WorkPlans are a valuable tool in SmartAdvocate for ensuring that your firm's work processes are consistent, well-defined, and repeatable. WorkPlans are collections of tasks and other necessary events, organized in a hierarchical tree structure, so that you can nest items (i.e., you can trigger certain items to become active only after another specific item is completed). You can set the due dates of individual tasks relative to other dates in the WorkPlan, or to relevant case dates; alternatively, you can prompt the user to determine the due date when the task becomes active. Tasks activated by a WorkPlan appear in the case summary screen along with other tasks and can be marked completed either in the case summary screen or the WorkPlan screen. You can also set WorkPlan items to trigger certain actions, like changing the case status or generating documents. In this way, you can direct the entire workflow of a case by using a well-designed WorkPlan (according to the needs and practices of your particular firm).

The WorkPlan Management page allows you to view, edit, and record the descriptive details of WorkPlans in the SmartAdvocate system. This is also the only page where new WorkPlans can be created.

The Structure of This Page

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1. New WorkPlan button. Used to add a new WorkPlan to the case file. See Adding a WorkPlan.

2. WorkPlan Administration table. Contains the details of WorkPlans and allows various actions to be performed on them. See WorkPlan Administration Table.

WorkPlan Administration Table

The WorkPlan Administration table is where the descriptive details of WorkPlans are stored. Each row of the table represents an individual WorkPlan. See Tables for general information about table structure and usage, including all buttons and other tools in this table that are not mentioned below.

Columns in the Table

The WorkPlan Administration table contains the following columns:

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1. Name. The name of the WorkPlan, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel.

2. Description. The description of the WorkPlan, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel.

3. Special Notes. Any special notes about the WorkPlan, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel.

4. Creation Date. The date on which the WorkPlan was created.

5. Modify Date. The date on which the WorkPlan was last modified.

6. Action. Icons to Edit, Open, Copy, or Delete a WorkPlan.

Editing WorkPlan Details

To edit the details (Name, Description and Special Notes only) of a WorkPlan:
Click the Edit icon in the Actions column of the row representing the WorkPlan you wish to edit. This will bring up an Add/Edit panel for WorkPlans, with the existing information filled in.
Fill the fields in with your desired information. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel for details about the fields.
Click Save to save the changes and close the panel.
If you decide you do not wish to save the changes, click Cancel instead of clicking Save to undo the changes and close the panel. You can also click the white X at the upper right of the panel to do the same thing.

Editing the Contents of the WorkPlan

To edit the contents of a WorkPlan, click the WorkPlan icon ( ) in the Actions column of the row representing the WorkPlan the contents you wish to edit. This will bring up the WorkPlan Editing page for that WorkPlan; see that chapter for instructions on using the WorkPlan Editing interface to edit the WorkPlan.

Copying a WorkPlan

You may wish to create a new WorkPlan based on an existing one. To copy a WorkPlan:

1. Click the Copy icon ( )in the Actions column of the row representing the WorkPlan you wish to copy. This will bring up a panel with only one field, for the name of the new WorkPlan.

2. Fill in the desired name, then click OK to copy the WorkPlan. The new WorkPlan will have the same items and structure as the WorkPlan that was copied. You can then make any desired changes to the new WorkPlan.

3. If you decide you do not wish to copy the WorkPlan, click Cancel instead of clicking OK to cancel the copying and close the panel. You can also click the white X at the upper right of the panel to do the same thing.

Deleting a WorkPlan

To delete a WorkPlan:

1. Click the Delete icon in the Actions column of the row representing the WorkPlan you wish to delete. This will bring up a confirmation message (to avoid accidental deletions).

2. Click the OK button in the message to confirm the deletion.

• If you decide you do not wish to delete the WorkPlan, click Cancel instead of clicking OK to cancel the deletion. You can also click the black X at the upper right of the message to do the same thing.

• Until you either confirm or cancel the deletion, you may not be able to visit any other tab in your browser.

Adding a WorkPlan

To add a new WorkPlan:

1. Click the New WorkPlan button. This will bring up an Add/Edit panel for WorkPlans, completely blank.

2. Fill the fields in with your desired information. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel for details about the fields.

