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Unified PO Line Task List

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For a short video describing the interface, see New PO line Task List. For a recorded session regarding the new functionality, watch New Unified PO Line Task List in the Alma 2023 Roadmap Webinar Series.

Unified PO Line Task List User Interface

General Overview

The All PO Lines menu link enables users to view all PO lines in all their types and workflow steps (statuses). All existing PO line menu links (Renew, Review Deferred, Renew, Package) navigate the user to the new unified task list with the relevant facets pre-selected. This also applies when entering the PO line list from the Task List icon clipboard_e27f7198009b79645379e18d2da082224.png.

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All PO Lines menu link

The PO line search results are presented with all the various PO line workflow steps (statuses) and tasks, on a single page. Below is a screenshot highlighting the main elements in the user interface. Below the screenshot you can find explanations for each element.

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  1. Task list as facets — The facet options for assignments (Unassigned, Assigned to me, Assigned to others) enables the user to search for PO lines and edit them (without the extra step of "Go to task list").

    The new unified PO line task list does not automatically assign PO lines to users who are viewing/editing the PO lines. If there is a need to assign a PO line to a specific user, this can be achieved using the Assign to action for the relevant PO line. You can also assign a single or multiple PO lines to a user with the Assign Selected option above the PO line search results (see Top List Actions).

    Note that the Create Logical Set button will not display when accessing the All PO line menu link. It will only appear once a facet is applied or after an Order Line search.

    clipboard_e40b796c84935e0af12e9e6f784341751.png

    A clear and prominent information hierarchy of the PO line search results enables Acquisitions staff users reviewing the PO line's search result list to find what they need faster and with less navigation needs. Here are the main modifications:
  1. Multi-select facets — The ability to select multiple facets and select Apply in a single operation enables the Acquisitions staff to focus on the PO line/s with simplicity and efficiency. You can still select a specific facet and filter the list immediately by selecting the specific facet name. 
  2. Full page refresh clipboard_eb4e31db60b3b60e521ee670611d64055.png — This clickable icon allows the user to refresh the entire page, including facets and search results. Whenever the icon appears with a green dot, there may be a need to refresh the page in order to make sure all the facets and search results are updated.
    For example, in a scenario where the page facet for Workflow Steps is set to "In-Review" and the user selects Save and Continue for a specific PO line, the PO line changes from "In-Review" to "Auto-Packaging/Manual Packaging" and remains on the screen (even though the page facet  is still set to "In-Review").
    In this case, a green dot appears next to the "Full page refresh" icon, to reflect that the search results presentation on the page needs to be refreshed.
  3. "Select all" checkbox — This checkbox can be used to select all the records on the current page and apply bulk actions using the Top list actions (see Top List Actions below). Users can select records from multiple pages. Note that the more records you select, the longer the bulk operation will take. If all items are selected on a page, selecting this button will deselect all the items on the page.
  4. Sort by — The sort functionality was added to help users focus the list of PO line search results according to their preferences. This selection is kept across sessions. The list can be sorted by Title, Modification Date, Creation Date and Sent Date. The Ascending/Descending option can be used to arrange the list.
  5. Top list actions — The actions presented on top of the search results list clipboard_e1e23e106a9a7e1b1da224d3e172a58f8.png are context sensitive according to the user selection. The top list actions are enabled when single/multiple PO lines are selected. The top list actions are:  
    • Create new PO — This action enables packaging of multiple PO lines, whose workflow step is "Manual-Packaging", into a PO. If a selected PO line is not in the "Manual-Packaging" step, the operation will not apply to it.
    • Change Expected Date — This action enables modifying multiple PO lines whose workflow step is "In Claim", and setting their expected receipt date. If a selected PO line is not in the "In Claim" step, the operation will not apply to it. 
    • Manage Labels — This action enables the user to add/remove labels from multiple PO lines at once (see Labels).
    • Assign Selected — This action enables users to Assign to themselves/ Release Assignment /Assign to for multiple PO lines at once. This operation is context sensitive to user roles. Some of the operations may not appear for users without the proper role.

