Job & Task Numbering

When Jobs and Tasks are created, they automatically get a unique number displayed and behind the scenes a unique Task ID. Having these two separate numbering systems where one is displayed to users and one is used internally by the system means that you can update the Job and Task Numbering after the site is live and as your needs evolve. Changing these settings will therefore update the numbering of all existing Jobs and Tasks.

Job and Task numbering can be accessed from Administration > Configuration > Job & Task Numbering.

Job Numbering

• Number to Display- Controls how the Job number is generated. There are three options available: 
  • Consecutive Number - The first Job in the system will be Job 0 and all Jobs created after that will be numbered in order. The order of the jobs is determined by the time and date at which they were created.
    Example: JOB00, JOB01, JOB02, etc.
  • Sequence Number - Similar to Consecutive Number above but the first Job in the system will be Job 1. All Jobs after this will be numbered in order. As this number is more intuitive to users, this is the preferred option.
    Example: JOB01, JOB002, JOB03, etc.
  • Unique Item ID - Rather than just comparing the jobs when incrementing numbers by one. This method will also compare the number to the tasks that are in the system. This method ensures that the number allocated to the newly created job is not only unique amongst the jobs but also between tasks as well. It does introduce gaps in Job numbering depending on the number of tasks created between creating Jobs.
    Example: JOB01, JOB08, JOB17, etc.
• Minimum Digits - The length of the overall number will automatically grow as the number gets bigger. This means entering a Minimum Digits value of 1 on a new installation would give you a Job number of 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. When it reaches double figures, the length of the number automatically grows to 10, 11, 12.... 100, 101, 102, etc. To avoid the number changing over time, it can be preferable to pad the number out with leading zeros to provide a consistent number length; a Minimum Digits value of 4 would give you a Job number of 0001, 0002, 0003... 0010, 0011... 0100, 0101, 0102, etc.
• Prefix Type - This displays some characters in front of the Job number. There are four options:
  • Fixed String - Displays whatever text is entered into the Fixed Prefix field in front of the Job Number.
    Example: J-0001 using the Fixed Prefix below. If only J was added, you would get J0001
  • Fixed String + Item Type Abbreviation - Displays a combination of the Fixed Prefix below and the Item Type Abbreviation.
    Example:  J-JOB0001
  • Item Type Abbreviation - Displays the Item Type Abbreviation in front of the Job number.
    Example: JOB0001
  • Item Type Abbreviation + Fixed String - Displays the Item Type Abbreviation ahead of the Fixed Prefix.
    Example: JOBJ-0001. If you only include the hyphen, you will see JOB-0001
• Fixed Prefix - Only displays if you choose either of the Fixed String options for the Prefix Type above.
  Example: J-

