Manage requests for work

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  • 8 minutes to read

 

Applies To: Dynamics Marketing

Important

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing has been discontinued and is no longer available. All customer data related to this product has been permanently deleted from all Microsoft servers and is no longer available for extraction. This documentation is being provided for historical purposes only.

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing includes two functions to help manage requests for work:

  • Project Requests

  • Job Requests

While most Microsoft Dynamics Marketing stes use one of the two functions, both can be used. Be sure to give users the appropriate role.

Project requests versus job requests

The Project Request function is designed for applications where users want requests to be placed in a queue where they can be reviewed or assigned for review prior to users creating a task, job, campaign, event or program. This two-step approach provides an additional set of metrics to track requests and the performance of the team processing them. On the other hand, job requests result in the immediate creation of a job, without an intermediate step. As such, job requests are potentially more streamlined.

Both project requests and job requests are template-driven - users create templates that include the questions that requesters must answer to submit a request. Both are available to regular and web portal users. Job requests can also be submitted by non-users.

View project requests

To view requests:

  1. On the Home tab, choose Projects.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing displays requests in folders, where each folder corresponds to a request type.

  2. Under Project Requests, choose Requests. 

  3. On the Request page, select each requirement to open its data entry page.

  4. Enter the information.

  5. Choose Submit.

Tips to manage your requests better

  1. Create Requirements Templates: You must have a request template or a job request template to be able to create requests. Templates contain the questions that must be answered by the requester to enable the Request to be completed.

  2. Keep things simple: Create as few templates as possible. While Marketing may have 27 different types of projects, "clients" are going to have trouble choosing from a long list of choices.

  3. Make short templates: If the templates are long, they may not be completed.

  4. If you are using project requests, update the status of requests regularly: Microsoft Dynamics Marketing is designed to enable marketing to update request status, rather than having the system do it automatically. The advantage of this is that you have a buffer between the internal workings of the marketing department and its "clients." The disadvantage is that you need to update request status yourself.

  5. Use the Microsoft Dynamics Marketing web portal: Web portal users can create project requests or job requests via the web portal.

Manage your project requests

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing lets you manage your project requests such as submission and approvals, with ease.

The My requests page displays:

  • Requests you created.

  • Requests assigned to you.

Create a new project request

  1. On the Request page, choose the New button New button.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing opens the Request page.

  2. Enter the information as follows:

    Field

    Description

    ID

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing assigns a unique ID number to each request.

    Priority

    Select a priority from the pull-down menu. The default is Normal.

    Status

    When you create a new request the default status is Not Submitted. Once the status is changed to Submitted, the request can no longer be changed by the person who submitted it. (Required.)

    As Of

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing time stamps status changes, so that you know when the status of a request was last updated.

    Note

    Only the last timestamp is saved!

    Project

    Enter a descriptive name for the request. (Required.)

    Type

    Select a project type from the pull down menu. (Required.)

    The project type displays the list of project templates.

    Budget

    Enter the budget amount for the project. (Optional.)

    Quantity

    Enter the quantity required. (Optional.)

    Requested By

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing displays the name of the user who created the request. (Required.)

    Description

    Enter a description of the project being requested. (Optional.)

    Date Submitted

    When you change the status to Submitted, the time and date are stored in the database. The clock starts ticking!  

    Note

    The date submitted cannot be changed.

    Estimated Completion Date

    If an estimated duration was entered into the Request template, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing adds the duration to the date the request was submitted to the duration to calculate the estimated completion date. The estimated completion date can be changed by the request approver.

    Need by Date

    Enter the date the project must be done by. (Required.)

    Company

    Select a company from the pull-down menu. The default company is shown. (Required.)

    Account

    Select an account from the pull-down menu. (Optional.)

    Department

    Select a department from the pull-down menu. (Optional.)

    Review and Approval

    Project requesters can't edit any of the information in the Review and Approval box.

  3. Choose Submit.

Submit a request

  1. Change the status to Submitted

  2. Choose Submit.

    Important

    Once you change the status to Submitted and choose Submit you will no longer be able to change any information on the Request page.

