Workflow 1: Dispatchers can see availability and borrow technicians from other branches
When I am scheduling a job, but I don't have enough techs available to form a crew, I want to be able to see tech availability in other branches, So I will know if there are any external techs I can borrow.
Fig. 1: Branch dropdown menu in Job Page
The first step in this workflow is to create a new job. On the Job Page, I will see a new dropdown menu named Branch. This list contains a list of all branches to which I have Full Access (see Use Case 4 for more on Branch Access).
My Base Branch is Stoneybatter Branch, so I will set this as the branch for the job.
Fig. 2: Crew Table showing color-coding and Branch dropdown menu
I now add Sterling Morrison from the Stoneybatter branch. The color-coded block beside his name gives me a quick visual confirmation of his Base Branch. I want to add another crew member, but I know that Stoneybatter techs are at full capacity, so I decide to check availability in other branches.
Fig. 3: Color-coded rows in the Scheduler
In the Scheduler, I display technicians from Los Victorinos branch. I open the Filter Panel to double check that the data is being shown correctly.
Fig. 4: Color-coded names in the Filter Panel
I can see the four technicians from Los Victorinos are selected in the Scheduler view. I can easily confirm that the correct techs are being shown by the color block beside their names.
I see that no one in Los Victorinos has jobs scheduled for Tuesday. From the Scheduler, I open the Work Plan dialog. I set the Branch to Los Victorinos and I add Ciaran Campbell to the crew.
Fig. 5: Adding crew members from another branch
I return to the Scheduler and see a job block has been added to Ciaran Campbell’s row. Using the filters, I add Sterling Morrison to the view. The heavy line and the color block give an at-a-glance indication that the crew members are from different branches.
Fig. 6: Technician rows sorted by branch
The tooltip also shows me the Branch information about the job – the branch in which the job was created, and the Base Branches of the crew members.
Fig. 7: Branch data in Scheduler Tooltip
Fig. 8: Borrowed technician indicated in tooltip
Workflow 2: Dispatchers can manage technicians across multiple branches
When I am managing resources and jobs for up to 20 branches
I want to be able to select to view the branches individually or all together
So I can see the view of my data that is most appropriate for my task.
In this scenario I am managing a group of techs based in 6 different branches, so the first thing I do is open the Branch Selector.
Fig. 9: Branch Selector
The Branch Selector lists all the branches to which I have View-Only Access or Full Access. To understand more about Branch Access, see the later section. The selected branches set the context for the whole application. The selection does not change as I navigate between tabs, thus giving a consistent view of the data at all times.
In the Scheduler, I create a Saved View for a group of techs who are based in 6 different branches. The branches in the Branch Selector match the branches in which the filtered technicians are based.
Fig. 10: Branch Selector and Scheduler
Jobs List and Users List
List data is determined by what’s in the Branch Selector. At this time, Jobs/Quotes and Users are segregated by branch. To filter out jobs from a different branch, remove the branch from the Branch Selector. To view jobs from another branch, simply add it to the Branch Selector.