What is a UMP? – Success

Overview

The User Management Process (UMP) allows a client to transform their user HR data extract into the appropriate format required for the AgilQuest Forum Data Management Utility tool which takes formatted .csv (Comma Separated Value) files as input.

The process is implemented through a database driven ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process which uses tables and functions/stored procedures that can be created using a database platform (RDBMS) of the clients choosing (i.e. MS SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.) The ETL “Extract” is the client source file produced by the client from their HR source system (i.e. AD, Peoplesoft, etc.). The ETL “Load” is handled by the Data Management Utility tool (provided by AgilQuest with associated documentation as needed). The overview to follow here will be cover the ETL “Transform” process and recommendations related to that step in the ETL process.

Functionality

The UMP imports the user related data from the HR Feed (flat file or direct DB source). The process applies logic to the source data to produce the files for adds, changes, and deletes (archives) to user information in the AgilQuest Forum to be consumed by the Data Management Utility tool. Once a user is considered “under management” by the UMP, the client user data feed source is considered the source of truth for the user profile information. This means that any conflicting data that is managed by the UMP will be remediated based on what is in the source feed regardless of what a user may manually change through the AgilQuest Forum front end application interface(s).

Architecture

Minimum Data Requirements

The Forum User Management Process standard requires a pipe (|) delimited .txt file in ANSI format which contains the following fields as ordered (with no field headers).

Employee ID/Unique ID = The unique field in the data feed file.
Last Name = Last Name of the User
First Name = First Name of the User
Email = Email address of the user
Status = Status of the user (active/inactive)

Note: Additional data fields can be provided by the client and will be part of the requirements gathering session.

Environment Requirements

Refer to the SOE located here

Client Responsibilities

Choose the source system
Set up a process to extract the data from the source system
Build the server (Windows Environment) with database
Setup a process to deliver the file to the server, or populate the database
Create a user in Forum that will act as a service account for the UMP - see this article

How are users updated?

New users:

User feed file received and brought into DB
Users in the feed are evaluated and compared to users in Forum
New users are created if they meet criteria for properly formed user
User Group(s) assigned
New users are set as Registered Users

Existing Users:

All users are tracked in the nightly process
Note about Manually Added Users
Users can be added manually (Forum UI or the DMU)
IF the Unique Identifier for the profile (user login) is in the data feed, THEN the profile will become a “managed user”
Remember: data feed will be the “source of truth”
IF the unique ID is NOT in the data feed, then that user must be managed manually (ex: test user accounts)

Terminated Users:

Identified with a flag such as "Inactive"
Reservations for inactive/archived users: Workspace and Collaboration Space reservations are cancelled.

User Group Assignment

Users are assigned to the All Users Group as a default
User Groups can be assigned automatically based on Rank, Employee Type, and any other predictable data object.

Process Rules for Data Validation

Records with duplicate LoginIDs are removed.
Records with duplicate Badge IDs are removed.
Records with duplicate SAML credentials are removed.*
Records with blank values for the FirstName and LastName fields are removed.
Records with numeric values in the FirstName and LastName fields are removed.
Records with blank Unique IDs and/or LoginIDs are removed.
Records with NULL Unique IDs and/or LoginIDs are removed.

Optional Notifications

Email Notifications: Success Notifications & Failure Notifications
Includes list of user records that failed the standard user validation
UMP Daily Execution Log
User Management Report Log
UMP Error Log
Requirement For Email Notifications – SMTP server available

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