Action Plans are driven by the steps created as Action Plans Items. The Item describes the action to be taken at this step in the dispatch process. Each item is given an Action Type and is set up differently according to the type. The main Actions that can be taken in an Action Plan are Dialing (Phone List), Verifying Contacts (Code Word), Asking Questions (Decision) and Dispatching (Operator Action). In addition, checks can be made for other available action plans based on other alarm signals (Check Additional Action Plans), the action plan can 'jump' back to a previous step (Retry Loop), or Dialing and Verification can be done in one step (Phone Verify Code Word).
Action Plan Items are organized in an expandable/collapsible tree. The first step created will be at the beginning of the tree. Subsequent steps are created by selecting the item for the previous step from the tree and pressing the add button on the Action Plan Item pane. This will create a step with the selected step as the previous action. Multiple 'branches' can be created by returning to the previous step in the tree and creating a new step.
Depending on the Action Type of the previous step, a step may require a Action Outcome or Outcome Prompt to tell the Dispatch Action Wizard how to proceed.
Common Fields used for all step types:
- Description - the description will be shown in the step tree as well as the dispatch action wizard.
- Action Type - action type determines what action will occur in this step.
- Dispatch Instructions - Dispatch instructions will show in the dispatch action wizard. The instructions allow for Rich Text and Variables.
- Previous Action - Previous Action is entered automatically during step creation. *except for the first step* The previous step can be changed if needed.
- Variation Lvl - Entering a Variation Lvl on a step will perform a check against the conditions of variations assigned to that Variation level. If conditions are met for a variation, the wizard will switch to the variation action plan.
- Required with Parent - Checking the required with parent flag sets up a string of steps to be done together in dispatch regardless of other incoming signals. If a higher priority signal comes in, the action plan switches automatically at the conclusion of the current step. However, if the current step is a Call, followed by a decision and a verification, the following steps may be necessary to be made before switching. In this situation, the following steps can be marked as required with parent to delay switching until a step without 'required with parent' is reached.