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Glossary for Service Edge
Learn about the terms you might encounter when working with Click Field Service Edge.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Active | (Describing a resource) Capable of being scheduled. For example, a resource who works normal working hours is active. A resource who is on an extended leave of absence is inactive. |
| Administrator | A person who is responsible for managing Service Edge in a service organization. This includes managing users and user roles, monitoring and managing the tenant, and managing basic objects. |
| Agents Manager | A tool used to schedule and run agents. |
| Agent | A server component that can run periodically and perform server-side operations, such as scheduling tasks, improving the existing schedule, or purging obsolete data. |
| Alert | Notifications about conditions that need to be brought to the attention of the user. Alerts panel indications enable users to immediately respond to these conditions. |
| Aggregate | A structured data type containing property values of business objects. For example, the Stamp property of the Task object is an aggregate type that specifies the user that created the task, and the time it was created. |
| Appointment | A time slot for the beginning of a task assignment. |
| Assignment | An allocation of a resource to a task. The Assignment business object that represents the assignment includes a task, a resource who performs the task, and a time interval when the task is to be performed. |
| Audit trail | A chronologically ordered log of business activities that tracks the history of all create/update/delete changes made to a specific object, such as a task, assignment, or resource. |
| Automatic scheduling service | A logic service that schedules tasks automatically, without user intervention, for example online optimization. |
| Availability factor | The ratio between net hours and gross hours (including idle time) when a contractor can perform tasks. The availability factor is useful when scheduling work to a contractor. |
| Basic properties | User-defined properties that can be used in forms but not for operations requiring filtering, sorting, or searching. |
| Business hierarchy | The hierarchical structure used by the customer to define organizational levels, such as region/district. When using Service Edge you can load the data for specific hierarchical levels as needed. |
| Business object | An object of a type that is stored in the Service Edge database, and that has Key, Revision, Stamp, and other properties. Some examples of business objects are Task, Engineer, Assignment, Rule, Objective, Group, and Setting. |
| Calculated object | A business object that is dynamically derived from another business object. |
| Calendar | A definition of the time intervals when a resource or task can be scheduled. Resource calendars reflect the planned availability of resources, meaning their general working hours. Organizational calendars reflect the hours that an organization works. |
| Call ID | The main identifier of a task. Additional qualifiers can be added to uniquely identify a task. For example, in multistage tasks, the combination of Call ID and Number uniquely identifies each component task. |
| Centralized log | The Service Edge system maintains logs that record information and troubleshooting events originating in many components. The centralized log enables administrators to view records from all the logs in a single location. |
| Check Rules | A logic service that verifies whether an assignment conforms to the scheduling rules. A user, when manually scheduling a task, can use this service to check whether the scheduling violates a scheduling rule. |
| Click Field Service Edge (abbreviated Service Edge) | ClickSoftware's cloud-based, multitenant software platform for service organizations. Previously called SO Suite and Service Optimization. |
| ClickMobile | The Service Edge application that communicates between field service personnel and the back-office server. ClickMobile enables field resources to transmit and receive updated schedule information via smartphones and other portable communication devices. |
| ClickSchedule | The Service Edge application that schedules tasks and creates assignments. ClickSchedule automates and streamlines the scheduling process by enabling it to be performed with minimal human intervention. It can be integrated with Customer Relations Management (CRM) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to provide efficient scheduling of service personnel and other resources. |
| Clipboard | A panel of the ClickSchedule UI that temporarily stores and displays tasks in preparation for scheduling operations. The Clipboard provides easy access to tasks requiring attention. |
| Collection | The set of all business objects or dictionary items of a particular data type. For example, the Task collection contains task objects. The Region collection contains region dictionary items. |
| Configuration | The process of setting the Service Edge options and behavior via predefined administrative interfaces (as opposed to customization). |
| Contractor | A resource that represents an outsourcing organization, that employs multiple field engineers. Scheduling tasks to a contractor can be performed with the same ease as scheduling to a resource. |
| Cordova | A mobile application development framework used in ClickMobile Touch that enables continuously enhancing ClickMobile Touch apps irrespective of the mobile device platform. |
| Crew | A team of resources who need to be scheduled to work together. Resources can be allocated to a crew for a specific time period. |
| CRM | Customer Relationship Management system, which can be integrated with ClickSchedule, to provide better and more efficient scheduling of service personnel and other resources. |
| CSR | Customer Service Representatives that are typical ClickSchedule users. |
| Customization | The process of developing special-purpose code that is programmed or supplied for the benefit of a specific organization that uses Service Edge (as opposed to configuration). |
| Data domain | A subset of objects (tasks, resources, and time intervals) available to a logic service in Service Edge for scheduling or processing. |
| Demand | A request for an assignment; a generic term for "task". |
| Demand category | A task type or a task category. |
