User Story: Schedules Management (AX03US04)

1. Problem Statement

This user story addresses the foundational need to plan, create, manage, and analyze recurring Preventive Maintenance (PM) schedules. The primary user is the O&M Manager, who is responsible for implementing a proactive maintenance program to ensure asset reliability, prevent failures, and optimize workforce planning.

Primary User Role & Pain Points:

• Reliance on Manual Systems: Manages maintenance schedules using spreadsheets or calendars, which are prone to error, difficult to update, and lack automation.
• Inconsistent Maintenance: Without a centralized system, there is no guarantee that assets are being maintained at the correct intervals.
• Poor Workforce Planning: Struggles to forecast future workloads from recurring tasks.
• No Link to Procedures: Schedules are disconnected from Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), leading to inconsistent work.
• Lack of Visibility and Control: Has no central dashboard to see schedule status, history, or the specific assets included in a recurring job.

Core Problem:
For the O&M Manager, managing preventive maintenance without a dedicated scheduling system is inefficient, unreliable, and purely administrative. It prevents the implementation of a true, scalable PM program, leading to an over-reliance on reactive maintenance, increased risk of unexpected failures, and inefficient use of the field workforce.

2. Who Is the User Facing the Problem?

The O&M Manager is the most important user for this feature. They are tasked with shifting the organization from a reactive "fire-fighting" model to a proactive, planned maintenance culture. This "Schedules Management" module is their primary tool for building, automating, and overseeing the entire Preventive Maintenance program.

Access Control:
The O&M Manager and Utility Administrator should have full create, read, update, and activate/deactivate permissions. The Asset Manager would have read-only access. The Dispatcher may have read access and the ability to view generated work orders.

3. Jobs To Be Done

• For the O&M Manager: When I need to implement a reliable preventive maintenance program to reduce unexpected failures, but I am using manual spreadsheets and calendars that are inefficient and error-prone, help me by providing a system to create, manage, and analyze automated, recurring maintenance schedules, so that I can ensure critical assets are serviced on time, optimize my workforce planning, and systematically reduce operational risk.

4. Solution

The proposed solution is a comprehensive Schedules Management module. It allows the O&M Manager to create and manage automated schedules for generating Preventive Maintenance work orders. The solution consists of three main parts: a management dashboard for oversight, a detailed view for analyzing a single schedule, and a multi-step wizard for creation.

Key Capability Areas:

1. Centralized Schedules Dashboard: High-level KPIs and a filterable list of all PM schedules.
2. Guided, Multi-Step Schedule Creation: A wizard to define a schedule's details, trigger, linked SOP, and associated assets.
3. Detailed Schedule View: A dedicated page for each schedule that provides a comprehensive overview, including its configuration, linked SOP, associated assets, and a complete history of all work orders it has generated.
4. Flexible Trigger & Frequency Engine: Allows for defining various recurring schedules (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly).
5. SOP-Driven Standardization: Mandates linking an SOP to every schedule, ensuring consistency in all generated work.
6. Complete Generation History: The detail view includes a log of every time the schedule has run, providing full traceability and performance history for that specific recurring job.

5. Major Steps Involved

User Role: O&M Manager

Flow 1: Creating a Monthly Inspection Schedule
(This flow remains the same as the previous version)

Flow 2: Reviewing the Performance of a Specific Schedule

1. Navigate to O&M -> Schedules.
2. From the dashboard list, find SCH-001, "Quarterly Pump Maintenance," and click on its name.
3. The system navigates to the Schedule Details page for SCH-001.
4. In the top section, review the key details: the schedule is "Active," runs "Quarterly," and the next run is "Oct 15, 2024".
5. In the "Standard Operating Procedure" section, confirm that it uses SOP-PUMP-003, which has an estimated cost of $1,250.00.
6. Click on the "Assets (5)" tab to view the five specific pumps included in this quarterly schedule.
7. Click on the "Generation History (12)" tab.
8. Review the log of all 12 work orders this schedule has created over the past three years.
9. Sort the history table by "Total Cost" to see if any specific run was unusually expensive.
10. Note that the work order from Jan 15, 2024, had a higher cost. Click on its ID, SO-085, to navigate to that specific service order's history page for further investigation.

