NOOB Questions about Marketing Campaigns

[Scott.]

I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various functions. If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don’t understand.

The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I can try to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief on what this function is for and what the choices mean.

Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that this is just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user name or group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/groups so that you can choose specifics?

Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a bug or designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting up a new campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing something?

Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they are one in the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different fields. Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields and it is not to question the usability.

My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very top of the form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this is a redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good reason for including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone try to clarify this for me?

Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help me not to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.

Cheers...

[David E Jones]

Hopefully someone else will have more time to answer this in  
detail... especially anyone that has worked with it recently.

In general the best way to find out what something means and/or is  
used for is to look at the data model (Entity Reference pages in  
WebTools, or just the entitymodel*.xml files), and to search the code  
base for the specific field and entity names  related to the page/
form/service/etc that you are looking at. In this case you'd be  
looking at the MarketingCampaign entity, and fields like  
parentCampaignId, etc.

-David


On Mar 31, 2007, at 9:01 AM, Scott A wrote:

>
> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various  
> functions.
> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don’t
> understand.
>
> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I  
> can try
> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief  
> on what
> this function is for and what the choices mean.
>
> Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that  
> this is
> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user  
> name or
> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/
> groups so
> that you can choose specifics?
>
> Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a  
> bug or
> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting  
> up a new
> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing  
> something?
>
> Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they  
> are one in
> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different  
> fields.
> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields  
> and it is
> not to question the usability.
>
> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very  
> top of the
> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this  
> is a
> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good  
> reason for
> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone  
> try to
> clarify this for me?
>
> Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would  
> appreciate any
> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help  
> me not
> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
>
> Cheers...
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions- 
> about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>

[Scott.]

Thanks for the response David. Unfortunately, I'm a user and not a programmer so its not so easy for me to look or understand the data model. I'm trying to understand it from a users standpoint so if there is anyone who can help, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers.

David E. Jones-2 wrote

Hopefully someone else will have more time to answer this in  
detail... especially anyone that has worked with it recently.

In general the best way to find out what something means and/or is  
used for is to look at the data model (Entity Reference pages in  
WebTools, or just the entitymodel*.xml files), and to search the code  
base for the specific field and entity names  related to the page/
form/service/etc that you are looking at. In this case you'd be  
looking at the MarketingCampaign entity, and fields like  
parentCampaignId, etc.

-David


On Mar 31, 2007, at 9:01 AM, Scott A wrote:

>
> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various  
> functions.
> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don’t
> understand.
>
> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I  
> can try
> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief  
> on what
> this function is for and what the choices mean.
>
> Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that  
> this is
> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user  
> name or
> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/
> groups so
> that you can choose specifics?
>
> Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a  
> bug or
> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting  
> up a new
> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing  
> something?
>
> Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they  
> are one in
> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different  
> fields.
> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields  
> and it is
> not to question the usability.
>
> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very  
> top of the
> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this  
> is a
> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good  
> reason for
> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone  
> try to
> clarify this for me?
>
> Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would  
> appreciate any
> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help  
> me not
> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
>
> Cheers...
>
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions- 
> about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>


 

[Anil Patel]

Scott,
Response in line.
Regards
Anil Patel

On 3/31/07, Scott A <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
>
> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various
> functions.
> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don't
> understand.
>
> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I can
> try
> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief on what
> this function is for and what the choices mean.

I looked at the MarketingCampaign entity and its form, May be I did not see
it right, But I don't see field for Assign Type.

Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that this is
> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user name or
> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/groups so
> that you can choose specifics?


If you are referring to Role(s) , the Party input box has party lookup
attached to it. This is most common style of Admin form design.

Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a bug or
> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting up a
> new
> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing something?


I created two Marketing Campaign and set First as Parent of Second and it
worked.

Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they are one in

> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different fields.
> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields and it is
> not to question the usability.
>
> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very top of
> the
> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this is a
> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good reason for
> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone try to
> clarify this for me?

I think it makes sense to have status field on it. At this time its much
used in Automation and control of services in Ofbiz but I think it can be
used in SFA application we can use it to What user can or cannot do based on
this status field.


Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any

> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help me not
> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
>
> Cheers...
>
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions-about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>

[Scott.]

Hi Anil,

The page I am referring to is /marketing/control/EditMarketingCampaign. The third field is called "Assign Type" and it has a drop down box with Y or N as choices. If you are editing an already existing  campaign then there is also a "U". It’s very difficult from the perspective of a user to understand the purpose of this.

On the same form there are two fields. There is no lookup attached. The fields are called "Assigned User Id" and "Assigned Group Name". They appear to me as regular text fields that you should know but they could be calling for anything. I'm just hoping to get clarification of their function within this form. I can speculate but...

Regarding Parent Campaign ID, it does not work for me on our local install. We'll have to troubleshoot on this end to find out why it doesn't work.

With regards to Status. It absolutely does make sense to have a "Status" field. My question is to why there appear to be two status fields. I can certainly see the reason to have the status field at the bottom that has the drop down that includes "Planned, Approved, In Progress", etc. but I have no idea what the intent of the intent of the "Campaign Status" field at the top of the form. It appears to be a regular text box so what is it trying to convey and who would need to interpret this under what circumstances.

