Creating an alert

You can create an alert from the Alert Manager widget, and also from the Alerts widget.

For example, if you want to send an alert as an SMS message to a cell phone, you enter the cell phone number and cell phone provider gateway for Cell phone field name. For more information, see the related tasks.

To create a widget, complete the following steps:

1. From the Alert Manager widget, click New Alert. The Alert window opens.
2. On the Conditions tab, complete the following steps:
   1. Enter a name and description for the alert in the Alert name and Description fields.
   2. In the Model field, select the business process model that this alert will be based on.
   3. Optional: If you want other dashboard users to be able to see and subscribe to this alert, select Share alert.
   4. The Owner field displays your user name by default. If you want a different dashboard user to own this alert, click in the field and select a user name.
   5. Under Conditions, click Add. The first condition is displayed in the table.
   6. Click in the KPI Name column, expand the list, and select a KPI for this condition.
   7. In the Prediction Model column, select a prediction model when applicable. None (Use actual data) is the default value.
   8. Click in the Condition column and choose an alert condition for this KPI and then click in the Value column to enter a value or select one from the list when applicable. For example, when the KPI represents a monthly sales amount, you might select Below target for the condition, and then the target value that was defined for the KPI is displayed as the value in the Value column. This means that you want an alert to be created when the monthly sales amount is below the target value.
   9. Optional: To add another condition to this alert, click Add and another row is added to the conditions table where you will select another KPI and submit the values required to make up a condition statement.
   10. Under Timing, select values for:
       • How often to check conditions - The regularity of condition checking. Options include:
         • End of KPI time period- Check for the condition at the close of the time period defined in the KPI. When you select this option, you must also specify which KPI it applies to. (A field for the KPI name becomes available when you select the End of KPI time period option.)
         • Specific time measures - The frequency of condition checking can be set according to Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months. For example, select Weeks, 2 to check for the conditions you selected every 2 weeks.
       • When to start notifications - The date when the notifications are to begin. The current date is provided by default; however, you can select a future date, time, time zone, and daylight saving location.
       • Notification frequency - How frequently to send notifications. For example, when a condition is being checked for every two weeks and you select Once per selected period when the condition applies, you will be notified only once in a two-week period when the condition applies.
         When you select the notification frequency of Only once during the KPI time period when the condition applies, a new field is displayed where you must select the KPI to apply this frequency to. If there are no KPIs in the list of this new field, it indicates that the KPIs you selected under Conditions do not meet the requirements for this frequency selection. The eligible KPIs that would be displayed in the list must meet the following requirements:

         • The KPI must be used in the alert conditions.
         • The KPI must have history enabled.
         • The KPI must have a time period of type "Fixed period" with a defined end of period, or of type "Repeating" with a basis of "Period in progress".

         Also, if you select End of KPI time period as the value of How often to check conditions, the Only once during the KPI time period when the condition applies selection is not be available in the Notification frequency list.
3. Select the Alert Content tab and choose one of the following options:
   • Generated content (default) - The alert notification message is automatically created for you. The Priority field contains the default value of 3. There is automatically-generated text under Subject and Body. The given text is generated based on your selections on the Conditions tab. Subject contains the name of the alert and Body contains parameters for the KPI including the KPI name and the condition and value selected. The parameters derived from the KPI are enclosed in percent signs (for example, %kpi_name/name%). (If you choose this option, proceed to step 5.)
   • Define your own content - Allows you to customize the alert notification message. If you choose this option, enter message text in the Subject and Body fields. To select specific ranges or values within the selected business process model, click Insert Dynamic Value.
4. In the Priority field, enter a number to represent a priority ranking. (Possible values are from 0 through 99.)
5. Select the Notification tab. Here, you can select a method for receiving the alert notification. Dashboard Alert is selected by default; however, you can also select Cell Phone, Email, and Pager. (Personal information, such as your cell phone number or email address, is associated with your user ID. This type of information is typically input by a system administrator when a user ID is created.)
   If you enabled the Share alert (in step 2.c), you can add alert notification recipients here. Each recipient will be able to unsubscribe or modify notification methods.

   Note: Assigning alert notifications to groups is not supported.

   The behavior of alert notifications depends on whether WebSphere® Application Server administrative security is configured. Your system administrator can provide that information.

6. To add other users to receive the alert, click Add, enter the user name, and then click OK.
7. To create the alert, click OK and then click OK when the confirmation message is displayed.
8. Verify that your new alert is displayed in the list.