default expertise codes.
Figure 10. Example of Creating a New Expertise Code
Adding Criteria Values as Skills to Assignment Rules Using Expertise
Codes
To add a criteria value as a skill to an assignment rule using expertise codes, select the desired
expertise from the Expertise Code field in the Value list applet as shown in Figure 11 on page 95. The
predefined expertise codes are: Novice, Intermediate, and Expert.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting
Factors on page 93 as well as a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
To add a skill to an assignment rule using an expertise code
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules list, drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add a skill,
and then click the Criteria view tab.
In the Criteria list, select New.
In the new criteria record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information.
Scroll down to the Values subview, and then click New.
In the new values record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information.
NOTE: The assignment attributes for criteria values that are available differ depending on the
assignment criterion you select in Step 4. In the example in Figure 11 on page 95, the assignment
attributes are: Score, Product Line, and Expertise Code.
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Figure 11 on page 95 shows an example of creating a required Product Line Wildcard assignment
criterion that is compared to candidates. This criterion requires a minimum score of 10 and the
modem product line skill with an expertise level of intermediate or better.
In this example, only candidates with an Intermediate- or Expert-level expertise qualify for this skill
and receive 20 points.
If the predefined expertise codes are not sufficient for your needs, you can create new ones. To
create new expertise codes, see Creating Expertise Codes for Skills on page 93.
Figure 11. Example of Adding a Skill with an Expertise Code
Defining Weighting Factors for Expertise Codes
Weighting factors for expertise codes apply only to skills and are global; after they are defined,
assignment criteria share the same set of weighting factors for expertise codes. Weighting factors
weigh expertise codes by applying a specified percentage to the skill score. Table 23 shows sample
weighting factors that can be used for the three types of predefined expertise codes.
Table 23.
Sample Weighting Factors for Expertise Codes
Expertise
Code
Weighting
Factor
Percentage of Skill Score
Novice
If skill is matched, adds 40% of score for the skill (or criteria value)
Intermediate
If skill is matched, adds 100% of score for the skill (or criteria value)
Expert
If skill is matched, adds 60% of score for the skill (or criteria value)
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In this example, candidates with an intermediate expertise for the matched skill are favored over
other candidates, because they receive 100% of the skill score. This may be desired if your
organization has many more service representatives with an intermediate expertise than service
representatives with an expert expertise. In this case, you make sure that service requests that
require only an intermediate expertise are assigned to service representatives with an intermediate
expertise.
NOTE: Use weighting factors to adjust relative scoring for expertise; do not define separate criteria
and scores for different expertise levels.
If you use weighting factors to weigh the expertise codes, candidates with different expertise receive
different scores. For example, if you use the weighting factors described in Table 23 on page 95 and
the expertise code defined in Figure 11 on page 95:
Candidates who possess an intermediate-level expertise in the modem product skill receive 20
points and qualify for this criterion.
Candidates who possess an expert-level expertise receive 10 points and qualify for this criterion.
Candidates who possess a novice-level expertise fail this criteria (because an expertise level of
intermediate or better is required), and fail the assignment rule (because the criterion is
required).
Candidates who possess an intermediate-level expertise are therefore favored, because they
receive a higher score.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Criteria Values as Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting
Factors on page 93.
Weighting factors for expertise codes are stored inand can be modified, added to, or deleted from
the Administration - Data screen > List of Values view.
To define weighting factors for expertise codes
1
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen > List of Values view.
Display the list of values of type EXPERTISE_CD.
In the List of Values list, click Query.
In the Type field, click the select button.
In the Pick Value Type dialog box, query for EXPERTISE_CD, click Go, and then click OK.
In the List of Values list, click Go to complete the query.
For each of the resulting display values (default values are Novice, Intermediate, and Expert),
click in the Weighting Factor field and type in a numerical value.
The numerical value you type in this field, relative to the maximum weighting value defined,
represents the percentage applied to the skill score.
TIP: If the Weighting Factor field is not visible when the List of Values appear, use the Columns
Displayed feature to make it visible (right-click, select Columns Displayed, use the arrows to
move Weighting Factor from Available Columns to Selected Columns, and then click Save).
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Figure 12 shows an example of defining the weighting factors for the default expertise codes using
the values listed in Table 23 on page 95.
Figure 12. Example of Defining Weighting Factors
How Assignment Manager Balances
Workload Among Candidates
Workload distribution is a special criteria type that balances the load between candidates. You create
workload distribution by adding workload rules in the Assignment Workload view for employees and
positions, or the Assignment Organization Workload view for organizations. Workload distribution is
generally used with service assignments.
Optionally, you can also define your own workload rules using the Workload Distribution Rules view.
For more information about defining assignment workload distribution rules, see Creating
Assignment Workload Distribution Rules on page 99.
How Workload Distribution Applies Workload Scores to Candidates
Workload distribution applies a workload score to candidates based on their current workload. The
workload score is calculated as follows:
Workload score = Score * (1 (current workload/maximum workload))
NOTE: The candidates current workload excludes the workload of the current object being assigned.
Candidates with a lighter workload receive a higher score than candidates with a heavier workload.
The workload score is then added to the candidates score to generate a total score. Candidates that
have workloads in excess of the maximum workload are eliminated from the assignment rule. This
criteria prevents employees from being overloaded. Multiple workload distributions can be used for
each assignment rule.
NOTE: As with criteria, workload distribution has a Required field, which functions in the same
manner as it does for regular criteria.
Figure 13 shows a workload distribution rule that:
Adds 100 points to candidates with a workload of 0 items (100* (1-(0/2))
Adds 50 points to candidates with a workload of 1 item (100* (1-(1/2))
Adds 0 points to candidates with a workload of 2 items (100* (1-(2/2))
Eliminates candidates with a workload of more than two items if the workload distribution rule is
marked as Required
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Figure 13. Sample Workload Distribution
Enabling MLOV Capability for Workload Distribution
Workload distribution can be enabled for multilingual list of values (MLOV) capabilities with additional
configuration. MLOV allows you to store workload distribution in a form that can be retrieved and
displayed in a variety of supported client languages. For more details on this feature, see Configuring
Siebel Business Applications.
Process of Defining Assignment
Workload
There are two methods for defining workload rulesusing predefined workload rules or creating your
own workload-rule definitions. This topic discusses how to use both options.
Assignment Manager provides a set of predefined workload rules that allows you to define workload
distribution in assignment rules for employees, positions, or organization.
Table 24 lists the predefined assignment workload rules:
Table 24.
Predefined Assignment Workload Rules
Workload Rule Name
Assignment Object
Critical Service Requests
Service Request
Excellent Leads
Opportunity
Open Opportunities
Opportunity
Total Open Service Requests
Service Request
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Optionally, you can create your own workload rules. Use the following procedures to define
assignment workload if you plan to create your own workload distribution rules.
NOTE: If you plan to use the predefined workload distribution rules, skip to Step 2.
(Optional) Creating Assignment Workload Distribution Rules on page 99
Applying Assignment Workload Distribution to Employees, Positions, and Organizations on
page 100
Creating Assignment Workload Distribution Rules
If you prefer to create your own workload distribution rules, in lieu of using the predefined rules, use
the following procedure.
NOTE: When creating your own workload rules, keep in mind that performance may be affected if
Assignment Manager is accessing a nonindex column or retrieving the total number of records.
This task an optional step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44 and Process of
Defining Assignment Workload on page 98.
To create assignment workload distribution rules
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Workload Distribution Rules view.
NOTE: If you plan to use the predefined workload rules, skip to Step 4.
In the Workload Rules list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information for the workload
rule.
In the Name field, type a name for the workload rule.
In the Assignment Object field, select the assignment object of the workload rule.
NOTE: The workload rules assignment object must match the assignment rules assignment
object; otherwise, the assignment workload criteria is excluded or a run-time error occurs
(dependent on the assignment rule assignment objects Ignore Extra Attributes run-time
parameter setting).
With the appropriate workload rule selected, in the Conditions view, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields to enter the relevant information for the workload
conditions.
In the Conditional Field field, select a value to define the workload condition.
The fields that are available depend on the assignment object selected in Step 3 on page 99.
In the Comparison Operator field, select a comparison method.
NOTE: When specifying values for the comparison operands (LIKE, NOT LIKE, IN, NOT IN,
and BETWEEN), the Value field must be in a form that the underlying database expects. For
more information about operands, see Siebel Developers Reference.
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In the Value field, select a value with which you want to compare the workload condition.
The values that are available depend on the workload condition selected in Step 3 on page 99.
TIP: If the drop-down arrow does not appear when you select the Value field, you need to
enter an appropriate value. For example, if you are creating a workload rule for an
Opportunity object and using Position Id as the workload condition, you need to enter the
physical ROW_ID of the positions.
NOTE: If the assignment object selected for the workload criteria is team-based, workload criteria
using this workload rule should be associated with an assignment rule only if the workload rule object
has the team table (or owner field) referenced by one of its workflow components.
Figure 14 shows an example of creating a workload rule called Example for the Account assignment
object. The workload condition requires that the account state equal CA.
Figure 14. Creating Workload Distribution Rules
Applying Assignment Workload Distribution to
Employees, Positions, and Organizations
You balance workload among candidates by adding workload distribution rules for employees and
positions, and organization workload distribution rules for organizations. For example, if your
business logic includes limits on the maximum amount of work that can be handled at one time, you
would apply assignment workload to your assignment rules.
The following tasks are one step in Process of Defining Assignment Workload on page 98 and Process
of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
Applying Workload Distribution to Employees and Positions
Use the following procedure when defining workload distribution for employees or positions.
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To apply workload distribution to employees and positions
1
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to define the workload criteria (navigate
to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view), and then click the
Workload Distribution view tab.
In the Workload Distribution list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields and enter the relevant information.
Table 25 shows the available predefined fields.
Table 25.
Workload Distribution Fields for Employees and Positions
Field
Description
Example
Workload
Distribution Rule
Name of the workload rule to apply to the assignment
rule.
Total Open Service
Requests
Assignment Object
Type of assignment object related to this workload rule.
Service Request
Score
Score to apply for this workload rule. For more
information about workload scores, see Process of
Defining Assignment Workload on page 98.
50
Required
Determines whether the workload rule is required for the
assignment rule. The choices are Always and Never.
Always
Maximum
Workload
The maximum workload allowed for this workload rule.
For more information about how this value affects the
workload score, see Process of Defining Assignment
Workload on page 98.
Figure 15 shows an example of defining a workload distribution rule for employees and positions
using values specified in Table 25.
Figure 15. Example of Defining Workload Distribution for Employees and Positions
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Applying Workload Distribution to Organizations
Use the following procedure when defining workload distribution for organizations.
To apply workload distribution to organizations
1
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to define workload criteria (Navigate > Site
Map > Administration - Assignment > Assignment Rules List), and then click the Organization
Workload Distribution view tab.
In the Organization Workload Distribution list, click New.
In the new record, click in the available fields and enter the relevant information.
Table 26 shows the available predefined fields.
Table 26.
Workload Distribution Fields for Organizations
Field
Description
Example
Assignment
Object
Type of assignment object related to this workload rule.
Opportunity
Maximum
Workload
The maximum workload allowed for this workload rule. For
more information about how this value affects the workload
score, see Process of Defining Assignment Workload on
page 98.
Required
Determines whether the workload rule is required for the
assignment rule. The choices are Always and Never.
Always
Score
Score to apply for this workload rule. For more information
about workload scores, see Process of Defining Assignment
Workload on page 98.
10
Workload
Distribution Rule
Name of the workload rule to apply to the assignment rule.
Excellent
Leads
Figure 16 shows an example of adding a workload criteria for organizations using values specified in
Table 26 on page 102.
Figure 16. Example of Defining Workload Distribution for Organizations
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Assignment Rule Administration About Assignment Policies
About Assignment Policies
Siebel applications include predefined assignment policies for each of the predefined assignment
objects. You should use these predefined assignment policies, however, you can also create new
assignment policies for dynamic assignment. If you plan to use the predefined assignment policies,
you must first activate them.
A Workflow Monitor Agent detects when a user changes data related to objects, and each Workflow
Monitor Agent can monitor one or more assignment policies. You can use a single Workflow Monitor
Agent to monitor all assignment policies by placing all assignment policies in the same workflow
group (the predefined assignment policies are defined this way). You can also place the assignment
policies in separate workflow groups and dedicate Workflow Monitor Agents for each workflow group.
The Assignment Manager workflow policy actions you can use for an assignment policy are:
Assignment Request (In Process). This action assigns rows in its own process and does not use
the AsgnSrvr server component.
Assignment Request. This action routes the requests to an AsgnSrvr process running in default
mode.
If you want to use the rule group feature in dynamic assignment, create a workflow process that
submits requests to the Assignment Server (AsgnSrvr) server component using a business service.
For more information about Workflow Monitor Agent, see Running Dynamic Assignment on page 200
and Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
Process of Defining Assignment Policies for Dynamic
Assignment
To create new assignment policies for dynamic assignment, perform the following tasks:
Creating Assignment Policies for Dynamic Assignment on page 103
Activating Assignment Policies to Enable Dynamic Assignment on page 105
Creating Assignment Policies for Dynamic Assignment
Assignment policies are specialized workflow policies used for dynamic assignment. Siebel
applications include predefined assignment policies for each of the predefined assignment objects.
You should use these predefined policies for setting up dynamic assignment, however, you can create
new assignment policies.
NOTE: If you create a new assignment object for dynamic assignment, you must also create a new
assignment policy for that object.
The following tasks are one step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
Use the following procedures to create new assignment policies for dynamic assignment.
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To create an assignment policy for dynamic assignment
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Policies view.
In the Assignment Policies list, click New.
In the new assignment policy record, enter the relevant information.
Table 27 shows the predefined assignment policy fields.
Table 27.
Assignment Policy Fields
Field
Description
Name
The name of the assignment policy.
Workflow Object
The assignment object to which the assignment policy belongs.
Policy Group
The workflow group for the assignment policy. The default for the predefined
assignment policies is Assignment Group. Any new policies you create for use
with Assignment Manager should use the Assignment Group policy group.
It is recommended that you do not change the policy group for assignment
policies. However, if you find a need to do so, you should regenerate triggers
after making the change. For more information about regenerating triggers,
see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
CAUTION: Assign a policy group to only one Workflow Monitor Agent. Multiple
Workflow Monitor Agents running the same policy group cause unpredictable
completion times and possible multiple actions created for one trigger. For
more information about Workflow Monitor Agents, see Siebel Business Process
Framework: Workflow Guide.
Activation
The start date of the assignment policy.
Expiration
The end date of the assignment policy.
NOTE: By default, every assignment policy has an action. Use the following procedure only if you
accidentally remove an action or create a new assignment policy. In addition, you should not
associate customized workflow actions with assignment policies. For more information about
workflow actions, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
To create an action for an assignment policy for dynamic assignment
1
With the newly created assignment policy still selected, in the Actions list, click New.
In the Assignment Action field, click the drop-down arrow and select Assignment Request (In
Process).
NOTE: It is recommended that you use the Assignment Request (In Process) workflow policy
action because the Assignment Request action might cause performance problems. If you do
choose to use the Assignment Request action, make sure the AsgnSrvr process is available and
online.
In the Assignment Mode field, click the down-arrow button and select MatchAssign.
(Optional) Add a sequence number, if so desired.
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Activating Assignment Policies to Enable Dynamic Assignment
To enable dynamic assignment for an assignment object, activate the assignment policy for that
object.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
To activate an assignment policy to enable dynamic assignment
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Policies view.
In the Assignment Policies list, select the assignment policy you want to activate.
In the Expiration field, click to either null the existing value or set the value to a later date.
Workflow components process only active assignment policies that have not expired.
NOTE: After activating an assignment policy, you must generate triggers again for the changes to
take effect.
Deactivating Assignment Policies to Disable Dynamic
Assignment
You may find at some point that you no longer need certain assignment rules. When this occurs, you
can deactivate those assignment rules. To disable dynamic assignment for an assignment object,
deactivate the assignment policy for that object.
NOTE: Assignment Manager uses the database time to determine whether a rule is active or not.
To deactivate an assignment policy to disable dynamic assignment
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Policies view.
In the Assignment Policies list, select the assignment policy you want to deactivate.
In the Expiration field, set the value to a date that has already passed.
Workflow components process only active assignment policies that have not expired; therefore, you
can deactivate an assignment policy by expiring it.
NOTE: After deactivating an assignment policy, you must generate triggers again for the changes to
take effect.
Generating Assignment Reports
Assignment rules are associated with many different elements, such as criteria, employees,
positions, organization, workload rules, organization workload, activation date, expiration date, and
so on. Because those elements are organized in different screens in the application, it is rather
cumbersome to view all information linked to an assignment rule. Assignment reports make it easier
to inspect assignment rule details.
NOTE: Assignment reports and Reporting Mode are mutually exclusive features.
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Assignment Manager provides the ability to output and print the following reports:
Assignment Manager Detail
Territory Assignment Detail
NOTE: To generate reports, you must be connected to the Siebel Application Server and the Report
Server must be running. In addition, you need to configure the Siebel Server before generating
reports. For more information about working with reports, see Siebel Reports Administration Guide.
To generate an assignment report
1
On the toolbar, click the Reports icon.
From the popup list, select one of the following:
Assignment Manager Detail
Territory Assignment Detail
(Optional) Print the report.
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Basic Assignment Manager
Configuration
This chapter describes basic Siebel Assignment Manager configuration.
NOTE: If you plan to use the predefined Assignment Manager components, skip this chapter and
proceed to Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration.
This chapter includes the following topics:
About Performing Basic Assignment Manager Configuration Tasks on page 108
About Assignment Manager Object Type Hierarchy and Relationships on page 111
About Assignment Objects on page 113
Configuring Assignment Object Properties on page 114
Configuring Assignment Objects for Interactive Assignment on page 115
Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121
Creating Assignment Attributes on page 122
Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy Component
Column on page 125
Creating Assignment Criteria on page 127
Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria on page 129
About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills on page 138
About Inactive Assignment Manager Workflow Policy Components on page 137
Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 132
Example of Using a Single Criterion for Two Objects on page 134
About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills on page 138
Viewing Predefined Skills on page 121
Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills on page 119
Example of Enabling an Assignment Object for Skills on page 120
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141
NOTE: Configuration tasks other than the basic topics are explained in a separate chapter. For those
users already familiar with Assignment Manager basic features and who require further information
on refining their Assignment Manager deployment, also see Chapter 10, Advanced Assignment
Manager Configuration.
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Configuration Tasks
About Performing Basic Assignment
Manager Configuration Tasks
Using Siebel Tools, you can modify existing assignment object definitions or create new assignment
object and assignment criteria definitions in the Siebel repository. After you compile the changes,
these definitions appear as criteria in the Criteria view or as skills in the candidate skills picklists in
your Siebel application for assignment object selection.
Assignment Manager features that you can custom configure using Siebel Tools include:
List of assignment objects that can be assigned to assignment rules
List of attributes that can be incorporated in assignment criteria
Behavior of each available assignment object, including whether certain features are activated
for the assignment object
Table and column mappings of assignment objects and attributes
Workflow policy component and workflow policy component column mappings of attributes used
in assignment criteria
List of dynamic candidate objects for each assignment object
List of dynamic candidate component objects for each dynamic candidate (for team-based
criteria)
NOTE: Criteria values, skills, and workload conditions are specialized. Do not attempt to reconfigure
them.
Table 28 lists the various configuration tasks you may need to perform before creating your
assignment rules. The steps are presented in no particular order, and some may not be applicable
for your needs.
Table 28.
Basic Assignment Configuration Tasks
Task
Required
Configuring Assignment Object Properties on page 114
Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121
Creating Assignment Attributes on page 122
Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow
Policy Component Column on page 125
Creating Assignment Criteria on page 127
Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria on page 129
About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills on page 138
Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 132
Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills on page 119
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141
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Basic Assignment Manager Configuration About Assignment Manager Object Types
NOTE: In addition to the basic configuration tasks, you might find you need additional configuration
to meet your particular business needs. Configuration tasks other than the basic topics are explained
in a separate chapter and may require you to have additional knowledge or skills to perform. For
more information about advanced configuration tasks, see Chapter 10, Advanced Assignment
Manager Configuration.
Requirements for Configuring Assignment Manager
Before you can successfully configure Assignment Manager, you need to have a thorough
understanding of how to use Siebel Tools, Assignment Manager, and the Siebel data model. You
should also familiarize yourself with the basics of the underlying Siebel application architecture.
For information on:
Siebel Tools functionality, see Using Siebel Tools and Configuring Siebel Business Applications.
Siebel application architecture, see Siebel Deployment Planning Guide.
Workflow Manager functionality, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
(Assignment Manager object types are related to Workflow Manager object types.)
Siebel data model, see Siebel Data Model Reference.
About Assignment Manager Object
Types
Siebel applications provide predefined definitions in the Siebel repository for several objects. Using
Siebel Tools, you configure assignment object property values in the repository to control and
customize the way objects are assigned. Some properties specify the basic definition of an
assignment object, such as the name of the primary table in which object rows for the assignment
object are stored, the name of the employee team table, the name of the employee primary column,
and so on. Other properties control the behavior of Assignment Manager when processing rules. For
example, the Add Team Members property controls whether candidates who no longer qualify for an
assignment rule or rules should be removed from the team.
Table 29 provides the object types specific to Assignment Manager that you can configure using
Siebel Tools.
Table 29.
Assignment Manager Object Types
Object Type
Description
Assignment Object
An assignment object specifies a business entity to which a candidate can
be assigned, what is updated to accomplish that assignment, and other
assignment behavior parameters. Assignment objects are assigned to
assignment rules in the Objects to be Assigned field of assignment rule
records.
NOTE: The Objects to be Assigned field is a required field for assignment
rules.
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Table 29.
Assignment Manager Object Types
Object Type
Description
Assignment User Prop
Assignment user properties allow you to optionally specify additional runtime characteristics for each assignment object. Each assignment object
has its own set of user property values.
Assignment Object
Extension
This is a child of the Assignment Object object type that you can use to
perform configuration related to Reporting mode.
Assignment Attribute
An assignment attribute object definition defines an attribute that can be
referenced in assignment criteria records. It specifies a logical attribute
that can be chosen from a picklist for defining comparisons.
Assignment Attribute
Column
An assignment attribute column object definition assigns an assignment
attribute to an assignment object and a workflow policy component
column. These mappings set up value matching within the assignment
object and workflow policy object.
Assignment Criteria
An assignment criteria object definition comprises multiple assignment
attributes. Assignment criteria appear in the picklist in the Criteria list
column when you are editing an assignment rule record.
Assignment Criteria
Locale
This object type is used to store translated versions of localizable
properties on the parent object type. For more information about the
Locale object types, see Using Siebel Tools.
Assignment Criteria
Attribute
An assignment criteria attribute lists the assignment attributes that are
part of an assignment criterion. Assignment criteria attributes make it
possible for an assignment criteria to consist of multiple attributes, known
as composite criteria.
Assignment Criteria
Attribute Locale
This object type is used to store translated versions of localizable
properties on the parent object type. For more information about the
Locale object types, see Using Siebel Tools.
Dynamic Candidate
This object type is used to store a collection of joins from the base table
to the team table that allows Assignment Manager to select potential
candidates dynamically based on the current record.
Dynamic Candidate
Component
A dynamic candidate component defines the tables and columns in an
n-th level join. The first level defines the primary table, and the last level
identifies the candidate table.
Dynamic Candidate
Component Col
The Dynamic Candidate Component Col definition references a column
within a particular level of a join that is used to evaluate assignment
criteria or used to copy columns.
Dynamic Candidate
Locale
This object type is used to store translated versions of localizable
properties on the parent object type. For more information about the
Locale object types, see Using Siebel Tools.
For descriptions of, usage comments, and property values for each of the predefined assignment
objects, see Siebel Object Types Reference, and search for these object types.
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Hierarchy and Relationships
About Assignment Manager Object Type
Hierarchy and Relationships
Figure 17 illustrates the hierarchical (parent-child) relationships of Assignment Manager object types
as well as two related object types in Workflow Manager configuration. You use the Object Explorer
in Siebel Tools to view these relationships.
Figure 17. Parent-Child Relationships Between Assignment Manager Object Types
Figure 17 shows the following relationships:
Assignment Object, Assignment Object Extension, and Workflow Policy Component are children
of Workflow Policy Object.
Dynamic Candidate and Assignment User Prop are children of Assignment Object.
Dynamic Candidate Component and Dynamic Candidate Locale are children of Dynamic
Candidate.
Dynamic Candidate Component Col is a child of Dynamic Candidate Component.
Assignment Attribute Column is a child of Assignment Attribute.
Assignment Criteria Attribute is a child of Assignment Criteria.
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Hierarchy and Relationships
In addition to the parent-child relationships between Assignment Manager object types, there are
one-to-one and one-to-many relationships specified in property settings within the object definitions,
as illustrated in Figure 18.
Figure 18. Field Value and Property Relationships Among Assignment Manager Object Types
Figure 18 on page 112 shows the following relationships:
The business component that holds assignment criteria is called Assignment Rule. The business
component that holds assignment rules is called Assignment Group. Assignment rules have
assignment criteria children. Assignment rules are actually records of the Assignment Group
business component, and their child assignment criteria are records of the Assignment Rule
business component.
Each assignment rule points to one or more assignment object definitions, stored in the Assignment
Objects multivalue group field (MVG) in the assignment rule record.
NOTE: Assignment Object is a required field for all assignment rules; however, Assignment
Manager excludes rules that have no objects specified when upgrading.
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Dynamic Candidate is a child of Assignment Object and each assignment rule can point to one or
more dynamic candidates.
Dynamic Candidate Component is a child of Dynamic Candidate. It maintains the relationship
between different components from which dynamic candidates are derived.
Dynamic Candidate Component Col is a child of Dynamic Candidate Component and identifies
component columns that need additional filtering.
Each assignment criteria record points to an assignment criteria object definition, by means of
the value in the Criteria field.
Assignment attributes are attached to an assignment object through a property setting in each
assignment attribute column object definition.
An assignment attribute column object definition is mapped to a workflow policy component
column object definition by means of a pair of property settings.
If your rule has dynamic candidates, the Person Candidate Source, Organization Candidate
Source fields, or both, point to a Dynamic Candidate object definition.
About Assignment Objects
An assignment object is a repository representation of a data item type. In Siebel Assignment
Manager, objects represent assignment entities to which candidates are matched based on
assignment rules. The concept is analogous to business objects in Siebel Business Applications. You
must associate every assignment rule with at least one assignment object. A number of predefined
assignment objects are available for use by Assignment Manager for the most commonly used
business entities in Siebel Business Applications. Some of the predefined assignment objects are:
Account
Activity
Campaign
Campaign Contact
Contact
Opportunity
Order (Sales Credit Assignment)
Product Defect
Project
Project Team
Service Request
NOTE: The predefined assignment objects are intended for use as a guide and may not be applicable
to your business needs. It is recommended that you review, and change if needed, the configuration
of these objects before using them using Siebel Tools.
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Alternatively, if your deployment requires additional assignment objects, you can also create new
objects using Siebel Tools. For information about creating new assignment objects, see Chapter 10,
Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you submit a service request (SR) on OracleMetaLink 3 for
assignment object creation. If you create your own assignment objects, you run the risk of
Assignment Manager assigning incorrect assignments.
Configuring Assignment Object Properties
Siebel Assignment Manager uses definitions in the Siebel repository to assign objects to assignment
rules and candidates.
An assignment object specifies a business entity to which a candidate can be assigned and the
entities that are updated to accomplish that assignment. For example, an employee or position can
be assigned ownership of an opportunity or account or made a member of the opportunitys or
accounts sales team. Similarly, an employee can be assigned ownership of a service request or
product defect. Each of the corresponding business components has one or more fields that specify
the owner or team. An assignment rule includes one or more assignment objects. When the rule is
satisfied, specific columns underlying these fields are updated with replaced or added employee IDs
appropriate for the settings in the assignment object.
As shown in Figure 17 on page 111, an assignment object is a child object type of the Workflow Policy
Object object. The parent workflow policy object provides a set of available column mappings
through its child workflow policy component and grandchild workflow policy component column
object types. These can be specified in Assignment Attribute Column object definitions as columns
to test for value matches and to monitor in dynamic assignment for value changes.
CAUTION: If you inactivate a Workflow Policy Object that has a child assignment object, you must
inactivate the assignment object as well, otherwise assignment manager components will not work.
Workflow policy objects have a one-to-one or a one-to-zero relationship with assignment objects (the
Order and Quote workflow policy objects do not have predefined child assignment objects). You
cannot add more assignment objects to workflow policy objects that already have a child assignment
object.
Siebel applications provides predefined definitions in the Siebel repository for several objects. The
predefined Workflow Policy Object and Workflow Policy Component Column definitions include
mappings for the most commonly used attributes for each object.
CAUTION: Siebel Tools allows the creation or configuration of an assignment object with both
position- and employee-based assignment, but Assignment Manager does not correctly assign
objects with this type of configuration. Only create or configure assignment objects for either
position-based or employee-based assignment, not both.
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To configure assignment object properties
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and select the object you want to
configure.
Objects are listed alphabetically by parent name in the Workflow Policy Objects window.
TIP: Workflow policy objects are not included in the Object Explorer by default. Click View >
Options > Object Explorer to add the workflow policy objects to the Object Explorer view.
With the assignment object selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Object.
The property values of the assignment object appear in the Properties window as well as the
Assignment Objects list applet, although naming conventions for the same property may differ.
In the Properties window, configure the assignment object by setting the appropriate values for
each property.
NOTE: The default values provided in the Siebel repository for assignment objects are provided
as a guide and may not be applicable to your business requirements. Therefore, it is
recommended you review the configuration of the predefined objects before using them. For
detailed information about assignment objects and their default values, see Siebel Object Types
Reference.
Update your deployment with the new configurations.
For instructions, see Step 2 and Step 3 on page 142 in the procedure for Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations.
NOTE: It is not necessary to recompile the siebel.srf file when configuring an assignment object.
For more information about when to recompile, see Updating Your Assignment Manager
Deployment with New Configurations on page 141 and Using Siebel Tools.
TIP: If you are modifying the Default Employee, Default Position, or Default Organization
properties, then make sure that the values specified exist in the appropriate base table. For example,
if you change the default organization to My Organization, there must be an entry in the
Administration - Group > Organizations view called My Organization.
Configuring Assignment Objects for Interactive
Assignment
Interactive assignment allows users to invoke Assignment Manager immediately, view the list of
assignees generated by Assignment Manager, and then override or confirm the assignees in the list.
Users can invoke interactive assignment by clicking the appropriate objects form Menu button and
choosing Assign as shown in Figure 19.
For example, you could choose the Assign option from the Menu button in the All Service Requests
view after navigating to the Service screen > Service Requests > Service Requests List view, then
choosing All Service Requests from the view drop-down list. When you click on the Assign applet
menu item in the Service Request form to assign the current service request, the Siebel client
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contacts the assignment server and creates a list of qualified employees sorted by descending
scores. The list of qualified employees appears to the user in the Employees window. Then, you can
select an employee from the list as the service request owner.
Figure 19. Example of Invoking Interactive Assignment
Alternatively, you can allow SmartScript to have Assignment Manager select the most qualified
candidate from the list. In this case, a list of qualified employees does not appear in the Employees
window, and the most qualified candidate is assigned.
The Service Request assignment object is configured for Interactive Assignment by default. However,
you can use Siebel Tools to configure Interactive Assignment for other assignment objects.
To configure interactive assignment for an assignment object
1
Verify that Assignment Manager is configured to perform assignment of values in the desired
field, including the presence of the necessary assignment object and assignment rules and
values.
Verify that the displayed business component is of the CSSBCBase class or one of its subclasses
and add the Assignment Object business component user property to the business component.
In the Object Explorer, select Business Component.
In the Business Components window, select the business component.
In the Class property for that business component, verify the value is CSSBCBase (such as in
the Account business component).
NOTE: Business components based on other classes cannot be configured for interactive
assignment. If the class is not CSSBCBase, note the class name and locate it in the Object
Explorer for the Class object type. Note the value in the Super Class property for this class.
If the Super Class is CSSBCBase, interactive assignment is permitted. If the Super Class is
not CSSBCBase, check the Super Class property for that class.
Set the Name property to Assignment Object.
Set the Value property to the name of the assignment object that is to be used in the assignment
process.
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Verify that the appropriate applet is of the CSSFrameBase class or one of its subclasses.
In the Object Explorer, select Applet.
In the Applets window, select the applet you want to verify.
In the Class property for that applet, verify the value is CSSFrameBase (such as Account Entry
Applet).
NOTE: Applets based on other classes (including CSSFrameListBase) cannot be configured for
Interactive Assignment.
Add the Assignment Type business component user property to the business component.
In the Object Explorer, select Business Component.
In the Business Components window, select the business component, and then click Business
Component User Prop.
Set the Name property to Assignment Type.
Set the Value property to:
People, if you are setting up an employee- or position-based assignment
Organizations, if you are setting up an organization-based assignment
Both, if you are setting up an employee- or position-based assignment but need passed
organization to be assigned as well.
NOTE: The behavior for the value Both is the same as for the value People, except that the
result applet displays the list of passed employees or positions, and along with the actual
assignment of the selected position or employee, passed Organizations are assigned to the
record.
(Optional) If you want to enable SmartScript, add the Assignment Interactive business
component user property to the business component.
Set the Name property to Assignment Interactive.
Set the Value property to TRUE.
Add the Assign selection to the applet menu button.
In the Object Explorer, select Applet.
In the Applets window, select the applet to which you want to add the Assign functionality.
In the Object Explorer, select Applet Method Menu Item.
Select the Applet Method Menu Items window, choose Edit > New Record and set the following
values:
Command=Assign(SWE)
Menu Text=Assign
Position number = 1 (or to the number corresponding to the preferred placement in the
menu)
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Add the business component that holds assignment results records to the business object of the
view in which the reconfigured applet is used.
This business component already exists, and is either:
Assignment Results (Position) or Assignment Results (Employee), if Assignment Type is set
to People (depending on whether you are setting up an employee- or position-based
assignment)
Assignment Results (Organizations), if Assignment Type is set to Organizations
In the Object Explorer, select Business Object.
In the Business Objects window, select the Business Object for which you want to add a child
business object component.
In the Object Explorer, click Business Objects Components, and in the Business Objects
Components window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values in the appropriate fields with the BusComp name set to:
Assignment Results (Position), Assignment Results (Employee), or Assignment Results
(Organization).
(Optional) Define the business component user property called Assignment Results BusComp and
the applet user property called Assignment Results Applet.
These user properties are desirable when you need to show additional information about the
results. For example, the service request assignment results can be joined with the CTI tables,
and query only qualified service people who are not currently using their telephone:
The name of the business component used to hold data for the additional fields would be
specified in an Assignment Results BusComp user property in the business component being
assigned.
The name of the applet used to display the assignment results would be specified in an
Assignment Results Applet user property in the applet from which assignment is invoked.
10 Add one of the following Business Components (depending on what is being assigned) to the
relevant Business Object: Assignment Group Position, Assignment Group Employee, or
Assignment Group Organization.
11 Update your deployment with the new configurations.
For instructions, see Step 1 on page 142 in Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with
New Configurations.
NOTE: Other than recompiling the siebel.srf file, there are no additional administrative tasks
required for this procedure. For more information about when to recompile, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141 and Using Siebel Tools.
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Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills
Assignment Manager uses skills to compare an object being assigned directly to person or other
assignees expertise when processing assignment rules. Assignment Manager criteria and skills are
related transparently in the Siebel Data Model. Skills are extensions to attribute data stored in
designated skill and skill item tables. At a very high level, you can think of an assignment criterion
as a skill, and each criteria value as a skill item, as shown in Figure 20.
Figure 20. Assignment Criteria nd Skills Comparison
The Skill Table and Skill Item Table properties are child and grandchild tables, respectively, of the
assignment object used to store skills, and skill items for assignment objects that are not stored as
columns in the parent table itself. The S_EMP_SKILL employee skill table is used to store skills
possessed by employees, such as languages spoken, product expertise, and so on. For example, for
an employee who speaks English and Spanish, there is one record in the employee skill table that
specifies the skill name as Language. There are also two records in the child S_EMP_SK_IT employee
skill item table that correspond to this skill record: one record for English, and another record for
Spanish.
There are several objects preconfigured for skillsAccount, Activity, Campaign, Employee,
Opportunity (Revenue), Service Request, and so on. By default, sales objects do not use skills. Using
Siebel Tools, you enable skills for other assignment objects by configuring the objects Skill Table and
Skill Item Table properties.
NOTE: Before enabling skills for an assignment object, make sure the Skill Table assignment object
property exists in the Siebel data model.
To enable assignment objects for skills
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the assignment object for which you want to enable skills.
In the Object Explorer, click Workflow Policy Object, and then in the Workflow Policy Objects list,
query for an object.
In the Object Explorer, click Assignment Object.
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Lock the project for the assignment object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (Alt+L).
A pencil icon appears next to the Name field to indicate that the objects project is locked.
In the Assignment Objects list (or Properties window), enter values for the fields in the following
table.
Field
Description
Skill Item Table
The name of the skill item table.
Skill Table
The name of the skill table.
NOTE: Choose the table name from the drop-down menu. This LOV (list of values) is derived
from tables specified in the Siebel repository.
Set the Employee Skill assignment criteria property to TRUE.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Criteria.
In the Assignment Criteria list, select the object you selected in Step 2.
