Introduction

Observation checklists are a simple, built-in, and quick-to-configure tool that allows you to observe and document how learners and team members perform their tasks. To learn how to create checklists, read the article: Creating observation checklists on Docebo Help.

Checklists can be triggered by specific events (such as course completion) or scheduled manually.

To schedule a checklist, follow these steps:

1. Access the Observation checklists management page from the Admin menu
2. Create a checklist or edit one. If the checklist has already been scheduled, all existing schedules will be listed in the Schedules tab but you can schedule your checklist from any tab. 
3. Click the Schedule checklist clock icon in the top right corner of the page. The Schedule checklist right panel will open, divided in the following three steps.

Step 1: Select the users to check

In the first step, define which users will be checked. You can select:

• Users assigned to a group
• Users associated with a branch
• Individual users (up to 10)
   

After making your choice, select the corresponding group(s), branch(es), or user(s).

Please note! When you select a branch, its sub-branches are not automatically selected. If you want to select one or more sub-branches, you need to click the arrow button on the right side of the branch row and manually select the sub-branches you want to add.

Select Next to go to the second step.

Step 2: Set the checklist observers and approvers

Select the checklist observers (the people who will fill it out), and optionally assign someone to approve it. 

Checklist observers

Self observer: The users selected in the first step will complete the checklist on their own.

Other observers: One or more users will complete the checklist on the users selected in the first step. 

Observers can be:

• Managers: Select a manager type among the ones you have created in the platform
• Custom users: Observers can be users belonging to a group or a branch, or a custom selection of users (up to 10)

Each selected observer (manager or custom user) collaborates on the same checklist but provides their own answers individually, as follows:

• Observers can only answer items that have not yet been filled in by others.
• Observers can modify their own answers before the checklist is sent.
• Observers can submit the checklist once it is fully answered. 

A notification prompting observers to complete their checklist will appear in their Notifications area. They can access and complete their checklists from the My checklists built-in page. This page is not displayed by default, so make sure it is added to the User menu.

Managers can manage checklists involving their team members from the My team page, Checklists tab.

Checklist approvers

You can also choose whether the checklist requires approval from another person by selecting the corresponding checkbox.

Checklists can be approved by a manager or a custom user. 

Managers assigned as approvers receive a notification in the platform’s Notifications area. They can then review the checklist assigned to them and choose to either approve or reject it. In both cases, observers receive a notification informing them of the checklist’s approval or rejection.

If the checklist is rejected, it is sent back to the observers (the users who completed it) so they can update their responses.

Step 3: Schedule the checklist’s time frame 

Set the checklist availability period among the following options:

Anytime

The checklist is always available from the Start date, even after being completed. Observers can submit it multiple times. The start date can be the current day. 

Schedule a time frame

The checklist will be available between the start and end date you set here and will reappear every X days, weeks, or months as set in the Repeat field (or will not repeat at all). The number of days between the start date and the end date must be a multiple of the selected interval. For example, if the timeframe starts on March 1 and the checklist is set to repeat every 2 weeks, the end date must be March 14. The start date can be the current day. 

Based on course completion

The checklist will be available once, after the selected course is completed. Start typing the name of course and select it. 

Once the schedule is activated, the platform identifies courses completed within the last 24 hours and sends the checklist to the users who completed those courses during that time frame. For example, if the schedule is created at 10:00 AM, the checklist will be sent to all users who completed a course after 10:01 AM on the previous day.

 If the user is unenrolled from the course associated to the checklist either by a Superadmin or a Power User (with granted permissions), or because the user is renewing the certification linked to the course, the checklist will be automatically rescheduled and sent again when the user re-completes the course.

Once finished, press Confirm. After you schedule a checklist, it appears in the Schedules tab along with its details. 

Schedules tab options

Status column

This column refers to the progress of the checklist schedule, not the completion of the checklist itself. 

• A schedule is marked as Planned when it is set to start in the future
• It changes to In progress once it becomes active
• When the schedule ends, it is removed from the table.  

You can view a schedule’s status at any time from the Observation checklists dashboard.

Editing schedules

Click the ellipsis menu at the end of the checklist row and select Edit from the dropdown menu.

If you edit a checklist and then reschedule it, the users who have completed the checklist and sent it for approval will keep seeing the old version until approval is granted.

Deleting schedules

Click the ellipsis menu at the end of the checklist row and select Delete from the dropdown menu.

You can delete any checklists that have been assigned to users but are still incomplete.

Notes on checklist schedule

• The checklist activation time is scheduled according to the default platform time zone set by the Superadmin.
• Your checklist may become available to users up to three hours after it is scheduled.
• The time frame you set acts as a soft deadline, meaning that the observers you selected in the previous configuration step can still complete their checklists after the end date.
• You can easily identify users who submitted their checklists late by checking the warning in the Checklist validity column of the schedules table in the Schedule tab.
• If you create and schedule a checklist without any items, it will not be assigned and sent to any users.