This article contains the most commonly asked questions regarding Task Assignments & Notifications.
Click a question or topic to jump to the corresponding answer.
- How do I see or send notifications about assigned tasks?
- Why is updating tasks an important part of the notification system for trade partners?
- What does "Send Task Summary On" mean?
- What does "Send Individual Task Assignments" mean?
- How can I control my personal notifications?
- What is a work request notification?
- How do I see a work request notification?
- What triggers a work request notification?
- What are the different statuses of work request notifications?
- Will changing a task's text trigger a new work request email?
- Will a work request automatically be resent?
- Why is there a delay in sending the automatically generated work requests?
- Why can I not send work requests to some people?
- I was expecting a work request notification, but it was not sent. Why?
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Does a work request notification include comment history?
How do I see or send notifications about assigned tasks?
- Set up each trade partner with individual task assignments and/or task summaries. To do this, select Trade Partners from the Contacts menu, then select the individual trade partner you wish to set up. Indicate your preferences for this trade under Communication Settings.
- Assign trade partners to schedule, to-do and warranty tasks.
CoConstruct sends individual task assignments within 5 to 10 minutes of a task being created or updated. There's purposely a delay so you have a chance to correct a wrong assignment before the system sends the notification. You can then view the notification history by clicking Notification History on to-do and warranty items, and Notifications/Confirmations on the Published Schedule.
If 5 minutes is too long to wait, you also have the option to force an immediate send by clicking Send Individual Task Assignment from the Notifications page.
Why is updating tasks an important part of the notification system for trade partners?
It's easy to keep your trade partners informed of their to-do, schedule and warranty assignments with email notifications. But for this to work well, it's important to keep tasks updated. Otherwise, sending outdated info is a surefire way to get ignored.
When assignments are done, remember to update the completion percentage on the schedule, or click the Completed link on to-do and warranty tasks. Also, there may be times when you need to update the schedule or to extend the Finish By date on to-do and warranty tasks, so that they won't be tagged as Overdue.
By keeping the dates and statuses current on your end, the notifications from CoConstruct will save time for both you and your trade partners.
What does "Send Task Summary On" mean?
Each morning, CoConstruct can compile a single e-mail listing with all of the overdue, upcoming, and open items for this partner or team member across all of your projects, and then send it to the partner or team member. This e-mail is an excellent way to help keep everyone on top of upcoming items and to stay on track.
You can choose which days CoConstruct should send this summary. However, get your partner’s permission before checking these boxes so that you are not sending him or her unwanted e-mail. The partner cannot turn on or off these e-mails. Only you can do that from the Partner Details screen.
What does "Send Individual Task Assignments" mean?
By checking this box, you are telling CoConstruct to e-mail work requests when items (Schedule tasks, To-Dos and Warranty items) are assigned to this partner or team member. One e-mail will be generated per item. CoConstruct will also send e-mails when the item has been revised, reassigned, or closed, so that this partner or team member understands what does, or does not, need to be done.
This is a great way to keep your partners informed about tasks while saving you some time on the phone. However, get this partner’s permission before checking this box so that you are not sending him or her unwanted e-mail. The partner cannot turn on or off these e-mails. Only you can do that from the Partner Details screen.
How can I control my personal notification settings?
To specify your personal notification settings for email and texts:
Head to your Name in the upper right corner and select Personal Settings. On the Personal Settings page you can specify your preferences for individual task assignments, task summaries, instant alerts, project summary emails, and communication summary emails. Make sure to click Save changes before exiting.
To update push notifications received through your mobile app:
Select More in the bottom right corner. Under Notifications, you can choose to enable/disable notifications and set your preferences for projects and which notifications to receive. These settings will be specific for the device your on, so be sure to set your notification preferences up on any device that you'll be using the CoConstruct mobile app.
What is a work request notification?
A notification is a record of each time a work request is sent to someone. The notification history serves as a paper trail of the date and time each team member or partner was sent a work request for a Schedule task, To-Do or Warranty item, as well as the status of that work order.
