Processing a Case
Initial Case Submission
Cases can be started in the following ways:
Via an incoming email (if the system is configured to do so for that email mailbox)
By a 'Start Case' Action within another Case flow.
Manually, from the 'Create New Work Item' link in the Work Manager toolbar
Automatically started
Via third party integrations
How Cases move through the different states
A Case is always in one of six statuses:
Draft
The Case has been created manually and has not been saved for the first time yet.
To Do
The Case is waiting to be picked up, or it needs attention.
In Progress
The Case is running and its Actions are being launched.
Waiting
The Case is paused. No new Actions are launched.
Resolved
All the work is complete and the feedback window is open.
Closed
The Case is finished.
When manually starting a Case directly in Enate, it will sit in a state of 'Draft' until it has been submitted for the first time.
When starting manually, you should fill in the 'Case Short Description'.
A Case cannot leave Draft without one. If you try to save without it, the system responds with 'Please enter a Case Title/Short Description before continuing.'
If the Case process is linked to a schedule, the Info Card also asks you to pick the schedule period while the Case is in Draft. If you do not, the system responds with 'Please select current schedule for this case.'
Saving a Draft Case without choosing a different status moves it to To Do.
Once a Case has been submitted into Enate, it will then sit in a status of 'To Do' until a resource has picked it up. This could be a human resource or a robot resource. Once you start updating a Case sitting in this state, it will:
automatically assign to you and
the status will change to 'In progress'
You can also choose to change the state yourself. This signifies that work is now underway and it will stay in that status until it's resolved, assuming for example no waiting for further information.
A Case in To Do also moves itself to In Progress as soon as one of its Actions moves past To Do, so a Case usually starts running without anyone having to touch it.
Setting an Item back to 'To Do'
If you've picked up a Case in error, or if your reach the conclusion that it's not a piece of work you're going to be able to progress you can unassign it from yourself, either to another resource or just back to its Queue. This could be after 10 seconds or half an hour, but when you do this the system will automatically set the status back to 'To Do' to let everyone know that it's not going to be progressed until another resource picks it up. You can also just manually set the status back to 'To Do' if for example you started working on it in error and need to quickly undo the status change.
Similarly if a robot resource rejects a piece of work, its status will be set back to 'To Do' as part of handing it over for a human resource to carry out.
Needs Attention
Additionally, if there is a problem with a Case (usually be because of an issue with one of its Actions), the Case will be put back into a state of 'To Do'.
Enate flags a Case as needing attention when:
An Action was resolved as 'Unable to Complete'.
A step finished and the Case is configured for manual step progression, so it will not move on by itself.
The next step is empty and the Case is configured to pause on empty steps.
A Case started from an email or a schedule is missing a mandatory Primary Contact, or one of its contacts has no first name.
Once the Case is in this state, the Case owner can see this along with the reason, which is often the problem Action, in the Info Card. As Case Owner, you have various options available to you:
Rework the Case from a previous step or from completed Actions within this step
Place the Case on Wait, using the Pause wait type
Reset the Case to In Progress
Manually launch / re-launch Actions
While the Case is flagged as needing attention it will not launch any Actions that are queued up behind it. Tick the 'Issue resolved, allow the Case to continue' checkbox in the Info Card to clear the flag.
When you move a Case that needs attention from To Do to In Progress, the Info Card asks 'How to proceed':
Resume
Carries on with the Actions that are already running.
One or more of the Case's Actions is still running.
Move to Next Step
Moves the Case on to its next step and launches that step's Actions.
The Case is not on its last step, or work is still outstanding.
Complete
Finishes the Case.
The Case is on its last step with no running Actions and all steps and Actions completed.
Using 'Wait' state for a Case
If you're working on a Case and you have to temporarily halt work on it because you're waiting for some additional information or because of some other temporary blocker, you should choose the 'Wait' status.
When a Case is in a state of Waiting, no more new Actions for that Case will be launched until the Case moves back into a state of To Do or In Progress. Users can complete Actions that have already launched and are already running Actions, but once these Actions have been completed, no new Actions will get launched.
Actions that would have launched while the Case is waiting are held as pending Actions, and Enate launches them as soon as the Case returns to To Do or In Progress. A Case that still has pending Actions queued up is not treated as complete.
