Overview
Figure 1. The Shift Types tab in Intrigma Scheduler+
Shift Types enable schedulers to organize assignments, manage access to shifts, and establish consistent scheduling practices. Each Shift Type acts as a template, specifying default properties such as start and end times and Users who are available to work these shifts. These defaults are applied when creating shifts but can be individually edited later.
Shift Types are managed from either Intrigma Scheduler+ or the Intrigma Scheduling System (ISS). However, the Shift Types feature in ISS includes options such as formatting and shift degradations that are otherwise not available in Scheduler+. In addition, it also has configuration settings such as Calendar Section Placement and Applicable Rules that provide powerful tools to customize how shifts are displayed and governed.
Figure 2. The Shift Types tab under the Settings page in ISS
Configuration
The following changes made to Shift Types in either ISS or Scheduler+ will not affect existing shifts or assignments in the schedule (in any period):
Start Time
End Time
Staffing Level
Credits (if enabled)
On the other hand, the following changes will affect the way existing shifts are displayed in the schedule (globally, in any period):
Name
Location
Abbreviations
Available Users
Formatting (ISS only)
Applicable Rules (ISS only; depending on the changes made, may also affect Capacity Explorer, Patient Volume Planner, and Tracker data)
In ISS, changes made within the Applicable Rules tab will affect existing assignments (this may also affect Tracker data, depending on the changes made)
.
Note: For organizations using automation, changes to Applicable Rules may significantly affect the behavior of your organization’s automation schedule generation.
Walkthrough
Scheduler+
The Shift Types feature in Scheduler+ allows schedulers to create Shift Types and assign Users or User Groups to those Shift Types.
Creating a Shift Type
To create a new Shift Type:
Click the hamburger menu on the top left, then click the Shift Types tab on the left.
On the bottom left of the Shift Types page, click the Add New Shift Type (denoted by a Plus icon) button.
Enter the name for the Shift Type, then select a Section for the Shift Type from the drop-down list.
Note: If you fail to enter a name for the Shift Type at this time, the Shift Type will still be created with New Shift as the default name.Click the Create button.
Note: Once a Shift Type has been created, you will not be able to change the Section that it belongs to. Please reach out to Intrigma Support ([email protected]) for assistance with this.Once created, the new Shift Type will be shown on the right side panel, where you can configure its properties, including Location, Abbreviation, Time Settings (Start and End Time, and Credits, the latter if used), Staffing Rules (Exactly, No More Than, No Less Than, and Between), and Available Users. The Shift Type becomes available for assignment once configured.
Figure 3. Creating a Shift Type
Editing a Shift Type
To edit an existing Shift Type:
Click the hamburger menu on the top left, then click the Shift Types tab on the left.
Either enter the name of the Shift Type on the Search bar at the top, or select the Shift Type to be edited from the list on the left.
Make your changes to the Shift Type. Like anywhere else on Scheduler+, your changes will be saved automatically.
Deleting a Shift Type
To delete a Shift Type:
Click the hamburger menu on the top left, then click the Shift Types tab on the left.
Either select the Shift Type to be edited from the list on the left, or enter the name of the Shift Type on the Search bar at the top.
Click the Delete button at the bottom of the list of Shift Types.
Figure 4. Click the Delete button
Click Remove on the popup window to delete the Shift Type.
Figure 5. Click Remove to delete the selected Shift Type
Setting User Availability for Shift Types
There are two ways to configure User availability for Shift Types:
By Shift Type: In the Shift Types tab, select the Shift Type and then select the Users who will be available for the Shift Type from the list.
This is the best option for assigning multiple Users to a single Shift Type.
Figure 6. Assigning multiple users to a Shift Type
By User: In the Users tab, select a User and adjust their availability for all Shift Types.
This is the best option for making a single User available across multiple Shift Types.
Figure 7. Assigning a single User to multiple Shift Types
ISS
In ISS, Shift Types are managed from the Settings window, which is opened from the Edit menu.
From the Settings window, navigate to the Shift Types tab to create, edit, or delete Shift Types. This tab offers a range of configuration options to tailor shifts to your organization’s needs.
Available Tabs in Shift Types
General: Define basic settings like the shift name, Available Users, and default start and end times.
Formatting: Customize how the shift type appears in the Calendar View and other interfaces.
