Design Phase

Review Messaging Between the Source System and iWD

It is important to understand how the source system works. In particular, which triggers on the source system will be used to generate iWD messages (such as, CreateTask or UpdateTask). The involvement of all stakeholders—business analysts and technical personnel, representing both the source system and the iWD business process—is key to a successful outcome.

Map Out Complete Task Flow or State Model

During the design phase, it is important to document the end-to-end message flows from the source system all the way to the agent desktop or toolbar, that describe messaging for each scenario that might be encountered. Ladder diagrams that show the various actors in the system can be very useful for this exercise.

Also, ask the question, “When is a task considered completed from a business perspective?” The answer affects both reporting and distribution. For example: A task enters iWD_Queued and is distributed to and handled by an employee and then, is passed on (for example, it is completed or transferred by the employee or deferred for later completion). In which of these scenarios do you want the task to be considered completed from the iWD state model perspective? Completed in this sense means completed by the Department and Process.

Do you want the task to be completed only when it is completed within the source system? This can allow for true end-to-end reporting that captures when the task is created in the source system until the time it is completed in the source system, plus the time spent on the task by any iWD-enabled employees. This discussion becomes particularly relevant when you design the triggers on the source system for the iWD operations such as CreateTask, UpdateTask, and RestartTask.

Don’t Forget About the Desktop

There might be times when task-related logic needs to be implemented at the employee desktop, or toolbar. For example, if an UpdateTask message is received while the task is assigned to an employee, the desktop might need to react in different ways, depending on the content of the update message. In those cases, it is important to include the desktop or toolbar developer during the design phase when various scenarios are discussed and documented.