      If the user selected to run a bulk operation on a PO line that does not support the selected operation (for example, Create New PO for a PO line whose workflow step is not Manual Packaging), the operation skips this PO line and an appropriate message appears:

      UI message that indicates PO lines were note added because they are not in manual packaging status
       
  6. Export — This operation exports to Excel, all the PO line information presented in the search results.
  7. Record, Sections and Facets customization clipboard_ed662a0d730397344b6661ba42decc45c.png — This clickable icon enables users to manage their preferences for 2 elements on the page: 
    1. Record customization — Enables users to determine which information will be presented/hidden when reviewing the search results.
    2. Sections customization — Enables users to set the order for the sections that are presented in the right panel of the Split View (see Split View below). From here you can also hide sections.
    3. Facet customization — Enables users to reorder and/or hide facets. See Customizing Facets for more information.
  8. Create Logical Set — This operation allows users to save the search results to a logical set that can be used to run Manual Jobs.
  9. Personalized presentation toggle button clipboard_e3f828cbddcb16ac4da625da3161d951e.png — This button enables users to determine the way the PO line is presented on the page. Selecting this button toggles the presentation on the page between the following two options:
    1. List Viewclipboard_ed3be1cc385ee35db63fcf7abcd0a0804.png — The full list of PO lines is displayed in a single panel across the page.
      Full list of PO lines.
      If the user selects one of the PO lines in the list, the PO line will open in "Full View" on the entire page.
      Full View.
      Select the X icon at the top of the side (details) pane to close it and return to the full list of PO lines.
      X icon for list view.
      For details of the Full View see Unified PO Line Task List User Interface - Full Page View.
    2. Split View clipboard_ea47c83b7b1db4d7170dbfed304dcb68b.png — The full list of PO lines displays on the left panel in the page, with more information about the currently selected PO line in the right panel.
      Split view.
      Select the Full View icon to open the page in full view.
      Full view.
      Select the Split View icon to return to the split view.
      Split view icon.
      Select the X icon at the top of the side (details) pane to close it and return to the full list of PO lines.
      New X icon.
      To open the side (details) window again, simply select one of the PO lines in the full list.

      Users can determine the width of the left/right panel by dragging to the left or right, the vertical ruler that separates between the left and right panels.
      Ruler.
      For details of the Split View see Split View.
  10. Clear information hierarchy in the search results
    • The PO line identifier and workflow step (status) are now on separate lines. 
    • Permanent location for the PO line type and workflow step (status).
    • More prominent location for the PO line's price (on top of the main record action). Fund and vendor (first column) information is set to grant staff users a quick overview on mandatory information.
    • Additional icons for:
      • clipboard_ed60854c87041531077681f0509d9b3cb.png Alerts 
      • clipboard_e3b9163a39ab4e87b1f167c1db5f6e59c.png Note to Vendor
      • clipboard_efb408885de51f1ebe09b7b089cfec488.png Invoice Lines
      • clipboard_eb686a686d8cff8e9b7cf217f46773ceb.pngAttachments
      • clipboard_e3adc481d59fcad96d27767cf0c5cd328.png Receiving note 
      • clipboard_e351029612b37491ee9a66c1c7fc3f652.png Activation note 
      • clipboard_eb5aeffe9eea71dfe6606538f8ed8b075.png Interested User
      • clipboard_e7594b3ab02936b7bc5b04a5edb81a393.pngRush  
      • clipboard_ef06a0291684d537566d24d03f02d1a45.png Labels  (see Labels for more information.)

        The addition of the icons above is set to improves the user's ability to quickly focus on the needed information within the PO line record. These icons present the users with additional information when hovering over them with the mouse. They navigate the users to the relevant view/edit section upon selecting them.
         