3. Click Update to save the WorkPlan and close the panel. To edit the contents of the new WorkPlan, click the WorkPlan icon ( ) in the Actions column of the row representing the new WorkPlan.

• If you decide you do not wish to save the WorkPlan, click Cancel instead of clicking Update to undo the changes and close the panel. You can also click the white X at the upper right of the panel to do the same thing.

The Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel

The Add/Edit WorkPlan Panel allows you to fill in the descriptive details of a WorkPlan. See Add/Edit Panels for general information about panel structure and usage. This panel contains the following fields:

1. Name: The name of the WorkPlan.

2. Description: The description of the WorkPlan. The description will not appear in the WorkPlan once it is inserted in a case; however, it will be visible in the dropdown when selecting a WorkPlan to manually insert in a case on the WorkPlans case page.

3. Special Notes: Any special notes about the WorkPlan.

WorkPlan Editing

The WorkPlan Editing page allows you to manage the contents of a WorkPlan so that it can be inserted into your cases. Before creating a WorkPlan, it is recommended that you take time, outside of the SmartAdvocate system, to map out the set of tasks and other events that you want to consistently enforce with a WorkPlan. You should particularly consider how deadlines should be set for each item, and whether there are any sequences of events in which a later item should not be completed or considered until the prior item is first completed. Once you have planned out the intended structure of the WorkPlan, use the WorkPlan Editing page to implement that structure.
The WorkPlan Editing page and the WorkPlans case page have very similar structures and interfaces; however, because the WorkPlan Editing page is for creating the WorkPlan prior to inserting it into a particular case, there is no way to mark an item complete, no distinction between inactive and active items, and no unintended effects when items are added, moved, edited, or deleted. In general, editing WorkPlans on this page prior to inserting them in a case, rather than making changes on the WorkPlans case page after they have been inserted, is considered better practice.

WorkPlan Structure

WorkPlan items are the building blocks of WorkPlans. They represent tasks that must be completed, appointments that must be scheduled, critical deadlines, or decision branches that allow you to determine which of multiple possible sections of a WorkPlan should be implemented given the particular situation of the case. In general, the best way of creating and managing items is through the Item Templates administrative page. Items created on that page can be quickly and easily added to WorkPlans on this page. However, it is also possible to edit an item directly on this page; once you have edited an item on this page, you can even save it as an item template if you wish.
Items that have been added to WorkPlans are arranged in a hierarchical system, like an organization chart or a computer file structure. Every item has at least one parent item, except for the top-level item, representing the WorkPlan itself and indicated by a WorkPlan icon ( ). Items with at least one child have a small plus/minus icon next to them; clicking this icon will switch between displaying the item's children and hiding them. When the WorkPlan is inserted in the case, the child items will remain inactive until the parent item has been completed. This means that the task will not be assigned, the appointment will not be scheduled, or the critical deadline will not be set, until the parent item is complete. (Decision items are a partial exception to this rule; see Decisions.) For this reason, the organization of the items in a WorkPlan is essential to properly managing the process the plan represents. It would be possible to put every item in a WorkPlan on the same level, with only the top-level item as a parent, but this would simply cause every item to activate as soon as the WorkPlan was inserted, which would likely be overwhelming to your staff and would eliminate the value of structuring your work process in advance.

Moving Items Within the WorkPlan

To change an item's position in the WorkPlan hierarchy, click on the item and, holding the left mouse button, drag the item over to the desired parent item and release the mouse. The item should become one of the children of the desired parent item. Any children of the item will remain the children of that item, putting them two levels below the new parent item. (You cannot move the top-level item, and you cannot directly switch a parent item with one of its children.)
To move an item up or down in the WorkPlan while still remaining at the same level with the same parent, click either the up or down arrow button to the upper left of the WorkPlan. The ordering of sibling items within a level is purely aesthetic; there is no practical effect to moving the item up or down, so it is entirely a matter of what looks best to you.