Like I said originally, it appears to be a brilliant app but from a user prospective, it create questions.

Thanks again for the answers.

Anil Patel wrote

Scott,
Response in line.
Regards
Anil Patel

On 3/31/07, Scott A <[e-mail]> wrote:
>
>
> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various
> functions.
> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don't
> understand.
>
> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I can
> try
> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief on what
> this function is for and what the choices mean.


I looked at the MarketingCampaign entity and its form, May be I did not see
it right, But I don't see field for Assign Type.

Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that this is
> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user name or
> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/groups so
> that you can choose specifics?


If you are referring to Role(s) , the Party input box has party lookup
attached to it. This is most common style of Admin form design.

Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a bug or
> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting up a
> new
> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing something?


I created two Marketing Campaign and set First as Parent of Second and it
worked.

Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they are one in
> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different fields.
> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields and it is
> not to question the usability.
>
> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very top of
> the
> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this is a
> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good reason for
> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone try to
> clarify this for me?


I think it makes sense to have status field on it. At this time its much
used in Automation and control of services in Ofbiz but I think it can be
used in SFA application we can use it to What user can or cannot do based on
this status field.


Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any
> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help me not
> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
>
> Cheers...
>
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions-about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>

[Anil Patel]

Scott,
Either I am not looking at the right code or There is some problem with your
installation. Below is Definition of MarketingCampaign entity.

    <entity entity-name="MarketingCampaign"
            package-name="org.ofbiz.marketing.campaign"
            title="Marketing Campaign Entity">
      <field name="marketingCampaignId" type="id-ne"></field>
      <field name="parentCampaignId" type="id"></field>
      <field name="statusId" type="id"></field>
      <field name="campaignName" type="name"></field>
      <field name="campaignSummary" type="very-long"></field>
      <field name="budgetedCost" type="currency-amount"></field>
      <field name="actualCost" type="currency-amount"></field>
      <field name="estimatedCost" type="currency-amount"></field>
      <field name="currencyUomId" type="id-ne"></field>
      <field name="fromDate" type="date-time"></field>
      <field name="thruDate" type="date-time"></field>
      <prim-key field="marketingCampaignId"/>
      <relation type="one" fk-name="MKTGCPN_PRNT" title="Parent"
rel-entity-name="MarketingCampaign">
        <key-map field-name="parentCampaignId"
rel-field-name="marketingCampaignId"/>
      </relation>
      <relation type="one" fk-name="MKTGCPN_STS"
rel-entity-name="StatusItem">
        <key-map field-name="statusId"/>
      </relation>
      <relation type="one" fk-name="MKTGCPN_CUOM" rel-entity-name="Uom">
        <key-map field-name="currencyUomId" rel-field-name="uomId"/>
      </relation>
    </entity>

We don't see the fields that you mentioned in your email. Please look in the
file OFBIZ_HOME\applications\marketing\entitydef\entitymodel.xml. Look for
entity definition for MarketingCampaign and compare.

Thanks and Regards

Anil Patel



On 3/31/07, Scott A <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
>
> Hi Anil,
>
> The page I am referring to is /marketing/control/EditMarketingCampaign.
> The
> third field is called "Assign Type" and it has a drop down box with Y or N
> as choices. If you are editing an already existing  campaign then there is
> also a "U". It's very difficult from the perspective of a user to
> understand
> the purpose of this.
>
> On the same form there are two fields. There is no lookup attached. The
> fields are called "Assigned User Id" and "Assigned Group Name". They
> appear
> to me as regular text fields that you should know but they could be
> calling
> for anything. I'm just hoping to get clarification of their function
> within
> this form. I can speculate but...
>
> Regarding Parent Campaign ID, it does not work for me on our local
> install.
> We'll have to troubleshoot on this end to find out why it doesn't work.
>
> With regards to Status. It absolutely does make sense to have a "Status"
> field. My question is to why there appear to be two status fields. I can
> certainly see the reason to have the status field at the bottom that has
> the
> drop down that includes "Planned, Approved, In Progress", etc. but I have
> no
> idea what the intent of the intent of the "Campaign Status" field at the
> top
> of the form. It appears to be a regular text box so what is it trying to
> convey and who would need to interpret this under what circumstances.
>
> Like I said originally, it appears to be a brilliant app but from a user
> prospective, it create questions.
>
> Thanks again for the answers.
>
>
>
> Anil Patel wrote:
> >
> > Scott,
> > Response in line.
> > Regards
> > Anil Patel
> >
> > On 3/31/07, Scott A <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various
> >> functions.
> >> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don't
> >> understand.
> >>
> >> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I can
> >> try
> >> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief on
> >> what
> >> this function is for and what the choices mean.
> >
> >
> > I looked at the MarketingCampaign entity and its form, May be I did not
> > see
> > it right, But I don't see field for Assign Type.
> >
> > Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that this
> is
> >> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user name
> or
> >> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/groups
> so
> >> that you can choose specifics?
> >
> >
> > If you are referring to Role(s) , the Party input box has party lookup
> > attached to it. This is most common style of Admin form design.
> >
> > Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a bug
> or
> >> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting up a
> >> new
> >> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing something?
> >
> >
> > I created two Marketing Campaign and set First as Parent of Second and
> it
> > worked.
> >
> > Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they are
> one
> > in
> >> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different
> fields.
> >> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields and it
> >> is
> >> not to question the usability.
> >>
> >> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very top of
> >> the
> >> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this is a
> >> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good reason
> for
> >> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone try
> to
> >> clarify this for me?
> >
> >
> > I think it makes sense to have status field on it. At this time its much
> > used in Automation and control of services in Ofbiz but I think it can
> be
> > used in SFA application we can use it to What user can or cannot do
> based
> > on
> > this status field.
> >
> >
> > Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate
> any
> >> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
> >> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help me
> >> not
> >> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
> >>
> >> Cheers...
> >>
> >> --
> >> View this message in context:
> >>
> http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions-about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
> >> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
>
> --
> View this message in context:
> http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions-about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9769420
> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>

