Hello folks,

You might be already aware of the concept of adding additional fields/contextual fields using custom fields in Time Alerts for example showcasing Business units, Legal entities in Time Collector Alerts. This blog is an extension of a similar concept but more towards adding more contextual information regarding time valuation. Each time valuation is built on a purpose for ex: calculating overtime, Flex-Time, Bandwidths, working time, breaks, etc. What if we would like to indicate this classification for time valuation alert to provide more contextual information to time admins? This is currently possible using Reports where you can add custom information to existing time alerts report using Joins.

In this blog, we will also explore another way or mechanism where this information can be integrated or displayed on Admin Alerts UI for time management. This blog is written in collaboration with colleagues from Time Product Management. So, I would like to thank them as well for this collaborative work.

Now Let’s get to design part of the solution

Solution Design:

We will divide the design into following steps

• Add a custom field to Time Type Groups of type picklist which allows classifying them (Overtime, Flextime, etc.)
• Create a transient field at the alert object, e.g. Time Valuation Alert
• Create an on load rule to fill this classification (transient field)

First, create a picklist for Time Type Group Classification as displayed below

In this example, I have two classifications

• Overtime: Any alert related to overtime can be categorized as Overtime. You can have more versions of this like OT1.5 , OT 2.0 etc.
• Flex Time Violation: If you have a flex-time bandwidth for time recording and say you record time outside the boundary, then these alerts can be categorized with this type

For demonstration, let’s stick to only Flex Time Violation for now but in general, you can use this for any category like overtime, working time, breaks etc. Extend the above picklist as per your needs

Next, create a custom field of type picklist in the ‘Time Type Group’ MDF Object and use the above picklist. This can be done via Configure Object Definition from Admin Center

Next, create a custom field of type picklist in the ‘Time Valuation Alert’ MDF object and mark this as a transient field. This can be done via Configure Object Definition from Admin Center

In the third step, Create an OnLoad rule to fill this time type group Classification field

You can do this from Object Configuration under Manage Data

In the above rule, we have used a Look Up to fetch the Classification from Time Type Group Object using external code of Time Type Group which is stored in the Time valuation Alert during the creation of alert.

This is it from the configuration point of view for time type group classifications

Testing

For demonstration purposes, I have an example of flex time violation. If employee records time outside Flex Bandwidth, an alert is sent.

Below is the sample time valuation

And the alert is raised on the time type group above “Unpaid Times Outside Flex Bandwidth”

Prior to this make sure you have also configured the Time Type Group Classification for the relevant time type group as shown below

An employee now records time outside the flex window and an alert is raised

The flex window ends at 7PM but we have times recorded until 8 PM

Now go to Admin Alerts UI from the admin center

In Admin Alerts Type Select “Time Valuation” and in the view settings select the custom field “Time Type Group Classification”

You can now see the classification displayed as shown

Hope this solution helps. This can be used as an alternative to reports.

Thank you