K2 blackpearl has two main out of the box SmartObjects for doing advanced task allocation. One for working with K2 Roles and the other is for working with Active Directory. Here are the methods for each object.

• Role Methods
  • Get Least Work – gets the user in a role with the least number of task items
  • Get Most Work – gets the user in a role with the most number of task items
  • Get Round Robin – gets the next user in a round robin role
  • Get Fastest User – gets the user in a role with the smallest average task duration
  • Get Slowest User – gets the user in a role with the largest average task duration
  • Get Role Peers – gets the users in a role with one defined user excluded
• Active Directory Methods
  • Get Manager – gets the manager of the supplied user from Active Directory
  • Get Direct Reports – gets the direct report users for a supplied user from Active Directory

As you can see these methods provide some interesting possibilities for dynamically assigning tasks as part of a K2 process. The “Least Work” and “Round Robin” methods are great for balancing load across a particular role of users. The “Get Direct Reports” method is handy for things like performance review processes.

To see these methods in action check out the video below.