Set the Employee Skill property to TRUE.
Example of Enabling an Assignment Object for Skills
This topic gives one example of enabling skills for an assignment object. You may use this feature
differently, depending on your business model.
The following procedure explains how to enable skills for the Service Request assignment object.
To enable skills for the Contact assignment object
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the assignment object for which you want to enable skills.
In the Object Explorer, click Workflow Policy Object, and then in the Workflow Policy Objects list,
query for Contact.
In the Object Explorer, click Assignment Object.
Lock the project for the Contact assignment object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (Alt+L).
A pencil icon appears next to the Name field to indicate that the objects project is locked.
In the Assignment Objects list (or Properties window), enter values for the fields in the following
table.
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Field
Description
Skill Table
S_CON_SKILL
Skill Item Table
S_CON_SKILL_IT
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Viewing Predefined Skills
The Siebel application provides several predefined skills. The predefined skills for Assignment
Manager are:
Language Code
Product Id
Product Line Id
Product Line Name
Product Name
Revenue
For most deployments, the predefined skills are sufficient. However, you can create new skills using
Siebel Tools. For more information about creating new skills, see Creating New Skills on page 223.
To view predefined skills
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, click to select the Assignment Criteria object.
In the Assignment Criteria applet, query for criteria with Employee Skill equal to TRUE.
The predefined skills appear as well as any new skills you have created.
Process of Creating Assignment Criteria
for Use in Assignment Rules
Assignment criteria are the conditions that the candidates must satisfy in order to qualify for
assignment to a particular work item. You usually define assignment criteria along with criteria
values in assignment rules. Criteria values are the details associated with a criterion. There may be
several criteria values for the same criterion.
Assignment Manager provides several predefined assignment criteria and criteria values. You can,
however, create your own criteria and criteria values using Siebel Tools.
To create new assignment criteria for use in assignment rules, perform the following tasks in the
order presented:
Creating Assignment Attributes on page 122
(Optional) Enabling Assignment Attributes for MLOV on page 125
Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy Component
Column on page 125
Creating Assignment Criteria on page 127
Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria on page 129
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Creating Assignment Attributes
Assignment attributes are logical attributes of an object or candidate that can be used for matching.
An assignment attribute allows you to associate a single attribute on an object or a person or an
organization to multiple fields in the application. For example, you can define an assignment rule
that matches candidates based on State. However, State is stored in a different field in the
application for different objects. Assignment attributes map the places that State is defined into a
single state attribute.
This task is a step in Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121.
Assignment attributes can be either column-based or skill-based. Column-based attributes are
stored as columns in the object (such as Opportunity). You can use existing columns in the object,
or use Siebel Database Extensibility to add new extension columns to the object. Skills-based
attributes are stored as rows in the objects skill tables (if any). For more information about Database
Extensibility, see Configuring Siebel Business Applications.
Figure 21 shows a Product Line Wildcard assignment criterion that uses the Compare to Person
comparison method. The assignment criterion also uses the Include All inclusion method and includes
two criteria values, Monitors and Graphic Cards. Each criteria value includes two assignment
attributes. In this example, only candidates that possess an Expert-level expertise in monitors and
graphic cards qualify for the assignment criterion. Furthermore, 25 points are added to the qualifying
candidates score.
Figure 21. Sample Assignment Attributes
If you are adding an assignment attribute to a new table, you need to modify the existing Workflow
Manager definitions in the Siebel repository. For more information about making modifications to
Workflow Manager, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
An assignment attribute object definition defines an attribute that can be referenced in assignment
criteria records. It specifies a logical attribute that can be chosen from a picklist for defining
comparisons; it does not directly specify a particular database column or combination of columns.
Column mapping is accomplished through the child assignment attribute column object definitions,
one for each assignment object that uses the parent assignment attribute.
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An assignment attribute also specifies the picklist that appears in the Values list in the Criteria
subview when you are entering an attribute in a value record, as shown in Figure 22.
This list column is based on
an assignment attribute
in whose definition
this picklist is specified.
Figure 22. Picklist for Populating an Attribute in a Value Record
NOTE: Assignment criteria configured to include multiple assignment attributes cannot have these
attributes based on columns in different tables.
An assignment criteria attribute object definition implements each list column in the Values applet,
as described in Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment Criteria on page 129. The
assignment criteria attribute is based on an assignment attribute, as specified in its assignment
attribute property. The referenced assignment attribute identifies a picklist. This is the picklist that
appears when you click the drop-down arrow to the right of the list column cell.
The Assignment Attribute object type functions as an intermediary between the assignment criteria
on the one hand and the assignment objects on the other, as shown in Figure 22 on page 123.
An assignment criteria attribute references an assignment attribute through its assignment attribute
property. In turn, each of the assignment attributes child assignment attribute columns specifies an
assignment object and a workflow policy component and column combination.
An assignment attribute is a logical grouping of similar mappings to different assignment objects that
can use the same picklist for value selection. For example, the Account State assignment attribute
has several child assignment attribute column object definitions. Each of these assignment attributes
is used for selection of the state in which an account is located, but five of them are used for different
assignment objects (Activity, Account, Campaign Contact, and Order), and the other five are used
for different account state attributes in the Opportunity assignment object (such as Primary Account
State and Indirect Account Primary State).
NOTE: To generate a trigger based on an assignment attribute, a corresponding assignment
attribute column must be configured. See Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an Assignment
Object and a Workflow Policy Component Column on page 125.
To create an assignment attribute
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Attribute object.
TIP: If the Assignment Attribute object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it in
the Development Tools Options dialog box (View > Options > Object Explorer).
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
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In the Assignment Attributes window, choose Edit > New Record and configure the assignment
attribute object by setting values in the appropriate fields.
In the Name field, type the name of the new assignment attribute.
In the Project field, select a project.
(Optional) If the attribute supports a range of values (such as revenue), check the Use Range
field.
In the Data Type field, select a data type for the attribute.
(Optional) If you want a picklist for the attribute to allow users to select values for the
assignment attribute, enter a value in the Picklist field.
(Optional), Pick a field for the attribute to allow users to select values for the assignment
attribute, enter a value in the Pick Field field.
For a description of these properties, see Table 30 on page 124.
Update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks.
For instructions on updating your deployment with the new configurations, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
Table 30 shows some of the properties of the Assignment Attribute object type.
Table 30.
Assignment Attribute Properties
Property
Description
Bounded
When checked, the picklist is bounded (you can select a value from the picklist).
When unchecked, you can enter a value that does not appear in the list.
Data Type
Data type for the assignment attribute. Number, UtcDateTime, and Varchar are
supported.
Name
Name of the assignment attribute. Must be unique within the repository.
Order By LOV
Type
Not used.
Pick Field
Name of the field to select from the picklist.
Pick List
Name of the picklist that supplies the selection values for populating any list
column in the Values list (in the Assignment Criteria view) that is based on this
assignment attribute.
Use Range
Specifies whether a single list column or a pair of list columns, indicating a
range, appears for assignment criteria attributes based on this assignment
attribute. For example, the Revenue assignment attribute, which has a TRUE
value for Use Range, appears as two list columns, Revenue Low and Revenue
High. You can enter 50000 in the former and 100000 in the latter in a value
record to indicate the range $50,000100,000.
Translate
When checked, enables MLOV (multilingual list of values) capability for the
attribute. For more information about enabling this feature, see Enabling
Assignment Attributes for MLOV on page 125.
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Enabling Assignment Attributes for MLOV
Multilingual List of Values (MLOV) capability allows assignment attributes to be stored in a form that
can be retrieved and displayed in a variety of supported client languages. To enable assignment
attributes for MLOV, use the following procedure. This task is an (optional) step in Process of
Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121.
To enable an assignment attribute for MLOV
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Attribute object.
In the Assignment Attributes list, select the assignment attribute for which you want to enable
MLOV.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
Locate the Translate property for this attribute, and set the value to TRUE.
Locate the Translate Pick Field for the assignment attribute, and select from the Translate Pick
Field dialog box the field in the Pick List Business Component that stores the Language
Independent Code (in most cases this is the Name field).
Locate the Pick Field for the assignment attribute, and select from the Pick Field dialog box the
field in the Pick List Business Component that stores the Display Value (in most cases this is the
Value field).
You can also configure the application to enable MLOV for workload criteria, criteria values, and skills.
For more information about configuring MLOVs, see Configuring Siebel Business Applications.
Mapping Assignment Attribute Columns to an
Assignment Object and a Workflow Policy Component
Column
An assignment attribute column is a child object type of the Assignment Attribute object in Siebel
Tools as shown in Figure 17 on page 111. The parent assignment attribute is an abstract logical
attribute to test for a value match, and attribute columns provide mapping of assignment attributes
to workflow policy component columns.
Workflow policy component columns define the column and the table name from where Assignment
Manager retrieves the data for the attribute from the database. The same assignment attribute can
be used for different assignment objects. For example, consider the Account State criterion. You can
apply this criterion to many assignment objects. For account objects, it means the physical state in
which the account resides. For opportunity objects, it might be the state value for the accounts
associated with a specific opportunity. In these instances, you define multiple assignment attribute
columns for the Account State attribute and define the assignment object and the workflow policy
component column to indicate where to get the data.
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An assignment attribute can have multiple attribute columns for the same assignment object. For
example, for the Opportunity assignment object, Account City could either mean the primary city
associated with the opportunity itself or the primary city associated with the account associated to
the opportunity. In this instance, the Account City assignment attribute has two attribute column
records for the Opportunity assignment object. You should also define the Sequence property on the
assignment attribute column object. The sequence determines the order in which the data is
retrieved in the event there are multiple attribute columns for the same attribute for the same
assignment object.
An assignment attribute column object definition maps an assignment attribute to an assignment
object and a workflow policy component column, as shown in Figure 18 on page 112. These mappings
set up value matching within the assignment object and workflow policy object for criteria that use
the parent assignment attribute.
The parent assignment attribute is an abstract logical attribute to test for a value match, which you
can specify in an assignment criteria. The child assignment attribute columns specify the actual
mappings to assignment objects and workflow policy component columns. Each assignment attribute
column can specify a different assignment object to search, or a different attribute within the same
assignment object.
This task is a step in Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121.
To map assignment attributes to an existing assignment object
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Attribute object, and select the Assignment
Attribute Column object.
In the Assignment Attributes window, select the assignment attribute for which you want to map
the logical location in the database schema.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Assignment Attribute Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
Configure the assignment attribute object by setting values in the appropriate fields.
In the Name field, type the name of the new assignment attribute column.
In the Assignment Object field, select an assignment object to which the assignment attribute is
applied.
In the Workflow Policy Component field, select a workflow policy component to which the
workflow policy object is applied.
In the Workflow Policy Component field, select a workflow policy component column to which the
workflow policy component is applied.
In the Sequence field, type in a sequence value.
For descriptions of these properties, see Table 31 on page 127.
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Update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks.
For instructions on updating your deployment with the new configurations, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
Table 31 shows some of the properties of the Assignment Attribute Column object type.
Table 31.
Assignment Attribute Column Properties
Property
Description
Assignment Object
Assignment object that is checked for a value match with the parent
assignment attribute.
Name
Name of the assignment attribute column. The typical format for the name
is:
assignment_object: workflow_component_column
For example:
Service Request: Account Area Code
Sequence
A unique sequence number for the assignment attribute column within the
assignment attribute. If an assignment attribute has multiple assignment
attribute columns, Assignment Manager searches for attribute values in the
order of the values in this property.
Workflow Policy
Component
Name of the workflow policy component, within the specified workflow policy
object, with which this assignment attribute column is associated.
Workflow Policy
Component Column
Name of the workflow policy component column, within the specified
workflow policy component, with which this assignment attribute column is
associated.
Workflow Policy
Object
Name of the workflow policy object with which the assignment attribute
column is associated. When an assignment object is selected, the workflow
policy object defaults to this selection.
Creating Assignment Criteria
Assignment criteria define an object and are used in assignment criteria records in assignment rules.
After you create and recompile an assignment criteria object definition in Siebel Tools, it becomes
available for selection from the Criteria list column picklist in assignment criteria records in Siebel
applications.
For static assignment, you use the Assignment Criteria object properties to specify the criteria name
(internally and as displayed) and to configure skill tables. However, most of the behavior of
assignment criteria is configured in the assignment criteria attribute children. For dynamic
assignment, you use special team-based criteria. For more information about criteria for dynamic
assignment, see Examples of Dynamic Candidate Assignment on page 146.
An assignment criteria can consist of one or more assignment attributes, such as the criteria Account
City, Account State, and Account Country. These assignment attributes are grouped as assignment
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criteria. In this case, a single criterion, called a composite criterion, includes three assignment
attributes. To add or change drop-down fields that define assignment criteria in an assignment rule,
you should define or modify assignment criteria. Assignment criteria attributes enumerate
assignment attributes for the assignment criteria.
The Criteria list column in an assignment criteria record specifies the assignment criteria that is
tested for a match against one or more attributes of the assignment object or candidate. For
example, in an assignment criteria that determines whether the state is California, the assignment
item would be State, Home State, or Account State, and the value California (CA) would be specified
in a child value record.
When you click the drop-down arrow button in the Criteria list column for an assignment rule, a
picklist appears for selection of an assignment criteria. The picklist lists the available assignment
criteria (assignment criteria object definitions in the repository). When you select an assignment
criteria, its name is stored in the Criteria Name field in the current Assignment Rule business
component record.
This task is a step in Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121.
NOTE: When enabling the standard assignment attributes and criteria to be skill-based, create the
new assignment criteria and assignment attributes (based on the existing predefined ones), and set
them for skill-based assignment.
To create assignment criteria
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Criteria object.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Assignment Criteria window, choose Edit > New Record, and set values in the appropriate
fields.
In the Name field, type the name of the new assignment criteria.
In the Project field, select the Assignment project.
In the Display Name field, type the name that appears for the assignment criteria.
(Optional) If you want the assignment criteria stored in the skill table, check the Employee Skill
field.
For information about skill tables, see Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills on page 119.
(Optional) If you want expertise codes stored for the skill, check the Use Expertise field.
If you check this field, Assignment Manager uses expertise codes to match objects to
candidates.
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(Optional) If you do not want the assignment criteria to appear in the Criteria picklist, uncheck
the Display Flag field.
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If this is a team-based criterion, check the Team flag. In this case, you define only one criteria
attribute record and you do not define any attribute columns for the assignment attribute.
For more information about team-based criteria, see Examples of Dynamic Candidate
Assignment on page 146.
For descriptions of these properties, see Table 32 on page 129.
Update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks.
For instructions on updating your deployment with the new configurations, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
The assignment criteria object definition has two properties to specify the name (internally and as
displayed) and two properties that are used to configure skill tables (Employee Skill and Use
Expertise). Most of the behavior of an assignment criteria is configured in the assignment criteria
attribute children. Table 32 shows some of the properties of the assignment criteria object type.
Table 32.
Assignment Criteria Properties
Property
Description
Display Flag
A check mark indicates the assignment criteria appears in the Criteria picklist.
Display
Name
Name that appears for this assignment criteria in the picklist and the Criteria list
column in the Criteria list in the Criteria view (Assignment Rule> Criteria). If not
specified, the value in the Name property is used instead.
Employee
Skill
A TRUE/FALSE property that specifies whether the attribute is actually stored in the
skill and skill item tables for the candidate or object. For more information about
skill tables, see Enabling Assignment Objects for Skills on page 119.
Name
Name of the assignment criteria.
Use
Expertise
A TRUE/FALSE property that applies to assignment criteria that are skills. It
specifies whether expertise codes are stored for the skill. If so, Assignment Manager
uses the expertise code to match the assignment object to people.
Creating Assignment Criteria Attributes for Assignment
Criteria
An assignment criterion includes one or more assignment criteria attributes, stored as child
assignment criteria attribute object definitions. Assignment criteria attributes are implemented as
object definitions of the assignment criteria attribute object type. Assignment Criteria Attribute is a
child object type of Assignment Criteria as shown in Figure 18 on page 112.
The set of assignment criteria attributes in an assignment criterion determines the set of list columns
that appear in the Values list. One list column appears in the Values list for each assignment criteria
attribute in the assignment criteria. In Siebel Tools, as Figure 23 shows, the Account Wildcard
assignment criteria (the Account Name assignment criteria with a display name of Account Wildcard)
has an Account Name and a Site Name list column in the display of its child Value records. Both the
Account Name and Site Name list columns correspond to the Account Name assignment criteria
attribute.
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If there were more assignment criteria attributes for this assignment criterion, each would have a
list column in the Values list. The Score list column is automatically provided, and the Expertise Code
list column appears in this instance because the assignment criteria has a Use Expertise property
setting of TRUE.
Account Name
assignment criterion
Account Name assignment
criteria attribute
Figure 23. Assignment Criterion with Child Assignment Criteria Attributes
Composite Criteria
Assignment criteria attributes make it possible for a single assignment criterion to consist of multiple
attributes, known as composite criteria.
For composite criteria, all the attributes must have a 1:1 relationship and should refer to the same
base table record. For example, the Account City-State-Country is a good composite criterion
because San Mateo (city) resides in the state of California (state) and California resides in the USA
(country). All of these attributes are stored on the same record in the same table.
NOTE: It is not possible to create composite criteria with attributes based on different tables.
This task is a step in Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on page 121.
To create an assignment criteria attribute
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Criteria object, and select the Assignment Criteria
Attribute object.
In the Assignment Criteria window, select the assignment criteria for which you want to
enumerate assignment attributes.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
Select the Assignment Criteria Attributes window, then choose Edit > New Record.
Configure the assignment criteria attribute by setting values in the appropriate fields.
In the Name field, type the name of the new assignment criteria attribute.
In the Assignment Attribute field, select the assignment attribute for this assignment criteria.
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In the Display Name field, type the name for the assignment criteria attribute.
In the Store Column field, specify the column in the assignment factor items table where the
value for the assignment criteria attribute is stored.
In the Display Sequence field, specify the sequence in which the assignment criteria attribute
appears.
(Optional) In the Pick Applet field, choose a pick applet for the assignment criteria attribute to
allow users to view or select values for the assignment criteria attribute.
NOTE: For composite criteria, repeat Step 5 and Step 6 as many times as is necessary.
For more information about these properties, see Table 33 on page 131.
You also need to update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks using the
procedures in Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
Table 33 shows some of the properties of the assignment criteria attribute object type.
Table 33.
Assignment Criteria Attribute Properties
Property
Description
Assignment
Attribute
Name of the assignment attribute that this assignment criteria attribute is based
on. Selected from a drop-down list.
Display Name
List column label that appears for this assignment criteria attribute in the Values
list. If omitted, the Name is used in the list column label.
Display
Sequence
Order in which the list column for this assignment criteria attribute appears in
the list applet, relative to those of other assignment criteria attributes in the
assignment item. A lower number places the list column further to the left.
Name
Name of the assignment criteria attribute, for identification. This name must be
unique within the parent assignment criteria.
Pick Applet
If a picklist is defined for the associated assignment attribute, you specify the
name of a pick applet to display the picklist for selection of a value in the
attributes list column.
Store Column
Specifies the column in the assignment factor items table (S_ASGN_RULE_ITEM)
in which to store the value for the assignment criteria attribute. There are four
columns of each data type (Number, UtcDateTime, and Varchar) provided for
storage of assignment criteria attribute values in each assignment criteria. You
must specify a unique value, between 1 and 4 inclusive, for each assignment
criteria attribute of the same data type. The data type can be determined from
the Data Type property in the referenced assignment attribute object definition.
NOTE: You can have up to four assignment criteria attributes for each
assignment criterion (a composite criterion can have a maximum of four
attributes).
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Process of Using a Single Criterion for
Multiple Objects
In some cases, you can create an assignment rule that assigns candidates to two or more objects
while using only one of the objects criteria. For example, you may want the ability to assign both
accounts and opportunities based on the criteria Opportunity Lead Quality. To configure Assignment
Manager to assign accounts based on this criteria, you must first configure and expose the
Opportunity Lead Quality column to the Account assignment object using Siebel Tools.
NOTE: The triggers for dynamic assignment are based on the workflow policy components and
workflow policy component columns.
TIP: Assignment is based on data values in database fields. Therefore, configuration of the
Assignment Attribute Column requires Workflow Policy Component and Workflow Policy Component
Column information, and a Workflow Policy Component Column references a database table column.
Use the following process to create assignment rules that use a single criterion for multiple objects.
Creating a Workflow Policy Component for Two Objects on page 132.
Mapping a Column to the Workflow Policy Component on page 133.
Mapping the Workflow Policy Component to the Assignment Attribute on page 133.
Define an assignment rule for two objects using one objects criteria.
See Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44.
For procedures using a specific example, see Example of Using a Single Criterion for Two Objects on
page 134.
For more information about workflows in general, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow
Guide.
Creating a Workflow Policy Component for Two Objects
Use the following procedure to create a workflow policy component for two assignment objects.
This task is a step in Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 132.
To create a workflow policy component for two objects
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the workflow policy object for which you want to create a workflow policy component.
In the Object Explorer, select Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Objects window, select the object.
With the workflow policy object selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
Add a new workflow policy component record.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Component.
In the Workflow Policy Component window, choose Edit > New Record.
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Enter information in the fields for the new record using the following substeps:
In the Name field, type the name of the workflow policy component.
In the Source Table Name field, select the source table for the workflow policy component.
In the Source Column Name field, select the source column for the workflow policy component.
In the Target Component Name field, select the target component for the workflow policy
component.
In the Target Column Name field, select the target column for the workflow policy component.
Mapping a Column to the Workflow Policy Component
After you create the workflow policy components for both objects, you need to map the workflow
policy component to the assignment criteria. You do this by mapping a column to one of the workflow
policy components.
This task is a step in Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 132.
To map a column to the workflow policy component
1
With the new record still selected, expand the Workflow Policy Component object in the Object
Explorer, and then select the Workflow Policy Component Col object.
In the Workflow Policy Component Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the Workflow Column Name field, select the workflow column for the workflow policy
component.
Mapping the Workflow Policy Component to the
Assignment Attribute
After you map a column to the workflow policy component, you map the workflow policy component
to the assignment attribute.
This task is a step in Process of Using a Single Criterion for Multiple Objects on page 132.
To map the workflow policy component to the assignment attribute
1
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Attribute object, and then select the Assignment
Attribute Column object.
In the Assignment Attribute Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
Enter information in the fields for the new record using the following substeps:
In the Name field, type the name of the assignment attribute column.
In the Assignment Object field, select the assignment object to which candidates are assigned
for the assignment rule.
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Objects
In the Workflow Policy Component field, select the workflow policy component to map to this
assignment attribute.
In the Workflow Policy Component Column field, select the workflow policy component column
to map to this assignment attribute.
In the Sequence field, specify the sequence of this assignment attribute.
Update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks.
For instructions on updating your deployment with the new configurations, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
NOTE: You must recompile the siebel.srf file whenever you add, inactivate, or delete any
assignment object types, assignment criteria, and assignment attributes. Make sure all projects
are recompilednot only the locked projectsif you inactivate or delete a top-level object type
or assignment criteria. For more information about when to recompile the siebel.srf file, see
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
Example of Using a Single Criterion for
Two Objects
This topic gives one example of configuring Assignment Manager to assign candidates to two
objectsAccount and Opportunity using only one of the objects criteria, Opportunity Lead Quality.
You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
The example is divided into the following procedures; perform each procedure in the order provided.
Creating a Workflow Policy Component Using the Account and Opportunity Objects on page 134
Mapping the Opportunity Workflow Policy Component to the Opportunity Lead Contact Assignment
Criteria on page 135
Mapping the Account/Opportunity Workflow Policy Component to the Lead Quality Code Assignment
Attribute on page 136
Creating a Workflow Policy Component Using the
Account and Opportunity Objects
Use the following procedure to create a workflow policy component for two assignment objects.
To create a workflow policy component using the Account and Opportunity objects
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the workflow policy object for which you want to create a workflow policy component.
In the Object Explorer, select Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Objects window, select the object.
For this example, select Account.
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Objects
With the Account assignment object selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the
project.
Add a new workflow policy component record.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Component.
In the Workflow Policy Component window, choose Edit > New Record.
Enter information in the fields for the new record using the following steps:
In the Name field, type the name of the workflow policy component.
For this example, type Account/Opportunity.
In the Source Table Name field, select the source table for the workflow policy component.
For this example, select S_OPTY.
In the Source Column Name field, select the source column for the workflow policy component.
For this example, select PR_DEPT_OU_ID.
In the Target Component Name field, select the target component for the workflow policy
component.
For this example, select Account.
In the Target Column Name field, select the target column for the workflow policy component.
For this example, select ROW_ID.
Mapping the Opportunity Workflow Policy Component to
the Opportunity Lead Contact Assignment Criteria
After you create the workflow policy components for both objects, you need to map the workflow
policy component to the assignment criteria. You do this by mapping a column to one of the workflow
policy components. In this example, you map the Opportunity workflow policy component to the
Opportunity Lead Contact assignment criteria.
To map a column to the workflow policy component
1
With the Account/Opportunity record still selected, expand the Workflow Policy Component
object in the Object Explorer, and then select the Workflow Policy Component Col object.
In the Workflow Policy Component Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the Workflow Column Name field, select the workflow column for the workflow policy
component.
For this example, select Opportunity Lead Quality.
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Objects
Mapping the Account/Opportunity Workflow Policy
Component to the Lead Quality Code Assignment
Attribute
After you map a column to the workflow policy component, you map the workflow policy component
to the assignment attribute. In this example, you map the Account/Opportunity workflow policy
component to the Lead Quality Code assignment attribute.
To map the workflow policy component to the assignment attribute
1
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Attribute object.
In the Assignment Attributes window, select Lead Quality Code.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Attribute object and select the Assignment
Attribute Column object.
In the Assignment Attribute Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
Enter information in the fields for the new record as described in the following substeps:
In the Name field, type the name of the assignment attribute column.
For this example, type Account: Lead Quality.
In the Assignment Object field, select the assignment object to which candidates are assigned
for the assignment rule.
For this example, select Account.
In the Workflow Policy Component field, select the workflow policy component to map to this
assignment attribute.
For this example, select Account/Opportunity.
In the Workflow Policy Component Column field, select the workflow policy component column
to map to this assignment attribute.
For this example, select Opportunity Lead Quality.
In the Sequence field, specify the sequence of this assignment attribute.
For this example, type 2.
Update the siebel.srf file and run various server administration tasks.
For instructions on updating your deployment with the new configurations, see Updating Your
Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
NOTE: You must recompile the siebel.srf file whenever you add, inactivate, or delete any
assignment object types, assignment criteria, and assignment attributes. Make sure all projects
are recompilednot only the locked projectsif you inactivate or delete a top-level object type
or assignment criteria. For more information about when to recompile the siebel.srf file, see
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
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Workflow Policy Components
Figure 24 shows an example of defining an assignment rule for the Account and Opportunity objects
using only the Lead Quality Code assignment criteria. Figure 24 shows:
An Account Opportunity assignment rule using the Opportunity and Accounts objects and One,
Best Fit assignee filter
NOTE: Only the Opportunity object appears in the Objects to be Assigned field even though the
Accounts object is also assigned.
The Account Opportunity assignment rule has the Lead Quality Code rule criterion applied and
uses the Compare to Person comparison method, the Include inclusion method, and is always
required
Figure 24. Example of Defining an Assignment Rule for Two Objects Using One Assignment Criteria
About Inactive Assignment Manager
Workflow Policy Components
Table 34 shows the Workflow Policy Components that are by default inactive for the Opportunity
Workflow Policy Object for Assignment Manager.
Table 34.
Inactive Assignment Manager Workflow Policy Components
Workflow Policy Object
Workflow Policy Component
Opportunity
Indirect Account
Opportunity
Indirect Account Address
Opportunity
Indirect Account Industry
Opportunity
Indirect Account Primary Address
Opportunity
Indirect Account Synonym
Opportunity
Indirect Account/Industry
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and Skills
Table 34.
Inactive Assignment Manager Workflow Policy Components
Workflow Policy Object
Workflow Policy Component
Opportunity
Opportunity/Indirect Account
Opportunity
Primary Account Address
If these Workflow Policy Components are required for your deployment, activate the components by
following the procedures that describe defining a Workflow Policy Component in Siebel Business
Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
About the Relationship Between
Attributes and Skills
When you define an assignment criterion, the data Assignment Manager uses for matching the object
and candidate can come from two different types of sources, either attributes or skills.
Attribute. An attribute is data that usually resides on a column on the base table. For example,
Employee Salary resides on a column in the S_EMP_PER employee table and is an attribute.
Similarly, Service Request Severity is an attribute on the Service Request object, because it is
stored on the Service Request record.
Some attributes exist outside the base table. For example, Account Zip Code is an attribute on
the account, but does not exist on the Account table itself. Instead, Account Zip Code exists on
the common address table known as S_ADDR_ORG. It does not exist on the account table.
However, there is a link between a given account record and all the addresses that belong to it.
Skill. Skills are row-level extension attributes to objects (Opportunities, Service Requests, and
so on) and candidates (employees, positions and organizations). These are data stored in special
child and grandchild tables of the base tables known as skill and skill item tables. For example,
Language is an employee skill defined in the S_EMP_SKILL employee skill table and the
S_EMP_SK_IT employee skill item table. The S_EMP_SK_IT table is actually a child table of the
S_EMP_SKILL table. You can define skill and skill item tables for every assignment object through
properties using Siebel Tools.
Skills and skill items are defined in a similar manner to criteria and criteria values. If an employee
has expertise for two products, Product A and Product B, you define one skill (Product) and define
two skill items under the same skill (Product A and Product B). Skills provide a way to create new
attributes for a candidate or an object without extending the database schema.
Objects also have skill and skill items. For example, you can define a Product skill with a Product
A skill item for an activity to indicate that candidates must have the same product skill for
assignment to that activity.
Attribute and skill. Data could reside on an object or a candidate in the form of an attribute
and a skill. For example, you can link an opportunity to a product using either of the following:
Products subtab and associating the product to the opportunity
Skills subtab and creating a product skill and a skill item for the product you want to associate
When matching assignment criteria, Assignment Manager looks for column-based attributes first,
and if they are not found, Assignment Manager looks for a skill value in the designated skill tables.
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and Skills
For example, if you have an assignment rule using an Account State criteria and the Compare Object
to Person comparison method, Assignment Manager processes the rule in the following order:
Assignment Manager checks the assignment object.
If the object to be assigned is the Opportunity assignment object, Assignment Manager checks
the value specified in Assignment Criteria > Assignment Criteria Attribute in Siebel Tools. Then,
Assignment Manager checks the Assignment Attribute > Assignment Attribute Column value for
the Opportunity object. In our case, this is Opportunity: Primary Account Primary State.
Assignment Manager checks the criteria attributes.
Since Opportunity is a team- and position-based, Assignment Manager checks the value specified
in Assignment Criteria > Attribute in Siebel Tools. From the Attribute, Assignment Manager then
checks the Assignment Attribute Column for that assignee, which in our case is Position: State.
If no Assignment Attribute Column exists for the person chosen, then Assignment Manager
checks the Skills table.
Assignment Manager evaluates criteria by comparing two strings, numbers, or dates using a
comparison method. One of these literals sets the requirement, and the other literal must match the
first literal for the criterion to pass.
Figure 25 shows an example of a sales assignment rule and how position, skills, and skill items relate
to that rule.
Figure 25. Example of a Relationship Between Assignment Criteria and Skills for a Sales
Implementation
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Basic Assignment Manager Configuration Disabling Assignment Attributes
Disabling Assignment Attributes
In some cases, you may want to eliminate assignment criteria that appear in the Assignment Criteria
view. To do so, you need to remove the unwanted criteria from the Assignment Criteria view. if you
want to prevent the criteria from being used in any rule, you must use Siebel Tools to also disable
the corresponding assignment attribute, assignment attribute column, assignment criteria, and
assignment criteria attribute object definitions.
Use the following procedure to disable an assignment attribute and avoid further use.
To disable an assignment attribute
1
In the UI, delete criteria you want removed from any assignment rules.
For a procedure, see Removing Assignment Criteria from Assignment Rules on page 82.
Start Siebel Tools.
Disable the assignment attribute definition.
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Attribute object.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Assignment Attributes window, select the assignment attribute you want to disable.
Check the Inactive field.
Disable the assignment attribute column definition.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Attribute object, and then select the Assignment
Attribute Column object.
In the Assignment Attribute Columns window, select the assignment attribute column you want
to disable.
Check the Inactive field.
Disable the assignment criteria definition.
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Criteria object.
In the Assignment Criteria window, select the assignment criteria you want to disable.
Check the Inactive field.
Disable the assignment criteria attribute definition.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Assignment Criteria object, and then select the Assignment
Criteria Attribute object.
In the Assignment Criteria Attributes window, select the assignment criteria attribute you want
to disable.
Check the Inactive field.
Recompile all projects (not just the locked projects) in the .srf file.
For instructions, see Step 1 on page 142 of the Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment
with New Configurations.
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Deployment with New Configurations
Updating Your Assignment Manager
Deployment with New Configurations
After configuring Assignment Manager objects and attributes or altering assignment policies, it is
often necessary to recompile the .srf file and restart various server components and tasks. Table 35
lists the required server tasks and components that must be restarted based on the type of
configuration process.
NOTE: You must recompile the siebel.srf file whenever you add, inactivate, or delete any assignment
object types, assignment criteria, and assignment attributes. Make sure all projects are recompiled
not only the locked projectsif you inactivate or delete a top-level object type or assignment criteria.
Table 35.
Summarization of Server Administration After Configuring Assignment Manager
Configuration Process
Compile
.srf File
Restart
Assignment
Manager
Regenerate
Triggers
Restart
Workflow
Monitor Agent1
Add or inactivate assignment objects
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Configure assignment objects
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Add, configure, or inactivate
assignment attributes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Configure assignment attribute
columns
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Add, configure, or inactivate
assignment criteria
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Add, configure, or inactivate
assignment criteria attributes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Activate, inactivate, or modify
assignment policies
No
No
Yes
Yes
1.
Only for dynamic assignment.
Use the following procedure to update your deployment with new configurations.
CAUTION: Some steps in the following procedure may not be required for your particular
deployment. Follow the steps as they apply (or do not apply) to the configuration process performed
as shown in Table 35 on page 141.
NOTE: For information about checking out and checking in objects, see Using Siebel Tools.
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Deployment with New Configurations
To update your deployment with new configurations
1
Compile changes to the siebel.srf file, if necessary, and deploy it to the server.
Choose Tools > Compile Projects.
In the Object Compiler dialog box, select the project (or projects) you want to compile.
Select the Siebel client repository file (default is siebel.srf) located in the Objects subdirectory
within the Siebel client root directory.
Click Compile.
For more information about when to recompile the siebel.srf file, see Table 35 on page 141 and
Using Siebel Tools. For information on distributing the siebel.srf file, see Siebel Anywhere
Administration Guide.
NOTE: It is not necessary to recompile the siebel.srf file whenever you configure an assignment
object or an assignment attribute column, but you must recompile the siebel.srf file whenever
you add, inactivate, or delete any assignment object types, assignment criteria, or assignment
attributes.
Make sure all projects are recompilednot only the locked projectsif you inactivate or delete
a top-level object type or assignment criteria.
If you are running dynamic assignment, perform the following steps:
Stop the Workflow Monitor Agent server component.
Regenerate triggers by running the Generate Triggers server component.
Release assignment rules (if rules have changed) by clicking Release in the Assignment Rules
view.
For more information about releasing assignment rules, see Releasing Assignment Rules on
page 64.
Restart the Workflow Monitor Agent server component.
For more information about stopping and restarting server components, see Siebel System
Administration Guide.
If your are running dynamic assignment, stop and restart the Assignment Manager server
component for the changes to take effect.
Stop the Workflow Monitor Agent server component.
Stop the Assignment Manager server component.
Start the Assignment Manager server component.
Start the Workflow Monitor Agent server component.
For more information about stopping and restarting server components, see Siebel System
Administration Guide.
You must stop and restart the Assignment Manager server component whenever you add, inactivate,
or delete any assignment object types, assignment criteria, or assignment attributes.
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Working with Dynamic
Candidates
This chapter describes how to configure and administer dynamic candidate functionality in Siebel
Assignment Manager. It includes the following topics:
About Dynamic Candidates on page 143
About Dynamic Candidate Types on page 144
Examples of Dynamic Candidate Assignment on page 146
Example of Assigning Dynamic Candidates to the Same Object on page 148
Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates on page 150
About Dynamic Candidates
Dynamic candidates are potential assignees for objects and behave in the same manner as static
candidates. When processing rules, Assignment Manager determines candidates based on the value
in the Person Candidates Source or Organization Candidates Source field on the assignment rule.
For example, if you associate an activity with an asset, and that asset has a team of employees, you
can configure Assignment Manager to automatically consider this team of employees for the activity
and have the same employees available as potential candidates for other activities. The employees
are connected to the activity through the asset and are known as dynamic candidates. The team of
employees associated with the asset is known as the candidate table because this is the database
table where the candidates are stored. In this example, the only potential candidates are the
employees that are associated with the asset that is associated with the activity.
NOTE: Prior to version 7.8, Candidate Table was known as Team Table. The two terms are
synonymous, that is, the table that contains the dynamic candidates. For example, the
S_ASSET_EMP table is the candidate table (team table) for the dynamic candidate Activity Asset
Team.
By default, the Activity assignment object is preconfigured for two dynamic candidate teams
Activity: Account Team and Activity: Asset Team.
