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Due Dates

Due dates are used

Overview

You use due dates to manage SLAs and ensure clients receive their content when they need it. They also power many of the intelligent workflow features we provide. Setting phase due dates manually takes time, especially when managing a large number of documents. To alleviate this burden, we provide provided a way to automate due dates in the Setup phase of the workflow. The Configure the Due Dates tab can be configured before and after they are stamped on a projectat any point to begin automation

Info

The system sets the Due Dates tab is set to the Manual method by  by default. You will need to update existing workflows to take advantage of the other Automation Methods

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Automated Due Dates Overview

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 Components of due date configurations

  • Target Configurations - Use the default settings to keep all due dates standard, or configure specific due date settings for a target or group of targets. 

  • Project Type – The automation methods will behave differently depending on the type of project you select. You can choose different automation methods for each project type within the same target configuration.

  • Automation Method - Choose how you want your due dates to be set Set Due Dates When - Choose at which point in the workflow you want your due dates to be set. This is only available when your Automation Method is set to Fixed Hours. Your options are Manual, Fixed Hours, and Percentage Based

  • Due Date Settings

    - This

     This section varies based on which automation method you

    use but generally it is where

    choose, but you set up how much time

    should be allotted to each phase

    your phases get. It can also determine the target and document

    due dates. 

    Target Configs - Use the default settings to keep all due dates standard, or configure specific due date settings for a specific target or group of targets

  • Durations - Duration refers to the amount of time

    that is given

    you give to the phase

    or

    and target.

    The

    We calculate the due date

    is calculated

    by adding your duration hours

    to point in time the due date should be set

    from the condition.

  • Weekend settings - If you want to give linguists extra time for the weekend, you can configure the start and end of the weekend and the timezone.  

Target Configurations

A Target Configuration should include targets that can share the same weekend settings and due date configurations. You can choose targets selected in the Document Tab of your workflow. When the workflow sets due dates for a target, it will see if the created target has settings under a Target Configuration. If it finds a matching Target Configuration, it will use those settings

should be based on.  Fixed Hours Automation Method

. If it doesn't find a matching target configuration, it will use the Default Settings. You must have Default Settings configured to ensure that unmatched targets will have configurations to fall back on. The Automation Method can be different for each Target Configurations. 

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Setting up a Target Configuration

  1. First, configure your Default Settings

    1. To create a new Target Configuration, select the plus button next to the Target Configurations header, or you can copy an existing Target Configuration. The plus will be disabled when you have added all the targets in the document tab. 

    2. Choose which targets should belong to the configuration using the Targets drop-down. 

    3. Fill out the remaining due date settings.

Target Configuration Actions

To open the available actions of a Target Configuration, select the 'more' icon at the end of the row.
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  1. Copy Group - Creates a new Target Configuration with the same settings as the original Target Configuration except for the chosen targets. 

  2. Rename Group - Create a custom name for the configuration. Save when you finish. 

  3. Delete Group - Remove a Target Configuration.

Fixed Hours Automation

You should use the Fixed Hours method when there are set SLAs with the LSP or Linguists. In this method, the end-user does not need to set provide a due date when they upload content. The system will set the due date will be set automatically based on the duration of the phase due dates. 

Choose at which point in the workflow you want due dates to be set (Set Due Dates When). Set due dates as soon as the target is created or when a specific phase of the workflow completes.

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If you choose to set due dates when a specific phase completes you will not be able to automate the due dates of that phase or any prior phases. Image Added
  1. Set up Target

    Configs

    Configurations as necessary.  

  2. Set up your Weekend Settings.

  3. Under the Phase Due Dates section, you will

    assign each phase a specific amount of time they need to complete a phase or based on your SLA. 
  4. You can set these durations in half-hour increments (EX: 1.5 hours).
  5. Due dates are set for all phases at the time due date automation starts. The due date of the second phase is not set when the second phase starts. The duration of the second phase adds its duration to the due date of the first phase. That way if the first phase is completed late, the assignee of the second phase still needs to deliver by their due date. This prevents the due date of the target from being pushed back without any consequences.
    The target due date is set by adding the total duration of the phases to the moment in the workflow you have set to start the due date process (I.E. upon target creation or the completion of a specific phase).
    If you have multiple target configurations with different time settings, the document due date will be set to equal the target due date set farthest into

    choose to adjust the phase duration based on source or weighted word count and a minimum duration.  

    1. First, choose the condition that will trigger setting the due date.

      1. You can choose between Target Creation or Leverage Completes

        1. You cannot choose your conditions if working under Scoped Projects since due dates can’t be set before the project is approved.

      2. You cannot select Leverage Completes before the first leverage phase in the workflow. 

      3.  After you select Leverage Completes all phases after that point will also use that condition. 

      4. When you set your phase's condition to Leverage Completes you can choose to adjust phase duration based on Source Word Count or Weighted Word Count.

      5. If you use Leverage Completes as a condition, phases, targets, and documents will not receive a due date until leverage completes. They will display pending in the due date field and will not appear in the Exceptions Dashboard

    2. Set the phase to add x hours every y source/weighted words with a minimum duration of z. For example, if your setting for the phase is to add 1 hour every 200 words with a minimum duration of 6 hours:

      1. Source word count equals 400 words – the phase duration will equal 6 hours since 2 hours is less than the minimum duration. 

      2. Source word count equals 1,600 words – the phase duration will equal 8 hours since you added 1 hour every 200 words, and the result was more significant than the minimum duration. 

