Configuring the mandatory skills feature

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configuring the mandatory skills feature

    The mandatory skills feature enhances the Customer Service Management (CSM) and Field Service Management (FSM) applications by allowing organizations to define specific skills required to complete tasks. This feature is optional and requires configuration to integrate with task forms and matching criteria for assignments and scheduling.

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    Customer Service Management configuration

    • Configure the Case form layout to use the Task Skills [taskm2mskill] table instead of the Skills field.
    • Mark skills as mandatory by setting the Mandatory field to True in the Task Skills table.
    • Run the Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script optionally to migrate existing skill data from the Skills field to the Task Skills table for Cases, Work Orders, and Work Order Tasks.
    • If using the assignment workbench, replace the Matching Skills criteria with Matching Skills - Mandatory Skills Support to respect mandatory skills during case assignment.

    Field Service Management configuration

    • Enable the mandatory skills feature by setting the system property work.management.use.mandatory.skills to true.
    • Configure the Work Order and Work Order Task forms to use the Task Skills [taskm2mskill] table.
    • Optionally run the Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script to move existing skill data from the Skills field to the Task Skills table, with skills configured as optional by default.
    • For dynamic scheduling, update the task filter by replacing the Matching Skills for Dynamic Scheduling criteria with Matching Mandatory Skills for Dynamic Scheduling.
    • Configure optional skills assignment behavior via Field Service > Administration > Configuration > Assignment tab, choosing whether agents must have all, some, or no optional skills to be auto-selected for tasks.

    Mandatory Skills system properties

    The feature introduces key system properties to manage migration and feature enablement:

    • work.management.use.mandatory.skills: Enables the mandatory skills feature and use of the Task Skills table for work orders and tasks (boolean, default false).
    • skillsmanagement.migration: Specifies which task tables to migrate skills from when running the migration script (default includes Case, Work Order, and Work Order Task tables).
    • com.snc.skillsmanagement.taskskillmigratedtables: Tracks tables already migrated to prevent repeated migration.

    Administrators can manage these properties via the System Properties [sysproperties] table to control feature activation and data migration.

    Configure the mandatory skills feature for use with the Customer Service Management and Field Service Management applications.

    Mandatory skills is an optional feature included with the Customer Service Management and Field Service Management plugins. Use the steps below to configure this feature with the desired application.

    Customer Service Management configuration

    To configure the mandatory skills feature for use with Customer Service Management:
    • In the Case form:
      • Configure the form layout to use the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table.
      • In the Task Skills table, set the Mandatory field to True to identify skills that are mandatory to complete a task.
        Note:
        The Case form should use either the Skills field or the Task Skills table, but not both.
    • [Optional] For existing cases that have data populated in the Skills field on the Case form, run the Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script to move this data to the Task Skills table. By default, this fix script migrates the skills from existing entries in the Case, Work Order, and Work Order Task tables to the Task Skills table. For more information, see Migrate skills to the Task Skill table.
    • If you are using the assignment workbench, replace the Matching Skills matching criteria with the Matching Skills - Mandatory Skills Support matching criteria. For more information, see Matching rules for case assignment.

    Field Service Management configuration

    To configure the mandatory skills feature for use with Field Service Management:
    1. Enable the work.management.use.mandatory.skills system property.
    2. Configure the Work Order form and the Work Order Task form to use the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table.
    3. [Optional] For existing work orders and tasks that have data populated in the Skills field on the Work Order and Work Order Task forms, run the Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script to move this data to the Task Skills table. By default, this fix script migrates the skills from existing entries in the Case, Work Order, and Work Order Task tables to the Task Skills table and configures them as optional skills. For more information, see Migrate skills to the Task Skill table.
    4. If you are using dynamic scheduling, update the task filter for the dynamic scheduling configuration and replace the Matching Skills for Dynamic Scheduling matching criteria with the Matching Mandatory Skills for Dynamic Scheduling matching criteria. For more information, see Create a task filter.
    For configuring optional skills, navigate to Field Service > Administration > Configuration, click the Assignment tab and set Auto-selection of agents for tasks requires them to have skills to one of the following:
    • All - indicates that the agent must have all optional skills listed in the task for task assignment.
    • Some - indicates that the agent must have at least one optional skill listed in the task for task assignment.
    • None - indicates that the agent is not required to have any optional skill.

    Mandatory Skills system properties

    The Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script migrates skills from existing tasks to the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table. Configure the task tables included in the migration using the skills_management.migration system property.

    The mandatory skills feature adds the following system properties.
    Note:
    To open the System Property [sys_properties] table, enter sys_properties.list in the navigation filter.
    Table 1. Properties installed with Mandatory skills feature
    Property name Description
    work.management.use.mandatory.skills Enables the mandatory skills feature and indicates that the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table is being used for work orders and work order tasks.
    • Type: true/false
    • Default value: false
    skills_management.migration Lists the task tables to migrate to the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table when an admin runs the Migrate Skills to Task Skill M2M script.
    • Type: choice list
    • Default value: wm_task,customerservice_case,wm_order
    com.snc.skills_management.task_skill_migrated_tables Contains a list of tables for which the Skills field has already been migrated to the Task Skills [task_m2m_skill] table. If the table name is listed in this property, the data has been migrated and will not be migrated again.
    • Type: choice list
    • Default value: none