    • The PO line list of search results supports assignment functionality for all types of PO lines (excluding PO lines in Closed and Cancelled workflow steps). A clear indication on the PO line record enables users to quickly understand the PO line assignment status:
      • Assigned to Me PO lines have a dark grey badge indicating that the PO line is assigned to them: clipboard_e6278ca14d439e7dc10731317ce7ff8aa.png
      • Assigned to Others PO lines have a white badge indicating that the PO line is assigned to another person:clipboard_ed06816b1f488534f6c7cadcbc8fa9e3f.png
      • Unassigned PO lines have no indication badge

The unified PO line task list does not automatically assign PO lines to users who are viewing/editing the PO lines. If there is a need to assign a PO line to a specific user, this can be achieved using the Assign to action for the relevant PO line. You can also assign a single or multiple PO lines to a user with the Assign Selected option above the PO line search results (see Top List Actions).

  1. Save and Continue action - The Save and Continue action is available only for PO lines that are in the workflow step (status) "In-Review". It  is equivalent to the Save and Continue action in the previous PO line user interface. When selecting this action, Alma attempts to progress the PO line to the next step of the workflow (Manual/Auto packaging) provided that all the mandatory fields are populated. The Order now action is also available and progresses the PO line in the workflow as well.
  2. Dedicated "Edit" action - While clicking anywhere on the record will open the PO line in "View mode", selecting the dedicated Edit icon, will open the PO line immediately for editing (if the user has relevant editing roles and privileges).

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Split (Side By Side) View

To improve the usability of the unified PO line task list, a "side-by-side" view presentation enables users to view a list of PO lines on one side and detailed information regarding the selected PO line on the other side. The right panel holds relevant information regarding the PO line, for users with relevant roles. This information is editable in the panel, preventing users from needing to navigate to a specific PO line editing screen.

To open this view, click anywhere on the PO line record or select the Split View toggle (see Split View). 

The general elements which characterize the side-by-side view are numbered in the following screenshot, followed by explanations for each element:

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Side by side - Split View
  1. Compact left side record view —This view presents users with key information regarding the PO lines they would like to work on. Clicking on a specific PO line from the left panel selects it and presents detailed information regarding the PO line on the right panel.
  2. Right side panel — This panel presents detailed information regarding the selected PO line.

For users who only have view mode privileges OR in cases in which the PO line is assigned to another user, the information in this panel cannot be edited. 

  1. "Sections" panel  This panel holds a list of all the available sections for the selected PO line. This section enables quick navigation between the various sections. This navigation can also be done manually using the mouse scroll button on the right panel. Under the internal sections are links for viewing additional information relating to the PO line:
    Additional Links.
    Selecting one of these links opens a "Slide-out" Panel with more information for that PO line.
    Additional info pane.
  2. Left/right panel actions — For users with editing privileges, the left/right panel actions enable the user to perform functional actions on a PO line, such as Assign to Me, Release Assignment, etc.
  3. Navigation arrows — These arrows enable users to navigate to the next/previous PO line presented within the left panel.
  4. "X" icon — This closes the right panel and returns the user to the "List-view" presentation which presents the full list of PO lines in a single panel across the page.(see List View).
  5. "Refresh" indication This notifies the user that there were elements (PO lines) on the list which were modified and there is a need to refresh the list. While there is no mandatory need to refresh the list, in some cases refreshing the list will cause PO lines to disappear from it. This may occur for example if the Assigned to Me facet was selected and the user selected the Release assignment action. In this case, the PO line still remains in the list in order to prevent the user from losing the orientation. To present only PO lines that are Assigned to Me, the user needs to select the "Refresh" icon.

Full Page View

The full page view displays the details for the currently selected PO line, spread over the entire screen. This enables maximum width presentation to the user, and focused editing of a single PO line.

To activate this view, in Split View, select the Full Page icon.

Full page icon. 

The presentation is similar to the display of the right panel in the "Split View" mode.

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Full View
  1. "Sections" panel  This panel holds a list of all the available sections for the selected PO line. The purpose of this section is to enable quick navigation between the various sections. This navigation can also be done manually by using the mouse scroll button. In addition to the internal section navigation, users can click on the additional information links to view more information relating to the PO line within a "Slide-out" Panel (see Slide-Out Panel).
    Additional information.
  2. Back to "Side-by-side" view — In order to go back to the "Side-by-side" view, users can select the dedicated icon and easily return to the previous view. This icon only displays when the Split View is enabled (see Split View). 