For the Activity Asset Team, Assignment Manager dynamically determines the potential activity
assignees (candidates) from the dynamic candidate configuration, that is, it joins the activity to the
asset and retrieves employees associated with that activity's asset. The potential candidates are the
group of employees for that particular activity record. However, the potential candidates can change
from activity to activity.
For example, if you have two activities with different assets and employees as shown in Table 36,
the resulting potential candidates for assignment are a union of the employees for each activity. In
this example, the potential candidates are:
Activity 1: Employee 1, 2, 3, and 4
Activity 2: Employee 1, 2, and 5
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Table 36.
Example of Two Activities with Different Assets and Employees
Activity/Asset
Employee 1
Employee 2
Activity 1 with Asset 1
Activity 1 with Asset 2
Activity 2 with Asset 1
Employee 3
Employee 4
Employee 5
Activity 2 with Asset 3
Using Siebel Tools, you can configure dynamic candidates for other assignment objects. For more
information about configuring assignment objects for dynamic candidates, see Process of Defining
Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
About Dynamic Candidate Types
Depending on how an assignment object is configured, the object can be assigned as either single
owner or multiple owner. Dynamic candidates are also assigned as single owner or multiple owner,
as shown in Figure 26.
Figure 26 shows the following relationships:
Candidates are of the single-owner type when you can associate only one candidate (employee,
position, or organization) with an assignment object.
In this example, one employee is associate with a service request, as shown in the top left of
Figure 26. For a more detailed example, see the first example in Examples of Dynamic Candidate
Assignment on page 146.
Candidates are of the multiple-owner type when you can associate many candidates (employees,
positions, or organizations) with an assignment object.
In this example, multiple employees are associated with an activity, as shown in the top right of
Figure 26, and multiple positions are associated to an opportunity, as shown in the bottom half
of Figure 26.
The main difference between single- versus multiple-owner is that in single-owner situations,
Assignment Manager can assign only one candidate, whereas in multiple-owner situations,
Assignment Manager can assign many candidates. For information about which assignment objects
are restricted to a single assignee and those objects that are capable of incorporating a team of
assignees, see Table 4 on page 27.
Using Siebel Tools, you configure dynamic candidates by modifying Dynamic Candidate object
properties. For more information about configuring dynamic candidates, see Process of Defining
Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
In the UI, you define team-based criteria for assignment rules that have dynamic candidates as you
would any other criteria, that is, you apply a comparison method and define the criteria values. Only
the Compare to Person or the Compare to Organization comparison methods are supported for teambased criteria.
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Figure 26. Example of Single- Versus Multiple-Owner Dynamic Candidate Types
However, an assignment rule defined for dynamic candidates does not necessarily need team-based
criteria. An assignment rule can have any of the following:
Static candidates and regular criteria
Dynamic candidates and regular criteria
Dynamic candidates and team-based criteria
Dynamic candidates and a combination of regular and team-based criteria
Scenario for Using Dynamic Candidates with Team-Based Objects
This scenario provides an example of assigning only Sales Team positions to an opportunity related
to an account. You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
A large corporation has just identified a new opportunity for an existing account. The senior VP wants
to make sure that only members of a specific sales team are assigned to this opportunity. The sales
team for this account opportunity has the following positions:
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Position Name
Role
VP, Global Services
Executive Sponsor
Sales East - Manager
Sales Team
Sales Rep 43
Sales Team
Primary
Examples of Dynamic Candidate
Assignment
This topic gives two examples of how you might use dynamic candidate assignment. You may use
this feature differently, depending on your business model.
Example 1: Dynamic Candidate Assignment for a Service Organization
Generally, in high-value machinery or asset-based service organizations, each asset is typically
associated one or more field service engineers (FSE). These preassigned FSEs are often the
customers first contact for service requests, onsite visits for preventive maintenance, break-fix type
of activities, and so on. In addition, these FSEs are usually ranked as Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary
based on their seniority, skills, and so on.
This scenario provides an example of a process performed by field service engineers (FSEs) in an
x-ray manufacturing company. Your company may follow a different process according to its business
requirements.
During a typical day in a field service organization, a group of FSEs responds to customer phone calls
and prepares for onsite visits for preventative maintenance and break-fix type of activities. In this
scenario, a hospital calls for preventative maintenance for their x-ray machine as per warranty
conditions.
To handle the incoming request, the service center agent creates a service request, and then creates
a preventative maintenance activity for that service request. Next, the agent assigns that activity
(by clicking the Assign button in one of the service request views), and the results window appears
with the potential assignees for the asset team. The agent can then choose the appropriate candidate
to complete the assignment process. Typically, FSEs are ranked as primary, secondary, or tertiary
based on their seniority, skills, and so on, and the agent bases his decision on this ranking.
Example 2: Dynamic Candidate Assignment Using Skills and Scoring
Table 37 provides sample data for a another example. The numbers at the top of the table correspond
to the numbered text following the table. Because the resulting list of potential assignees is
dependent on the assignee filter and other criteria stipulated in the assignment rule, a few resultant
examples follow the table.
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Table 37.
Sample Data for Dynamic Candidates Assigned to an Activity
Asset Team
Member
Type
Account
Team
Member
Type
Service
Region
Skills
Employee 1
Primary
Employee 3
Primary
Employee 1
ENU
Employee 2
Secondary
Employee 6
Secondary
Employee 2
FRA
Employee 3
Tertiary
Employee 2
Tertiary
Employee 3
Employee 4
Tech Support
Employee 4
Tech Support
Employee 7
Employee 5
Never Send
Employee 7
Never Send
Employee 8
The asset has an asset team and each employee in that team has a type. All the employees in
this team are eligible candidates for the activity. The employees are scored based on their type
and the following assignment rules:
If Organization = Americas, primary score = 100.
If Organization = Europe, primary score = 50.
Based on the rules and their type, assume the asset team scores are:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1
2
3
4
5
=100
= 75
= 50
= 25
= 0
The activity has an account team and each employee in that team has a type. All the employees
in this team are eligible candidates for this activity. The employees are scored based on their
type.
The account team scores are:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
3
6
2
4
7
=
=
=
=
=
80
60
30
10
0
The activity has a service region, and the service region has employees. All employees are
eligible candidates for skill matching. You match activity skills and employee skills, but you can
specify other matching criteria as well.
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1= 100
2= 150
3= 75
7= 200
8 = 25
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Same Object
This step determines the final list of potential candidates for this activity. The following are two
possible results:
Given the AddScores server component parameter is set to True, the list is the union of the
employees from all three previous lists, and employee scores are added if they exist in more
than one list.
The final list of candidates for this activity with their corresponding scores is:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1=200 (100 + 100)
2=255 (75 + 30 + 150)
3=205 (50 + 80 + 75)
4=35 (25 + 10)
5=0
6=60
7=200 (0 + 200)
8=25
Given the AddScores server component parameter is set to False, the scores are not added,
so the highest-scoring employee (Employee 7) is selected.
The final list of candidates for this activity with their corresponding scores is:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1
2
3
3
4
5
6
7
8
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
100
150
80
75
25
0
60
200
25
Additional possible final results for this example include:
If the assignment rules uses a One, Best Fit assignee filter, only the highest scoring employee is
assigned, so Employee 2 is the only eligible candidate for assignment.
If the assignment rule uses an All Above Minimum assignee filter and the minimum score for the
rule is 200, then Employee 1, 2, and 3 are potential candidates for the assignment.
Example of Assigning Dynamic
Candidates to the Same Object
This topic gives one example of configuring Assignment Manager to assign a manager of an existing
team to an account, contact, or opportunity belonging to one of their subordinates. You may use this
feature differently, depending on your business model.
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Same Object
To assign a manager to an account, contact, or opportunity record belonging to one
of their subordinates
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Create a new symbolic string, and then apply this definition to the Display Name property for the
Account Assignment Object.
In the Object Explorer, select Symbolic String.
Choose Edit > New Record to create a new symbolic string record.
For more information about symbolic strings, see Using Siebel Tools.
Create a new Dynamic Candidate record.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, then expand Assignment Object, and then
select Dynamic Candidate.
Choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Dynamic Candidates window, choose Edit > New Record to add a new record with the
following property settings:
Display Name = Reporting Candidate
Team Type = Position
In the Object Explorer, expand Dynamic Candidate Component, and in the Dynamic Candidate
Component list, choose Edit > New Record to add a new record with the following property
settings:
Name= Account Position
Primary = Y
Source Table Name = S_ACCNT_POSTN
Source Column Name = OU_EXT_ID
Create another Dynamic Candidate record with the following property settings:
Name = Reporting Position
Candidate Table = TRUE
Source Table Name = S_PARTY_RPT_REL
Source Column Name = PARTY_ID
Target Component Name = Account Position
Target Column Name = POSITION_ID
Candidate Id = SUB_PARTY_ID
Set the Display Name - String Reference property to the symbolic string you created in
Step 2 on page 149.
NOTE: After configuration, the display name for the team appears in the Person Candidate
Source or the Organization Candidate Source list of value (LOV) fields on the assignment rule
(Administration - Assignment > Assignment Rule List).
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Check in the configuration to the server database.
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rule List view and select the
assignment rule for which you want to apply this configuration.
Set the Person Candidates Source field to the dynamic candidate display name that you created
Step 3 on page 149.
Release the rules.
NOTE: For testing purpose, it is recommended that you run an AsgnBatch server component job to
verify the assignees.
Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates
If you plan to create new dynamic candidate teams, you must first modify the Dynamic Candidate
objects before the candidates are available for adding to your assignment rules. The process is
similar to Workflow Policy Component and Workflow Policy Component Column configuration. Using
Siebel Tools, you modify the following object types:
Dynamic Candidate
Dynamic Candidate Component
Dynamic Candidate Component Col
Dynamic candidate configuration is a logical definition of the underlying team table, candidate
column, and related joins to the assignment object. The Dynamic Candidate properties define the
dynamic candidate name, team type, and so on. The Dynamic Candidate Component properties
define the table and column names used in the join, and the Dynamic Candidate Component Col
properties define columns used in the team-based criteria.
The process for defining dynamic candidate is a multi-step process and requires the following tasks.
These tasks may vary according to your organizations business practices.
NOTE: If you plan to use only the predefined dynamic candidate teamsActivity Account Team or
Activity Asset Teamfor your assignment rules or you have already created other dynamic candidate
teams, you can skip the first three configuration steps and proceed directly to Step 5.
Configuring Assignment Objects for Dynamic Candidates on page 151
Configuring Join Specifications for Dynamic Candidate Object Definitions on page 152
Mapping Columns From Source Tables to Team-Based Criteria on page 154
(Optional) Copying Dynamic Candidate Attribute Columns to the Team Table on page 155
Adding Dynamic Candidate Teams to Assignment Rules on page 156
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Configuring Assignment Objects for Dynamic
Candidates
Dynamic candidates are the potential assignable candidates obtained from related business entities
when assigning an object. The Dynamic Candidate Component object properties define the dynamic
candidate name, team type, and so on.
Using Siebel Tools, you must first modify the properties of the Dynamic Candidate object type.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
Use the following procedure to configure the Dynamic Candidate object type for dynamic candidates.
To configure an assignment object for dynamic candidates
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects
window, select the object you want to configure.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it in the
Development Tools Options dialog box (View > Options > Object Explorer).
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then select Dynamic Candidate.
In the Dynamic Candidates window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
Table 38 provides descriptions of some of the Dynamic Candidate object properties.
Table 38.
Dynamic Candidate Object Properties
Property
Description
Name
The name of the dynamic candidate team. For example, Activity: Asset
Team.
Display Name
An alternative name to display to the Siebel Client. This property is
optional. If no display name is provided, then the value in the Name field
is used.
By default, this is set to NULL.
Display Name - String
Reference
The display name for this team appearing in the Person Candidate Source
or the Organization Candidate Source list of value (LOV) fields on the
assignment rule applet.
NOTE: You must first create a string reference in the Symbolic String
object, and then set the Display Name - String Reference to the symbolic
string you created.
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Table 38.
Dynamic Candidate Object Properties
Property
Description
Display Name - String
Override
This property allows users to enter a display name without entering a
symbolic string. The value in this property is what is displayed in the UI,
and it overrides any other display name entries. However, because this
value has no symbolic string, it is not translatable. For this reason, use
caution when assigning an override.
Inactive
Indicates if the object is active or inactive.
By default, this value is set to FALSE.
Team Table Attribute Id
Column
The name of the column in the team table that contains the attribute ID,
that joins to the Attribute Id column.
Team Table Candidate
Id Column
The name of the column in the team table that contains the candidate ID,
the foreign key to the candidate base table.
Team Type
Indicates whether or not the candidate team is employee-, organization-,
or position-based.
NOTE: As of version 7.8, the following Dynamic Candidate object type properties are no longer used:
Attribute Id Column, Attribute Table, Object Id Column, Score Column, Team Table, Team Table
Attribute Id Column, and Team Table Candidate Id Column. However, these properties remain for
upgrade purposes.
Configuring Join Specifications for Dynamic Candidate
Object Definitions
As of version 7.8, Assignment Manager supports complex joins to relate base table with other related
entities. The Dynamic Candidate Component object properties define the table and column names
used when performing a join from the assignment object primary table to the candidate table to
retrieve the dynamic candidates.
Using the dynamic candidate feature, you can configure Assignment Manager to identify related
business entities and retrieve potential candidates from these entities. For example, you use the
dynamic candidate feature when:
Assigning a position, such as Executive Sponsor, from the account team to a related child account
Assigning account sales representative positions to a child account's opportunity
Assigning an activity and you want to evaluate only employees who belong to that activity's
service region, and if necessary, add more criteria for product skills, and so on.
Because potential assignees for dynamic candidates can be derived from various related business
entities, you must configure the relationship between these entities.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
Use the following procedure to configure join specifications for dynamic candidates.
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NOTE: Before you can successfully use join specifications for creating dynamic candidate definitions,
you need to have a thorough understanding of database administration and how to use Siebel Tools.
You should also familiarize yourself with the basics of the underlying Siebel application architecture.
For more information about these topics, see Using Siebel Tools and Siebel Deployment Planning
Guide.
To configure join specifications for dynamic candidates
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects
window, select the object you want to configure.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it in the
Development Tools Options dialog box (View > Options > Object Explorer).
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then expand Dynamic Candidate.
Expand the Dynamic Candidate object further, and then select Dynamic Candidate Component.
In the Dynamic Candidate Component window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
Table 39 provides descriptions of some of the Dynamic Candidate Component properties.
Table 39.
Dynamic Candidate Component Object Properties
Property
Description
Additional Join Spec
Use this property to specify an additional join.
Candidate Id Column
The column in the Team table containing the Id of the candidate
(employee, position, or organization).
Candidate Table
The name of the source table at the last level of a join.
NOTE: Before version 7.8, this property was called Team Table.
Inactive
Indicates if the component is active or inactive.
Name
The name of the dynamic candidate component.
Primary
When checked, indicates whether the dynamic candidate component
is the primary for the dynamic candidate selected for the assignment
object.
Score Column
The column in the Team table containing scores of the candidates.
Source Column Name
The column in the source table that relates to another dynamic
candidate component.
Source Table Name
The table that the dynamic candidate component is based on.
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Table 39.
Dynamic Candidate Component Object Properties
Property
Description
Target Column Name
The column in the source table that relates to another dynamic
candidate component.
Target Component Name
The target dynamic candidate component that is related to this
dynamic candidate component.
NOTE: Each dynamic candidate specified can have only one primary dynamic candidate component.
Mapping Columns From Source Tables to Team-Based
Criteria
Using Siebel Tools, you create records in the Dynamic Candidate Component Col object to map
columns in a source table, at a particular level in the join, to a team-based assignment criterion. You
do so by specifying the attribute column name and the correct assignment criteria attribute name.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
Use the following procedure to map columns from source tables to team-based criteria.
To map columns from a source table to team-based criterion
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects
window, select the object you want to configure.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it in the
Development Tools Options dialog box (View > Options > Object Explorer).
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then expand Dynamic Candidate.
Expand the Dynamic Candidate object further, and navigate to Dynamic Candidate Component
Col.
In the Dynamic Candidates Component Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
Table 40 provides descriptions of some of the Dynamic Candidate Component Col object properties.
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Table 40.
Dynamic Candidate Component Col Object Properties
Property
Description
Assignment Criteria
Attribute Name
The name of the assignment criteria attribute.
Assignment Criteria
Name
The name of the assignment criteria.
Inactive
Indicates if the component is active or inactive.
Name
The name of the dynamic candidate component column.
Parent Name
The name of the object definition's parent. This is a system-supplied
value.
NOTE: This property is automatically populated when you select the
assignment criteria attribute name.
Copying Dynamic Candidate Attribute Columns to the
Team Table
Assignment Manager supports copying of dynamic candidate attribute columns and stamping of
attributes on each candidate obtained through a join on the team table by copying dynamic candidate
attribute values at any level in an n-level join to the results team table.
You can create multiple entries to create joins. One of those entries you flag as the candidate table.
The source table for that record is the team table for that dynamic candidate.
This task is an optional step in Process of Defining Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
Use the following procedure to specify the column name in the results table where you want the
attribute values stamped.
NOTE: You can write results to both reporting or operational tables.
To copy dynamic candidate attribute columns to the team table
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects
window, select the object you want to configure.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it in the
Development Tools Options dialog box (View > Options > Object Explorer).
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then expand Dynamic Candidate.
Expand the Dynamic Candidate object further, and navigate to Dynamic Candidate Component
Col.
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In the Dynamic Candidates Component Columns window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
Table 41 provides descriptions of some of the Dynamic Candidate Component Col object properties.
Table 41.
Dynamic Candidate Component Col Object Properties Used for Stamping Attributes
Property
Description
Attribute Column
Name
The name of the column in the source table.
Copy Column Name
The name of the column stamped on the team table when working in
operational mode.
Reporting Copy
Column Name
The name of the column stamped on the Name reporting table when
working in reporting mode.
Adding Dynamic Candidate Teams to Assignment Rules
You can add dynamic candidates teams (position or employee) or organization dynamic candidate
teams to assignment rules. You can use either the predefined dynamic candidate teams provided in
the application or create your own teams using Siebel Tools.
This task is a step in Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44 as well as Process of Defining
Dynamic Candidates on page 150.
Use one of the following procedures to add predefined dynamic candidate teams to your assignment
rules.
NOTE: If you plan to create you own dynamic candidate teams, you must use Siebel Tools to
configure the teams before implementing the following procedure. For more information about
configuring dynamic candidate teams, see Configuring Assignment Objects for Dynamic Candidates
on page 151.
To add a person dynamic candidate team to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add a dynamic team.
Click the Person Candidates Source drop-down list and choose one of the following:
Activity Account Team
Activity Asset Team
All People
From Rule
Any team you predefined using Siebel Tools
NOTE: For territory management, you can choose from several other predefined values. For
more information about these values, see Siebel Territory Management Guide.
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You use a similar procedure for adding organization dynamic candidate teams to assignment rules.
However, there are no predefined organization dynamic teams from which to choose in the seed data;
you must create your own organization teams.
To add an organization dynamic candidate team to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List view.
Drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to add a dynamic team.
Click the Organization Candidates Source drop-down list and choose one of the following:
All Organizations
From Rule
Any team you predefined using Siebel Tools
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Assignment Rule Administration
for Delegated Assignment
This chapter explains how to delegate assignment rules to others, and how others can inherit and
further define these delegated rules. The tasks explained in this chapter are for Delegated
Administrators (DA), and as such, the procedures are documented using the Administration Delegated Assignment screen and views.
The topics in this chapter are organized to present information in a sequence roughly corresponding
to the order in which you are likely to be concerned with the subjects described when using delegated
assignment. However, your company may follow a different process according to its business
requirements.
This chapter includes the following topics:
About Delegated Assignment on page 159
About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163
Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on page 169
Process of Inheriting and Refining Delegated Assignment Rules on page 171
Examples for Using Delegated Assignment on page 173
NOTE: Although the procedures in this chapter are written for the Administration - Delegated
Assignment screen and views, you can also perform many of these same operations using the Rule
Group Explorer views in the Administration - Assignment screen.
CAUTION: Before performing the tasks in this chapter, you should familiarize yourself with the
assignment administration tasks explained in Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration.
Otherwise, you may find the procedures difficult to follow.
About Delegated Assignment
Delegated assignment provides people (positions) other than the assignment administrator the
ability to create and manage assignment rules. The top assignment administrator (AA) position can
delegate rule administration to other positions and partners to route leads, activities, accounts, and
other objects to employees or positions. These delegates are known DAs. DAs can, in turn, delegate
assignment rule administration to other DAs. This hierarchical assignment rule inheritance feature is
well-suited to sales organizations and organizations that work closely with partners.
NOTE: Prior to version 7.7, the assignment administrator was the only person responsible for
administering assignment rules.
Delegated assignment allows AAs the ability to enforce core business logic using rule inheritance,
while allowing delegated administrators (DAs) the ability to further refine that logic and specialize
their assignment rules for their unique circumstances.
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Assignment
However, DAs can only inherit rules from their parent rule group. When inheriting a rule, DAs are
allowed to choose only from rules in the parent rule group in which the owner of their rule group is
currently a candidate (employee or position). The logic specified on a rule is enforced on all inherited
rules by making sure that the rule contains nonremovable and noneditable copies of all criteria from
the parent rule. DAs can further refine the rules logic, by adding new criteria to inherited rules by
either creating new criteria or by adding and modifying criteria templates. DAs can also delete any
rule they choose to inherit from the parent rule group. Candidates (employees and positions) of rules
are not inherited, so users can choose anyone their organization visibility allows as a candidate.
Workload criteria, organization workload criteria, and organizations are not inherited.
If you plan to use delegated assignment, the top AA position must first prepare the assignment rules
for inheritance. After a rule is inherited and changes are made to the original rulesuch as, adding
criteria to, expiring, or deleting the rulethose changes are propagated down the hierarchy to all
rules that were inherited from it.
Scenario for Delegated Assignment
This scenario gives one example of how you can dynamically assign candidates. You may use this
feature differently, depending on your business model.
For this scenario, candidates are assigned to an activity based on the information provided in
Table 42. The numbers at the top of the table correspond to the numbered text following the table.
Table 42.
Sample Data for Dynamic Candidates Assigned to an Activity
Asset Team
Member
Type
Account Team
Member
Type
Service
Region
Skills
Employee 1
Primary
Employee 3
Primary
Employee 1
ENU
Employee 2
Secondary
Employee 6
Secondary
Employee 2
FRA
Employee 3
Tertiary
Employee 2
Tertiary
Employee 3
Employee 4
Tech Support
Employee 4
Tech Support
Employee 7
Employee 5
Never Send
Employee 7
Never Send
Employee 8
The activity has an asset team and each employee in that team has a type. All the employees in
this team are eligible candidates for the activity. The employees are scored based on their type
and the following assignment rules:
If Organization = Americas, primary score = 100.
If Organization = Europe, primary score = 50.
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Based on the rules and their type, assume the asset team scores are:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1
2
3
4
5
=100
= 75
= 50
= 25
= 0
The activity has an account team and each employee in that team has a type. All the employees
in this team are eligible candidates for this activity. The employees are scored based on their
type.
The account team scores are:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
=
=
=
=
=
80
60
30
10
0
The activity has a service region, and the service region has employees. All employees are
eligible candidates for skill matching. You match activity skills and employee skills, but you can
specify other matching criteria as well.
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
3
6
2
4
7
1= 100
2= 150
3= 75
7= 200
8 = 25
This step determines the final list of candidates for this activity. This list is the union of the
employees from all previous three lists, and employee scores are added if they exist in more than
one list.
The final list of candidates for this activity with their corresponding scores is:
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
Employee
1=200 (100 + 100)
2=255 (75 + 30 + 150)
3=205 (50 + 80 + 75)
4=35 (25 + 10)
5=0
6=60
7=200 (0 + 200)
8=25
All employees with a passing score pass the rule. In this example, if the minimum score for the rule
is 200, Employee 1, 2, 3, and 7 pass and Employee 2 is set as the primary because that employee
has the highest score.
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Sample Delegated Assignment Process Flowchart
Figure 27 provides a sample process flowchart of the delegated assignment feature. Each of the
process steps are explained in further detail later in this chapter.
Figure 27. Sample Process Flowchart for Delegated Assignment
Figure 27 shows the following relationships:
Amy is the EVP of Sales and is the assignment administrator. Amy must first create root-level
rule groups, child rule groups, and rules, and add criteria templates and owners of the child rule
groups to the assignment rules before delegated assignment can be implemented.
Lance and Henry are sales VPs and are delegated administrators (2nd-tier). Lance and Henry
must first inherit rules in the rule group Amy created for their respective areas, and can then
further refine and delegate those rules further down the hierarchy.
Sarah and Rick are Sales Managers and are delegated administrators (3rd-tier). Sarah and Rick
inherit the rules created by Lance for their respective areas, and then further refine those rules
for their sales representatives.
Robin and Sam are Partners and are delegated administrators (3rd-tier, similar to Sarah and
Rick). Robin and Sam inherit the rules created by Henry for their respective areas, and then
further refine those rules for their sales representatives.
NOTE: After a rule is inherited in child rule groups and changes are made to the original rule, such
as adding criteria to, expiring, or even deleting the rule, those changes are propagated down the
hierarchy to all rules that were inherited from it.
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About Setting Up Assignment Rules for Delegation
If you plan to use delegated assignment, the top AA position must first prepare the assignment rules
for inheritance in addition to the tasks presented in Chapter 5, Assignment Rule Administration.
The top AA position typically creates rules and rule criteria templates from which all other delegated
rules and rule criteria are created using the Administration - Assignment views. DAs can then inherit
these predefined rules and further refine those rules by adding new criteria or apply criteria
templates criteria using the Administration - Delegated Assignment views. These refined rules can
again be inherited and modified by other DAs at a lower level in the hierarchy, and so on. At each
level in the hierarchy, administrators can assign designees to act on their behalf. Designees can view
and edit rule groups (and the rules within those rules groups) on behalf of an AA or DA. Figure 28 on
page 164 shows an example of this n-tier hierarchical relationship.
About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy
A rule group is a group of categorized assignment rules. You might think of a rule group as similar
to a territory. The delegated assignment feature provides a hierarchical (tree) distribution of rule
groups as shown in Figure 28. The logic defined in the rules in rule groups at the top of the hierarchy
is enforced down the hierarchy, but can be refined.
The following subtopics describe rule group hierarchy in further detail.
The Rule Group Explorer on page 163
Parent and Root-Level Rule Groups on page 165
Assignment Owners and Designees on page 166
Assignment Rule Inheritance on page 166
Rule Group Visibility and Permissions on page 166
Automating the Menu Options: Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy and Rule Group Hierarchy
on page 167
Setting Up Assignment Responsibility for Designees on page 168
The Rule Group Explorer
The Rule Group Explorer is one of the views in the administration screens. The Rule Group Explorer
(see Figure 28) is a graphical representation of the rule group hierarchy tree and provides a
convenient way to navigate the entire rule group hierarchy. The relationships between parent and
child rule groups is a hierarchy.
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Group Hierarchy
Root-Level Rule Groups
Child Rule Groups
Figure 28. Sample Rule Group Explorer
Figure 28 shows the following relationships:
Root-level rule groups
Child rule groups and their characteristics:
Rule Groups (lists all child rule groups for the current rule group)
Rules
Designees
Inheritable Rules
Rules in rule groups at the bottom of a hierarchy are processed first, moving up one level each time
no rule in the previous level passes. Within each level in the hierarchy, the rules are processed by
ascending order of sequence number.
Administrators (AAs and DAs) use the Rule Group Explorer to create and maintain rule group
hierarchies. Assignment Administrators have organization visibility, so they see the rules for their
specific organization or organizations. Typically, AAs use the Rule Group Explorer views in the
assignment administration screen but can also use the views in the delegated assignment
administration screen. Delegated Administrators s must use the My Rule Group Explorer view in the
delegated assignment screen and can see only rule groups for which they are an owner or designee,
and the rule groups and rules that appear below (subtree).
DAs can only create a new rule group below one for which they are the owner or designee; this new
rule group is a child rule group of the original rule. DAs can also create grandchild rule groups, greatgrandchild rule groups, and so on.
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Group Hierarchy
Parent and Root-Level Rule Groups
A parent rule group is a rule group that appears directly above another rule group in the hierarchy.
A root-level rule group is a rule group without a parent. For example, in Figure 29 on page 165, RG 2
is the parent of RG 4, but RG 2 is not a root-level rule group. Only RG 1 is a root-level rule group
that is because it is the only rule group in the hierarchy that does not have a parent rule group (and,
subsequently, is at the top of the hierarchy).
Figure 29 provides a sample rule hierarchy that shows how parent and root rule groups relate to
other rule groups in the same hierarchy.
Figure 29. Relationships Between Parent and Child Rule Groups in a Hierarchy
Figure 29 show the following relationships:
Rule groups that have no parent are root-level rule groups. There is only one root-level rule
group for each hierarchy and that root-level rule group appears at the top of the hierarchy (RG1).
NOTE: Only assignment administrators (not delegated administrators) can create root-level rule
groups.
Rule groups that are parents to no other rule groups (rule groups with no child rule groups) are
considered leaf rule groups and appear at the bottom of the hierarchy (RG3, RG4, and RG5).
Rules at the leaf nodes are processed first by Assignment Manager. If none of those rules, pass
Assignment Manager processes rules in the set of rule groups above the leaf nodes, and so on,
until the root-level rule group is processed. This makes certain that if a rule is inherited from one
rule group to another, the inherited rule is passed first.
NOTE: The Default Rule Group is a root-level rule group (has no parent) as well as a leaf node (has
no child).
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Assignment Owners and Designees
Assignment Manager uses ownership as a means to determine if a particular rule is eligible for
inheritance by a rule group. Each rule group must have an owner, and a rule group defaults to the
creator (as owner) when a new rule group is created.
NOTE: The concept of ownership is an integral part of delegated assignment functionality; however,
if you do not use delegated assignment, ownership serves no functional role.
Owners can delegate their responsibility to designees with the same rights as an owner. A designee
is an individual who can view and edit rule groups (and the rules within those rules groups) on behalf
of an owner. The owner and the designees of a rule group are collectively known as delegated
administrators (DAs).
Assignment Rule Inheritance
Rule inheritance allows assignment administrators (AAs) to enforce business logic, while allowing
delegated administrators (DAs) to further refine that logic. In addition, inheritors of rules can refine
those same rules and specialize them for their unique circumstances.
Criteria templates are special criteria that can be applied to inherited rules. Assignment Manager
does not process criteria templates until an inheritor of an assignment rule chooses to apply a
template to the inherited rule.
To use criteria templates, administrators (AA or DA) must first create criteria templates for
inheritable rules by checking the Template field in the Criteria list for the criteria they want as
templates. When an assignment rule is inherited, the inheritor has the option to either apply the
criteria templates into an actual criterion--by checking the Create From Templates button in the
Criteria view tab--or to create a new criterion for the inherited rule.
NOTE: Assignment Manager ignores criteria that have the Template field checked on an assignment
rule until such time as that rule is inherited and the criteria template is applied to the inherited rule.
TIP: It is recommended that AAs create criteria templates to assist DAs in rule creation. This
reduces the need for DAs to fully understand the steps required and implications of creating new
logic.
Rule Group Visibility and Permissions
AAs have visibility only for the rule groups (and the rules within those rule groups) for their specific
organization (unless given permission to the All Rule Groups Across Organizations view). DAs have
visibility only to the rule groups for which they are an owner (or designee) and each of their rule
groups subtrees. An owner of a particular rule group cannot be the owner (or designee) of a rule group
lower in the hierarchy (subtree), but can be an owner (or designee) for rule groups in other hierarchies.
TIP: DAs can only inherit rules from a parent rule group and can refine inherited rules to specialize
them, but cannot remove any of the logic specified in the original rule.
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Options: Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy and Rule Group Hierarchy
Automating the Menu Options:
Regenerate Denormalized Rule
Hierarchy and Rule Group Hierarchy
When assignment manager rules or assignment manager rule groups are created through the user
interface (see Creating Assignment Rule Groups on page 46 and Creating Assignment Rules on
page 51), the hierarchy is automatically maintained (that is, the tables are updated). However,
whenever new assignment manager rules or rule groups are imported using Enterprise Integration
Manager (EIM), the hierarchy must be regenerated. The following menu options support regenerating
rule hierarchy and rule group hierarchy:
Regenerate Denormalized Rule Group Hierarchy
Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy
The Siebel administrator or assignment manager administrator can use these options after an EIM
import of the assignment manager rules or rule groups.
Regenerating Rule Groups Hierarchy
After importing the assignment manager rule groups, regenerate the rule group hierarchy.
To regenerate the rule group hierarchy
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Rule Groups List view.
In the Rule Groups list applet, select the applet menu option and then Regenerate Denormalized
Rule Group Hierarchy.
Regenerating Rule Hierarchy
After importing the assignment manager rules, regenerate the rule hierarchy.
To regenerate the rule hierarchy
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Rules List.
In the Assignment Rules list applet, select the applet menu option and then Regenerate
Denormalized Rule Hierarchy.
About Invoking Regeneration Functions by Scripting
It is possible to invoke the functions Regenerate Denormalized Rule Group Hierarchy and Regenerate
Denormalized Rule Hierarchy by scripting, using the corresponding business component method:
To regenerate rule groups hierarchy, invoke the method, RegenerateDenormHierarchy, on the
Assignment Rule Group business component.
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Options: Regenerate Denormalized Rule Hierarchy and Rule Group Hierarchy
To regenerate rules hierarchy, invoke the method, RegenerateDenormHierarchy, on the
Assignment Group business component.
This method can then be used to automate the call of these functionalities. For example, after an
EIM batch, a workflow process can be launched, calling a custom business service that invokes the
corresponding methods.
Example of the Core Script in Siebel eScript
The following are examples of the core script in Siebel eScript:
To regenerate rule groups hierarchy
var busobj;
var buscomp;
// Regenerate Rule Groups
busobj=TheApplication().GetBusObject("Assignment");
buscomp=busobj.GetBusComp("Assignment Rule Group");
buscomp.InvokeMethod("RegenerateDenormHierarchy");
buscomp=null
busobj=null
To regenerate the rules hierarchy
var busobj;
var buscomp;
// Regenerate Rules
busobj=TheApplication().GetBusObject("Assignment");
buscomp=busobj.GetBusComp("Assignment Group");
buscomp.InvokeMethod("RegenerateDenormHierarchy");
buscomp=null
busobj=null
Setting Up Assignment Responsibility for Designees
This topic explains how to add designees to an assignment rule group using the delegated
assignment administration views. Use the following procedure if you want to delegate assignment
responsibility to someone else (a designee).
To add a designee to an assignment rule group
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, expand the rule group for which you want to assign designees, and then
click Designees.
In the My Rule Group Explorer list, click New.
In the Pick Positions dialog box, query for the position you want to add to the rule group, and
then click OK.
For more information about designees, see Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on
page 169.
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Process of Making an Assignment Rule
Inheritable
By associating positions to the inheritance access list for an assignment rule, you make that rule
inheritable for use by child rule groups (accessible by the rule groups owners and designees).
Assignment administrators (AAs and DAs) can make an assignment rule inheritable as long as they
have access to the rule.
To make assignment rules inheritable, you perform the following tasks:
Creating Child Assignment Rule Groups on page 169
You must first create a child rule group from a parent rule group, setting the Parent Rule Group
field to the current rule group.
Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List on page 170
After creating the child rule group, you add the owner of the child rule group to the inheritance
access list for the rule.
NOTE: Unless the owner of a rule group is on the inheritance access list, that owner (and his or
her designees) cannot inherit a rule.
(Optional) Adding Criteria Templates to Assignment Rules on page 170
Optionally, you can add criteria templates to an assignment rule. DAs then have the option to
apply the criteria templates to their inherited rules in lieu of creating new criteria.
Creating Child Assignment Rule Groups
This topic explains how to create a child assignment rule group using the delegated assignment
administration views.
This task is a step in Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on page 169.
To create a child rule group
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, expand the rule group folder for which you want to define a child rule
group, and then click Rule Groups.
In the My Rule Group Explorer list, click New.
In the new rule group record, click in the available fields to enter relevant information for the
new group rule.
In the Name field, type a name for the child rule group.
In the Owner Position field, click the select button to query for an owner, and then click OK.
NOTE: You must specify an appropriate position for the owner. A position cannot be owner
(or designee) for a rule group below one for which that position is already an owner or
designee.
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For field descriptions, see Creating Assignment Rule Groups on page 46.
TIP: Activation and expiration dates are modifiable only at the root-level rule group level in the
hierarchy. All other rule groups under the root-level rule group share the same dates and are
read only.
Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List
This topic explains how to add owners to the inheritance access list for an assignment rule using the
delegated assignment administration views. After owners are added to the inheritance access list of
an assignment rule, inheritors of that rule can further refine and specialize that rule.
This task is a step in Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on page 169 and Setting Up
Assignment Responsibility for Designees on page 168.
To add an owner to the inheritance access list
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, expand the rule group in which the assignment rule resides, and then
click Rules.
In the My Rule Group Explorer list, drill down on the assignment rule you want to make
inheritable, and then click the Inheritance Access view tab.
In the Inheritance Access List, click Synchronize.
NOTE: This action first deletes anyone from the list who is not an owner of a child rule group
and then adds back only the owners of the child rule group. To prevent deletion, check the Lock
During Synchronization checkbox next to a position before clicking Synchronize.