When placing a Case into a state of 'Wait' you need to specify the type of wait. The options are:
Two further wait types appear on a Case but cannot be chosen by you, because the system sets them:
Related Work Items, when the Case has finished its own work but a Sub Case is still running. The Case resolves itself when the Sub Cases complete.
Wait for External System, when the Case is waiting on an external system to respond.
'Wait for more information' for a Case
Impact on SLA clock: SLA clock PAUSES while Case is in this state, IF the Case's Due Date rule (configured during process design) has 'Add Wait Time To Due Date' set to ON. If it is set to OFF, the SLA Clock CONTINUES while Case is in this state.
If you're working on a Case and you have to temporarily halt work on it because you're waiting for some information from a third party or client, you should choose 'Wait for more information'.
When a Case is in a state of Waiting, no more new Actions for that Case will be launched until the Case moves back into a state of To Do or In Progress. Users can complete Actions that have already launched and are already running Actions, but once these Actions have been completed, no new Actions will get launched.
When you click on 'Wait for more information', you must choose the reason for placing the Case in that state from the 'Wait Reason' dropdown.
The options are:
Awaiting Information from 3rd Party
Awaiting Information from Client
Awaiting Information from Internal Party
Other
The reason is mandatory. If you leave it blank the system responds with 'Please select the reason you are waiting for more information.'
There is a fifth reason, 'Awaiting Information from Action', which you cannot choose. Enate sets it when an Action that is configured to pause its parent Case goes into a wait for more information. When that Action comes off Wait, the Case resumes automatically.
Upon confirming the 'Wait for more information' status, the Case will move from your Work Inbox into your Owned Work list, as there is no active work to be carried out on it until a response is received.
Once a response has been received, the Case will move back from your Owned Work list into your Work Inbox in a state of To Do, highlighted for you to progress.
What shows for Due Date when SLA Clock pauses on Cases in 'Waiting for more Information'
The Remaining Hours of SLA when a Case is set to 'Waiting for more Information' will be displayed. To explain..
If a Case is set to 'Waiting for more Information' and the option to 'Add Wait Time To Due Date' is set to ON in the Case's Due Date rule (defined during process design in Builder), then the system will PAUSE the SLA clock. In conjunction with this, the Due Date value normally displayed on the Case header bar will be hidden (because until the SLA clock starts again, we can't know it!). In its place, the system will show the remaining time which was left until the Case is due at the point where it was put into this state (or how long it was overdue at the point where it was put into this state, if it has already passed the due date).
Example: If the Case is yet to pass the due date the the message will show as 'Due: Paused x h y m before due'.
Example: If the work has passed the due date then the message will show as 'Due: Paused x h y m after overdue'.
'Wait Until' for a Case
Impact on SLA Clock: SLA Clock CONTINUES while Case is in this state.
If you're working on a Case and you have to temporarily halt work on it until a specific future date/time, you should choose 'Wait Until'.
When a Case is in this state, no more new Actions for that Case will be launched until the Follow Up Datetime has been reached. Users can complete Actions that have already launched and are already running Actions, but once these Actions have been completed, no new Actions will get launched.
When you click on 'Wait Until', you must specify the desired follow up date and time.
The date and time must be in the future and no more than one year ahead. If the follow up date you choose is later than the Case's due date, the system warns you that 'This date is beyond the Due Date. This may result in SLA failure'. It does not stop you.
Upon confirming the 'Wait Until' status, the Case will move from your Work Inbox into your Owned Work list, as there is no active work to be carried out on it until the follow up date.
When this date is reached, the Case will move back from your Owned Work list into your Work Inbox in a state of To Do, highlighted for you to progress. If everything in the Case has in fact been completed by then, the Case moves straight to Closed instead.
'Pause' for a Case
Impact on SLA Clock: SLA Clock CONTINUES while Case is in this state.
If you're working on a Case and you have to temporarily halt work on it, but you are not waiting for some information from a third party or client, or waiting until a specific future date/time, you should choose 'Pause'.
