Database Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Rule
: This defines the criteria that an alert will be triggered for. The UI
provides the ability to define simple or complex rules based on any of the
fields available in the underlying dataset for the selected report item. It also
takes into account the data types of the fields contained in the dataset in
order to provide intuitive options to define the rules. For example, when
defining a rule involving a numeric field, the user will see a different set of
comparison operators (for example, greater than, less than) than when the
rule involves a text/string field.
•
Schedule settings
: This section is where the user configures the frequency at
which to evaluate the rule criteria. Start and end dates can also be defined to
constrain alert to run only during a relevant time period.
•
Email settings
: This section is where users define the recipient list and details
to include in the notification e-mail. Along with the subject and description
of the alert, a link to the report that the alert was generated from will all be
included in the e-mail message.
Using good naming conventions for report item and data fields
during development will make it easier for business users to define
data alerts.
The
Data Alert Manager
page shown in the following screenshot can be used to
manage existing data alerts. Regular users will only have access to the alerts they
create, while site administrators will have access to all alerts created by all users.
Data Alert Manager
Data alerts work by running stripped-down copies of the reports on the recurring
interval defined in the alert schedule and evaluating the data returned against
the rule criteria. Across an entire user base, the additional load of alerts can be
considerable. Therefore, business users should be trained to set appropriate
schedules for the data-driven alerts they create. For example, an alert for a weekly
sales report does not need to be set to run every minute. In addition to training users
on appropriate alert usage, administrators should be reviewing data alerts on a
regular basis to ensure the frequencies are appropriately configured.
