Resource models

Introduction to resource models in ConSol CM

Resources are managed with CM/Resource Pool, an optional module which extends the ConSol CM database to manage additional data objects. They are used to store assets which are relevant for the business process. The resource model determines which kind of resources exist, their data fields, the available actions and the templates used in the various places of the Web Client.

Concepts, terms and definitions

Concept	Other terms	Definition
resource		Asset used in the business process; always belongs to a resource type
resource type		Lower hierarchical level of the resource model; defines the data model used for its resources; basis for assigning permissions and determining the available activities and relations
resource category	resource group	Upper hierarchical level of the resource model; can contain several resource types
resource field		Data field of a resource type
resource field group		Set of data fields for resources
resource model		Hierarchical data model for resource objects, which contains resource categories on the upper hierarchical level and resource types on the lower hierarchical level
resource action	resource activity	Action for resources of a certain type, can either be executed automatically in a specific situation or manually in the Web Client

Purpose and usage

Resources are assets which are relevant for the business process. Usually, they are linked to the cases which handle requests concerning the asset, or to the contacts to which the assets belong. Examples for resources are components of the IT infrastructure for a helpdesk process, or products for a sales process.

Resources always belong to a resource type, which defines the used data model, and the available relations and actions. The data models are created and managed on the Resource models page. A resource model consists of one or several resource categories. Each category can contain any number of resource types. The category is used for display and grouping purposes. The actual resource objects are always based on a resource type.

Permissions are granted by resource type, see Permissions for resources.

In the Web Client, CM/Resource Pool can be accessed using the resource dashboard. See Dashboards for hints about configuring the dashboard.

You can change the term used for resources on the Labels page.

CM/Resource Pool needs to be licensed separately.

Settings for resource categories

The following settings are available for resource categories:

• Internal name: The technical name for the resource category.

• Localized name: The localized name for the resource category.

• Localized description: The localized description for the resource category. Used for the system documentation only.

• Icon: The icon displayed next to the resource category name in the Web Client, e.g. on the resource dashboard or in resource relations sections. You can click the Change icon button to select one of the predefined icons. Click the Upload icon button to upload your own icon in SVG or PNG format. Recommended size: 32px * 32px. The icon should be transparent because it is combined with the background color selected in the Color selection field.

Settings for resource types

The settings for resource types are grouped in four tabs:

• Basic: Contains the basic settings of the resource type.

  • Internal name: The technical name of the resource type.

  • Access mode: Determines where the resources are saved. Possible values are: Internal, On request, Cached, Imported, see Understanding access modes.

    The access mode can only be changed if there are no resources for the resource type.

  • Icon: The icon displayed next to the resource type name in the Web Client. You can click the Change icon button to select one of the predefined icons. Click the Upload icon button to upload your own icon in SVG or PNG format. Recommended size: 32px * 32px. The icon should be transparent because it is combined with the background color selected in the Color selection field.

  • Localized name: The localized name for the resource type. Displayed in the Web Client, e.g. on the resource page, in the detail search and on the resource dashboard.

  • Localized description: The localized description for the resource type. Used for the system documentation only.

• Field groups: Defines the field groups used for the resource type. You can sort the assigned field groups by clicking the arrow icons to determine the order in which the field groups are displayed in the Web Client. The Edit icon next to the arrow icons allows to edit the field group on the Resource fields page. Click the New field group button to create a new field group.

• Templates: Defines the display name of the resource in different places of the Web Client. You need to provide at least the Default template for the resource to be displayed correctly in the Web Client, see Defining resource templates.

• Actions: Allows to assign actions (see Resource actions) to the resource type. The actions are grouped in three sections:

  • Automatic actions: Actions which are executed automatically when the respective event occurs, i.e. a resource is created, updated or deleted, or a relation to the resource is created.

  • Manual actions: Actions which can be executed for resources of this resource type on the resource page.

  • Search actions: Actions which can be executed for resources of this resource type found in the detail search.

Basic tasks

Defining a resource model

The structure of the resource model depends on the assets you manage with CM/Resource Pool. You can create as many resource categories and resource types as needed.

Please proceed as follows to create a resource model:

1. Click the New resource category button on the Resource models page. Enter a name for the category, select an icon and click the Create category button to save the resource category.

2. Select the resource category and click the New resource type button. Make the desired settings for the resource type, see Settings for resource types and click the Create type button to save the resource type.

Managing resource categories

Resource categories are managed on the Resource models page of the Web Admin Suite. The following actions are available:

• Create a new resource category
  Click the New resource category button above the list of resource categories or duplicate an existing category by clicking the Duplicate icon of a category, see Defining a resource model.

• Edit a resource category
  Click the Edit icon or the category’s row and update the desired data in the Basic tab, see Settings for resource categories.

• Manage the resource types of a resource category
  Click the Edit icon or the category’s row and view the resource types in the Types tab. You can create a new resource type in the category by clicking the New resource type button.

• Sort the resource categories
  There are two ways to sort the resource categories. You can either drag each category to the desired position or use the Move up and Move down icons to determine the order. This way, you determine the order in which the resource categories are displayed in the Web Client.

• Deactivate a resource category
  You can deactivate a resource category by clicking the Deactivate icon.

  Existing resources of resource types which belong to a deactivated resource category can still be viewed and edited but it is not possible to create new resources for the affected resource types.

• Activate a resource category
  You can activate resource categories which are deactivated by clicking the Activate icon.

