KS Help Notes_Invites 02_Inviting Users

INVITING USERS TO TAKE AN ASSESSMENT

Administering the KS tools is a pretty straightforward process. The system is web-based, so there is no software to install, maintain and upgrade. In general, it's a low-impact system, from an IT administration point of view.

Let's take a look at the process for inviting users to take a test. There are three different options, depending on your requirements.  Let's review each one:

Option one – Inviting a small number of users to an assessment

Step one
Select the test you want your user(s) to take, from your library. Each test has a small 'envelope' icon, next to the test name.

Click on the envelope icon, which takes you to the test invite page. Your selected test will automatically appear in the test list dropdown.

Alternatively, you can select the Invites link, from the top navigation bar of your dashboard. (You'll end up in the same place).  However, bear in mind that if you do use the top navigation route (rather than the envelope icon next to a specific test title) then your required test will not automatically get selected in the dropdown menu. (It presents your test library in A-Z order.  You need to select the required test from the dropdown list of titles.

Step two
Enter the email, first name and last name of your test taker(s) in the fields provided.  You can also capture user status, i.e. employee, interviewee, student, etc.  Click Add to confirm your candidate's details.

Step three
Decide on your invite text. You have a couple of different options for customising your invites. You can either add custom text on a per invite basis (by overwriting the default text in the Your message box each time), or alternatively, go to Settings > Test Invite to create your own personalised message.

Step four (optional)
You can set an expiry date on your test invites. After this date has passed, your users will no longer be able to access this test session. If they haven't completed their test before the expiry date, you will need to edit the expiry date or issue a new invite.

Step five
OK, so you have completed the following steps; selected the correct test title from your library; entered all your user data; edited your invite text; maybe set an expiry date. The final step is to hit the Send Invite button.  This step prompts the following routines to take place, in the background: it generates your users' profile(s) on the KS system, adds them to your user list (in the Users page of your dashboard), creates a username/password for each user and sends out their individual test invite emails.

You can view a list of sent invites and completed tests on the Invites > History page.

Option two – Inviting a group of users to an assessment

You have the option to batch invite larger groups of users to take a test (provided they are all taking the same one). Rather than entering their user details one at a time, as outlined in the process above, you can invite them all at once, from the Users section of your dashboard.

Step one 
Once you have built your user list, check the boxes next to the names of your invitees and hit the Invite selected users button at the top of the page.

Step two
This takes you to the test invite page and pre-populates your user fields. It is important to remember to select the test you want from the library dropdown at the top. The default list displays A-Z.  Test ID numbers are also included, so you can easily identify which test you want from your library.

When you're happy with your invite text, hit the Send Invite button to send your invites.

Option three – Setting up an assessment session from a browser

It's not always possible for users to access a test invite via email. For example interview candidates, or in-house candidates using a training room, where access to their email account is not available.

For this reason, you will occasionally need to set up a test session, straight from a web browser. Here’s how it works:

Step one
Select the Assessment link, on the dashboard landing page.

Step two
Enter your KS admin User name and Password and hit Log in to access your account.

Step three
Select your account from the dropdown menu (for firms with multiple accounts) and select the required test title from your library list. This list includes KnowledgeSmart OTS (off the shelf) titles and self-authored tests, displaying in A-Z order.  Test ID numbers are also included, so you can easily identify which test you want from your library.

Step four
This is where the candidate takes over. They enter their name and email address, select their status (employee or interview candidate) and proceed to the next page.

Step five (optional)
You have the option to present candidates with an additional information page, where they can submit a brief user profile.

Step six
Here is the test start page. This is the same page users’ see when they click on the test URL in their email invites. From here, the process for taking a test is the same, irrespective of how they were invited.  When they have read their test instructions and downloaded their sample data files, they hit the green Start button to begin their test session.

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KS Help Notes_Settings 01_Customising Invite Text

CUSTOMISING ASSESSMENT INVITE TEXT

KS administrators have a couple of options for adding custom text to assessment invite mails.

Option one
The default invite email text appears in the Invites page of the KS dashboard.

From this page, a KS admin can overwrite the default text, in the Email subject line field and in the Your message field, on a per invite basis.  You have a maximum of 800 characters for your test invite text.


Option two
Alternatively, you can write your own custom invite, which overwrites the KS default text.
To do this, go to Settings > Test Invite.

From here, you can enter your custom invite text and email subject header. You have a maximum of 800 characters for your invite text. Click Save to register the changes. This custom text will now replace the KS default message on all test invites sent from the account.

The custom invite text appears on the main test Invites page.

To revert to the default KS invite text, at any time, simply delete the custom text from the Settings > Test Invite page of your dashboard.


Linked Accounts

If you have two or more accounts, you can assign settings changes across multiple accounts at the same time.

Click on the Show linked accounts link in the orange bar.

Select the account(s) you want to be included in your settings update and hit the Save button to register your changes.

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Managing your Users

We recently updated the Users section of the KS dashboard.  Here is a guide to the new features.

When you log into your KS dashboard, you'll see some new sections in your menu sub-navigation:

It is worth pointing out that changes made to the user data in your dashboard, do not affect your results data. This is simply an area where you can manage your user information.

