Many service changes (e.g., service start, transfer to a different account, re-rate, etc.) require complex processing and execution on a specific date (e.g., cancel service in two weeks from now).
Nextian supports such complex processing via Service Changes — records containing individual service transactions.
Service changes have dual role: they store change information for future execution and serve as detailed history records (which can be used for reporting, e.g., uptick/downtick on customer re-rates over the last year with per-month breakdown).
The following applies to service changes:
- They are initiated by using quick actions on service details:
- Have auto-generated names SC-XXXXXX.
- Have a type determining what the change is (e.g., Service Start) and fields containing change parameters.
- Have an effective date (which might be in the future).
- If the effective date is immediate or in the past, a change is processed immediately; otherwise, it is queued for execution and processed on the effective date by the Apply Service and Element Changes batch job.
- Executed service changes constitute their own history records visible in Service → Related → Service Changes.
- Term extensions are also implemented as service changes.
- Service changes are displayed in the service Timeline tab and Chatter provided on the service Details page.
Service changes are stored in the Service_Change__c object and have the following fields:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Name | Automatically generated change identifier (e.g., SC-000000101). |
| Service | Service to which the change applies. |
| Change Type | Type of change (e.g., Change Account, Term Change, etc.). |
| Description | Optional, multi-line change description (usually user-provided). |
| Effective Date | Requested, effective date when change should or should have been applied. |
| Is Applied | Checked (true) if the change has already been applied, unchecked (false) indicates that the change still awaits processing for the Apply Service and Element Changes batch job. |
| Applied Date | Auto-populated date and time when the change has been processed and applied. |
| Applied Successfully | Checked (true) if the change was applied successfully; false indicates that there was processing error and Error Message field is set. If a change cannot be applied the operation is not re-tried. |
| Error Message | If the change cannot be applied and a processing error occurs, this fields holds the error message. |
| Other fields depending on Change Type | These carry additional change information usually with new and old values. |
| Important | Service Changes are not a replacement for order processing; they only encapsulate more complex action logic into a single transaction. In fact, automated service changes are usually part of work orders — e.g., Start Service may be the last task in the new service turn-up work order. |
Supported change types
Nextian supports the following change types:
- Start Service — change service fulfillment status to In Service. This action is typically invoked from a work order, but is available for manual execution for administrative purposes, or in case services are not managed with work orders.
- Change Status — change of service status other than In Service.
- Change Account — change account (e.g., when current customer is acquired by another company).
- Re-rate/Change MRR — change service monthly recurring revenue (MRR) / service price to customer (e.g., as a result as a re-rate).
- Re-term/Term Extension — change of term, renewal type and service price to customer (MRR) (e.g., as a result of a new contract).
Examining service changes
Individual service changes are shown in service’s Related and Timeline tabs as well as in Chatter on service Details page.
Service changes for all services are not shown in any of the Nextian Salesforce Apps menus, they are however accessible via App Launcher → Service Changes and have two important predefined list views:
- Pending Service Changes — all changes that were created with a future date and have not been processed yet.
- Failed Service Changes — all changes that were created with a future date and were processed with an error.
History tracking
In addition to Service Changes (which are a custom feature), Nextian enables standard Salesforce history tracking on key service fields such as account, location, product, reseller, etc. To display the field change history, go to:
Service → Related → Service History
To determine and configure which fields are tracked go to:
Setup → Object Manager → Service → Set History Tracking
Undoing a pending change
A pending change with a future effective date that has not been processed can be undone by simply deleting it.