Task Numbering

• Number to Display- Controls how the Task number is generated. There are five options available:
  • Absolute Position in Job - Rather than having a unique number within WEBcnx, the tasks will be numbered on a job-by-job basis. So the first task in two separate jobs will both be task 1. As such, you should only use this option in conjunction with "Qualify with Job Number" below.
    Example: JOB01/DES01, JOB01/SAM02, JOB01/DES03... JOB02/SAM01, JOB02/DES02, JOB03/SAM03, etc.
  • Consecutive Number - The first task in the system will be task 1 and all tasks created after that will be numbered in order. The order of the tasks is determined by the date and time that they were created.
    Example: JOB01/DES01, JOB01/DES02, JOB02/SAM03, JOB0002/DES04, JOB003/DES05, etc.
  • Position in Job Relative to Task Type - This option will number the tasks so that the first task of each different type will be assigned the number 1, the second number 2 and so on. As such, you should only use this option in conjunction with "Qualify with Job Number" below.
    Example: JOB01/DES01, JOB01/DES02, JOB01/SAM01... JOB02/DES01, JOB02/DES02, JOB02/SAM01, etc.
  • Sequence Number - Increments the number of each Task Type across all Jobs. This is the most preferable option as each Task has an easily identifiable unique number outside of the Job. This makes searching for Tasks much more streamlined. This option also has the benefit of minimising the task numbers as the total number are split between the various Task Types. It also allows you to easily see how many tasks of each type you have; if you publish a new Design Request and get the number DES03186, you know you've got 3,186 Design Requests.
    Example: JOB01/DES01, JOB01/SAM01, JOB01/DES02... JOB02/DES03, JOB02/SAM02, JOB03/DES04, etc.
  • Unique Item ID - Using this method will compare the number of the task not only with other tasks but also jobs as well. The result is that the tasks gets allocated a number that is completely unique within the system.
    Example: JOB01/DES02, JOB01/SAM03, JOB03/DES04, JOB05/SAM06, etc.
• Minimum Digits - As above for Jobs. Where using the "Qualify with Job Number" option, the Task Minimum Digits applies to just the Task portion of the overall number.
  Example: JOB0001/DES0001
• Prefix Type- This displays some characters in front of the Task number. There are four options:
  • Fixed String - Displays whatever text is entered into the Fixed Prefix field in front of the Task Number.
    Example: T0001 with a Prefix of T
  • Fixed String + Item Type Abbreviation - Displays a combination of the Fixed Prefix below and the Item Type Abbreviation.
    Example:  T-DES0001 with a Prefix of  T-
  • Item Type Abbreviation - Displays the Item Type Abbreviation in front of the Job number.
    Example: DES0001
  • Item Type Abbreviation + Fixed String - Displays the Item Type Abbreviation ahead of the Fixed Prefix.
    Example: DES-T0001. With a Prefix of -T If you only include the hyphen, you will see DES-0001
• Fixed Prefix - Only displays if you choose either of the Fixed String options for the Prefix Type above.
  Example: /
• Qualify with Job Number - Controls whether or not to include the Job number before the Task number. If they decide to do this, an extra field ‘Job/Task delimiter’ becomes visible, which allows the user to specify how they would like to separate the job and task numbers when they are presented together. Good examples of symbols to use include “/” and “-“. It is advisable to avoid putting a number in this field as the result would look like one big number.
  Example: With this option ON - JOB01/TASK01. With this option OFF - TASK01
• Job/Task Delimiter - Only appears if using the option "Qualify with Job Number". Allows you to specify some characters to separate the Job part of the number from the Task part.
  Example: JOB01/TASK01 or JOB01-TASK01

Suggested Configuration

There are a lot of options for configuring Job and Task numbering so where to start? A couple of considerations are:

• It is generally desirable for a user to have some sense of what a Task is just by looking at the number. It is therefore a good idea to use the Item Type Abbreviation as that is unique per Item Type and will be instantly recognisable to users after they become familiar with the software.
• Remembering long numbers with combinations of numbers and letters is never going to be easy. Keeping the numbering reasonably short is therefore also desirable.
• Consistency really helps. Don't configure different number sizes for Jobs and Tasks as users will find that confusing. Also, if you're going to use Item Type Abbreviations, keep those abbreviations consistent; avoid having some 2 letter abbreviations and some 3. Decide on a format and stick to it. You may want to consider all the types of Task you want and come up with some suitable abbreviations to help users identify them.

Our suggestion is therefore:

• Jobs
  • Number to Display: Sequence Number - Each Job will be numbered in order, starting at 1 and without gaps.
  • Minimum Digits: 5
  • Prefix Type: Item Type Abbreviation - This will use the abbreviation of the JOB to be used in the number.
• Tasks
  • Number to Display: Sequence Number - Each Task will be numbered in sequence per Task Type, starting at 1 and without gaps.
  • Minimum Digits: 5
  • Prefix Type: Item Type Abbreviation - This will use the abbreviation of each Task Type helping to make each Task easily recognisable.
  • Qualify With Job Number: No

Searching For Jobs and Tasks

No matter what your Job and Task numbering is, you can minimise your search criteria by missing out any leading zeros that are defined in the Minimum Digits. If you have a task number DES000001, you can simply search for DES1 and WEBcnx will find an open your Task.