Copy or duplicate a Workforce Project

Question

Is there a way to copy an existing Workforce project from one folder/account to another?

Ideally, if one can using an existing project as the template and duplicate it settings, services with empty layers, and maps (with same contents and settings) to create a new project.

I have tried to use the AGOL Assist tool. However, It will not copy the Project item and I did not go further.

Thanks,

Ming

DavidForbuss1 · Answer

I really need this now.  Although the scripts are great, they take way too much configuration.  It needs to be as simple as "Duplicate Project>>Select All Assignments>>Change all to new due date (or selected subset)".

MarkBennett · Answer

Hi Craig,

Thanks for the prompt replay!

It is great that ESRI is working on copy Assignment-Type from one project to another.  I noticed that your Python tool set can also manipulate the assignment-types.  However, I felt that configuring two maps and keep them consistent across all the projects may be more time consuming.

Most of our clients are small rural water utilities with very limited resources, both technical and budgetary. With the AGOL WF, they can apply the cutting -edge technologies in their daily workflow and at they fingertips. This in turn encouraged them to invest in and adopt more GIS. Many of our clients currently using a non-GIS-based billing and work order software from Software Solutions, Inc.  We are currently working with them to develop functions that sync the assignments between WF and SSI.  I believe that in the long term, workforce management will be more a part of GIS functions instead of billing function.  So, we are very much interested in the new development of WF.

From our users’ feedback, we’d like WF team to consider the following abilities/function:

1.  Currently there is only “Location” field in assignment layer. Our user like to have/see the “GIS Facility ID”, “Customer Account ID”, and “Service Address”.  Currently I group all three pieces of information in the location field like this: “Service Address/AccountNumber/FacilityID” . Then, I will put each piece into appropriate field during the sync and archive process.  I’d suggest to add two more user defined and configurable fields/textbox in the dispatcher interface (and assignment layer). User can choose “Show/Hide” this two boxes and configure to auto-fill the box with data from selected/clicked feature in the map.

2.  For the field-workers, they may also need to fill some data, such as “Meter Reading”, “Cost ID”, “Material”. Currently these would all recorded in the Note field and then extract to appropriate field during the sync/achieve process.  We wish to also have one or two user defined textbox/Field on that interface.

3.  For the workflow:  Current workflow is like this: created>assigned>Read>inProgress>Complete.  We’d like to add the Review/Sign-off action as the final step of the workflow. Once the assignment is completed. The manager/supervisor will review and sign-off the assignment. Once the status is changed to signed-off or “closed”, we will remove the assignment from the active project and archive it in the master-assignment layer.

4.  As you may noticed, our clients use the WF for their on-going daily work order workflow. They often have more than one active WF projects and one master assignment GDB for archive and analysis purposes. It is important to keep the Workorder-ID unique not only within one active WF project, but also among all the projects, as well as in the Master GDB.  We wish the WorkOrderID can be configure to auto-fill. IT can be:

Prefix + zero leading sequential number, such as “MZ-00293834”;

Prefix + non zero leading sequential number, such as “MZ-2341”;

Prefix + OID;

Date + sequential number such as: 03242017-2

As you might noticed, we use Prefix for each WF project to keep the uniqueness of the WOID in the master assignment gdb.

I have seen many good ideas from other users in the discussion and you have some of them on your backlog.  Is it possible to have “To-do-list” that we can access and even to vote on?

Thanks lot!

Ming

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cgillgrass · Answer

Ming,

Workforce does not provide a way to copy or use an existing project as a template during creation of another Workforce Project.  The ability to use an existing assignments feature service as a template when creating a new project is in our backlog to consider for a future release; the purpose would be to copy over the Assignment Types.

Are there are other properties you're interested in having copied during creation?

Craig