Hotline Help

The hotline module provides a repository of D&D related questions and problems posed by the D&D community as well as the corresponding answers and solutions provided by subject matter specialists. In addition, the hotline module allows user to enter new questions and problems from their own projects and to receive the proposed answer/solution online.

Registered D&D community members are encouraged contribute to their questions and problems into the hotline. Use the “post problem online” button from the hotline main page to enter the information.

To search for a specific topic, click on the Searchlink at the top of the page. This will take you to the search feature (Figure 1). Choose the appropriate functional category from the drop-down menu or choose “All Categories” to widen your search results. Enter the keyword(s) into the “Search For:” box and enter the maximum number of results you want to view in the “Max # of Hits:” box. Click on the SEARCHlink to execute your search.

Figure 1.  D&D KM-IT search feature.

Click on a link for one of the search results to view the problem information page (Figure 2). This page will summarize the problem description and provide any relevant links and documents related to the problem.  To view the published solution, click on the link provided under “Solution(s) for Posted Problems” on the problem information page.

Figure 2.  D&D KM-IT problem information page.

The solution information page will summarize the solution description and provide links to relevant links and documents related to the solution (Figure 3).

Figure 3.  D&D KM-IT solution information page.

In order to post a problem to the D&D KM-IT website, a user must be registered and logged-in. Click on the Post Problemlink at the top of the Hotline main page.  This will take you to the problem entry form (Figure 4).  Give your problem a title and include as much detail in the description as possible.  This will aid the subject matter specialist in tailoring the solution to your needs.  Choose the functional category from the drop down menu that best describes your problem and choose an associated project, if applicable.  After including any additional comments into the comment field, click on the Save link at the bottom of the problem entry form. Your problem is not yet posted and will not be processed to receive a solution.

Figure 4.  D&D KM-IT problem entry form.

Clicking on the Savelink will take you to the Problem Fact Sheet (Figure 5).  To edit your problem description, click on the small pencil near your problem title, make your changes, and click on the Update link. You can also add links and documents related to your problem from the Problem Fact Sheet page. To add a link, click on Add Link beside the Problem Link(s) header.  This will take you to a link input page (Figure 6). Add a title, description, and URL for the link you wish to include with your problem submittal. Repeat this process for each link you want to add.

Similarly, to add a document, click on Add Documentbeside the Problem Document(s) header. This will take you to a document input page (Figure 7). Choose a category from the drop down menu, add a title and description for the document, and use the “Browse” button to provide the location of the document.  Finally, click the “Upload File” button to add the document to your problem fact sheet.  Repeat this process for each document you want to add.  Documents can include relevant reports, photographs, data sheets, or videos.

Your problem is not yet posted and will not be processed to receive a solution.

In order to submit your problem to the subject matter specialist, you must click on the Submit to SMSlink at the top of the problem fact sheet page. Once you have submitted a problem, you may no longer edit the problem description or add links and documents. You may check on its progress by logging onto the D&D KM-IT website, click on the Searchlink to take you to the search feature, choose the “My Problems” button immediate under the Search title, and click on the SEARCHlink. The results will include all problems that you have submitted along with a notation of its status.

 Figure 5.  D&D KM-IT problem fact sheet.

Figure 6.  D&D KM-IT problem link input page.

Figure 7.  D&D KM-IT problem document input page.

Problem/solution workflow will be managed by the D&D KM-IT internal status management system. The problem/solution will move through different stages inside the system. Once the problem is posted to the system by the registered user, the SMS will review and make changes to the problem, if needed. The SMS will be responsible for providing solutions to the problem. Once the SMS provides a solution to the problem, it will move to the content coordinator. The content coordinator will review the content of problem and all the solutions provided for the problem. If the content coordinator rejects the problem and solution, it will revert back to the SMS with the content coordinator’s comments. The SMS will review the comments and make the necessary changes to the solution and again submit it for the content coordinator‘s approval. Once approved by the content coordinator, the problem, along with all of its solutions, will be published on the D&D KM-IT system and will be available for viewing by all users. The complete workflow detailed above will be managed by the D&D KM-IT system.