Adding Items to a WorkPlan

To add an item to a WorkPlan, right-click the item you wish to make the parent of the new item. Among the items in the right-click menu are Add Task, Add Appointment, Add Critical Deadline, and Add Decision. If you have already created a template for the item you want to add, click whichever of these items matches the item you want to add, which will bring up a panel containing a table of templates; deselect the Open element [...] checkbox by clicking it, then find the template you want to use, and click the check-mark icon in that row. The desired item will be added at the location in the plan you selected. If you have not already created the item template, click any of the four options and then click the Add Empty Item button in the lower right of the panel that appears. A blank item will be added at the location you selected, which will be named "New Element (Please rename)". Right click on the new element and click on Edit. A panel for editing the item will open. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel for a description of the panel and how to design the new item. When you are finished, you may click the OK button to save the changes to the item, or you may click the OK & Save as Template button to save the changes to the item and also save the item itself as a new item template. You may instead click the Cancel button or the white X at the upper right of the panel to cancel any changes; however, the blank item will still be present in the WorkPlan and will need to be deleted. Note that no warning will appear before the item is deleted and once an item is deleted, it is permanently removed and will need to be recreated if necessary.

Editing an Item in a WorkPlan

To edit an item once it has been added to a WorkPlan, right-click the item, then click Edit. This will bring up a panel for editing the item. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel for a description of the panel and how to edit the item. When you are finished, you may click the OK button to save the changes to the item, or you may click the OK & Save as Template button to save the changes to the item and also save the item itself as a new item template. You may instead click the Cancel button or the white X at the upper right of the panel to cancel any changes.
You can add an action to a WorkPlan item that will be automatically initiated or performed by the SmartAdvocate system either when the item becomes active or is completed. This can be done in the normal course of editing the item, but there is also a shortcut that will bring you directly to the Add/Edit panel for a new WorkPlan item action. To use the shortcut, right-click the item you wish to add the action to, then click the Add New Action option. You can then fill out the panel that appears as usual. Note that after adding the new action, you will be returned to The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel, and will have to click OK to fully save the new action in the item.

Deleting an Item from a WorkPlan

To delete an item from a WorkPlan, right-click the item you wish to delete, then click either Delete with sub-items or Remove Item. If you click Delete with sub-items, all of the children of the item you chose to delete will also be deleted. If you click Remove Item, all of the children of the item you chose to delete will move up one level (which means they will be children of the deleted item's parent).

Adding an Entire WorkPlan to Another WorkPlan

You can insert the entire contents of some other existing WorkPlan into the WorkPlan, at the location of a selected item. The selected item will take the place of the top-level item of the inserted WorkPlan; all the children of the inserted WorkPlan's top-level item will become the children of the selected item. To do so, right-click the item where you wish to insert the WorkPlan, then select Insert WorkPlan. A small panel will appear with a Dropdown allowing you to select the WorkPlan you want to insert. You can, in fact, insert the same WorkPlan you are currently editing, but this may yield inconsistent results and is generally not recommended.

WorkPlan Visibility Options

To see the actions that are attached to each item in a WorkPlan, select the Show Actions checkbox to the upper right of the WorkPlan. Deselect the checkbox to make the actions invisible again. The actions will be visible in green, positioned as though they were children of the item that contains them. However, actions cannot be manipulated like items in this interface. The only option you will have for affecting an action when you right-click it is Delete, which will delete it from the item containing it. Any other changes you wish to make to an action can only be made by editing the item that contains it and clicking the WorkPlan Item Actions tab.
You can simultaneously hide all children of all items by right-clicking any item and clicking Collapse All. You can simultaneously display all children of all items by right-clicking any item and clicking Expand All.

