Group - Create/Edit

Groups are used to create an organizational unit based on multiple criteria. Groups can very accurately identify a set of users. Some of the uses for groups are setting availability for tasks, competencies, assigning security roles, or filtering reports. There are three types of groups: static, dynamic, and combination. For dynamic groups, the users within the group can be dynamically updated based on the user criteria every time the group is processed.

Groups can be created from the Administrator Organizational Unit page and when setting availability for learning objects or tasks.

• To create a group from the Organizational Unit page, go to Admin > Tools > Core Functions > Organizational Units > Manage Organizational Unit Hierarchy. From the Select Organizational Unit drop-down list, select Group. Then, select the Add Group link.
• To create a group when setting availability, select the Add New Group link from the availability setting screen.

To edit a group from the Organizational Unit page, go to Admin > Tools > Core Functions > Organizational Units. Click the Manage Organizational Unit Hierarchy link. From the Select Organizational Unit drop-down list, select Group. Then, select the Edit icon in the Options column.

• See Modifying Groups Quick Reference Card.

Specify the following information for the group:

General

Enter the following information in the General section:

• Name - Enter a descriptive name for the group. This is required.
• ID - Enter a unique identifier for the group.
• Description - Enter a clear description for the group. As a best practice, this should include the purpose of the group so that all administrators understand how to use the group. This is required.

Details

Enter the following information in the Details section:

• Parent - Click the field to make the group a child of an existing group (required and if not selected creates group as a parent group at the top node hierarchy).
• Owner - Click the field to choose an owner.
• Active - Select the checkbox to make the group active.
• Freeze Group Processing - Select this option to freeze or temporarily halt the daily processing of a group. When this option is selected for a group, the system does not add or remove any users based on the group criteria. For example, if a group is configured to include all users who are in the Accountant position organizational unit (OU), then selecting this option freezes the group processing, and no users will be added to or removed from the group even if new users are added to the Accountant position OU or if users are moved from the Accountant position OU to a different position OU. When this option is unselected, then the system resumes processing the group at the normal daily time. This option is unselected by default.
• Last Processed - This only appears when editing a group. This displays the date on which the Group was last processed. Previously, this information was only available on the Manage Group page. This date is displayed in the administrator’s time zone.
• Current Group Membership - This only appears when editing a group. This displays the number of users in the Group as of the Last Processed date.
• View Users - This only appears when editing a group. Select this link to view the users within the group. See View Users in a Group.

Note: The Current Group Membership count and user list is only updated when the Group is processed.

Upload Users

This section allows you to upload users using a .csv file. Note: The Upload Users option is controlled by a backend setting that is disabled by default. To enable this functionality, contact Global Customer Support.

To upload a file of users:

1. Click Browse to find the file. The file should have only one column which includes unique usernames, user IDs, or email addresses. Files must be in .csv format (comma delimited). The file can have a maximum of 2,000 users; anything over this maximum number will be ignored and not added.
2. Click Add.

When a file is uploaded, the users in the file will appear in the Group Criteria section.

Group Criteria - Who is Included in the Group?

The criteria for a group determine which users are included in the group. When a group is created or updated, the group will consist of all users who meet at least one criteria combination.

Depending on how the group criteria are configured, the group processes immediately or through a nightly process. When a group is processed, the system determines which users meet the criteria, and those users are added to the group. See Group Processing Times.

See Use Case - Create a Dynamic New Hire Group.

Add Criteria

When creating a group, up to 50 criteria can be added, which can be any combination of AND or OR statements (e.g., 25 AND statements and 25 OR statements, 10 AND statements and 40 OR statements).

To add a new criterion, select the Add Criteria icon in the Group Criteria section. See Group - Add Criteria.

Add Users

To add one or more individual users to the group, select the Add Users icon in the Group Criteria section.

After setting the group criteria, select the Save button.

When editing a group, any inactive User Criteria are enclosed in brackets with the inactive flag, making it easy for administrators to identify inactive users. The user's name and user ID are followed by "(Inactive)" and the entire record is enclosed in brackets. The flag also appears if the criterion is part of a group of criteria.

The Inactive flag only applies to the following Group Criteria:

• User is
• User is not
• User is not or below
• User is or below

User Criteria Search

When editing a group, administrators can search for specific User Criteria by first name, last name, user ID, and user status, making it quick and easy to find and edit the necessary criteria.

The following considerations apply to the User Criteria Search:

• The User Criteria Search only returns users who meet the ‘User’ criteria type. For example, if a Group includes the "Executive" Division, and Anna Smith is included in the Group because she is in the Executive Division, searching for Anna Smith returns zero results because the search is only looking at the “User” criteria type. It does not search for users within dynamic criteria.
• The search criteria are reapplied each time the group criteria are edited. For example, if you search for a user who matches the group criteria, the matching criteria is displayed. If you then edit and save the matching criterion so that the user no longer matches the group criteria, the search results are refreshed, and the criteria is no longer displayed.

Maximum Criteria

When creating a group, up to 50 criteria can be added, which can be any combination of AND or OR statements (e.g., 25 AND statements and 25 OR statements, 10 AND statements and 40 OR statements).

Group Processing Times

• Static Groups - Groups that contain a static list of users are processed in real time upon saving the group. Each time a user is added to a static group, the group processes immediately and the newly added user appears in the group.
• Dynamic Groups - Groups that have one or more criteria are considered dynamic groups and process through the nightly group process. Note: The actual time at which the group is processed is dependent upon the configuration of a backend setting. Dynamic group processing times are implemented using UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which does not observe daylight savings time. This should be considered when determining the best time for dynamic groups to process.
• Combination Group (Contains Static Users and Dynamic Criteria) - Groups that have a combination of static users and one or more criteria are considered a dynamic group and process through the nightly group process. Any users added to this type of group are not processed until the nightly group process. Note: The actual time at which the group is processed is dependent upon the configuration of a backend setting. Dynamic group processing times are implemented using UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which does not observe daylight savings time. This should be considered when determining the best time for dynamic groups to process.
• Self-Registration Group - Groups that contain users from self-registration process immediately, allowing users to access training and other resources on the same day.

Note: When creating an assignment via the Learning Assignment Tool and setting the learning assignment availability to a group, ensure that AT LEAST ten minutes have passed since modifying the group criteria before creating the learning assignment for the group. This ensures the training is assigned to the correct users.

Add Users vs. the Attribute of User

Adding users to a group creates a static list of users. On the other hand, a User type attribute dynamically updates the user list for a given group.

• If Add User is selected, and then you select individual users, the system lists only the users you identified. If any of the selected users become inactive, the system removes them from the group automatically, but the criteria for both users remains.
• If Add Attribute is selected, and you select the User type attribute, then select the operator of Is or Below, then do a search for individual users, the system displays the user name and all of their direct reports in the organization. If a user becomes inactive or if a user is added to the selected users' direct reports over time, the user list updates automatically without the administrator having to review and update the the group attributes and list each user separately.

Group Operators

Multiple Checkbox Use Cases

These use cases demonstrate how the multiple checkbox criterion is applied in groups.

See Use Case - Multiple Checkbox Criteria in Groups.

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