Dynamic Drop-down Dependency Groups

The Dynamic Drop-down Dependency Group option allows you to designate a set of drop-down choice fields that display a number of categories and sub-categories of which the choices are restricted in each field based on what was selected in the previous field.  It can be used for simple two-field dependencies (for example, a software application with dependent version numbers) or complex, multi-level groups of dependent fields that guide the user to drill-down, selecting more and more granular data to define the problem.

For example, if a user selects Hardware for Problem Type, the next drop-down displays a list of hardware types (PC, NIC, Mouse, Keyboard, etc.)  If the user picks NIC, the next drop-down lists known network card problems, etc.  There is no limit to the number of fields that can be a part of a dependency group.

Before setting up the Dynamic Drop-down Dependency Groups:

• You must first create the drop-down fields that will be part of the dependency group with all of the possible choices for each field.  You create new fields on the Administration | Project | Field Maintenance page.  As an example:

Note on Examples

The examples here outline setting up a group of three dependent fields for Problem Type, Issue Type, and Root Cause for a standard IT help desk. Dependency groups can be created for any type of process, with any number of fields and choices.

1. You could make three drop-down fields called Problem Type, Issue Type, and Root Cause.
2. For Problem Type, the choices could be Hardware, Software, Network, and Printer.
3. The Issue Type field would contain all of the possible sub-categories for each of those choices: Hardware types like CD-ROM, Mouse, Phone, etc., Software types like Acrobat, Word, etc., Network Issue types like Reset Password, Can't connect to network, etc.
4. The Root Cause field would contain any further categorization needed for each of the Issue types.  For CD-ROM, the choice might be Can't open tray, Can't access drive, etc.
• The fields for the dependency group must all be of type public or internal. We recommend all fields are all either mandatory or optional. If the fields are mixed mandatory and optional, the earlier fields in the group should be mandatory, while the later one are optional.
• The fields should be arranged in the order of the desired dependency.
• You may want to map all of the possible choices and paths out on paper before you create the fields.

To create a Dynamic Drop-down Dependency Group:

1. After creating the fields you need to complete this procedure, select Administration | Project | Dependencies.
2. Select Dynamic Drop-down Dependency Groups.  The Create/Edit Drop-down Dependency Group page is displayed.  This page contains two dialog boxes:  Available Fields and Fields in Group. The Available Fields are any drop-down fields in the project that aren't already part of a dependency group. The Fields in Group are the fields that are to be part of the dependency.
3. Select the first field you want in the dependency group and click the arrow button.
4. Continue to select the other fields for the dependency group. There is no maximum number of fields in a group, but the minimum requirement is two.  It is recommended that you order the fields in the project in the same order as selected above by selecting Order Fields before you continue. This places the dependent fields in the group in the correct order.
5. Enter a name for the Dependency Group and click .  The next page displays a multi-select box for each value in the first field in the group. For example, if the field is Problem Type, there is one box each for Hardware, Software, Network, and Printer.

Define the fields for the dependency group

6. All of the values for the second field in the group, Issue Type, are listed in each multi-select box. For each problem type, select the values that should appear in the Issue Type field if the user selects that problem type.  For example, in the Hardware box, select CD-ROM, Mouse, Phone, etc., in the Software box, select Acrobat, Word, etc.  Hold down the CTRL key to select multiple values.

Issue Type values can be selected for more than one Problem Type. Issue Type values must be selected for at least one Problem Type or they will never appear in the Issue form.

7. When all items have been selected, click .  The next screen contains a multi-select box for each Issue Type. The boxes each contain all of the possible Root Causes.

Define Issue Types for each Problem Type

8. Select the Root Causes for each Issue Type. For Issue Types that have no defined Root Cause, do not select anything.  The Root Cause field will not appear for those Issue Types.
9. When you are finished, click SAVE.

Select Root Causes for each Issue Type

The View Button

The Create/Edit Drop-down Dependency Groups page contains a View button.  Clicking the View button displays the Drop-down Dependency View, which provides a visual illustration of the dependency tree for the dependency groups that you are editing.  Fields are listed in columns.  When you click on a field name, the field is highlighted.  In addition, the field that precedes and field(s) that succeed the selected field are also highlighted, thus showing the dependencies..

If, having selected a field, you click the Display Selected link, a the Drop-down Dependency View page is displayed.  This page provides a further illustration of the selected field's dependencies in the tree structure.  You can click a button to print the structure from the pop-up window or click a button to close the window.