6. Flow Diagram

7. Business Rules

This section provides an exhaustive, granular breakdown of rules for every single visible element across all three screens (Dashboard, Details, and Wizard).

A. Schedules Management (Dashboard View)

• Page Title/Subtitle: Static descriptive text.
• KPI Card 1: "Total Schedules"
  • Formula: COUNT(Schedules) regardless of status.
• KPI Card 2: "Active Schedules"
  • Formula: COUNT(Schedules) where Status = 'Active'.
• KPI Card 3: "Avg. Cost per Schedule"
  • Formula: AVG(SOP.TotalCost) for all schedules where Status = 'Active'. This reflects the average estimated cost of the work planned, not executed.
• KPI Card 4: "Work Orders Generated"
  • Formula: COUNT(Service Orders) where ServiceOrder.Source = 'Schedule' and CreationDate is within the "Last 30 days".
• Search Bar: Must search across Schedule ID, Schedule Name, and SOP Name.
• Filters Button: Must open a dropdown/modal with filtering options for Status and Frequency.
• Table: "Schedules"
  • Schedule ID: Unique, system-generated ID (e.g., SCH-001).
  • Schedule Name: The user-defined name of the schedule.
  • SOP Name: The name of the linked Standard Operating Procedure.
  • Frequency: A text description of the trigger (e.g., "Monthly on the 15th").
  • Status: A colored tag: 'Active' (Green) or 'Inactive' (Gray).
  • Last Generated: The date the schedule last ran and created work orders. Displays "N/A" if it has never run.
  • Next Due Date: The calculated date the schedule is set to run next.
  • Actions ("..."): A menu button that must reveal:
    • View Details: Navigates to a detailed view of the schedule.
    • Edit: Opens the creation wizard pre-filled with the schedule's data.
    • Deactivate/Activate: Toggles the schedule's status.
    • Run Now: Manually triggers the schedule to generate work orders, ignoring the Next Due Date. Prompts for confirmation.

B. Create Schedule (Wizard View)

• Step 1: Schedule Details
  • Schedule Name: Mandatory text field. Must be unique.
  • Description: Optional multi-line text area.
  • Trigger Type: Mandatory dropdown with options: 'Daily', 'Weekly', 'Monthly', 'Yearly'.
  • Frequency Controls (Dynamic):
    • If Trigger Type = 'Weekly', a multi-select checkbox group for days (Sun-Sat) must appear. At least one day must be selected.
    • If Trigger Type = 'Monthly', a dropdown to select the day of the month (1-31, Last Day) must appear.
    • If Trigger Type = 'Yearly', a month and day selector must appear.
  • Start Date: Mandatory date field. Defaults to the current date.
  • End Date: Optional date field. If blank, the schedule runs indefinitely. Must be after the Start Date if filled.
• Step 2: Select SOP
  • Rule: The user must select exactly one SOP using the radio buttons.
  • Rule: The table must be searchable and filterable by SOP ID, SOP Name, Service Association, and Operation Type.
• Step 3: Select [Assets/Systems/etc.]
  • Rule: The title and the list displayed are dynamic based on the Service Association of the selected SOP.
  • Rule: The user must select at least one entity from the list using the checkboxes.
  • Rule: The list must be searchable and filterable.
• Wizard Buttons:
  • Cancel: Discards all progress and returns to the dashboard.
  • Previous Step: Navigates to the previous step in the wizard, preserving the user's inputs.
  • Next Step: Navigates to the next step, enabled only after the current step's mandatory fields are filled.
  • Create Schedule: Appears only on the last step. Enabled only after at least one entity is selected. Creates the schedule record.

