Configure case management
Case management gives organizations the ability to plan, track, analyze, and develop efficient resolutions. Case management allows you to set up management of cases that might be similar so that you can provide consistent resolutions across your organization. For example, you can set up case management for the following scenarios:
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requests
Regulated processes
On-the-job injury cases
Human resources (HR) generalist cases
The following sections review a scenario of how case management can be used.
Case management and FMLA
A worker has worked at Contoso Electronics for 12 years as an operations specialist. The worker has recently contacted the HR generalist at Contoso, to provide notification of their need to take a leave of absence for medical reasons. The worker wants to know how many hours of FMLA they have earned to begin the process to go on leave.
The HR generalist uses Dynamics 365 Human Resources to create a new FMLA case for the worker's employee record. Once you have created the case, the HR generalist can begin setting up the leave details and view how many FMLA hours that the Worker has. The HR generalist can also collect information such as estimated leave date and approved hours for this case. Additionally, they can attach required documentation for the leave of absence. By using case management, the HR generalist and the HR group can:
View information that is related to the request.
Add notes to the case.
Follow a transparent and consistent business process.
Update the record as needed.
Update the status of the case from Opened to In process, Closed, or Canceled.
Watch the following video for a demonstration of this example.
To use case management, you need to start with basic configuration. Before you configure the necessary components, you should:
Determine which HR-related processes are similar in their steps to resolution, such as FMLA cases. You might have different types of FMLA cases like medical leave, family leave, or military leave, but these might be similar processes.
Define the HR processes that your organization wants to track and analyze.
Identify specific cases that might need to follow certain steps. If such cases exist, you can set up a case process in Dynamics 365 Human Resources that must be followed. This approach can help ensure that you're following a consistent process each time.
Several components that you need to configure include:
Case categories - The case category hierarchy provides a list of categories that you can assign cases to. Each top-level category includes subcategories so that you can create more specific categories for the cases that your organization works with.
Case category type security - Only appropriate employees in an organization should have access to cases and related information. To control which employees have access to view, create, and update different types of cases, you can assign security roles to case category types. Determine which security roles should have access to the various case category types. Consider which security roles should have access to different case categories.
Case processes - Establish procedures that staff must follow when cases are opened in your company. Processes help guarantee consistency for the people who are involved in cases and help employees resolve cases faster and more efficiently. You can set up a process for each case category that cases are assigned to. Though designing a different procedure for each case type takes time, if the processes are properly thought-out, case resolution goes more smoothly.
You can set up each of these components by going to System administration > Links > Cases.
Configure case categories
To configure case categories, follow these steps:
Go to System administration > Links > Cases > Case categories.
On the Case categories page, you can set up your case category hierarchy. The following example shows three main case categories: General, FMLA, and Human resources. You can group similar cases below each main node in the hierarchy.
To add a new node in the hierarchy, select the case category that you want to add a node to, for example FMLA.
In the Case Category field, enter a name for the case category, for example OSHA.
Select the Category type, where you can select General, FMLA, or Human resources.
On the General FastTab, you can specify the following fields:
Worker - The default owner for cases in the category that you're setting up.
Department - The default department that is responsible for the category that you're setting up.
Email ID - In this field, you can select an email template to use for email follow-ups.
Case process - You can assign a default case process to this category.
In the Activities FastTab, you can define the following fields:
Create activity for case - Set this field to Yes, No, Prompt, or Advanced Prompt if you want to automatically create an activity when a case is created in this category. For instance, you can select Yes in this field and then select the Category for the task and the Type, Purpose, and Phase for the activity.
Create follow-up activity for case - Use this section to set up automatic follow-up activities for a case in this category.
In the Case log FastTab, you can set the following options to Yes if you want to track these actions in the case log for cases within the category:
Track changes to case status
Track changes to case stage
Track changes to case activities
Configure case processes
You can assign a case process to a specific case or to a case category. By assigning a case process to a case category or case, you can ensure that you're following a consistent process for cases in the application. To set up a case process, follow these steps:
Go to System administration > Links > Cases > Case processes.
Select New in the Action pane.
Enter a Name for the process, such as Military leave.
Enter a Description.
Select Save in the Action pane.
Set the Active slide bar to Yes to activate the process.
Set up the process steps and requirements.
Select Process in the Action pane and then select Details.
Create a hierarchy of steps that make up the process on this page.
To begin building the process, select New > Create level.
Enter the step name in the Purpose field, such as Initial case creation.
Select Save in the Action pane. The Name auto populates, and an Activity number are assigned.
Several steps might be under this level. For example, the case needs to be created, then documentation must be added to the case before it can move to the next step in the process. Now, add the steps in this level.
With the new level selected, select New > Create task.
Note
You can select to create a new level, action, appointment, event, or task from the New dropdown menu.
Enter the Purpose, such as Gather documentation.
You can make this step mandatory by setting the Required toggle switch to Yes.
You can specify when the task needs to be started, and when the task needs to be completed, in days in the Calculated start in (days) and Calculated end in (days) fields.
In the Responsible field, you can select the employee who is responsible for the task.
Assign a priority of Low, Medium, or High in the Priority field.
Use the notes section to add information that might be useful to the user for this task.
Continue adding steps in the process as needed by selecting the appropriate node, selecting New in the Action pane, and then selecting the process type.
Configure case category type security
To control which employees have access to view, create, and update different types of cases, you can assign security roles to case category types.
You can assign roles to case categories from Organization administration > Setup > Cases > Case category type security.
On this page, you can select the case category, then select one or multiple roles to assign to the category case.