A work queue contains tasks that can be assigned to one of a pool of users who have access to the queue, rather than to a specific user. Work queues are defined in NexJ Admin Console.

After a work queue has been defined, you can add tasks to it in one of two ways:

• Add tasks that are part of an activity plan template, using the Activity Plans tab in the Customize workspace. For more information, see FAQs for activity plan templates. When the activity plan is added to a contact in NexJ CRM, the tasks are added to the work queue.
• Add individual tasks using the Add Task dialog, as described in Adding items to work queues.

After tasks have been added to the work queue, you can assign tasks from the work queue to yourself, if you belong to a user group that has the appropriate permissions for that work queue, or you can assign them to another user if you have the required privileges. Security is set when the work queue is defined.

Adding items to work queues

You can add tasks as items to work queues.

To add items to a work queue:

1. Click the Add button and select the Add Task menu option in the navigation toolbar.
   
2. From the list that appears, choose the type of task you want.
   The Add Task dialog opens.
3. Enter the desired values in the fields. In the Assign To field, choose the Work Queue option and select the work queue name from the list of available work queues.
   You can only see the work queues for which you have the appropriate permissions, which are defined when a work queue is created.
4. Click OK to create the task.
   The Add Task dialog closes.

Assigning items from work queues to yourself

When a work queue is defined, the administrator specifies the item selection method, which is the method by which tasks from the work queue are assigned to users.

FIFO (First in, first out)
A user cannot select a specific task from the work queue. Instead, the tasks are assigned chronologically, based on the time they were added to the work queue.

User's choice
A user can select a specific task from the work queue.

To assign a task from the work queue to yourself:

1. Navigate to the Work Queues workspace.
2. In the Work Queues list on the left side of the workspace, click the name of the work queue from which you want to assign tasks to yourself.
   The list of tasks in that work queue appears on the right side of the workspace.
3. Click the name of the task on the right side of the workspace.
   The Detail and Follow-ups tabs on the bottom of the workspace display additional details about the task.
4. To update the list of available tasks before assigning a task to yourself, click Refresh beside the Actions drop-down.
5. Select one of the following items in the Actions drop-down:
   
   • For FIFO work queues, select Assign First Item to Yourself to assign the first listed item to you or select Assign All Items to Yourself to assign all items to you.
   • For user's choice work queues, select the task name and or names and select Assign Selected Items to Yourself to assign selected items to you.
6. Click Yes in the confirmation message that displays.
   The task disappears from the task list on the Work Queues workspace. It is now displayed in the My Tasks tab on your Home workspace.

Assigning items from work queues to other team members

You may need to assign tasks from work queues to other people in your team.

To assign a task from the work queue to another user:

1. Navigate to the Work Queues workspace.
2. In the Work Queues list on the left side of the workspace, click the name of the work queue from which you want to assign tasks to other users.
   The list of tasks in that work queue appears on the right side of the workspace.
3. Click the name of the task on the right side of the workspace.
   The Detail and Follow-ups tabs on the bottom of the workspace display additional details about the task.
4. Select one of the following items in the Actions drop-down:
   
   • For FIFO work queues, select Assign First Item to a User to assign the first listed item to a user or select Assign All Items to a User to assign all of the listed items to a user.
   • For user's choice work queues, select the task name and or names and select Assign Selected Items to a User to assign selected items to a user.
   The Select User dialog opens.
5. Select a user and click OK.
6. Click Yes in the confirmation message.

The selected tasks in the work queue are assigned to the user. The tasks are now displayed in the My Tasks tab on the user's Home workspace.

Returning items to work queues

When a work queue is defined, the administrator can specify that, if an assigned task is not marked complete within a certain amount of time, the task is automatically returned to a work queue. In addition, you can individually return any task to a work queue.

To return a task to a work queue:

1. Navigate to the Home workspace.
2. In the My Tasks tab, double-click the name of the task.
   The Properties dialog for that task opens.
3. In the Assign To field, choose the Work Queue option and select the work queue name from the list of available work queues.
   When choosing a work queue, you can only see the work queues for which you have the appropriate permissions, which are defined when a work queue is created.
4. Click OK.
   The task disappears from the My Tasks tab in your Home workspace. It is now included in the task list in the Work Queues workspace.