C. Schedule Details (Detailed View)

• Breadcrumb Navigation ("Schedules > SCH-001"):
  • Rule: Must be present. "Schedules" must be a link to the main dashboard. "SCH-001" must be static text representing the current schedule's ID.
• Header Section:
  • Schedule Name ("Quarterly Pump Maintenance"): Must display the full name of the schedule as the <h1> page title.
  • Status Tag ("Active"): Must display the current status as a colored tag (Active=Green, Inactive=Gray).
  • Button: "Deactivate" / "Activate":
    • Rule: The button text must be dynamic. If Status is 'Active', it must read "Deactivate". If 'Inactive', it must read "Activate".
    • Rule: On click, it must toggle the schedule's status after a confirmation prompt.
  • Button: "Edit Schedule": Must navigate the user to the "Create Schedule" wizard, pre-filled with all the data for this specific schedule.
  • Button: "Run Now": Must trigger a manual run of the schedule after a confirmation prompt.
  • Button: "Delete": Must be disabled if the schedule has ever generated a work order. If it has never run, this button is enabled and, on click, will permanently delete the schedule after a confirmation prompt.
• Schedule Details Section:
  • Schedule ID: Displays the unique ID (e.g., "SCH-001").
  • Description: Displays the full, multi-line description text.
  • Frequency: Displays the trigger rule (e.g., "Quarterly").
  • Next Due Date: Displays the calculated next run date.
  • Start Date: Displays the schedule's start date.
  • End Date: Displays the schedule's end date, or "Ongoing" if the end date is null.
  • Last Generated On: Displays the timestamp of the last run, or "Never" if it has not run.
• Standard Operating Procedure Section:
  • SOP ID: Displays the linked SOP's ID. Must be a hyperlink to that SOP's detail page.
  • SOP Name: Displays the linked SOP's name.
  • Operation Type: Displays the SOP's type (e.g., "Inspection", "Maintenance").
  • Service Association: Displays the entity type the SOP applies to (e.g., "Assets").
  • Number of Tasks: Displays the count of tasks within the SOP.
  • Estimated Cost: Displays the total estimated cost from the SOP, formatted as currency.
• Tabbed Section:
  • Tab: Assets (5):
    • Rule: The tab title must be dynamic, showing the entity type ("Assets") and the count of associated entities in parentheses.
    • Rule: This tab is selected by default.
    • Rule: It must contain a searchable, filterable table listing all assets linked to this schedule.
    • Rule: The table must include columns for Asset ID, Asset Name, Asset Type, and Location.
  • Tab: Generation History (12):
    • Rule: The tab title must be dynamic, showing the count of generated work orders.
    • Rule: It must contain a searchable, filterable table listing every service order ever created by this schedule.
    • Rule: The table must include columns for SO ID, SO Name, Status, Generation Date, Completed By, and Total Cost.
    • Rule: The SO ID must be a hyperlink to that specific service order's detail/history page.

9. Acceptance Criteria

1. The system must allow a user to navigate from the schedule dashboard to a detailed view for any schedule.
2. The Schedule Details view must display all key configuration data, including ID, frequency, and dates.
3. The details view must clearly display all information about the linked SOP, including its estimated cost.
4. The "Assets" tab must correctly list all, and only, the assets associated with that schedule.
5. The "Generation History" tab must correctly list all, and only, the service orders ever generated by that schedule.
6. The counts in the tab titles (e.g., "Assets (5)") must be accurate.
7. The user must be able to toggle the schedule's status between Active and Inactive from the details page.
8. The user must be able to edit the schedule from the details page, which should open the pre-filled wizard.
9. The user must be able to manually trigger a schedule run using the "Run Now" button.
10. The "Delete" button must be disabled if the schedule has a generation history.
11. All SOP ID and SO ID fields in the details view must be hyperlinks to their respective detail pages.
12. The dashboard must allow creation of a new schedule via the 3-step wizard.
13. The wizard must enforce all mandatory field selections on each step.
14. The dashboard must display four correctly calculated KPI cards.
15. The main schedules list on the dashboard must be searchable and filterable.

10. Process Changes

11. Impact from Solving This Problem

12. User Behavior Tracking

Primary User Role: O&M Manager

Wireframe

Link