Decisions

Decisions behave slightly differently from any other item in a WorkPlan. A decision contains various decision options, and a decision is completed by marking any one of the decision options as complete. This is used to create a branching structure for your WorkPlan, where different sets of items could be invoked depending on some circumstance of the case. For example, you might have a decision for whether any plaintiff in the case died in the case incident. If not, no additional items are activated, but if so, some sequence of items relating to Surrogate's Court becomes active. Decision groups can be as complicated or simple as you wish.
A decision in a WorkPlan has two parts. One is the decision question, which is an item like a task or appointment. The decision question can be edited like any appointment. However, you cannot add any other item directly to the decision question. If you right-click the decision question, the only thing you can add to it is a decision option, which is one of the possible answers to the decision question. You may add as many decision options as you wish, and as few as two (you could actually have fewer, but then the decision would be useless). Editing a decision option only offers one field: the text of the option. But you can add items to a decision option just as with any non-decision item.
When a decision becomes active in a case, so do all of the options of that decision. (This is the only exception to the general rule that children of incomplete items are not active.) The decision question appears in the Case Summary page as a task and trying to mark it completed will automatically bring you to the WorkPlans page for that case; it will not yet mark the decision completed. To mark the decision completed, you must mark one of the options of that decision completed from the WorkPlans page. Doing so will also mark the decision question completed and activate all of the children of the option that was marked completed. However, it will not activate any of the children of any of the other options; if that option is not relevant to the case, none of the subsequent items should need to be completed, so they should properly remain inactive for the entire duration of the case. (You may mark more than one option of the same decision completed, if multiple options all apply. This will activate the children of the completed options, and not the children of the options that have not been marked completed, as expected.)

The Item Templates page allows you to create WorkPlan item templates. WorkPlan items are the essential building blocks of WorkPlans; they are the individual requirements that must be completed to move to subsequent WorkPlan items. Item templates allow you to define the specific details of items that can be included easily in any WorkPlan. For commonly used tasks, deadlines, and appointments, defining them as templates can save significant time.

The Structure of This Page

1. New WorkPlan Item Template button: Used to add a new item template to the SmartAdvocate system. See Adding an Item Template.

2. WorkPlan Item Template Administration table: Contains the item template details and allows various actions to be performed on them. See WorkPlan Item Template Administration Table.

WorkPlan Item Template Administration Table

The WorkPlan Item Template Administration table is where the details of item templates are stored. Each row of the table represents an individual template. See Tables for general information about table structure and usage, including all buttons and other tools in this table that are not mentioned below.

Columns in the Table

The WorkPlan Item Template Administration table contains the following columns:

1. Name: The name of the item, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel.

2. Type: The type of event represented and created by the item, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel.

3. Category: The type of the item, within the event type (e.g.: the appointment type or the critical deadline type), pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel.

4. Priority: The priority level of the item, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel.

5. Description: The description of the item, pulled from the Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel.

6. Action: Edit and Delete icons.

Editing an Item Template

To edit an item template:

1. Click the Edit icon in the Action column of the row representing the template you wish to edit. This will bring up an Add/Edit panel for item templates, with the existing information filled in.

2. Fill the fields in with your desired information. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel for details about the fields.

3. Click Update to save the changes and close the panel.

• If you decide you do not wish to save the changes, click Cancel instead of clicking Update to undo the changes and close the panel. You can also click the white X at the upper right of the panel to do the same thing.

Deleting an Item Template

To delete an item template:

1. Click the Delete icon in the Action column of the row representing the template you wish to delete. This will bring up a confirmation message (to avoid accidental deletions).

2. Click the OK button in the message to confirm the deletion.

• If you decide you do not wish to delete the template, click Cancel instead of clicking OK to cancel the deletion. You can also click the black X at the upper right of the message to do the same thing.

• Until you either confirm or cancel the deletion, you may not be able to visit any other tab in your browser.

Adding an Item Template

To add a new item template:

1. Click the New WorkPlan Item Template button. This will bring up an Add/Edit panel for item templates, blank except for defaults.

2. Fill the fields in with your desired information. See The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel for details about the fields.

3. Click Update to save the template and close the panel.

• If you decide you do not wish to save the template, click Cancel instead of clicking Update to undo the changes and close the panel. You can also click the white X at the upper right of the panel to do the same thing.