Approve and process requests

When users submit requests by changing their status to submitted, the requests appear on the Requests page. Processing and approving requests consists of reviewing the information that the requester has submitted and determining if the request should be performed. Approving a request typically consists of changing the status of the request and assigning the project to someone:

  • Update the status. It's a good idea to change the status to reflect the fact that you have reviewed a request, even if you haven't decided to accept or reject it. When you update the status, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing updates the status change timestamp and displays the date you updated the status. If alerts are active, the user will receive an email notification that you have reviewed the request. This helps the user who requested the project see that there has been progress and where the request is in the process.

  • Assign the project to someone. If you can, assign the project to someone who will be the point of contact for the requester. Once you assign the project to someone, it will appear in their My requests.

  • Update the estimated completion date as needed.

  1. Choose the Program, Campaign, Event or Job pull-down menu and select a project.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing links the request to the project. The request will be displayed on the project dashboard's Requests tab.

Create a new job from a request

Since it is so common to make jobs to complete requests, Microsoft Dynamics Marketing has additional functions to make this easier:

  1. Choose the New button New button next to the Job pull-down menu.

  2. Create a new job.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing will create a new job containing the information from the request and link the request to the job. The request will be displayed on the Job dashboard's Requests tab.

  3. If there are job templates the Job field will toggle to Job Templates. Select a job template from the pull-down menu.

  4. Choose the New button New button again.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing will create a new job using the job template and containing the information from the request and link the request to the job. The request will be displayed on the Job dashboard's Requests tab.

View request metrics

The Request Metrics page can help you manage your workload more efficiently. The Request Metrics page displays all the requests and their statuses for a given date range and criteria.

To view request metrics:

  1. On the Home tab, choose Performance.

  2. Under Project, choose Request Metrics.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing displays the request metrics that the user is allowed to see.

View request templates

Microsoft Dynamics Marketing allows you to design reusable templates for your projects and use them when you require. This helps you avoid any redundant effort that may incur in defining the project request every time.

To view request templates:

  1. On the Home tab, choose Settings.

  2. Under Templates, choose Project Request Templates.

    Microsoft Dynamics Marketing displays request templates.

Create a request template

Note

To work with request templates, you must have Edit/View Requests privileges. More information: Work with user accounts and staff contacts.

  1. Choose the New button. Microsoft Dynamics Marketing opens the Request Template page.

  2. Enter the following information:

    Active

    Uncheck the Active check box to inactivate a request template. Inactive templates can't be selected from the pull-down menus used by requesters.

    Template

    Enter a descriptive name for the template. For example, if the template is used to create brochures, call it Brochures. Template names must be unique. (Required.)

    Category

    Select a template category from the pull-down menu. (Optional.)

    Owner

    The name of the current user is selected by default. You can change the owner to any other contact. Only the owner (and administrators) can edit templates. (Required.)

    Estimated Duration (Days)

    Enter the estimated number of days it takes to complete this type of project from submission to completion. The number of days is used to give the requester an estimated completion date. If the entry is blank (or 0), the system won’t be able to automatically estimate the completion date when the user submits a request. (Optional.)

    Description

    Enter a description for the template. (Optional.)

Add requirements to a request template

  1. Choose New button New button in the requirements section. Microsoft Dynamics Marketing opens the Add Requirement page.

  2. Enter the following information:

    Requirement

    Enter a descriptive name for the requirement. (Required.)

    Description

    Enter a description of the requirement. (Optional.)

Re-sequence the requirements for a template

You can enter requirements in the sequence you want them to appear or you can rearrange them. To re-sequence the requirements for a template:

  1. Double-click and hold the mouse button down anywhere on the requirement you want to edit. The mouse pointer will change from an arrow to an arrow with a sheet attached to it.

  2. Drag the requirement to the spot where you want it to be inserted.

  3. Release the mouse button. Microsoft Dynamics Marketing inserts the requirement and adjusts the sequence numbers.

Edit Requirements

  1. Right-click the requirement you want to edit and choose New.

  2. Make any changes you want to the requirement and choose OK.

See Also

Manage projects, schedule, and tasks