Delete any positions from the list that you do not want to inherit rules.
Alternatively, you can add a single position:
In the Inheritance Access List, click New.
In the Pick Positions dialog box, query for the position you want to give access, and then click OK.
Adding Criteria Templates to Assignment Rules
This topic explains how assignment administrators (AAs) can add criteria templates to an assignment
rule using the delegated administration views. After you create criteria templates, the criteria
templates are available for use with inherited rules.
NOTE: It is recommended that assignment administrators create criteria templates to assist DAs in
rule creation. This reduces the need for DAs to fully under the steps required and implications of
creating new logic.
This task is a step in Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on page 169.
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To add criteria templates to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, select the assignment rule for which you want to add criteria
templates.
NOTE: Depending on the rule, you may need to navigate down the hierarchy.
In the My Rule Group Explorer list, drill down on the assignment rule, and then click the Criteria
view tab (if not already active).
Add a new criterion.
For information about creating new criteria, see Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use
in Assignment Rules on page 121.
Check the Template checkbox for the new criterion.
The templated criterion is now available for use with inherited rules.
NOTE: Assignment Manager does not process criteria templates until an inheritor chooses to
apply a template to an assignment rule. When someone inherits from that rule, that person has
the option to apply a template into an actual criterion (by checking the Create From Templates
button in the Criteria view tab) instead of creating a new criterion.
Process of Inheriting and Refining
Delegated Assignment Rules
To inherit and refine delegated assignment rules, you perform the following tasks:
Inherit an assignment rule.
For a procedure, see Inheriting Delegated Assignment Rules on page 172.
Add criteria to the inherited assignment rule by either creating new criteria or applying criteria
templates.
For information about:
Creating new criteria, see Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules
on page 121
Applying criteria templates, see Applying Criteria Templates to Inherited Assignment Rules
on page 172
Add candidates to the assignment rule.
For information about adding candidates, see Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on
page 60.
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Inheriting Delegated Assignment Rules
This topic explains how to inherit an assignment rule using the delegated assignment administration
views.
This task is a step in Process of Inheriting and Refining Delegated Assignment Rules on page 171.
To inherit a delegated assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, expand the rule group for which you want to inherit rules, and then click
Inheritable Rules.
Select one or more rules you want to inherit, and then click Inherit Rules.
The rule (or rules) now appear as rules in the Rule Group Explorer view under Rules.
Applying Criteria Templates to Inherited Assignment
Rules
This topic explains how to apply predefined criteria templates to inherited assignment rules using
the delegated assignment administration views.
This task is a step in Process of Inheriting and Refining Delegated Assignment Rules on page 171 and
an optional task in Process of Making an Assignment Rule Inheritable on page 169.
To apply criteria templates to an assignment rule
1
Navigate to the Administration - Delegated Assignment screen > Rule Group Explorer view.
In the Rule Group Explorer, expand the rule group in which the assignment rule resides and you
want to apply criteria templates, and then click Rules.
NOTE: Depending on the rule, you may need to navigate down the hierarchy.
In the My Rule Group Explorer list, drill down on the assignment rule for which you want to apply
criteria templates, and then click Create From Templates.
In the Pick Criteria Templates dialog box, select the rule criterion you want, and click OK.
A new criterion is added to the rule.
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Examples for Using Delegated
Assignment
This topic provides an example of how delegated assignment might be used. You may use delegated
assignment differently, depending on your business model. Your company may follow a different
process according to its business requirements.
It covers the following topics:
Scenario for Working with Delegated Administrators on page 173
Delegated Assignment Example 1: Assignment Administrator Tasks on page 175
Delegated Assignment Example 2: Second-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks on page 177
Delegated Assignment Example 3: Third-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks on page 178
Delegated Assignment Example 4: Third-Tier Delegated Administrator Tasks for Partners on
page 179
Scenario for Working with Delegated Administrators
This scenario is one of the topics for About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
A sales organization for a high tech company wants to create assignment rules that are inheritable
and configurable by several different levels in the organization. The requirements are:
Handle large sales leads internally; handle small sales leads externally using partners
Promptly assign sales leads to the most qualified representative
Design complex assignment rules, making use of the delegated assignment inheritance and
criteria templates features to allow for uncomplicated rule administration by persons at all levels
In this scenario, the Sales EVP, vice presidents, regional sales managers, partners, and sales
representatives participate in delegated assignment for one rule group hierarchy as shown in
Figure 30.
Figure 30 shows the following relationships:
Amy, Executive Vice President of Sales, is the assignment administrator (AA)
Two vice presidents report to Amy:
Lance, VP Direct Sales
Henry, VP Channel Sales
Lance and Henry are 2nd-tier delegated administrators
Two managers report to Lance:
Sarah, Western Regional Manager
Rick, Eastern Regional Manager
Sarah and Rick are 3rd-tier delegated administrators (DAs)
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Two partners report to Henry:
Robin, Partner 1
Sam, Partner 2
Robin and Sam are also 3rd-tier delegated administrators (DAs)
Three western regional sales representatives report to Sarah
Three partner sales representatives report to Robin
Figure 30. Sample Delegated Assignment Organization Chart
Table 43 provides sample responsibilities for each of the positions discussed previously.
Table 43.
Sample Positions and Responsibilities for Delegated Assignment Scenario
Position
Responsible for
Executive Vice President
(EVP) of Sales
Making sure large leads are handled by internal sales representatives
and small leads are handled by partner sales representatives.
VP Direct Sales
Making sure leads are routed to the right regional manager.
VP Channel Sales
Making sure leads are routed to the right partner.
Regional Manager
Making sure leads are routed to the best sales representative.
Partner
Making sure leads are routed to best partner employee (because the
high tech company cannot determine which partner employee is best
suited for the lead).
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Delegated Assignment Example 1: Assignment
Administrator Tasks
This example is one of the topics for About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
The assignment administrator (AA) makes sure that large leads go to internal sales reps (by way of
Lance, VP Direct Sales) and small leads go to channel partners (by way of Henry, VP Channel Sales).
Tasks for the assignment administrator
1
Create a root-level rule group.
In this example, Amy organizes her assignment rules into a logical groupingrules that route
leads are in one rule group.
For information about how to create a root-level rule group, see Creating Assignment Rule
Groups on page 46.
Create a child rule group (or groups) with the root-level rule group as the parent.
In this example, Amy creates two rules groups as follows:
Rule Group 1 with Owner = Lance
Rule Group 2 with Owner = Henry
This allows Henry and Lance the ability to manage their own lead assignment rules for their
subordinates.
For information about how to create a child rule group, see Creating Child Assignment Rule
Groups on page 169.
Create an assignment rule (or rules).
Add a new assignment rule.
Assign candidates to the rule.
For information about adding candidates to assignment rules, see Choosing a Candidate as
the Primary Assignee on page 60.
Add criteria templates to the rule.
NOTE: It is recommended that assignment administrators create criteria templates to assist
DAs in rule creation. This reduces the need for DAs to fully understand the steps required
and implications of creating new logic.
For information about adding criteria templates to assignment rules, see Adding Criteria
Templates to Assignment Rules on page 170.
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Add owners of the child rule groups to the inheritance access list for the assignment rule.
After owners are added to the inheritance access list, inheritors of those rules can refine and
specialize the rules by adding criteria and candidates for their unique circumstances.
For information about adding owners to the inheritance access list for an assignment rule,
see Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List on page 170.
In this example, create the following assignment rules to route leads to Lance and Henry.
Task
Assignment Rule 1
Assignment Rule 2
Add criteria
Leads > $100k
Leads < $100k
Assign candidates
Lance (VP Direct Sales)
Henry (VP Channel Sales)
Add owners to inheritance access list
Lance
Henry
This makes sure that large leads are managed by internal sales and smaller leads are managed
by partners.
(Optional) Create additional criteria templates.
Create new criteria for the assignment rule.
Click the Template flag for each new criteria created.
In this example, use the following criteria.
Add to Rule
Assignment Rule 1
Assignment Rule 2
Criteria Template 1
Product Line= Servers
Criteria Template 2
Product Line = PCs
Criteria Template 3
Product = Notebooks
State = NY, CT, NJ
Criteria Template 4
Product = Desktops
State = WA, CA, OR, NV
Criteria Template 5
Product = Peripherals
This allows Lance and Henry the ability to refine rules with predefined criteria instead of creating
new criteria.
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Delegated Assignment Example 2: Second-Tier
Delegated Administrator Tasks
This example is one of the topics for About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
The second-tier delegated administrators (DAs) make sure that the leads that are more than $100K
are routed to the correct sales manager based on geography and territories:
Leads in the eastern states go to Rick
Leads in the western states go to Sarah
Tasks for second-tier delegated administrators
1
In the Rule Group Explorer, select a rule group previously created by the assignment
administrator.
In this example, Lance selects the rule group for which he is the owner (Rule Group 1).
Create a child rule group (or groups) with the current rule group as the parent.
In this example, Lance creates two rules groups as follows:
Rule Group 10 with Owner = Rick; Parent Rule Group = Rule Group 1
Rule Group 20 with Owner = Sarah; Parent Rule Group = Rule Group 1
This allows Rick and Sarah the ability to manage their own lead assignment rules for their
subordinates.
For information about how to create a child rule group, see Creating Child Assignment Rule
Groups on page 169.
Inherit assignment rule (or rules).
In this example, Lance inherits Amys rule twice so that he can refine each rule to make sure
leads in the western states go to Sarah and leads in the eastern states go to Rick.
For information about inheriting an assignment rule, see Inheriting Delegated Assignment Rules
on page 172.
Refine the inherited assignment rule (or rules).
Apply criteria templates.
See Applying Criteria Templates to Inherited Assignment Rules on page 172.
Add candidates.
See Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60.
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In this example, use the following information to refine the assignment rules.
Rule Data
Assignment Rule 10
Assignment Rule 20
Criteria
Leads > $100k1
Leads > $100k1
Criteria
State = WA, CA, OR, NV2
State = NY, CT, NJ2
Candidate
Sarah
Rick
1.
Criteria inherited from the original rule and is read only.
2.
Applied from criteria templates.
Add owners of the child rule groups to the inheritance access list for each assignment rule.
See Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List on page 170.
After you add Sarah and Rick to the inheritance access list for the appropriate assignment rule,
Sarah and Rick can inherit the rules and further refine them by adding criteria and specifying
candidates.
Henry follows the same steps as Lance, except Henry uses different criteria templates to route leads
based on product line as follows:
Leads for PCs go to Robin (employee of Partner 1)
Leads for servers go to Sam (employee of Partner 2)
Delegated Assignment Example 3: Third-Tier Delegated
Administrator Tasks
Sarah and Rick are third-tier delegated administrators in the rule group hierarchy.
Sarah and Rick follow the same steps as Lance in Delegated Assignment Example 2: Second-Tier
Delegated Administrator Tasks on page 177, except Sarah and Rick:
Inherit Lances rules (Assignment Rule 10 and 20), and refine those rules so that the leads are
routed directly to sales representatives.
Do not need to create child rule groups (because they assign leads directly to representatives).
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Delegated Assignment Example 4: Third-Tier Delegated
Administrator Tasks for Partners
This example is one of the topics for About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
The 2nd-Tier partner delegated administrator makes sure that leads that have been assigned to
Partner 1 are routed to the best sales representative and that no leads go unassigned.
In the Rule Group Explorer, select the rule group previously created by the 2nd-tier delegated
administrator (Henry, in this example).
In this example, assuming Henry created Assignment Rule 30 for Robin and Assignment Rule 40
for Sam, Robin selects Rule Group 30.
Inherit the assignment rule (or rules).
In this example, Robin inherits Henrys rule three times and refines each rule to make sure leads
are routed to one of Partner 1s three sales representatives.
For information about inheriting an assignment rule, see Inheriting Delegated Assignment Rules
on page 172.
Refine the inherited rule (or rules).
Apply criteria templates.
See Applying Criteria Templates to Inherited Assignment Rules on page 172.
Add candidates.
See Choosing a Candidate as the Primary Assignee on page 60.
Add owners to the inheritance access list for the assignment rule.
See Adding Owners to the Inheritance Access List on page 170.
In this example, use the following information:
Apply to
Rule
Assignment Rule 30A
Assignment Rule 30B
Assignment Rule 30C
Criteria
Leads > $100k1
Leads > $100k1
Leads > $100k1
Criteria
Product Line = PCs2
Product Line = PCs1
Product Line = PCs1
Criteria
Product = Desktops
Product = Notebooks2
Product = Peripherals2
Candidate
Partner 1 Sales Rep 1
Partner 1 Sales Rep 2
Partner 1 Sales Rep 3
1.
This criteria is already inherited and is Read Only.
2.
Applied from criteria templates.
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Summary for Examples of Working with Delegated
Administrators
This summary is one of the topics for About Assignment Rule Group Hierarchy on page 163.
The following bullet points further summarize the delegated assignment activities as they pertain to
the examples:
The examples describe a four-level assignment model. However, this is no limit to the number of
levels that the delegated assignment manager feature supports, and there is no limit to the
number of branches in a level. In these examples, the levels are:
Level
Level
Level
Level
1
2
3
4
=
=
=
=
Amy
Lance, Henry
Sarah, Rick, Robin, Sam
West Sales Reps 1,2,3, and Partner 1 Sales Reps 1,2,3
Rules group hierarchies are executed from the bottom up. For example, Assignment Manager
attempts to use Robins rules to match a particular lead to a candidate before it tries to use
Henrys rules. However, if Robins rules fail, Assignment Manager then tries Henrys rules, and
assigns the lead to Robin, and so on up the hierarchy.
Each rule group owner can assign a designee.
Designees have the same responsibilities as an owner. You may want to delegate your ownership
to someone else, such as an administrative assistant, to perform the tasks.
Each partner should assign one person as the delegated administratorin these examples, either
Robin or Samand that person should manage the partners rule group. This same person should
receive all leads that are not assigned to the partners sales representatives.
AAs and DAs can create new criteria (you are not required to use criteria templates). However,
it is recommended that the AA create criteria templates for the most common criteria to ease the
learning curve for the DAs.
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Running Assignment Manager
This chapter provides preparatory considerations and tasks before running Assignment Manager and
explains how to run Assignment Manager in several operating modes. It includes the following topics:
Preparing to Run Assignment Manager on page 181
Running Assignment Manager in Denormalization Mode on page 196
Running Interactive Assignment on page 198
Running Dynamic Assignment on page 200
About Running Batch Assignment on page 208
Running Mobile Assignment on page 214
About Assignment Manager Rule Cache Files on page 216
About Using External Components to Invoke Assignment Manager on page 217
About Tuning Assignment Manager for Performance in a DB2 Deployment on page 218
About Using an Object Where Clause to Restrict the Number of Records Processed on page 219
Preparing to Run Assignment Manager
Assignment Manager obtains information required for operation from the following sources:
The assignment rules and criteria as well as employees, positions, and organizations that are
read from the rule cache file.
The properties of assignment objects and their property values, the list of values for the picklists,
and assignment criteria, attributes, workflow policy components, workflow policy component
columns, and other repository information from the database.
Input parameters for the server component
NOTE: Assignment Manager uses many Siebel Server resources. It is recommended you monitor the
Siebel Servers whenever Assignment Manager is invoked, especially if you run multiple instances at
the same time. For more information about running multiple instances of Assignment Manager, see
About Running Multiple Instances of Assignment Manager in Batch Mode on page 212.
Before running Assignment Manager, you must perform several preparatory tasks. These tasks
include:
Assigning Rules. See Process of Defining Assignment Rules on page 44
Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on page 141
Checking the State of Assignment Manager and Server Request Broker Components on page 182
Modifying the Assignment Manager Server Component Parameters on page 182
Setting the Log Level of Assignment Manager Events on page 193
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In addition to the preparatory tasks, there are server administration requirements that should be
considered before running Assignment Manager. For a discussion of these requirements, see the
following topics:
About Server Administration Requirements After Configuration on page 194
About Server Administration Requirements for Assignment Modes on page 195
Checking the State of Assignment Manager and Server
Request Broker Components
Before running Assignment Manager, you must first make sure that the Siebel Server can start one
or more multithreaded assignment servers by checking the Assignment Manager and Server Request
Broker server components.
To check the state of the Assignment Manager and Server Request Broker
components
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen > Servers view.
In the Component Groups list, query for the Assignment Manager and Server Request Broker
components, and check the Server field to verify these components are running on the
appropriate Siebel Server.
TIP: If the Server field is not visible, use the Columns Displayed feature to make it visible (rightclick, select Columns Displayed, use the arrows to move Server from Available Columns to
Selected Columns, and then click Save).
In the State field in the Component Groups list, verify the state of each of the following
components:
Assignment Manager component is Online.
Server Request Broker component is Running.
NOTE: If these components are not in their required state, check the log file for errors, and then
make the necessary corrections.
Modifying the Assignment Manager Server Component
Parameters
Before running Assignment Manager, you should configure the Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and
Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) server components to enhance their performance for your
implementation by modifying the appropriate parameters.
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To modify Assignment Manager server component parameters
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen > Servers > Components view.
In the Siebel Servers list, select your server (if more than one server appears) and make sure
the Assignment Manager component is enabled on that server.
In the Components list, select one of the following:
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr)
Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn)
Click the Parameters subview (if not already active).
In the Parameters list, select the component parameters of interest, and adjust the values as
required by your implementation to achieve optimal performance.
Table 44 on page 183 provides the parameters used by Assignment Manager that you can
change.
After you have determined the optimal settings, make sure that the MinMTServers parameter is
set to a current value greater than 0, and then restart the Siebel Server.
This starts the specified number of Assignment Manager components. For more information
about the MinMTServers parameter, see Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn Parameter
Information on page 191. For more information about starting and restarting the Siebel Server,
see Siebel System Administration Guide.
Table 44 lists the server component parameters used by Assignment Manager that you can change.
Because many of the parameters function in the same manner for both server components, the
parameters for each component are combined into one table.
Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Active
Employee
Where Clause
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
ActiveEmpLOVCode
Description
Used to exclude inactive employees
from assignment by specifying an
SQL WHERE clause.
NOTE: You must set the same values
for the ActiveEmpLOVCode and
ActivePosWhereClause parameters
consistently among the assignment
server (AsgnSrvr), batch assignment
(AsgnBatch), and the workflow policy
program (if used). Otherwise, you
may encounter unexpected results.
For more information, see the List of
excluded person ids parameter in
Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn
Parameter Information on page 191.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Active Position
Where Clause
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
ActivePosWhereClause
Description
Used to exclude inactive positions
from assignment by specifying an
SQL WHERE clause.
NOTE: You must set the same values
for the ActiveEmpLOVCode and
ActivePosWhereClause parameters
consistently among the assignment
server (AsgnSrvr), batch assignment
(AsgnBatch), and the workflow policy
program (if used). Otherwise, you
may encounter unexpected results.
For more information, see the List of
excluded person ids parameter in
Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn
Parameter Information on page 191.
Actual
Assignment Key
ActualAsgnKey
The key value used when Assignment
Manager is running in delta reporting
mode to identify candidates by this
key value in the actual result table.
For more information about delta
reporting mode, see About Running
Assignment Manager in Reporting
Mode on page 214.
Add Scores
across Rules
AddScores
If True, scores for the same
candidate are added across rules.
Default value is False.
See Configuring Assignment Manager
to Add Scores Across Rules on
page 252.
Allow Duplicate
Positions
AllowDupPostn
Allows assignment of duplicate
positions to the team.
Default value is False.
For more information about this
parameter, see Additional AsgnSrvr
and BatchAsgn Parameter
Information on page 191.
Assignment
History Cache
CacheSize
Indicates the assignment history
cache size in Kbytes.
Default value = 300.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
Assignment Key
AsgnKey
Indicates the rule set used for keybased routing, that is, the row ID of
the assignment rule group that is
associated with the rules you want to
evaluate. The default value of the
parameter is All AM Rule Set, in which
case all active rules are evaluated.
Assignment
Mode
AsgnMode
Indicates the assignment mode
(Match, Assign, MatchAssign,
Denorm, or Cancel).
Description
Default value = MatchAssign.
For more information about
AsgnMode, see About Using External
Components to Invoke Assignment
Manager on page 217.
Assignment
Object Name
AsgnObjName
Indicates the name of the
assignment object.
Batch Size
BatchSize
Indicates the number of objects to be
assigned before committing the
transaction.
Default value = 100.
Check if
CandidateActive
CheckIfCandidateActive
Determines whether Assignment
Manager checks candidate's
activation and expiration date during
evaluation of every rule.
Default value is False.
Check version
iterations
CheckVerIter
Defines the frequency of time
Assignment Manager checks whether
rule version has changed. This also
represents the time lag the new rules
take effect after clicking the Release
button.
Check version from database every N
iterations. One integer value equals
ten seconds (minimum value is 1).
Default value = 6.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Copy Candidate
Specific Data
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
CopyCandSpecData
Description
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager copies attribute values from
dynamic candidate to the result
table.
Default value = No.
Copy Person
Specific Data
CopyPersonSpecData
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager copies attribute values from
dynamic candidates to the result
table.
Default value = No.
Default Tasks
DfltTasks
Indicates the default number of
service tasks to start (server-mode
only).
NOTE: You must restart the
component or server for this to take
effect.
Default value = 0.
Dynamic
Candidate
Parameters
DynCandParam
Semicolon-separated parameter,
whose value pairs are used to
substitute the variables in the
Dynamic Candidate definitions in
Siebel Tools.
Format =
Name of Param1:Value for param1;
Name of Param2:Value for param2;
and so on.
NOTE: Before version 7.8, this
parameter was comma-separated.
Ignore Calendar
Criteria
IgnoreCalCrit
Allows a match to be made without
taking into account calendar
availability.
Default value = False.
Ignore
assignment rule
cache
IgnoreCache
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager ignores the assignment rule
cache and reads from the database.
Default value = False.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Indepedent
Rule Group
Cache
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
IndepRuleGroupCache
Batch
Asgn
X
Description
If True, the Batch Assignment server
component maintains a separate
cache file for this rule group for this
request.
Default value = True.
Key Based
Enable
KeyBasedEnabled
Enables key-based routing for a
component that has been predefined
for that attribute.
Default value = True.
NOTE: If the value is set to FALSE,
the server request broker is not able
to route requests to the assignment
server, and Interactive Assignment
will not work. (Interactive
Assignment relies on the assignment
server component).
List of excluded
organization ids
ExcludeOrgList
Indicates a comma-separated list of
organization IDs to be excluded from
assignment.
For more information about excluding
organization IDs, see Additional
AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn Parameter
Information on page 191.
List of excluded
person ids
ExcludePersonList
Indicates a comma-separated list of
employee or positions Ids to be
excluded from assignment.
For more information about excluding
person IDs, see Additional AsgnSrvr
and BatchAsgn Parameter
Information on page 191.
Maximum MT
Servers
MaxMTServers
Indicates maximum number of active
servers for a multithreaded service.
Default value = 1.
Maximum
Routing Keys
MaxRouteKeys
Indicates the number of keys
allocated for the routing. Used for
interactive assignment.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
Maximum Tasks
MaxTasks
Description
Indicates maximum number of
running tasks for a service.
Default value = 20.
Log txn only on
change
LogTxnChgOnly
Logs transaction only when the
assignment has changed (for
example, when the sales team is
updated).
By default, this parameter is set to
TRUE. Setting this parameter to
FALSE causes Assignment Manager
to log a transaction in the
S_DOCK_TXN_TABLE on
reassignment even when there is no
change in rules or assignees.
NOTE: If there is a change in at least
one of the primaries, or if there is a
change in at least one of the team
tables, Assignment Manager updates
columns (primaries, ASGN_DT, and
system columns) on the object row.
However, if there is no net change,
only the ASGN_DT column is
updated.
For information about how this
parameter works with regard to
merge conflicts, see Siebel Remote
and Replication Manager
Administration Guide.
Minimum MT
Servers
MinMTServers
Indicates a minimum number of
active servers for a multithreaded
service.
Default value = 1.
NOTE: Applies only to the
Assignment Server and other
multithreaded request-based
servers.
Object Row Id
188
ObjectRowId
Indicates the row ID of the object to
assign.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Object Row Sql
Statement
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
ObjRowSqlStmt
Description
Represents the SQL statement that
when executed gives the object row
IDs to be assigned.
NOTE: You can use this parameter to
specify the rows to be assigned in lieu
of the ObjRowId or ObjWhereClause
parameters.
Object Where
Clause
ObjWhereClause
A WHERE clause of the object for use
with interactive and batch
assignment.
For more information, see About
Using an Object Where Clause to
Restrict the Number of Records
Processed on page 219.
Organization
Key Value
OrgKeyVal
Used to stamp rows when assigning
organizations and UseKeyValue =
Key Value.
Person Key
Value
PersonKeyVal
Used to stamp rows when assigning
employees or positions and
UseKeyValue = Key Value.
Primary
Organization Id
PrOrganizationId
Indicates the ID of the organization
to be assigned as the primary.
Primary Person
Id
PrPersonId
Indicates the ID of the person to be
assigned as the primary.
Primary Rule Id
PrRuleId
Indicates the ID of the rule to be
assigned as the primary.
Refresh people
skills interval
MaxSkillsAge
Indicates the interval in which people
skills are refreshed in seconds.
Setting the value to 0 (zero) disables
refresh.
Default value = 0.
Regular
Assignment
RegularAsgn
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager should perform regular
assignment.
NOTE: Assignment Manager can also
run in reporting mode.
Default value = True.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Replace Key
Values
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
ReplaceKeyVal
Description
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager should look for candidates
in the team table that have a value
stamped in the Key column.
These candidates are then compared
to those that qualify for the rule and
are removed, updated, or inserted.
This parameter is a commaseparated string and is dependent on
what is passed in the UseKeyVal
parameter.
Replace Team
Members
ReplaceTeamMembers
Allows deletion of team members if
they no longer qualify.
Reporting Mode
RptMode
Indicates what reporting mode
Assignment Manager will run. Values
are: None, Snapshot, and Delta.
Default value = None.
Request Id
ReqId
Return Property
Set
ReturnPropSet
Assignment Manager generates a
request ID for each server
component job. When AsgnMode =
Match, passing candidates are stored
in a temporary table with the request
ID. Then, Assignment Manager uses
this request ID to find (match) the
correct entries in the table.
If True, Assignment Manager returns
a hierarchical property set containing
qualified or assigned candidates.
See About Using External
Components to Invoke Assignment
Manager on page 217.
Use FOR
UPDATE
190
UseForUpdate
If True, Assignment Manager uses
the FOR UPDATE SQL clause to lock
primary table rows so that, during
evaluation and assignment, no other
process or user can make changes to
this row.
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Table 44.
Assignment Manager (AsgnSrvr) and Batch Assignment (BatchAsgn) Server Component
Parameters
Parameter
Name
Parameter Alias
Asgn
Srvr
Batch
Asgn
Use Key Value
UseKeyVal
Description
Indicates whether Assignment
Manager uses the Key Value to filter
and stamp the candidate. Values are:
None, Rule Group, and Key Value.
Default value = None.
Use Rule
Minimum Score
UseRuleMinScore
If True, Assignment Manager filters
out candidates who do not get at
least the minimum score on the
assignment rule.
Default value = False.
Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn Parameter
Information
The following subtopics provide further explanation for some of the server component parameters
used with Assignment Manager and why you might want to use them. The name provided in
parentheses is the alias for the parameter.
Allow Duplicate Positions (AllowDupPostn) Parameter
You can assign duplicate positions by setting the Allow Duplicate Positions server component
parameter when you run an assignment request. By default, the Allow Duplicate Positions server
parameter is set to False. When you set this parameter to True, Assignment Manager attempts to
insert duplicate positions, that is, positions with the same ID in the team table, given those positions
do not violate the user key constraints of the table.
You must also set the PositionTeamDenorm user property for the assignment object. The
PositionTeamDenorm assignment object user property specifies which destination columns are part
of the user key. Assignment Manager checks whether positions with the same ID that pass violate
the uniqueness of these key columns. If Assignment Manager detects a violation, only the first
position encountered is inserted into the team table, and the other position is ignored. Otherwise,
Assignment Manager inserts both positions into the team table.
For example, if there is a violation of the user key when adding positions to the account team, then
only the first duplicate position encountered is inserted into the S_ACCNT_POSTN table. For an
example of using the PositionTeamDenorm assignment object user property, see Example of Copying
Additional Columns to the Team Table on page 234.
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Check version iterations (CheckVerIter) Parameter
Changing this parameter to a small value, such as 1, reduces the potential for invalid assignment.
For example, running interactive assignment before Assignment Manager detects that the Release
button was recently clicked causes assignment based on the previous version of assignment rules.
By having a small iteration value, Assignment Manager checks for a newer version of assignment
rules more frequently. Test your deployment with this lower parameter value to make sure it does
not interfere with any other database activity.
List of excluded person ids (ExcludePersonList) and List of excluded
organization ids (ExcludeOrgList) Parameters
You can choose to exclude a specific candidate or candidates, even though you added the candidate
or candidates to an assignment rule. You do so at run time by specifying the ExcludePersonList or
the ExcludeOrgList server component parameter as comma-separated lists of candidate Ids from the
Server Manager command line. Assignment Manager does not evaluate these candidates, and
because of this, the candidates do not appear in log files even when Match or Assign logging is active.
For example, if an employee has not worked on a service request for several days, and if a request
is submitted to assign the same service request, Assignment Manager assigns the service request to
the same person again. That is because, given a set of assignment rules and criteria, Assignment
Manager assigns the candidate with the highest score to the object row. By specifying the
ExcludePersonList parameter for a particular run, you can exclude this particular candidate from
assignment consideration.
In addition, you can choose to exclude certain employees for assignment rule evaluation. For
example, you might want to exclude inactive employees or employees who are on a leave of absence
from assignment consideration. You exclude employees using the Active Employee Where Clause
server parameter (or use ActiveEmpLOVCode from the Server Manager command line) with an SQL
WHERE clause that is based on any column (or columns) on the S_EMP_PER employee table. For
example, you could use the EMP_STAT_CD column with the following value to indicate that you want
only active employees considered for evaluation and assignment:
AND emp.EMP_STAT_CD='Active'
The employees are excluded even if they are explicitly added to an assignment rule as candidates.
Similarly, you can exclude inactive positions using the Active Position Where Clause component-level
server parameter (or use ActivePosWhereClause from the Server Manager command line).
NOTE: If you change either of these parameters, you must release rules for the them to take effect.
CAUTION: When specifying the parameters, you must use the emp SQL alias for the S_EMP_PER
employee table and the pos alias for the S_POSTN position table. This is to differentiate from other
columns by the same name in other tables that Assignment Manager might use in the same SQL.
Otherwise, a SQL error (ambiguous reference to a column) may occur.
Maximum MT Servers (MaxMTServers) Parameter
This parameter controls the maximum number of Assignment Manager server processes that are
running at any time (when MaxMTServers > MinMTServers). Generally, the default value is sufficient
for most deployments as server processes and Assignment Manager have large resource
requirements.
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Maximum Tasks (MaxTasks) Parameter
This parameter controls the maximum number of server threads that can run at any time. For
Assignment Manager, this controls the maximum number of assignments that can be processed
concurrently. The value of this parameter should be set to the maximum anticipated concurrent
requests (dependent on your servers capabilities).
Minimum MT Servers (MinMTServers) Parameter
This parameter controls the number of Assignment Manager server processes that are started when
the Siebel servers starts up. If this value is set to zero, Assignment Manager is disabled. It is
recommended that you use the default value of one, as server processes and Assignment Manager
have large resource requirements.
Refresh people skills interval (MaxSkillsAge) Parameter
This parameter controls the interval in which people skills are refreshed in seconds. If you want to
automatically refresh skills without restarting the Assignment Manager component, set the value of
the MaxSkillsAge parameter to the desired update interval (the value must be greater than zero
seconds). Then, when rules are released, Assignment Manager refreshes skills and recreates the
rulecache.dat file at the periodic interval set.
NOTE: The MaxSkillsAge parameter, by itself, does not update or recreate the rulecache.dat fileit
is only when the rules are released that Assignment Manager refreshes the skills, and recreates the
rulecache.dat file according to the periodic interval set.
Setting the Log Level of Assignment Manager Events
Before running Assignment Manager, you can set event logs to view results. The Assignment
Manager, Batch Assignment, and Workflow Monitor Agent server components are configured to use
events.
NOTE: The Trace Flags and Error Flags parameters are no longer used with Assignment Manager.
In addition to the events used for other server components, the Assignment Manager, Batch
Assignment, and Workflow Monitor Agent server components use specific events to log information
related to assignments:
Assignment Manager Generic (Generic). Generic events specific to Assignment Manager.
Loading (Loading). Logging of events that happen during loading.
Object Assignment (Assign). Logging of events during the assignment phase.
Rules Evaluation (Match). Logging of events during the evaluation phase
SQL Parse and Execute. Traces all executed SQL and makes enhances debugging.
There are five levels in each of the events:
Level 0: Used for fatal errors
Level 1: Used for nonfatal errors and warnings
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Level 2-4: Used for different levels of logging detail
Level 5: Used for detailed debug information
Assignment Manager uses two events for logging information when assigning object rows. For the
evaluation phase, Assignment Manager uses the Rules Evaluation (Match) event. The following levels
of information are logged for each level:
Level 2 - Object row-level logging
Level 3 - Rule-level logging
Level 4 - Criterion-level logging
Level 5 - Criterion value-level logging
NOTE: As of version 7.7, level 5 is necessary for you to see detailed criteria value-level logging.
For the assignment phase, Assignment Manager uses the Object Assignment (Assign) event. The
following levels of information are logged for each level:
Level 2 - Object row-level logging
Level 3 - Passing rules-level logging
Level 4 - Passing candidates-level logging
NOTE: You can set the log level of both event types to print a list with combined results. However,
when assigning too many objects, these settings may create extremely large log files.
To set the log level of Assignment Manager events
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen > Servers > Components view.
In the Components list, select the Assignment Manager, Batch Assignment, or Workflow Monitor
Agent component, depending on which component you want to set a log level; make sure the
selected component is running on the correct server.
In the Log Level field in the Events list, adjust the values as required by your implementation as
follows:
Select Rules Evaluation; type in 3 if you want to print a list of assignment rules that were
evaluated
Select Object Assignment; type in 3 if you want to print a list of evaluated assignment rules that
passed
For more information about event logs, see Siebel System Monitoring and Diagnostics Guide.
About Server Administration Requirements After
Configuration
After configuring Assignment Manager objects and attributes or altering assignment policies, it is
often necessary to stop and restart various server tasks and components. Table 45 summarizes the
required server tasks and components that must be restarted based on the type of configuration
process. Detailed information on how and when to run these server tasks and components is
provided in the remainder of this chapter.
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Table 45.
Summary of Server Administration After Configuration
Restart
Assignment
Manager
Regenerate
Triggers
Restart
Workflow
Monitor Agent
Adding or configuring an assignment object,
assignment attribute, or assignment criteria
Yes
Yes
Yes
Changing assignment policies
Not applicable
Yes
Yes
Activating or deactivating assignment policies
Not applicable
Yes
Yes
Configuration Process
NOTE: If you want to automatically refresh skills without restarting the Assignment Manager
component, set the value of the Refresh people skills interval (MaxSkillsAge) server component
parameter to the desired update interval (the value must be greater than zero seconds). Then, when
rules are released, Assignment Manager refreshes skills and recreates the rulecache.dat file at the
periodic interval set.
About Server Administration Requirements for
Assignment Modes
Assignment Manager requires various functioning server components and tasks based on the
selected assignment mode. Table 46 summarizes the required server components and tasks that
must be online or started when selecting a particular mode of assignment. When Mobile Assignment
is selected, use the information provided for either interactive or batch assignment based on your
deployment requirements. Detailed information on starting these components and tasks is covered
in the remainder of this chapter.
Table 46.
Summarization of Server Requirements for Assignment Modes
Assignment Mode
Set Assignment
Manager Online
Start Workflow
Monitor Agent
Server Request
Broker Running1
Interactive Mode
Yes
No
Yes
Dynamic Assignment Mode
No2
Yes
No2
Batch Assignment Mode
No
No
No
1.
For dynamic and batch assignment, you do not need to start the Server Request Broker when running your tasks using the
SRVRMGR command-line interface (or an alternate method, such as setting Default Tasks for the server component).
2.
This information is based on the default Assignment Request (In Process) seeded action.
Additionally, when using availability-based assignment, make sure the Field Service component
group and the ApptBook component are online.
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Running Assignment Manager Running Assignment Manager in Denormalization Mode
Running Assignment Manager in
Denormalization Mode
Assignment Manager provides the ability to denormalize positions and organizations using the
Contact Denormalization and Product Denormalization features.
Contact Denormalization and Product Denormalization modes do not require assignment rules to
function. Assignment Manager does not evaluate the Contact object against any assignment rules in
contact denormalization mode, nor does it evaluate the Product object against any assignment rules
in product denormalization mode. And, neither mode assigns candidates to these objects. Instead,
Assignment Manager gets positions from a related entity in these modes. For example, in Contact
Denormalization mode, Assignment Manager gets a union of positions from related accounts and
opportunities and assigns it to the contact.
NOTE: Contact Denormalization behavior differs among the various Siebel Industry Applications.
See the appropriate industry-specific guide to learn more about this behavior.