When a Case is in a state of Waiting, no more new Actions for that Case will be launched until a user actively changes the status of the Case to To Do or In Progress. There is no automatic way of taking a Case out of a state of Pause, it can only be done manually. Users can complete Actions that have already launched and are already running Actions, but once these Actions have been completed, no new Actions will get launched.
Upon confirming the 'Pause' status, the Case will move from your Work Inbox into your Owned Work list, as there is no active work to be carried out on it by you until a user actively changes the status of the Case to To Do or In Progress.
When this is done, the Case will move back from your Owned Work list into your Work Inbox in a state of To Do, highlighted for you to progress.
The one exception is a Case that was paused because one of its Actions paused it. That Case resumes by itself when the Action comes off Wait.
Editing an existing wait
While a Case is waiting, the Info Card offers an 'Edit Wait' button. Use this to change the wait type, the wait reason or the follow up date without first moving the Case to another status.
Resolving a Case
Most Cases resolve themselves. When all the steps, Actions and Sub Cases in a Case are completed, the system resolves the Case with a resolution method of 'All Actions And Cases Closed'.
The Case moves into a state of 'Resolved' if the Case has been configured with a feedback window, using the 'Keep Case Open' setting on the Case Info tab in Builder. It will sit in this status for a brief period during which the service recipient may respond and the Case may be reopened, either manually or automatically upon receipt of a new incoming email or feedback within the time period.
If all the work is complete but the Case is flagged as needing attention, Enate does not resolve it. It puts the Case into Waiting with a reason of 'One or more Actions not completed successfully', for the Case Owner to deal with.
Resolving a Case yourself
Selecting Resolved from the status button asks you for a resolution method. Two options can appear:
Complete
Resolves the Case as finished.
Only when every step and Action in the Case has been completed.
Cancel
Aborts the Case.
Always.
If the Case still has work outstanding, Complete is not offered and Cancel is your only option.
After the feedback window has completed without any further response, or if the Case does not have a feedback window, the Case will move to a state of fully 'Closed'. Any subsequent mails received will launch a brand new work item.
Reopening a Case
The 'Reopen' button only appears on a Case that is Resolved and whose Case process has been configured to allow reopening. Clicking it puts the Case back into In Progress and assigns it to you. Note that this differs from a Ticket, which reopens into To Do.
If new information arrives while the Case is Resolved and inside its feedback window, Enate reopens the Case into To Do.
Once a Case is Closed it cannot be reopened, and anyone following it is automatically unfollowed.
Cancelling/Aborting a Case
Selecting the 'Cancel' option and hitting the button to confirm will abort the Case. It will be completely closed and will no longer be available to process. If you re-open the tab for this item, system will confirm that the Case has been aborted.
Cancelling a Case also closes every Action and Sub Case under it that has not already finished. They are closed with a reason of 'Cancelled' and none of them can be reopened.
Ending a Case early
If the Case flow reaches an End Case Action, Enate closes every Action and Sub Case still running under the Case and resolves the Case, both with a reason of 'End Case'. The Case then follows its normal route to Closed.
Worked example: a new starter Case that pauses for a signature
10040-C, 'Jack Jones new starter', is launched from a Ticket and starts in To Do.
The first step launches an HR Approval Action. As soon as someone picks that Action up, the Case moves itself to In Progress.
Step 2 launches a 'Send Contract' Action. The contract is sent and the Action waits for a reply. The Action is configured to pause its parent Case, so the Case moves to Waiting with a wait type of 'Wait For More Information' and a wait reason of 'Awaiting Information from Action'.
While the Case waits, the Actions for step 3 are not launched. They are held as pending Actions.
Jack returns the signed contract. The Action comes off Wait, the Case resumes to In Progress by itself, and the pending step 3 Actions launch.
The last Action in step 3 is resolved as 'Unable to Complete'. Enate puts the Case into To Do and flags it as needing attention, with a reason of 'Action Unable To Complete'.
The Case Owner reads the reason, ticks 'Issue resolved, allow the Case to continue', selects In Progress and chooses 'Move to Next Step'. The Case carries on.
When the last step finishes, Enate resolves the Case with a resolution method of 'All Actions And Cases Closed'. The Case process has 'Keep Case Open' set to 5 days, so the Case sits in Resolved for 5 days and then moves to Closed.
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