Agenda

1
Agenda

• Overview of Event, Condition, Action (ECA)
• Whats new in release 7.0
• Designing effective workflows
• Questions

2
Overview

• ECA is an event driven messaging system that
• increases productivity
• by automating workflows
• where
• Events are data base changes that trigger actions
• Conditions are data qualifiers that limit events
  actions
• Actions are the output methods that inform others
  of the event

3
Overview (cont.)

• ECA versus database triggers
• Advantages of ECA
• No programming required
• Supports Read and Scan events as well as updates
• Flexible output (Print, e-mail, Fax, Screen,
  Lists Alarms)
• Multiple update suppression

4
Overview (cont.)

• ECA versus Database triggers (cont.)
• Disadvantages of ECA
• Not 100 implemented throughout MANAGE 2000
• Designed more for messaging than related file
  updates

5
Overview (cont.)

• Basic setup and maintenance functions
• Optional Tables
• ECA.KEYWORDS Define distribution lists
• ECA.CLASSES Define class codes
• ECA.NOTIFY.TEXT Define standard text blocks
• Pre-Configured Tables
• ECA.SYSTEM.REFS Define distribution lists
• MONITOR.CLASSES Define monitor entities

6
Overview (cont.)

• Basic setup and maintenance functions
• Optional Setup
• MONITOR.CONTROLS Pop up Inbox setup
• MONITOR.INTERFACE Pop up Inbox control
• Required Setup
• ECA.BUILD Define ECAs
• CONTACTS Define recipients
• ECA.AGENT.CTLS Control message processing

7
The Players
Event Administrator

• Sets up event/condition/action

Recipient

• Controls own actions

Source User

• Initiates event and may control distribution

8
Event Administrators

• Define the events, conditions, and default
  actions
• Control the distribution channels
• Administer security
• Maintain contact information

9
Source Users

• Trigger events by performing transactions
• At the Event Administrators discretion may
  preview and update the distribution list
• At the Event Administrators discretion may
  preview and update the notification text

10
Recipients

• Recipients control their interaction by
• Setting default receipt method for all ECA's
• Setting override receipt method by ECA
• Subscribing to Sign-up enabled ECA's
• Deactivating undesired ECAs
• Setting Nag Buffering by ECA
• Maintain contact information

11
Recipient Definition
The CONTACT.MASTER file defines ECA recipients
and their options.
Recipient

• Recipients can maintain their
• ECA subscriptions and delivery methods
• Address and contact information
• Keywords
• System Administrator rights are required to
  maintain
• ECA keywords
• ECA system references
• Another users ECA subscriptions and delivery
  methods

12
Recipient Definition (cont.)

• ECA system references are used to associate
  contacts with things like
• System User
• Customer Service Representative
• Customer Service Responsibility Group
• Buyer
• Departments
• Employee
• Inventory Planner
• Sales Representative
• Customer
• Vendor
• Work Center

13
Recipient Definition (cont.)

• ECA Keywords are used to group contacts by
  keywords like
• Sales
• Officers
• VP
• Use ECA system references and keywords to create
  distribution lists
• System Administrator rights are required to
  maintain ECA system reference and keyword contact
  data

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Recipient Definition (cont.)

• Contact keywords may also be used to create
  distribution lists
• Recipients addresses are defined by
• Phone types
• Email address
• System user ID or external email address
• Fax number
• Phone device must be a fax device
• Auto notify
• Yes / No flag for address use

Recipient
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ECA.BUILD

• Used by Event Administrator to define ECAs
• Defines the output format and content
• Defines the events, conditions, and actions
• Controls the distribution process

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ECA.BUILD - Controls

• Status
• Active/Inactive flag
• Effective/Non-effective dates
• File references
• Assign short names to data files used
• Function associations
• Limit to specific functions (e.g. CASE, ITEMS,
  SO.ENTRY, etc.)
• Function list is either inclusive or exclusive

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ECA.BUILD - Controls (cont.)

• Tolerance limits
• Establish a list of percent or value limits for
  use with individual events
• Options
• Provide control of
• Notification list preview/update
• Output preview/update
• Testing tools

18
ECA.BUILD - Controls (cont.)

• Scan
• Scan a file for events such as past due dates
• Use an index to limit the scan
• One message per hit is sent

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ECA.BUILD - Message Scripting

• Text keywords
• Assign names and formats to derived data
• Data is derived from the reference files at run
  time
• Derived data may be used to translate to another
  reference file
• Attributes can be real or virtual, single or
  multi-valued, standard or custom

20
ECA.BUILD - Message Scripting (cont.)

• ECL commands
• Any valid UniData ECL command
• Construct commands from
• Free form text
• Text keywords enclosed in
• ECA variables
• Results can be used in the message body

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ECA.BUILD - Message Scripting (cont.)