About Contact Denormalization
You use Contact Denormalization when you want to allow assignees automatic access to detail
contact information that is associated with an account or opportunity. In Contact Denormalization
mode, Assignment Manager denormalizes positions from the Accounts and Opportunities team tables
by copying these positions to the associated contacts in the Contact team table, even if the assignees
are not assigned to the contacts:
Positions from the team table of all accounts associated with the contact to the contact team.
Positions from the team table of all Opportunities associated with the contact to the Contact
team.
NOTE: The Contact Denormalization object is reserved to run Assignment Manager in Contact
Denormalization mode. Assignment Manager does not evaluate the Contact object against any
assignment rules in Contact Denormalization mode, and therefore does not assign candidates to
objects. For this reason, do not create assignment rules for the Contact Denormalization object.
If you want the contact access list to reflect the positions in both the account and opportunity team
tables, you must associate the contact with an account and then associate the contact with an
opportunity. If a team member is removed from the account or opportunitys team table, then the
position on the associated contacts access list can also be removed by Contact Denormalization
(dependent on the properties of the Contact Denormalization assignment object). Similarly, if the
account team has manually assigned team members and you want the same team members on both
the contact team and account team, you must run Contact Denormalization after the account
assignment.
NOTE: Positions marked Indirect by Contact Denormalization in Contact Access list are not dropped
by contact assignment, that is, contact assignment does not drop the positions that were added by
Contact Denormalization.
Contact Denormalization checks the Lock Assignment column on assignment objects before
denormalizing. If this flag is checked, Contact Denormalization does not denormalize the contact
record. For more information about the Lock Assignment feature, see Setting the Lock Assignment
Default Value for Activity Assignment Objects on page 232.
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NOTE: Both Account and Contact and Contact and Opportunity have a many-to-many relationship.
The Account and Contact many-to-many relationship is a feature available as of the version 7.0
release.
Assignment Manager also assigns a primary position to the contact when running in Contact
Denormalization mode using the following methodology:
If the Set Primary Position property on the assignment object is TRUE (checked) and a primary
position is not currently selected, then Assignment Manager sets the creators primary position
as the new primary position.
If a primary position is not selected for the creator, then Assignment Manager sets the default
position as the new primary position.
If a default position is not defined, then Assignment Manager does not set a primary position.
However, Contact Denormalization does not remove positions marked as the Primary, even if the
positions no longer exist on an associated account or opportunity (with the Denorm Flag set).
About Product Denormalization
In product denormalization mode, Assignment Manager denormalizes organizations from the Price
List table into the Product table by copying these organizations to the products associated with the
price lists. You should run product denormalization only in batch mode.
NOTE: Product to price list is a many-to-many relationship.
Assignment Manager assigns a primary organization to the product when running in denormalization
mode using the following methodology:
If the Set Primary Organization flag is checked and a primary organization is not currently
selected, then Assignment Manager sets the creators primary organization as the new primary
organization.
If a primary organization is not selected for the creator, then Assignment Manager sets the
default organization as the new primary organization.
If a default organization is not defined, then Assignment Manager does not set a primary
organization.
NOTE: The Product Denormalization object is reserved to run Assignment Manager in Product
Denormalization mode. Assignment Manager does not evaluate the Product object against any
assignment rules in Product Denormalization mode, and therefore does not assign organizations to
objects. For this reason, do not create assignment rules for the Product Denormalization object.
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Running Assignment Manager Running Interactive Assignment
Running Interactive Assignment
Running Assignment Manager in interactive mode allows end users to make real-time assignments. End
users can review a list of potential assignees generated by Assignment Manager, then select and confirm,
or override the assignment from the generated potential candidate list. For example, a call center agent
might review potential candidates for an activity, then based on the candidates assignment scores,
expertise, or workload, assign the best candidate for the job.
The Activity and Service Request assignment objects are predefined to use interactive assignment,
which allows you to assign employees to activities and service requests in real time. However, you
can configure other assignment objects to use interactive assignment. For information about how to
configure assignment objects to use interactive assignment, see Configuring Assignment Objects for
Interactive Assignment on page 115.
You can run interactive assignment using any of the following:
Siebel Developer Web Client
Siebel Web Client (also known as zero footprint client)
Command-line Server Manager (srvrmgr) program
NOTE: Before running interactive assignment using the Siebel Developer Web Client, it is
recommended that you verify that the correct parameter settings exist in your Siebel client
configuration (.cfg) file. The parameters identified in this configuration file specify the location of the
Siebel Server where Assignment Manager is running and are automatically created during installation
of the Siebel client. For information about the Siebel client installation process and configuration file,
see the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.
NOTE: Mobile users running Assignment Manager in interactive mode do not make real-time
assignments, because interactive assignments made by mobile users are not applied to the server
until they resynchronize.
Requirements for interactive assignment are that the:
Assignment Manager server component is Online
Server Request Broker server component is Running
Running Interactive Assignment from the UI
The Activity and Service Request assignment objects are predefined to use interactive assignment,
which allows you to assign employees to activities and service requests in real time.
To run interactive assignment from the UI
1
Navigate to either of the following locations:
Activities screen > Activity List > All Activities view
Service Requests screen > All Service Requests view
In the All Service Requests or All Activities list, select an open service request or activity for
assignment.
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In the More Info form, click the Menu button and select Assign to start interactive assignment.
For an example, see Figure 19 on page 116.
Choose an assignee from the list of best candidates provided by Assignment Manager.
The Siebel client then:
Communicates with the Siebel Assignment Manager on the Siebel Server and creates a list of
qualified employees for the activity or service request.
Displays the list of qualified employees to the Siebel user, sorted by the descending order of
scores.
Sets the activity or service request owner to the employee that is chosen when clicking the Assign
button.
Example of Running Interactive Assignment for Service
Requests from the UI
This topic gives one example of running interactive assignment from the user interface (UI). The
example is applicable for use with the Siebel Developer Web Client as well as the Siebel Web Client.
You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
To run interactive assignment for a service request
1
Navigate to the Service Requests screen > All Service Requests view.
In the Service Requests list, select an open Service Request for assignment.
In the More Info form, click the Menu button and select Assign to start interactive assignment.
For an example, see Figure 19 on page 116.
Choose an assignee from the list of best candidates provided by Assignment Manager.
The Siebel client:
Communicates with the Siebel Assignment Manager on the Siebel Server and creates a list of
qualified employees for the service request.
Displays the list of qualified employees to the Siebel user, sorted by the descending order of
scores.
Sets the service request owner to the employee that you choose.
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Running Assignment Manager Running Dynamic Assignment
About Running Interactive Assignment in Rule Group
Mode
By default, interactive assignment submits requests to an assignment server that is running in
default mode. However, you can use the Assignment Manager server component (AsgnSrvr) to run
interactive assignment in rule group modewith or without using server key mappings.
Using Server Key Mappings to Run Interactive Assignment
Use server key mappings when you want to split your rules across different servers. You can explicitly
define what rule groups to load on what server, and only rules from that particular rule group are
executed. At the time of the assignment request, you can specify one of the rule groups as the
Assignment Key parameter (AsgnKey) along with the request.
If you use server key maps, when you click the Assign button, a request is sent to the Assignment
Manager server component (AsgnSrvr) to evaluate and return the qualified candidates. To submit
requests to a server that has server key mappings, one of the rule group IDs must pass because the
AsgnKey parameter must pass. To accomplish this, the SetAsgnKey InvokeMethod is called on the
CSSBCBase business component base class. Using a script, a workflow process, or a business
service, this InvokeMethod is called and the row ID of one of the rule groups is passed as the
parameter.
After this is complete, interactive assignment uses this parameter as the AsgnKey and ReqKey
parameters when submitting requests to the AsgnSrvr component. Note that for one session, you
only need call this InvokeMethod once. Subsequent requests in the same session reuse the rule
group row ID. However, when the session is logged out or the server is restarted, you must call this
InvokeMethod again to set the AsgnKey parameter. Otherwise, the assignment server reverts to
running in default mode.
Without Using Server Key Mappings to Run Interactive Assignment
Assignment Manager supports the use of rule group mode even if you do not want to split your rules
across multiple servers. In this case, you do not create server key mappings. Instead, you submit
the request a specifying the rule group in the AsgnKey parameter for AsgnSrvr. Even if there are no
server key mappings, each AsgnSrvr process loads all active rules. AsgnSrvr determines at request
time whether to execute all rules or only rules from a particular group based on whether or not the
assignment key is passed.
Running Dynamic Assignment
Dynamic assignment is a feature that works transparently as existing records change or new records
are created. For example, you can set up dynamic assignment to automatically assign a service
request to an owner when a new record is created or reassign a service request to another owner if
the service request is updated.
Dynamic assignment is especially useful in a deployment where users and server programs make
frequent changes to the assignment object records (such as service requests and activities) because
dynamic assignment can automatically determine the changes and assign the objects to the
appropriate people and organizations.
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The dynamic assignment process uses the underlying database triggers feature. When a record is
modified, either by a user or by another server process like EAI, workflow, and so on, the database
trigger (setup by the Generate Triggers server component) captures the changes, and queues the
assignment request into the S_ESCL_REQ (escalation request) table. The Workflow Monitor Agent
then polls S_ESCL_REQ periodically and assigns the object by internally invoking Assignment
Manager within its own process.
NOTE: By default, the Server Request Broker and the Assignment Manager server components are
not explicitly used in dynamic assignment.
Requirements for dynamic assignment are that:
Triggers are generated using Generate Triggers component
Workflow Monitor Agent is running
Assignment policies are set and activated
(Optional) If you are using skills, make sure the MaxSkillsAge server component parameter is
set to a value greater than 0 seconds
NOTE: Dynamic assignment can refresh employee, position, and organization skills from the
database if changes are made to these items. The MaxSkillsAge program argument, if activated,
forces Assignment Manager to reload this information. By default, this argument is not set. For more
information about this parameter, see Modifying the Assignment Manager Server Component
Parameters on page 182.
Workflow Monitor Agent
To run dynamic assignment, a Workflow Monitor Agent task must be running. A Workflow Monitor
Agent detects when a user changes data related to objects. For more information about Workflow
Monitor Agent, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
Generate Triggers
The Generate Triggers server component generates the database triggers used by Workflow Manager
to detect changes. Generate Triggers reads the Workflow Policy Object and Assignment Object
definitions in the Siebel repository and generates the appropriate database triggers to monitor
changes.
Process of Running Dynamic Assignment
You run dynamic assignment only in default mode, which means all active rules are loaded and
processed. Rule group mode is not supported.
To set up dynamic assignment, perform the following tasks:
(Optional) Reviewing Triggers for Dynamic Assignment on page 202
Generating Triggers, using either of the following procedures:
Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the UI on page 203
Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the Command-Line Interface on page 204
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Starting Workflow Monitor Agent for Dynamic Assignment Using the Command-Line Interface on
page 204
Reviewing Triggers for Dynamic Assignment
The database triggers created by the Generate Triggers server component detect record changes in
the Siebel database and place an assignment request in the S_ESCL_REQ (escalation request) table
for the Workflow Monitor Agent to pick up the request and invoke the Assignment Server. However,
triggers generated for Assignment Manager can reference other database columns not associated
with assignment rules.
CAUTION: Make sure triggers are generated only for an assignment policys criteria. Large data
loads can experience performance issues otherwise.
Do not modify the database triggers. However, before generating or applying triggers for dynamic
assignment, you might want to review the trigger.sql file. It is recommended you work with your
database administrator to do so.
NOTE: If you discover redundant triggers, you need to deactivate the appropriate assignment
criteria and assignment attribute using Siebel Tools.
Complete the steps in the following procedure to review triggers for dynamic assignment. This task
is a step in the Process of Running Dynamic Assignment on page 201.
To review triggers for dynamic assignment
1
Use Siebel Tools, or view the trigger.sql file (/Siebel Root/Siebsrvr/trigger.sql), to examine the
appropriate table columns.
For more information about using Siebel Tools, see Using Siebel Tools.
Disable the inappropriate columns by inactivating the assignment attribute column.
For detailed information, see About the Relationship Between Attributes and Skills on page 138.
If you inactivate only the assignment attribute column and leave the assignment attribute and
assignment criteria active, then the assignment criteria appears in the user interface in the
assignment administration views, which means you can create assignment rules based on that
criteria. The following is the result of this action based on whether or not the Employee Skill field
is checked:
If the Employee Skill field is checked, then the assignment criteria is skill-based and, as such,
should continue to work for assignment rules. For example, the criteria works if you run batch
assignment because that mode does not rely on triggers.
If the Employee Skill field is not checked, then the assignment criteria is object-based, and
as such, relies on a valid assignment attribute column configuration. If you attempt to create
assignment rules, you get an error message when the task is run.
Drop and regenerate new triggers.
See Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the UI.
Recheck the trigger.sql file, to confirm that the trigger is no longer active.
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NOTE: When dynamic assignment is running, due to the database concurrency feature, some users
might receive the following error when attempting to modify a record: The selected record has been
modified by another user since it was received. Please continue." This can occur because Assignment
Manager updated the record by assigning it while an user was trying to edit it. In this situation, the
users changes may be lost. The solution is to refresh the query and reenter the changes.
Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the UI
Use the Generate Triggers server component to generate the database triggers used by Workflow
Manager to detect changes in the database.
NOTE: You cannot create custom triggers on the Siebel database. The only supported triggers
allowed on the Siebel database are those generated during installation or from running the Generate
Triggers server component.
For dynamic assignment, you need to run the Generate Triggers server component after:
Creating or changing an Assignment Object, Assignment Attribute, or Assignment Criteria object
type in Siebel Tools
Changing assignment policies
Installing or upgrading the Siebel Server
TIP: When amending an assignment rule, criteria, or value, or when making changes to assignment
positions in dynamic mode, you do not have to drop and regenerate database triggers.
Complete the steps in the following procedure to generate triggers for dynamic assignment using the
UI. This task is a step in the Process of Running Dynamic Assignment on page 201.
To generate triggers for dynamic assignment using the UI
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen > Jobs view.
In the Jobs list, click New.
A new record appears with a system-defined ID automatically generated with a status of
Creating.
In the Job Detail subview, enter the relevant information for the new component job record.
In the Requested Server field, type the name of the Siebel Server for which you want to run
Generate Triggers.
In the Request Key field, type in the name of the request key.
Complete the rest of the fields, if needed.
In the Job Parameters list, click New to create a new record for the Privileged User, and enter the
relevant parameter information.
In the Name field, click the select button.
In the Job Parameters dialog box, query for PrivUser, and then click OK.
In the Value field, type in the privileged user name.
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NOTE: If you are using a Microsoft SQL Server database, you need to set the Privileged User
Password value to the user password with tableowner privileges. Also make sure that the Table
Owner value is set to dbo.
In the Job Parameters list, click New to create a new record for the Privileged User Password,
and enter the relevant parameter information.
In the Name field, click the select button.
In the Job Parameters dialog box, query for PrivUserPass, and then click OK.
In the Value field, type in the privileged user password.
In the Jobs List, click the Start button.
For more information generating database triggers, see Siebel Business Process Framework:
Workflow Guide.
Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the CommandLine Interface
You can run dynamic assignment using the Server Manager server component from the commandline interface using the Generate Triggers command and the parameters in Table 47.
This task is a step in the Process of Running Dynamic Assignment on page 201.
The command-line interface of the Server Manager is the srvrmgr program. For more information
about using the command-line interface, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
Table 47.
Generate Triggers Command-Line Interface Parameters
Parameter
Name
Display Name
Description
Default
Value
EXEC
EXEC
Install Triggers to DB directly
FALSE
Mode
Mode
Assignment Server and/or Workflow mode
(ASGN, WORK, or ALL)
ALL
Remove
Remove
Remove All Triggers Mode
FALSE
TAMode
TAMode
All Territory or Contact Only mode
ALL
TrigFile
Trigger File Name
Output trigger script file name
trigger.sql
Starting Workflow Monitor Agent for Dynamic Assignment Using the
Command-Line Interface
To run dynamic assignment, the Workflow Monitor Agent (the WorkMon server component) needs to
be running. This server component monitors the S_ESCL_REQ table. Database triggers, when fired
because of object changes, create records in the S_ESCL_REQ table. The Workflow Monitor Agent
reads these new records and processes requests for Assignment Manager policies. Affected objects
are then dynamically assigned.
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NOTE: Dynamic assignment does not log information into S_ESCL_LOG. For more information about
log files, see Siebel System Monitoring and Diagnostics Guide.
Complete the steps in the following procedure to start workflow monitor agent from the commandline interface. This task is a step in the Process of Running Dynamic Assignment on page 201.
To start Workflow Monitor Agent from the command-line interface
1
Determine the workflow group that you want Workflow Monitor Agent to monitor.
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Policies view.
In the Policy Group field in the Assignment Policies list, choose the workflow group (the default
group is Assignment Group).
Start the srvrmgr program.
For detailed information on this process, see Siebel System Administration Guide. After the
program starts, the prompt changes to:
srvrmgr: server_name>
At the prompt, enter the following information to start the Workflow Monitor Agent server
component task; use the Group information gathered from Step 1 (Assignment Group used in
this example):
start task for component workmon with GroupName=Assignment Group
Configure other component parameters, if needed.
For more information about other configurable parameters, see Table 48 on page 205.
NOTE: Separate the parameters and their values in the command-line statement with commas.
Alternatively, you can configure a Workflow Monitor Agent to start automatically to process
assignment requests whenever the Siebel Server starts.
For more information about Workflow Monitor Agent, see Siebel Business Process Framework:
Workflow Guide.
This command starts a new task running in the background and returns to the Server Manager
immediately.
NOTE: It is possible to set up multiple Workflow Monitor Agents for dynamic assignment. For more
information about setting up multiple Workflow Monitor Agents, see the Starting Workflow Agent
Processes Automatically with Siebel Server topic of Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow
Guide.
Table 48 shows the Workflow Monitor Agent command-line interface parameters.
Table 48.
WorkMon Command-Line Interface Parameters
Parameter Name
Alias
Description
Action Interval
ActionInterval
Do not reexecute actions within specified
interval in minutes
Default
Value
3600
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Table 48.
WorkMon Command-Line Interface Parameters
Default
Value
Parameter Name
Alias
Description
Cache size of
Policy violations
CheckLogCacheSz
Number of policy violations to store in
cache
100
Cache size of last
user information
LastUsrCacheSz
Number of last user information items to
cache
100
Group Name
GroupName
Group Name
Ignore errors
IgnoreError
Ignore errors while processing requests
Mail Server
MailServer
Name of email server to send notification
of abnormal termination
Mailing Address
MailTo
Mail address to review notification of
abnormal termination
Number of days to
keep violation
information
KeepLogDays
Number of days worth of violation
information that should be retained
30
Number of seconds
to retry
GenReqRetry
Number of seconds to retry sending a
Generic Request message
120
Processes the
batch Policies
BatchMode
Process the batch policies
False
Reload Policy
ReloadPolicy
Reload Policy Interval in seconds
600
Request delete
size
DeleteSize
Request delete size
500
Requests per
iteration
Requests
Requests per iteration
5000
Sleep Time
SleepTime
Time to sleep between iterations (in
seconds)that is, the frequency of time
the Workflow Monitor Agent polls the
S_ESCL_REQ table (escalation request
table) and assigns rows.
60
False
For example, if SleepTime is set to 60
seconds, the Workflow Monitor Agent polls
the S_ESCL_REQ table, then wait 60
seconds before it polls it again.
Use Action Agent
ActionAgent
Use Action Agent
False
For more information about starting, stopping, and monitoring server tasks, see Siebel System
Administration Guide. For more information about the Workflow Monitor Agent, see Siebel Business
Process Framework: Workflow Guide.
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About Tuning Dynamic Assignment for Performance
If users experience slow response time while running Assignment Manager in dynamic mode, you
can implement one or more of the following to improve dynamic assignment performance:
Increase the Requests (Requests per iteration) workflow monitor parameter (the default is set to
5,000).
Decrease the SleepTime workflow monitor parameter (the default is 60 seconds).
Increase the ReloadPolicy workflow monitor parameter to a much larger number, for example,
86,400 seconds (the default is 600 seconds).
Distribute each assignment policy into its individual group and then invoke several Workflow
Monitor Agents concurrently (one on each Siebel Server, if available).
Activating Contact Denormalization for Dynamic
Assignment
For dynamic assignment, if you want to run Assignment Manager in contact denormalization mode,
you must activate the Contact Denormalization assignment policy. By default, this policy is inactive.
NOTE: When Assignment Manager runs in contact denormalization mode, it does not evaluate
assignment rules. Therefore, you do not need to select the Contact Denormalization object for the
assignment rule to run Assignment Manager in contact denormalization mode.
Use the following procedure to activate contact denormalization for dynamic assignment.
To activate contact denormalization
1
Navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Assignment Policies view.
In the Assignment Policies list, select Contact Denormalization, and then perform the following:
In the Policy Group field, click the select button.
In the Workflow Groups dialog box, select a workflow group (the default is Assignment Group),
and then click OK.
In the Expiration field, either clear the existing value or set the value to a later date.
NOTE: If running batch assignment, you do not need to activate this policy.
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About Running Batch Assignment
Use batch assignment to assign multiple records of an object in a single batch. Typically, you want
to run batch jobs periodically when you anticipate the least amount of database activity (such as
daily or weekly after-hours).
Batch assignment runs only in rule group mode. At the time of the assignment request, you specify
one of the rule groups as the Assignment Key parameter for the AsgnBatch server component job
along with the request. You identify the records for batch assignment using an SQL WHERE clause.
This WHERE clause is usually based on columns in the base table of the assignment object. For
example, an example of a WHERE clause is:
WHERE OWNER_EMP_ID = NULL
You can use this clause to identify all service requests that are not as yet assigned to a owner.
You can have a batch assignment task load only a particular group of rules into memory by specifying
the row ID of the rule group in the Assignment Key parameter when you start the task. If no rule
group is specified for this parameter, the batch task loads all rules in the Default Rule Group into
memory. If no rule groups have been defined in the application, then all active rules in the database
load.
Reason for Not Running Batch Assignment with Dynamic Assignment
For performance reasons, do not run dynamic assignment when running batch assignment. If you
run both batch assignment and dynamic assignment in your environment, the batch assignment can
activate dynamic assignment due to triggers created in the database required to run dynamic
assignment. Before running batch assignment, you should deactivate all assignment policies and
drop related triggers to prevent dynamic assignment from processing modified rules, objects, and
candidates. After completing batch assignment, you can reactivate the assignment policies and reenable dynamic assignment.
Running Batch Assignment
Batch assignment executes Assignment Manager in batch mode. In batch mode, Assignment
Manager can take an Object WHERE Clause and other appropriate parameters that determine
candidates for chosen objects
You typically use batch assignment for importing new records from a legacy system or when an
assignment rule changes, such as when a sales representative no longer manages a specific ZIP
CODE.
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When You Must Run Batch Assignment
You must run Assignment Manager in batch mode if you change nonobject data that can affect
assignments. Such situations occur whenever you:
Modify assignment rules and want these changes to affect existing objects. You modify
assignment rules when you:
Add or remove employees, positions, or organizations
Add, remove, or update assignment criteria or criteria values
Associate a rule with a different rule group or change the rule sequence number
Change scores
Change activation and expiration dates
Change exclusive mode
Modify the list of employees, positions, or organizations and you want these changes to affect
existing objects.
Change the Assignment Manager configuration in Siebel Tools and you want your changes to
affect existing objects. You change the Assignment Manager configuration when you:
Change Assignment Attribute definitions
Change Assignment Criteria definitions
Change Assignment Object definitions
Change Workflow Policy Object definitions
Use EIM (Enterprise Integration Manager) to perform initial loads (if you do not run Generate
Triggers to create the appropriate triggers).
NOTE: When using EIM to load assignment rules, make sure the column ASGN_TYPE_CD
includes a value. If it is left NULL, which is permissible in EIM, the rules are loaded but
Assignment Manager fails.
Feel that existing assignments may not be accurate. Assignment Manager does not change
assignments if the existing assignments are correct.
NOTE: When batch mode is run on correct assignments, although there are no changes to the
team or primary, an update of the record occurs. This situation can disturb other workflow
policies relying on various record fields. For example, a workflow policy relying on PR_POSTN_ID
field to trigger an action does not work properly if this field is updated from a new batch
assignment. If your deployment uses SQL Server, this note does not apply.
You can configure the Batch Assignment server component for your implementation by adjusting the
appropriate parameters. Table 44 on page 183 lists the batch server component parameters used by
Assignment Manager that you can change.
Use the following procedure to run batch assignment.
CAUTION: For performance reasons, do not run batch assignment while running dynamic
assignment. This is because batch assignment can activate dynamic assignment with adverse effect
due to triggers created in the database required to run dynamic assignment. For more information,
see About Running Batch Assignment on page 208.
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To run batch assignment
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen > Jobs view.
In the Jobs list, click New.
A new record appears with a system-defined ID automatically populated with a status of
Creating.
In the new record, enter the relevant information for the new job.
In the Component/Job field, select Batch Assignment.
In the Requested Server field, type the name of the server on which you want to run this batch
request.
(Optional) If you want to run a specific rule group for this batch, type the row ID of the
assignment rule group for which you want rules processed for the AsgnKey parameter.
Complete the rest of the fields for the new record, if needed.
In the Job Parameters list, click New to create a new record, and enter relevant information for
the assignment object that you want to assign as part of this batch request.
In Name field, click the select button.
In the Job Parameters dialog box, select Assignment Object Name, and then click OK.
In the Value field, enter the name of the assignment object for the parameter.
Use the exact name found in Siebel Tools, such as Service Request or Order (Sales Credit
Assignment).
NOTE: Because batch assignment cannot run more than one assignment object per batch, you
should run batch assignment on only one assignment object for each batch.
While still in the Job Parameters list, click New to create a new record so that Assignment
Manager uses the Object WHERE clause to limit the number of rows processed at one time.
In Name field, click the select button.
In the Job Parameters dialog box, query for ObjWhereClause, click Go, and then click OK.
In the Value field, enter a WHERE clause to select the object instance that you want to process;
the WHERE clause can include up to 100 characters.
For example, to select object instances beginning with ibm, type:
WHERE name like ibm%
NOTE: If you leave the value field blank, all object instances are selected. However, it is
strongly recommended that you limit the number of rows that Assignment Manager
processes to make sure that sufficient rollback space is available.
For more information about using the Object WHERE clause, see Setting the Log Level of
Assignment Manager Events on page 193.
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(Optional) If you want to enable Contact Denormalization for batch assignment, add two more
component job parameter records with values from the following table.
Parameter Name
Value
Assignment Object Name
Contact Denormalization
Assignment Mode
Denorm
(Optional) If you want to save changes to the database during batch processing, add another
component job parameter as follows:
In Name field, click the select button.
In the Job Parameters dialog box, query for Batch Size, and then click Go.
In the Value field, enter the number of objects to assign before committing each batch.
In the Job Detail form, click the menu button and choose Start Job.
NOTE: You should monitor the performance of batch assignment and increase or decrease the
number of running tasks to obtain optimal performance.
Running Batch Assignment Using the Command-Line
Interface
You can run batch assignment from the command-line interface using the AsgnBatch command and
the designated parameters in Table 44 on page 183. The command-line interface of the Server
Manager is the srvrmgr program. For more information about using the command-line interface, see
Siebel System Administration Guide.
You can have a batch assignment task load only a particular group of rules into memory by specifying
two job parameters in the request:
Use Key Value = <Rule Group>
Actual Assignment Key = <Rule Group Id>
For example, the following command tells Assignment Manager to only look at or modify candidates
on the team whose rule group id is 1-34XD4 and runs only those rules that are a part of that rule
group.
start task for comp asgnbatch with asgnobjname="Activity", usekeyvalue = "Rule
Group", ActualAsgnKey = "1-34XD4"
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Running Assignment Manager About Running Batch Assignment
About Running Multiple Instances of Assignment
Manager in Batch Mode
When there are many objects that need to be assigned, you can run multiple instances of Assignment
Manager in batch mode to improve performance. First, develop a strategy for specifying multiple
batches using the Object Where Clause parameter in the Batch Assignment component. Then, start
multiple instances of batch assignment specifying the appropriate Object Where Clause for each
instance.
For example, you can run one instance of batch assignment for accounts that changed today and a
different instance of batch assignment for accounts that changed yesterday. Use the Object Where
Clause parameter to specify the following:
For the batch that processes accounts changed today:
Object Where Clause: WHERE LAST_UPD = SYSDATE
For the batch that processes accounts changed yesterday:
Object Where Clause: WHERE LAST_UPD = SYSDATE - 1
NOTE: These examples us a nonindexed fieldLAST_UPD. It is recommended, however, that you use
indexed fields for object WHERE clause statements. Also, use the appropriate database datetime
functions to determine the current date and time depending on the database you are using. This
example uses SYSDATE, which is specific to Oracle database datetime functions.
To process mutually exclusive sets of records when running multiple instances of Assignment
Manager simultaneously for the same assignment object, you should specify an Object Where Clause
for each assignment task. You can also distribute the tasks on multiple Siebel Servers to enhance
performance.
When Not to Run Multiple, Simultaneous Batch Jobs
There are several instances where you should not run multiple, simultaneous batch jobs:
If multiple Assignment batches are executed for the same object, then the results can potentially
vary and may not be as desired
If the batch jobs update rows on the same table or tables
If one batch job updates records in a table or tables used by another batch job as input
If the batch jobs use workload criteria to assign the same object
NOTE: If multiple assignment batches are executed for the same object using workload criteria,
the results can potentially vary and may not be as desired.
Examples of when you should not run multiple simultaneous batch jobs include:
Contact and Contact Denormalization because the same tables are updated
Account and Contact Denormalization because Contact Denormalization uses Account team as
input
Opportunity and Contact Denormalization because Contact Denormalization uses Opportunity
team as input
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About Tuning Batch Assignment for Performance
If users experience slow response time while running Assignment Manager in batch mode, review
the settings on virus software installed on the applicable server. Implement one or more of the
following settings to improve batch assignment performance:
Virus scan only program files.
Exclude all outbound files from virus scanning.
Exclude the RDBMS directory where all msb files are located from virus scanning.
Make sure to run a full virus scan on all files during the weekend or off-peak time if the preceding
settings were used.
You can also implement one or more of the following to boost batch performance in batch mode:
Increase the BatchSize parameter, for example, set the batch size to 500 (the default is set to
100).
This increases the number of records that are processed within a transaction before a commit
occurs, resulting in less resources used and faster assignment.
NOTE: Only set large batch sizes when there are no or very few users on the system.
Create multiple instances of batch assignment (using WHERE clause statements). See About
Running Multiple Instances of Assignment Manager in Batch Mode on page 212.
Select a good filter.
Carefully choosing a filter reduces the time it takes to retrieve Object records.
NOTE: Use indexed field or fields for comparison in the object WHERE clause, such as Name for
Account and Opportunity, or Last Name for Contacts.
Use better logic.
For example, if you want to run Account Assignment based on account name, you can create
multiple batches so that the first batch starts with names beginning with the letter C through K,
the second batch starts with the letter L through R, and so on.
Consider the following logic:
Object Where Clause: WHERE NAME > B AND NAME < L
Although this causes the database to retrieve account records with names starting with the letter
C through K, the WHERE clause is specified in such a manner that if accounts starting with the
letter M through Z are encountered, they are passed on the first round because the values are
> B. They are then eliminated in the second round (< L) by the database. These records are not
needed in the batch because there is a cap of account names less than L.
It is better logic to use:
Object Where Clause: WHERE NAME < L AND NAME >B
By switching the order of the conditions, the extra parsing required by the database in the second
round is eliminated because most of the names start with a letter greater than B.
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Running Assignment Manager Running Mobile Assignment
Running Mobile Assignment
Use Mobile Assignment to reassign people based on changes uploaded by mobile clients. Assignment
Manager assigns objects after a mobile client synchronizes with the Siebel Server and uploads
assignment requests or any changes to objects and assignment rules. Depending on the
configuration of Generate Triggers, the Workflow Monitor detects these changes and activates
Assignment Manager to dynamically reassign affected objects.
NOTE: If a disconnected client sends an assignment request to the Siebel Server while running
Mobile Assignment, the request is sent as an asynchronous request. Because of this, the request
does not override the Keep Manual Assign property.
To run mobile assignment
1
Be sure that you have run the Generate Triggers server component.
For instructions, see Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the UI on page 203.
Start the Workflow Monitor Agent.
For instructions, see Starting Workflow Monitor Agent for Dynamic Assignment Using the
Command-Line Interface on page 204.
NOTE: If running interactive assignment, make sure the Server Request Broker server component
is running. For instructions on checking the status of a server component, see Siebel System
Administration Guide.
About Running Assignment Manager in Reporting Mode
Reporting mode provides the assignment administrator the ability to perform trial assignments and
what-if analysis. When running Assignment Manager in reporting mode, assignments are written into
results tables, known as reporting tables, rather than into the actual database tables. This allows the
administrator the opportunity to preview possible assignment before actual assignments are made.
You can run Assignment Manager in reporting mode either from the UI or using the Siebel Server
Manager command-line interface, known as the srvrmgr program. In either mode, you initiate a
reporting mode request using either the Assignment Server (AsgnSrvr) or the Batch Assignment
(BatchAsgn) server component. You pass the Reporting Mode (RptMode) parameter, specifying one
of the following values:
Snapshot. Reporting is turned on. Assignment Manager performs assignment validations and
writes resulting candidates to the reporting team tables.
Delta. Reporting is turned on. Assignment Manager performs assignments, compares existing
assignment team table and writes the results to the reporting team tables.
For example, the following command tells Assignment Manager to read from and write to only the
reporting tables where the reporting team tables store a snapshot of the results:
start task for comp asgnsrvr with asgnobjname="Opportunity", objwhereclause="where
name='James Opty'",rptmode = "Snapshot"
NOTE: By default, reporting is turned off. That is, when the Regular Assignment server component
parameter is set to False, no assignment takes place. However, irrespective of whether reporting is
turned on or off, Assignment Manager can write evaluation results to actual assignment tables.
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Running Assignment Manager Running Mobile Assignment
Using Siebel Tools, you specify key columns through properties on the assignment object.
Assignment Manager reads these key columns to differentiate between candidates. Assignment
Manager stamps these key values; that is, Assignment Manager sets the key value for each record,
to keep track of what employees, positions, or organizations are added in a specific assignment
execution.
Then, when submitting an assignment request, you can pass one of the following values for
stamping:
Person Key Value (PersonKeyVal) for employees and positions
Organization Key Value (OrgKeyVal) for organizations
For example, the following command tells Assignment Manager to execute in reporting delta mode
where it merges the team from this run to the current team in the regular tables, and then writes
the results to the reporting table. However, it only executes the rule against the Account 1 account,
updates or changes positions who have the key value 12-RG2, and stamps all new positions with the
value 12-RG2.
start task for comp asgnsrvr with asgnobjname=Account, objwhereclause=where NAME like
Account 1,UseKeyVal=Key Value, PersonKeyVal=12-RG2, RptMode=Delta
The Key Column in the S_ACCNT_POSTN results table holds either the rule group ID or a key value
to distinguish candidates. You use the UseKeyValue parameter to indicate whether Assignment
Manager uses the key value to filter and stamp candidates and what the key value should be. The
choices are:
Rule Group. Assignment Manager automatically using the rule group from which a particular
candidate passes and stamps that rule group ID on the key column you defined.
Key Value. User supplies either a Person Key Value (for employees and positions), or an
Organization Key Value (for organizations) along with the request, then Assignment Manager
stamps that value.
For example, assume you run AsgnSrvr with rule group 1 (RG1), and the result is that Position 1 is
added to Account1. Next, you run rule group 2 (RG2) and Position 2 is added to Account1. If you do
not want a second AsgnSrvr run to touch or change anything from the first run, you run AsgnSrvr
with the UseKeyValue server component parameter set to either Rule Group or Key Value.
If UseKeyValue = Rule Group, Assignment Manager saves the rule group ID in the Key Column
property in the Assignment Object Extension object. In addition, Assignment Manager does not
delete any positions who's key column value does not match the rule group ID.
If UseKeyValue = Key Value, you need to also pass along another parameter as welleither
PersonKeyVal or OrgKeyVal.
In this case, because you are working with account positions, Assignment Manager passes the
PersonKeyVal parameter.
When you run AsgnSrvr again, you might run the following command:
start task for comp asgnsrvr with asgnobjname=Account, objwhereclause=where NAME like
Account 1,UseKeyVal=Key Value, PersonKeyVal=12-RG2, RptMode=Delta
Later on, if you make changes to RG2 and want to run another assignment request, you can use the
same command. Only the positions on the account team with a key value of 12-RG2 change.
For more information about using the command-line interface, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
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Running Assignment Manager About Assignment Manager Rule Cache Files
About Assignment Manager Rule Cache
Files
The rule cache file contains the most recent copy of assignment rule, criteria, candidates, skills, and
skill items information before the last time assignment rules were released. A cache file is recreated
every time assignment rules are released or when skills have expired.
Depending on the mode in which you run Assignment Manager, the following cache files are used:
rulecache.dat
This file contains information about all active rules in the database. When running Assignment
Manager in default mode, this file is used by each of the three assignment operation modes
interactive, batch, and dynamic assignment.
rulecache_SERVERNAME.dat
This file (where SERVERNAME is the name of the Siebel Server) contains information about the
rules in the rule groups assigned to a particular Siebel Server and is used when server key
mappings are defined.
batchrulecache_RULEGROUPID.dat
When batch assignment runs in rule group mode, you can specify whether it uses the default
mode cache file (rulecache.dat) or a separate cache file by way of the Independent Rule Group
Cache server parameter.