Slide-Out Panel

The slide out panel enables users to access entities that relate to the PO line while keeping the PO line in the background at all times. The For example, a user who works on a PO line and would like to view/modify the information of the item associated with that PO line, can select on the Edit action in the Ordered Items section.

Edit ordered item.

This opens a sliding panel that holds the item's information.

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To close the panel, users can select Save to save the changes, or select the X icon to close without saving.
You can also open the panel by selecting one of the additional information sections. 

Additional Information.

Frequently Asked Questions  

Question Answer What is different from the existing interface What is new?
Why do you call it “unified task list”?

The new interface is a single Alma page which hold all PO lines and their statuses (workflow steps). As a result, the “Go to task list” action was deprecated. 

In the existing interface, PO lines in various statuses had their own pages. Some were task lists (such as In Review (POL)Defer, etc.) while others were not (such as Claim and Waiting for manual renewal). 
The existing interface did not allow users the option to see all the PO lines directly from the All PO Lines menu option (Acquisitions > All PO Lines).

A new All PO lines link was added to the "Acquisitions" menu. This link presents all the PO lines in Alma for which the user has the relevant privileges to view. Users can then limit the search results to a desired subset of PO lines.

Will the new interface take into account the roles and privileges using the same logic as the existing interface?

Yes, the existing logic for Roles and Privileges was maintained. Users who were able to view/edit PO lines in the existing interface will be able to view them in the new interface as well. Users who did not have the roles/privileges to view some PO lines will still not be able to view them.

There is no change.

There is no change.

With the new interface, when I edit a PO lines that is “In review” and “Unassigned”, the PO line is not automatically assigned to me. Is this intended? 

Yes, with the new interface, PO lines are not automatically assigned to the user who edits them. This is to save the user the extra actions required for “releasing” the assignment when they have finished editing or viewing the PO line.

In the existing interface, PO lines “In-Review” and “Deferred” were automatically assigned to any user who edited them.
  1. All PO lines in all their statuses (workflow steps) can be assigned to a user (excluding closed or canceled).
  2. A new Assign to me action is available for users who want to easily assign the PO line to themselves. The existing Release assignment and Assign to (for users with the proper roles) actions were kept in the new user interface.
  3. A new Assign Selected action at the top of the page, enables users to multi select PO lines and assign them in bulk.
I see that when the PO line search result page presents PO lines in various statuses (workflow steps), each PO line has its own main action. Is this intended?

Yes, each PO line status has their own dedicated main action. For example, PO lines In Review have Continue workflow as the main action, while PO lines with the Cancelled status  have Reopen as the main action. The main action may change if the PO line is assigned to you, assigned to others, or unassigned.

When reviewing search results in the existing interface, most PO lines had the same main action.

Each PO line status (workflow step) has their own main action.

Why is there a checkbox next to each facet value?
The new interface allows “Multi select” facets. Users can select multiple facets and click on the Apply button at the bottom of the facet panel.

The option to click specifically on the facet value was maintained. The option to “multi-select” was added to the new interface.

Users are able to select multiple facets before applying their selection, saving time for the user.

The “side-by-side” view (Split View) works nicely, but there are some cases where I prefer to have the edit panel expanded on the entire screen (“Full View”). Is this possible?

Yes, users have 2 main options to control how the right panel will be presented:

  1. When in “side-by-side” view, and would like to focus on the editing area for specific PO line, focus on the PO line by clicking on it on the left panel and click on the “<<” icon located on the center of the middle separating line between the left and the right panels.
  2. In case users would like the “Full View” presentation to be enabled/disabled at all times, there is a toggle button switch on the top right corner of the screen, this will tell Alma how each user prefer the PO line presentation to appear.

Editing/Viewing PO lines in the existing interface navigates the user to the edit/view mode with no “side-by-side” option.

