Due dates help you set clear expectations for scouts participating in your research project. The dscout platform allows you to set due dates for each activity (formerly known as "parts") within your Diary mission. 

Program all of the activities in your Diary mission and map out your desired start date and end date for your research. Then decide on the due dates of each individual activity and add them to the activity overview.

For activities with due dates, you can also choose to send automated reminders to scouts starting 2 days before the due date.

Setting a due date for an activity

When drafting a Diary mission, you have the option to set a due date for some or all of your mission activities. To set an activity due date, go to the Questions tab of the Setup page: 

1. Select an activity and open the activity overview
2. Toggle on the “Set Due Date” option 
3. Select a due date and time for the activity
4. Click “Done” to save

Due dates are set in scout local time. If the due date is set as Mon, Jan 1 at 8 PM, a scout in New York and a scout in San Francisco will both have until 8 PM in their local timezone before the activity shows as due.

Scouts can still submit entries after the due date passes, but the activity will show as “due” in the app. You’ll still need to manually close scouts who have missed deadlines if you don’t wish to offer them an extension.

Setting due dates reminders for an activity

For any activity with a due date, you also have the option to set due date reminders. To set reminders for an activity, go to the Questions tab of the Setup page: 

1. Select an activity and open the activity overview
2. Make sure you’ve already set a due date and time for the activity
3. Toggle on the “Set Reminders” option 
4. Click “Done” to save

Due date reminders are sent at 8 PM scout local time starting two days before the activity due date. The push notification to scouts reads: Reminder: Your entries for Activity [#] of the [MISSION NAME] mission are due on [DUE DATE/TIME].

Scouts who have accepted your mission will receive reminders until: 1) they complete the minimum number of entries for the activity, 2) they are closed by the researcher, or 3) the activity due date has passed.

Overriding a due date

Once an activity is opened for a specific scout, the scout’s due date for that activity cannot be changed. Since Activity 1 opens for all scouts upon mission launch, the Activity 1 due date cannot be changed after launch. 

The ability to change or override scouts’ due dates for subsequent activities after mission launch depends on whether you’re running an automatic or a manual Diary mission.

If you choose to run an automatic mission, subsequent activities will open automatically for scouts as soon as they complete the previous activity. This means that you cannot override any activity due dates for scouts after launch in an automatic mission. 

If you choose to run a manual mission, you will control when subsequent activities are opened for your scouts. For all activities after Activity 1, you will have the option to override the activity due date for specific scouts when you open the activity to those scouts on the Manage page. 

How to override due dates

In a manual mission, you can override the activity due dates for specific scouts when you open the activity to those scouts:

1. On the Manage page, select one or more scouts 
2. Click “Open Activities” 
3. In the Open Activities modal, click the checkbox for the activity or activities you’d like to open to those scouts
4. Set a new due date for the activity or activities for those scouts

Due dates will not change for scouts who already have the activity or activities open. 

Viewing a due date for a scout

You can see activity due dates for an individual scout in two ways: by hovering over the entry count for a activity in the Manage table; and by expanding the scout messaging sidebar, to see the “Due Dates” section.   

To see all scouts with a specific due date, you can filter by due dates in the left sidebar, in the section “Filter by Due Dates,” to select one or more activity due dates. This can be useful for taking bulk actions on scouts with shared due dates, like sending a message or opening the next activity.