If you set this parameter value to FALSE, it uses the default mode cache file (see
rulecache.dat previously described in this topic).
If you set this parameter to TRUE, it creates a separate cache file,
batchrulecache_RULEGROUPID.dat (where RULEGROUPID is the Assignment Key parameter
you passed along with the request).
There can be multiple cache files of this type because you can use batch assignment in rule group
mode for different rule groups. This rule group cache file is a smaller file, therefore providing
better performance than the default mode cache file. The performance is better because the
batchrulecache_RULEGROUPID.dat file only has information about some rules for some rule
groups while the rulecache.dat file has information about all active rules for all rule groups.
NOTE: The default value of the Independent Rule Group Cache parameter is set to TRUE because
this setting gives better performance. Thus, if batch assignment is running in default mode (that is,
the Assignment Key parameter is not supplied), then the value of this parameter is excluded.
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Running Assignment Manager About Using External Components to Invoke Assignment
Manager
About Using External Components to
Invoke Assignment Manager
You can make assignments by invoking Assignment Manager from within a Siebel workflow process,
business service, or Siebel script interface.
Assignment Manager provides the ability of sharing inputs and outputs (supports rerouting of
objects) with an external component. Assignment Manager can return qualified or assigned
candidates along with their scores in the form of a hierarchical property set. A property set is a set
of name-value pairs that are used by various Siebel components to pass information back and forth
between them.
This feature is particularly useful in a workflow process. For example, a business service step in a
workflow process might call on Assignment Manager (with the assignment mode set to Match) to
evaluate potential candidates and return the set of qualified candidates in a property set along with
their scores. Then, the workflow process canbased on other business logicdecide the set of
candidates that are assigned.
NOTE: Before version 7.7, Assignment Manager could only write qualified or assigned candidates to
the database.
Assignment Manager integration behavior is controlled by the ReturnPropSet server parameter
(ReturnPropSet). Table 49 lists the conditions for which Assignment Manager returns a property set
or writes the results to the database.
Table 49.
ReturnPropSet Server Parameter Behavior
AsgnMode
Writes to Database
Returns Property Set
Synchronous:
If ReturnPropSet is FALSE, writes to database
No property set returned
Match
If ReturnPropSet is TRUE, does not write to
database
Qualified candidates
returned
Assign
Writes to database
No property set returned
MatchAssign
Writes to database
If ReturnPropSet is TRUE
Writes to database
No property set returned
Asynchronous
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Running Assignment Manager About Tuning Assignment Manager for Performance in a
DB2 Deployment
Figure 31 illustrates the structure of the output property set that Assignment Manager returns from
a synchronous request, given the input parameter AsgnMode = Match or MatchAssign.
Figure 31. Example of Output Property Set Structure Returned from a Synchronous Request
About Tuning Assignment Manager for
Performance in a DB2 Deployment
If you are using DB2, for performance reasons, you should periodically execute the REORG and
update statistics utilities against all applicable tables for the assignment objects that you use. For
example, to enhance Assignment Manager performance before running batch or dynamic assignment
for contact territory realignment (assuming you are using the preconfigured Contact assignment
object), you should execute REORG and update statistics against the related tables, such as the
S_CON_TERR and S_POSTN_CON tables.
For the Account assignment object, consider evaluating the S_ORG_TERR and S_ACCNT_POST
tables; and for the Opportunity assignment object, consider evaluating the S_OPTY_TERR and
S_OPTY_POSTN tables; and so on. For applicable tables for other assignment objectsplanned or in
useview the assignment object properties for those objects using Siebel Tools.
For more information about the REORG and update statistics utilities, see Implementing Siebel
Business Applications on DB2 UDB for z/OS and the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating
system you are using.
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Number of Records Processed
About Using an Object Where Clause to
Restrict the Number of Records
Processed
The Object WHERE Clause (ObjWhereClause) parameter can be used to restrict which records are
retrieved and processed. Standard SQL WHERE statements are used for the Object WHERE Clause
and can include up to 2048 characters when an assignment server job is started using the
command-line interface. However, when you start an assignment server job from the UI, you can
only specify up to 100 characters. Also, when using wildcards in the object WHERE clause, make sure
you use the correct wildcard specific to your database.
The following object WHERE clause examples for the Account assignment object are provided as a
guideline. Assignment administrators should work with their database administrator to generate
optimal SQL for their implementation.
As an example, the following conditions for the Account assignment object can apply:
Joins are allowed in the Object WHERE Clause.
An example of a join is as follows:
Object Where Clause = where pr_postn_id in (select row_id from s_postn where name
= 'Sales Rep')
The Object WHERE Clause assumes the base table is coming from the assignment object
specified.
If you start batch assignment specifying the assignment object as Account and the Object WHERE
Clause is where row_id = '1-232', then batch assignment attempts to assign only the row_id
= '1-232' from the S_ORG_EXT table.
The following is an example of a batch assignment request using the command-line interface:
start task for component AsgnBatch with AsgnObjName= Account,
AsgnMode=MatchAssign, ObjWhereClause=where name like 'B%'
This command batch assigns accounts starting with B.
Optionally, you can use the command-line interface and the Object WHERE Clause to run only a select
number of assignment rule groups. The following is an example of this:
start task for comp asgnbatch with asgnobjname="Account", objwhereclause="where name
like 'B%'", asgnkey="12-4DR56"
In this example, 12-4DR56 is the row ID of an assignment rule group, and only those rules belonging
to this group are evaluated when this parameter is passed in the request.
NOTE: When using the command-line interface, use double quotation marks for the ObjWhereClause
parameter; otherwise, it is treated as a SRVRMGR command option that changes the case.
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Running Assignment Manager About Using an Object Where Clause to Restrict the
Number of Records Processed
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10 Advanced
Assignment Manager
Configuration
This chapter discusses advanced configuration techniques for Siebel Assignment Manager. Before
creating your assignment rules, you may need to know or perform the various configuration tasks
described in this chapter. Some configuration tasks may not be applicable for your needs.
NOTE: Do not attempt to perform procedures in this chapter until you are well versed in basic
assignment manager configuration and assignment rule creation. This chapter is intended for users
already familiar with Assignment Manager basic features and who require further information on
refining their Assignment Manager deployment.
This chapter includes the following topics:
Requirements for Completing Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration on page 222
Creating Assignment Objects on page 222
Creating New Skills on page 223
Example of Using Skill Tables on page 223
Assigning Objects Based on the Primary Address on page 224
Assigning Child Accounts Based on Parents Primary Address on page 225
Reassigning Accounts to a Different Primary Position on page 227
Maintaining the Manually Assigned Primary Position on page 229
Routing of Assignments to Mobile Users on page 230
Stopping Assignment of the Default Organization on page 230
Stopping Assignment of Organizations for Accounts on page 231
Setting the Lock Assignment Default Value for Activity Assignment Objects on page 232
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy Additional Columns to the Team Table on page 233
Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring on page 235
About Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns on page 239
Configuring Assignment Manager to Use Reporting Tables and Columns on page 243
Configuring Assignment Objects for Multitiered Assignment on page 246
Configuring Assignment Manager to Add Scores Across Rules on page 252
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Requirements for Completing Advanced
Assignment Manager Configuration
Requirements for Completing Advanced
Assignment Manager Configuration
Before beginning any advanced configuration procedures, you should have background knowledge in
the Siebel software architecture, Siebel Tools, and Siebel Workflow Manager. Consult the following
documentation for this information:
Going Live with Siebel Business Applications
Using Siebel Tools
Configuring Siebel Business Applications
Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide
Creating Assignment Objects
Using Siebel Tools, you can create new assignment objects by adding an assignment object to a
workflow policy object. However, adding assignment objects can require the addition of skills or
other tables and columns. Because of the complexity of this requirement, it is recommended that
you submit a service request (SR) on OracleMetaLink 3 if you need to create new assignment objects.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you submit a service request (SR) on OracleMetaLink 3 for
assignment object creation. If you create your own assignment objects, you run the risk of
Assignment Manager assigning incorrect assignments.
To create an assignment object
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and select Assignment Object.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it by selecting
View > Options > Object Explorer in the Development Tools Options dialog box.
In the Workflow Policy Objects window, select the workflow policy object type for which you want
to add the new assignment object.
Select the Assignment Objects window and choose Edit > New Record.
Configure the assignment object by setting values in the appropriate fields for each property.
For a list of assignment object properties and their default values, see Siebel Object Types
Reference.
If you are running dynamic assignment, activate an assignment policy for the assignment object.
For more information about dynamic assignment, see Process of Defining Assignment Policies for
Dynamic Assignment on page 103.
Update your deployment with the new configurations.
For instructions, see Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on
page 141.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Creating New Skills
Creating New Skills
Skills are assignment criteria values attributed to specific assignment rules, objects, employees,
positions, and organizations. Assignment Manager uses skills to match assignment rules, objects,
employees, positions, and organizations.
The Siebel application provides several predefined skills, however, you can create new skills using
Siebel Tools. This section explains how to view the predefined skills and create new skills.
For most deployments, the predefined skills are sufficient. However, you can create new skills using
Siebel Tools. The following procedure explains how to create a new skill that can be used in any Siebel
application.
To create a new skill
1
Create an assignment attribute.
Create an assignment criterion.
You must check the Employee Skill field because you are configuring the criterion as a skill.
Add the assignment attribute created in Step 1 as a child object to the assignment criterion
created in Step 2.
For more information about creating assignment attributes, assignment criteria, and assignment
criteria attributes, see Process of Creating Assignment Criteria for Use in Assignment Rules on
page 121.
NOTE: To perform assignments based on skills, further configuration is required using Siebel Tools.
For more information about configuring criteria as skills, see Process of Defining Criteria Values as
Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors on page 93.
Example of Using Skill Tables
The skill and skill item tables are child and grandchild tables, respectively, of the object used to store
skills, and skill items for assignment objects that are not stored as columns in the parent table itself.
The employee skill table is used to store skills possessed by employees, such as languages spoken,
product expertise, and so on. For example, for an employee who speaks English and Spanish, there
is one record in the employee skill table that specifies the skill name as Language. There are also
two records in the child employee skill item table that correspond to this skill record: one record for
English, and another record for Spanish. For more information about how to assign skills to candidate
objects, see Scenarios for Using Assignment Manager on page 39.
For example, the following procedure explains how to configure Assignment Manager so that only
employees who speak Spanish are assigned a service request.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Assigning Objects Based on the Primary
Address
To configure Assignment Manager to assign a service request only to employees
who speak Spanish
1
Create a service request with Language as the skill and Spanish as the skill item.
In the Service Request skill table for the service request, create one record and specify Language
as the skill.
In the child Service Request skill item table, create one record and specify Spanish as the skill
item.
For more information about how to perform this step, see Process of Defining Criteria Values as
Skills with Expertise Codes and Weighting Factors on page 93.
Create an assignment rule that filters employees based on their language skills.
Create an assignment rule and apply the Service Request assignment object.
Create a criterion called Language and use the Compare to Person assignment rule comparison
method.
This criterion, and therefore the rule, passes only employees who have the Spanish language
skill.
NOTE: You can also perform skill matching with other comparison methods. For more information
about the comparison methods, see Assignment Criteria Comparison Methods on page 76.
Assignment Manager can also perform skill matching with expertise codes and can use weighting
factors to assign weighted scores to different expertise codes. For more information about these
topics, see About Assignment Skills, Expertise Codes, and Weighting Factors on page 88.
Assigning Objects Based on the Primary
Address
An assignment rule with address criteria, by default, passes objects (Account, Contact, and
Opportunities, for example) based on any one of the multiple addresses associated with the objects.
However, Assignment Manager is configurable to assign based on only the primary address. This
configuration is completed through Siebel Tools in the following procedure. The Account assignment
object is used in this example.
NOTE: For Siebel Life Sciences, Assignment Manager can populate the Primary Address field for the
system-assigned positions for the contacts on the intersection table (S_POSTN_CON).
To assign objects based on the primary address
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the assignment object.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Objects list, select Account.
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Parents Primary Address
Select the workflow policy component to change the Source Column and Target Column fields.
In the Object Explorer, select Workflow Policy Component.
In the Workflow Policy Component window, select Account Address.
Change Source Column Name to ROW_ID (from OU_ID).
Change Target Column Name to PR_ADDR_ID (from ROW_ID).
Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 for the Contact and Opportunity assignment objects.
Check in the projects to the server.
For more information about checking in projects, see Using Siebel Tools.
If using dynamic assignment or workflow policies, drop and regenerate triggers by running the
Generate Triggers server component.
See Generating Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the UI on page 203 or Generating
Triggers for Dynamic Assignment Using the Command-Line Interface on page 204 for more
information about stopping and restarting this server component. Alternatively, see Siebel
System Administration Guide.
Assigning Child Accounts Based on
Parents Primary Address
A common business requirement involves the configuration of Assignment Manager to assign child
accounts based on the primary accounts address. This configuration is completed through Siebel
Tools using the following procedure.
To assign child account objects based on the parents primary address
1
In the Object Explorer, select the Workflow Policy object, and click the Account record.
Expand the Workflow Policy object in the Object Explorer, and select the Workflow Policy
Components object.
Create two new workflow policy components, Parent Account and Parent Account Address, with
the following properties:
Name:
Parent Account
Parent Account Address
Source Table Name:
S_ORG_EXT
S_ADDR_ORG
Source Column Name:
ROW_ID
ROW_ID
Target Component Name:
Account
Parent Account
Target Column Name:
PAR_OU_ID
PR_ADDR_ID
While the new Parent Account Address record is selected, expand the Workflow Policy Component
object, and click the Workflow Policy Component Column object.
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Parents Primary Address
Create a new record with the following properties:
Alias
Parent Account State
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Attributes object, and create a new record with the
following properties:
Data Type: Varchar
Pick List:
PickList State
Pick Field:
Value
While the new assignment attribute Parent Account State is selected, expand the Assignment
Attributes object, and click the Assignment Attributes Column object.
Create a new record with the following properties:
Assignment Object
Account
Workflow Object:
Account
Workflow Component:
Parent Account Address
Workflow Component Column: Parent Account State
Sequence:
In the Object Explorer, select the Assignment Criteria object and create a new record with the
following properties:
Display Name
Parent Account State
Use Expertise
FALSE
10 While the new assignment criteria Parent Account State is selected, expand the Assignment
Criteria object and click the Assignment Criteria Attribute object; create a new record with the
following properties:
Assignment
Attribute:
Parent Account State
Store Column:
Display Sequence:
Display Name:
Parent Account State
After the configurations are complete, the project must be checked into the server, and various
server administration procedures must be run. To update your deployment with these new
configurations, see Updating Your Assignment Manager Deployment with New Configurations on
page 141.
For more information about compiling projects, see Using Siebel Tools. For information on
distributing the siebel.srf file, see Siebel Anywhere Administration Guide.
An assignment rule can now be created that assigns child accounts based on the parents primary
address.
NOTE: Make sure the child account has a value in the PAR_OU_ID column pointing to a parent
account that has the primary address.
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Primary Position
Reassigning Accounts to a Different
Primary Position
To reassign Account assignment objects to another position, use the following procedure. This
procedure provides an example of mapping the PR_POSTN_ID column of the Accounts base table
(S_ORG_EXT) to a new assignment attribute named Account Primary Position. Configuration in
Siebel Tools is required for this process.
NOTE: The following procedure can be employed anytime you want to use a base table column as
an assignment attribute.
To reassign accounts to a different position
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, select the Workflow Column object and create a new record with the
following properties:
Name: Account Primary Position Id
Table: S_ORG_EXT
Column: PR_POSTN_ID
Select Workflow Policy Object > Account > Workflow Policy Component > Account record; drill
down to the Workflow Policy Component Column and add a new record called Account Primary
Position Id.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Attribute and create a new record called Account
Primary Position; drill down to Assignment Attribute Column and add a new record with the
following properties:
Name: Account: Account Primary Position Id
Assignment Object: Account
Workflow Policy Object: Account
Workflow Component: Account
Workflow Policy Component Column: Account Primary Position Id
Sequence: 1
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Criteria and create a new record called Account Primary
Position; drill down to the Assignment Criteria Attribute and create a new record called Account
Primary Position Id with the following properties:
Name: Account Primary Position Id
Assignment Attribute: Account Primary Position Id
Store Column: 1
Display Sequence: 1
Display Name: Id
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Reassigning Accounts to a Different
Primary Position
Check in the project to the server, compile changes to the siebel.srf file, and distribute it to your
users.
Choose Tools > Compile.
In the Object Compiler dialog box, select the Assignment project.
Select the Siebel client repository file (default is siebel.srf file) located in the Objects
subdirectory within the Siebel client root directory.
Click Compile.
In the updated Client, create a new assignment rule based on the assignment object Account;
add a new criterion for this rule, and select the Account Primary Position; under the values
applet, select the ROW_ID of the position you want to reassign.
Navigate to the Positions view of this new Assignment Rule; select the new position that is to
replace the previous position.
Release assignment rules by clicking Release in the Assignment Rules view.
10 Run a Batch Assignment against a test account that includes the old position; use the following
parameters:
Object: Account
Object WHERE clause: WHERE ROW_ID=<your_value>
11 Confirm that the test account is reassigned and then run a Batch Assignment to reassign the
other accounts to the new position; use the following parameters:
Object: Account
Object WHERE clause: WHERE PR_POSTN_ID=<your_value>
Thoroughly test this assignment rule before applying it to your production environment. After
your Accounts have been reassigned, it is recommended that you expire this rule.
12 Depending on your situation, run Contact Denormalization to update the contact access list.
For information about running Assignment Manager in denormalization mode, see Running
Assignment Manager in Denormalization Mode on page 196.
13 To set up Position in the Values applet as a picklist, select the appropriate picklist and applet
when configuring the Workflow Column and Assignment Criteria Attribute for the Account Position
Id.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Maintaining the Manually Assigned
Primary Position
Maintaining the Manually Assigned
Primary Position
Assignment Manager maintains an object's manually assigned primary position when the Keep
Manual Primary Position property in Siebel Tools for the object is set to TRUE. Assignment Manager
identifies the manually assigned primary position when the PR_REP_MANL_FLG field = Y on the
object. By default, the PR_REP_MANL_FLG value is set to N, which indicates the candidate is not a
manually added primary.
When the primary position is updated in the UI, the PR_REP_MANL_FLG flag is updated to Y. If EIM
imports opportunities where PR_REP_MANL_FLG=TRUE and S_OPTY.PR_POSTN_ID=NULL, then
running the batch assignment in this case assigns the opportunities that sets PR_REP_MANL_FLG to
FALSE. For this position to be recognized as the manually assigned primary by Assignment Manager,
manually set the Primary Assignment Manual flag, that is, PR_REP_MAN_FLG, to make that position
the manually assigned primary.
To maintain the objects primary position
1
Navigate to the Opportunities > Opportunity List (or other assignment object) screen.
Query for and select the item of interest.
Click the Sales Team select button to launch the Team Members dialog box.
Click the Primary check box of another position in the list; then reselect the Primary check box
of the original position and click OK.
This process changes the system PR_REP_MANL_FLG value to Y and updates PR_REP_SYS_FLG
to N.
This procedure can also be used to add positions to the object or delete system-assigned positions
from the object.
About the Keep Creator Property
The purpose of the Keep Creator property is for Assignment Manager to either maintain an objects
creator or delete an objects creator.
For primary position assignment:
If the Keep Creator property in Siebel Tools for an object is set to FALSE, then Assignment
Manager deletes the creator.
If the Keep Creator property in Siebel Tools for an object is set to TRUE, then Assignment
Manager maintains the objects creator, but does not delete the creator of the assignment object
from the team.
Assignment manager currently retains the existing primary position whereby it matches the current
primary position of the creator. However, if the primary position of the employee is changed after the
creation of the assignment object, then the original primary position is removed during the
assignment. This behavior persists even when the Keep Creator property is set to true.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Routing of Assignments to Mobile Users
Routing of Assignments to Mobile Users
The component parameter LogTxnChgOnly controls whether transactions with no change to
Assignment primary or team members are routed to mobile or remote users. This parameter has a
default setting of TRUE for Batch Assignment, Interactive Assignment (Assignment Manager), and
implicitly Dynamic Assignment (Workflow Monitor Agent). As a result, transactions with no change
to Assignment primary or teams are not routed to mobile users. To change the LogTxnChgOnly
parameter for dynamic assignment, use the following steps. This procedure requires configuration in
Siebel Tools.
To route assignments to mobiles users by changing the LogTxnChgOnly parameter
1
Stop the Workflow Monitor Agent processing the assignment policies.
Start Siebel Tools (see Configuring Siebel Business Applications for more information about
proper Siebel Tools configuration procedures).
In the Object Explorer, select the Workflow Policy Program, and then select Assignment Request
(In Process).
Drill down to Workflow Policy Program Arguments in the Object Explorer, and select the
LogTxnChgOnly parameter.
Change the value to TRUE or FALSE.
If TRUE, transactions with no change to the assignment primary or teams are not routed to
mobile users.
Check in the project to the server.
Restart the Workflow Monitor Agent.
NOTE: You do not need to recompile the .srf file.
Stopping Assignment of the Default
Organization
If you want to override the assignment of all organizations to an assignment object, you must
remove the assignment property Org Primary Column from a selected assignment object. The default
value is set to BU_ID. After this value is set to null, Assignment Manager does not assign any
organization to the assignment object. The following procedure details this configuration. The
account assignment object is used as an example.
To stop assignment of the default organization to Account object
1
Start Siebel Tools, and select the appropriate project.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object.
Select Assignment Object.
Select the Account Record.
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for Accounts
In the Properties Window, find the property called Org Primary Column.
Delete the value for this property. (The default value is BU_ID.)
After the assignment object is modified, various server administration procedures must be run to
make sure your configurations are recognized by Assignment Manager.
If you are using Batch Assignment, start a new task.
If you are using Dynamic Assignment, stop and restart the Workflow Monitor Agent.
If you are using Interactive Assignment, stop and restart the Assignment Manager Server
Component.
NOTE: It is not necessary to recompile the .srf file when configuring an assignment object to stop
assignment of the default organization.
Stopping Assignment of Organizations
for Accounts
If you do not want Assignment Manager to reassign the organizations that you have setup for an
account, you must change the default values for the Account assignment object properties in Siebel
Tools.
NOTE: The following procedure is also valid for other objects such as Contact and Opportunity.
To stop reassignment of organizations for accounts
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Object list, select Account.
In the Object Explorer, click Assignment Object.
In the Assignment Objects list, set the following values:
Default Organization = <blank>
Org Primary Column = <blank>
Org Table = <blank>
Set Primary Org = FALSE
NOTE: Where <blank> is a null value.
After these values are set, Assignment Manager does not reassign any organizations for
accounts.
Run various server administration tasks.
For instructions, see Step 2 and Step 3 of the procedure in Updating Your Assignment Manager
Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
NOTE: It is not necessary to recompile the .srf file. However, you should check-in the changes
to the server database.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Setting the Lock Assignment Default
Value for Activity Assignment Objects
Setting the Lock Assignment Default
Value for Activity Assignment Objects
Assignment objects contain a lock assignment feature that, when activated by checking the Lock
Assignment column on the object's list applet in Siebel Tools, prevents Assignment Manager from
assigning or reassigning a position or candidate to that object. You can use this feature to exclude
an object (such as Account or Opportunity object) from being reassigned by Assignment Manager.
By setting the column defined in the Exclude Column for the assignment object, Assignment Manager
excludes (ignores) the object for assignment.
The Lock Assignment parameter for activity objects is, by default, set to TRUE. This setting does not
allow Assignment Manager to assign these objects. Therefore, Assignment Manager does not assign
activity records. However, the Field Service Activity object is the one exception and is, by default,
available for assignment (the Lock Assignment parameter is set to FALSE). Other activity objects
must have the Lock Assignment parameter set to FALSE or null for assignment to occur. (The lock
assignment feature for activity records in the Siebel application, except for Field Service activity
records, defaults to Y.) This behavior is due to a setting in the Post Default Value property for the
Action business component's Assignment Excluded field (Business Component > Field > Assignment
Excluded). The value in the property is:
Expr: "If ([Class] = LookupValue(""FS_ACTIVITY_CLASS"", ""Field Engineer Activity"") OR
[Class] = LookupValue (""FS_ACTIVITY_CLASS"", ""Repair Activity"") OR [Class] =
LookupValue(""FS_ACTIVITY_CLASS"", ""Preventive Maintenance""), ""N"", ""Y"")"
Using Siebel Tools, you can implement assignment of all types of activities by setting the default
value of the Assignment Excluded field to FALSE at the business component level.
The following procedure explains how to set the Lock Assignment default value so that Assignment
Manager assigns activity objects. A similar procedure can be used for other assignment objects.
To set the lock assignment default value to assign activity objects
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Business Component object.
In the Business Components list, select Action.
In the Object Explorer, click Field.
In the Fields list, select Assignment Excluded, and change the Post Default Value field to N.
Check-in the changes to the server.
For more information about checking in changes, see Using Siebel Tools.
Recompile the .srf file.
For more information about recompiling the .srf file, see Updating Your Assignment Manager
Deployment with New Configurations on page 141.
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Copy Additional Columns to the Team Table
Make sure that all Siebel clients that create activity records have the new .srf file by copying the
newly compiled .srf file to the:
Siebel client's object\<language> directory for the Siebel Developer Web Client, where
<language> is the appropriate language code, such as ENU for American English
Siebel Servers objects\<language> directory for mobile clients, where <language> is
the appropriate language code, such as ENU for American English.
NOTE: This step applies only to the mobile client or the Developer Web Client.
Assignment Manager now assigns activity records based on the defined assignment rules.
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy
Additional Columns to the Team Table
When an item, such as an account or opportunity, is assigned to a team of people, the team field
(the actual name of the field varies depending on the view) for that record shows a list of the people
assigned to that item. This list of names is known as the team table for the given record. When
making assignments, Assignment Manager passes information about the team members to the team
table, such as the name of the person, that persons position and user ID, and so on. This section
explains how to configure assignment objects to add additional information about team members to
the team table.
Using Siebel Tools, you configure assignment objects to copy additional columns to the team table.
Use the PositionTeamDenormN user property (where N is any number) to copy additional columns
from the S_ASGN_GRP_POSTN assignment rule position candidate table to the team table.
To configure an assignment object to copy additional columns to the team table
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the assignment object for which you want to copy additional columns to the team table.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Object window, select the object.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then select Assignment User Prop.
In the Assignment User Properties window, choose Edit > New Record to define user properties
for the assignment object.
In the Name field, type a name for the property starting with PositionTeamDenorm followed by
a digit (for example, PositionTeamDenorm1, PositionTeamDenorm2).
In the Value field, use the following syntax to enter values:
SrcCol,DestCol,UserKeyBool,DefaultValue
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Configuring Assignment Objects to
Copy Additional Columns to the Team Table
Table 50 provides descriptions for each field these values.
Table 50.
User Property Values for Copying Additional Columns to the Team Table
Value
Description
SrcCol
The name of the source column in the assignment rule group position table whose
value is copied to the destination column of the team table. There are 7 Boolean
columns, 19 string columns, 7 number columns, and 3 date columns available for
copying.
DestCol
The name of the destination column in the team table where the values are copied.
The destination column must be one of the user data columns in the team table of
the assignment object.
UserKeyBool
If this flag is set to Y (True), indicates the respective destination column is part of
the user key of the team table. Without this flag specified, duplicate positions
cannot be inserted in the team table. For more information about duplicate
positions, see the description for the AllowDupPostn server component parameter
in Additional AsgnSrvr and BatchAsgn Parameter Information on page 191.
DefaultValue
Specifies the values that are inserted in the destination columns if default position
is assigned. In this case, you cannot specify the values to be copied in the
ASGN_GRP_POSTN table.
NOTE: This value is optional if the default position is not specified. That is, if the
value for a position is NULL, the default value is set to NULL as well.
At runtime, Assignment Manager copies the user property values to the team table.
Example of Copying Additional Columns to the Team
Table
The following procedure gives one example of copying additional columns to the team table. In this
example, you copy data from the S_ASGN_GRP_POSTN rule group position table to the
S_ORD_CRDT_ASGN team table of the Order (Sales Credit Assignment) assignment object.
You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
To configure the Order assignment object to copy the S_ORD_CRDT_ASGN column
to the S_ASGN_GRP_POSTN team table
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Select the Order assignment object, which is the object for which you want to copy additional
columns to the team table.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object.
In the Workflow Policy Object window, select Order.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then select Assignment User Prop.
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In the Assignment User Properties window, choose Edit > New Record to define user properties
for the assignment object.
In the Name field, type a name for the property starting with PositionTeamDenorm followed by
a digit (for example, PositionTeamDenorm1, PositionTeamDenorm2).
In the Value field, use the following syntax to enter values (for value descriptions, see Table 50
on page 234):
SrcCol,DestCol,UserKeyBool,DefaultValue
For this example, SrcCol copies values come from the S_ASGN_GRP_POSTN table. The
following table shows some of the valid user properties for the Order (Sales Credit
Assignment) assignment object:
Name
Value
PositionTeamDenorm1
DATE1,START_DT,N
PositionTeamDenorm2
CHAR2,SLS_TERR_ID,Y
PositionTeamDenorm3
CHAR1,CRDT_RULE_ID,N
PositionTeamDenorm5
CHAR3,FROM_BTM_NODE_FLG,N
PositionTeamDenorm6
NUM2,ROLLUP_PCT,N
PositionTeamDenorm8
CHAR5,ROLLUP_FRMLA,N
PositionTeamDenorm21
BOOL5,QTA_RLP_ACNTED_FLG,N
Process of Configuring Assignment
Objects for Team Scoring
You can configure Assignment Manager to save candidates scores to the team table for those
candidates who are assigned to an assignment object. These scores can be then used by other Siebel
applications or exposed through the user interface.
To configure an assignment object for team scoring, perform the following tasks:
Extending an Objects Base Table for Team Scoring on page 236
Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring on page 236
For an example of configuring an assignment object for team scoring, see Example of Configuring
the Opportunity Assignment Object for Team Scoring on page 237.
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Objects for Team Scoring
Extending an Objects Base Table for Team Scoring
Before configuring an assignment object for team scoring, make sure the object has the necessary
columns in its database table.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring on page 235.
NOTE: You must review the sections on extension tables and columns in Configuring Siebel Business
Applications before completing this procedure.
To extend an objects base table for team scoring
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Table object, and then query for the table you want to
configure.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, select Column.
In the Columns window, choose Edit > New Record to add new records.
For more information about adding new column records, see Using Siebel Tools.
Select each new record and click the Apply button.
Enter the appropriate value for tableowner password.
The table is now extended.
NOTE: There are specific considerations depending on the platform you are using. For more
information about this, see the note in Step 7 on page 260 of the procedure in Extending an
Assignment Objects Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment.
After the necessary base table columns are in place, you can configure the assignment object for
team scoring.
Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring
After extending an assignment objects base table for team scoring (see Extending an Objects Base
Table for Team Scoring on page 236), you can then configure the assignment object.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Team Scoring on page 235.
To configure an assignment object for team scoring
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and select the object you want to
configure.
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Objects for Team Scoring
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Object.
In the Assignment Objects window, set values for the properties in the following table.
Column
Value
Employee Team Score
Column
The table column that references a Number column in the assignment
objects employee team table.
Org Team Score
Column
The table column that references a Number column in the assignment
objects organization team table.
Position Team Score
Column
The table column that references a Number column in the assignment
objects position team table.
For information on modifying the appropriate components that expose the scoring information to the
user interface, see Configuring Siebel Business Applications.
Example of Configuring the Opportunity Assignment
Object for Team Scoring
This topic gives one example of configuring the Opportunity assignment object for team scoring. You
may use this feature differently, depending on your business model. Use the following procedures to
extend the Opportunity assignment object for team scoring.
To extend the Opportunity objects base table for team scoring
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Table object, and then query for the S_OPTY table.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, select Column.
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Objects for Team Scoring
In the Columns window, add the records shown in the following table.
Record 1
Record 2
Name
X_POS_SCORE
X_ORG_SCORE
Cascade Clear
Ignore
Ignore
Physical Type
Data(Public)
Data(Public)
Precision
22
22
Scale
Text Length
22
22
Txn Log Code
TRUE
TRUE
NOTE: The values and records shown are examples and can be modified, as appropriate, for your
deployment.
Select each new record and click the Apply button.
In the Apply Schema dialog box, enter the appropriate value for database user password, and
click Apply.
The S_OPTY table is now extended with the following columns: X_POS_SCORE and
X_ORG_SCORE.
To configure the Opportunity assignment object for team scoring
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and select the Opportunity object.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Object.
In the Assignment Objects window, set values for the properties in the following table.
238
Column
Value
Employee Team Score Column
The name of the column that stores the score for each
member of an employee team.
Org Team Score Column
The name of the column that stores the score for each
member of an organization team.
Position Team Score Column
The name of the column that stores the score for each
member of a position.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration About Configuring Assignment Manager
to Copy Columns
About Configuring Assignment Manager
to Copy Columns
Assignment Manager allows you to copy position- and employee-specific columnar data so that you
can replace one position or employee with another and have the position or employee data stay
intact. For example, you might have a sales representative who has been working on an account or
contact for several days but find you need another person to take on that work. To enable this
feature, you must first configure an assignment objects user properties so that Assignment Manager
can find the lists of columns in the position or employee team tables. Then, you submit a component
job request so that Assignment Manager retains the position- or employee-specific data in the team
table for the new person. During assignment processing, the data from one position (or employee)
is copied to the extension columns for the new position (or employee) before deleting the original
position (or employee).
NOTE: Prior to version 7.8, Assignment Manager could only delete a record for a position that no
longer qualified without copying any data.
The logic that Assignment Manager uses to copy position- or employee-specific data is as follows:
Checks to see if the position or employee already exists in the account team.
If yes, do nothing
If no, skip to Step 2
Searches to find:
Any positions with position-specific data for the same rule group (or list of rule groups when
merging sales forces) on the team.
or
Any employees with employee-specific data for the same rule group on the team.
If:
No, do nothing
If yes, then:
Find the position that has the latest updated position-specific data and copy that
position's data and assign it to the new position
or
Find the employee that has the lasted updated employee-specific data and copy that
employees data and assign it to the new employee
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to Copy Columns
Process of Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy
Columns
By default, the TM Account assignment object is configured to copy columnar position or employee
data. However, you can make this feature available for other assignment objects by configuring user
properties using Siebel Tools, then initiating a server component job to process the information.
To copy columns for positions or employees, perform the following tasks:
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy Columns on page 240
Copying Columns Using the UI on page 241
or
Copying Columns Using the Command-Line Interface on page 242
Configuring Assignment Objects to Copy Columns
Using Siebel Tools, you can configure assignment objects to copy position-specific or employeespecific data. Typically, you configure sales objects to copy position-specific data and you configure
service objects to copy employee specific data.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns on page 240.
By default, the TM Account assignment object is predefined to copy position-specific data. Figure 32
shows the TM Account assignment object configured to copy only a single columnROLE_CD.
Figure 32. The TM Account Assignment Object Configured to Copy Position-Specific Data
Use the following procedure to add either the Position Specific Columns or Employee Specific
Columns user property to an assignment object for which you want to enable copying of data.
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to Copy Columns
To configure an assignment object to copy position- or employee-specific data
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and then query for the object you want
to configure.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it by selecting
View > Options > Object Explorer in the Development Tools Options dialog box.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, expand Assignment Object, and then select Assignment User Prop.
In the Assignment User Properties window, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
In the Name field, type either Position Specific Columns or Employee Specific Columns.
In the Value field, type the names of the columns you want copied.
For example, if you want to copy multiple columns, type: ROLE_CD, ROW_ID.
In the Inactive field, click the drop-down arrow, and select FALSE.
After the assignment object is modified, you must run various server administration procedures to
make sure your configurations are recognized by Assignment Manager.
If you are using Batch Assignment, start a new task.
If you are using Dynamic Assignment, stop and restart the Workflow Monitor Agent.
If you are using Interactive Assignment, stop and restart the Assignment Manager Server
Component.
After the assignment object is configured, you can then instruct Assignment Manager to copy
position- or employee-specific data using the UI or by submitting a server component job from the
command-line interface.
Copying Columns Using the UI
You can set up Assignment Manager to copy columnar position or employee data using the UI or by
submitting a server component job from the command-line interface. This topic explains how to copy
columns using the UI.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns on page 240.
Prerequisites
The following procedure assumes the Position Specific Columns and Employee Specific Columns
properties are preconfigured for the assignment object and the Copy Candidate Specific Data
(CopyCandSpecData) server component parameter is set to Yes. For information on how to configure
these properties and parameter, see Configuring Assignment Object Properties on page 114 and
Modifying the Assignment Manager Server Component Parameters on page 182, respectively.
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to Copy Columns
To copy columns using the UI
1
Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen > Jobs view.
In the Jobs list, click New.
A new record appears with a system-defined ID automatically generated with a status of
Creating.
In the Requested Server field in the Job Detail subview, type the name of the Siebel Server on
which you want to run the copy columns feature.
NOTE: Assignment Manager copies position- or employee-specific data only if the Use Key Value
server component parameter value is set to either Rule Group or None. If None, position-specific data
is copied from any position in the ACCNT_POSTN table that was updated last, given every position
in the team is for the same business reason.
TIP: When merging sales forces in production mode, Assignment Manager takes into account the
list of key values, that is, Assignment Manager gets the latest updated position in all the rule groups
in the Replace Key Values list with position-specific data.
