Suspend Rules

Suspend rules let XTRAC or an operator temporarily place a work item in an idle state. Idle work items are unavailable for processing in the workflow. XTRAC allows manual suspension by an operator and automatic suspension by XTRAC.

Note: Rules based on age do not trigger for suspended items.

You can set up XTRAC so that an operator can decide when and for how long to suspend a work item within the guidelines that you define. You determine whether the operator can always suspend a work item, if you want to prevent suspensions between designated hours, and the number of times an operator can suspend a work item. To see how operators suspend work items, see the XTRAC Workbench User Guide.

XTRAC lets you set up rules to automatically suspend work items based on conditions that you define. The work items are suspended for the amount of time that you specify in days, hours, or minutes. You can also specify the number of days, hours, or minutes before or after a designated date, until a specific date, or until the value in a shared field changes to a specified value.

You can set up automatic suspend rules triggered by the after create, after received, or after update events or when any of these events occur.

Note: A work item that has been suspended manually by an operator cannot also be suspended by an automatic suspend rule.

The history of a work item indicates the following suspend events:

• When and why a work item was suspended.
• A memo entered by the operator, if applicable.
• When the work item resumed the workflow.

Before creating a suspend rule, you must create nodes, queues, operators, work item rules, and a reason value group.

IMPORTANT: For general XTRAC rule information, see XTRAC Rules.

Resumed Work Items

When a work item suspension is lifted and the work item reenters the workflow, it is a resumed work item. XTRAC Workbench displays the resumed work item in orange at the top of the work list. If an operator accesses work through work feed mode, the resumed work item displays as the next item for processing.

XTRAC can resume a work item based on the options that you set in an automatic or manual suspend rule. Operators with the appropriate privileges can resume an idle work item before the specified suspension expires.

You also can set up XTRAC so resumed work items return to the operator who originally suspended the items, to a specified queue, or to the original queue.

When an item is automatically resumed, rules are fired in the following order:

• If the WI is resumed in the same queue it was suspended from:
  • Batch (BA) priority rules
  • AA Priority rules
  • AA rules for all of the other events
• If the WI is resumed and sent to a new queue:
  • Batch (BA) priority rules
  • After Received (AR) rules

If you do not want the BA and AA priority rules to fire, do not create both at the node where the item resumes. Create only one type of rule.

XTRAC lets you create a manual or an automatic suspend rule that suspends an entire split family. However, only active members of the split family are suspended. If a split work item is frozen, resolved, already suspended, or awaiting rendezvous, it is not suspended.

You can choose the generation of the split family from which to start the suspension.

Assume the following details for the previous example family:

• The Suspend All Split Related Items check box is checked on the suspend rule.
• The suspend rule is triggered by the parent work item.
• All members of the split family are active.

Based on the Suspend From Generation option, the following rules apply: 

• Suspend From Generation 1: W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, and W7 are all suspended.

• Suspend From Generation 2: W1 is suspended the suspend rule processing. W4, W5, W6, and W7 are suspended because the suspension begins at generation 2 and continues down through the family.

Note: W2 and W3 are not suspended because they belong in generation 1 and the suspension did not begin until generation 2.

• Suspend Form Generation 3: W1 is suspended by the suspend rule processing. W7 is suspended because the suspension begins at generation 3 and W7 is the only work item at that generation level.

Suspension Reasons

When an operator suspends a work item, they must choose a reason why the work item is suspended. When you define an automatic suspend rule, you must also choose a reason for the suspension.

To populate the Reason Value Group field, you must define valid values for the field. For example, you can define values to indicate that a customer signature is missing or that a check has not been processed yet. From these values, you then create one or more reason value groups. For an automatic suspend rule, you select a reason value group and then select a specific reason from that group.

When you define the reasons why a work item is suspended, you also determine whether a suspended work item continues to age while suspended. For example, the business might not want the work item to continue to age while an operator is waiting for something from the customer such as a missing signature or contact number.

Business Calendars and Suspensions

Suspend rules use the business calendar for an organization. The business calendar defines the following information:

• The days of the week that are business days.
• The length of a business day.

If XTRAC or an operator suspends a work item before the end of a business day, XTRAC counts the hours between the time the work item was suspended and the end of the business day as one day. Therefore, if an operator suspends a work item for one day at any time during business hours, the work item resumes at the end of the same business day. For example:

When a work item is suspended for a period of hours or minutes, XTRAC uses calendar time, not the business calendar time. For example:

Prevent Suspension Options

When you are creating a suspend rule, you can choose from the following Prevent Suspensions options:

Suspend for Options

The maximum amount of time (in days, hours, or minutes) that XTRAC can suspend this type of work item. Valid values are 1 to 999.

For example, an operator suspends a work item on Monday, May 10, at 1 p.m. The following rules apply based on whether you specified days, hours, or minutes in the rule:

• You specify that a work item can be suspended for a maximum of one day. XTRAC uses the business calendar to calculate the end of suspension. XTRAC then resumes the work item on Monday, May 10, at 6 p.m., the end of the business day.
• You specify that a work item can be suspended for a maximum of 24 hours. XTRAC uses the calendar hours and minutes to calculate the end of suspension. XTRAC then resumes the work item on Tuesday, May 11, at 1 p.m., exactly 24 hours later.
• You specify that a work item can be suspended for a maximum of 540 minutes. XTRAC uses the calendar hours and minutes to calculate the end of suspension. XTRAC then resumes the work item on Monday, May 10, at 10 p.m.

