1. What is this module about
The Project management module enables employees/users to manage all (big or small) projects. With project templates, various project types can be created with all relevant project phases. New projects can be simply created from a project template with a pre-defined set of project phases. Request, approve and allocate your project budget over the various project phases and register actual costs with work orders created from the project phases. Keep track of the projects time line via various reports and a Gantt chart.
The following chapters describe the use of this module as a key user. Whether or not all functionalities mentioned below are available to you as a user, depends on your assigned system groups. Contact your application manager in case you miss functionalities relevant to you.
You can always check which system groups are assigned to you via your profile in the top right corner. For more information about this, see: History, favorites, personal bin and groups
2. High over process overview
In this chapter, a high-over overview of the process is described. For a detailed description of every step in the process, see the chapter further below: Process step by step
The Project management module has several system groups related to it, allowing authorizing users for specific parts of, and tasks within, this module. Below an overview of all relevant system groups and their role within the project workflow. Also other additional system groups without a task in the project workflows are mentioned.
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Users with the system group ‘Create projects' can create a project. The user can enter the important project details like, the project name, a short description, the main responsible and a estimated start and end date. Before submitting the project, the user can already add project team members, request a project budget and create project phases, but this is not mandatory.
After the project is submitted, the budget approval step is activated. The requested project budget can be approved or rejected by the budget approver. If the requested budget is rejected, then the project will move back to the project responsible(s) to make adjustments and re-submit the project with an adjusted project budget. If the project budget is approved, the project will move to the preparation status.
During the preparation, the project team members can be added, project phases can be created, project team members can be assigned to the project phases and the approved project budget can be assigned to the project phases. Once all relevant project details are added and filled in, the project can be started.
During the project’s execution, the project phase responsibles can use the assigned budget to create project work orders and assign the work orders to contractors to carry out the work associated with the project phase. Budget vs realization overviews are available to monitor the approved budget, the realized costs and the budget that is left for each of the project phases. The projects duration can be monitored via a Gantt chart.
Once all project phases have been completed, the project is finished and can be closed.
3. Navigation menu & Startboard
For the Project management module, the following navigation menu options become available:
Navigation menu option | Available to system groups | Description |
|---|---|---|
Projects |
|
|
The 'Projects' navigation menu shows a comprehensive overview with several insights (graphs), important functionalities like creating projects and has a search functionality.
For the Project management module, the following startboard tab becomes available:
This tab is available for the following system groups:
Create projects
View projects
View project startboard
This startboard tab has buttons similar to the navigation menu 'Projects'. Next to that, this tab has the following overviews:
Tasks: This overview shows all active project and project work order workflow tasks for the user.
Open projects I am responsible for: This overview shows all open projects where I am the main responsible or additional responsible for.
Open project phases I am responsible for: This overview shows all open project phases where I am filled in the 'Responsible' field.
Open project work orders I am responsible for: This overview shows all open project work orders where I am the 'Internal responsible'.
4. Process in details
4.1 Process step by step
For an overview of which system group is needed for which step, please see the graphical overview above in the High over process overview.
Create a project
A new project can be created from the ‘Projects' navigation menu and the 'Project management dashboard’. There are two options to create a new project:
New project (a new empty project needs to be manually filled in)
New project from template (project details (name, description, etc.), project (sub) phases and documents are automatically taken over from the template)
Submit project
When creating a new project, the project starts in the status ‘New’. The creator of the project is automatically set as the main responsible of the project. The main responsible (and possible additional project responsibles) have the task to enter the projects details and submit the project.
The mandatory fields on the ‘General' tab need to be filled in. Mandatory fields can be recognized by the * behind the field label (e.g. Project name *).
Via the projects 'Team' tab, additional project responsibles and project participants can be added to the project. Project responsibles will have the same rights to the project as the main responsible and can edit the project and execute the workflow tasks. Project participants can be added and can later be assigned to each of the project phases, they are responsible for. Adding project responsibles and project participants can be done during the whole projects duration, so it is not necesarry and also not mandatory to already have the whole project team added before submitting the project.
There are no other mandatory fields then the fields on the ‘General’ tab, however it is advised to already enter the (estimated) project budget needed to complete the project. The project budget can be requested via the 'Budget’ tab. Already requesting the budget in this step is advised, because the budget approval step is the next step in the workflow.