| Dictionary | A predefined and complete list of possible values of a business object or a property and, optionally, associated information. For example, the TaskType dictionary can contain values such as Installation, Electrical, and Plumbing. The SparePart dictionary can contain, in addition to spare parts, the catalog numbers and prices of the parts. |
| Dispatcher | A ClickSchedule user who monitors the schedule and reacts to emergencies and special cases. |
| Drip Feed | A method for dispatching tasks to a ClickMobile device, one by one as the previous tasks are completed. |
| Duration | The time that a task or assignment takes to complete. Task duration is used by Service Edge to optimize the schedule. You can configure Service Edge to include a lunch break scheduled next to a task in the task duration or not. |
| Dynamic priority | A numerical value that the system computes automatically and updates periodically, that defines the importance or urgency of a task according to a dynamic combination of factors. It’s stored as one of the properties of the task. |
| Efficiency | The relative speed at which a resource works (1 = the nominal rate). |
| Engineer | A historical name for "resource", still used in the configuration interfaces and the API. |
| Filter | A setting that limits the UI display to specific objects, according to query or search criteria. This enables users, for example, to easily locate tasks or resources. |
| Gantt view | A visual representation of the schedule for the resources and their assignments over time. The Gantt view provides easy access to many task-related and resource-related activities. |
| Geographic Information System (GIS) | A system used to determine locations, travel distances, and travel times, and to display maps. Service Edge is connected to GIS. This enables you to monitor resource locations on a map in real-time. |
| Get Candidates | A Service Edge feature that suggests resources that can be assigned a given task. Users can use this feature for manual scheduling including relaxing rules. |
| Grade | A numerical score given to an assignment or an appointment slot according to the relative fulfillment of a given set of objectives. |
| Group | A business object that includes other objects according to specified logical criteria. For example, a task group can select tasks whose Region property has a value of Houston and whose Status property is Open. |
| Home base | The location where a resource starts and ends work each day. You can temporarily change the home base of a resource. |
| host-name-of-POD | The host name of the POD. In order to form an actual URL address, the host-name-of-POD is based on your own regional POD name representation. For example: https://fse-[Region].cloud.clicksoftware.com |
| Implementer | A person who is responsible for planning and configuring Service Edge in a service organization. |
| Index | A predefined hash sorting of a collection, enabling fast query performance. |
| int-host-name-of-POD | The integration host name of a POD, used by the Integration Manager and the web-based APIs. It’s based on the host-name-of-POD, and formed by adding -int after the regional POD name representation, followed by your POD ID. For example: https://fse-[Region]-int[POD ID].cloud.clicksoftware.com. |
| Integration | The process of adapting or configuring Service Edge to interact with external applications. |
| Integration User | Used by external systems and Service Edge API applications that send integration messages to Service Edge. The integration@<TenantName> account is defined as the tenant integration user. If Enable separate access permissions is switched on more than one user can be defined as an integration user. |
| Interactive scheduling | The process by which a dispatcher manually creates assignments in the UI. This enables manual intervention in the scheduling process. |
| Key | A unique numerical identifier for an object in the Service Edge database. |
| Logic service | A computational process that performs complex logical operations on business objects, such as scheduling or appointment booking. |
| Map View | In the ClickSchedule UI: A UI view that displays a map of task and resource locations, and the routes between them. Integration with external apps such as Google maps, enables viewing, for example, visual display of locations or traffic information. In Mobile: An area map with displayed objects. |
| Mobility Studio | A visual configuration editor for ClickMobile. |
| Multiday task (MDT) | A task whose assignment spans multiple days. |
| Multistage task (MST) | A composite task, composed of interdependent tasks, each of which is performed in a separate assignment. |
| Multivalue property | A property that can contain a set of values. For example, an Administrator can use the multivalue property to define an engineer property called SpareParts, which stores the keys and quantities of spare parts that the engineer carries. |
| Nonappointment task / Nonappointment | A task that doesn’t require coordinating the start time with a customer. It typically has an SLA (service level agreement) which stipulates the commitment to provide the service by a certain due date or a start by date. For example, an emergency Gas Leak task, which requires a resource to arrive on-site within 1 hour, or a maintenance task, such as cleaning pipes, which has a 3 months period window within which it can be done. |
| Nonavailability assignment / Nonavailability (NA) | As assignment that has no related task, representing times when the resource isn’t available for scheduling. This provides the scheduling process with the resource's work availability. |
| Object Query Language (OQL) | An XML vocabulary for expressing group criteria. |
| Objective | A logic entity that evaluates and grades assignments or schedules. |
| OnAfter/ OnBefore | Referring to an event that is raised immediately following or preceding a software operation. |
| Online optimization | A logic service that generates an optimized schedule, both by assigning new tasks and by modifying existing assignments. Previously called background optimization (BGO). |
| Optimizer | A logic component that improves a schedule by modifying existing assignments. |
| Out-of-the box (OOTB) | Supplied with the software and its applications. Opposed to custom or user-defined. |
| Package | A set of executable files or customization for deployment to the Service Edge system. Package Creator and Package Management are used by implementers to add customizations to Service Edge. |