Copying Columns Using the Command-Line Interface
After configuring an assignment object to copy columns, Assignment Manager can copy columnar
position- and employee-specific data by initiating a server component job from the command-line
interface using the AsgnSrvr command and the parameters described in Table 44 on page 183. The
command-line interface of the Server Manager is the srvrmgr program.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Manager to Copy Columns on page 240.
For more information about using the command-line interface, see Siebel System Administration
Guide.
To copy columns using the command-line interface
From the command-line interface, submit an assignment request using the CopyCandSpecData
server component parameter to instruct Assignment Manager to retain the position- or
employee-specific data in the team table.
For example:
start task for comp asgnbatch with asgnobjname="Account", objwhereclause="where
row_id='88-1FC68'", CopyCandSpecData = "Y"
or
start task for comp asgnsrvr with asgnobjname="Account", objwhereclause="where
row_id='88-1FC68'", CopyCandSpecData = "Y"
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Reporting Tables and Columns
Configuring Assignment Manager to Use
Reporting Tables and Columns
Assignment Manager provides a special set of tables to which you can write assignment results for
what-if analysis. These tables are known as reporting tables, and the environment in which you work
with these tables is known as the reporting environment. When you work in the reporting
environment, you work in reporting mode. By default, reporting mode is turned off; Assignment
Manager does not write to the reporting tables. Using Siebel Tools, you can configure Assignment
Manager to use reporting tables and columns (in lieu of actual assignment tables) by defining
Assignment Object and Assignment Object Extension object properties.
NOTE: You can retrieve Reporting mode table data by using native database utilities, such as
SQL*Plus, Query Analyzer, and so on. You should not modify or delete this data. Rather, assignment
administrators should use the Reporting tables to preview the temporary reporting results before
executing Assignment Manager in actual production tables.
About Reporting Tables
You can think of the reporting tables as temporary draft tables that allow you to preview the results
of Assignment Manager processing to see the changes that are going to be made before committing
those changes to the actual database. Reporting allows you to run Assignment Manager multiple
times without impacting current assignment. Assignment Manager can write to the reporting tables
independently of whether results are written to actual assignment tables or not.
The reporting tables are especially useful when you want to filter and operate on a subset of
candidates.
About Reporting Mode
When merging records in reporting mode, Assignment Manager runs in one of the following modes:
Snapshot mode. Assignment Manager reads from and writes to the reporting team tables only.
This is similar to running in production mode except that the result tables are different.
Assignment Manager stores the results tables in the Assignment Object Extension object in
Siebel Tools. In snapshot mode, the reporting team tables store a snapshot of the results.
Delta mode. Assignment Manager reads from the current actual assignments but writes to the
reporting team tables.
In delta mode, Assignment Manager stores the delta as compared with current actual
assignments to the reporting tables. Assignment Manager also stores the delta information about
whether a particular candidate was added or dropped as compared with the same account or
contact in actual assignments. You can later use this information to run reports.
NOTE: The values in the Assignment Object Extension object properties determine what columns
are used to determine which candidates were added or dropped, which tables to use for
reporting, which column to use as the key column, and which columns to use as the position,
employee, or organization column.
Reporting mode is supported in default mode, that is, when Assignment Manager operates on one
rule group at a time.
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Advanced Assignment Manager Configuration Configuring Assignment Manager to Use
Reporting Tables and Columns
To configure an assignment object to use reporting tables and columns
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects list,
query for the object for which you want to enable reporting tables and columns.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it by selecting
View > Options > Object Explorer in the Development Tools Options dialog box.
Lock the project for the object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Object Extension.
In the Assignment Object Extensions list, choose Edit > New Record, and then click in the
available fields to enter relevant information.
Table 51 shows some of the properties of the Assignment Object Extension object type.
NOTE: There are no predefined Siebel tables for the Position Reporting, Org Reporting, and
Employee Reporting properties listed in Table 51. Customers must decide which tables to use, and
create them manually.
Table 51.
Properties of Assignment Object Extension
Property
Description
Name
The name of the assignment object extension. This name
should always match the assignment object name.
Inactive
Indicates if the object extension is active or inactive.
By default, this is set to FALSE.
Position Reporting Table
The name of the position reporting intersection table. If
the assignment object can be assigned to multiple
positions, this intersection table stores the set of position
IDs that are assigned to the assignment object IDs.
Position Reporting Column
The name of the column in the position reporting
intersection table that points to rows in the S_POSTN
position table.
Required if Position Table property is non-NULL.
Position Reporting Insertion Column
This column marks the positions that are added to the
team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta reporting
modes.
Position Reporting Deletion Column
This column marks the positions that are removed from
the team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta reporting
modes.
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Table 51.
Properties of Assignment Object Extension
Property
Description
Position Reporting Key Column
Stores the key values of the positions assigned to the
team at runtime.
NOTE: The UseKeyValue server component parameter
must also be set to True.
Employee Reporting Table
The name of the employee reporting intersection table. If
the assignment object can be assigned to multiple
employees, this intersection table stores the set of
employee IDs that are assigned to the assignment object
IDs.
Employee Reporting Column
The name of the employee reporting intersection table
that points to rows in the S_POSTN position table.
Required if Employee Table property is non-NULL.
Employee Reporting Insertion Column
This column marks the employees that are added to the
team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta reporting
modes.
Employee Reporting Deletion Column
This column marks the employees that are removed from
the team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta reporting
modes.
Employee Reporting Key Column
Stores the key values of the employees assigned to the
team at runtime.
NOTE: The UseKeyValue server component parameter
must also be set to True.
Org Reporting Table
The name of the organization reporting intersection table.
If the assignment object can be assigned to multiple
organizations, this intersection table stores the set of
organization IDs that are assigned to the assignment
object IDs.
Org Reporting Column
The name of the organization reporting intersection table
that points to rows in the S_POSTN position table.
Required if Organization Table property is non-NULL.
Org Reporting Insertion Column
This column marks the organizations that are added to
the team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta reporting
modes.
Org Reporting Deletion Column
This column marks the organizations that are removed
from the team. Applicable in both snapshot and delta
reporting modes.
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Reporting Tables and Columns
Table 51.
Properties of Assignment Object Extension
Property
Description
Org Reporting Key Column
Stores the key values of the organizations assigned to the
team at runtime.
NOTE: The UseKeyValue server component parameter
must also be set to True.
Configuring Assignment Objects for Multitiered
Assignment
By default, Assignment Manager independently matches people and organizations to assignment
objects. Activating Assignment Manager to use multitiered assignment, however, allows assignments
based on the relationship between a person and their organization or an organization and its people.
NOTE: Without multitiered assignmentor appropriate assignment rulesit is possible for
Assignment Manager to assign an unrelated organization or person to an assignment object.
Table 52 shows the multitiered assignment modes.
NOTE: Multitiered filtering (employed in multitiered assignment) does not decide who ultimately is
assigned, or who is made the primary assignee. Multitiered assignment filters organizations or
people who cannot be assigned, and in the process identifies the organizations or people who can be
assigned. Assignment is then decided by which organization or person has the highest score.
Table 52.
Multitiered Assignment Modes
Multitier Mode
Description
Independent
Assigns people and organizations that qualify, regardless of whether
they are related or not.
Person-Oriented
Assigns people that qualify, then assigns only qualified organizations
that the assigned people belong to.
Organization-Oriented
Assigns organizations that qualify, then assigns qualified people from
those organizations.
Organization and
Person-Oriented
Identifies qualified people and organizations, then assigns only those
that have both a qualified person and related qualified organization.
NOTE: Inconsistencies can occur when the Organization and Person-Oriented mode is used with
assignment rules that use the One, Best Fit assignee filter. The One, Best Fit assignee filter assigns
only the highest-scoring position or organization. If the highest-scoring position does not have a
qualifying organization, or if the highest-scoring organization does not have a qualifying position, the
object remains unassigned, even if a lower-scoring position and its related organization both qualify
for the assignment rule.
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CAUTION: Use caution when the Person-Oriented, Organization-Oriented, and Organization and
Person-Oriented modes are used with assignment rules that use a combination of assignee and
multitier filters, because inconsistencies can occur. Potential problems can occur with either
organization or position not being assigned when using One, Random and One, Best fit assignee
filters with the Person-Oriented, Organization-Oriented, and Organization and Person-Oriented
modes. Problems can occur because based on the assignment methodology, the Assignee Filter is
applied first independently to both the Position and Organization candidates. Then, the resulting
Positions and Organizations that pass are further filtered through the multitiered filter, which might
or might not produce a match between Position and Organization for Person-Oriented, OrganizationOriented, and Organization and Person-Oriented modes.
You use Siebel Tools to activate multitiered assignment by setting the Assignment Mode property for
an assignment object.
NOTE: You should not configure multitiered assignment to assign people and corresponding
organizations when running interactive assignment. This is because when using interactive
assignment, you manually choose assignees and only the person or the organization candidates are
shown, not both.
To configure an assignment object for multitiered assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object, and in the Workflow Policy Objects list,
query for the assignment object for which you want to enable mutitiered assignment.
TIP: If Workflow Policy Object is not visible in the Object Explorer, you can enable it by selecting
View > Options > Object Explorer in the Development Tools Options dialog box.
In the Object Explorer, select Assignment Object.
Lock the project for the assignment object by choosing Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L).
The pencil icon appears in the W field to indicate the project for the object is locked.
For the assignment object, change the Assignment Mode property to the multitiered assignment
mode operation of interest.
Choices are: Independent, Org & Person-oriented, Organization-oriented, and Person-oriented.
Scenarios for Using Multitiered Assignment with Sales
Assignment Rules
This topic gives one example of how multitiered assignment may be used with sales assignment
rules. You may use multitiered assignment differently, depending on your business model.
Multitiered assignment is a logical assignment feature that considers the relationships between
people and organizations before assigning an object, which makes this feature well-suited to sales
organizations. To activate multitiered assignment, you must first use Siebel Tools to configure
assignment objects. Then, after assignment objects are configured, multitiered assignment can
function in various modes.
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The following scenarios show how multitiered assignment functions in various modes. Each scenario
is based on the same sales opportunity and the same assignment rules.
Independent Assignment
If multitiered assignment is disabled, Assignment Manager assigns the object independently,
resulting in the following scenario:
All people and organizations not matching assignment rule criteria are filtered out.
For each person that matches, assign that person to the object.
For each organization that matches, assign that organization to the object.
The European and Asian sales representatives independently are assigned to the same
opportunity as well as the Europe and North America organizations, as shown in the following
table:
Person
Match
Organization
Match
European Sales
Representative
Europe
North American Sales
Representative
North America
Asian Sales
Representative
Asia
Assigned
Person
Assigned
Organization
European Sales
Representative
Europe
North America
Asian Sales
Representative
Figure 33 illustrates an independent assignment where qualified people and organizations are
assigned, regardless of whether they are related.
Figure 33. Example of Independent Assignment
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Person-Oriented Assignment
If multitiered assignment is set to person-oriented mode the following situation occurs:
All organizations and people not matching assignment rule criteria are filtered out.
For each person that matches, assign that person to the object.
Evaluate organization candidates for the assigned peoples organizations. If the organization
matches, assign that organization to the object.
The European and Asian sales representatives are assigned, but only the Europe organization is
assigned, as shown in the following table:
Person
Match
Organization
Match
European Sales
Representative
Europe
North American Sales
Representative
North America
Asian Sales
Representative
Asia
Assigned
Person
Assigned
Organization
European Sales
Representative
Europe
Asian Sales
Representative
Figure 34 illustrates a person-oriented assignment where qualified people are assigned first, and
then the qualified organizations that the assigned people belong to are assigned.
Figure 34. Example of Person-Oriented Assignment
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Organization-Oriented Assignment
If multitiered assignment is set to organization-oriented mode the following situation occurs:
All organizations and people not matching the assignment rule criteria are filtered out.
For each organization that matches, assign it to the object.
Evaluate each person candidate for the assigned organizations people. If a person matches,
assign that person to the object.
The Europe and North America organization are assigned, but only the European Sales
Representative is assigned, as shown in the following table:
Person
Match
Organization
Match
European Sales
Representative
Europe
North American Sales
Representative
North America
Asian Sales
Representative
Asia
Assigned
Person
Assigned
Organization
European
Sales
Representative
Europe
North America
Figure 35 illustrates an organization-oriented assignment where qualified organizations are assigned
first, and then the qualified people from those organizations are assigned.
Figure 35. Example of Organization-Oriented Assignment
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Organization and Person-Oriented Assignment
If multitiered assignment is set to organization and person-oriented mode, the following situation
occurs:
All organizations and people not matching the assignment rule criteria are filtered out.
For people and organizations that satisfy the assignment rule criteria, assign only those that have
both a corresponding organization and person that meet the criteria (similar to a logical AND
statement).
Only the European sales representative and the Europe organization are assigned, as shown in
the following table:
Person
Match
Organization
Match
European Sales
Representative
Europe
North American Sales
Representative
North America
Asian Sales
Representative
Asia
Assigned
Person
Assigned
Organization
European Sales
Representative
Europe
Figure 36 illustrates organization and person-oriented assignment where qualified people and
organizations are identified first, and then only those that have both a qualified person and related
qualified organization are assigned.
Figure 36. Example of Organization and Person-Oriented Assignment
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Add Scores Across Rules
Configuring Assignment Manager to Add
Scores Across Rules
You can configure Assignment Manager so that the same candidate (employee, position, or
organization) can qualify from different assignment rules with different scores. By default,
Assignment Manager treats passing candidates from different rules as if they were different
candidates. However, it is possible for Assignment Manager to merge (add) the scores for the same
candidate across rules and take the total score in the calculation of the primaries.
How you configure Assignment Manager to add scores across rules differs for each operating mode.
You specify the Add scores across rules (AddScores) server component parameter to determine
Assignment Manager scoring behavior by way of the:
AsgnSrvr component for interactive assignment
AsgnBatch component for batch assignment
Assignment Request (In Process) workflow policy program for dynamic assignment
The following subtopics describe configuration for each mode in detail.
NOTE: The AddScores parameter is applicable to static and dynamic candidates, but only if no rules
are marked as exclusive. That is because you explicitly define the rule from which you want the
primaries to come for exclusive rules.
Adding Scores Across Rules for Interactive Assignment
If you set the AddScores component parameter to TRUE, all requests sent to AsgnSrvr add scores
for the candidates. However, when interactive assignment is used, the <Assign> menu method by
default sets AddScores to FALSE, and subsequently passes AddScores = FALSE to the AsgnSrvr task.
To override this behavior so that interactive assignment passes AddScores = TRUE for the
assignment, you need to add a user property to the respective business component on which
interactive assignment is running.
Alternatively, for requests sent to AsgnSrvr using a script or the Server Request business service,
you can pass AddScores = TRUE as an input parameter to the AsgnSrvr task.
To configure Assignment Manager to add scores across rules for interactive
assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Configure the Action business component to add scores across rules.
In the Object Explorer, expand Business Component.
In the Business Components list, select Action.
Choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Object Explorer, click Business Component User Prop, and add a new record with the
following information:
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Name = AddScores
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Compile the .srf file.
Copy the .srf file to the Siebel client\objects\<language> directory, where language is the
appropriate language code, such as ENU for American English.
Copy the .srf file to the Siebel server\objects\<language> directory, where language is the
appropriate language code, such as ENU for American English.
This allows control of AddScores = TRUE for interactive assignment based on the object being
assigned.
Adding Scores Across Rules for Batch Assignment
If you set the AddScores component parameter to TRUE, all tasks for batch assignment add the
scores across rules for the candidates. Alternatively, you can also set Add Scores across Rules =
TRUE at the task-level when starting a batch assignment task. For more information about running
batch assignment, see Running Batch Assignment on page 208.
Adding Scores Across Rules for Dynamic Assignment
To add scores across rules for dynamic assignment, you must set the Add Scores program argument
to TRUE for the Assignment Request (In Process) workflow policy program.
To configure Assignment Manager to add scores across rules for dynamic
assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
Configure the Assignment Request (In Process) workflow policy program to add scores across
rules.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Program.
In the Workflow Policy Programs list, select Assignment Request (In Process).
Choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Object Explorer, click Workflow Policy Program Arg, select AddScores, and change the
Default Value to TRUE.
Check in the changes to the server.
How the AddScores Server Component Parameter Affects Primaries
By default, if an assignment rule has a primary employee, primary position, or primary organization
set and one of these people pass, they are assigned as the primary if that rule passes and is the
highest scoring rule for that object. However, if the AddScores server component parameter is set
to True, the primaries are ignored because the AddScores parameter overrides the primaries on the
rule. The AddScores parameter assigns the highest scoring employee, position, or organization
across all the rules that pass for that object and has more weight than the primaries.
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For example, assume you have two rulesRule 1 and Rule 2that pass for a specific Account Z. Each
rule has two positions that qualify with scores as shown the following table:
Position A Score
Position B Score
Rule 1
100
120
Rule 2
50
20
Total Score
150
140
If the AddScores parameter is not applied (set to False), position B is the highest-scoring position
with a score of 120 and becomes the primary. However, if the AddScores parameter is applied (set
to True), then position A with a score of 150 is the highest-scoring position and becomes the primary.
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This chapter describes how to make availability-based assignments in Siebel Assignment Manager.
It includes the following topics:
About Availability-Based Assignment on page 255
About Assigning Employees to Assignment Rules Based on Availability on page 256
How Assignment Manager Creates Activities for Employees During Availability-Based Assignment
on page 257
Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment on page 258
Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment Object for Availability-Based Assignment
on page 265
About Availability-Based Assignment
Assignment Manager has the ability to assign employees based on their calendar availability and can
find out whether candidates are working at the required timeand whether their calendar is free or
notbefore assigning an item to a candidate or team. This feature is used on employee-based
assignment objects only, and requires the installation of the Field Service option as it depends on a
Field Service component, the Appointment Booking System (ABS), to check employee availability. It
is, however, not limited to use in the Field Service application and can be used in any application that
has employee-based objects. In general, this feature is meant for use with employee-based objects
that have an associated time duration, such as Activities and Service Requests.
To use this feature, certain properties of the assignment object require configuration in Siebel Tools.
The Activity object is, by default, partially preconfigured for use with availability assignment; the
Service Request object, however, is not. Both objects require configuration in Siebel Tools to activate
availability-based assignment. See Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based
Assignment on page 258 for further information on these procedures. Assignment Manager can also
be configured to create an Activity in the calendar of the candidate assigned to the object.
After an object is configured for availability-based assignment, an assignment rule activates this
feature by means of a check box on the Assignment Rule detail applet. You can further customize
Assignment Manager for availability-based assignment, by configuring assignment object user
properties.
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About Assigning Employees to
Assignment Rules Based on Availability
You can create assignment rules for employee-based objects using availability-based assignment,
which allows Assignment Manager to check an employees calendar and to consider the employees
availability when determining assignment eligibility. Assignment objects must be preconfigured
before using the assignment availability criteria feature.
When an assignment object is configured for availability, a user specifies the following three times
for the assignment object:
Early Start Time. (Optional) The earliest time the assignment object can be scheduled
(specified in the Calendar Early Start Time Column property of the assignment object).
If this time is specified, Assignment Manager looks for an available slot for the specified duration
in the employees' schedules with the starting time anywhere between the Early Start Time and
the Start Time. If this time is not specified, it defaults to the Must Start Time which means that
Assignment Manager looks for an available slot for the specified duration starting exactly at the
start time.
Latest Start Time. The latest time the assignment object can be started (specified in the
Calendar Start Time Column property of the assignment object).
Duration. The time in minutes required to finish the assignment objects task (specified in the
Calendar Duration Column property of the assignment object).
Each of these times is accessed by Assignment Manager when determining the availability of an
employee. Assignment Manager then uses the availability information like other criteria when
evaluating employees for the assignment object.
NOTE: If the Calendar Early Start Time Column is not defined, but the Calendar Start Time Column
is defined, the ABS checks to see whether employees are available or not at the exact Calendar Start
Time. If both columns are defined, ABS checks to see whether employees are available or not during
the period from Calendar Early Start Time Column to Calendar Start Time Column. For more
information about ABS, see Siebel Field Service Guide.
Assignment Manager can also be configured to add an activity to the calendar of the employee who
is assigned the assignment object. For example, if a service request is created with times indicating
a service duration of four hours, Assignment Manager evaluates the objects times and employees
schedules, and selects only employees who are available for the four hours indicated by the service
object. Assignment Manager then selects the highest-scoring employee available and creates an
activity for the employee (given the object is configured to assign activities). Employees can manually
insert activities into their calendar to block assignments during specific periods. Similarly, an
employee can delete activities created by the original assignment so further assignments can be made.
Assignment Manager functions for both single employees and teams. If an object is assigned to a
team, every employee within the team is assigned an activity for the duration of the assignment
(given the object is configured to assign activities). Assignment Manager can assign activities for the
same object at different times based on the calendars of individual team members. A calendar
activity, however, cannot be split up across multiple dates and times.
When administrators define a new rule, selecting the Check Employee Calendar box activates the
assignment availability criteria.
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Employees During Availability-Based Assignment
How Assignment Manager Creates
Activities for Employees During
Availability-Based Assignment
If an assignment rule has the Check Employee Calendar flag checked, availability for each employee
is evaluated before assignment. If the Calendar Create Activity property is also set for the
assignment object, make sure that an activity exists in the employee's calendar for that duration to
block the schedule. Figure 37 shows a high-level flowchart of this process.
Figure 37. High-Level Flowchart of Availability-Based Assignment
Assignment Manager evaluates whether the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked (calendar
rules) or not (noncalendar rules) and processes the rules differently based on this indication. If
Assignment Manager is assigning activities, and if only one employee passes and that employee is
from a calendar rule, the original activity is reused and the employee is added to the owners list for
that activity. This action blocks the employees schedule. If more than one employee passes,
separate activities are created for each employee. In this case, the parent activity of all these
additional activities is set to the original activity to make sure that all are related to each other.
If Assignment Manager is not assigning activities, separate activities are created for each employee
who passes and blocks their schedules.
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Process of Configuring Assignment
Objects for Availability-Based
Assignment
When you configure assignment objects for availability-based assignment, Assignment Manager can
review an employees calendar as a criterion for assignment. If the employees calendar has no
activities booked at the time required by the object, and has a sufficient time period available for the
objects duration, the employee qualifies for assignment.
Requirements
Before configuring the assignment object, make sure the following information is satisfied:
The Field Service component group is enabled.
For more information about the Field Service component group, see Siebel System
Administration Guide.
A mapping of the server to the Field Service components and region exists.
For more information about Field Service components and regions, see Siebel Field Service
Guide.
Employees are associated with service regions.
For more information about Field Service regions, see Siebel Field Service Guide.
The object that you are configuring for assignment availability has the necessary columns in its
database table.
For more information about configuring for availability, see Extending an Assignment Objects
Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment on page 259.
By default, the Activity assignment object has the required columns in its database table for Start
Time and Duration; however, one column must be extended if the Early Start Time property is
desired. All other assignment objects must have their base tables extended if you want them enabled
for availability-based assignment.
To configure assignment objects for availability-based assignment, you need to perform the following
tasks:
Extending an Assignment Objects Base Table for Availability-Based Assignment on page 259
Configuring Assignment Object Properties for Availability-Based Assignment on page 260
Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for Availability-Based Assignment on page 263
NOTE: It is recommended that you review the sections on extension tables and columns in
Configuring Siebel Business Applications before completing this process.
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Extending an Assignment Objects Base Table for
Availability-Based Assignment
Using Siebel Tools, you extend an assignment objects base table for availability-based assignment
by performing the following tasks.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment on
page 258.
To extend an assignment objects base table for availability-based assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand the Table object, and then select Column.
In the Tables window, query for the appropriate table.
For example, if you are extending the Service Request assignment object, query for the
S_SRV_REQ table.
With the table selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Columns list, choose Edit > Add New Record to add the records as described in the
following table.
Record 1
(Required)
Record 2
(Required)
Record 3
(Optional)
Name
X_DURN_MIN
X_START_TIME
X_EARLY_START_TIME
Physical Type
Number
UTC Date Time
UTC Date Time
Length
22
Precision
22
Scale
LOV Type
APPOINTMENT_DURATION
Cascade Mode
Ignore
Ignore
Ignore
TxnLog Code
TRUE
TRUE
TRUE
In the Table column window and after you have created the new records you need, click Apply.
This sends the new columns to the appropriate tables in the database.
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Complete the fields in the Apply Schema dialog box.
In the Tables field, click the select button, and choose one of the following:
All
Current Query
Current Row
In the Table owner password field, enter the appropriate value.
Click Apply.
The base table is now extended with the following three columns: X_DURN_MIN,
X_EARLY_START_TIME, and X_START_TIME.
NOTE: If using DB2 390 database, you must create a storage control file to accommodate the
table space. You provide the location of the control file in the Apply Schema dialog box
accordingly. You must create the storage control file from the siebsrvr/bin directory and the
bufferpool size should be either 16k or 32k. If the Siebel Server is running on the UNIX platform,
then the storage control file generation is command driven. If the Siebel Server is running on the
Windows platform, then you generate the storage control file using the UI.
With the appropriate columns in place, use can now configure availability criteria for the assignment
object.
Configuring Assignment Object Properties for
Availability-Based Assignment
Using Siebel Tools, you configure an assignment object for availability-based assignment by setting
the assignment object property and user property values and exposing some of those values in the
user interface.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment on
page 258.
To configure an assignment object for availability-based assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object and select the assignment object.
With the object selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Assignment Objects list, set the property values as shown in Table 53.
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Table 53 shows the assignment object property values you set for availability-based assignment.
Table 53.
Assignment Object Property Settings for Availability-Based Assignment
Property1
Description
Calendar Activity
Additional Fields
(Optional) When this property is specified, Assignment Manager sets the field
value to the row ID of the assignment object when it creates the activity.
Assignment Manager also sets the additional fields to the specified field
values. For example, for the Service Request object, you can specify the
following fields: Activity SR Id, Type, To Do.
Calendar Early
Start Time Column
(Optional) The table column that references the early start time of the object.
For example, X_EARLY_START_TIME.
Calendar Start
Time Column
The table column that references the start time of the object. For example,
X_START_TIME.
If a value is not specified in the Calendar Start Time Column property for an
assignment object, Assignment Manager does not check calendars when
assigning that object, even if the Check Employee Calendar flag is checked
on the assignment rule. Instead, Assignment Manager assigns all candidates
who meet the criteria for the rule. For example, if you do not specify the Start
Date or Due Date for an activity, Assignment Manager does not check
calendars when assigning this activity, even if the assignment rule has the
Check Employee Calendar flag checked. Instead, Assignment Manager
assigns all candidates who meet the criteria for the rule.
Calendar Duration
Column
The table column that references the duration of the object. For example,
X_DURATION.
Calendar Create
Activity
(Optional) Check this column if you want an activity created for the assigned
employee.
TRUE = Activity is created in employees calendar
FALSE =Activity is not created in employees calendar
Note: You must configure this property if you plan to use the Appointment
Booking System to detect conflicts. For more information about the
Appointment Booking System, see About Availability-Based Assignment on
page 255 in this guide and Siebel Field Service Guide.
1.
Properties are specified as one value string for that property.
After the properties are configured for the assignment object, they must be made visible to the
end user by adding them to the appropriate business component and applets.
Configure certain assignment user properties to come from either the object row itself or through
constants.
For a procedure on how to do this, see Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for
Availability-Based Assignment on page 263
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To make assignment object properties visible to the user
1
In the Object Explorer, expand Business Component, and select the appropriate business
component.
With the business component selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Fields list, add the records as described in the following table.
Record 1
Record 2
Record 3
Name
X_DURN_MIN
X_EARLY_START_TIME
X_START_TIME
Changed
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
Column
X_DURN_MIN
X_EARLY_START_TIME
X_START_TIME
Text Length
22
Precision
22
Type
DTYPE_INTEGER
DTYPE_DATETIME
DTYPE_DATETIME
Use Default
Sensitivity
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
In the Object Explorer, expand Applet, and select the appropriate List Applet.
With the business component selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the List Column list, add the records as described in the following table.
262
Record 1
Record 2
Record 3
Field
X_DURN_MIN
X_EARLY_START_TIME
X_START_TIME
Changed
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
Available
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
Display Name
X_DURN_MIN
X_EARLY_START_TIME
X_START_TIME
HTML Display
Mode
Encode Data
Encode Data
Encode Data
HTML List Edit
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
HTML Row
Sensitive
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
HTML Type
Text
Text
Text
Runtime
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
Text Alignment
Left
Left
Left
Use Default
Sensitivity
Check the flag
Check the flag
Check the flag
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Select the appropriate browser from the Target Browser picklist.
To expose the Target Browser picklist, navigate to Siebel Tools > View > Toolbars > Configuration
Context, and select the Target Browser option from the toolbar.
Configuring Assignment Object User Properties for
Availability-Based Assignment
Using Siebel Tools, you configure the values of the Activity Type, Activity Priority, and Breakable Flag
user properties for an assignment object to come from either the object row itself or through
constants.
This task is a step in Process of Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment on
page 258.
To configure assignment object user properties for availability-based assignment
1
Start Siebel Tools.
In the Object Explorer, expand Workflow Policy Object and select the assignment object.
With the object selected, choose Tools > Lock Project (or Alt+L) to lock the project.
In the Assignment Objects list, choose Edit > New Record to add the property values as shown
in Table 54.
After the user properties are configured for the assignment object, they must be made visible to
the end user by adding them to the appropriate business component and applets.
NOTE: Configure the views and applets with Start Time and Duration fields, such as is the case
with Activity.
For information on how to make the properties visible to the end user, see Using Siebel Tools.
Table 54 shows the assignment object user property values you set for availability-based
assignment.
NOTE: A column user property takes precedence over the corresponding value user property. For
example, if you define a Breakable Flag Column user property and a Breakable Flag Value user
property, the Breakable Flag Column user property takes precedence. As an alternate method, you
can configure the Calendar Activity Additional Fields property on the assignment object to specify
the values of certain fields. Assignment Manager assigns in this order: column user property, then
value user property, and then Calendar Activity Additional Fields property.
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Table 54.
Assignment Object User Property Settings for Availability-Based Assignment
Property
Description
Activity
Breakable Flag
Column
The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the
value of the Breakable Flag property. When this property is defined and the
Check Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment
Manager queries for the Activity Breakable Flag Column when it retrieves data
from the object row, and passes this value to the Appointment Booking System
(ABS) when evaluating employee availability.
For example, you can create a user property for the Activity assignment object
with name=Activity Breakable Flag Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity
Breakable Flag
Value
The constant value that is passed to the ABS for the Breakable Flag field in the
availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a user property for
the Service Request assignment object where the name is Activity Breakable
Flag Value, and the value is Y.
Activity Priority
Column
The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the
value of the Activity Priority. When this property is defined and the Check
Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment
Manager queries for the Activity Priority Column column when it retrieves data
from the object row and passes this value to ABS when evaluating employee
availability.
For example, you can create a user property for the Activity assignment object,
with name=Activity Priority Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity Priority
Value
The constant value that is passed to the ABS for the Activity Priority field in
availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a user property for
the Service Request assignment object with name=Activity Priority Value and
value=TRUE.
Activity Type
Column
The name of the column in the assignment object primary table that stores the
value of the Activity Type. When this property is defined and the Check
Employee Calendar flag is checked on the assignment rule, Assignment
Manager queries for this column when it retrieves data from the object row and
passes this value to the ABS when evaluating employee availability.
For example, you can create an Activity assignment object with name=Activity
Type Column and value=ALLOW_BREAK_FLG.
Activity Type
Value
264
The constant value that is passed to the ABS for the Activity Type field in
availability-based assignment. For example, you can create a Service Request
assignment object with name=Activity Type Value and value=TRUE.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Availability-Based Assignment Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment
Object for Availability-Based Assignment
Example of Configuring the Service
Request Assignment Object for
Availability-Based Assignment
This topic gives one example of creating an assignment rule that evaluates a service request object
and assigns the object to the highest-scoring employee based on the employees skill level and
availability. You may use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
The service request objectwhich is often associated with a job, a finite time period, and a specific
owneris an example of an object that can be assigned using Assignment Managers availabilitybased assignment feature.
To use the availability assignment feature, certain setup procedures must be performed in the Field
Service application before creating the assignment rule. For more information about this feature and
its requirements, see About Availability-Based Assignment on page 255. Several configurations must
also be made to the assignment object before using the availability feature. See Process of
Configuring Assignment Objects for Availability-Based Assignment on page 258.
Requirements
The following procedures assumes that a service region (California Service Region), employees (West
Coast Service Representative and West Coast Service Manager), and a product (Pentium III Desktop)
are already defined.
For information about defining service regions, see Siebel Field Service Guide.
To set up the Field Service application for availability assignment
1
Verify a schedule exists with valid hours by navigating to the All Schedules view (Administration
- Service > Schedules).
For this example, select the 12x5 Support schedule in the Schedules List, and click the Schedule
Hours view tab. Make sure the hours listed are valid. The following figure shows this view.
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Availability-Based Assignment Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment
Object for Availability-Based Assignment
Set up a Service Region.
Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen Service Regions view. For this example, select
the California Service Region. In the Schedule field, select 12x5 Support.
Set up the parameter set for the Service Region.
With California Service Region selected, navigate to the Parameters Sets view (in the Scheduling
Administration screen). For this example, select the West Coast Parameters used by the
California Service Region and click the Parameters tab. Update the following parameter records:
ABS Days to Start = 0
ABS Days to End = 20
ABS Logging Level= 4
Set up server key mappings by navigating to the Server Key Mappings view in the Scheduling
Administration screen.
For this example, create a new record and save it with the following field values:
Server = Siebel Server
Process # = 0
Service Region = California Service Region
Component = ApptBook
Associate employees to the service region by navigating to Administration - User > Employees.
For this example, select the West Coast Service Representative and the West Coast Service
Manager and click the Field Service Details tab. Edit the Schedule and Service Region fields with
12x5 Support and California Service Region, respectively.
NOTE: If service regions are modified or deleted, you must release assignment rules to update the
rulecache.dat file.
After the Field Service application is configured, create the assignment rule that uses the assignment
availability feature.
To create a field service assignment rule
1
Create the assignment rule by navigating to the Administration - Assignment screen >
Assignment Rules List view.
In the Assignment Rules List, choose Edit > New Record.
In the new record, enter the following settings:
266
Name = West Coast Service
Assignment object = Service Request
Assignee filter = One, Best Fit
Click on the Check Employee Calendar checkbox to enable the rule for availability-based
assignment.
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Availability-Based Assignment Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment
Object for Availability-Based Assignment
Determine assignment criteria.
Navigate to the Criteria view tab and create Product criteria for the assignment rule. For this
example, service representatives are evaluated with the Compare Object to Person based on an
employees product knowledge.
Determine assignment criteria values.
Navigate to the Values view and create a new record with Pentium III desktop.
Define employees for the assignment rule.
Navigate to the Assignment Employee view and add the West Coast Service Representative and
the West Coast Service Manager to the assignment rule.
Release the assignment rule.
When a service request is created with attributes that match both West Coast service
representatives, Siebel Assignment Manager, through the Field Service ABS, assigns the employee
who has available time in his or her calendar and work schedule. Optionally, the ABS can create an
activity in the assigned employees calendar. For more information about ABS, see Siebel Field
Service Guide.
Figure 38 shows an example of a field service assignment rule where:
Name = West Coast Service
Objects to be Assigned = Service Request
Rule Group = FS_DISP_RULE GROUP
Assignee Filter = One, Best Fit
Candidate Passing Score = 0
The Check Employee Calendar checkbox is activated, thereby enabling the rule for availabilitybased assignment.
Figure 38. A Field Service Assignment Rule with the Check Employee Calendar Field Activated
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Availability-Based Assignment Example of Configuring the Service Request Assignment
Object for Availability-Based Assignment
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12 Assignment
Load Splitter
Configuration
This chapter describes Siebel Assignment Manager load splitter configuration. It includes the
following topics:
How Load Splitter Configuration Works on page 269
Scenarios for Load Splitter Configuration on page 270
Setting Up Load Splitter Configuration on page 270
Examples for Administering the Load Splitter on page 272
Load Splitter Operating Modes on page 273
Distribute Data Method on page 274
How Load Splitter Configuration Works
Using load splitter configuration, you can run multiple application servers concurrently within the
Siebel Enterprise as shown in Figure 39. This behavior can enhance assignment throughput by
reducing the amount of time required to complete assignment requests.
Figure 39. High-Level Process Flow for Load Splitter Configuration
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Scenarios for Load Splitter Configuration
Figure 39 shows that when a batch request is submitted, the Load Splitter divides the objects into
multiple assignment requests across multiple machines. Assignment Manager then executes
according to the predefined load splitter configurations and outputs to the database server.
Load splitter configuration is especially useful for batch assignment or when you need to reassign
large amounts of data, launch new product lines, change territory coverage or routing definitions,
and so on. This feature is a great tool for processing major reassignments because load splitter
configuration can automatically determine the load and share it evenly across multiple servers.
Load splitter configuration works in two modeswrite mode and read modedepending on where it
finds the object row IDs to process. For more information about these modes, see Distribute Data
Method on page 274.
NOTE: You can use Load Splitter Configuration in both Production and Reporting modes.
Scenarios for Load Splitter Configuration
This topic provides scenarios for how you might use load splitter configuration and how you can use
threshold and batch size to manage your tasks. You may use this feature differently, depending on your
business model.
