Self-Schedule - Portal Page

Modified on Wed, 19 Jan 2022 at 04:12 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

The Section allows items such as Users, Devices, Applications, Mailboxes and Bespoke to be added to Deployments Units and also enables the Self-Scheduling features whereby the end-user can pick their own migration slot. The Self-Scheduling portal aims to improve the end-users’ scheduling experience by providing them flexibility to schedule their own time,  modify directly from their devices. With self-scheduling, an administrator can expect a reduction in no-shows during a Migration project. The Self Schedule page consist of four tabbed menu located on the left pane:

  • Settings
  • Emails
  • PS /CSS /JS
  • Global Slots




Settings Page

The Settings page contains the internal controls and configuration options that are required to manage a self-schedule. Many of the fields are prepopulated with default values to simplify the customization process for a ManagementStudio administrator. The sub sections are:


  • Page Text
  • On Screen Messages
  • Migration Slots
  • Related Items Tabs
  • Link Expiry
  • Complete Action & Email
  • Buttons
  • Meeting Request


Page Text

The Page Text panel contains the text that appears on the self-schedule web page.


 

  • Header: The headline title or greeting that appears at the top of the page (point 1 in the image below),
  • Sub Header: The self-schedule's sub-title (point 2 in the image below),
  • Description: A text area that introduces the purpose to the end user (point 3 in the image below).



On Screen Messages

The On Screen Messages contains the message displayed when a user books a Migration slot.

  • Complete Message: On successful completion of booking a migration slot, the text contained within this field will be displayed.
  • Error Message: If an error is encountered, the text within this field will be displayed to the user.




Migration Slots

The Migration Slots panel contains parameters to define what is displayed to the end user.

  • Show Confirm Slot Popup: Enabling this option will display a confirmation popup when a user books their slot to confirm the action.
  • Confirm Slot Date Format: Specify the date format to apply to the date displayed to the user on the confirmation screen.
  • Show Unavailable Slots: Enabling this option will display Migration slots that are full and expired to the end user.
  • Schedule Grid Columns: This field contains a list of the column names to show on the Schedule grid in the deployment unit UI.








The Link Expiry panel contains controls to define the duration of the self-schedule link.

  • Link Expiry before X Days: Specify the number of days before the Deployment Unit's Start/End day to close the Self-Schedule portal link.
  • Expire before Start/End Date: Specify the Start link expiry count from before the Start or End date. e.g. 5 days before the DU's Start date or 5 days before the DU's End date.


Complete Action & Email

The Complete Action & Email panel contains controls to define what happens when a Migration slot booking is complete.

  • Send Reminder after X Days: Specify when a reminder email is sent to a user when they have not picked a Self-Schedule slot.
  • Send Email on Complete: Enable this option to trigger the event to send out the 'Complete' email when a user books a migration slot.
  • Lock On Complete: Enable this option to ensure the booking is locked to prevent the User from updating it after they have booked a migration slot.



Buttons

The Buttons panel provides the ability to define the button labels displayed on the portal.

  • Book Button Label: Define the label button to prompt the user to book their migration slot.
  • Confirm Button Label: Define the label button displayed on the confirmation page.



Meeting Request

As an administrator, use the Meeting Request panel to control & customize the meeting invitations sent out to the users.

  • Attach Meeting Request to Email: When this option is enabled, it will attach an ICal (Meeting Request) file to the 'Complete' email.
  • Outlook Reminder (Min): Specify the number of minutes before the appointment will allow Outlook to popup a reminder.
  • Appointment Subject: Specify a clear appointment subject line.
  • Appointment Location: Provide a location of the appointment 
  • Appointment Description: Provide a brief description of the appointment.


Emails

The Emails tab allows an administrator to configure and customize the Self-Schedule emails sent out. Out of the box, ManagementStudio provides five email templates. 

  • Request Email - Original email sent to the end-user to notify them to book their migration slot.
  • Reminder Email - Reminder email sent when the end-user is yet to book their migration slot.
  • Complete Email - Email sent when the end-user books their migration slot.
  • Update Booking Email - Email sent when a booking is updated.
  • Cancel Booking Email - Email sent when a booking is cancelled.


Each of the templates contains the Email Subject (1) and the corresponding Email content (2). 

The field supports HTML and Markdown, and information that is held in ManagementStudio about the recipient can be included by using the appropriate keywords. For example, an email is sent to David Black. To include David's first name in the email content, use [UM-Firstname].



