Case Management
All organizations have tasks that require a series of steps to resolve. An HR department might have a standard series of steps by which it processes HR disputes and a separate process to handle employee evaluations. In the Case Management Module you can create processes that help you to record, track, and assign such tasks. Importantly, use of the Case Management Module encourages users to follow all necessary steps of the process to complete a case.
In using the Case Management Module you may define processes that your association can use to investigate or work through predefined situations. Create cases to record, track, and assign situations and case categories to keep your cases organized. You can assign cases to NetForum users and track the cases through the various stages of completion.
Group Item links in the Case Management module include:
Primary Profile Pages in Case Management include:
- Case
- Case Category
- Case Workflow Process
Group Items
The Group Items in the Case Management Module include:
- Cases
- Cases categories
- Process Definitions
- More...
Use these group items to create new cases, case categories, define processes, and more. The Case Management module is highly customizable, and you will find it simple to create cases and case processes to fit any of your case-tracking needs.
Cases
Cases are created to catalog incidents that require a step by step procedure to process. Cases are arranged by categories that you create under the Case Categories section. The Cases option gives you the opportunity to Find, List, Add, and run queries on pre-existing cases.
Case Categories
This section allows you to create categories to sort different types of cases. For example, the category "New Hire Drug Testing" could be created to sort cases of new hires undergoing drug testing.
Process Definitions
Process Definitions allows you to set the stages that each case must go through to reach completion. You may also set reminders to appear for each stage of the process.
Customizing Case Management Options for Your Organization
NetForum uses drop-down fields for easy data entry. You will need to populate the fields with information specific to the kind of cases that will be useful to your association. Data entered in the Process Definitions group item will populate lists on the Case Categories group item, and information saved in Case Categories will populate the fields in the Cases group item. Drop-down fields that populate with information from other group items includes how cases should be categorized, types of processes to choose from, specifying case statuses, and more.
As you enter data in the Case Management module, keep in mind that fields in BOLD always indicate that a field is required data.
You can add, edit, or delete data from the Case Management group item pages just as you would from any NetForum child form. However, once a data element is used on a profile page or form, it can only be disabled or hidden but not deleted. For example, if a case is set as being under a certain case category, that case category cannot be deleted.
Case Management Workflow
The following is the suggested order of tasks in setting up and managing your cases and their processes in NetForum:
- Add a Process Definition - Add process definitions to indicate the series of steps required to resolve a case. Data entered under the Process Definition group item is selectable when creating a category in the Case Category group item.
Note: If the process definition that you want already exists in the Process Definition group item, it is not necessary to re-enter it.
- Add a Case Category - This creates a category for future cases of that type. When creating a new case, you are required to specify a case category, case type, case source. Therefore, if no suitable case category exists, begin by setting one up. However, if a suitable Case Category already exists, it is not necessary to create a new one for each case.
- Add a Case - Once a process definition, a case category, case type, and case source have been created, you may begin adding cases. Assign the case to be handled by a NetForum user and it appears under the "My Cases" widget on their Overview screen.
- The case is processed by the NetForum user assigned to handle it. Update its progress via the Case Profile edit screen.