Tactics represent the logical flow of notification for a particular event. Tactics define which connection should be notified, in what order, and under what circumstances.
The user can configure up to 100 advanced tactics.
Tactics Collection Selector List
On the left side of the tactics workspace is a master list of all defined tactics. Each tactic object contains two properties, the Name and Description, that are displayed in columnar format. These properties can be used to sort and filter tactics using tools provided within the form. The active sorting column is indicated by a black triangle in the middle of the column heading.
Selecting a Tactic to edit: A tactic is selected by clicking the check box to the left of the tactic's properties. Only one tactic can be selected at a time.
Sorting
When the name column header has a black triangle pointing down, the tactics will be arranged by name in descending alphabetical order. Clicking on the triangle will reverse the list and cause it to be arranged in ascending order. A third click on the triangle will deselect the column. Any property column can be sorted.
Search
The search field will filter the tactics collection selector list by suppressing the display of schedules that do not contain the character string entered. Any property column can be searched. The search field will be highlighted yellow while the search filter is in session.
Filtering
On the right side of the property column heading is a black filter symbol. Clicking it causes a custom filter design form to appear. This form provides several options the WIN-911 administrator can use to exclude unwanted tactics from being listed in the collection selector. "And/Or" expressions can be created that key on the selected property data for inclusion or exclusion. The selected property (name or description) column header will be highlighted yellow while the custom filter is applied. Any property column can be filtered.
Grouping
Dragging and dropping a property column header into the grey area above the tactics list will cause the collection selector to group the tactics accordingly. The collection selector now lists the title of the selected object in bold font with a drop-down arrow to the left. Click on the drop-down arrow and the collection selector will drop a list of all the tactics that contain a particular object title. Groups can be compounded by dragging another object into the "Group by" field. Grouping can be removed by hovering over the group title and clicking the "X" that appears to the right of the title. Any property can be grouped.
Tactics Workspace Editor
Clicking one of the edit buttons below the tactics list or selecting one of the individual tactics will bring up the Tactics Workspace editor to the right of the list. This environment allows the WIN-911 Administrator to create tactics to meet the exact needs of his/her specifications.
Edit/View Mode
The tactics workspace (like any WIN-911 workspace) can be toggled between view mode (which allows the WIN-911 Administrator to view the details of the tactic) and Edit mode (which allows the properties of the tactic to be changed). In view mode, the edit icons appear at the bottom right of the workspace. In edit mode, the edit icons are replaced with the save and cancel icons.
the tactics page and clicks the save icon. All changes made prior to the navigation will remain available for saving until the browser session is closed. If you browser session is closed before saving, all edits will be lost.
Name
Each tactic (whether basic or advanced) must have a unique name (not case sensitive) that identifies the particular tactic.
Description
An extra text field for organization and administration purposes, similar to a code comment.
Tactic Elements
Figure 3 is the tactic creation workspace of WIN-911. The figure representing the tactic is composed of elements that include a green Start Block (21) a red End Block (27), various Instruction blocks (25) (chosen from the right panel), and connected with directional links (23). The tactical progression begins at the start block and proceeds to the instruction blocks where tasks are executed and decisions are made as to the next move in the tactic. The tactic is terminated when the progression reaches the end block and the calling strategy is updated with the results of the tactic. Navigational tools are provided at the upper right corner of the tactic workspace for zooming on tactical details and moving the elements or focus with the directional buttons.
Tactical Building Blocks
The user can drag and drop various instructions into the tactic from the instruction block selection pane on the right. The instruction block selection pane is divided into three tabbed subsections (31) titled Notifications, Decisions, and
Miscellaneous (Misc).
Notifications
Figure 3 depicts the instruction block subset is titled Notifications (on the right hand panel). Notifications include a notification to a single individual (31) (shown as the rectangle marked “Single”), a notification to multiple individuals (33)
(shown as the overlapping rectangles marked “Notify All”), a report of data to be sent to a designated individual (35) (shown as the rectangle marked “Send Report”) or to a group of people or group of people (36), and the initiation of another Tactic (37) (shown as the rounded rectangle marked “Sub-Tactic”). Notifications contain additional parameters, such as how the individual should be contacted (e.g. by Email) and whether the individual should be contacted only when he/she is on schedule or regardless of that person’s schedule.
Single...
Requests a single notification to be performed. This block can be configured to wait until the notification is completed before moving to the next block
(Synchronous Mode) or move to the next block immediately after requesting a notification (Asynchronous Mode).