Users are able to easily modify the number of PO lines with no need to click on Go to task list/Edit/View and then have to wait for the screen to load.

I have a section located on the bottom of the right panel, I think it should be positioned higher as I use it almost all the time, can I customize the order of the sections in the right panel?

Yes, the sections on the right panel can be customized by each user as they see fit. For example, users who prefer to have the notes section positioned first, can select the gear icon located on the top right corner of the page. They then select Sections customization, drag and drop the section to the desired position and select Apply. Users also have the option to hide sections if needed. For more details see Record and Section Customization.

In the existing interface users cannot customize the order of the sections when editing/viewing PO lines.

Users can customize the right hand panel to best suit their workflows and needs.

Customizing/hiding sections will apply to all PO lines in any status (workflow step).

 

In the existing interface, users have the option to customize the information that is presented in the search results. Is this option available also in the new interface?
Yes, users can select the gear icon located on the top right corner of the page. They then select Records customization, select the information to display and select Apply.  
There is no change.

The information in the record view was enhanced to present users with more information if needed. Users have the ability to present information regarding the PO line’s: Invoice lines, Attachments, Note to vendor, PO line creation date and PO line modification date. User can also sort the search results by some of these values (the first two columns in the Records customization page.

 

1. Customizing/hiding information will apply to all PO lines in any status (workflow step).

 

2. The third column of the customization panel is set for informative icons. From this column, users are only able to show/hide information.

I see I have an option in the right pane to Add Label to a PO line . What does this do? Can everyone see my label? Is it reportable in analytics?

Adding a label is optional and was implemented assist users/institutions manage their PO lines. Anyone can see, add and remove labels from PO lines for which they have view/edit privileges. Currently, labels are not reportable in analytics. This ability may be added in future,  depending on customer needs and feedback. The ability to add “Reporting Codes” to PO lines was maintained.

The existing interface has no option to associate labels to PO lines.

Once a label is added to a PO line, it is also searchable in the advanced search and will appear in the facets panel. Additionally, there is an option to Add and Remove labels in bulk, by selecting the PO lines which you want to apply the changes for and using the Manage Labels action at the top of the page.
I see that there are 4 top page actions which are grayed out. Why is that?
There are 4 top page action which become available when the user selects one or more PO lines (using the checkbox located on the left of each PO line record).

In the existing interface, there is no option to Assign selected (for users with the relevant roles) and to Manage Labels in bulk.

These 4 top page actions were implemented to save the users time when assigning tasks/labels to multiple users/PO lines.

The top actions do not apply to all PO lines. If you try to apply an action on a PO line which does not support this action, Alma will alert you that this PO line was skipped, and that the action was not applied to it. For example:

  • The Create New PO bulk action can only be applied to PO lines in the Waiting for manual packaging status.
  • The Change Expected Date bulk action can only be applied to PO lines with the Claim status.
I used the facets to limit the list of search results but I only see PO lines that are Assigned to me.
I edited one of the PO lines in the list and Released the assignment. Why do I still see the PO line in my list?
In order to prevent confusion for users, any operation that causes the PO line to not be relevant for the faceted search results, will not automatically remove the PO line from the list. This is done to enable users to continue working on the record, and not have it disappear. In the existing interface, the editing page is separated from the search results. When a PO line is saved and its status had changed, it is removed from the list.
A "Refresh" icon was added to the new interface. This enables users to refresh the list whenever needed. Read more in the next question.
I see a small refresh icon on the top left corner of the search results. Sometimes this icon has a green dot next to it. What does this mean?

The “Refresh” icon was implemented to enable users to refresh the entire page, when the refresh icon has a small green dot next to it. It may indicate that the list, or facets, need to be refreshed. Selecting the icon causes more/less information to display on the page, according to the edits done to the PO lines in the search results.