  6. Set the hours and source words to 0 if you do not want to adjust the phase duration based on word count.

    1. You can set your duration in 15-minute increments (EX: 1.25 hours).

    2. The system sets due dates for all phases, targets, and documents when the workflow meets the final condition. 

    3. The target due date equals the final phase's due date. The document due date will be set based on the target due date furthest in the future. 

    4. Automated due dates will replace

    any
    1. manually set due dates

    that were set manually
    1. . However, you can manually adjust due dates after the system automates them if necessary

    2. Save your

    work
    1. settings.

Percentage

Based 

Based Automation

Method 

Use the Percentage Based automation method when you don't have fixed SLAs with your client or linguists or if the client needs content managers need the freedom to request different due dates each time they upload content. This method works best if you request a due date is requested upon upload, so there isn't an option to determine when due dates will be set. Due dates will always be set when the target is created with this methodImage Removed

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  1. Set up Target

    Configs

    Configurations as necessary.  

  2. Set up your Weekend Settings.

  3. Pre-approval due dates – This only applies to scoped projects.

    1. The leverage phase and any phases before it will appear here. These are fixed hour due dates.

  4. Target

    Duration Limits are used as contingencies when a due date is set too low

    and when

    or when the user doesn't request a due date

    is not set at all

    1. Set the minimum target duration.

      Minimum – If a user

      sets

      requests a due date

      that is fewer hours

      lower than the minimum,

      then

      the system adjusts the target due date

      will be adjusted accordingly and phase due dates will be given their allotted time. 

      .  

      1. The

        target and

        document

        due dates will be adjusted if their

        due

        dates are below the minimum. The document due

        date will equal the target due date set farthest into the future.

    2. The system uses the default duration

      is used

      if the content manager

      forgets to

      doesn't specify a due date when they upload content. 

  5. Post-Approval due dates – These are all the phases after leverage. This only appears under scoped projects.

  6. Under Phase Due Dates

    set the percentage

    , give each phase the percentage of the

    duration that should be given to each phase

    total duration you want them to have

  7. Save your work.

Target Configs

A Target Config should include targets that will share the same weekend settings and due date configurations. You can specify configurations for the target languages you have set under the Document Tab of your workflow. When the workflow is setting due dates for a target it will look to see if the created target has settings under a Target Config. If it finds a matching Target Config, it will use those settings, if not it will use the Default Settings. You must have Default Settings configured to ensure that unmatched targets will have configurations to fall back on. Note that the Automation Method is fixed for all Target Configs. 

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To set up a Target Config:

First, completely set up your Default Settings

To create a new Target Config, select the plus button next to the Target Configs header or you can copy an existing Target Config. 

Info

If the plus button is disabled, that means that you have assigned all targets from the Document Tab to Target Configs.

Choose which targets should belong to config using the Targets drop-down. 
  • Fill out the remaining due date settings.
  • Target Config Actions:

    To open the available actions of a Target Config select the 'more' icon at the end of the row.
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    1. Copy Group - Creates a new Target Config with the same settings as the original Target Config with the exception of the chosen targets. 
    2. Rename Group - Create a custom name for the config. When you are done, select the save icon. 
    3. Delete Group - Remove a Target Config. 

    Weekend Settings

    For both

    Weekend Settings

    You can set up weekends for fixed hour and percentage-based Automation Methods, we allow you to set up weekends for your linguists so that automated due dates consider the work/life balance of your linguists.Image Removed

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    1. Set

      Select the checkbox next to the Weekend Settings header

      to TRUE

      .


       

      1. Set up the weekend start day and time. 

      2. Set up the weekend end day and time. 

      3. Choose which Time Zone you want to base the time and day

      to be based
      1. on.

        TipIf you are using linguists who are
      1.  If you use linguists living in their native country, you can choose a time zone that corresponds to their work schedule rather than the end-user uploading content. 

    Fixed Hours Automation

    Method

    Weekend Examples

    Weekend awareness will increase the amount of time that a linguist has to complete a task. If they

    are allotted

    have 36 hours to complete a phase, but their due date initially falls after the weekend start time,

    then additional weekend hours will be added

    the system will add hours to their due date. 

    Info
    title

    Example

    If your weekend start is on Friday at 5:00 PM, and the weekend end is Monday at 9:00 AM

    that is an additional 64 hours given to the user

    , the user receives 64 additional hours

    If their due date initially falls on Friday at 7:00 PM, then

    their

    the due date

    will be

    is Monday at 11:00 AM after

    taking into account

    the system adds the weekend

    settings

    hours

  • The target due date will also be set back an additional 64 hours.
  • Percentage Based

    Automation Method

    Weekend Examples

    Weekend awareness will decrease the amount of time a linguist has to complete a task.

    If they are allotted 25% of the total duration, and you are allowing linguists to take the weekends off, then the total

    The total number of working hours

    will decrease

    decreases if the client sets a due date two weeks from

    the time

    when they uploaded the content since the system will subtract two weekends from the duration. 

    Info
    title

    Example

    If your weekend

    start is

    begins on Friday at 5:00 PM and the weekend

    end is

    finishes Monday at 9:00 AM, that is 64 hours removed from the number of working hours in a week. 

    If the user uploads a document and sets the due date

    exactly

    precisely 14 days from the time they uploaded,

    phase due dates would be given

    the system will give each phase their allocated percentage of the 14 days minus the 128 hours (~5.33 days), which

    would leave

    leaves roughly 8.6 days.

    If

    , after

    the

    weekend hours are taken into account, the

    duration is less than the minimum

    hours the due dates will be extended accordingly. 

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    after taking weekends into account, the workflow will extend the duration to the minimum. 

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