Tasks and Task Groups

1. Select Administration > Application Setup > Forecaster Setup > Tasks and Task Groups.
2. Select the Generic Department to which the task applies.
3. To create a task, click New.
4. Enter a Name and an optional Description.
5. Select the Type.

   Generic — Define the task once, and apply it to all departments on the business structure with the same name

   Site Specific — Select a specific site from the business structure.

6. The Generic Department text box displays the Department you selected on the Tasks and Task Group page.
7. Specify the Version Effective Date.
Note:
• The Version Effective Date is the date on which the task takes effect.
• When you create a task, the only save option is Update this version. After you enter a name and a description and click Save, the Create New Version Effective option and date box are available.
• When you edit an existing version of a task, select one of the following:
  • Create New Version Effective — Creates a version of the task using the effective date you select in the date box.
  • Update this version — Modifies the existing version of the task with the effective date displayed in the Version Effective Dates drop-down list. Select this option to use the effective date that you selected, and any changes that you made for the new or existing task.
8. If you want to use Combined Distribution, select an item from the list. This combined labor distribution configuration is applied to the set of labor standards for this task.

   Note: You must combine at least two labor standards in the Selected area below to use Combined Distribution.

9. Select one:

   Note: At least one task in a task group must be time dependent. This anchors the points where the labor requirements can be distributed. It also ensures that coverage is not too high at one point and too low in another.

   • Time Dependent — Some tasks, such as handling cash, are done when there are customers in the store. When there is a large volume of customers, the demand for cashiers spikes up, and the demand drops off when the volume of customers drops off.

     The system fills any labor requirements gaps where labor minimums are not met in order to ensure that the minimum requirement is met.

   • Time Independent — To help eliminate sharp peaks and valleys in labor requirements, you can specify tasks, such as "clean up area," that are not time dependent. The Forecast Planner smooths the overall workload by filling in slower periods with operations that do not have to be done at a specific time.

     Allocate extra labor — Select an option to indicate how to distribute excess labor for time-independent tasks:

     • Before traffic starts, then after traffic ends
     • After traffic ends, then before traffic starts
10. In the Standards area, use the wild card (*) to display the list of standards for the generic department in the Available area. A task can have more than one labor standard; for example, when the time value method of distribution varies based on the time of day.
11. In Available, select the labor standards to use and click > to more them to the Selected area.
12. If you are using Combined Distribution, hold down Ctrl and select the labor standards to combine. Then click Select/Unselect Combined Distribution. The selected labor standards have square brackets [ ] around their name.
13. To remove a labor standard from combined distribution, select it and click Select/Unselect Combined Distribution again.
14. Click Save and Return.

1. Select Administration > Application Setup > Forecaster Setup > Task and Task Groups.
2. Select the Task Groups tab.
3. Select the Generic Department to which the task group applies.
4. To create a new task group, click New.
5. Select the Type.
   • Generic — Define the task group once, and apply it to all departments on the business structure with the same name.
   • Store Specific — Select a specific store from the business structure.
6. The Generic Department text box displays the Department you selected on the Tasks and Task Group page.
7. Specify the Version Effective Date.
Note:
• The Version Effective Date is the date on which the task group takes effect.
• When you create a task group, the only save option is Update this version. After you enter a name and a description and click Save, the Create New Version Effective option and date box are available.
• When you edit an existing version of a task group, select one of the following:
  • Create New Version Effective — Creates a version of the task group using the effective date you select in the date box.
  • Update this version — Modifies the existing version of the task group with the effective date displayed in the Version Effective Dates drop-down list. Select this option to use the effective date that you selected, and any changes that you made for the new or existing task group.
8. In Allocate hours, select an option.
   • Start Day — All hours for the job are applied to the day on which the labor hours begin.
   • End Day — All hours for the job are applied to the day on which the labor hours end.
   • Actual Day — Labor hours are split as they fall across the day divide.
   Note:

   When you change an allocation rule and then import or update Labor Forecast data for the weeks with different allocation rules, the Labor Forecast value on the last day of the first week is calculated according to the allocation rule applied to the second week.

   For example, the Actual day allocation rule is set for the first effective version of the task group, the Start Day allocation rule is set for the second effective version of the task group starting from the first day of the next week.

   After you import Labor Forecast values for the current week and then for the next week, the value for the last day of the current week is calculated according to the Start day allocation rule.

9. If you want to use Combined Distribution, select an item from the list. This combined labor distribution item (see Combined Distribution) is applied to the set of labor standards for tasks in this task group.
10. Skip breaks in labor — The Forecast Planner ignores breaks when it calculates labor hours for a given day when there are gaps of a specified duration in the labor requirements on either side of the day divide.
11. Define a break:
    • Maximum break duration — Number of minutes that define a break in labor
    • Break placement window — Define a window on each side of the day divide. Any gap in labor with a start day and end day that falls within this window and meets the Maximum break duration is ignored.

      Example: If you define the window to be 60 minutes, then the window extends from one hour before the day divide to one hour after the day divide.

12. On the Tasks tab, use the wild card (*) to list the available tasks.
13. Select the tasks that you want in the task group. Use > to move them from the Available area to the Selected area.
14. On the Jobs tab, click Save and Add Jobs. Select the jobs for the task group from the business structure. A job can belong to only one task group.
    Note:

    The department to which a job belongs must have the same type of volume drivers as the volume driver related to the labor standard.

15. Click Save and Close.

How you delete a task or task group depends on its assignments:

• Task that has not been assigned to a task group — Select the task, and click Delete. You do not have to detach any standards assigned to it.
• Task group is or is not attached to tasks and jobs — Select the task group and click Delete.The system detaches any tasks or jobs.
• Task has been assigned to a task group
• 1. Highlight the task in the Selected column and select < Remove to move it to the Available column. Select Save and Return.
  2. On the Tasks tab, select the task group you want to delete, and select Delete on the menu bar. The task is deleted.
  3. On the Task Groups tab, and select the task group that contains the task you want to delete. Select Edit from the menu bar.