• Message (like an email) contains
• From - who sent the message
• Subject - short Description
• Body - text of the message
• Construct From, Subject, and Body from
• Free form text
• Text keywords enclosed in
• ECA variables

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ECA.BUILD - Message Scripting (cont.)

• Body also supports the inclusion of
• Notification text (TM table 176)
• Copy in or include dynamically at run time
• Summary or detail of enabled events
• Sent To List
• Result of ECL command
• Formatting commands
• Tabs and page breaks
• Multi-valued tables
• Text formatting

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ECA.BUILD - Events

• Each ECA may define one or more logical or actual
  events
• Events are based on changes to an entire record
  or individual attributes
• Events have 0-n related conditions and actions
• Tolerance limits can be used to restrict events
• Event distribution can be restricted or published
  for open sign-up

E
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ECA.BUILD - Events (cont.)

• Event types
• Determine what reference file elements are used
• Record types
• Created, deleted, read
• Attribute types
• Add, change, delete
• Increase or decrease in value
• Is null
• Is present
• Attributes can be real or virtual, single or
  multi-valued, standard or custom

E
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ECA.BUILD - Conditions

• Used to qualify both events and actions
• Supports AND/OR logic and standard operands
• Comparisons based on
• Literal values
• Data derived from files
• Attributes can be real or virtual, single or
  multi-valued, standard or custom
• Text keywords
• ECA variables
• SYS.CTL values

C
26
ECA.BUILD - Actions

• Actions can be associated with 0-n events
• 0-n conditions can be used to qualify an action
• Depend on recipients CONTACTS data
• Group notifications based on
• ECA and standard keywords
• System references (e.g., Buyers, Planners, etc.)
• Specific notifications based on
• Contact ID
• System user ID

A
27
ECA.BUILD - Actions (cont.)

• Notification methods
• External contacts (e.g., Customers, Vendors,
  etc.)
• Email - external
• Fax
• System users
• Email - internal or external
• Fax
• Printer
• Alarms
• ECA transactions
• Action 1 records

A
28
ECA.BUILD - Actions (cont.)

• Notification methods (cont.)
• Source user
• Screen message
• Email - internal or external
• Fax
• Printer
• Alarms
• ECA transactions
• Action 1 records
• Other programs
• Action 1 records

A
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ECA.BUILD - Testing

• ECAs can be tested and debugged prior to general
  activation using ECA options.
• Choose one of the truth result options
• Assign yourself as the source user
• Trigger the ECA until you achieve the desired
  result

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Whats New in 7.0

• Packets
• Scheduling
• Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)
• Application Data ECA variable
• Enhanced scripting options

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Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• Packets
• Supports bundling of action messages from one or
  more ECAs into a single notification
• Defined within the ECA or by contact
• Supports the use of scheduling to determine the
  frequency of distribution

32
Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• Scheduling
• Supports scheduling of Packets and File Scans
• Provides a variety of scheduling methods
• Not yet available, currently planned for release
  with SP2

33
Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• HTML
• ECA Transaction Inbox and Message format
• Application data ECA variable
• Variable that the application programmer may set
  to control ECA processing
• Currently used only by SO.ENTRY to indicate final
  update mode

34
Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• Enhanced Scripting options
• New Commands
• - Line continuation
• /From - Override the From text
• /Subj Override the Subject text
• /Packet Assign the ECA to a Packet

35
Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• New Commands (cont.)
• /Opt.Url Access a URL within the EOTBrowser
• /Opt.Urlx Access a URL via your default browser
• nbsp Include a space, non-breaking or
  untrimmed
• lt_at_nnngt - Include predefined HTML format commands

36
Whats New in 7.0 (cont.)

• Enhanced Scripting options
• Enhanced Commands
• /Set.Pri - Define priority descriptions as well
  as priority
• /Call Return formatted data as text
• /Opt.Fcn Define a description to display in
  place of the function name. Also applies to all
  other /Opt commands.

37
Designing Effective Workflows

• Define the process on paper first
• Identify base event for each step in the process
• For each event identify the base file and data
• Is there a discrete data element to trigger the
  event
• If not is there a logical set of data elements
• If not can you define one with user defined
  fields
• If not this is a manual step and falls outside of
  ECA control

38
Designing Effective Workflows (cont.)

• For each non-manual step
• Identify links to pass
• Identify recipients and method of notification
• Construct an ECA
• Simple is better
• Short messages get more attention
• Group links in logical blocks

39
Question and Answers
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Thank You!