TimeXtender Data Quality Best Practices (2/3)

How to structure e-mail alert flow in TimeXtender Data Quality?

In this article, you will read about TimeXtender Data Quality best practices. Specifically, how to structure e-mail alert flow.

TimeXtender Data Quality can send an email for every check that delivers a discrepancy in your data flow. However, sending too many emails can easily become spam and are likely to be ignored. This is chapter two of four explaining TimeXtender Data Quality best practice implementation.

How to structure email alert flow

TimeXtender Data Quality sends exception notifications when it discovers a discrepancy in your data, against predefined rules. Only then can we deal with the root cause of the exception and fix the cause of discrepancy; may they be financial, time registration or system-related.

However, we don’t want to send unnecessary emails that flood our recipient inboxes regardless of importance, priority or severity. As with every workflow and system; if not used efficiently, people tend quickly to regard the tool as a nuisance rather than a helpful thing that will actually help you achieve great results at work.

Guidelines for creating useful email alerts:

1. Minimize the number of email alerts at all costs
2. Carefully nominate the appropriate receiver of every email alert
   1. Does the receiver work in the portal every day?
   2. Does the receiver really need an email alert, or will they see the list of exceptions anyhow when they go through their daily task-management in TimeXtender Data Quality?
3. Only send an email with a defined goal in mind. Assess the goal with each email alert.
   1. Is the email information only?
   2. Is the receiver going to act on the email?

   3. How important is it to act on the email – Is this a high, medium or low priority?

4. Carefully assess the timeframe and frequency of email alerts
   1. If the check-in mind is ongoing – is it necessary to send ongoing email alerts?
   2. Is it enough to send an email in the first few weeks of the check?
   3. Should the email alert reach the receiver monthly, weekly, or daily?
   4. If daily emails are necessary, consider implementing a working rule instead. This could enable the receiver to log into the portal once a day to analyze exceptions.