This is not an option in the existing interface.
Users can make sure the list of search results is always up-to-date by using the dedicated "refresh" icon.
When I edit a PO line, I see that there are some actions which are not available. Why is that?
The Change Bib Reference, Relink, Change Vendor and  Assign to (for users with the proper role) actions, are only available after a PO line is saved. This is to make sure that all the changes will be saved in the system, before using these actions.
In the existing interface the Change Bib Reference and Relink actions are available in both "View" and "Edit" modes.
Actions which are not available (grayed out), have an informative tooltip explaining when the action will be available.
In the existing interface, when I want to add a fund or a vendor, I can type the name of the Fund/Material Supplier OR select a button that will open a popup window and allow me to search/select a value from a list. With the new interface, I do not see the button that opens the popup window. How can I search for a value? 

With the new interface, the Fund, Access Provider, License, Interested User, and Material Supplier fields give users the following options:

  • Start typing and the values in the field will be limited to relevant values.
  • Select values directly from the dropdown list.
  • Select values from the "Recent Selection" options which present users with their five recent selections.
 
In the existing interface, users have to select a button wand and wait for the list of values to load. With the new interface, users see the list of values upfront, and can scroll and select the desired value.

Values are presented to users as they focus on the field, with no need to trigger the list when it is needed. This saves time for the users.

  1. When manually typing a value in the Material Supplier field , the user needs to fully complete the first word in order for the system to locate the desired value. This is the same behaviour as the existing interface.
  2. In the Fund, Access Provider, License, Interested User, and Material Supplier fields, the presented list of values is limited to the first 100 values. In order to locate a value that is not in the list, you can type inside the field and more relevant values will appear.  
The existing interface has a Proposed Identifier field which enables users to select a value from a closed list, and an additional Identifier field which holds the user's selection or allows the user to enter a custom identifier.
I do not see the Proposed Identifier field in the new interface. Is there a way to add custom identifier when editing PO lines in the new interface?

Yes, the new interface has a single Identifier field which enables selection of existing values, as well as typing a new custom value:

clipboard_eb3498cd34c73b1ac1bb93effe9337d1c.png

The existing interface has 2 fields:

  1.  Proposed Identifier which holds a closed list of values.
  2. Identifier field which holds the values selected in field #1 above, and also enables users to enter a free text value.

With the new interface, a single field enables users to do both.

A new single field gives users the option to select a value from a list or the option to type in a new value.  
The existing interface has the Renew action for PO lines of type "Continuous" that are in the Waiting for manual renewal status. I do not see this in the new interface. Why is that?   The Renew action in the existing interface, validated the renewal information section and in some cases made price adjustments (when there was a "Multi Year" negotiation license associated with the PO line, from the network institution). This validation happened in any case when the PO line was saved. The "Renew" action was therefore deprecated.
No Renew action in the new interface.
No Renew action in the new interface.
When I click on the "Order Now" action for newly created PO line, the status (workflow step) of the PO line remains "In Review" - why is that?

The "Order Now" action packages the PO line into a PO and attempts to send the PO line to the vendor, this process takes a few seconds. A dedicated success message was added to reflect this to the users:

clipboard_e14fb1e9b6db26ce9aeab00e9cfc7c1ca.png

Clicking on the PO line number wihtin the success message will refresh the page and present the actual PO line status (workflow step).

The new success message is set to assist users easily refresh the page and see the actual status (workflow step) of the PO line. In the previous interface, users were navigated to the list of PO lines "In-Review", which caused them the need to search for the PO line they just worked on, this new UX keeps the user focoused on the PO line the worked on with ability to easily refresh it.
Why for some Electronic PO line the "Sent" status (workflow step) is linkable and navigates me to the Electronic Activation Task List page, while for other Electronic PO lines with the "Sent" status  there is no link? The "Sent" status (workflow step) will only be linkable to the Electronic Activation Task List page in cases where the Electronic resource has an E activation task, in cases where there is no E activation task, the "Sent” text will not be linkable. "Sent" status navigates the user to the Electronic Activation Task List when an E task exists on the resource.  "Sent" status navigates the user to the Electronic Activation Task List when an E task exists on the resource. 
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