Creating an escalation for your human task

An escalation is a course of action that is executed when a task is not completed satisfactorily within a specific period of time.

Note: The duration value is separate from the escalation function in human tasks. Although the duration value will indicate when a task is due, it will NOT trigger an escalation.
To add an escalation to your human task, proceed as follows:
  1. Launch your human task in the editor.
  2. Under Escalation settings, click one of the following icons:
    Option Description
    Ready The ready escalation icon When a task is in the ready state, it is waiting to be claimed. Configure the escalation settings to notify an authorized staff member should nobody claim it within the specified period of time.
    Claimed The claimed escalation icon When a task is in the claimed state, a staff member has accepted the work and should currently be working on it. Configure the escalation settings to notify an authorized employee should the staff member fail to complete the work within the specified period of time.
    Subtask The subtask escalation icon When a task is in the subtask state, additional work must be delegated to other staff members in order to complete the parent task. If the subtask fails to complete within a specified period of time, the parent task is escalated and indicates that it is still waiting on the subtask.
  3. Once you have chosen the necessary state, click the Escalation icon The escalation icon to create a new escalation. A new escalation appears below the selected state.
  4. In the Details page of the properties area, configure the implementation as follows:
    1. Use the Expected task state list to determine how the staff member who works on this escalation can proceed. Select Ended when you want this escalation to be completed by a staff member, choose Claimed when you want this escalation to be accepted by a staff member or, select Subtasks finished when you want a staff member to complete the subtasks associated with this escalation.
    2. Use the Duration until escalated field to specify the period of time that will elapse before this escalation is executed. The format you use will depend on the type of calendar (simple, CRON, user-defined)that is selected in the Duration properties page. Select a value that makes sense to the calendar you're using.
    3. Use the Notification type list to specify how the staff member will be notified of the escalation. Select E-mail to have an e-mail message delivered to them, Work-item to have the task delivered directly to their to do list, or Event if you want to notify an event handler in the execution environment should an escalation occur. If you select E-mail, a separate field will appear from which you can choose an appropriate e-mail message. If you select Event, you must specify an event handler on the task settings details page in the Event handler name field.
    4. Use the Duration until repeated field to specify the period of time that will elapse before this escalation is executed. The format you use will depend on the type of calendar (simple, CRON, user-defined)that is selected in the Duration properties page. Select a value that makes sense to the calendar you're using.
    5. Use the Increase priority list to determine if and how this task's priority will change with each repetition of it. Choose No to keep the priority level where it is, select Increase this time only if you only want it to boost it once, and Increase per repetition if you want it augmented each time this escalation is executed. If you select Increase per repetition, then each time the period in the Duration until repeated setting passes, the task's priority is raised by 1 point with 0 being the highest priority.
  5. In the Staff Group page of the properties area, you can define the staff group (verb) and in so doing, specify the group of people that are notified should this escalation be executed.
Tip: You can also create an escalation chain of two or more escalations so that they execute one after the other. To add an escalation to a chain, select an existing escalation, and click the Escalation icon. A new escalation will appear directly below the existing one.
Related concepts
The building blocks of the human task editor
Related tasks
Adding roles to your human task
Customizing an existing client for your human task
Setting duration values for your human task
Configuring an event for an escalation

Related information

Setting expiration values on invoke and human task activities in a business process
Interface UserCalendar

Feedback
(C) Copyright IBM Corporation 2005, 2006. All Rights Reserved.