Wait List Assignment Process

You've got an available berth.  You've got a wait list.  How do you figure out and record who gets the berth, and why?  You may not give the berth to the first person on the wait list for a variety of reasons:  their boat won't fit, they said they didn't want to be considered right now, or they said they don't want that particular berth, etc.

You have two choices, each with pros and cons

Simple Assignment Method

1)  Link the application to the available berth

- Go to the wait list application, go to the Berth tab, click the Link button, and choose the Link to Existing Berth option.  Then search for the available berth, and on the Berth List page, click the Link button on the right side of the berth info.

2) Add an action to indicate that the applicant can take the next appropriate step

- If you want the applicant to submit an application (with more info) and/or pay a fee before being approved, add an "Application Allowed" action.  

- If you don't need any info or money from the applicant, add an "Application Approved" action.

3)  Notify the applicant what you did, and what they need to do (if anything)

- If you have automated notifications that go out when you add the action you added, this will be done automatically.

- Otherwise, you'll need to reach out to them in some way to let them know.  You can use Online Mooring to send an e-mail or text or letter.

Audited Assignment Method

1)  Select an available berth that you want to assign

There are multiple ways to do this, but here's one:

- From the Navigation bar, choose Search > Berths

- On the Berth Search page, enter a Mooring Status of "Available", and click the Search button.

- On the Berth List page, click on the Berth Name that you want to assign someone to.

2)  Indicate that you want to start/continue the Audited Assignment method for that berth

- At the bottom of the page, click the "Assign" button.  

It's possible that there could be an Audited Assignment that's already in progress for that berth.  If so, you'll be taken to a page that shows what's already been done, and allow you to take the next step if possible.  It's also possible that you are starting a new Audited Assignment workflow, in which case you'll be given an option to do something with the first person on the wait list.

The system thinks there is an Audited Assignment workflow in process when the berth has an "Assign from WL" action without an expiration date.  If you (or a client) wants to "start from the top", you'd need to enter an End Date on any existing Assign from WL action.  Then you can click the Assign button and we'll generate a new "Assign from WL" action without the end date.

If you get a message saying that there is more than one wait list for this berth, see the section below on configuration steps needed to make this process work properly.

3)  Go through the workflow until you can't go any further

You'll be on the wait list screen, but because you are in this workflow you'll see an extra column of information and/or dropdowns on the far right.

If anything has already been done for an application in this workflow, you'll see what's already been done and when.

If there is anything you can do to move the process forward, there will be a drop-down list of actions you can take.  The actions are:

- Unsuitable.  This is intended to be used if the applicant's boat is too big for the berth.  It allows the provider to act on the next person in the list.  Future plans:  if you enter any of the vessel requirement on the berth (min/max length/beam/draft/height/displacement, number of vessels, vessel type, etc.) and the vessel does not meet those requirements, we'll add the Unsuitable action automatically.

- Skipped.  This is intended to be used if the applicant indicated they didn't want to be considered for assignment at this time.  It allows the provider to act on the next person in the list without having to contact the applicant first.  Future plans:  if there is an action indicating that the applicant does not wish to be considered for a period of time, and that time period is still in effect, we'll add the Skipped action automatically.

- Offered.  This is used when the applicant is given the option of whether they want the berth or not.  The system can be configured as how many days the applicant gets to respond.  We can send out an automated e-mail/text/letter to the applicant letting them know of the offer and what they need to do next.   Future plans:  if you ask us to do so, we'll automatically send out an e-mail to the applicant asking if they want the berth, and the e-mail will have a link allowing them to respond positively or negatively.

- Accepted.  This is used in two situations:  when the user indicates that they want the assignment, or if the client assigns the berth to the applicant without giving them a choice.  We could send out an automated e-mail to the applicant in this situation with a link to submit their application and pay their fees.  You can only go to the next person in the list if the applicant didn't submit their application within the defined timeframe.

- Refused.  This is used when the applicant indicates they didn't want the assignment.  This then allows the provider to act on the next person in the list.  We could sent out an e-mail notification just confirming that they rejected the assignment.  We could also take some action to move people to the bottom of the wait list if they do this.

Note:  So, what if you make a mistake and pick the wrong action?  You can undo the action, but unless you do it fast an e-mail might go out first telling the applicant what action you took.  To undo the action, you would click on the Reference Number for the application that had the wrong action, go to the Actions tab, click on the incorrect Action, and then Delete that Action.

4)  If you come back at a later time, you can go to the Berth Dashboard, and you'll see a list of Audited Assignment workflows that are in progress

- From the Navigation menu, go to Dashboards > Berth Dashboards

- In the bottom left of each tab (or the page, if there are no tabs), you'll see a list of Automatic Assignment workflows that are in progress.  It shows the wait list we are assigning from, and the name of the berth we are assigning to.  If you click on the wait list name, it'll bring you to the wait list with all the information about what's been done so far and allowing you to take the next step (if any).

5)  You can go to individual applications to see all the assignment activity.

- As a byproduct of going through this process, we'll attach actions to the applications on the wait list, indicating what happened and when.  So if the #1 person on the wait list was passed over 5 times for having too big of a boat, you'll see 5 actions saying "Assignment Unsuitable" and saying which berths they were, when they were bypassed, by whom, and with any comments that were entered.

Configuring the Automatic Assignment workflow

These actions need to be configured as specified:
- Assignment Unsuitable.  Active.
- Assignment Skipped.  Active.
- Assignment Offered.  Active.  Expiration date formula.
- Assignment Rejected.  Active.
- Application Allowed.  Active.  Expiration date formula.

Wait Lists need to be configured so that there is only one applicable wait list associated with a berth.  If there is only wait list, there's nothing to worry about.  If there are multiple wait lists, the Berth Type and/or Location fields must be filled in on both the Berth and on the Wait List so that we know which wait list applies to the berth.