Rounds are methods for dividing assets among parties. A round includes a subset of the assets. An administrator sets up a round, divisees bid on it, and in the end items are distributed. In an added feature, if all divisees confirm they finished bidding, the round is closed earlier, speeding up the process.
A round goes through the following phases:
Pending rounds
When creating a round, administrators control the assets involved, the round start and end times, and other parameters. Administrators can edit a pending round until the time it's set to start -- then the round goes active. When a round is created, divisees are notified by email.
Active rounds
An active round has started and divisees must bid on it before its end time. Bidding means indicating preference for some of the assets involved. If all divisees finish early the round can be closed earlier by the division administrator, potentially expediting the division.
Extended rounds
If even one of the divisees fails to participate in a round until its end time, the round is extended by the system. The administrator is informed about the problem by email so she can help the divisee; the misbehaving divisee is also warned by email. Divisees can still edit their bids during this extension period, however the administrator may end the round manually at any time.
Closed rounds
When a round is closed (because its end date arrived, because all divisees have finished bidding or because the administrator manually closed it), divisees can no longer bid in it. After a few minutes the system awards the assets in the round, according to the bids. The awards become visible on the round report. Administrators may then adjust the awards (which should only be done in agreement with all divisees), in which case the system displays the award by the system in the "Proposed" column and the replacement award by the administrator in the "Distribute" column of the round report.
The AR (Asset Review) round, however, does not award any assets. Its purpose is just to separate items that nobody wants, to be sold or donated.
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