• Delete a resource category
  You can delete resource categories whose resource types do not contain any resources by clicking the Delete icon.

Managing resource types

Resource types are managed on the Resource models page of the Web Admin Suite. You need to select the resource category which the resource type belongs to and select the resource type in the Types tab.

The following actions are available:

• Locate a resource type
  Select the resource category which the type belongs to or type the name or localized name of the resource type in the search field above the resource categories to display only resource categories which contain such a resource type.

• Create a new resource type
  Select the resource category which the resource type should belong to and click the New resource type button, see Defining a resource model.

• Add fields to a resource type
  Open the Field groups tab of the resource type to add fields:

  • Existing field group: Select the field group in the Available field groups list and move it to the Assigned field groups list.

  • New field for assigned group: Click the Edit group icon next to an assigned field group. The Resource fields page is opened with the field group selected. Add the field, update the field group and click the Back to resource model button to switch back to the Resource models page.

  • New field group: Click the New field group button. Make the desired settings in the Create field group window and click the Create field group button. The Resource fields page is opened. Add the fields and click the Back to resource model button to switch back to the Resource models page. Assign the field group to the resource model.

• Remove fields from a resource type
  Open the Field groups tab of the resource type. Select the field group in the Assigned field groups list and move it to the Available field groups list. You can unassign the field groups which you do not need anymore from the resource type, even if there are resources where the fields have values. The field group will not be shown in the Web Client anymore. Therefore, unassigning a field group has the same effect as deactivating the field group on the Resource fields page.

• Edit a resource type
  Click the Edit icon or the type’s row in the Types tab of the resource category and update the desired data, see Settings for resource types.

• Define the resource display name
  Open the Templates tab of the resource type. Select the templates for the different locations (see Defining resource templates). You can either select an existing template or create a new one by entering the desired name and clicking the create option. See Technical templates.

• Sort the resource types
  There are two ways to sort the resource types. You can either drag each type to the desired position or use the Move up and Move down icons to determine the order. This way, you determine the order in which the resource types are displayed in the Web Client.

• Deactivate a resource type
  You can deactivate a resource type by clicking the Deactivate icon.

  Existing resources of the deactivated resource type can still be viewed and edited but it is not possible to create new resources for the affected resource type.

• Activate a resource type
  You can activate resource types which are deactivated by clicking the Activate icon.

• Delete a resource type
  You can delete resource types for which no resources exist by clicking the Delete icon.

Advanced tasks

Defining resource templates

Resource templates are needed to define which data fields should be used for the display name of the resource. They are assigned to a resource type in the Templates tab of the resource type. The Default template must be provided to display the resource correctly in the Web Client. If needed, you can overwrite the settings of the default template by providing a dedicated template for a specific location. The following templates are available:

• Default: Used for the resource page, favorites, workspace, when the resource is dragged and in all locations in the Web Client and CM/Track for which no other templates have been defined. If not set, -- unknown -- is displayed instead of the name of the resource.

• Quick search: Used in quick search results.

• Autocomplete search: Used in autocomplete search results, e.g. when selecting a resource for a resource relation.

• REST API: Used for the name of a resource accessed via REST API (mark tag of the REST response containing a resource data set).

• Case history: Used in the case, contact and resource history, e.g. when a relation is created

The following example shows a resource template consisting of two resource fields and “PC” to indicate the resource type. The current resource is available as resource.

PC: ${resource.getFieldValue("basic","name")!} - ${resource.getFieldValue("basic","model")!}

See Syntax examples for further examples.

You can create the code with the template generator by clicking the Template generator icon in the editor header and selecting the desired fields.

Do not use line breaks in template statements.

Understanding access modes

The access mode of a resource type defines whether the resources are saved in the ConSol CM database or in an external system. External resources cannot be created in the Web Client. There are four modes:

• Internal:

  Resource data is fully managed by ConSol CM. Resources can be created, modified and deleted in the Web Client.

• On request:

  External. Resource data is retrieved from an external backend system when requested using the external ID. The only data stored in the ConSol CM database is the external ID used to retrieve the resource data from the external system. Therefore, you cannot edit the resource data in the Web Client and you can only search by the external ID to find the resource. The resource can only be used for relations in cases, contacts and other resources, and it is only displayed in the respective relation section.

  Requires a custom project where the interface ResourceExternalSource is implemented. The complete resource model must be defined before transferring data.

• Cached:

  External. Resource data is retrieved from an external backend system when requested using the external ID. Once the resource has been requested by creating a relation to this resource in a case, contact or other resource, it is saved in the ConSol CM database. Cached resources can be searched and viewed in the Web Client and their data can be refreshed manually, but they cannot be modified.

  Requires a custom project where the interface ResourceExternalSource is implemented. The complete resource model must be defined before transferring data.

• Imported:

  External. Resource data are imported from an external system and stored in ConSol CM. Imported resources can be searched, viewed and edited in the Web Client, but a new import would overwrite the changes.

  The import is usually done using a periodic ETL job. The complete resource model must be defined before transferring data.

Adjusting the resource dashboard

The resource dashboard is displayed when the user clicks the Resource pool link in the main menu. By default, it contains a bar chart with the number of resources of the different resource types in each resource category. The bar chart is configured in the script resourcesDashboard.groovy. Below the chart, there is a box for each resource category which contains a link to access the list of resources for each resource type and a link to create a new resource of the respective resource type.

You can configure the dashboard using the page customization, see Dashboards.