Configure Installation Service with Effort

Introduction

Providing installation services manually will be complex, as it involves challenges in data capturing, task assignment, collaboration among the technicians (especially when multiple technicians are required for a single task), feedback collection, and more. Furthermore, when multiple technicians are needed for a single installation task, the necessity to generate individual tasks for each technician adds to the time-consuming nature of the process.

Effort, a No Code Platform, offers a comprehensive solution to sidestep all these challenges by fully digitizing installation activities. With essential features like location-based check-ins, collaborative work allocation allowing a single service ticket to be assigned to multiple resources, rule-based activity executions, data validations, and more, it ensures a streamlined process.

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of configuring and operating Installation Service from scratch using the Effort platform. By following the step-by-step instructions below, you will be able to set up a successful Installation Service operation with the Effort platform.

This tutorial provides all the activities that need to be performed by different roles involved in the Installation Service operation using the Effort platform. The roles include Admin, Manager, and Employee (Technicians). Here's the list of activities we will be configuring and executing in the Effort as part of Installation Service.

Admin Activities (Configuration of Installation Service)

In this section, we will walk you through the admin-level activities involved in the configuration of the Installation Service. To perform the Admin activities, the users must have access to the App Builder module. Only the users that have App Builder access can define all the configurations. Login to Effort as App Builder. Refer to the Sign-in To Effort topic for login.

Creation of Employees

In this section, we will guide you through the process of creating employees in the Web App. These employees are responsible for managing backend activities, handling assigned installation service requests, and executing the tasks assigned to them. To create employees, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to Web App > Employees > All Employees > Add Employee.
  2. Enter the employee details such as First Name, Last Name, Employee ID, Email, Mobile Number, and so on.
  3. Select the Access Type based on the employee you want to create.
  4. Click Save.
    Note: If you want to create more employees, you can choose the Import feature to create in a single go. To import employees, refer to Import Employees.

Creation of Customers

Customers are essential stakeholders where the installation or service activities will take place. In this section, we will walk you through the creation of the customers from the Web App. To create customers, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to Web App > All Customers > Add Customers.
  2. Enter the customer details and click Save.
  3. You can also use the Import option to create more customers in a single go. For the instructions to import the customers, refer to the Import Customers topic.
  4. Once you import the customers, you can check the import status at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can check the Customers module in the Web App.

Creation of List Masters

In this part, we'll be creating the list masters. A list master is a comprehensive collection of data. It includes information about products, finished goods, and dispatch data. We'll use these list masters in forms and processes to manage the data. To know more about Lists, refer to Lists.

Creation of Dispatch Data List

In this section, we will be creating a list called "Dispatch Data". This list contains the dispatch details such as Order ID, Delivery Date, Invoice Number, Customer Name, Address, and so on. This will be used in the installation form to specify the work order number. To create this list, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to App Builder > Lists > Create List.
  2. In the Title field, enter the title as Dispatch Data.
  3. Click the Add Field button.
  4. Under the Field Label column, enter the label as Order Number.
  5. Click the Add Field button again to add more fields.
  6. Under the Identifier column, enable the checkbox.
  7. Under the Field Label column, enter the label as Delivery ID.
  8. Under the Data Type column, click the dropdown and change the data type to the Number.
  9. Click the Add Field button again to define the fields and configure them as shown below.
  10. Click Publish and then click OK in the confirmation pop-up.
  11. In the List Scope in Sync pop-up window, select the Sync all option and click OK to make all the list items available to the technicians.
  12. In the Warning pop-up window, click the Accept button.
    Your Dispatch Data list is ready. Now you need to add items to it.
  13. To add dispatch data to the list master, click Add.
  14. Enter the details in the fields and click Save.
    Note: To view the list items that you added, refer to View List Items.
    Note: To edit the list items that you added, refer to Edit List Item.
  15. Otherwise, click Save & New to save the existing item and add one more new item.

Create Finished Goods Master List

In this section, we will create a list master for finished goods that the company installs at customers.

  1. Create the Finished Goods Master list as shown in the following screenshot.
  2. Click Publish to save the List master and then select all in the List Scope in Sync pop-up window.
  3. The list master creation is completed. Now you need to add items to this list. It will take more time if we add items manually. Instead, you can add multiple items to the list in one go using the Import option. On the List Actions page, click Import.
  4. Click Download Template. An Excel file is downloaded.
  5. Open the downloaded Excel sheet and fill in the data in the fields. Once you fill in the data, save the Excel sheet.
  6. Go back to the Import List page, click Choose File, and select the filled Excel sheet.
  7. Click the Import button. Once the import is completed, refresh the page after a few seconds. You can check the import status at the bottom of the page.
  8. To view the imported list items, go to Lists > Finished Goods Master > View.
    Note: To view the list items that you added, refer to View List Items.
    Note: To edit the list items that you added, refer to Edit List Item.

