Overview
When a Checklist answer in the mobile app identifies a problem that already has an open Assignment, the User can reference that Assignment instead of creating another. The Result then shows the existing Assignment with a Referenced badge, and the reference appears in the Assignment's Activities.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Any User completing the Checklist in the Mobile app. They can only reference open Assignments they can see at the Checklist's Location. |
Where | Mobile app, on a Checklist question. To review: Results › a Result › View, and the Assignment's Activities |
Works on | Mobile app (to reference); Backend (web) to review. Not RideOps. |
Availability | All organizations |
Two ways to reference
The Mobile app offers an existing Assignment in two situations:
An Assignment trigger fires. If open Assignments already exist from the same question and answer option, the app lists them before it creates a new one. See the steps below.
You create an Assignment on a question. While you fill in a new Assignment — added with the question's Assignment button (shown when the question has Allow assignments ticked), or opened by a trigger — the app looks for similar open Assignments and offers to reference one. See Reference a similar Assignment.
An open Assignment is one that isn't resolved yet. Only Assignments at Locations you're a member of are offered. RideOps doesn't offer referencing: it always creates a new Assignment.
Reference from a trigger
When the answer fires an Assignment trigger, the app checks for open Assignments that came from the same Checklist, question and answer option, at the same Location — or the same Asset, when the Checklist is done for an Asset. If there are any, it shows The following assignments exist for this question. The list comes from the app's downloaded data, so it also works offline.
1. Review the existing Assignments
Each Assignment in the list shows its details, so you can tell whether it covers the issue in front of you.
2. Choose an Assignment, or Create new
Select the Assignment that matches the issue to reference it. If none of them do, select Create new.
3. Tap Continue
Tap Continue. Referencing links the question to the existing Assignment; Create new opens the prefilled Assignment as normal.
ℹ️ Note: The app only offers existing Assignments for triggers on answer options, such as a Select Question. Triggers on Number, Temperature, Date and other questions always create a new Assignment, and so does a trigger with Require no user intervention when creating assignment ticked.
Reference a similar Assignment
While you create a new Assignment on a question, the app compares it with the open Assignments it knows about. An Assignment counts as similar when it has the same Location, the same Asset (or none), the same Assignment Definition, and a similar title. If there are any, Similar assignments found appears in the Assignment with See N similar assignment(s).
Tap See N similar assignment(s). The list shows each Assignment's title, when and by whom it was created, and its status.
Select one and tap Reference.
Confirm Reference suggested assignment. What you'd entered in the new Assignment is discarded.
Suggestions need a connection and appear once the Assignment has a title and a Location. If the Assignment is already referenced on that question, the app shows "The selected assignment suggestion was not added as it is already referenced to the question".
Before you finish the Checklist, you can take a reference off again: tap the Assignment under the question and choose Remove. A referenced Assignment can't be edited from the Checklist.
The Referenced badge
Once the Result is uploaded, the Assignment appears under the question in the Result's report with a Referenced badge — in Results › View, in PDFs and in Result Report attachments. This applies to completed Results and to Resumable Results saved online. An Assignment without the badge was created by this Result.
The card shows the Assignment's current details — title, state, assignees, priority, deadline, categories and, once resolved, its resolution — with the earlier value beside anything that changed after it was linked to this Result. Referencing doesn't change the Assignment itself. If Assignment Quick Edit from Results is enabled for your organization, the card also has an Edit assignment button. The Report Template settings Hide created assignments (which hides referenced Assignments too), Hide assignment history and Hide assignment resolutions control what's shown — see Creating and using Report Templates.
References in Activities
Each reference adds an entry to the Assignment's Activities in the Backend: "Assignment was referenced from Checklist by User", with the date and time. Click the entry to open the Result at that question. One Result adds one entry per question, even if it was saved several times before it was finished.
An Assignment can be referenced by any number of Results. The feed also shows when the Assignment was created, so you can see it predates the Results that reference it. Certification Process Results never create or reference Assignments.
Best practices
Brief Users on the difference: reference the existing Assignment when it's the same fault; create a new one when it's a separate problem — a different hand hold, a new crack — so each can be tracked and closed on its own.
Give trigger Assignments consistent prefilled titles and the same Assignment Definition, so similar Assignments are recognized.
When auditing a recurring check, use the badge to separate new findings from repeat encounters. A long run of references in Activities is evidence that a problem persists — useful when you escalate it.
Resolve Assignments as soon as the work is done. Open Assignments keep being offered, so a fixed fault left open keeps collecting references.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop duplicate assignments for the same fault?
Reference the open Assignment when the app offers it, instead of choosing Create new. The app offers it when a trigger fires on an answer option, or when you create a similar Assignment. Disapproving Results doesn't remove Assignments.
Why doesn't the app offer me the existing assignment?
It's only offered when the Assignment is still open, at the same Location (or Asset), and at a Location you're a member of. From a trigger it must also come from the same question and option and have an assignee, and the trigger mustn't create Assignments without user intervention.
Why is the app asking me to choose an existing assignment?
An open Assignment already exists for the same question and option at this Location or Asset. Pick it to avoid a duplicate, or choose Create new. See Assignment triggers in Checklists.
Does referencing change the existing assignment?
No. Its title, assignees, status and deadline stay the same. Mobaro only adds a reference entry to its Activities and links it to the Result.