Suspend until Options

The maximum amount of time (in days, hours, or minutes) that XTRAC can suspend this work item based on the date value that was specified in the Date in Field drop-down list box. This amount of time is based on an offset from the specified date.

For example, XTRAC suspends a work item entering the NIGOQ queue on Thursday, May 14, at 3 p.m., and the following rules apply:

• You specify that XTRAC can suspend a work item until three days after the date in the QueueEnterTime field. XTRAC uses the business calendar and counts the three days. On Thursday at 6 p.m. (the end of the business day), XTRAC counts one day towards the three-day suspension. On Friday, XTRAC counts the hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. as one more day towards the three-day suspension. Saturday and Sunday are non-working days and do not count towards the suspension time. On Monday at 6 p.m., XTRAC counts the last day of the three-day suspension and resumes the work item at 6 p.m.
• You specify that XTRAC can suspend a work item for 72 hours after the date in the QueueEnterTime field. XTRAC uses the calendar hours and calculates the end of the suspension time as Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m.
• You specify that XTRAC can suspend a work item for 540 minutes after the date in the QueueEnterTime field. XTRAC uses the calendar minutes and calculates the end of the suspension time as Thursday, May 14, at midnight.

Suspend until date Options

The exact date and time that XTRAC resumes a work item.

For example, you specify that XTRAC could suspend a work item until May 20 at 15:00 hours (3 p.m.)

XTRAC suspends a work item at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18. XTRAC then resumes the work item on May 20 at 3 p.m.

Suspend until Shared Field Change

Resumes a work item based on a change to a field that is shared by a split family. This option is not based on a business calendar or calendar.

For example, you specify that a work item remains suspended until the Order Status custom field equals Ready to Schedule Job.

XTRAC suspends a parent and two child work items that contain the shared Order Status custom field. The current value of the Order Status field is Waiting for Parts.

On Wednesday, May 19, at 11 a.m., an operator changes the value in this field on one of the child work items to Ready to Schedule Job. Because this is a field that is shared across the parent and both child work items, XTRAC immediately lifts the suspension and resumes all three work items in the split family.

Prevent Suspension Combinations

You can combine the Prevent Suspension options.

For example, in the Prevent Suspensions box, you specify that a work item cannot be suspended for more than 48 hours for a single suspension, has a limit of 120 hours total, and that it can be suspended no more than 3 times.

A work item is suspended on Monday, May 10, at 2 p.m. for 48 hours, which is the maximum for a single suspension. On Wednesday, May 12, at 2 p.m., the work item is resumed, which leaves 72 hours out of a total of 120 hours and two suspensions left.

On Thursday, May 13, the same work item is suspended for another 48 hours at 10 p.m. The work item resumes its place in the workflow on Saturday, May 15, at 10 a.m. This leaves 24 hours out of a total of 120 hours and one suspension left out of three.

On Monday, May 18, at 2 p.m., the operator tries to suspend this same work item for another 48 hours. Although this suspension does not exceed the maximum for a single suspension or the maximum number of suspensions, it does exceed the total number of hours for all suspensions. The operator cannot suspend the work item for this amount of time and receives a corresponding message.

Automatic Transfers to an Operator’s Personal Queue

When you do not select the Allow Items To Be Automatically Transferred Into This Operator’s Personal Queue option in the operator’s profile, XTRAC determines whether a suspension can occur, what an operator can do based on the location of the work item, and the expire options that you defined in the suspend rule.

If the work item is in a personal queue, the following rules apply:

• Return To Operator only: XTRAC selects and displays the operator’s personal queue in the Return Queue field in the Suspension window. The work item can be suspended.
• Return to Operator and Return to Current Queue: XTRAC enables the Return Queue drop-down list box in the Suspension window. The operator can select their personal queue or the queue that the suspended work item resides in. Work item suspension is possible.
• Return to Operator and Send to New Node/Queue: XTRAC enables the Return Queue drop-down list box in the Suspension window. The operator can select their personal queue or a work queue in the work access group. Work item suspension is possible.
• Return to Current Queue and Send to New Node/Queue: XTRAC enables the Return Queue drop-down list box in the Suspension window. The operator can select the queue that the suspended work item resides in or another queue in the work access group. Work item suspension is possible.

If the work item is in a work queue, the following rules apply:

• Return to Me: The suspension is not possible and XTRAC displays an error message.
• Return to Me and Return to Current Queue: XTRAC selects and disables the Return Queue drop-down list box. XTRAC displays the current queue that the work item resides in. Work item suspension is possible.
• Return to Me and Send to New Queue: XTRAC selects and disables the Return Queue drop-down list box. The operator is not allowed to select their personal queue. Work item suspension is possible.
• Return to Current Queue and Send to New Queue: XTRAC enables the Return Queue drop-down list box. The operator can select the queue that the work item currently resides in or a queue in the operator’s work access group. Work item suspension is possible.

XTRAC also determines whether a resume can occur based on the location of the work item.

• If the work item is in the resuming operator’s personal queue, XTRAC lets the work item resume.
• If the work item is in a work queue, XTRAC lets the work item resume. However, XTRAC displays a message stating that the work item resumes in its current queue and does not transfer the work item to the operator’s personal queue.

Creating a Reason Value Group

When an operator chooses to suspend a work item, they must indicate why they are suspending the work item. When you define an automatic suspend rule, you also must indicate why you are suspending the work item. You cannot save a suspend rule until you specify a reason value group.

Note: To define a Reason value group, you need the Create and Suspend Reason security functions as part of the security group that is associated with your entitlement set.

To create a reason value group

1. In Feature Explorer, click Fields > Reason.
2. In the Reason Detail window, at the bottom of the grid, click Click here to add a new valid value row.
3. Type a name for the value (up to 30 characters).
4. In the Description column, type a description (up to 60 characters) for the value.
5. If you want the suspended item to continue to age while it is suspended, check the Continue to Age check box.

By default, the work item continues to age. Your business might not want the work item to continue to age. For example, while an operator is waiting for information from the customer such as a missing signature or contact number.

6. (Optional) In the Change Request ID field, type the ID of the change request (up to 30 characters).
7. (Optional) In the Memo field, type the reason for creating the field (up to 60 characters).
8. Click Save.
   
   XTRAC adds the new reason to the list.
   
   Note: To remove a value from the list, select it, and then click Delete or check the Delete check box.
9. For each new value that you want to add, repeat steps 2 through 8.

Creating a Manual Suspend Rule

Note: To define a manual suspend rule, you need the Create and Suspend Rule security functions as part of the security group that is associated with your entitlement set.

To create a manual suspend rule

1. In Feature Explorer, click Rules > Suspend Rules.
2. In the Suspend Rule Summary window, from the Node drop-down list box, select the node where you want to define the new rule.
   
3. Click New.
4. In the Suspend Rule Detail window, in the Description field, type a description for the rule (up to 60 characters).
5. In the Event drop-down list box, ensure that MA (Manual) is selected.
6. In the Condition tab, build the rule conditions by selecting the fields, criteria, and values.

See Rule Conditions and Building a Rule Condition

7. In the Action tab, in the Prevent Manual Suspensions section, specify when you want to prevent suspensions.

If you choose Always Allow Suspensions, XTRAC disables the other options.

8. In the Specify Expire Options section, specify the expiration options that you want to use.
9. In the Reason Value Group drop-down list box, select the reason value group that you want to use.
10. (Optional) If you want work items in a split family to suspend, check the Suspend all split release items check box, and then type a value in the Suspend from generation field to indicate the generation you want the suspension to start with.
11. (Optional) In the Change Request ID field, type the ID of the change request (up to 30 characters).
12. (Optional) In the Memo field, type the reason for creating the rule (up to 60 characters).
13. Click Save.
    
    XTRAC saves the rule, numbers it, and appends it to the bottom of the sequence list on the Suspend Rule Summary window.
14. Specify the order that XTRAC executes the rules in.
    
    See Ordering Rules
15. Specify the node and rule association.
    
    See Using Rules Stored at Another Node.

Creating an Automatic Suspend Rule

Note: To define an automatic suspend rule, you need the Create and Suspend Rule security functions as part of the security group that is associated with your entitlement set.

To create an automatic suspend rule

1. In Feature Explorer, click Rules > Suspend Rules.
2. In the Suspend Rule Summary window, from the Node drop-down list box, select the node where you want to define the new rule.
   
3. Click New.
4. In the Suspend Rule Detail window, in the Description field, type a description for the rule (up to 60 characters).
5. In the Event drop-down list box, select the AC, AR, AU, or AL event.
6. In the Condition tab, build the rule conditions by selecting the fields, criteria, and values.

See Rule Conditions and Building a Rule Condition.

7. In the Action tab, in the Specify Expire Options section, specify an expiration option.

Specify only one expiration option when you define an automatic suspend rule.

8. In the Reason Value Group drop-down list box, select the group that you want to use.
9. (Optional) If you want work items in a split family to suspend, check the Suspend all split release items check box, and then type a value in the Suspend from generation field to indicate the generation you want the suspension to start with.
10. In the Automatic Suspend Options section, in the Reason drop-down list box, select the reason for the suspension.
11. In the Memo field, type text about the suspension.

XTRAC filters this list based on the Reason Value Group that you select.

12. Select the automatic suspend options that you want to use.
13. (Optional) In the Change Request ID field, type the ID of the change request (up to 30 characters).
14. (Optional) In the Memo field, type the reason for creating the rule (up to 60 characters).
15. Click Save.

XTRAC saves the rule, numbers it, and appends it to the bottom of the list on the Suspend Rule Summary window.

16. Specify the order that XTRAC executes the rules in.

See Ordering Rules.

17. Specify the node and rule association.

See Using Rules Stored at Another Node.

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