Throttling

Summary Throttling in PaT manages the flow of task escalations to supervisors and module recertifications to users. Administrators can set a maximum number and a delay, so people aren't overwhelmed with too many assignments at once. PaT also shows graphs of historical, forecast and throttled recertifications, so managers can adjust the throttle settings to balance the workload while keeping certification times reasonable.

Steps

Introduction. Throttling is designed to manage escalations to supervisors and the recertifications of modules for users. You can configure the maximum number of escalations or recertifications a supervisor or user can receive within a 24-hour period, and also set a delay between each cycle of escalations and recertifications.

Note. This feature is designed as a temporary solution for businesses facing challenges. It gives users and supervisors a necessary break when they are behind on tasks, so they can catch up without the added stress of constant demands.

Step 1

Switch to the tile view: click the toggle switch in the row of icons at the top right of the screen, between the gauge and the headset. The tile view opens, with your tiles at the top and a list of sections below them.

Step 2

Click System Administration, the last section in the list below the tiles. It expands to show five tiles: Company Structure, System Config, System Activity, Connections and Manage users.

Note. Only users with SAAS Admin security settings can see System Administration. It is restricted to people with the appropriate access level, so that only authorised personnel can manage and interact with the administrative settings of the SAAS platform.

Setting the throttle and delay

Step 3

Click System Config, the second tile (white, with cogs). Its settings open below the tiles.

Step 4

Scroll down to the Task Escalations and Module Recertifications section.

Step 5

The first box, Escalation/Recertification Throttle, sets the number of modules or escalations that are throttled and assigned at once to a user or supervisor. 0 means no throttling occurs.

Step 6

The box to its right, Escalation/Recertification Delay (days), sets the delay in days between each throttled group of modules or escalations assigned to a user or supervisor. 0 means no delay occurs.

Step 7

The values should always remain at 0, but the company can adjust them if necessary. For example, if you set the throttle to 5 and the delay (days) to 7, PaT limits the number of escalations per supervisor and recertifications per user to 5 every 7 days. Setting the throttle too low or the delay too long can disrupt the system. The function is intended as a temporary solution for companies facing issues: once the situation is resolved, reset the values to 0, so PaT can function as intended. The warning beside the two boxes says the same.

Monitoring recertifications

Step 8

To see the effect, click System Activity, the third tile under System Administration.

Step 9

Click Recurrances, the fifth tab along the top of the System Activity page.

Step 10

The page tracks three key statistics, each in its own graph: Historical recerts and Forecast Recerts side by side, and Throttled recerts below them.

Step 11

Set how many days of history the graphs show in # of historical days, above the graphs.

Step 12

Set how many days ahead the forecast covers in # of forecast days, to its right. For example, set both to 35 days.

Step 13

Historical recerts shows the modules assigned to users over the historical days, such as the last 35 days. Several high peaks on the graph show that a large number of modules are being released to users at the same time. That could overwhelm users, making it difficult for them to stay on top of the modules while managing their regular daily tasks.

Step 14

Forecast Recerts shows the forecast recertifications for the forecast days, such as the next 35 days. PaT works to flatten the peaks, spreading the release of modules more evenly so that fewer are assigned to users at once.

Step 15

If the peaks start to rise again toward the end of the forecast, managers need to monitor this and consider adjusting the throttle settings and delay periods accordingly.

Step 16

Throttled recerts shows the total recertifications PaT has throttled over the historical days. For example, with the throttle set to 5 and the delay set to one day, PaT recognises when more than 5 modules are being released to a user at once, and throttles the leftover to the next day, and so on. If the peaks remain quite high, consider increasing the delay between throttle groups. However, this could result in longer certification times for users. In that example, the peaks were cleared every 4-5 days, which is a positive outcome.