Escalating (Promoting) Cases

9

Working with Escalations

This chapter contains the following topics:

■ Section 9.1, "Escalating (Promoting) Cases"

■ Section 9.2, "Managing Case Escalations Using Skill-Level Escalation Processing"

9.1 Escalating (Promoting) Cases

This section provides overviews of escalation using notification method and escalation using skill-level method, and lists a prerequisite.

You determine the escalation method by using the Case tab in the S/WM System Constants program (P17001).

See Setting Up Case Management Fundamentals.

9.1.1 Understanding Escalation Using Notification Method

Use the workflow tools in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne system to streamline the case escalation process and to notify the necessary individuals that the case has been escalated. The system enables you to send email notifications if a case is not closed within a specified period of time. This automates traditionally paper-based tasks with an email-based process throughout the network.

Define workflow structures for each provider group, priority, and level of escalation.

Workflow structure setup allows only a single address number at any escalation level.

To send the escalation message to multiple people, you must create a distribution list and specify the group within the distribution list at the appropriate escalation level.

When you add a case to the database, the system creates a message within the Work Center (P012501). This message is placed in a mailbox at the provider group level or at the assignee level. If you have defined routing rules, the system assigns the case to the provider group or individual that you assigned in these rules. After the system makes the provider group assignment, it calculates the case commitment date and time by analyzing entitled (service contracts) and unentitled records (which are case type and priority records), workday calendars, and threshold hours. Based on the provider group setup, the case type, and the priority information defined in the Provider Group Revisions program (P17506), the system updates the case record with the escalation date and time and an escalation level of 1. All escalation date and time calculations are based on the commitment date and time that the system calculates using the provider group or contract information. When you run the Escalation processing program (R17680), the system checks for cases requiring escalation.

When the escalation time expires, the system can increase the priority of the case and send notification messages to the provider group members (the distribution list) if the

Escalating (Promoting) Cases

case is assigned to a provider group, or it can send a message to the assignee if the case is assigned to an individual. The system updates the escalation level for the case and awaits a status change, the next level of escalation, or notification. At each escalation level, the system uses the escalation percentage values defined in the F1753 table and the time remaining in the time-to-close to calculate the escalation interval. When you close the case or reach the end of the escalation levels, the case is no longer eligible for escalation.

9.1.2 Understanding Escalation Using Skill-Level Method

If you decide to escalate cases using the skill-level method and have set up routing rules, the system assigns a provider group and an assignee to the case based on the routing rules that have been created. After the system makes the provider group assignment, it calculates the case commitment date and time by analyzing entitled records (that is, service contracts) and unentitled records (case type and priority records), workday calendars, and threshold hours. The escalation routine then assigns the initial provider group member to the case by reviewing and comparing workloads and skill levels of provider group members

If an assignee is assigned by the routing rules or manually assigned to the case and the assignee is a member of the provider group, the case remains with that assignee until the escalation interval expires. The escalation routine does not process the initial assignment. The case's initial assignee is usually the provider group member with the lowest skill-level value and the fewest number of assigned cases.

At case entry, the system calculates the escalation start event, escalation warning event, and escalation event. The system uses the values defined in the F1753 and F90CG506 tables to assign and process the case through the provider group members assigned to the case. The F90CG506 table stores the assignees and skill levels; the F1753 table stores the escalation percentage values. The values in these tables determine when and for how long a provider member works on a case.

Using the values in the F1753 table, the case escalates through provider group

members until the case reaches Closed status or the list of provider group members is exhausted. The most skilled provider group member remains as the assignee if there are not enough provider group members to continue escalating the case. The provider group manager receives all past due notifications for all unresolved cases.

9.1.2.1 Skill-Level Escalation Example

In this example, Provider Group 1 receives a critical priority case.

The F1753 table contains these escalation values for this case priority (critical) for this provider group:

■ Escalation percentage: 25

■ Escalation warning percentage: 25

■ Resolution warning percentage: 13

The system determines that the time-to-close is eight hours (or 480 minutes) by using this calculation:

(JD Edwards EnterpriseOne commitment date and time) –(case created date and time) This graphic illustrates how the system processes the case using skill-level escalation:

Escalating (Promoting) Cases

Figure 9–1 Skill-level escalation processing

Each provider group member assigned to the case, has 120 minutes to work on the case before it is escalated to the next skill level. Because of load balancing, the employee named Brian does not receive this case. The system sends escalation

warning messages when 30 minutes remain in each escalation interval, and the current assignee receives the message. A resolution warning message is generated when 62 minutes remain in the escalation interval, and Sally receives the resolution warning message. If the case is not resolved within the commitment time, Sandra, the service manager, receives the unresolved case.

9.1.3 Prerequisite

If you are processing escalations using the notification method, ensure that you have:

■ Installed the Workflow Modeler so that you can use escalation workflow.

■ Set up the S/WM system constants for Escalation 1 (escalation using notification).

■ Defined provider groups and associated distribution lists.

If you are processing escalations using the skill-level method, ensure that you have:

■ Set up S/WM system constants for Escalation 2 (escalation using skill level).

■ Defined provider groups and associated provider group members and skill levels.

Note these considerations when escalating cases:

■ Escalation is based on the date and time when a case is first entered and each time that it is escalated.

■ Dates and times are based on specific escalation setup for each provider group and priority, or they are based on the generic escalation setup for all provider groups and each priority.

See Also:

■ Setting Up Provider Groups.

■ Setting Up Case Priorities Using Notification Escalation Method.

■ Setting Up Priorities Using Skill-Level Escalation Method.

■ JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Workflow Tools Guide.

Managing Case Escalations Using Skill-Level Escalation Processing