TQA Site On-line Help Documentation:

Contents

How the Site is Intended to Be Used Creating Forms Filling out a Form Mobile Device Access TQA Documents Admin Tools Generate Reports Email DLs New Features Feedback

How the Site is Intended to Be Used   (Back to Contents)

This site was designed to be used by management at all levels of the Enterprise. It is intended to serve as a useful tool for tracking and measuring TQA scores generated by Supervisor, Lead Technicians, or Quality Assurance (QC) Technicians. It is NOT intended to serve as a repository for all self-TQA's completed by Technicians themselves.

The basis for this program is Charter Communications' Technical Quality Assurance Program, 2nd Ed, © January 2006. The programming and consulting staff have strived to stay as true to the program while attempting to meet the current needs of Charter's supervisory and management staff across the enterprise. Each form screen should look and feel as close to the paper version as possible, with small exceptions.

Creating a Form   (Back to Contents)

Click "Create Forms" (In the top TQA menu) or Click on the title "TQA menu" in the top dropdown menu or Click on one of the shaded regions of the United States on the map. (On the home page)

Now you can begin entering the data for the form you want to create.

Note: Each of these drop-down boxes is a required field to generate a TQA form. This data should be pre-populated to allow easy selection of technicians and location data. In the event that the user data is not present or not accurate, this can be corrected using the Admin Tools portion of the website. If the site is not functioning correctly or if there are issues with locations in the site, contact DL TQA Admins

The Reviewed By option is for choosing the person actually performing the TQA. The option defaults to the person logged into the site. Most forms will have a Location drop down that allows for additional items. Clicking on the icon will open a dialog box that allows for creating additional items in the drop-down.

Note: Be careful adding data here as it will require your local administrator or the Network Services Group to change or remove this data.

If you are creating a Premise Form, you have the option to create the form for a Contractor instead of an internal Charter Technician. This is done by selecting the first drop-downs in the 'Create a New Form' section up through the Charter Supervisor. Then, instead of choosing a Tech, you would select a Contractor Company, Contractor Supervisor, and Contractor Tech.

Once each field is filled in, the site will automatically bring you to your selected form and you can begin creating your TQA.

Note: **If any employee is missing from the site or if they are showing up under the incorrect Supervisor or Location in the 'Create a New Form' section, this can be corrected by any Administrative Assistant, QA Tech, Lead Tech, Supervisor (or above) within the site by using the Admin Tools**.

Filling out a form:   (Back to Contents)

Notice that most fields at the top of the TQA is auto-populated based on your selections in the "Create A New Form" dialog from the previous page. Fill in the rest of the fields at the top of the form to identify more information about the TQA's subject.

The Premise Form requires that the Work Order Number be entered. This is an important feature of the Premise Module in that the Work Order Number represents a single, unique event in the field at that address. It is important to capture that information accurately.

Note: Please don't use all 0's or 9's to populate this field! You will need that work order number on a regular basis.

All header fields are generally required for the form to be submitted, and if any required data is missing, you may receive a dialog box similar to this:

Once the headers are filled out, you can then begin checking each box that is either "Not Satisfactory" or "Not Checked/Not Applicable". If neither box is checked for a particular line item, it is assumed by the application that the item is "Satisfactory". Notice that the score is calculated on-the-fly!

The category header fields on each form between sections (with a gray background) can be clicked on to check/uncheck all NC/NA checkboxes within that category, to make filling out a form a little less time consuming

If you are unsure about the requirements pertaining to any particular item on the TQA form, click on that item on the form, and a full description, based on the TQA Manual, 2nd Ed, January 2006, will appear. (Some of these have actually been updated based on requests from Corporate to a version that is actually more recent than the paper TQA Manual.) For example, clicking on the item number or description for item 39 in the headend form gives the following:

The bottom of each TQA form contains a Comments box and SRO/Referrals box. Neither one is required, however if you choose to enter anything into the SRO/Referrals box, an automatic email will be sent to the supervisor listed on the form when the submit button is clicked. This reminder email will contain the header information, the score, the Referalls/SRO box comments, and a link directly back to this saved form within the site. Options have also been added into the site to track the completion of the SRO's. It is currently a manual process, and is at the disgresion of the Supervisor/KMA whether or not this feature is used.