An example of the request email template


An example of the email, sent to the end user.



PS / CSS / JS

In the PS / CSS / JS tab, an administrator  can extend the presentation and/or functionality of the self-schedule page by utilising the following technologies supported by ManagementStudio.


TechnologyDescription
PowerShell (PS)Automate ManagementStudio tasks and interact with external applications via API.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)Control the visual aspect of how HTML elements appear on the screen.  For example, typeface and fonts used, and the colour of text or backgrounds.
JavaScript (JS)Programmatically modify the structure of HTML and add dynamic functionality. For example, automatically adding standard footer text to the Self-Schedule portal page.


Using PS / CSS / JS

An admin can schedule a PowerShell script to run immediately after a User books their migration slot on the self-schedule portal. For example, a script to move a User from one workflow (Self-schedule email sent) to another workflow (Migration slot booked).

For more information and examples of how to use PS/CSS/JS, please refer to this articles: https://support.managementstudio.com/a/solutions/articles/14000129763 https://support.managementStudio.com/a/solutions/articles/14000111736

Although the example used is within Surveys, the use and concept is similar within the self-schedule portal.


Global Slots

In the Global Slots tab, an administrator can easily define and configure the default Migration settings that will be applied globally to all Deployment Units in the project. For example, the number of migration slots, the start day & time, the End date & time and any project constraints etc.


The Global Slots settings can be overridden in any Deployment Unit by switching from Global slots to Local slots within the Schedule Config tab.


This section consist of the Slot Configuration grid (1) and the Suspended days (2).



Slot Configuration Grid

The details of the global deployment slot are listed here. In the screenshot above, it has been defined as migrating 5 users everyday at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm excluding the weekends. To add a new deployment slot, click on Click here to add new item.


Defining Slots

  1. Our baseline availability is defined.
    1. These are slots with no Valid From/To set this means they are valid for the duration of the DU's Start/End date range.
    2. We aren't going to migrate users on the weekend so the Sat/Sun boxes are unchecked. 
    3. A line is created for each start time (9am, 12pm, 3pm) )and an end time is also entered.
    4. The number of slots (i.e. Users we can migrate) is entered.
    5. An optional note can be entered for the slot.
  2. Adjustments to the baseline are defined.
    1. Adjustments have a Valid From/To date
    2. If an adjustment has the same start time and end time as a baseline slot it will be added to that base slot number.
    3. An adjustment can be used to increase or decrease the baseline slot number. To decrease enter a negative slot number.
    4. Adjustments don't have to change a baseline time and can be used to create new slots times. Simply enter a start and end date that doesn't correspond to a baseline time. 
  3. Slots can be temporarily disabled using the Enabled tickbox to remove them from the schedule without deleting them.
  4. Slots can be removed by ticking the Delete checkbox and saving the changes. 
  5. Validation Rules
    1. The ( i ) icon on the top left of the grid will popup a list of rules that slot times must follow. 



Slot Rules


  • Baseline Slots are slots without Valid From and Valid To dates specified and span the full range of the DU. There can only be one baseline time per slot time.
    • i.e. Two baseline times can not start at the same time.
  • Adjustment Slots are slots with a 'Valid from/to'  date set. 
    • i.e. A 'Valid From' time must have a corresponding 'Valid To' time and visa versa.
  • Adjustment Slots cannot overlap other adjustment slots at the same Start Time. 
    • They can overlap if the Start Times are different.
  •  Basic Rules
    • The 'Start Time' must have an End Time and it must be before the 'End time'
    • The 'Valid From' must have a Valid To date and it must be before 'Valid To' date


Suspended Days

Suspended days remove whole days from your list of available slots. They are a good way to handle Bank Holidays, Change Freezes, etc without having to define complicated adjustment slots.



How to send out a Self Schedule?

Switch to Deployment Units

  • Click on the User Migrations tab
  • Select the Users to send out the self schedule link to on the grid
  • Right click, select Send Emails -> Send Request Email
  • The selected Users will receive an email with a Self Schedule link embeded similar to the below screenshot


  • Clicking on the link, opens the portal with all available Migration Slots



  • The User clicks on Book Slot to select a convenient Migration slot 
  • Clicks Confirm on the confirm migration slot window
  • A confirmation message is displayed on the portal, followed by
  • A sent booking confirmation email with or without an enclosed ICS file
  • This completes the process of sending out a self schedule link

Further Support

If you require further support, please visit ManagementStudio's Service Desk to search the knowledge base or create a new support ticket.