Key descriptions and differences between Escalations ,Automation Scripts and Conditional Expression Manager in Maximo Base Services

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In Maximo support, we often get various questions on the functionality of these 3 apps,however also the question what will be the best to use.

As we do not provide guidance on what app is the best to use, I like to set them out on their functionality,so you can choose yourself which one would be suitable to your needs.

There are lots of methods to do a configuration or customize Maximo Base Services from the UI down to the object level with Java programming.  

With so many options available out there , I like to touch on the core 3 core ones you can use with(in) Maximo .

The 3 options mentioned in the title are all readily available applications and methods to do a customisation change with each app having their own functionality.  

So let's look a little closer to each of these 3 applications as follows:

Escalations-->

Escalations in Maximo are cron tasks.

A cron task is a scheduled job task performing a specific number of times based on the schedule and is somewhat automated,so without any user intervention or interaction as such.
The Escalations application is used to automatically monitor whatever processes you like to monitor in your business.
You can create an escalation yourself ,however also customise a predefined escalation ,so whatever the business requires you can tackle.
With the escalation, you can choose to trigger any predefined action or create a custom action with custom Java programming.  To trigger an escalation, you first have to query for records and the escalation can then possibly trigger your action for one or more records.

So to summarise, an escalation :

a)Runs on a schedule
b)Runs without user intervention/interaction
c)Triggers an action for 1 or a record set

Automation Scripts-->

This is the newest way to customise Maximo and the most powerful of the three.

In the Automation Scripts application, you create a script that automates tasks based on the events or attributes of a business object, or based on actions or custom conditions.
You can create a script in any of several supported scripting languages, and execute the script without having to recompile Java files or restart the server.
Programming knowledge is required to use the Automation Script and requires a good level of understanding of the Maximo Business Objects (MBO) development to get the full use of this application.

You can use Automation Scripting for almost anything,e.g trigger an action based on a MBO, attribute or action as well as on a MIF integration and so forth.

Automation Scripting is however seen as custom code by IBM Maximo support services and so is only on a limited support basis.
If you need any help with your AS, please gather all information according to the following DCF Must Gather here:

/support/pages/node/490497

A good example of how AS can be used to it's full potential can be found here:

/support/pages/node/242243

So to summarise, an Automation Script:

a)Runs based on the events or attributes of a single business object
b)Most versatile option,however does require i=good and in-dept programming knowledge

Conditional Expression Manager-->

Last,but not least, Conditional Expression Manager.

This application is pretty similar to the other two applications ,however this application is more focused on the UI or Maximo screens themselves.

This application is a library of conditional classes and expressions,whereby you can apply the set up conditions to fields, tabs and other UI controls in order to control the presentation.
The set up conditions can also be applied to any security group in order to manage various applications' accesses ,data and controls.
You can show and hide various parts of applications screens , modify colours and so forth and do this on both a screen or apply it to a security group.
You can only manipulate or change anything on the UI level itself.

So to summarise, the Conditional Expression Manager :

a)Is used only for UI (user interface) and not for any levels below the UI.

I hope this clarification has been helpful to you.

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