Create Products Data List

Now, we will create a list master that contains the data of all the products such as item, requested quantity, shipped quantity, installed quantity, and so on. To create the Products Data list, follow the steps below:

  1. Create the Products Data list master as shown in the following screenshot.
  2. Now add the items to the list. You can either use the Import option or follow the manual process to add the items at your convenience.
    Note: To add the list items, refer to Add an Item to List.
    Note: To import the list items, refer to Import List Items.
    Note: To edit the list items that you added, refer to Edit List Item.

Create Call Status List

Now, we will create a list master that contains call status options such as Active and Inactive. To create, follow the steps below:

  1. Create the Call Status list master as shown in the following screenshot.
  2. Now add the items to the list. You can either use the Import option or follow the manual process to add the items at your convenience.
    Note: To add the list items, refer to Add an Item to List.
    Note: To import the list items, refer to Import List Items.
    Note: To edit the list items that you added, refer to Edit List Item.

Creation and Configuration of Forms

In this section, we will create the forms required to manage the installation service. These forms need to be filled out by technicians to capture all the details related to installation/service. We will discuss them in detail as we set them up separately. Here, we will guide you through the steps of creating the forms, necessary fields, field-level configurations, and form-level configurations for all the forms. To know more about the forms, refer to Forms.

Installation Form

Technicians fill out the Installation form whenever they perform an installation activity to record the product and other work order details such as work order number, product data, and other installation details. The form serves as a comprehensive record, facilitating accurate tracking and efficient management of installation tasks. This streamlined process enhances organizational efficiency and ensures a systematic approach to recording and retrieving vital installation-related data through the mobile application.

To create this form, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to App Builder > Forms > Create Form > Create On My Own.
  2. In the Title field, enter the title as Installation.
  3. Drag and drop the following data types onto the field canvas and label them as shown below.
    Data TypeLabel
    Pick List Work Order No
    Repeatable Section Product Details
    Repeatable Section Barcode Details
    Pick List Call Status
    Repeatable Section Capture Proof Installation
    To know more about all the data types, refer to the following topics.
  4. Click the Work Order No field and select Dispatch Data from the List dropdown under the Properties section.
  5. Click the Product Details field and drag and drop the following data types onto the field canvas and then label them as shown below.
    Data TypeLabel
    Pick List Product
    Number Dispatched Quantity
    Number Installed Quantity
    1. Under the Properties section, define the Minimum Entries and Maximum Entries as per your requirement.
      As per the above configuration, the user can create a maximum of 2 instances for capturing the product details.
    2. Click the Product field inside the section, select the Products Data list from the List dropdown under the Properties section.
    3. Click the Dispatched Quantity field and make it as Computed under the Properties section.
    4. Click the grey box under the Computed field.

      To know more about Computed and Default options, refer to Field Properties.

    5. You can see the Formula Editor pop-up window where the formulas can be defined. On the pop-up window, click the Product_Requested Quantity (S1F0_F1) field and then click Done.
    6. Click the Installed Quantity field and click Manage Validations button under the Properties icon.
    7. Click the Add Criteria button under the Validate Based on Values in Other Fields and define the configuration as shown below and click OK.
      We defined this configuration to validate the value entered in this field. If the installed quantity is more than the dispatched quantity, then the system displays the configured error message and it will not allow you to save the form.
  6. Click the Barcode Details field and drag and drop the following data types onto the field canvas and then label them as shown below.
    Data TypeLabel
    Text Barcode Or QR Code
    Date Date
    Text Asset No
    1. Under the Properties section, define the Minimum Entries and Maximum Entries as per your requirement.
      As per the above configuration, the user can create a maximum of 100 instances for capturing the product barcode details.
    2. Click the Barcode Or QR Code field inside the section, disable the Required Field checkbox and enable the Barcode field.
      We made this field a barcode field and it is optional while filling the form. When we made enable the Barcode Field checkbox, the technicians can see a scanner icon beside the field. They can tap on it and scan any QR or Barcode.
    3. For the Date and Asset No fields, disable the Required Field checkbox to make them optional while submitting the form.
  7. Click the Call Status picklist field and select the Call Status list that we created earlier from the List dropdown.
  8. Click the Capture Proof Installation field and drag and drop the following data types onto the field canvas and then label them as shown below.
    Data TypeLabel
    Image Image
    Document Document
    1. Under the Properties section, define the Minimum Entries and Maximum Entries as per your requirement.
      As per the above configuration, the user can create a maximum of 5 instances for capturing the product barcode details.
    2. For the Image and Document fields, disable the Required Field checkbox to make them optional while submitting the form.
  9. Now click Publish and then click OK to make it available to the technicians. You are done with your first form creation.
    Note: To know more about all the publishing options, refer to Publishing Options.