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the connection to be notified, select the option to honor the connection's schedule or override it (by checking the "Ignore Schedules"), and to perform the
notification asynchronously or synchronously (by checking the "Wait for
Notification to Complete"). A search filter is provided at the top of the form to limit the displayed connections based on the selected connection property. Depending on the connection type you can schedule Notification Timeout, Number of Retry Attempts, and Delay Between Retries.
See Connections and Schedules.
Notify All
Notifies all connections, or all connections of a role (if specified) in no particular order. The assumed setting will be to notify all configured connections. Only when a role is specified is this block limited to a particular group of connections.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the role or roles that the notification block will attempt to notify, select the option to honor the connection's schedule or override it (by checking the "Ignore Schedules"). A search filter is provided at the top of the form to limit the displayed roles based on the selected role property.
See Roles.
Send Report
Immediately generates and sends a specified report to a specified connection.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the report that the notification block will attempt to dispatch, select the connection that will receive the report, and select the option to honor the connection's schedule or override it (by checking the "Ignore Schedules"). Search filters are provided at the top of the report and connection lists to limit the displayed options based on the selected property.
See Reporting, Connections and Schedules.
Sub-Tactic
Begins evaluation of a different tactic using the current alarm data. Execution of current tactic resumes on completion of the sub-tactics evaluation.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the tactic to be evaluated. Search filters are provided at the top of the tactics list to limit the displayed options based on the selected property.
Note: The sub-tactic cannot be self-referencing. Hence the selected sub-tactic must be a different tactic than the parent tactic. When the sub-tactic finishes its
evaluation the parent tactic resumes evaluation where the sub-tactic concluded.
Decisions
Figure 4 is the tactic creation workspace with the decisions tab selected in the instruction blocks pane, as shown on the right hand panel. The defining feature of decisions is that they branch the workflow into multiple directions based on whether predefined parameters are true or false. Decisions include an Ack Decision Block (43) (branches based on whether or not the current alarm has been acknowledged), an active decision bock (45) (branches based on whether the current alarm is active), a schedule decision block (47) (branches based on whether the time matches certain predefined schedule parameters), a label decision block (49) (branches based on whether or not the alarm belongs to the specified machinery or other device onto which a control is installed), a severity decision block (51) (branches based on the value of the alarm’s severity), and a time-span decision block (53) (branches based on whether or not a specified time span has been exceeded). When elements on the right-hand panel are dragged and dropped into the center panel, decisions link together in the manner that the user wishes the flow of instructions to follow, except unlike notifications, decisions branch into multiple paths depending on whether the predefined parameters are true or false. If the decision criterion is determined to
be false, then the tactical progression follows the Link connected to the left corner marked F for false and color-coded with a red tip. Otherwise the tactical progression follows the right link connected to the unmarked corner which represents true. In the depicted example, an acknowledged decision
bock (41) has been introduced into the tactical progression flow. If the alarm condition has been acknowledged by the previous John Smith notification block, then the tactical progression will follow the path to the right, indicating a true condition and ending the tactic. If the alarm event has not been acknowledged then the progression will follow the left link which is attached to the corner marked F and color-coded orange.
Ack Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether or not the alarm is acknowledged at the time of evaluation.
Active Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether or not the alarm is active at the time of evaluation.
Schedule Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether or not the specified Schedule has an appointment scheduled at the time of the evaluation.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the
schedule to be assigned to this block. A search filter is provided at the top of the schedules list to limit the displayed options based on the selected property.
See Schedules.
Label Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether the active alarm is marked with the specified label.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can select the label to be assigned to this block. A search filter is provided at the top of the labels list to limit the displayed options based on the selected property.
See Labels.
Severity Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether or not the current severity of the alarm exceeds a specified limit.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can specify the severity by either moving the slider bar along the range from 0 to 1000 or manually enter the number by typing it in to the text entry box or clicking the up/down arrows.
See Severity.
Timespan Decision Block
Branches tactic progress based on whether or not the specified timespan has been exceeded.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can specify the origin of the time span (Alarm Time, Last State Change, or Tactic Start Time) and enter timer value using the hours and minutes input box where you can type it directly in or click the up/down arrows.
Miscellaneous Blocks
Figure 5 is (like Figures 3 and 4) the tactic creation workspace with the Misc tab selected in the instruction blocks pane, as shown on the right hand panel. As implied by the name of the subsection, the miscellaneous Instruction blocks affect the tactical progression in unique ways that do not fit into the previous subsections. Misc instruction blocks include a loop block (57) which loops a set of instructions and/or tactics a specified number of times, before proceeding to the next instruction; a delay block (59) which causes the tactical progression to delay a specified amount of time before proceeding to the next instruction; and an Ack block (61) which performs an acknowledgement on behalf of a
designated individual. In the example depicted a delay instruction block (55) is introduced into the tactical progression on the false leg of the decision link. Thus, if the alarm event is unacknowledged, then the tactic will pause for a
period of time, e.g., 5 minutes (or other amount of time as set by the user) before executing a notify all broadcast.
