Configuration - Direct Future Scheduling | NextGen FSM

Configure Direct Future Scheduling in NextGen FSM to automatically assign configured activities, evaluate eligible field technicians in the period, and assign the activities in the Daily Plan.

Before you begin

Make sure you have access to the required configuration menus, and that the Daily Plan is available for the Operation Center where Direct Future Scheduling must run.

What you can configure

Direct Future Scheduling configuration includes:

global company parameters
Direct Future Scheduling model setup and related configuration
calendar and execution frequencies
monitoring views
archive information

Company and system parameters

Company parameters define the global behaviour of Direct Future Scheduling. Configuration path: Technical Settings > Company.

Parameter	Type	Description
`company.fsm.forwardscheduling`	boolean	Flag to enable the Forward Scheduling module (Gap Filling + Direct Future Scheduling).
`company.fsm.forwardscheduling.logtype`	long	Sets the processing log level: `0` = Disabled (default), `1` = Memory, `2` = DB.
`company.fsm.optimization.maxDirectFutureSchedulingAttempts`	integer	Maximum number of scheduling attempts for an activity.
`company.fsm.optimization.maxDirectFutureSchedulingLockAttempts`	integer	Maximum number of assignment attempts without a hard lock before switching to the full-lock strategy.
`company.fsm.directfuturescheduling.maxSchedulingHorizon`	long	Maximum scheduling horizon (in days) for direct future scheduling.
`company.fsm.directfuturescheduling.enableMultiStage`	boolean	Enables multistage process handling in direct future scheduling.

Set permissions

Navigate to FSM > Configuration > Core > User > User Types.
Select the user type that must access Direct Future Scheduling.
Open the Permissions configuration.
Enable the required permissions:
- Direct Future Scheduling: View — allows users to view the Direct Future Scheduling tab and inspect Direct Future Scheduling information.
- Direct Future Scheduling: Edit — allows users to configure models, parameters, calendars and operational settings.
Save the user type configuration.

Create or edit a Direct Future Scheduling model

Open the Daily Plan.
Open the Direct Future Scheduling tab.
Click Configure Model.
Select an existing model to edit it, or click New Model to create one.
Configure the model tabs according to the required business logic.

A model defines the operational rules used by the Direct Future Scheduling task for a specific planning perimeter. Model configuration is organized into: General Parameters, Advanced Parameters, Teams default Parameters (shown only Selection Mode = Exclude selected), Processing Parameters, the Team / Team exceptions / Crew Shell selection tabs, and Direct Future Scheduling Configuration by Work Order Type.

General Parameters tab

Field	Editable	Description
ID	No	System-generated identifier of the model. Created automatically; cannot be edited.
Operation Center	No	Automatically populated from the Operation Center the user accessed the Direct Future Scheduling tab from.
Selection Mode	Yes	Defines whether the model includes or excludes selected resources. Choosing Exclude selected also shows the Teams default Parameters tab.
Description	Yes	Short business description of the model.
Extended Description	Yes	Optional extended description, for additional context.
Active	Yes	Enables or disables the model for Direct Future Scheduling.
Automatic Validation	Yes	Defines whether the result is automatically validated, or requires manual confirmation before becoming effective.

Advanced Parameters tab

Model-level parameters that refine how the task calculates the operational baseline before assignment — timing thresholds and eligibility margins.

Parameter	Description
Detailed Total	Enables detailed count logging, mainly for troubleshooting and analysis.
Minimum days range	The minimum number of days processing in a gisware call.
Max Scheduling Horizon	Optional, integer — the maximum number of days ahead the model schedules.
Days Type	Whether Start Scheduling Delta are counted in calendar days or working days.
Start Scheduling Delta	Mandatory, positive integer — the minimum number of days from WO Start Date before a Work Order can be scheduled; a value of 1 means "starting the next day."

Teams default Parameters tab

Parameter	Description
Use Overtime	Whether overtime is used for the team.

Processing Parameters tab

Defines how the system schedules the activity.

Parameter	Description
Simulation Rule	The simulation rule used during processing — determines how the system evaluates the assignment.
Saturation resources (%)	Percentage of resource saturation considered during processing.
On Duty Availability	Whether on-call resources are scheduled, based on the Simulation Rule's filters.

Team, Team exceptions and Crew Shell tabs

Team (present only if Selection Mode = Include selected): defines which teams and resources in the Operation Center are considered by the model.
Team exceptions (present only if Selection Mode = Exclude selected): defines which teams and resources in the Operation Center are excluded from the model.
Crew Shell: defines which Crew Shells in the Operation Center are considered by the model.

Direct Future Scheduling Configuration by Work Order Type tab

Lets you override the Advanced Parameters defaults for specific Work Order Types and/or Operation Types:

Select a WO Type and/or an Operation Type (the two are independent of each other).
Set Days Type and Start Scheduling Delta (mandatory, positive integer — a value of 1 means "starting the next day").
Click Add. At least one of WO Type or Operation Type must be set.

Existing rules are listed in a table below the entry section. At company level, the Max Scheduling Horizon for Direct Future Scheduling parameter sets a global cap applied across all models.

Configure the scheduling process for an Operation Center

Navigate to Configuration > Scheduling Optimizations > Operations Center.
Locate the desired Operation Center in the list.
Click its Settings button.
Click New configuration.
From the Type dropdown, select Direct Future Scheduling.
Enter the OSS Params, and any optional information.
Click Insert.

Associate the daemon to the Direct Future Scheduling algorithm

Navigate to Configuration > Scheduling Optimizations > Associate OC/Daemons.
Select the Operation Center and click Search.
Click New.
In the Algorithm field, select Direct Future Scheduling.
Enter any additional optional values.
Click Save.

Configure the processing calendar

Navigate to Features > Core > Daily and Multi-day Plan > Daily Plan.
Click Search.
Select the Direct Future Scheduling tab.
Click Direct Future Scheduling Calendar.
Fill in all mandatory fields.
Click Add.