Specifying a Notification Message and Interval

Use the Step Notification tab to:

  • Specify the message that asks users to accept responsibility for a given step.
  • Limit the amount of time a user has to accept that responsibility.
  • Indicate what importance should be attached to the message.

Note: Setting intervals can result in time limits that end during the night, over the weekend, or on holidays. That means that an exception message may be sent if no one accepts responsibility for an item when no one was at work to make such an acceptance. Setting a 24-hour or greater interval should allow the users’ decisions to accept or decline responsibility to control when the next user is notified in most cases. Exception notifications would usually occur only when no one accepted responsibility.

When notification is ordered or random, if a participant sends an “I decline...” response or does not respond within the interval set on this tab, the message is sent to the next name on the Step Notification list.

If no participant accepts responsibility for the item, StarTeam Notification Agent generates an exception notification message.

To specify a notification message and the interval at which it is sent to team members listed in the Step Notification list:

  1. In the workspace, double-click an existing step.
  2. On the Edit Step dialog box, click the Step Notification tab.
  3. From the Set The Importance To list, select Low, Normal (the default), or High. This determines what importance a mail message has attached to it. For example, a message of high importance would have an exclamation point in front of it in an Outlook inbox.
  4. Specify the time interval between notification messages in minutes, hours, or days using the Notification Interval text and list boxes. The default is one hour. The StarTeam Notification Agent uses this interval both to determine when to send the next message and, finally, when everyone has been contacted, to determine that an exception message needs to be sent because no participant has accepted responsibility for a specific item at this step. Setting this interval is important even when the message is “blasted” simultaneously to everyone, because at the end of the interval, an exception message is sent if no one has accepted responsibility.
  5. (Optional) If you prefer not to use the default step notification message subject line, enter a subject for the email notification message. Leave the Subject field blank to use the default subject line for step notification messages.
  6. (Optional) If you prefer not to use the default step notification message body, specify the body of the notification message. The body of the message may be in plain text or HTML format. If you do not specify the message body, the StarTeam Notification Agent sends the default body for step notification messages. This message is sent to team members listed on the Participants tab in the Step Notification list.
  7. (Optional) Add the current values of specific item property fields to the subject line or message body using the appropriate Insert Reference button.
    1. Click Insert Reference.
    2. On the Select a Reference dialog box, select one or more property field names.
    3. Click OK.

    For each property field you selected, a reference appears in the subject line or message body. For example, if you selected the Entered By field, the reference token {{property name="EnteredBy"}} appears. (EnteredBy is the internal name for the Entered By property.) When the message is sent, the token is replaced with the name of the team member who entered the item.

  8. (Optional) Click Preview HTML to see how the body of your message would appear in a browser window.
  9. Click OK.

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