Templates for Out of Office Rules

Overview

Out of Office Templates provide a powerful way to standardize and accelerate absence rule creation across your organization. Instead of manually configuring rules each time, templates allow users to save rule configurations that can be reused, shared, and automatically triggered by external integrations. This feature significantly reduces setup time and ensures consistency in absence management practices.

Understanding Templates

What is a Template?

A template is a saved configuration of an Out of Office rule that defines all parameters except the dates. Templates capture the complete rule setup including:

Scope Configuration: Which projects or issues the rule applies to
Coverage Assignment: Designated coverers for different scenarios
Communication Settings: Out-of-office messages and mention tags

Templates vs Rules Comparison

Key Differences:

Feature	Rules	Templates
Dates	✅ Required (Start/End)	❌ Not included
Name	❌ Not named	✅ Required (descriptive name)
Activation	Immediate or scheduled	Via integration
Reusability	Single use	Multiple uses

Template Architecture

Template Workflow:
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ Template │───▶│ Integration │───▶│ Active Rule │
│ Configuration │ │ Trigger │ │ (with dates) │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌──────────────────┐ │
└──────────────│ External Source │──────────────┘
│ (Calendar, etc) │
└──────────────────┘

Supported Integration Sources

Currently Supported Sources

Templates can be connected to these integration sources:

✅ Supported Integrations:
• Google Workspace Calendar - Auto-creates rules from "Out of Office" events
• Microsoft Outlook - Syncs with Automatic Replies
• Tempo Timesheets - Links to internal time-off issues

Planned Integration Support

🔄 Coming Soon:
• Slack - Direct template activation from Slack
• Manual Activation - One-click rule creation from templates
• HR Systems - Integration with popular HR platforms

Creating and Managing Templates

Method 1: Creating New Templates

Step-by-Step Template Creation:

Access Template Management
- Navigate to integration configuration (e.g., Google Calendar, Outlook)
- Click "Add Template" button
Choose Creation Method
- Select "Create new template" from the dialog
- Opens template configuration form
Configure Template Name
Template Naming Best Practices: ✅ "Development Team - Code Review Coverage" ✅ "Sales - Client Meeting Delegation" ✅ "Support - Urgent Ticket Handling" ❌ "Template 1" (too generic) ❌ "My template" (not descriptive)
Define Scope Settings
- All Projects: Template applies to entire Jira instance
- Specific Projects: Select individual projects
- JQL Filter: Advanced targeting with custom queries
Configure Coverage
- Primary Coverer: Main person handling reassignments
- Multiple Coverers: Round-robin assignment
- Approval Coverer: JSM-specific approval delegation
Set Communication Preferences
- Out of Office Message: Automatic reply text
- Mention Tag Settings: When to show absence indicators
- Customer Visibility: JSM external communication settings
Save Template
- Click "Save as template" button
- Template immediately available for use

Method 2: Adding Existing Templates

Quick Template Addition Process:

Open Template Selector
- Click "Add template" in integration configuration
- Dialog displays all available templates
Select Templates
- Check boxes next to desired templates
- Multiple templates can be selected simultaneously
Apply Selection
- Click "Save" to add selected templates
- Templates immediately connected to integration

Important Constraints:

Template Uniqueness Rules:
⚠️ Only one template per scope allowed in each integration
⚠️ Maximum one "All Projects" template per integration
⚠️ Project-specific templates must have unique project targets
✅ Same template can be used across multiple integrations

Template-to-Rule Generation

Automatic Rule Creation Process

When an integration triggers (e.g., Google Calendar event marked "Out of Office"), the system automatically:

Detects Trigger Event
- Integration monitors for qualifying events
- Extracts date/time information from source
Applies Connected Templates
- Creates one rule per connected template
- Inherits all template configurations
Merges Event Data
- Dates from external source (calendar event)
- Configuration from template (scope, coverers, messages)

Generation Example

Example: Outlook Auto-Reply Activation
External Source (Outlook):
├── Auto-Reply Start: Dec 20, 2024 9:00 AM
├── Auto-Reply End: Dec 27, 2024 5:00 PM
└── Message: "I'm out of office"
Connected Templates:
├── Template 1: "All Projects Coverage"
│ └── Creates Rule 1: All projects, Dec 20-27
├── Template 2: "Dev Team Specific"
│ └── Creates Rule 2: Dev projects only, Dec 20-27
└── Template 3: "Support Escalation"
└── Creates Rule 3: JSM projects, Dec 20-27

Advanced Template Management

Template Editing and Updates

Editing Existing Templates:

Access Template
- Navigate to integration configuration
- Click edit icon next to template name
Modify Settings
- Update any configuration except scope
- Changes apply to all connected integrations
Save Changes
- Modifications immediate across all sources
- Active rules not affected (only future rules)

Global Template Changes:

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Template edits affect ALL integrations
Example Impact:
- Edit message in Google Calendar template
- Same template used in Tempo integration
- Both integrations now use updated message
- Consider creating separate templates if needed

Template Documentation Status: ✅ COMPLETE
Next Step: Quick Start Guide for rapid template deployment