Adding Users

There are a number of ways to add user records to your dashboard.  First, when you send assessment invites, the user record is automatically added to your user list (unless it is already present, in which case it will not be duplicated).

Next, you can go to the 'New User' page and add individual records from here.

Third, we have improved the way that user records can be uploaded via csv file.  You can also export your user data as well.  Go to 'Import/Export User Data'.  In the Help notes box, you will find a link to a formatted sample csv template.

Save the template and copy across your user list from MS Excel, using the same 10 columns that you see in the template.  They are: Email, First name, Last name, Status, Datafields 1-5 and Additional Information.

Browse for your csv file and use the 'Import User Data' tool to upload your new user list.

Please not that if you don't use the correct format on your csv file, then the KS system will not accept the imported file.

You can also export your user list to csv, using the 'Export User Data' tool.

Additional Datafields

You can capture 5 additional fields of information for each user, by selecting the magnifying glass icon, next to the user record.

When you click the magnifying glass tool, you will see a dropdown display, where you can edit a number of fields, including changing the status of a user (i.e. from Interviewee to Employee, or Employee to Ex-Employee).

You can use the information captured in the 5 datafields to filter your assessment results, in the Results page of your dasboard.

You can add custom labels to the 5 datafields, by going to Settings > User Datafields. Input your new labels and hit 'Save'.  When you go back to the Users page and view individual records (by selecting the magnifying glass tool), the new labels will display against each user.

Filtering User Records

We have added searching and grouping functionality to the Users page, to make it easier for KS admins to filter their user data and create sub groups of user records. This is especially useful, when inviting different teams to take a skills assessment.

Select the 'Show search' and 'Show groups' tools, on the orange bar located at the top of the user page.

This opens up two new fields, where you can search against a number of user parameters, including, name, username, email, user status and the 5 additional datafields.

When you have run your search, select the user records by checking the box next to the user name (the top box is a 'select all' option). Then enter your group name in the 'Create New Group' field and select 'Create'.

You can view your new groups by selecting the dropdown field, in the Groups table. You can also add/remove new users to/from existing groups.

Inviting Groups

To invite a sub-group of users to take a KS skills assessment, go to the Groups table, select the group in the dropdown, check the box(es) next to the names of your invitees and hit the 'Invite selected users' button.

This will pre-populate your user list on the assessment Invites page. Just edit your invite text and email header and hit 'Send Email'.

So managing KS user data is now even easier. Remember, changes made to your user records have no direct impact on your live results data.

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Inviting Users to take a KS Test

Administering the KS tools is a pretty straightforward process.  The system is web-based, so there is no software to install, maintain and upgrade.  In general, it's a low-impact system, from an IT administration point of view.

Let's take a look at the process for inviting users to take a test.  There are three different options, depending on your requirements.  Let's take a look at each one..

Option one - inviting a small number of users to a test

Step one
Select the test you want your user(s) to take, from your library.  Each test has a small 'envelope' icon, next to the test name.

Click on the envelope icon, which takes you to the test invite page.  Your selected test will automatically appear in the test list dropdown.

Alternatively, you can select the INVITES link, from the top navigation bar of your dashboard.  (You'll end up in the same place).  However, bear in mind that if you do use the top navigation route (rather than the envelope icon next to a specific test title) then your required test will not automatically get selected in your dropdown.  (It presents your test library in A-Z order, starting with 3ds Max).  If you don't select the test you want from the dropdown, before you send out your invites, then your users will receive an invite to a 3ds Max test! :)

Step two
Enter the email, first name and last name of your test taker(s) in the fields provided.  You can also capture user status, i.e. employee, interviewee, student, etc.  Click Add to confirm your candidate's details.

Step three
Decide on your test invite text.  You have a couple of different options for customising your invites.  Here is a separate blog entry on this topic:  http://the-knowledgesmart-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/customising-your-test-invite-text.html.

Step four (optional)
You can set an expiry date on your test invites.  After this date has passed, your users will no longer be able to access this test session.  If they haven't completed their test before the expiry date, you will have to issue a new test invite.

Step five
OK, so you have completed the following steps; selected the correct test title from your library; entered all your user data; edited your invite text; maybe set an expiry date.  The final step is to hit the Send Email button.  This step prompts the following routines to take place, in the background; it generates your users' profile(s) on the KS system, adds them to your user list (in the 'Users' page of your dashboard), creates a username/password for each user and sends out their individual test invite emails.


Option two - inviting a large number of users to a test

You have the option to batch invite larger groups of users to take a test.  Rather than entering their user details one at a time, as highlighted in the process above, you can invite them all at once, from the 'Users' section of your dashboard.  Here is a separate blog entry about building your user list and batch inviting users to the same test: http://the-knowledgesmart-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/building-your-list-of-users.html.


Option three - setting up a test session from a browser

Sometimes, you will need to set up a test session, without sending an email invite to the user.  It is possible to set up a KS test session, straight from a web browser.  Here is a separate blog entry on this topic: http://the-knowledgesmart-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/setting-up-test-sessions-from-browser.html.

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