| Pinned task | A task whose assignment can’t be changed or deleted. Schedulers can use this option to indicate that a task can’t be moved by the automatic process. |
| Point of deployment (POD) | A cloud environment that contains multiple tenants, a shared database schema, shared software tools, and a shared software version. The POD Manager is responsible for administrative POD actions such as backing up and restoring tenants. |
| Priority | The importance or urgency of a task, on a user-defined numerical scale. Lower values often (but not necessarily) indicate higher importance. |
| ProgID | Historical term for "type name", which is an identifier for a .NET class (Namespace.ClassName, DllName). |
| Property | A data field of a business object or dictionary item that contains information regarding the item. A property can be mandatory, which means it must be assigned a value. |
| Recurring NA | A nonavailability that is repeated at regular time intervals. This can be useful when a resource's unavailability is repeated for a specific time interval during the work day. |
| Recurring task | A task that is repeated at regular time intervals. When you must schedule a series of tasks at regular intervals you can create a recurring task. Each task in the series is then scheduled separately. |
| Referential integrity | Assurance that all database pointers from one object to another are valid. |
| Relevance group | A relevance group defines the assignments to which a rule or objective applies. A Relevance Group business object can contain a group of tasks and/or a group of resources. |
| Relocation | Temporarily moving resources from one location to another. This means users can temporarily change the resource's home base. |
| Resource | A field service representative who performs tasks, such as an engineer or technician. For historical reasons, resources are called "engineers" in the configuration interfaces and the API. |
| Resource dependencies | The resource relationship between two tasks, for example, users can indicate that the same resource must perform both tasks. Used in multistage tasks (MTS). |
| Resource List | A part of the Gantt view that displays all the resources defined in the system. The Resource List provides easy access to resources and actions on resources in Gantt view. |
| Role / user role | A set of permissions, which defines the level of access to Service Edge UI and its functionalities. Each user is assigned a role, and the role determines what this user can see and do in Service Edge. |
| Rolling | Shifting a time interval to start with the current time (of a data domain or a decomposition). For example, you can define the domain of an online optimization to start from day 1 (=today) to day 7. If the optimization starts on February 1, it rolls the domain to February 1 to 7. |
| Rule | A logic component that determines whether proposed assignments are permitted or forbidden for scheduling, according to specified logical constraints based on business policies and organizational goals. For example, a rule can require that a resource can be assigned to a task only if they are both in the same district. |
| Schedule | The set of assignments that a resource or an organization performs. The schedule is presented in the Gantt view of ClickSchedule. |
| Scheduling | The process of assigning resources to perform tasks. The scheduling process enables assigning resources based on the organizational needs, automatically or interactively, with minimal human intervention. |
| Schedule policy | A set of logic components such as rules and objectives that a logic service uses for scheduling. |
| Schema | The database structure definitions. The schema can be changed to fit the needs of the organization. |
| Schema Editor | A Service Edge tool that enables viewing and editing the schema of business objects and dictionary items. It can be used to add collections and properties. |
| SXP | Service eXchange Protocol. An XML-based programming interface of Service Edge. |
| Server | The central Service Edge component that performs data processing and logic operations. |
| Shift | A combination of a time period and a task group that specifies the type of tasks a resource can handle at specified times. |
| Service Level Agreement (SLA) | Contractual agreement to provide service to a customer at a predefined level. For example a commitment to arrive on site within 24 hours. |
| Task | A job to be performed. A service request. |
| Task Category | Task types grouped in the Task Catalog view for easy management. |
| Task List | A UI view that displays tasks. The Task List provides easy access to tasks and actions on tasks in the Gantt view. |
| Task Life Cycle | The sequence of stages or statuses through which a task passes. The lifecycle covers the time from which the task enters the organization until the time when it’s completed. |
| Task Type | A Task property relating a task to a specific TaskType object. The TaskType object acts as a template for tasks that tend to reoccur, where all of the common task information is defined. |
| Tenant | Part of a POD holding an individual customer's data, configurations, and customization, isolated from other tenants. The Multitenancy architecture means that multiple tenants share computing resources (hardware, database…) and services (GIS load balancing), while tenant data is kept fully isolated and secure in the POD. |
| Time dependencies | The time relationship between two tasks. Time dependenies enable users to indicate, for example, a task can only be started one hour after the completion of another task. Used in multistage tasks (MTS). |
| Time-phased | Referring to a property whose value varies at specified times. For example time-phased skills of a crew that change when a resource is added or removed from the crew. |
| User-defined collection (UDC) | A business object or dictionary type configured by the customer organization. Opposed to out-of-the-box collection. |
| User-defined dictionary (UDD) | A dictionary configured by the customer organization. Opposed to out-of-the-box dictionary. |
| User-defined property (UDP) | A property added to a business object by the customer organization. Opposed to out-of-the-box property. |
| Web service | A Service Edge API that enables applications programmed in web-enabled languages to communicate with the Service Edge server. |
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