Support provision task progression management overview
A task is a discrete action that must be completed as part of a wider support provision case. Each task has three constituent elements that are defined as part of its configuration: an owner (automatically transferred from the definition), a service level agreement (dictating the duration over which it must be completed) and, optionally, a direct relationship to other prerequisite or dependent tasks through its inclusion within a workflow path. Whilst task ownership can mirror that of the associated support provision case, there is the opportunity to assign responsibility to other tenancy support officers, either directly or through their role membership. Ultimately, each task is linked to a support provision type, facilitating the logical grouping of actions that are required in order to achieve the identified support aims, and fall within the classification of the case file - Assessment or Support Plan.
Depending on the complexity of any given support provision task, it will likely be progressed in phases, with each phase being thought of as an event within the lifecycle of the task, thus compiling a historical picture of the progression status, ready for further monitoring and review. In terms of the completion deadline allotted to the task, the expectations placed on the owner are governed by the overarching Service Level Agreement (SLA), as defined by the housing authority in line with their own internal procedures and steered by the assigned case priority. Whilst the SLA operates right down to specific task level, it is applied in the wider context of other dependent tasks that coexist within the support provision type. The required SLA is assigned within the task definition, comprising a unit (days, weeks, months) and a period multiplier (an integer). Therefore, the target completion date for a live task is automatically calculated from the associated definition, based on the planned start date. Undoubtedly, there will be circumstances arising outside of the owner's control which they can influence through the adjustment of the planned target completion date. An owner also has the ability to place a task on hold in situations where no action can be taken for a set period of time, and where the SLA might otherwise be unavoidably exceeded. For instance, it would be legitimate to place on hold a task where the calculation of affordable debt payments is dependent upon information sought from creditors. As part of the process, a future release date would also need to be specified, ensuring that no open tasks remain static without a set progression point. Any number of discrete notes can also be appended to the support provision task as an aide memoir to the owner, these appearing as separate entries within the overall graphical timeline.
From an end user perspective, all assigned support provision tasks can readily be viewed and progressed via the 'cases and tasks' Home pane. This is in essence a "to-do" list, with real time information presented on the status of each task. Simply by double-clicking on an entry included within the list, an end user can launch and progress the task. All logical steps pertinent to the progression of an individual task are accessible through the 'select action' function, and as each function is applied - Complete Task, Cancel Task, Bypass Task, Undo Task, Hold Task, etc. - the status is updated and the permitted follow-on activities are revised accordingly. For instance, once a task is placed on hold, the available options would then be automatically restricted to Release Task or Reassign Task only, in line with robust status progression rules.
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of support provision task progression management, including: