9.10 Work Engine Admin

Some PharmaERP modules give people tasks by themselves. For example, when a buyer records on a purchase order an expiry date that a supplier has offered, PharmaERP finds the sales orders that need that expiry accepted. The buyer gets an Expiry check task, and the salesperson of each affected customer gets an Answer needed task. People see these tasks in My tasks and in the bell at the top of every page. The part of PharmaERP that raises, moves and closes these tasks is called the work engine.

Each module joins the work engine as a work pack. The pack describes the kinds of work the module creates, how each one can end, and who gets it. Work Engine Admin is where the ERP administrator checks that a module's automatic tasks are set up correctly. With the right permission, you can also repair tasks that were not created. The page is used by ERP administrators, IT support, and the business owner who decides when a module goes live.

Before you start

Note: Before anyone can be given the right to open this page, IT must do a one-off set-up. Until IT has done it, nobody can open Work Engine Admin. Everyone sees the Access Denied page, even the root user. If you cannot find the page, ask IT whether the set-up has been done.

You need these rights in Role Master, under the section WORK ENGINE, page Work Engine Admin:

Rights are read when you sign in. After a change in Role Master, sign out and sign in again.

Before you repair work for a module, IT must have run that module's set-up script. Until then the module shows Seeded No and Seed differs. For Run Repair to create tasks, there must also be work waiting in the module. If nothing is waiting, the result is "0 checked, 0 changed", which is correct.

To find the page:

1. Sign in to PharmaERP.

2. In the left menu open System Settings.

3. Under Roles & Access, choose Work Engine Admin. The link shows only if you have the View right.

You can also open My tasks (when it is shown) and click Work Engine Admin in its toolbar.

The screen at a glance

Note: This page has no screenshots yet, because it cannot be opened until IT has done the set-up above.

With View only, the Re-run pack check button and the Run Repair column are not shown.

Step by step

Check how the automatic tasks are set up

Do this before a module goes live on automatic tasks, after IT has run a set-up script, after a new PharmaERP release, or when users report that a save said the task list could not be updated.

1. Open System Settings, then Roles & Access, then Work Engine Admin.

2. Wait for the tables to appear. Check the Read at time.

3. For each module, read the heading. Green Seed matches the pack means the set-up is correct. Red Seed differs means its kinds of work are treated as off.

4. For each kind of work, read Seeded, Switched, Pack check and Open work.

Reading the page changes no task. If a module fails its check, PharmaERP also writes one warning to the Error Log with the WRK- reference shown in the module heading. If a module has not been set up, ask IT to run its set-up script.

Re-run the pack check after a fix

PharmaERP remembers the result of a check, so a fix does not show by itself.

1. After IT confirms the set-up script has run or a fix was deployed, open the page.

2. Click Re-run pack check. The button is greyed out while the check runs.

3. Read the module heading again. It should say Seed matches the pack, and the rows should show Seeded Yes and Pack check Passed.

If the check still fails, the red box says what differs. Send that text and the WRK- reference to the development team. Each re-run that still fails writes another Error Log warning.

Run Repair for one kind of work

Run Repair makes the tasks match the business records. It creates tasks for work that needs one, closes tasks whose work is finished, and cancels tasks whose record no longer exists. Use it after the check has passed and before the module is switched on, or later after a save warned that the task list could not be updated.

1. Make sure the module heading says Seed matches the pack. Repair refuses a kind of work that fails the check.

2. On the row of the kind of work, click Run Repair. For Expiry confirmation, repair Expiry check first, then Answer needed.

3. When your browser asks you to confirm, click OK to go on or Cancel to stop.

4. Wait while the line under the button says Running…. Do not close the page.

5. Read the result under the button. "Done: 3 checked, 3 changed" means 3 records were looked at and 3 tasks were created, changed or closed.

6. Reload the page to see the new Open work count.

If Repair cannot finish, the line says "Not finished" with a reference. Pass the reference to the development team, have the cause fixed, then run Repair again. It only does what is still missing.

Switch a module's tasks on

Switching on is shared between IT, the administrator and the business owner. It is done once for each module.

A user reports "Saved, but the task list could not be updated"

1. Ask for the time of the save and the record, for example the purchase order number.

2. Open Work Engine Admin. If the module shows Seed differs, the set-up is the cause. Check and re-run the pack check with IT.

3. If the set-up is fine, give the time to IT so they can find the Error Log entry. Once the cause is fixed, click Run Repair for that kind of work.

4. Tell the user that the record was saved all along and the task will appear after the repair.

Messages you may see

Good to know

• Run Repair creates real tasks for real people, even while the module is switched off. Agree the timing with the business owner and run it close to go-live.

• A kind of work can show Switched On and still create no tasks if its Pack check is Failed. Always read the two columns together.

• Users do not see new tasks live. Ask them to reload My tasks.

• Large repairs take time while you wait on the page. Run them outside busy hours.

• PharmaERP does not record who switched a module on or off. Keep your own note, for example in the change ticket.