The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel

The Add/Edit WorkPlan Item Template Panel allows you to fill in the details of an item template. The information in this panel is divided into four tabs: General Information, Scheduling Settings, Contacts information, and WorkPlan Item Actions. The headings of the tabs are always visible at the top of the panel, but only one tab's contents are visible at a time; click the heading of the tab you wish to access to bring up that tab's information. See Add/Edit Panels for general information about panel structure and usage.
The General Information tab contains the following fields:

1. Name: The name of the item.

2. Type: A Dropdown, listing the type of event represented and created by the item. The available options are Appointment, Critical Deadline, Decision, and Task.

3. Category: A Dropdown, listing the type of the item within the event type (e.g.: the appointment type or critical deadline type). The Dropdown is empty if Type contains Decision; the Category will be recorded as "No category".

4. Priority: A Dropdown, listing the priority level of the item. It cannot be left blank. The available options are Critical, High, Normal, or Low.

5. Description: A description of the item.

6. Special Instructions: Any special instructions for the item.

The Scheduling Settings tab contains a number of fields which are used together to determine the due date of the item. Either the date is entered manually by the user on the WorkPlans case page, or the date is calculated by adding or subtracting various quantities of time from a date that is significant for either the case or the WorkPlan item itself. The tab contains the following fields:

1. Prompt user to enter the due date [...]: Checkbox which, if selected, causes the item to have no due date when first activated; users who visit the WorkPlans page in the case containing the item will be prompted to set the due date manually. If this field is selected, all other fields in the Scheduling Settings tab are ignored.

2. Set the Due Date [...] [Direction]: Dropdown requiring a selection of whether to set the items due date before, equal to, or after the triggering date. One of the choices must be selected.

3. Set the Due Date [...] [Date]: Dropdown requiring a selection of the trigger date to set the items due date relative to. The available options are Item Entered Date, Case Created Date, incident Date (DOI), or WorkPlan Item's Parent. One of the choices must be selected.

4. [By] Days [Number]: The number of days added to or subtracted from the significant date as part of the date calculation. This field does not appear if Set the Due Date is set to "Equal to".

5. [By] Days [Type]: Dropdown requiring a selection of whether the days added or subtracted in [By] days [Number] are simply calendar days or exclude federal or state holidays and weekends in the calculation. The available options are Calendar, Federal, or State. This field does not appear if Set the Due Date is set to "Equal to".

6. [By] Months: The number of months added to or subtracted from the significant date as part of the due date calculation.

7. [By] Years: The number of years added to or subtracted from the significant date as part of the due date calculation.

8. [Additional] Days [Number]: The number of days added to the significant date as part of the due date calculation.

9. [Additional] Days [Type]: Dropdown requiring a selection of whether the days added in [Additional] Days [Number] are simply calendar days or exclude federal or state holidays and weekends in the calculation. The available options are Calendar, Federal, or State.

10. If due date is a weekend [...]: Checkbox to determine whether to shift a due date if it would otherwise fall on a weekend.

11. work day: Dropdown to choose whether the due date should be shifted to avoid only weekends, or also federal or state holidays. The available options are Calendar, Federal, or State.

12. Weekend: Dropdown requiring a choice whether the due date should be shifted backward or forward. The available options are Before and After.

The Contacts information tab is used to select the staff member or members responsible for completing the item. The tab contains only a table listing relevant staff members or case roles; use the New Contact button to add staff members or case roles to specify as the contacts who are responsible for the item (or relevant in other ways). The Add/Edit panel that appears when using the New Contact button or editing a row of the table contains the following fields:

1. [...] contact type: Radio button requiring a choice whether the relevant staff member is selected by their role on the case or as a specific person.

2. [Contact]: Dropdown requiring a choice of the role or staff member relevant to the item, depending on which type is chosen under "contact type".

3. Is responsible for the WorkPlan item: Checkbox that, if checked, causes the staff member or role to be listed as responsible for completing the item.

4. Check to notify on status changes: Checkbox that, if selected, causes the staff member to receive automatic notifications when the status of the item changes

5. Check to notify on status changes: Checkbox that, if selected, causes the staff member to receive automatic notifications when the status of the item changes.

