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Overview
The Knowledge Base template supports a process to compose, review and publish Knowledge Base articles that are searchable by end users. Typical of this process is the immediate posting of articles so end users can access the most up to date information. This model assumes the following organizations are involved in the process:
Support
Responsible for composing, publishing, and maintaining the Knowledge
Base articles
Development
Responsible for reviewing the articles for technical
accuracy
Publications
Responsible for reviewing articles for consistency
with other documentation
Projects
A default project called "Knowledge Base" is available in this template and is visible to all user groups. This project can be customized and additional projects can be added via the Projects section.
Forms
A default form called "Article" is available in this template, is associated with the "Knowledge Base" Project and is visible to all user groups. This form can be customized and additional forms can be added via the Forms section.
Fields
The Article form contains the following fields. Note that you can customize the database by adding to or removing fields, or changing any pulldown menu values via the Fields section. Field names with an asterisk are required by the system and cannot be removed from any form(s).
Article ID* | Numeric record identifier. Assigned at the time the article is created. |
Title | A one line text summary of the article. Set at the time the article is created. |
Article Type | Classifies the article. Possible values are: Defect, Hot Fix, Tech Note, and Unknown. Set at the time the article is created. |
Last Updated Date* | The date and time the article was last modified. Set automatically as the article is processed through the workflow. |
Product* | Identifies the product for which the article has been composed. Set at the time the article is created. |
Version | Identifies the version of the product to which the article pertains. Set at the time the article is created. |
Oldest Version | Identifies the oldest article in a range of versions to which the article is applicable. Values displayed in this field depend on the value selected in the Version field. Set at the time the article is created. |
Newest Version | Identifies the newest article in a range of versions to which the article is applicable. Values displayed in this field depend on the value selected in the Version field. Set at the time the article is created. |
Severity | Indicates the level of severity of the article's subject. Set at the time the article is created. |
Description | Full details of the article. Ideally describes the nature of an issue or a procedure and how to resolve it or perform a set of steps. Set at the time the article is created. |
Workaround | Describes how to work around the problem described in the article. Set at the time the article is created. |
Status* | Current state of the article. Changes as the article is processed through the workflow. |
Assigned To* | User the article is currently assigned to for processing. Set either manually or automatically during processing of the workflow. |
Author* | Name of the user that composed the article. Initially set to the name of the current user logged in. Set at the time the article is created. |
First Draft Date | The date the article was created. Automatically initialized, and set at the time the article is created. |
Dev Comments | Describes the comments made by the Developer reviewing the article. Set after review by a member of the Developers group. |
Pubs Comments | Describes the comments made by the Publications user reviewing the article. Set after review by a member of the Publications group. |
Support Notes | Describes the response from the Author (usually a member of the Support group) about the comments resulting from the reviews made by the Development and Publications groups. Set after review by the Author. |
Publication Date | The date the article was published. Automatically initialized, and set at the time the article is published as part of the workflow. |
Archive Date | Date when the article was removed from the Knowledge Base. Set by Support when the article has become obsolete or was replaced by a newer article. Automatically initialized to the current date/time. |
Deleted* | Denotes whether the article has been deleted. |
Dependent Pulldowns
The pulldown fields Oldest Version and Newest Version are dependent on the pulldown field called Version to create a range that describes which versions are affected by the content of an article.
The Version field has the option menu values:
Unknown
Version 1
Version 2
Multiple Versions
Oldest Version has the option menu values:
Unknown
1.0.0
1.0.1
1.5.0
2.0.0
2.0.1
2.0.2
Newest Version has the option menu values:
Unknown
1.0.0
1.0.1
1.5.0
2.0.0
2.0.1
2.0.2
Latest Release
The examples below illustrate the dependencies between Version and the Oldest Version and Newest Version:
Article content applies to Versions 1.x only
Version field set to "Version 1". Selecting this value for the Version field
will result in the Oldest Version and Newest Version fields only displaying
those option menu values that start with "1".
Oldest Version set to "1.0.0"
Newest Version set to "1.5.0"
Article content applies to Versions 1.5.0 through latest version
Version field set to "Multiple Versions". Selecting this value for the Version
field will result in the Oldest and Newest Version fields displaying all
possible values.
Oldest Version set to "1.5.0"
Newest Version set to "Latest Release"
Details on setting up dependencies between pulldown fields can be found in the Customizing Pulldown Dependencies section of the Admin Guide.
Workflows
It is assumed that articles will be processed and moved through the workflow process by using the Task operation. A default workflow called "KB Article Process" is available in this template and is associated with the "Article" Form and is in use in the "Knowledge Base" Project. You can customize the KB Article Process workflow or add additional workflows via the Workflows section.
This is implemented by:
Workflow Properties
Transitions
This is implemented by:
Workflow Properties
Transitions
Task Fields
This is implemented by:
Transitions
This is implemented by:
Transitions
Task Fields
This is implemented by:
Transitions
Task Fields
This is implemented by:
Transitions
Task Fields
This is implemented by:
Transitions
This is implemented by:
Transitions
Sample Saved Charts
A set of sample saved charts are included in this template. Click here to see details of these sample metrics.
Email Notification
The Knowledge Base template is set up to notify users as follows:
On Add of an Article
The current assignee and the reporter of the article as well as the
members of the Support Managers user group are notified
On Delete of an Article
The current assignee, the manager for
the current state, and the reporter of the article are notified
On Edit of an Article
Both the current assignee, and the manager for
the current state of the article are notified
On Task of an Article
The current assignee of the article is notified
On Change of State to Archived (obsolete) or Published in KB
The members of the Support Managers user group are notified
Security
The Knowledge Base template assumes a very simple security model reflecting a workgroup situation where all users are able to see any article. This is implemented by setting Enable Record Visibility option under General Preferences in the Administration Task page to No.
In addition, the privileges related to editing the field of the articles have been removed from all users that are not Admin. With this configuration, users can rely on the Task operation to move articles through the workflow. This can be changed within the User Accounts section of the Admin page.
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