To stay on top of complex projects and multistage work, create scheduling dependencies between related service appointments. Scheduling dependencies help you account for situations when technicians need to perform related service appointments in a certain order. For example, ensure that a particular appointment can’t start until a related appointment is complete or that two appointments must start at the same time.
Required Editions
| Available in: both Salesforce Classic (not available in all orgs) and Lightning Experience |
| The Agentforce Field Service and Operations core features, managed package, and mobile app are available in Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. |
This is a Field Service managed package feature.
Watch the video to see how to use scheduling dependencies to stay on top of related service appointments.
Get to know the common terms used in complex work.
- Scheduling Dependency
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Synonyms: Complex work, multistage work
Dependencies are the relationships between service appointments that must be followed in order to meet your business needs. Dependencies cover scenarios where appointments happen in a certain order or must be assigned to the same person. You can set up dependencies that ensure appointments happen at the same time, consecutively, or consecutively and immediately one after another.
- Dependent appointments
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Synonyms: Group or set of dependent appointments; chain of appointments
Throughout the documentation, dependent appointments refers to the related appointments defined in the Scheduling Dependencies section of a service appointment detail page. It includes the related appointments and the type of dependencies.
- Dependency type
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The logic that defines how two appointments are related. For example, Same Start appointments must begin at the same time. The dependency types are:
- Same Start—The appointments must start at the same time.
- Start After Finish—One appointment can’t start until the other is complete. Optionally, assign both appointments to the same service resource.
- Start After Finish and Same Day—One appointment can’t start until the other is complete. Schedule both appointments for the same day. Optionally, assign both appointments to the same service resource.
- Immediately Follow—Schedule the appointments back-to-back on the same day, and assign them to the same service resource.
- Set Up Complex Work
Get ready to create scheduling dependencies, also known as complex, or multistage work. Update page layouts, activate dependency types, and turn on complex work for any service territories that aren’t using Enhanced Scheduling and Optimization. - Create Complex Work
Model complicated realities with scheduling dependencies between appointments. Relate multiple service appointments so that scheduling and optimization can account for the dependencies. Each appointment’s parent record must be a work order. - Considerations and Limitations for Complex Work
In Field Service, scheduling dependencies help you accurately model work that happens in stages, also called multistage work, and other sets of related appointments. Before you create service appointment dependencies, review the considerations and limitations.