Once you have filled in all checkboxes and comments, click the "Submit Form" button. You should be returned to the "Create Form"/"Generate Reports" screen, ready to begin another TQA or view a report if you choose. Don't forget that once the form is submitted, the data cannot be changed! (Mistake forms can be corrected or deleted by one of your designated KMA adminstrators for the site. If you are unsure who your KMA contact is, a list can be generated using the site's Admin Tools.)

TQA Mobile Device Access   (Back to Contents)

The TQA site has a section of the site dedicated to data entry via mobile device (PDA, web-capable phone, BlackBerry, etc, referred to as a PDA in this section). To access it, navigate to the TQA website with your PDA (https://tqa.chartercom.com/) and log in with your normal username and password. The site will direct you to the PDA portion which is just for entering forms. This access allows TQAs to be filled out in real-time, completely eliminating any paper trail.

TQA Documents   (Back to Contents)

The TQA Documents section of this site is intended to warehouse as much useful information as possible with respect to the TQA program and its real-world application for front-line management and Quality Control personnel.

There are several folders available to browse through on this page, (ex.: NCTA, NEC, NESC, TQA forms, etc.)

If you have a document that you would like posted on the site, you should contact TQA Admins or your Corporate Organization contact for approval of that document. If it is approved, we will then post it on the site for everyone to access.

Note: Having the on-line copies of some of the manuals contained in this portion of the site such as the NEC and NESC codes can suffice for your office compliance requirements for having these on-hand.

This page functions similar to your "My Computer" browser. Simply click the folder you wish to view, and click on any subsequent files or folders to view the documents available to you. You may enter or exit this part of the site at any time.

Admin Tools   (Back to Contents)

The purpose of the admin tools portion of the site is to manage all users within the site. Each of the different groups of users within the site has a different level of access. If someone does not have a username listed in the username table, or if their username does not match the username they use to log into the pop-up screen with, they will be set to a Read-Only account and will be unable to create TQA's.

Permission Levels: Technicians do not have access to edit, add, or remove users, or to Create Forms. Engineers can create forms, but have no user admin access. Supervisors,QA Techs, Lead Techs, and Administrative Assistants can edit Tech information such as misspelled names, and what supervisor a Tech falls below. They can also add or disable techs from the site. They have permissions to create forms but NOT edit or delete forms. Tech Ops Managers can perform adds, edits and deletes for Supervisors, Tech leads and Techs. They also have permissions to create forms but NOT edit or delete forms. KMA local points of contact and Administrators (including Supervisor + Admin) are able to add or remove anyone from the site. They also have permissions to add, edit, and delete forms as necessary.

Adding/Editing New Users:

Daily an automated script is ran which handles the disabling(not deleting!) of NLEs (No Longer Employed) employees from the site and the addition of new employees into the site. New employees are automatically added directly into the site only if their supervisor is able to be accurately determined. Otherwise, they are placed into a 'Prospective Users' table in which they can be added in by entering only minimal extra information. To add in a user: First, Click on the 'Add Employees' Button. This is located at the top of the screen in the "Admin Tools" section. If you do not see this button, it is because either you are logged into the site with a username the site is not expecting you to have, or because you are set to the wrong permission level. An Administrative Assistant, QA Tech, Lead Tech, Supervisor or above can edit your account to correct the issue. Next you must search for the user you are trying to add to make sure they don't already exist within the site. You do not need to fill out all of the fields here. Searching by Last Name should find the person. Click on Search. You should now see two separate lists. The top list (colored blue) is a list of current TQA users with similar information to what you searched for. Make sure the user you are trying to add does not exist in this list. If it does, you can edit the user by clicking on the icon if necessary. The second list (colored red) is a list of prospective users. These users do not yet exist within the site, but can be added in by clicking on the 'Add User' icon on the line with their name. Only minimal information will need to be entered on the next screen to add them in. Once a user has been added, they can access the site with their Active Directory username/password immediately. If they are set to "Read Only" or "Tech" for their group, they will not be able to create forms. If this was set incorrectly, the user will simply need to be edited by someone with a higher permission level such as a Supervisor, KMA Contact or Administrator. ***Contractors and Techs SHOULD NOT be entering self reviews into the TQA website. Therefore there is no need for them to have a username set, and their group should always be set to 'Tech'. To edit a user/change who a user's supervisor is/disable a user: The default page in the "Admin Tools" section is the Search page for users; search for the user who you want to update. There is no need to fill out all search fields, one or two should narrow it down enough. Click on Search. This will bring up a results page. Click on the "edit" icon in the "Action" column for the user that you would like to correct. You can click on the column headers to sort the data to help you find a user. If they are not in the list, try searching with less information such as part of their name, or add the user into the site using the instructions posted above. Update all of the necessary user info.   To be granted permissions to create forms if you see a message of "Sorry but you cannot create forms. Either your username is not set or you are in the wrong group" you need to have someone with a higher permission level (such as another supervisor in your KMA, one of your KMA Contacts or an Administrator) change your "Group/Permission Level" to the appropriate field ("Tech Lead","QA Tech", "Supervisor" or above). Please keep in mind this website is NOT meant for self reviews at this time.   You can change which supervisor a tech reports to using the Supervisor dropdown box. These supervisors are populated just as in the create form section, so you may have to alter the Operating Group/KMA if you can't find the proper supervisor in the list.   To disable a user, change the dropdown listed as "Status" from 'active' to 'disabled'. Click on the Edit User button below the user's information to save the changes.

Generate Reports   (Back to Contents)

This page was designed to offer a great deal of flexibility to your reports.

Notice that there is a myriad of reports from which to choose. Pick the one that is right for you. (If you are unsure of what report will encompass all of the data you seek, choose "View All TQA Scores").

The drop down boxes with red asterisks (*) next to them are required to generate any of the available reports.

If you desire an Operating Group-level report, then only select which operating group you would like to view. If you want to drill down to a supervisor- or technician- level, then pick from those drop-down boxes as well. The area drop down is a multi select, so that you can pick as little or as many areas as you desire. The date fields are not required, but you will probably want to restrict the data to the current month, quarter, or year if you use the available reports for Performance Management. Any field that you do not choose, just results with the report not filtering on that field.

If you choose to pull a report to "View All TQA Scores" for a Premise form type, you will get some additional fields to filter by. For example, you can drill down to forms filled out for in-house or contractor employees. You can also differentiate between residential premise forms done for CB customers. There are a few new fields to filter on as well.

When pulling a report for Premise forms only, you have the option of filtering to Residental or CB customer as before. One checkbox must be checked. You can either view all Residential forms with no CB forms, all CB forms with no Residential, or you can choose both to view them together. Similarily, you can view all premise forms that had the Coaching TQA checkbox checked. If you would like to view forms where the Coaching TQA checkbox is not checked, you would click on the checkbox for "Non-Coaching" (which is the default value). Previously, reports were not filtered on this, vs. now by default, reports will not include Coaching TQAs unless you click the Coaching TQA checkbox to view them. A new addition to the TQA site, is the addition of the "Audit" checkbox on the premise form. This is meant for Audit inspections only. By default, the TQA reporting checks the "Non-Audit" checkbox for lack of a better term. This means the report will pull only regular TQA premise forms that are not designated as Audit TQAs. To pull both, or one or the other, check the appropriate checkboxes. Another new addtion to the TQA site is the addition of "In-House Reviews" vs. "Contractor Reviews". An in-house review just means that the TQA was done by a Charter employee. If the "Contractor Reviews" checkbox is checked, the report will pull third party TQAs that were QA'd by a contractor company.

After selecting the criteria for the report, simply click the "Generate Report" button.

Viewing Reports

The output of each report can be exported to excel by scrolling to the bottom of the report and clicking on the 'Export to Excel' button. The date of each TQA form represented on each report is also a link to the actual TQA form. This form will be read-only in order to protect the integrity of the data. Remember that no changes to the form will be allowed once the form has been submitted.