You can use load splitter configuration when you perform:
Bulk import of accounts, contacts, or other data from a legacy system or data feeds
A software company periodically imports several thousands of accounts, contacts, and other data (for
example, assets, products, and so on) from a legacy system. The company uses load splitter
configuration to make sure this newly imported information has correct visibility to the right people
using the Siebel application. In this case, the assignment administrator is spared the responsibility
of load balancing because load splitter configuration automatically identifies how to distribute the
imported data evenly among the available application servers.
Periodic assignment rule changes
A consumer goods company periodically makes changes to assignment rules. The company uses load
splitter configuration to make sure all accounts and contacts are reassigned in optimal time. In this
case, the assignment administrator is spared the time-consuming responsibility of planning and
determining what resources are available for the realignment.
Setting Up Load Splitter Configuration
Load splitter configuration provides Assignment Manager the ability to balance job load when
processing object rows. The Assignment Administrator (AA) specifies a list of servers, the number of
tasks each of those servers can run, and the priority for each server for a given configuration.
Use the following procedure to set up load splitter configuration for your needs.
NOTE: Make sure the Assignment Manager server component is enabled on all the specified servers.
For more information about checking the status of this component, see Checking the State of
Assignment Manager and Server Request Broker Components on page 182.
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Setting Up Load Splitter Configuration
To set up load splitter configuration
1
From the application-level menu, navigate to the Administration - Assignment screen > Load
Splitter Configuration view.
In the Load Splitter Configuration list, click New to add a new record.
NOTE: Notice the Configuration ID field automatically populates.
In the new record, enter values for the relevant information.
In the Name field, type the name of the configuration.
In the Threshold field, click the calculator button to enter a number.
In the Minimum Batch Size field, click the calculator button to enter a positive number.
Field
Description
Threshold
Identifies the maximum number after which the splitting will occur
Minimum Batch
Size
This field determines the minimum number of rows processed within
a single task.
In the Server Configuration list, click New to add a new record.
In the Priority field, click the calculator button to enter a number.
In the Server Name field, enter the name of the Siebel Server.
In the Number of Tasks field, click the calculator button to enter a positive number.
Field
Description
Priority
Determines which server should be picked up first for processing over others.
The priority is determined in ascending order, that is, 1 is a higher priority
than 2. For example, if you have dedicated Assignment Manager servers that
require a higher priority than another server running EIM. In this case, you
would set a higher priority for the Assignment Manager servers than the EIM
server.
NOTE: It is recommended that you set your first priority number fairly high,
such as 100 and provide sufficient gaps between priority numbers. This is
helpful when new servers are added for processing load splitting tasks. It
keeps you from having to reset your entire priority arrangement. For example,
if you start with two servers, you could set one priority at 100, and the other
at 200. Then, when you need to add an additional third server, you can set
that priority to 150.
Number of
Tasks
Determines the number of tasks that can be executed on that particular
server.
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Examples for Administering the Load Splitter
Figure 40 shows a sample Align configuration that uses two serversServer A and Server Bto
process multiple tasks. In this configuration, Server A has a higher priority than Server B.
Figure 40. Example of Load Splitter Configuration
Examples for Administering the Load
Splitter
The following three examples show how the Assignment Administrator might use threshold, batch
size, and load splitter configuration to split a batch request into multiple, manageable tasks. You may
use this feature differently, depending on your business model.
Example 1: Load Splitter Less Than Threshold
In this example, the load splitter receives 900 ROW_IDS for the account assignment object. Because
this is less than the threshold, which is 1000, no load splitting occurs. All rows are passed to the
server with the lowest priority number.
Example 2: Load Splitter Using Minimum Batch Size
In this example, the load splitter receives 1001 ROW_IDs for the account assignment object, which
is greater than the threshold of 1000. The total number of tasks is 10, and minimum batch size is
500. Load Splitter tries to split the rows into even tasks. The default calculation for batch size
calculates 1001/10, or ~100 rows as the batch size. Due to the ramp-up time for different server
components, this processing is actually more inefficient than just running two separates batches of
500 and 501 ROW_IDs. Therefore, Load Splitter takes the minimum batch size of 500 into account
and splits the rows into two tasks of 500 and 501.
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Load Splitter Operating Modes
Example 3: Load Splitter When Batch Size is Greater Than Minimum
Batch Size
In this example, the load splitter receives 6023 ROW_IDs for the account assignment object.
Because this is greater than the threshold of 1000, Load Splitter tries to split the rows into batches.
The default calculation for batch size calculates 6023/10, or ~600 rows as the batch size. Because
this is greater than the minimum batch size of 500, Load Splitter splits the rows into 8 tasks of 600
and one task of 623.
Load Splitter Operating Modes
Load splitter configuration uses the Configuration ID parameter to query against the configuration
and configuration server business components and gets the threshold, minimum batch size, list of
servers, the server task number, and the maximum number of tasks. However, if certain conditions
exist, load splitter configuration passes all the objects as one batch onto the server component.
Those conditions are:
If there is no configuration data
If configuration is incorrect
If the server cannot be found
There are two operating modes for load splitter configurationwrite mode and read mode
depending on where load splitter configuration finds the object row IDs to process. Write mode writes
to the S_ASGN_LB_DATA table, whereas read mode expects the data to already be loaded into the
table.
Write Mode. By default, load splitter configuration runs in write mode. This mode takes a property
set of WHERE clausesone for each object typeand inserts the rows into the S_ASGN_LB_DATA
table, then groups the object row IDs into several tasks and passes them to Assignment Manager.
In write mode, the Load Splitter Business Service takes two inputsobject to be assigned and search
specification (in SQL format) to identify the records that need to be assigned. Based on the Load
Splitter Configuration parameters, the Load Splitter engine splits the data, computes the resources
available, and then distributes the assignment load among the configured Siebel Application Servers.
Read Mode. Load splitter configuration runs in read mode based on a request ID. If the Mode input
argument is Read, then load splitter configuration separates the object rows into separate tasks and
submits a request to a server component job to the appropriate server or servers.
In this mode, the assignment administrator (AA) determines the records that need to be assigned in
the S_ASGN_LB_DATA staging table, and then invokes Load Splitter in read mode. The Load Splitter
business service bypasses the identifying phase and reads the predetermined set of records that
need to be assigned. Based on Load Splitter Configuration parameters, the Load Splitter engine
computes the resources available (similar to write mode), and then distributes the assignment load
among the configured Siebel Application Servers.
For information about invoking the Load Splitter, see Distribute Data Method on page 274.
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Distribute Data Method
Distribute Data Method
The Distribute Data business service method is part of the Load Splitter Service business service that
allows you to configure Assignment Manger to run multiple application servers concurrently within
the Siebel Enterprise. This method consists of a complex hierarchical input property set.
Arguments
Argument
Description
Configuration Id
The load splitter uses the configuration ID to get the configuration for
the servers, threshold, minimum batch size, list of servers to run on,
and so on.
Mode
Determines whether Load Balancer runs in Write or Read mode. Read
mode is the default.
Object Types
A property set that identifies the types of objects in a run and a child
property set which contains a WHERE clause and the table name of
each object type. For example:
Object Type = Contact
WHERE Clause = Specialty LIKE Cardiology
TableName = S_PARTY
Request Id
Identifies the rows in the S_ASGN_LB_DATA table for a specific
assignment request.
Server Component
Identifies the server componentAsgnSrvr or AsgnBatchthat the
load splitter uses to pass the object rows for subsequent processing.
This parameter also contains a child property set that has the input
arguments used by a particular server component. For example:
AsgnSrvr can take in the following input arguments: AsgnKey, Copypostn-specific data, and so on.
Component Parameters
The property set that contains all the parameters for the specified
server component.
This property set must be added as a child of each (previous) Object
Type property set.
Set Server Component
Object Type Parameter
Indicates which server component parameter to populate with the
object type.
Set Server Component
SQL Parameter
Indicates which server component parameter to populate with the load
balanced SQL statement.
Usage
The input for load splitter configuration comes from any service that intends to use it, such as Target
Object Selector (TOS), a business service, and so on. Load splitter configuration splits the objects
that need processing into separate batches and submits those batches to a target process, such as
Assignment Manager.
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Assignment Load Splitter Configuration Distribute Data Method
Invoked From
You can invoke Load Splitter using a workflow process, business service, scripting, and so on.
Example
The following is sample code for invoking load splitter configuration using a business service and
AsgnSrvr.
function LoadSplitterCreateInputs()
{
var
var
var
var
var
psInputArgs;
psOutputArgs;
psObjTypes;
psSrvrCompParams;
pService;
psInputArgs = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Request Id", "LoadSplitterTest");
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Configuration Id", "42-4VPGT");
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Mode", "Write");
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Server Component", "AsgnSrvr");
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Set Server Component Object Type Parameter",
"AsgnObjName");
psInputArgs.SetProperty ("Set Server Component SQL Parameter", "ObjRowSqlStmt");
psObjTypes = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
psObjTypes.SetType ("Object Type");
psObjTypes.SetValue ("Account");
psObjTypes.SetProperty("SQL", "SELECT ROW_ID FROM SIEBEL.S_ORG_EXT WHERE NAME
LIKE 'K%TEST%'");
psInputArgs.AddChild (psObjTypes);
psObjTypes = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
psObjTypes.SetType ("Object Type");
psObjTypes.SetValue ("Opportunity");
psObjTypes.SetProperty ("SQL", "SELECT ROW_ID FROM SIEBEL.S_OPTY WHERE NAME LIKE
'K%TEST%'");
psInputArgs.AddChild (psObjTypes);
psSrvrCompParams = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
psSrvrCompParams.SetType ("Component Parameters");
psInputArgs.AddChild (psSrvrCompParams);
psOutputArgs = TheApplication().NewPropertySet();
pService = TheApplication().GetService("Load Splitter Service");
pService.InvokeMethod ("DistributeData", psInputArgs, psOutputArgs);
}
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Troubleshooting: Assignment
Manager Error Messages
This appendix explains how to view Assignment Manager error messages using Siebel Tools and
provides a description for many of the error messages. It includes the following topics:
Viewing Assignment Manager Error Messages on page 277
Assignment Manager Error Messages on page 277
Viewing Assignment Manager Error
Messages
Using Siebel Tools, you can view Assignment Manager error message descriptions and suggested
resolutions. You must be connected to the server database to retrieve this information.
To view Assignment Manager error messages
1
Start Siebel Tools and connect to the server.
From the Screens Menu, select System Administration submenu > Strings view.
Enter a query using the Message Key column with *ASG* OR ERR_ASG*.
The Assignment Manager error messages appear.
(Optional) Sort by error message number.
Assignment Manager Error Messages
Table 55 on page 278 lists some of the error codes, the message text, and a description of each error
that Assignment Manager can generate during processing. For each error, Assignment Manager
writes this information to the Assignment Manager log file (if you specified that one be used).
Table 55 provides some of the Assignment Manager error codes.
NOTE: When dynamic assignment is running, some users might receive the following error when
attempting to modify a record: The selected record has been modified by another user since
it was received. Please continue. This can occur because Assignment Manager updated the
record by assigning it while the user was trying to edit it. In this situation, the users changes may
be lost. The solution is to refresh the query and reenter the users changes.
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Troubleshooting: Assignment Manager Error Messages Assignment Manager Error
Messages
Table 55.
Assignment Manager Error Codes
Error Code
Error Text1
Resolution2
ERR_ASG_ALREADY_ASSIGNED
Assigned this object %1
(more recently than
requested %2).
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_ASSIGN_REPLY
Selected %3 rules,
%5 organizations, and %4
people for %1 (%2).
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_BASSIGN_REPLY
Assigned %1 rows for %2.
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_LOADING_OBJECT
Unable to load assignment
object %1.
The configuration of the
assignment object is not
correct. Use Siebel Tools to
check the configuration of the
assignment object.
ERR_ASG_BDENORM_REPLY
Denormalized %1 rows for
%2.
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_CANNOT_ASSIGN_
LOCKED_ROW
Cannot assign this item
because it is in a locked state.
(Object Name = %1, Object
Row Id = %2.)
If you want to assign this
object, please uncheck the
Lock Assignment field for the
object being assigned.
Otherwise, this is just
information.
ERR_ASG_DENORM_REPLY
Denormalized %1 rows for
%2.
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_DUP_CONFLICT
Unable to update row (%1)
because updated values
violate unique index with an
existing row (%2).
Check the data on your team
table on the object row_ID
where it failed.
ERR_ASG_INVALID_BU_
DFLT_NAME
Default organization %1 for
assignment object %2 is not
found in the organizations
table. Please check that
Default Organization - %1 is
a valid organization.
Use Siebel Tools to set the
Default Organization
parameter for the assignment
object to a valid organization in
the database.
ERR_ASG_INVALID_EMP_
DFLT_NAME
Default employee %1 for
assignment object %2 is not
found in the employees table.
Use Siebel Tools to set the
Default Employee parameter
for the assignment object to a
valid employee in the
database.
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Messages
Table 55.
Assignment Manager Error Codes
Error Code
Error Text1
Resolution2
ERR_ASG_INVALID_POSTN_
DFLT_NAME
Default position %1 for
assignment object %2 is not
found in the positions table.
Use Siebel Tools to set the
Default Position parameter for
the assignment object to a
valid position in the database.
ERR_ASG_INVALID_STORE_
COL_NUM
Assignment criteria attribute
%1 has an invalid store
column.
Check the Store Column value
for your assignment criteria
attribute and make sure it lies
between 1
and 4.
ERR_ASG_INVALID_WF_
LINK_COL
Assignment attribute column
(%1) references invalid
workflow component column
(%2).
Check the Workflow Policy
Component Column property of
the assignment attribute
column, and make sure it
points to a valid and active
workflow policy component
column.
ERR_ASG_ITEM_ATTR_HAS_
NO_ATTR
Assignment Criteria %1,
Assignment Criteria Attribute
%2 has no attribute defined.
Verify in Siebel Tools that the
Assignment Criteria %1 has
an assignment criteria
attribute defined and active.
Recompile the server
repository file to apply
changes made on assignment
criteria configuration if
necessary.
ERR_ASG_ITEM_ATTR_HAS_
NO_ITEM
Item(%2) not found for item
attribute (%1). Please make
sure that the item(%2) is
active.
ERR_ASG_ITEM_NOT_
FOUND
Assignment Criteria %1 has
an invalid assignment
attribute. Please check the
assignment criteria
configuration on Siebel Tools
using the Validate tool, and
note that it is a requirement
to recompile the server SRF
after adding or deleting
assignment criteria records.
Make sure that the Parent
Assignment Item Type of the
Assignment Criteria
Attribute(%1), points to a valid
and active assignment criteria.
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Messages
Table 55.
Assignment Manager Error Codes
Error Code
Error Text1
ERR_ASG_LOADING_GROUP
Unable to load assignment
rule %1 from the database.
Please check the assignment
rule definitions to make sure
that all the required
information is correct and
press the Release button to
recreate the rule cache data
file.
ERR_ASG_LOADING_OBJECT
Unable to load assignment
object %1."
Check the configuration of the
assignment object.
ERR_ASG_LOV_VALUE_NOT_
FOUND
No LOV value found for
Type [%1], Value [%2].
Make sure expertise values for
skills are valid, belonging to
LOV type EXPERTISE_CD
(defined through Application
Administration screens).
ERR_ASG_MATCHASSIGN_
REPLY
Qualified and selected %3
rules, %5 organizations, and
%4 people for %1 (%2).
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_MATCH_REPLY
Qualified %3 rules, %5
organizations, and %4 people
for %1 (%2).
This is just information.
ERR_ASG_NO_OBJ_COL_FOUND
Assignment object %1 has no
columns.
ERR_ASG_NOT_EMP_POSTN
Employee or Position not
specified for assignment
object %1.
ERR_ASG_NO_WF_COLS_
IN_ATTR
Assignment attribute %1 has
no workflow columns.
280
Resolution2
If person-based assignment,
make sure that at least one of
the four properties (Position
Table, Position Primary
Column, Employee Table,
Employee Primary Column) for
assignment object %1 has a
valid non-null value. If
organization-based
assignment, make sure that at
least one of the two properties
(Org Table, Org Primary
Column) for assignment object
%1 has a valid non-null value.
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Troubleshooting: Assignment Manager Error Messages Assignment Manager Error
Messages
Table 55.
Assignment Manager Error Codes
Error Code
Error Text1
Resolution2
ERR_ASG_NO_WF_OBJECT
No workflow object available
for assign object = %1.
Make sure that the Parent
Workflow Object property of
the Assignment Object %
points to a valid workflow
object.
ERR_ASG_OBJECT_NOT_FOUND
Assignment object %1 is not
registered in Oracles Siebel
repository. Please make sure
that %1 is a valid assignment
object name and the value
you input is identical to what
you see in the application.
Please review the Assignment
Manager documentation for
details on the required
parameters before running an
Assignment Manager task.
ERR_ASG_PERSON_OBJECT_
NUM_ATTR_MISMATCH
Number of attributes do not
match with assignment object
for person object %1.
ERR_ASG_PR_TBL_ROW_
NOT_FOUND
RowId [%1] in table [%2] not
found.
Make sure that request
submitted is for a valid Row Id
in table (%2).
ERR_ASG_UPDATE_FAILED
Unable to update row %1
(%2).
Check the log file for database
related error, and correct the
error.
ERR_ASG_PARSING_VALUE
Unable to parse criteria value
%1.
ERR_ASGN_KEY_NO_MATCH
Assignment Key %1 does not
match the Request Key.
Make sure that the AsgnKey
parameter is set to the Row Id
of one of the assignment
groups mapped to the server.
1.
The error text that appears in Table 55 is generic. However, for most errors, Assignment Manager generates more specific
information about the exact cause of the error. Both the generic and the specific error messages appear in the Server Process
Log; while only the specific error message appears in the Assignment Manager log file.
2.
If the Resolution column is blank, this means either the error code is no longer applicable or the text of the error code is informative
enough not to warrant a separate explanation for resolution.
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Index
A
account object examples
child accounts, primary parent address 225
primary address assignments 224
reassigning positions 227
accounts
organization, stopping assignment for 231
territories, roles of 42
territory definition list, modifying 71
ActionAgent parameter, about 206
ActionInterval parameter, about 205
ActiveEmpLOVCode parameter, about 183
ActivePosWhereClause parameter,
about 184
ActualAsgnKey parameter
SRVRMGR utility 184
Add Scores parameter
SRVRMGR utility 184
administrative tasks
organization skills, associating with 91
skills, assigning to positions and
responsibilities 91
skills, associating with an employee 91
All, Above Minimum method, about 48
All, Must Assign method, about 48
AllowDupPostn parameter
SRVRMGR utility 184
applet classes in interactive
assignment 117
AsgnBatch command
batch assignment mode, running from (about
and parameters) 211
AsgnKey parameter
SRVRMGR utility 185
AsgnMode parameter
SRVRMGR utility 185
AsgnObjName parameter
SRVRMGR utility 185
Assign option, configuration example 115
Assignee Filter type, table of 68
assignee, determining primary 69
Assignment Attribute Column object type
configuring 125
properties of (table) 127
Assignment Attribute object type
overview 123
properties (table) 124
assignment attributes
column-based vs. skill-based 122
configuring assignment attributes 122
creating 123
definition 123
disabling 82, 140
mapping workflow components 133, 136
multilingual list of values (MLOV), configuring
for 125
multiple attributes, about basing on
columns 123
overview 122
triggers, generating 123
Values picklist, specifying 123
assignment criteria
assignment methodology, role in 65
assignment rules without criteria, role of 77
attribute object definition, about 123
combining rules, developing 72
configuration warning 122
configuring, about 127
configuring, creating 128
creating 83
creating, example of 129
creation process overview 121
expertise codes, role of 89
inclusion methods (table) 77
mapping workflow components 133, 135
multiple assignment attributes, about basing
on columns 123
nonrequired assignment criteria 81
object definition properties 130
object definition properties, about 129
primary address, assignments based on 224
properties (table) 129
queries, creating 83
required assignment criteria 80
required when available, about and
example 80
seed assignment criteria, removing 82
values, comparison method 86
assignment criteria attributes
configuring 129
creating 130
list columns, relation to 129
object properties (table) 131
assignment criteria values
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
28 3
Index A
creating, example 88
sorting and storage 88
wildcard characters as literals 88
wildcard characters, about 88
Assignment Manager
Assignment Manager component,
modifying 182
child accounts, parent primary address
example 60
component configuration, overview 123
component parameters, configuring,
importance of 183
components, starting 183
configuration concepts 129
contact denormalization 196
customizing, about 20
customizing, tasks 21
data sources 181
event log configuration 193
parameters, configurable (table) 183
post-configuration tasks 141, 194
running multiple instances 212
Server Request Broker components,
checking 182, 198
trace and error flags, about using 193
Assignment Manager, modes
batch assignment mode, running in 208
dynamic assignment mode 200
interactive assignment mode 198
mobile assignment mode, running in 214
assignment methodology, assigning
candidates 65
assignment modes
dynamic assignment mode, running in
overview 200
dynamic assignment, disabling and
enabling 105
independent assignment 248
interactive assignment mode, running in
overview 198
mobile mode, running in 214
organization and person-oriented assignment,
about 251
organization-oriented assignment, if
multitiered assignment is set 250
person-oriented assignment, if multitiered
assignment is set 249
assignment object base table, extending for
availability-based assignment 259
assignment object modes
batch assignment mode, multiple record
assignments 211
batch mode assignment, overview 209
assignment object properties
284
assignment object types
hierarchy and relationships 111
assignment object types, about 109
assignment objects
assigning multiple records 211
assignment attributes, mapping to 125
assignment rules, about developing 37
configuration overview 114
default organization, suppressing assignment
of 230
expertise codes 89
interactive assignment, configuring 116
interactive assignment, overview 115
matching requirement for workload rules 99
no-criteria rule 83
position and employee-based assignments,
creating 114
positional visibility, about 56
predefined assignment rules, definition
requirement 41
predefined definitions, list of 109
primary address criteria 224
primary position, maintaining 229
reassigning positions, example 227
role in defining assignment criteria 127
team table, configuring to copy additional
columns to 233
team-based criteria 100
wildcard characters, use of 88
workflow policy object, adding to 222
workflow policy objects, relation to 114
assignment objects, availability-based
assignment
about configuring for 258
configuration example 260
configuring for 259
visibility 261, 263
assignment policies
activating 105
batch assignment mode deactivation
requirements 208
contact denormalization, activating 207
deactivating 105
dynamic assignment mode and predefined
assignment policies 105
workflow groups, role of 105
Workflow Monitor Agent, role of 105
Assignment Results BusComp user
property 118
assignment rule fields
overview 48
assignment rule groups
assignment rules, sequencing 58
creating 46
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Index B
key-based routing 62
overview 24
assignment rules
assignment methodology, role in 65
assignment object configuration
overview 114
availability-based rules, overview 256
combining criteria, developing rules 72
complex rule, example 60
creating 51
definition requirement 41
developing, about 37
emails, as activities 29
employees, about visibility for assigned
object 56
employees, adding to (procedure) 55
Enterprise Integration Manager, loading
with 209
migrating, about 65
multiple criteria, about creating rules that
combine 72
multitiered assignment mode, using with sales
assignment rules 247
multitiered assignment, about 246
no-criteria rule 83
organizations, adding to 57
process overview 19
releasing 64
required assignment criteria 80
rule cache, recreating 64
scoring formula 68
sequence, defining 57
sequences of rules, evaluating 58
sequences of rules, examples 58
without criteria, role of 77
assignment scoring
overview 79
team member scores 80
assignment strategy
assignment rules, about developing 37
assignment skill, associating with an
organization 91
sales organizations, assignment in 39
skills, associating with a position 91
skills, associating with an employee 91
Assignment Type business component, user
property 117
attributes, about defining assignment
criteria and using 127
availability-based assignment
assignment objects, configuring 260
assignment objects, visibility 261, 263
assignment rules, overview 256
availability criteria, activating 256
overview 255
B
batch assignment mode
about 30
assignment rules without criteria 77
command line, running from (about and
parameters) 211
interaction with dynamic assignment
mode 208
mobile users, routing assignments to 230
multiple instances, running 212
Object WHERE Clause, using when starting
server task 219
overview 208
performance tuning 212, 213
record updating, inadvertent 209
running 210
SRVRMGR utility, running from (about and
parameters) 211
wildcards, using in SQL statements 219
BatchMode parameter, about 206
BatchSize parameter
performance considerations 213
SRVRMGR utility 185
business components
interactive assignment 116
C
cache size, LastUsrCacheSx parameter,
about 206
CacheSize parameter
SRVRMGR utility 184
candidates
assignment methodology 65
evaluation methods, about 77
organizations, about and example 26
positions, about and example 26
potential assignees list 68
teams, about and example 26
Check Calendar box, about using 256
Check version iterations parameter,
about 185
CheckIfCandidateActive parameter
SRVRMGR utility 185
CheckLogCacheSz parameter, about 206
CheckVerIter parameter
SRVRMGR utility 185
child accounts
PAR_OU_ID column, about value point
to 226
parents primary address, assigning based
on 225
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
28 5
Index D
primary parent address 60
classes, confirming for interactive
assignment 116
column-based assignment attributes,
about 122
Compare Object to Organization
comparison method, about 77
Compare Object to Person
comparison method, about 76
expertise codes, use of 89
Compare to Object
comparison method, about 76
criteria values, about using 86
criteria values, assignment criteria 86
expertise codes, use of 89
Compare to Organization
comparison method, about 77
criteria values, about using 86
Compare to Person
comparison method, about 76
criteria values, about using 86
criteria values, assignment criteria 86
expertise codes, use of 89
configuration
Assign option, using to invoke Interactive
Assignment 115
Assignment Manager post-configuration
tasks 141, 194
availability-based assignment, extending
Service Requests base table for 259
availability-based assignment, overview 258
event logs, about and types of 193
event logs, setting log level 194
interactive assignment, configuring for an
assignment object 116
interactive assignment, overview 115
Siebel Developer Web Client, parameters for
interactive assignment mode
(table) 198
configuration, advanced
activity assignment objects, setting lock
assignment default value 232
activity assignment objects, setting the lock
assignment value 232
assignment objects, configuring to copy
additional columns 233
assignments, routing to mobile users 230
child account, assigning based on parents
primary address 225
default organization, stopping assignment
of 230
organization, stopping assignment for
accounts 231
primary address, assigning objects based
286
on 224
primary position, maintaining manually
assigned 229
primary position, resigning accounts 227
contact denormalization
activating 207
assignment operation mode, about 196
CopyCandSpecData parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
CopyPersonSpecData parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
Criteria list column, using to configure
assignment criteria 127
criteria values
configuration warning 108
criteria value scores, calculation of 86
duplicate criteria values 87
methods used 86
CSSBCBase, about configuring for interactive
assignment 116
D
data visibility, about controlling visibility
between organizations 26
database triggers, about generating 201
Default Employee, Position, Organization,
modifying 115
default organization, suppressing
assignment of 230
Default Tasks parameter, about 186
delegated assignment
about 159
DeleteSize parameter, about 206
denormalization, about using Contact
Denormalization mode 196
DfltTasks parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
dynamic assignment mode
about 30
assignment objects, enabling and disabling
for 105
database changes, refreshing display 201
GenTrig command-line interface command,
running using 204
interaction with batch assignment mode 208
mobile users, routing transactions to 230
performance tuning 207
running in overview 200
triggers, generating 203
dynamic candidates
about 143
DynCandParam parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Index E
E
email activity assignment, email and
assignment rules 29
email and assignment rules, email activity
assignment 29
employee-based assignment objects,
about 255
employees
assignment rules, adding to (procedure) 55
availability-based assignment rules,
overview 256
availability-based assignment, about 255
multitiered assignment, about and
example 55
position and employee-based assignments,
creating 114
skills, associating with 91
visibility, about for assigned object 56
workload criteria definition example 101
workload criteria, defining 101
Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM),
loading assignment rules 209
error flags, about using 193
error messages
IgnoreError parameter, about 206
event logs
about configuring and types of 193
log level, setting 194
Exclude method
assignment criteria inclusion method,
about 79
ExcludeOrgList parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
ExcludePersonList parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
EXEC parameter
about 204
expertise codes
creating, example 94
predefined expertise codes, about 93
weighting factors example 97
weighting factors, about applying to 89
weighting factors, defining 96
Expertise list column, about 130
F
field service
assignment rules, creating 266
G
Generate Triggers server component,
about 201
Generate Triggers, running 203
GenReqRetry parameter, about 206
GenTrig command-line interface command,
using 204
GroupName parameter, about 206
I
IgnoreCache parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
IgnoreCalCrit parameter
SRVRMGR utility 186
IgnoreError parameter, about 206
Include All Matching method
assignment criteria inclusion method,
about 78
Include All method, assignment criteria
inclusion method, about 78
Include method
assignment criteria inclusion method,
about 78
criteria values, about using 86
inclusion-exclusion assignment criteria
table 77
independent assignment mode, and
multitiered assignment disabled 248
IndepRuleGroupCache parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
interactive assignment
about running in rule group mode 200
SRVRMGR utility, running from (about and
parameters) 198
UI, running from (about and
parameters) 198
interactive assignment mode
about 31
applet classes, allowable 117
assignment objects, configuring for 115
business components, restrictions on 116
configuring 116
running in overview 198
service requests, running for example 199
Siebel Developer Web Client, running
Assignment Manager in 198
Siebel Developer Web Client, server
component requirements 198
K
KeepLogDays parameter, about 206
key-based routing, about and use of 62
KeyBasedEnabled parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
L
language
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
28 7
Index M
code criteria example 23
LastUsrCacheSz parameter, about 206
list columns, relation to assignment criteria
attributes 129
lock assignment
activity assignment objects, setting 232
log level, setting 194
LogTxnChgOnly parameter
mobile users, routing assignments to 230
SRVRMGR utility 188
M
MailServer parameter, about 206
MailTo parameter, about 206
Maximum MT Servers parameter, about 187
Maximum Tasks parameter, about 188
MaxMTServers parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
MaxRoutKeys parameter
SRVRMGR utility 187
MaxSkillsAge parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
MaxTasks parameter
SRVRMGR utility 188
migrating assignment rules, about 65
Minimum MT Servers parameter, about 188
MinMTServers parameter
SRVRMGR utility 188
MinMTServers parameter, about setting 183
MLOV
enabling assignment attributes for 125
workload criteria, about 98
mobile assignment mode
about 32
mobile users, routing transactions to 230
running in 214
Mode parameter
about 204
multilingual list of values (MLOV)
assignment attributes. configuring for 125
workload criteria, about 98
multitiered assignment
employees, adding example 55
multitiered assignment mode
independent assignment 248
organization and person-oriented assignment,
about 251
organization-oriented assignment, if
multitiered assignment is set 250
overview 247
person-oriented assignment, if multitiered
assignment is set 249
multitiered assignment objects
288
about 246
N
nonrequired assignment criteria
about using 81
O
object types
field value and property relationships,
diagram 112
Object WHERE Clause
creating 219
performance considerations 213
role of 219
running multiple Assignment Manager
instances 212
ObjectRowId parameter
SRVRMGR utility 188
ObjRowSqlStmt parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
ObjWhereClause parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
One, Best Fit, assignment rule, about 49
One, Random, assignment rule, about 49
opportunities
territories, role of 42
territory definition list, modifying 71
Org Primary column, using to stop
assignment 230
organization and person-oriented
assignment mode, and multitiered
assignment 251
organization objects, role in visibility 26
organization-oriented assignment mode,
and multitiered assignment 250
organizations
accounts, stopping assignment for 231
assignment rule, adding organizations to 57
comparison method, about 77
default organization, suppressing
assignment 230
denormalization of 197
employee multitiered assignment, about and
example 55
multitiered assignment rules, using with sales
assignment rules 247
overview 26
skills, associating with 91
workload criteria, defining for 102
OrgKeyVal parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Index P
P
PAR_OU_ID column, about value pointing to
parent account 226
parents primary address, assigning based
on child account 225
performance tuning
assignment rules without criteria 77
batch assignment mode 212, 213
dynamic assignment mode 207
PersonKeyVal parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
person-oriented assignment mode, and
multitiered assignment 249
picklists
assignment attribute, specializing in 123
Criteria list column, about using 127
position object
examples 227
positions
described 26
indirect positions 196
position and employee-based assignments,
creating 114
predefined objects, using 26
primary position, determining 197
skills, setting up 91
visibility for assigned object 56
workload criteria definition example 101
workload criteria, defining 101
post-configuration tasks, server
administration requirements 141,
194
predefined objects
sales objects, use of 26
Price List table, organization
denormalization 197
primary address
assigning child accounts based on 60
assignment based on 224
primary position
determining 197
different position, reassigning accounts
to 227
manually assigned primary position,
maintaining 229
Product Defect Priority criteria value 88
Product Denormalization
mode, about and using 197
products, associating to organizations and
price lists 197
properties
Default Employee, Position, Organization
properties, modifying 115
PrOrganizationId parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
PrPersonId parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
PrRuleId parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
Q
queries, assignment criteria
83
R
RegularAsgn parameter
SRVRMGR utility 189
ReloadPolicy parameter, about 206
Remove parameter
about 204
ReplaceKeyVal parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
ReplaceTeamMembers parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
repository
repository file, compiling 142
ReqId parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
Requests parameter, about 206
ReturnPropSet parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
RptMode parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
rulecache.dat file
assignment rules, releasing 64
S
sales organizations
assignment in 39
multiple criteria, about creating rules that
combine 72
multitiered assignment rules, using with sales
assignment rules 247
position candidates, use of 26
team candidates, about 26
territory definition list, modifying 71
territory-based assignment rules,
creating 70
territory-based assignment rules,
developing 72
territory-based assignment rules,
example 70
Score list column, about 130
scoring
assignment scoring 79
formula for assignment rules 68
sequences of rules, evaluating 58
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
28 9
Index T
sequences of rules, examples 58
team member scores 80
without criteria, role of 77
security, about controlling an organization
security 26
seed assignment criteria, removing 82
server administration
Assignment Manager post-configuration
tasks 141, 194
dynamic mode requirements 201
interactive assignment mode, server
component requirements 198
server key maps
about and used of 62
new server key map, defining 61
Server Request Broker components
checking 182
interactive mode, checking server
components 198
Service Request base table, extending for
availability-based assignment 259
Service Request object
configuring for interactive assignment 115
service requests
interactive assignment mode, running
for 199
Siebel Dedicated Web Client
Assignment Manager, running in interactive
mode 198
service requests, running interactive
assignment mode in 199
Siebel Server, concurrent components,
number of 183
Siebel Web Client
service requests, running interactive
assignment mode in 199
skill-based assignment attributes,
about 122
skills
Assignment Manager, assigning a service
request example 92, 223
creating with expertise codes, example 95
employee skills, associating with 91
expertise codes
overview 89
new skill, creating 223
organization skills, associating with 91
position skills, setting up 91
predefined skills, viewing 223
skill table, using 92, 223
weighted expertise codes, defining 96
SleepTime parameter, about 206
SmartScript, role in interactive
290
assignment 115
.srf file, compiling 142
SRVRMGR utility
batch assignment mode, running from (about
and parameters) 211
dynamic assignment mode, using to run 204
T
TAMode parameter
about 204
teams
availability-based assignment rules,
overview 256
availability-based assignment, about 255
described and example 26
team member assignment scores 80
team table, configuring assignment objects to
copy additional columns to 233
territories
criteria, about creating rules that combine
criteria 72
location and revenue-based, example 72
multitiered assignment, using with sales
assignment rules 247
organization and person-oriented assignment,
about 251
realignment, impact of 39
role in opportunity and account
distribution 42
sales assignment rules, creating based on
territories 70
sales assignment rules, creating that combine
criteria 72
territory definition list, modifying 71
territory-based assignment rules,
creating 70
views being phased out 42
territory assignment criteria, example of
creating 88
territory assignment rules
creating 64
trace flags, about using 193
TrigFile parameter
about 204
triggers
assignment attributes 123
custom triggers, about creating 203
Generate Triggers, running 203
reviewing 202
tuning
batch assignment mode, performance tuning
in 212, 213
dynamic assignment mode, performance
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
Index U
tuning in
207
U
Use Expertise property, about setting 130
UseForUpdate parameter
SRVRMGR utility 190
UseKeyVal parameter
SRVRMGR utility 191
user properties
assignment criteria attributes (table) 131
Assignment Results BusComp, about showing
additional properties 118
UseRuleMinScore parameter
SRVRMGR utility 191
V
Values list
about and example 123
list column set, creation of 129
visibility, organizations, role of 26
W
weighting factors
example 97
expertise codes, about applying to 89
wildcard characters
batch assignment mode SQL statements 219
criteria value, using with 88
Workflow Monitor Agent
assignment policies, role in 105
role of 201
running 204
workflow groups, role of 105
workflow policy components
assignment attribute, mapping to 133, 136
assignment criteria, mapping to 133, 135
creating 132, 134
record updating, inadvertent 209
workflow policy objects
assignment objects, adding 222
assignment objects, relation to 114
workload criteria
employees and positions example 101
employees and positions, defining for 101
multilingual list of values (MLOV) 98
organizations, defining for 102
predefined fields (table) 101
predefined rules 98
team-based criteria 100
workload rules
assignment object matching requirement 99
creating example of 100
workload score
formula 68
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
29 1
Index W
292
Siebel Assignment Manager Administration Guide Version 8.1
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