Activity patterns

Activity patterns are templates that standardize the way PolicyCenter generates activities. Both Gosu classes and the user interface create activities based on these patterns. Each pattern describes one kind of activity for handling the policy or account process.

Activity patterns contain many default, or typical, characteristics for each activity, such as its name, its relative priority, and whether or not it is mandatory. When an activity is created either by you or through Gosu, PolicyCenter uses the pattern as a template to set the activity’s default values, such as Subject and Priority. Defaults can be overridden.

Activity pattern components

The following is an explanation of the various fields used in creating or modifying an activity pattern. You can do this from the Activity Patterns menu link in the Administration tab.

Field

Description

Short Subject

Enter a brief description of the activity. Use Short Subject in small areas of the user interface where Subject may be too long.

Automated Only

Required. Click Yes or No to indicate whether this pattern is not available for manually created activities and used only by rules and Gosu.

Description

Enter a description of what is expected in the completion of this activity. This field is visible only when looking at the details of the activity.

Escalation Days

Enter how many days before an activity will be escalated if not complete. Escalation also depends upon Escalation Start Point.

Escalation Hours

Enter how many hours before an activity will be escalated if not complete. Escalation also depends upon Escalation Start Point.

If you specify both Escalation Days and Escalation Hours, the activity will be escalated in that many days and hours. For example, if you specify 2 escalation days and 8 escalation hours, the activity will be escalated in 56 hours ((2 x 24) + 8).

Mandatory

Required. Click Yes or No to indicate whether you can skip this activity.

Code

Enter the internal name for the pattern. Business rules and Gosu use this code when creating an activity or checking to see which pattern an activity was created from.

Recurring

Required. Click Yes or No to indicate whether the activity recurs on a regular schedule. When you complete a recurring activity, you click a Complete and Create New button rather than Complete button. This action automatically creates a new activity.

Subject

Required. Enter the title of the activity pattern.

Target Days

Enter the target number of days to complete this activity. The number of days also depends upon Target Start Point.

Target Hours

Enter the target number of hours to complete this activity.This number of hours also depends upon Target Start Point.

If you specify both Target Days and Target Hours, the activity is targeted to be completed in that many days and hours. For example, if you specify 2 target days and 8 target hours, the activity is targeted to be completed in 56 hours ((2 x 24) + 8).

Category

Select the category of the activity. The category determines where the activity pattern appears in the New Activity screen action menu. The user interface displays related groups of patterns making it easier for you to select a pattern.

The Category field classifies patterns into related groups. Each typecode of the ActivityCategory typelist is an activity pattern Category, and relates each Category to a Type. The categories in the default application are:

  • Correspondence
  • Interview
  • New mail
  • Reminder
  • Request
  • Response
  • General
  • Underwriter Review

Activity Class

Required. Select whether the activity is a task or event. A task can have a due date but an event cannot.

Escalation Start Point

Select when to begin calculating the escalation date or time. Choices include: Activity creation date, Policy Effective Date, and Policy Expiration Date.

Target Start Point

Select when to begin calculating the target date. Choices include: Activity creation date, Policy Effective Date, and Policy Expiration Date.

Priority

Select from the drop-down menu whether the activity is Urgent, High, Normal, or Low.

Type

Required. Select whether the activity is a General or Assignment Review activity. General activities are closed by being completed or skipped. Assignment Review activities are added to a supervisor’s Pending Assignment queue.

Pattern Level

Required. Select All, Account, Job, or Policy. These indicates the levels at which the activity can be attached.

Creating and editing activity patterns

Administrators or managers with sufficient permissions can view, create, and edit patterns on the Activity Patterns page under the Administration tab.

An activity pattern and an activity created from the pattern can have the same name. The pattern suggests its own name as the default activity name. You can think of a pattern as an entity, and the corresponding activity as an instance of it.

Create new activity patterns or modify existing ones by clicking the Activity Patterns sidebar in the Administration tab.

Create a new activity pattern

Procedure

  1. Click New Activity Pattern on the Activity Patterns screen.
  2. Enter the data as described in Activity pattern components.
  3. To save, click Update.

Modify an existing activity pattern

Procedure

  1. Select the desired pattern.
  2. Enter the data as described in Activity pattern components.
  3. To save, click Update.