Feedback

Upon completion of an installation task, technician are required to complete a feedback form. We will incorporate specific parameters to gather valuable feedback from our customers. To create this form, follow the steps below.

  1. Go to App Builder > Forms > Create Form > Create On My Own.
  2. In the Title field, enter the title as Feedback Form.
  3. Drag and drop the following data types onto the field canvas and label them as shown below.
    Data TypeLabel
    Dropdown Responsiveness
    Dropdown Professionalism
    Dropdown Product Quality
    Dropdown Technicians quality of work
    Text Feedback
    Signature Customer Signature
    To know more about all the data types, refer to the following topics.
  4. Click the Responsiveness, Professionalism, Product Quality, and Technicians Quality of Work fields, and add values 1 to 5 in the Add Values field.
  5. Now click Publish and then click OK to make it available to the technicians.
    Note: To know more about all the publishing options, refer to Publishing Options.

Creation and Configuration of Installation Service Process

The Installation Service is a workflow that requires configuration to effectively manage the activities associated with the installation process. These activities include generating an installation request, visiting the customer's location, executing the installation, and more.

In this section, we will configure the Installation Service process activities, outline the sequence of execution, specify the necessary information for creating work items, and among other aspects. To know more about work processes, refer Work Processes.

Create Installation Service Process

In this section, we will create the Installation Service Process.

  1. Go to App Builder > Processes > Activity Process > Create Process > Create On My Own.
  2. On the Create Activity Process screen, do the following:
    1. In the Work Process Name field, enter the title as Installation Service Request.
    2. Click Next.
  3. After entering the process name and clicking Next, you will proceed to the next tab, where you are required to configure the work fields. On this tab, click Next and then click OK. We will configure this section later.
  4. On the Manage Forms tab, click Next.
  5. Manage Activities: On this tab, we will define the activities that need to be executed for installation service request. To know more about activities, refer Activities. To define the activities, follow these steps:
    1. Check the Enable check-in checkbox to activate work check-in feature for this process. Based on the configuration, the system will not allow the technicians to execute the process without doing the check-in.
    2. Click Add Activity.
    3. Under the Activity Title column, enter the title as Installation.
    4. For the Installation activity, configure the Installation form under the Form Template column.
    5. Similarly, click Add Activity button again to create another activity as Feedback and configure the same Feedback form.
    6. Once you define the activities, click Next.
  6. On the Clone Fields Data tab, click Next.
  7. On the Manage Flow tab, you can see the default flow created automatically. Click Next to move to the next screen. We will configure this later.
  8. On the Define Auto Allocation tab, click Skip. We will configure this later.
  9. On the Manage Restrictions tab, select the Enable work sharing option and click Next.

    This feature helps us assign the same work process to multiple employees. Whenever there is a need for multiple employees to complete a single task, this feature proves to be very helpful. Instead of creating individual work items for each employee, we can assign the same task to multiple employees simultaneously. This not only reduces time but also enhances visibility.

  10. On the Other Settings tab, click Complete. We will configure this later.
  11. As you can see, we've ignored some configurations as those are complex and time consuming. Refer to the next sections for detailed steps to configure the flow, fields, work settings, and so on.

Configure Work Fields

In this section, we will configure the work fields which are required for capturing the information necessary to execute installation work. You will find some default fields that are pre-configured. However, these defaults are insufficient for capturing the necessary information. To address this, we must add and configure custom fields. To know more about work fields, refer Work Fields.

Follow the steps below to create work fields.

  1. On the process page, click Manage Fields. Alternatively, go to App Builder > Processes > Activity Process > Installation Service Request > Manage Fields.
  2. Click Add Field and define the configuration as shown below.
  3. Change the Work Name label to Problem Summary.
  4. Similarly, click the Add Field button and configure the fields as described in the following table.
    Field Configuration
    Delivery Challan No Set the data type to Pick List and select the Dispatch Data from the dropdown.Configure the field configuration as shown below:
    Work Order no Make this field as Computed. The field configuration is shown below:

    Click on the grey box and configure as shown below to fetch the Work Order Number automatically:
    Starts This is a default field. Do not change the default configuration.
    Ends This is a default field. Do not change the default configuration.
    Customer This is a default field. Make this field as Default. The field configuration is shown below:

    Click on the grey box and configure as shown below to fetch the Customer Name from the Dispatch Data list master automatically:
    Employee This is a default field. Do not change the default configuration.
    Priority This is a default field. Configure the field as shown below:
    Address same as customer? This is a default field. Configure the field as shown below:
    Installed customer Name Configure the field as shown below:
    Phone Number, Street, Area, City, Landmark, Country, State, Pincode, Location These are default fields. Configure the field as shown below:
    Visit at - area name Configure the field as shown below:
    Region Set the data type to Dropdown and configure as shown below:

    Add the values to the dropdown as per your requirement in the blank field.