Loop Block
Performs a sequence of instructions multiple times.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can specify the number of loops to be conducted before the tactical progression moves beyond.
Delay Block
Causes the progress of a tactic to pause for the specified amount of time. Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can specify the amount of time (in minutes and seconds) before tactical progression resumes.
Ack Block
Attempt to automatically acknowledge the alarm on behalf of the user.
Double-clicking the center of the block will bring up the edit selector.
Click the center icon to edit properties. From this form you can enter a comment that the ack block will write when attempting the acknowledgement.
Tech Support
You can contact WIN-911 Tech Support at [email protected].
Strategies
Strategies are associated with alarms and define the tactics or set of tactics used for notification during the lifetime of the alarm.
Strategies have two modes of configuration, default and advanced. The default mode utilizes a single tactic, a stop condition, and a renotification policy. Advanced mode allows the use of unlimited, highly customizable policies.
The user can configure up to 100 strategies.
Strategies Collection Selector List
On the left side of the strategies workspace is a master list of all defined strategies. Each strategy object contains two properties, the Name and Description, that are displayed in columnar format. These properties can be used to sort and filter strategies using tools provided within the form. The active sorting column is indicated by a black triangle in the middle of the column heading.
Selecting a strategy to edit: an individual strategy is selected by clicking the check box to the left of the strategy's properties. Only one strategy can be selected at a time.
Sorting
When the name column header has a black triangle pointing down, the strategies will be arranged by name in descending alphabetical order. Clicking on the
triangle will reverse the list and cause it to be arranged in ascending order. A third click on the triangle will deselect the column. Any property column can be sorted.
Search
The search field will filter the strategies collection selector list by suppressing the display of strategies that do not contain the character string entered. Any
Filtering
On the right side of the property column heading is a black filter symbol. Clicking it causes a custom filter design form to appear. This form provides several options the WIN-911 administrator can use to exclude unwanted strategies from being listed in the collection selector. "And/Or" expressions can be created that key on the selected property data for inclusion or exclusion. The selected property (Name or Description) column header will be highlighted yellow while the custom filter is applied. Any property column can be filtered.
Grouping
Dragging and dropping a property column header into the grey area above the strategies list will cause the collection selector to group the strategies accordingly. The collection selector now lists the title of the selected object in bold font with a drop-down arrow to the left. Click on the drop-down arrow and the collection selector will drop a list of all the strategies that contain a particular object title. Groups can be compounded by dragging another object into the "Group by" field. Grouping can be removed by hovering over the group title and clicking the "X" that appears to the right of the title. Any property can be grouped.
Strategy Workspace Editor
Clicking one of the edit buttons below the strategies list or selecting one of the individual strategies will bring up the Strategy Workspace editor to the right of the list. This environment allows the WIN-911 Administrator to create strategies to meet the exact needs of his/her specifications.
Edit/View Mode
The strategy workspace (like any WIN-911 workspace) can be toggled between view mode (which allows the WIN-911 administrator to view the details of the strategy), and edit mode (which allows the properties of the strategy to be changed). In view mode the edit icon is visible at the bottom right of the
workspace. In edit mode the edit icons are replaced with the save and cancel icons.
Note: The strategy page can be navigated away from while the workspace is in edit mode. No changes will be saved/applied until the Administrator navigates back to the strategies page and clicks the save icon. All changes made prior to the
navigation will remain available for saving until the browser session is closed. If your browser session is closed before saving, all edits will be lost.
Policies Tab
The Policies tab is where strategies are configured by adding a name, description, and policy lines.
Name
Each strategy must have a unique name that identifies the particular strategy.
Description
An extra text field for organization and administration purposes, similar to a code comment.
Tactic (Default, Edit Mode Only)
The default mode of strategies only uses a single tactic. The tactic is selected by clicking the browse icon to the right. In View mode the selected tactic is listed in the top line of the policies list.
Stop Condition (Edit Mode Only)
Default mode strategies stop conditions are determined using the pull-down list. The three conditions are 1) Alarm Becomes Inactive, 2) Alarm Becomes
Acknowledged, and 3) Alarm Becomes Terminal. When in View mode the selected stop condition is listed in the last policy line of the Policies List.
Advanced Mode (Edit Mode Only)
Use this button to upgrade this strategy to advanced. With this mode you can