Approved Purchase Requests should NOT appear in My Task List
The purpose of the My Task List is to highlight and provide easy access to Tasks which are awaiting processing. Only InReview and new, unprocessed Purchase Requests should appear in the Task List.
Ex Libris Response: "After the request is approved (or rejected), it is moved automatically to the Unassigned tab (thus, populating the Tasks list) for reference purposes. Users with the Selector - Extended role can delete requests (e.g. from the Unassigned tab), this updating the counter in the Tasks list."
We maintain that this is a bug, not an enhancement request -- Ex Libris has not yet completed development of the Purchase Request life cycle.
Purchase Requests must not be deleted unless their all information is moved to the PO Line when Approve and Order is performed. They contain notes and correspondence which are part of the purchase process. They should be marked as approved and still be searchable, but not appear in the Task list because they are complete (that is, they have reached the end of their life cycle and can be archived in some fashion).
The May 2018 Release includes the feature of having the tasks list (on the main menu bar) show only the purchase requests that require your attention—those in the In Review status. For more details see here: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/010Getting_Started/050Alma_User_Interface_%E2%80%93_General_Information/The_Alma_User_Interface#Tasks_in_the_Task_List
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François Renaville commented
I think that the May 2018 Enhancements for Acquisitions have fulfilled this idea, right?
"The tasks list (on the main menu bar) now shows you only the purchase requests that require your attention—those in the In Review status that are either assigned to you or unassigned. Selecting the task displays the Manage Purchase Requests page with a filter on the status of In Review. All purchase requests can still be seen by removing the filter."
Really nice improvement of the Purchase Request functionality! -
Stacey van Groll commented
My understanding is that Ex Libris introduced the option to delete Purchase Requests in response to this very valid feedback that requests that do not require action should be not listed in the Task List.
I also wanted to add that some institutions, such as ours, may not be allowed to delete Purchase Requests due to financial auditing requirements. In our case, we have to keep them for seven years, as we are required to retain evidence of the entire purchasing workflow, from request through to receipt, as responsible parties for spending public funds.
Keeping these requests in the Task List just means that staff start ignoring the list because it's full of irrelevant noise, which defeats the purpose of having the list at all.
Cheers, Stacey van Groll, Discovery and Access Coordinator -
Caroline Dean commented
I'd add to this, that rejected purchase requests should also NOT appear in My Task List. I'd like to keep a record of the rejected purchase requests and so I don't want to delete them, but it is confusing to have a task that has been completed still appearing in the "to do" list.