The "View All TQA Scores" report type will bring you to a specific list of all TQA's that have been entered into the site depending on how you filtered. The top of the report contains the total number of forms found, and the average score The excel icon next to the 'Review Date' can be clicked to view the saved form in a printable excel file. When exported, it will be ready to print in excel. (No page formatting is necessary). This report output can be sorted by any of the column headers by clicking on them. If you want to export the whole report to excel, it will do so in the same way you have the data currently sorted within the site. If you sort by Technician within the report output, you will see each tech's forms grouped together with their averages and subtotals calculated for you. (example below)

The "Top 6 Report" was designed to identify those areas that are most deficient for a Operating Group, KMA, Tech Center, or even Supervisor or Technician. This allows management at ALL levels of the Enterprise to identify common problems and prepare an action plan to address those troubled areas. Although the report is called a 'Top 6' report, there are options within the report to view the Top 12 or all of the form's checkboxes ranked by percentage of "Not Satisfactory" scores.

The "Percent Compliant" report identifies the forms completed by each supervisor on his/her techs. This report specifically displays the percentage of techs that a supervisor has performed at least one safety evaluation on in the time period specified. Since not all techs are required to have safety TQAs done on them, supervisors and techs can be added to the report's "Exclusions list" accessible at the bottom of the Percent Compliant report. How to Exclude users from the Percent Compliant Report The exemption for the percent compliant report is managed through a link at the bottom of the report. It does NOT disable the user; it just excludes them from that report. Note: This link is only available for the current fiscal month's report. The reports for previous fiscal months are stored statically and their content cannot be changed in any way. The exclusions list looks just like the percent compliant report; all you have to do to exclude (or include) a user is click the button in the 'Action' column beside their name. Users that are currently excluded from the report are marked as such in this table. Techs that are listed under supervisors that are excluded are also automatically excluded. You can also exclude individual techs under a sup by clicking the next to the sup's name and clicking 'Exclude' for the desired techs.

The "Advanced Search" has you first limit your search, and then brings you to the specified form. At that point you can click on any item on that form to search for all forms within your search criteria that had those same checkboxes checked. (Sorry that may sound very confusing!) For example, if I wanted to find out how many Premise forms were submited for the month of August for the Minnesota/Nebraska KMA that had Item 34 'Clean up at Premises' checked as unsatisfactory, I could find that out using this report type by doing the following: I would first select 'Advanced Search', 'West' Operating Group, 'Minnesota/Nebraska' KMA, 'Premise' Form Type, '08/01/2007' Start Date (using the calendar icon), and '08/31/2007' End Date and click on Generate report. Next I would click the 'Unsatisfactory' checkbox for Item 34 'Clean up at Premises' and click on 'Submit Form' This will bring me to a list of all saved premise forms created in August for the Minnesota/Nebraska KMA that had Item 34 checked as Unsatisfactory. The total number of forms will be listed at the top.

Email DLs   (Back to Contents)

This portion of the TQA website has been created to help us manage the TQA email distribution lists.

There is one e-mail DL for the TQA site developers/administrators. DL TQA Admins or (DLTQAAdmins@charter.com)

New Features   (Back to Contents) As new features get added into the site, we try to make sure they are posted on the New Features page as soon as they are completed. Small changes to the site's look, feel, and function that might otherwise go unnoticed are also listed here. This is a good place to see what new features may be available in the site that you might not have been aware of. When a new feature has been posted, red arrows pointing to the New Features link will appear in the menu for two days, to alert users of the change.

Feedback (Feature Request Gateway)   (Back to Contents) All requests for new features, bug fixes, and comments on the site should be submitted to the Feature Request Gateway at https://tqa.chartercom.com/requests/requests.php. All requests made through this tool are commented on by the site developers once sufficient research on the request has been completed. Requests made through this tool are much more likely to get approval, and the requests will be managed much more visibly than those submitted by e-mail.

This document was last updated: June 22, 2009 Any errors or problems within the site should be reported to DL TQA Admins