Outcomes v2 for Site Admins

The Outcomes V2 blocks are new versions of an outcome toolset in LegalServer (Outcomes Version 2, or V2).

LegalServer gives agencies the ability to track a wide variety of case outcomes. In addition to specific outcomes, agencies can create categories of outcomes (primary, secondary, and tertiary, for example), track financial outcomes (including amounts and frequency of monetary outcomes), and record multiple outcomes for the same case. This page covers the basics of both the user experience with Outcomes v2 as well as the administrative setup of the block and its associated lookups.

Also see: Outcomes V2 for entering and editing outcomes.

Compared to Version 1 Outcomes

Outcomes v2 adds new functionality not available in the Outcomes and Outcomes (with Frequency Controls) blocks:

• Adds configurable filters to the outcomes block, giving you significant control over the outcomes available for each case.

• Adds category groups as an additional way to classify and track outcomes for funders.

• Allows you to add more than one type of monetary value to a single outcome.

• Gives users a date picker for entering outcome dates other than today's date.

Switching to Outcomes v2 (if needed)

To determine if your site already has Outcomes v2 enabled, go to any existing auxiliary case/matter form on your site and add a Block element. In the search box, enter Multiple. if you see "Multiple Outcomes V2", your site has OV2 enabled.

If not enabled on your site, file a Support Request (ticket) from your site asking for Outcomes v2 to be enabled. We can usually enable it on your demo site the next Thursday after your ticket. It would then be enabled on your live site with the next regular update (depends on if your site is on the weekly or monthly update schedule).

Some important things to consider when deciding whether to switch to Outcomes v2:

• Outcomes v1 and Outcomes v2 store data in different tables, use different lookups, different blocks on forms, different report tables, etc.

• Outcomes v2 is not backwards compatible with Outcomes v1 — in other words, outcomes recorded with Outcomes v1 will not migrate to Outcomes v2. A site with existing Outcomes v1 data will, for example, need separate reports for v1 and v2 data.

• Activating Outcomes v2 in demo will also activate Outcomes v2 on your live site. However, nothing will change about either site unless and until you put one or more Outcomes v2 blocks on your forms.

Configuring Outcomes v2

The administrative setup for Outcomes v2 involves configuring the Outcomes v2 block and its associated lookups.

The Outcomes v2 Blocks

• There are two different outcomes blocks you can use for your case closing and add/edit outcomes forms:

  • The Multiple Outcomes (v2) block allows you to configure up to 5 outcomes in a single block. The multiple outcomes block has a slightly different appearance from the single outcomes block, but they function essentially the same way. Here is an example of what the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block looks like on a form:

• • The Single Outcomes (v2) block allows you to configure one outcome at a time. This block gives you more flexibility in formatting your form, since you can drag and drop to change the order of the outcomes blocks. The other advantage of this block is that the entry date and notes are always visible within the block. Here is an example of what Single Outcomes (v2) blocks look like on a form:

• • IMPORTANT NOTES:

    • You can use only one instance of the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block on a form. Attempting to use more than one will not increase the number of outcomes available, and will result in errors when users attempt to enter conflicting information in each block. Thus, if you choose to use the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block, you will not be able to have more than 5 outcome groups on a case. Each group can have up to 20 outcomes.

    • You can use up to seven instances of the Single Outcome (v2) block on a form. Attempting to use more than seven will simply result in duplicate outcomes. Thus, the maximum number of outcomes you can have on a case with the Single Outcome (v2) block is seven.

• The examples below show how the Single Outcomes (v2) block is configured, but the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block configuration is very similar.

• You have the following configuration options in the Single Outcomes (v2) block:

  • Outcome block label — this label will appear as the block header.

  • Default the date to the entry date — if selected, automatically enters the entry date in the date field, which can be overridden by users.

  • Require this Outcome — if selected, users will not be allowed to save the form unless the block is filled in.

    • Selecting this option will also prevent users from deleting this outcome after it has been entered.

  • Set the sequence number of this Outcome — each block must have a number selected. Currently this setting has no effect on the order in which the blocks are displayed on the form.

    • The block assigned to the number 1 spot will be designated as the primary outcome, regardless of the order in which it appears on the form.

    • NOTE: In the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block, the first row in the block is always the primary outcome. If it is not clear from the name of the outcome group assigned to the top row that it is the primary outcome, you might want to add an instruction above the block indicating as much to your users.

  • Outcome Group — this dropdown is populated with the values in the Outcome Group V2 lookup. Each block can be associated with only one Outcome Group. You can use the same Outcome Group on more than one block, depending on your agency's needs.