Notifications only go to those people (on your team or partners) who are enabled to receive individual work orders, so simply because an item is assigned to someone does not mean a work request will be sent. You can configure your own profile from the Personal Settings link on the main menu. Your partners’ settings are managed from the Partner List, also accessible from the main menu.
How do I see a work request notification?
The easiest way to see a work request notification is to make sure that your Personal Settings page shows that you can receive individual work requests. Then assign an item to yourself. CoConstruct will send you a work request notification for that item.
What triggers a work request notification?
Work request notifications are triggered when an assignment is made on a Schedule task, To-Do or Warranty item. They will be sent when the item is:
- Created
- Reassigned
- Updated (Name or Dates)
- Closed
- Canceled
Of course, for a work request notification to be sent, the assignees must be enabled to receive individual work orders. You can configure your own profile from the Personal Settings link on the main menu. Your partners’ settings are managed from the Partner List, also accessible from the main menu.
What are the different statuses of work request notifications?
Work requests each have a status to let the recipients know how to respond to the request, which helps prevent confusion.
Work requests have the following statuses:
- New – This is a request that is new or is new for this recipient. For example, if an item is reassigned from one partner to another, the new partner’s notification will have a “New” status because the item is new for him or her, even though the item is not new overall.
- Revised – The details of this work request, such as the Finish By date or name, have changed since the last work request was sent to the assignee.
- Resend – This is a copy of a previous work request that has already been sent.
- Reassigned – When a work order is assigned to someone who had received a notification, but the item is then assigned to someone else, the original assignee will receive a notification with a status of “Reassigned.” This tells him or her that the item is not complete, but that he does not need to complete it since it has been given to someone else.
- Closed – The item has been completed.
- Canceled – The item has been deleted.
Even in cases where you have lots of notifications, status changes, and assignee changes, Co-construct tracks who has received what kinds of prior notifications to make sure that the right status is communicated to the right people at the right time.
Will changing a task's text trigger a new work request email?
Yes, changing the detail for a task will trigger a new work request notification, as will changing other details, such as dates, assignees, or open/closed status.
But, this new work request will only be triggered for your assignees if they are set to receive work request notifications.
When will a work request automatically be resent?
Work requests will automatically be resent if you change the assignee, Finish By date, or name of an item, as well as if you close or reopen it. If needed, you can always trigger a notification yourself from the Notifications screen.
Why is there a delay in sending the automatically generated work request?
CoConstruct waits a few minutes after you add or change an item before sending out a work request to make sure you are done making changes.
By waiting a few minutes, we can help make sure that we are sending a complete and accurate work request the first time. If you want it sent immediately, you can send it manually from the Notifications screen.
Why can I not send work requests to some people?
While you can assign work requests to anyone, only those people (whether members of your team or people on the Partner List) who have checked Send Individual Work Requests can receive the work request e-mails.
For partners, you can change this on the Partner List. For members of your team, ask the person to use the Personal Settings link on the main menu to change his or her profile.
I was expecting a work request notification, but it was not sent. Why?
These requests are only sent when you've assigned someone to a Schedule task, To-Do or Warranty item. So, first check that the assignee (whether you, someone on your team, or a partner) is set to receive individual work order notifications.
Second, work request notifications are triggered when an item is:
- Created
- Reassigned
- Updated (Name or Dates)
- Closed
- Canceled
For a work request notification to be sent the assignees must be enabled to receive individual work orders. You can configure your own profile from the Personal Settings link on the main menu. Your partners’ settings are managed from the Partner List, also accessible from the main menu.
Third, there can be up to a 10 minute delay before new notifications are sent, but you can also manually send it from the Notifications screen. You can reach the Notifications screen by clicking on the Notification History link in the assignee section of a to-do or warranty item. Then click the recipient’s name in the Send Work Request box and click Send Work Request Now.
Does a work request notification include the comment history?
No, the work request does not contain the comment history, since there may be parts of the conversation that you do not want automatically shared with your partners. Any information about the item to be completed should be included in the item description itself. If there are important details in the comments section, you should click Edit on the item to adjust the item’s description accordingly.