The WorkPlan Item Actions tab is used to create actions that will automatically be initiated or performed by the SmartAdvocate system either when the item becomes active or is completed. The tab contains only a table listing the actions; use the New Action button to add new actions. The Add/Edit panel that appears when using the New Action button or editing a row of the table contains two tabs, General Information and a second tab whose title and content depends on the selected action type (until an action type is selected, the second tab is not visible at all).

The New Action tab contains the following fields:

1. Name: The name of the action. The contents of this field are automatically entered based upon the Action Type chosen but can be edited. Because the name will change if the Action Type or other fields change, it is recommended that this field be edited last.

2. Action Type: Dropdown requiring that the type of action be chosen. The options are Generate Document, Generate Email, Generate Note, Case Action, Insert WorkPlan, or Send Text Message.

3. Priority: Dropdown requiring that the priority level of the action be chosen. The options are Critical, High, Normal, or Low.

4. Action is performed: Radio button, to choose whether the action is entirely performed by the SmartAdvocate system or only initiated by the system, requiring manual input to complete. The options are Automatic or Manually. This field cannot be edited if Generate Document, Case Action, or Insert WorkPlan is selected.

5. Action is executed: Radio button, to choose whether the action is performed/initiated when the item becomes active (i.e.: when its parent item is completed) or when the item is completed. The options are When WorkPlan items becomes active, or When WorkPlan item is completed. This field cannot be edited if Generate Document is selected.

6. Completes the WorkPlan Item?: Checkbox which, if selected, the completion of the action also causes the item to be marked as completed.

7. Description: The description of the action.

If Generate Document is selected in Action Type, the second tab is Generate Document Options, which contains the following fields:

1. Please choose the document template: Dropdown allowing the choice of which document template will be used to generate a document when the action is triggered.

2. Please add comments to the document generation: Any comments that should be included when the document is generated.

If Generate Email is selected in Action Type, the second tab is Generate Email Options, which contains the following fields:

1. Template: Dropdown permitting you to choose which email template will be generated and sent when the action is triggered.

2. Customize: Checkbox is use to determine if the content of the email template should be edited.

3. Subject: The "Subject" of the email. If there is a selection in Template, and Customize is not selected, this field cannot be edited.

4. From: The sender of the email in the From field. Clicking the From button next to this field will bring up a panel allowing you to automatically set yourself, any staff member, any role in the case, or the user at the time the email is generated as the sender of the email.

5. To: The recipients of the email in the To field. Clicking the To button next to this field will bring up a panel allowing you to automatically add yourself, any staff member, any role in the case, any contact in the SmartAdvocate system, the user at the time the email is generated, the primary plaintiff, or the primary defendant to the list of recipients of the email.

6. Bcc: Blind copy, input email address, if necessary.

7. [Body]: The body of the email. If there is a selection in Template and Customize is not selected, this field cannot be edited.

If Generate Note is selected in Action Type, the second tab is Generate Note Options, which contains the following fields:

1. Template: Dropdown allowing you to choose the template upon which the note will be based.

2. Type: Dropdown requiring you to choose the note type.

3. Enter the note text.

If Case Action is selected in Action Type, the second tab is Case Options, which contains the following fields:

1. [Effect]: Dropdown permitting you to choose the effect of the action on the case file. The only option is Change Case Status To.

2. [Options]: Dropdown permitting you to choose the status to which the case will change. If additional options are added to [Effect], the contents of this dropdown may vary.

If Insert Workplan is selected in Action Type, the second tab is WorkPlan Options, which contains the following field:

1. Please select WorkPlan to insert. Dropdown permitting you to choose the WorkPlan whose contents will be automatically inserted, with this item replacing the top-level parent of the WorkPlan, when the action is triggered.

If Send Text Message is selected in Action Type, the second tab is Text Message Options, which contain the following field:

1. Select template or leave empty […]: Dropdown allowing you to choose the template upon which the text will be based. If no template is chosen you will be required to insert the context of the text manually.

2. Enter the content of the text. This field will only be editable if no text template has been chosen.