  • NOTE: There can be only one primary outcome on a case, so using your agency's primary Outcome Group value in more than block will not result in the ability to record more than one primary outcome to a case.

  • Initial display is hidden — if selected, the block initially appears as follows when the form loads:

• • • TIP: By default, the date and outcome fields are required in the Single Outcome (v2) block. If the block is visible, this will effectively make the outcome required because users will not be able to save the form if the block is not filled in. In order to save the form, they will have to hide each visible block. It is recommended that you initially hide outcome blocks that are not required.

• • Only show outcomes associated with the case's Problem Code — if enabled, the block will filter out outcomes based on their Problem Code setting in the Outcome V2 lookup.

  • Only show outcomes defined for this Outcome Group — if enabled, the block will filter out outcomes based on their Outcome Group setting in the Outcome V2 lookup.

  • Only show outcomes that match these additional categories — if enabled, the block will filter out outcomes based on their Additional Filtering Categories setting in the Outcome V2 lookup.

• NOTE: If you opt to use the Multiple Outcomes (v2) block, you must select an outcome category for each outcome block regardless of whether you choose to display all of them.

  • Also, unlike the Single Outcomes (v2) block, the name of the outcome category automatically becomes the label for each outcome block.

Outcome V2 Lookup

There are several lookups associated with Outcomes v2 that allow you to customize the outcomes data your agency collects with LegalServer. The central point of intersection among these lookups is the Outcome V2 lookup, which has some special configuration options.

• Go to the Lookups list in the Admin tab. Show me more.

• Open the Outcome V2 lookup for editing.

• Select an existing outcome to edit or create a new one by filling in the form at the top of the page.

• The edit form at the top of the page is divided into 4 sections that enable you to control how each individual outcome is handled in the system:

• • Lookup — this section will look familiar. The dropdown for Outgoing LSIndex Type is used for field mapping in e-transfers. See Electronic Case Transfers - Administrative Setup for details.

  • For Collecting Data — this section determines when a particular outcome will appear in the outcomes dropdown in the Single or Multiple Outcomes v2 blocks.

• • • Outcome Group(s) — each individual outcome must be associated with at least one outcome group.

    • This list is populated by the Outcome Group V2 lookup, which you can customize just like other lookups.

    • In the example, the outcome is associated with Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Additional outcome groups. As a result, this outcome will appear in the outcomes dropdown of any outcome block that is assigned to one of those four outcome groups, unless it is otherwise excluded based the block's filter settings.

• • Outcome Value Categories — if this outcome has any monetary benefits associated with it, you can tell the system to display the appropriate fields to collect the monetary amount of the benefits.

    • This list is populated by the Outcome Value Category V2 lookup, which you can customize just like other lookups.

    • In this example, when a user selects this outcome, the block will automatically display the Lump Sum Recovery and Monthly Recovery monetary fields.

• For Reporting — the settings in this section enable you to categorize each outcome for reporting purposes.

• • Outcome Category for Reports — each outcome must be associated with one reporting category in this dropdown.

    • This dropdown is populated by the Outcome Category V2 lookup, which you can customize just like other lookups.

  • Financial Benefit Type — each outcome must also be associated with one financial benefit type.

    • This dropdown is populated by the Financial Benefit V2 lookup.

    • You must select an option from the dropdown. If the outcome has no monetary value, just select "0 Not Applicable" or its equivalent in your site's Financial Benefit V2 lookup.

  • For Filtering — this section enables you to further limit when a particular outcome will appear in the outcomes dropdown in the outcomes block.

• • • Problem Code — if "Only show outcomes associated with the case's Problem Code" is enabled in the Single or Multiple Outcomes (v2) block, the block will filter out all outcomes except those that match one or more of the problem codes selected here. This filter will only be applied if "Only show outcomes associated with the case's Problem Code" is enabled in the Single or Multiple Outcomes (v2) block.

      • TIP: If you want this outcome to appear in every case regardless of the filter settings in the block, select all of the problem codes in the multi-select list.

    • Additional Filtering Categories — if "Only show outcomes that match these additional categories" is enabled in the Single or Multiple Outcomes (v2) block, the block will filter out all outcomes except those that match one or more of the filtering categories. This filter will only be applied if "Only show outcomes that match these additional categories" is enabled in the Single or Multiple Outcomes (v2) block.

      • TIP: If you want this outcome to appear in every case regardless of the filter settings in the block, select all of the categories in the multi-select list.

• • NOTE: If you configure the outcomes block and the Outcome V2 lookup in such a way that no outcomes can be displayed in the block for a particular case, your form will display an error message where the block should appear.