    Here are some sample values.

    • Mumbai

    • Chennai

    • Delhi

    • Kolkatta

    • Rest of South

    • Rest of North

    • Rest of West

    • Rest of East
    Call status Set the data type to Pick List and select the Call Status from the dropdown. Configure the field as shown below:
    Received Date Configure the field as shown below:
    Barcode Make this field as and configure the field as shown below:
  5. Once you configure all the fields, click Save.

Configure Work Flow

In this section, we will define the workflow, which outlines the sequence of activities defined earlier. This process includes specifying the start activity, end activity, subsequent activities, and more. To know more about the Flow, refer to the Manage Flow documentation.

Follow the instructions below to configure flow:

  1. On the process page, click Manage Flow. Alternatively, go to App Builder > Processes > Activity Process > Installation Service Request > Manage Flow.
  2. For the Installation activity, do the following:
    1. Make sure that the Installation activity as Start Activity as shown below.

      When you make an activity as the start activity, it means that technicians have to do this activity first.

    2. Under the Next Activity column, click Create Rule.
    3. On the Create Rule pop-up window, enter the Rule Name as Call Closed and click Add Criteria to define the configuration.
    4. Define the configuration as shown below and click Save.

      According to this configuration, the feedback activity will be executed after the installation activity only when the call status is in the Inactive state. If the call status is in the Active state, the technicians must perform the Installation task again. To set up this configuration, follow the steps outlined below.

    5. Under the Next Activity column, click the pencil icon.
    6. Click on the Installation activity and click right arrow icon to select it.
    7. Click Save.
    8. Now click Create Rule again the Installation activity under the Next Activity column.
    9. Define the configuration as shown below and click Save.
  3. Click Save Process Flow.

Execute Installation Service Request Process

In this section, we will show you how to execute the Installation Service Request Process in the Effort Platform. It provides the activities performed by the admins and technicians, such as creating works, logging into the effort, executing installation activity in the mobile app, and so on. Let's get started.

Create a Installation Service Request Process

When an installation service request is received, the work is initiated. Follow the steps outlined below to create a work order in the effort platform.

  1. Go to Web App > Installation Service Request > Add Work.
  2. Under the Basic Details section, fill in the mandatory fields.
  3. Under the Assign A Work section, assign it to a supervisor.
    As you can see, we assigned this process to multiple employees. We achieved this by enabling the work sharing feature in the work settings.
  4. Click Save.

Login to Effort NXT Mobile App

To begin with Installation Service Request Process, we require an application through which we can log in, check the works assigned, and perform tasks. This section provides instructions to get started with the Effort NXT mobile app.

  1. On your mobile phone, open either the Play Store or App Store and install the Effort NXT app.
    Note: To know more about how to install the app, refer to Install EFFORT NXT App.
  2. Once the download is completed, open the app and grant all the required permissions.
  3. Login to the Effort app using your registered mobile number.
    Note: To register using your registered mobile number, refer to Log in to Mobile App Using Phone.
    Note: To register using your email and password, refer to Log in to Mobile App Using Email
  4. After you log in to the mobile app, tap Sign in to mark that you have started working.
  5. The mobile captures your face and your current location. On this screen, ensure your face and location are captured correctly, and then tap Sign In.
  6. Once you complete Sign In, tap Sync to sync the data with the server.
    Note: Make sure to Sync the mobile app every time you perform an activity to ensure that your data is updated on the server. If you fail to sync, your changes or work will not be captured in the server.

Complete Installation Service Request Work in the Mobile App

In this section, we will explore how a technician completes an installation task using the Effort mobile app.

  1. On the effort mobile app home screen, tap on the action item under the Actions Required section. Alternatively, you can tap the Installation Service Request card.
  2. Tap on the view map icon to view the customer's location.
  3. Use the navigation buttons to reach the customer.
  4. Tap the eye icon on the Installation button to view the assignee details.
  5. Once you reach the customer, tap Check in and Check In on the confirmation pop-up.
  6. Under the Next Action section, tap Installation.
  7. Fill in the Installation form. As configured, you can see the error message if we enter the installed quantity more than the dispatched quantity.
  8. Enter the product barcode details such as barcode, date, and asset number.
  9. Upload the installation proofs.
  10. Once you fill in the data, tap Save and then tap Save in the confirmation pop-up.
  11. Once you complete the Installation activity, you can see the Feedback activity. Tap on it to execute it.
  12. Capture the customer feedback and signature.
  13. Once you fill in the data, tap Save and then tap Save in the confirmation pop-up.
  14. Once you complete the feedback activity, you can see the work status as Completed. It means that the installation activity is completed successfully.