Information

Overview

An Information item is a place to record information you have received that you want to share with your team.

The Information module provides a way to store and publish a variety of information including messages, reports and assessments. Information can be stored, displayed in a map view, promoted onto the dashboard, and explicitly published by email and SMS to users.

Information items store and publish intelligence, and are not directly actionable. If actions are required resulting from the information, requests can be used to assign and track specific work.

Examples of Information may include:

• Bureau of Meteorology weather warnings and updates

• Reports from the field (for example "Tree over Road")

• Road blocks, Relief centre locations

• Map annotations and features of interest

• Announcements and updates

Types of Information

The Information register offers different types of information that can be added (some system configurations may not support all of the available types). You will have the option of choosing what type of information you set when adding a new Information record. Each type has a corresponding filter which can be used to easily find all records of that type.

Process

Users will generally add items by signing and selecting a Type based on the kind of information required. It is important to select the Type first as this will determine the data entry options. Information should always have a Source, a person ultimately accountable for it, this aims to help prevent misinformation and disinformation from spreading.

Information is Active when the Status is Current or Review Required. An expiry date can be set. When it is no longer current, the Status should be changed to Not Current.

Coordinators assign Information (except routes) to a user for follow up by setting an Assignee. They can also Schedule a Review. In addition, they can push the Information to the Dashboard using Promote on Dashboard and even Share it as an email or SMS using the integrated Communication module. Coordinators can also archive the information by changing information that is Not Current to Closed. They can also Reopen a Closed item by setting the status to Reopen which effectively changes it to Not Current.

Access

To access Information:

• Information must be enabled within the current event

• Sign in with an appropriate role. Information is available to almost all Operations roles, if you can't access it you may need to ask your administrator to check your permissions.

Locate the register under Operations > Information in the menu.

Finding Information

The register includes a number of features to assist in finding Information:

• Datagrid view

• Map view

• Filters including workflow and tags

• Combination filters and search by most fields

Filters

Filters help make management of Information items easier by focusing on specific groups of items on the datagrid.

Opening and Viewing Information

When viewing Information, sections can be expanded to show information.

As each section is completed, new sections may show additional information.

Settings

Information is divided into the following sections (sections may or may not appear depending on what information is entered, your permissions level, and what mode you're viewing):

Record Notes

When editing, record notes in the rich text field as you make changes which will appear in the Activity log.

Refer to: Recording Notes

Source & Validity

This section is available for all type of information except Routes.

Information should have a reputable source to help prevent misinformation and disinformation from being recorded in the system and relied upon to make decisions.

There are two options for the Source, both use a Contact record:

• Specify a contact - someone other than yourself

• Use my details as the source - if this is used, then your Contact record is attached to the Information

Source

This section contains details on the source of the information in the form of a Contact sub-item.

If you are the information source, you can select Use my details as the source.

Details for the contact can be entered via the edit form including First Name, Last Name, Organisation, Job Title, Primary Phone and Primary Email.

Contact Type

This field indicates whether Contact used as the Source is an Individual or an Organisation.

Validity

The Valid From and Expires at fields indicate how long the Information is current. By default, it is valid now and never expires, but certain types of information have more specific dates.

Dates are entered using the date-time selector.

Type Settings

This section depends on the Type selection in the General section.

Data is entered differently depending on which type is selected. There are some common fields, for example Subject is used for a brief summary and appears in communications and is required to be filled in.

Refer to the following guides for instructions on the settings for each type.

Route

This section is filled out when the Route Type is selected.

Field users can track their routes while working with the mobile app. Pins can be dropped automatically as the user moves to store the path they took. Routes are uploaded as this information type automatically when the user opts to save it and synchronises from their device.

Routes include a Subject (this is the name the user gives the route when saving it on their device).

Additionally, the Date of Route stores the date that it was saved and the User field stores the ID of the user who recorded it. For auditing purposes these fields cannot be edited. This also enables mobile recorded routes to be differentiated as in manually recorded routes these fields will be blank.

The route itself is stored in the Location & Map section.

Location & Map

The Location & Map records an optional geographical location that the Information pertains to. This is displayed on the Register's map view. Use the Asset field and location selector to set the location.

Refer to: Location

General

Type

The Type field controls the type of information and will change the list of fields which can be entered. The default is Information which is the most flexible and commonly used type.

Depending on the type selected you will be presented with a different set of fields and options for data entry.

Status

Refer to: Status, Process

This field is used to set the Information's workflow. It controls the overall validity for information items.

Priority

This field is used to help indicate information items that are a higher priority than others. The Information Datagrid will indicate this visually.

Information has a Normal priority by default.

If the priority of a request is set to High, then a special counter will appear to track these while they are in an active state.

Assignee

The Assignee indicates which position or person has been tasked with maintaining the Information.

Schedule a Review

If you wish to review the record at a pre-set time, check the box Schedule a review and in Next review, enter a date and time for the review.

When the review time is reached, if the record is in a Current status, it will transition to a Review Required status, and a counter will appear on the datagrid.

Communication

Promote on dashboard

Communication Coordinators can tick this box to add the Information item as an Announcement to the Dashboard.

Create a new Communication

Communication Coordinators can tick the Share this record via email or SMS box to send it in a message.

For more on this function refer to: Communication.

Classification

Refer to: Classification

Advanced

Information supports the Save this item as a template option for pre-filling items to save time in future.

Activity

Refer to: Viewing and Opening Register Items: Activity

Updating Information

When updating Information items:

• Add notes on your edits in the Record Notes field

• Complete each section of the Settings as required. Note that some options may open up new sections to complete.

Adding Information

Any Type of Information can be manually created. Routes, however, should be created via the Track My Route of the mobile app which synchronises them automatically from the device.

To add Information:

1. From the register, in the New item menu select the New Information button (or drop down the list from any other register and select it)

2. Complete each section of the Settings as required.

   1. Carefully select the Type first this will open the relevant Type Settings form. Do not attempt to change this after adding data.

   2. Add a Subject

   3. Complete additional settings as required

3. Save

Bulk Actions

The following additional bulk actions can be performed via the Actions menu:

Reports

The main report for Information is the Information Report.