Managing Projects → About State and Transition Configuration → Working With States and Transitions in Projects → Calculating Values for Date/Time and Numeric Fields
Transition field calculations provide a way to collect metrics as users move items through the process using Date/Time and Numeric fields. You can set calculations for transitions in workflows in SBM Composer, or you can configure a calculation for a transition in a project in SBM Application Administrator.
To calculate values for Date/Time and Numeric fields in transitions in projects:
Select to perform the calculation to occur before the Transition form opens. Calculate Before Form is selected by default.
Select to perform the calculation after the Transition form is submitted.
Select to perform the calculation to occur both before and after the Transition form is submitted.
Using the guidelines in About Operand Fields and Operator Selection Lists, specify a constant value, field, or date/time keyword to use as the first operand in the calculation. This will be filled with the current value of the first operand. The field selected from the list cannot be the same field as the field being edited, a field that could cause a recursive calculation, a deleted field, or a field in the Not Used section.
Select a valid operator for the calculation, using the guidelines and tips in Calculating Values for Date/Time and Numeric Fields.
Using the guidelines in About Operand Fields and Operator Selection Lists, enter a second constant or a valid field. Valid fields for the second operand are dependent on the field type, the first operand, and the operator. If the first operand or operator causes the second operand to be invalid, the second operator is changed to a valid constant. The second operand cannot be the field being edited, a field that could cause a recursive calculation, a deleted field, or a field in the Not Used section.
Select to require users to provide values for fields used as operands for the calculation before the transition can be completed.
Select to allow users to complete the transition without providing values for fields used as operands for the calculation. The calculation is skipped if values are not provided.
Select to perform the calculation and treat empty values in fields used as operands for the calculation as zeros.
Date/Time Field Name | Properties |
---|---|
Assigned To Support Rep |
|
Time In Assigned |
|
Then, for a "Begin Work" transition that support representatives execute when they begin working on a ticket, set the calculation for the Time In Assigned field to:
Last State Change Date
– (minus)
Assigned to Rep
When support representatives execute the "Begin Work" transition, the amount of time that has passed before work began on the item is recorded in the Time in Assigned field. You can then create reports that reflect this data.
To ensure that you receive correct data from the calculation, set the field for which the calculation is set as read only and place it in the Hidden section.
Calculations do not work for system Date fields (Submit Date/Time, Close Date/Time, Last State Change Date, Last Modified Date) in a transition calculation for which the date will be calculated. Instead, use the "now" keyword, which gives you the same calculation.
The None operator is useful if you want to transfer the value of another field to this field during this transition.
If the calculation could result in a value that cannot be stored in the type of field, either a round or truncate version of the operator must be used. For example, if you define the calculation for a Numeric integer field and you want a division calculation, you must choose the round or truncating division operation. This is because the division can result in a fraction that can't be stored. With rounding operators, any fraction greater than or equal to a half will be rounded up to the next whole integer or date, while fractions less than a half are dropped. With truncating operators, the fractional part of the number is ignored. For example, seven divided by four would calculate to one with the truncating division and two with the rounding division.
Field Type |
1st Operand Constant |
1st Operand Field Types |
Operators |
2nd Operand Constant |
2nd Operand Field Types |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
None, +, - |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
*, Trunc/, Round/ |
Float |
Numeric Int, Single Select, Summation |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Trunc*, Round*, Trunc /, Round / |
Float |
Numeric Float |
Elapsed Time |
Date/Time |
Date/Time |
- |
Date/Time |
Date/Time, Date |
Elapsed Time |
N/A |
Date |
- |
Date/Time |
Date/Time, Date |
Date/Time |
Date/Time |
Date/Time |
None, +, - |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Date/Time |
N/A |
Date |
None, + |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time, Time |
Date/Time |
N/A |
Date |
- |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Date |
Date |
Date/Time, Date |
None, Trunc +, Round +, Trunc -, Round – |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Time |
Time |
Time |
None, +, - |
Elapsed Time |
Elapsed Time |
Time |
N/A |
Date/Time |
None (assigns time portion of date/time) |
N/A |
N/A |
Numeric Int |
Int |
Numeric Int, Single Select, Summation |
None, +, -, *, Trunc/, (integer math), Round/ |
Int |
Numeric Int, Single Select, Summation |
Numeric Int |
Int |
Numeric Int, Single Select, Summation |
Trunc +, Trunc -, Trunc *, Trunc /, Round +, Round -, Round *, Round / |
Float |
Numeric Float |
Numeric Int |
Float |
Numeric Float |
Trunc +, Trunc -, Trunc *, Trunc /, Round +, Round -, Round *, Round / |
Int or Float |
Numeric Int/Float, Single Select, Summation |
Numeric Float |
Int or Float |
Numeric Int/Float, Single Select, Summation |
None, +, -, *, / |
Int or Float |
Numeric Int/Float, Single Select, Summation |
Numeric Float |
Int or Float |
Numeric Int/Float, Single Select, Summation |
* |
N/A |
Elapsed Time (converted to hours) |
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