Asset Workflows
- Steven Murawski
As with all workflows, you will first be asked if you want to cancel the task, to which you will generally select ‘No’. You will then be asked if the Asset is a segment. Since Segments have not yet been discussed, let’s take a brief look at Segments before we move on.
Segments are the highest level records in the Asset hierarchy. They are essentially categories of products and services such as Furniture and Furnishings or Healthcare Services. Product or service classes, types, and other related lower-level Assets would be a part of each Segment. For example, Cleaning Equipment and Supplies is a Segment because it is an umbrella category of Asset. Janitorial Equipment and any of its children would fall below Cleaning Equipment and Supplies, because Janitorial Equipment is a type of cleaning equipment. This isn’t as complicated as it may seem on the surface. We will get deeper into the Asset hierarchy shortly, but I digress.
If you determine a new Asset is a Segment, select ‘Yes’. You will then be asked to Set the Capitalization and Pluralization Conventions.
For Segments, we typically follow the same rules that are set for proper titles. Capitalize all nouns, do not capitalize articles. Use acronyms only if they are not the first word and only if they are enclosed in parentheses. Use an oxford comma to delineate “and” / ”or” list items. Refer to the list of Segments above for examples of these conventions. Once you have set the conventions, click Submit and the task is complete.
In most cases however, when you are asked if an Asset is a Segment, the answer will be no unless you are adding a new category of products or services such as Interplanetary Travel Equipment or Time Travel Services. If you select ‘No’ you will move on to the next part of the workflow - deciding under what Asset(s) the new term will fall in the Asset hierarchy.
Follow these steps when selecting an Asset:
Enter the name or a portion of the name of the Asset parent or synonym in the text box and click the Search button.
Option 2: Manually expand the levels of the hierarchy
Click the Reset button to clear the search results, if desired.
Click the name of the Asset parent or synonym and click the Add Asset button.
The Asset parent or synonym will appear under 'Selected Assets' heading next to the 'Asset Search'
Scroll down to the button and click submit.
For example, for the term ‘webmail service’ you could search ‘mail’ and see what types of Assets are found.
Since webmail services are a type of Electronic mail and messaging service, and the term does not link to other any Assets under the Product Class, select ‘Electronic mail and messaging services' and click 'Add Asset’
Note: Yes, I know Webmail services is already in the hierarchy, this term is being used for training purposes, but thank you for pointing that out, smartass!
You can only select one Asset. If you find a better match than your selection, click the red box next to the Asset ID below the Selected Assets header to remove an Asset.
You will then be asked if you want to link to another Asset or create a child. If the term is a synonym of an Asset in the hierarch, select ‘Link’. If it is not, select ‘New’.
Next, select the hierarchical level for the Asset. Webmail services would be a type of product, so select Product Type and hit Submit
Next, manually place the new Asset in the subtree by clicking and holding the right mouse button and dragging the term to it’s appropriate location. As you can see, Webmail services is an existing Asset, and it has been placed appropriately already.
Finally, you will need to select the Capitalization and Pluralization Conventions for the the new term.