Categorizing Cases in CRM Case Management 

Use

The first time a case is categorized, it receives a fixed date/time reference, which cannot be changed, to a specific schema version. This prevents inconsistent case data resulting from schema changes, such as new schema versions.

Before assigning a reference category to a case, you must maintain a reference date.

Both the General Data page block and the result lists contain a Reference Category field for assigning a reference category to a case. The field always displays the category label.

The fields that are displayed in the General Data page block are the result of Customizing. The result lists that are produced by search operations let you do blueprint personalization to define which available fields to display. Through blueprint personalization you can also display the Ref. Category ID field.

Activities

●      Setting a schema reference

The following table illustrates how the schema reference mechanism allows you to categorize cases that were created before a multilevel categorization schema was set up for CRM Case Management.

Categorizing cases using the schema reference function

Prior to MLC schema

After MLC schema

... ...        1.      You create a new case. The reference date/time of the schema is (internally) set to the point in time when the case is created.        2.      You save the case without assigning a reference category to it. No schema reference date/time is set for this case.

...        1.      You reactivate an existing case. The reference date/time of the schema is (internally) set to the point in time when the case is reopened.        2.      You assign a reference category to the case.        3.      You save the case. The schema reference date/time is persisted in the database; a case worker cannot change it in the future. Dependent linked objects can now be used during case processing.

 

●      Maintaining a reference date

You can use the Reference Date field to predate a case to the past.

Public Service Scenario

A citizen calls the local municipality office to apply for sickness benefits. The reference date of this case is not the date of the call but the date when the citizen first became ill, two weeks earlier. The case worker at the municipality office can create a case whose reference date is in the past.

When assigning a reference category to this case, the case worker can only assign a category that has an effective validity period containing the reference date. These categories might be different from the categories that are valid when the citizen calls the municipality office.

The Reference Date field is initially set to the date when a case is created; however, the reference date can be changed during case processing.

 

●      Assigning a reference category

You assign a reference category to a case in one of the following two ways:

¡        Manually entering either a category ID or a category label in the Reference Category field (combined input field). A wildcard input is currently not supported.

The category ID is checked first because it is always unique in a hierarchically structured categorization schema.

○       Using F4-help (only available for the Reference Category field)

When you call the F4-Help for the Reference Category field, the case type and the reference date are transferred to the F4-Help to define the limits of the search.

The F4-help provides two different kinds of search:

§         Structure Search

Clicking Go without entering any further search criteria for the Ref. Category ID and Reference Category fields, displays a hierarchical tree that reflects the valid schema version for the current case. You can expand the different hierarchy levels and search for the category.

Selecting the corresponding category line in the hierarchy transfers the category information back to the Case Management application.

■       Category Search

If you already know the label or parts of the ID of the category you want to assign to your case, you can use either the Reference Category or Ref. Category ID field to do a wildcard search on the categories contained in the schema version that is valid for the current case.

Clicking Go displays a flat list of the categories that fit your search criteria.

Selecting the category that should be assigned to the case transfers the category information back to the Case Management application.

Changing the reference date within the F4-help produces a result list that contains only categories that are valid for that date. After you choose a category, the reference date is also transferred back to the Case Management application.

Whenever a reference category-relevant field—the reference category itself or the reference date—is changed, a categorization check is executed to see whether or not the entered/deleted values invalidate the case. For example:

- A category ID is entered manually but the category is not valid for the entered reference date

- The reference date is changed but the assigned reference category is no longer valid for this reference date

- A category value has been entered without first specifying a reference date