Define Broadcast

Explanation

This activity is used to define scheduling broadcasts. Broadcasts are company specific and each company can have one or more broadcasts defined for it. The broadcast tells the Scheduling Engine how and when a plan is to be returned to IFS Applications. Broadcasts can be set up per allocation type, i.e. DSE (Dynamic Scheduling Engine), ABE (Appointment Booking Engine), SDS (Scheduling Dispatch Service) or ISWB (Internet Scheduling Work Bench). The connection between the broadcast and allocation type is made on the applicable dataset. For more information on setting up a dataset, refer to the activity Define Dataset. Note: There can be one broadcast set up for both DSE and SDS broadcasts, whereas a separate broadcast is required for a ISWB and ABE broadcast.

• For DSE broadcasts, the DSE produces a plan which you can choose to assign or unassign directly on the work order.
• For ABE broadcast, the ABE returns a plan with a set of suggested appointment offers, in which you can select one of them as the booked appointment for the work order.
• For SDS broadcasts, the SDS will return the suggested dispatches, i.e. the work orders and employees that are suggested to be assigned, to IFS Applications. The work orders that are returned are automatically promoted to the Assigned status and the Executed By field on the work order is set to the suggested employee's ID.
• For ISWB broadcasts, IFS Applications will be synchronized with the changes made to the data in the ISWB.

For DSE broadcasts, how the plan is to be returned is determined by the broadcast type that is selected. If the broadcast is set up with the File broadcast type, the plan is returned and stored using File transfer. If the Webservice broadcast type is selected, the plans will be returned using HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) services.

The parameters for each broadcast type must be entered when defining the broadcast.

For the File broadcast type, you need to enter the "file_path" parameter with the relevant output path for the File messages. The Broadcast Manager Service (BMS) can either;

• Write to the file input folder in IFS Connect on the IFS Applications server for processing files from Mobile Workforce Management.
• Write to a local folder on the MWFM server and configure IFS Connect with a remote file reader agent that reads that folder.

The file_path must be set from the viewpoint of the BMS.

For the Webservice broadcast type, the "username" "password", "url" and "wsid'' parameters must be defined with the name and password of the user who is allowed to access the Mobile Workforce Management Integration, and the address and name of the web service that is to be accessed.

When the plan is to be returned is determined by several values, i.e. the minimum plan quality, maximum wait and maximum frequency. The minimum plan quality determines the minimum quality of the plan that is to be returned while the maximum wait determines the maximum time to wait before returning the plan (in minutes). The plan will be returned when either the minimum plan quality is reached or when the maximum wait time is reached, whichever occurs first. The maximum frequency determines the frequency (in minutes) at which the plans should be returned. You can choose the type of plan that should be returned, i.e. a complete plan, change plan or a workbench plan. When setting up an ISWB or ABE broadcast, the minimum plan quality, maximum wait minutes and maximum frequency should be set to "0" or left blank.

Broadcast Parameter Values

The value of the selected broadcast parameter. Valid values are:

File:

• file_path - enter the full file output path of the broadcast as seen from the Broadcast Manager Service (BMS) on the Mobile Workforce Management server, e.g. "C:\IFS\Scheduling\Output". The path should correspond to the file input folder in IFS Connect on the IFS Applications server for processing files from Mobile Workforce Management.

Http:

• username - enter the name of the user who is allowed to access the Mobile Workforce Management Integration (Name of the user granted to the permission set SCH360_WEBSERVICE, selected as the integration user)
  • If IFS Middleware Server is setup to use Single Sign-On (SSO), in addition to the above requisites the user also has to be an Active Directory (AD) user and the username has to be specified in the DOMAIN\USERNAME format.
• password - enter the password of the user who is allowed to access the Mobile Workforce Management Integration (Password of user granted to the permission set SCH360_WEBSERVICE, selected as the integration user)
  • If the user is an AD user, enter the AD password of the user.
• url - Address of the Web Service (SOAP Gateway) in IFS Applications (e.g. http://SERVERNAME:58080/fndext/soapgateway). The recommended setting is to use the substitution variable #BROADCAST_URL#. It also allows using other substitution variables (e.g., #URL#/fndext/soapgateway). For more information on substitution variables please refer to the Define Scheduling Configuration section in the Online Documentation.
• wsid - Identifier of the Web Service (IFS should be used for all broadcast plan types, except for Workbench where IFSWORKBENCH should be used).

Prerequisites

To perform this activity, the company must have been defined in IFS/Enterprise.

System Effects

• Scheduling broadcasts are defined for the company and the applicable broadcast can be activated.
• The broadcasts can be connected to scheduling datasets.

Window

Scheduling Broadcast

Related Window Descriptions

Scheduling Broadcast

Procedure

Follow this procedure to define a DSE or SDS broadcast:

1. Open the Scheduling Broadcast window.
2. Verify that the correct company is in use. If not, right-click and click Change Company to change the company.
3. Create a new record (F5).
4. In the Broadcast ID field, enter the identity of the broadcast.
5. In the Description field, enter a description of this broadcast.
6. In the Minimum Plan Quality (%) field, enter the plan quality as a percentage.
7. In the Broadcast Type field, enter the broadcast type. Note: For iSWB broadcasts, this field should be set to Webservice.
8. In the Plan Type field, select "Change".
9. In the Maximum Wait Minutes field, enter the maximum time in minutes to wait before a plan to be returned.
10. In the Maximum Frequency Minutes field, enter the frequency in minutes for the plan to be generated.
11. In the Parameter Value field, enter the valid value of the parameter. For instance, for the wsid parameter, you need to enter the parameter value IFS.
12. Save the information (F12).

Follow this procedure to define an ISWB broadcast:

1. Open the Scheduling Broadcast window.
2. Verify that the correct company is in use. If not, right-click and click Change Company to change the company.
3. Create a new record (F5).
4. In the Broadcast ID field, enter the identity of the broadcast.
5. In the Description field, enter a description of this broadcast.
6. In the Minimum Plan Quality (%) field, enter 0. This value is not used for ISWB broadcasts.
7. In the Broadcast Type field, enter the broadcast type.
8. In the Plan Type field, select "Workbench".
9. In the Maximum Wait Minutes field, enter 0 or leave the field blank. This value is not used for ISWB broadcasts.
10. In the Maximum Frequency Minutes field, enter 0 or leave the field blank. This value is not used for ISWB broadcasts.
11. In the Parameter Value field, enter the valid value of the parameter. For instance, for the wsid parameter, you need to enter the parameter value IFSWORKBENCH.
12. Save the information (F12).

Follow this procedure to define an ABE broadcast:

1. Open the Scheduling Broadcast window.
2. Verify that the correct company is in use. If not, right-click and click Change Company to change the company.
3. Create a new record (F5).
4. In the Broadcast ID field, enter the identity of the broadcast.
5. In the Description field, enter a description of this broadcast.
6. In the Minimum Plan Quality (%) field, enter 0. This value is not used for ABE broadcasts.
7. In the Broadcast Type field, select the broadcast type Webservice.
8. In the Plan Type field, select "Complete".
9. In the Maximum Wait Minutes field, enter 0 or leave the field blank. This value is not used for ABE broadcasts.
10. In the Maximum Frequency Minutes field, enter 0 or leave the field blank. This value is not used for ABE broadcasts.
11. In the Parameter Value field, enter the valid value of the parameter. For instance, for the wsid parameter, you need to enter the value IFS.
12. Save the information (F12).