Applicable Rules: Exclude shift types from being subjected to or counting towards certain rules, for example: unchecking the Overall User Quota Rule checkbox will cause this shift type to be ignored when considering a User’s overall quota.
Export Schedule (requires additional feature):Configure how shifts are displayed in schedule exports.
Shift Degradations (requires additional feature): Define fallback rules when a shift cannot be fully staffed.
Shift Measures (requires additional feature): Define alternative ways of measuring how shifts are counted, like workload intensity or credit-based scoring.
General Settings
Available Users: This controls which Users can work a particular Shift Type. Users marked as unavailable for a Shift Type will not be able to swap into these shifts, but schedulers can manually assign them if needed. An entire User Group can be made available for a given Shift Type at once using the By Group option.
Figure 8. Select Users to make them available for assignment to the selected Shift Type.
Staffing Rules
Specify the number of Users shifts of this Type should be assigned. This can be defined as “exactly,” “no more than,” or “at least” a defined number of Users.
The “Always assign everyone who is available for this shift” option is for use in Automated Schedule Generation (Automation).
“Do not automatically assign Users to shifts of this type” will exclude this Shit Type from the automation all together.
Figure 9. Staffing rules for the selected Shift Type are set under the General tab.
Formatting
Placement in Calendar Sections: Define where shifts appear in the Calendar View. For example, shifts in Section 1 will always appear above those in Section 2, regardless of their start times.
Figure 10. Placing Shift Types on the schedule.
Show/Hide Options:
Display shift times and User assignments to only when necessary, always, or never in the calendar and export views.
Hide a Shift Type in calendar exports and from the Intrigma Web platform.
Hide a Shift Type from the request popup on the Intrigma Web platform.
Figure 11. Show/Hide options for the selected Shift Type
Creating a New Shift Type
To create a new Shift Type:
Go to the Shift Types tab in the Settings window.
Click the New button at the bottom of the Shift Types list.
Then select a section for the shift and click Create.
Note: Once a Shift Type has been created, you will not be able to change the Section that it belongs to. Please reach out to Intrigma Support ([email protected]) for assistance with this.On the Shift Types list, locate the new Shift Type (named "New Shift" by default), and configure its properties, including its name and available Users. The Shift Type becomes available for assignment once configured.
Figure 12. Creating a new Shift Type
Editing a Shift Type
To edit a Shift Type:
Go to the Shift Types tab in the Settings window.
Locate, then select the record you want to edit from the Shift Types list.
Make your changes to the record. Changes are saved automatically, just like anywhere else in the ISS.
Deleting a Shift Type
To delete a Shift Type:
Go to the Shift Types tab in the Settings window.
Locate, then select the record you want to delete from the Shift Types list.
Click the Delete button under the Shift Types list.
Figure 13. Deleting a Shift Type
Click Yes to confirm the operation.
Setting User Availability for Shift Types
There are two ways to configure User availability for Shift Types:
By Shift Type: In the Shift Types tab, select the Shift Type and modify its list of available Users.
This is the best option for updating multiple Users for a single Shift Type.
Figure 14. Setting User availability via the Shift Types tab
By User: In the Users tab, select a User and adjust their availability for all Shift Types.
This is the best option for modifying a single User's availability across multiple Shift Types.
Figure 15. Setting User availability via the Users tab
Related Features
Calendar View: Displays the schedule which is made up of Shifts, each having a Shift Type.
Shift Grid: Condensed way to view the schedule that displays Shift Types vertically (or horizontally), and dates horizontally (or vertically), with assigned Users’ names or initials displayed in each cell.
Automation: Generates schedules automatically, which uses Rules to assign Users to shifts, according to their availability. Users’ availability considers their Shift Type availability, Weekly Time Off, and their approved Requests.
Tracker: A spreadsheet-style view used to monitor Users’ shift assignments, quotas, and rule adherence across all configured Tracker Columns.Export Tools: Provides custom export options to align shift data with external reporting needs.
Shift Groups: Define grouping of shifts, based on shared characteristics, such as Shift Type, time range, or logical exclusion from other shift groups, for use with Automation and the Tracker.
More information about these features are available in the Intrigma Knowledge Base. If they are not available to your organization, but you want them enabled, contact [email protected], or reach out to your representative.