[BJ Freeman]

Hi Scott:
first what version of ofbiz are your using?
I am looking at the current version of ofbiz and don't see the field you
are talking about.

Scott A sent the following on 3/31/2007 9:22 AM:

> Hi Anil,
>
> The page I am referring to is /marketing/control/EditMarketingCampaign. The
> third field is called "Assign Type" and it has a drop down box with Y or N
> as choices. If you are editing an already existing  campaign then there is
> also a "U". It’s very difficult from the perspective of a user to understand
> the purpose of this.
>
> On the same form there are two fields. There is no lookup attached. The
> fields are called "Assigned User Id" and "Assigned Group Name". They appear
> to me as regular text fields that you should know but they could be calling
> for anything. I'm just hoping to get clarification of their function within
> this form. I can speculate but...
>
> Regarding Parent Campaign ID, it does not work for me on our local install.
> We'll have to troubleshoot on this end to find out why it doesn't work.
>
> With regards to Status. It absolutely does make sense to have a "Status"
> field. My question is to why there appear to be two status fields. I can
> certainly see the reason to have the status field at the bottom that has the
> drop down that includes "Planned, Approved, In Progress", etc. but I have no
> idea what the intent of the intent of the "Campaign Status" field at the top
> of the form. It appears to be a regular text box so what is it trying to
> convey and who would need to interpret this under what circumstances.
>
> Like I said originally, it appears to be a brilliant app but from a user
> prospective, it create questions.
>
> Thanks again for the answers.
>
>
>
> Anil Patel wrote:
>> Scott,
>> Response in line.
>> Regards
>> Anil Patel
>>
>> On 3/31/07, Scott A <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm relatively new to ofbiz and I am trying to understand various
>>> functions.
>>> If I add a Marketing Campaign, there are a couple of things I don't
>>> understand.
>>>
>>> The first is "Assign Type". I see the drop down is U, Y, N. While I can
>>> try
>>> to interpret this I was wondering if someone could give me a brief on
>>> what
>>> this function is for and what the choices mean.
>>
>> I looked at the MarketingCampaign entity and its form, May be I did not
>> see
>> it right, But I don't see field for Assign Type.
>>
>> Next is assigned User and group. Is there a particular reason that this is
>>> just a regular form fill. Does it assume you know the exact user name or
>>> group to assign it to? Is it worth linking this to actual user/groups so
>>> that you can choose specifics?
>>
>> If you are referring to Role(s) , the Party input box has party lookup
>> attached to it. This is most common style of Admin form design.
>>
>> Third is concerning Parent Campaign ID. I am not sure if this is a bug or
>>> designed this way but if you choose a parent campaign when setting up a
>>> new
>>> campaign it does not seem to be saved anywhere. Am I missing something?
>>
>> I created two Marketing Campaign and set First as Parent of Second and it
>> worked.
>>
>> Next is Description and Campaign Summary. I would think that they are one
>> in
>>> the same but obviously, someone believes they should be different fields.
>>> Can I ask why? I am just trying to find the intent of the fields and it
>>> is
>>> not to question the usability.
>>>
>>> My last question is concerning the status drop down. At the very top of
>>> the
>>> form we have a "Campaign Status" field and my feeling is that this is a
>>> redundant feature but I assume that the developers had a good reason for
>>> including it in the first place. With that in mind, could someone try to
>>> clarify this for me?
>>
>> I think it makes sense to have status field on it. At this time its much
>> used in Automation and control of services in Ofbiz but I think it can be
>> used in SFA application we can use it to What user can or cannot do based
>> on
>> this status field.
>>
>>
>> Thanks to all for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any
>>> response. As is true for anything, there is a learning curve and
>>> understanding the terminology and used of these functions will help me
>>> not
>>> to screw up what is otherwise a brilliant app.
>>>
>>> Cheers...
>>>
>>> --
>>> View this message in context:
>>> http://www.nabble.com/NOOB-Questions-about-Marketing-Campaigns-tf3497151.html#a9767983
>>> Sent from the OFBiz - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>>
>>>
>>
>