Threshold Voting in Maximo

Problem Description

The workflow functionality built into the Maximo 6 platform provides the capability of assigning tasks to individuals or groups.  Each task can have either a positive (acceptance) or negative (rejection) result.  In situations when a task is assigned to multiple persons (either explicitly or through a group assignment), the Workflow Designer application provides an option for specifying whether acceptance occurs when any one assignee accepts, or when all assignees accept.  This approach does not allow for threshold voting (i.e. designating a minimum number of acceptances before the positive action is implemented).

Solution Description

It is possible to add the capability for threshold voting to Maximo using a combination of escalation and workflow.  Once the foundation for threshold voting is in place, it is reusable across all workflow-enabled applications.  This additional functionality provides two approaches to thresholds:

1. Actual tally voting—a minimum number of acceptances is designated for a particular task. Once that threshold has been reached, the positive action occurs.
2. Percentage voting—a percentage of acceptances is designated for a particular task. The actual number of acceptances required is derived by multiplying the specified percentage with the total number of assignments. Once the threshold has been reached, the positive action occurs. The threshold in this approach is dynamic in that it changes as group membership changes. This approach has no rounding.