The project phases of the project can be created via the 'Project phases' tab. Each project phase can be assigned to a responsible user (from the project team) and a budget (once approved) can be assigned. Sub project phases can be created to create a hierarchy and dependencies.
The ‘Work orders' tab on the project show project work orders created from the various project phases. The work order will be created during the project’s execution and the actual costs can be registered. During this task, the work orders are not yet applicable, since the project budget needs to be approved first.
The 'Gantt chart' tab shows all project phases with a start and end date in a calendar view. Via this view, it is easier to see if the project phases are still according to the plan.
Via the tab ‘Related buildings' it is possible to link relevant buildings to the project. Projects where the building is linked to, will also become visible on the Building → 'Projects’ tab.
Linking buildings to the project is only informative and those not result in an additional functionalities
Relevant documents regarding the project can be uploaded and linked to the project via the 'Documents' tab. Via this tab it is also possible to view all documents linked to the project phases. If the project is created from a pre defined project template, the project template documents are automatically taken over to the new project and will be visible via this tab.
Project responsibles and participants can create notes via the 'Notes' tab.
After the mandatory fields have been entered, the project can be submitted.
Review project budget
After the project has been submitted, the project budget approval step is activated. The status of the project is now 'Waiting budget approval'. The use of project budget approval is determined via general and project template settings. The users of a pre defined system group are responsible to either approve or reject the requested project budget.
The requested budget can be viewed via the 'Budget’ tab. If the project budget is rejected, the project budget approver needs to fill in a mandatory reason of rejection. The project will return to the project responsible(s) to adjust the project budget.
If project budget approval is disabled or the requested budget is 0, the budget approval step is skipped and the project will move on to the 'Preparation' status.
If the requested project budget is approved, the project will also move on to the 'Preparation' status.
Start project
After the project budget has been approved, the project will move to the 'Preparation' status. In this status, the project participants can be assigned to the project phases and the approved project budget can be assigned to the main project phases.
The budget assigned to all main (parent) project phases can not exceed to total (approved) project budget. The budget assigned to the main project phases can be assigned to all sub phases, and also the total assigned budget to all sub phases can not exceed the budget assigned to the main project phase.
An error is shown if the budget exceeds the applicable budget:
Once the project phase is assigned to the responsible project team member, the responsible can manage the project phase, can create sub phases and can assign the main project phases budget to all sub phases.
After all project phases are assigned to a project team member and the project budget is assigned to all (relevant) project phases, the project is ready to start on the pre defined start date of the project.
Project execution
After the project has been started, the project is in status ‘In progress'. The project is officially in execution. The project budget can be used to execute the work, related to the project phases via work orders. The project phases responsible can create work orders from the project phases 'Work orders’ tab. Work orders can only be created on the lowest level of project phases (within the hierarchy).
When creating a work order from the project phase, the project phases name and the requestor is automatically taken over to the work order. The work order details, planned start and end date, the internal responsible and the contractor can be filled in. Add cost items with an estimated planned quantity and amount to register the work, which need to be executed by the contractor.
Decide per work order, if the work order needs to be emailed to the contractor or not. Contractors with an own user account in Workplace Management, can handle the work order directly from within the application. If the contractor does not have a user account, the internal responsible can handle the work order on behalf of the contractor.
Project work orders can only be submitted or forwarded to a contractor, after the project budget has been approved.
The total budget, realization from the work orders and the budget left per project phase is shown on the project phase overview on the project.
While the project work orders are being handled by the contractors, the project phases progress can be registered via the ‘Completed' field (0-100%). The 'Completed’ field can only be edited on the lowest level of project phases. The percentage completed of the main (parent) project phases is automatically calculated based on the percentage completed of all sub phases. The percentage completed of the total project is also calculated based on the percentage completed of all main project phases.
A project phase can be closed via the ‘Close' button. The percentage completed is automatically set to 100% and the project phase is not editable anymore. The project phase can be reopened via the 'Re-open’ button and will become editable again. The percentage completed will be set to 0% and the user needs to enter the current percentage completed again.
Retract
If a project is started and moved to the status ‘In progress’ by accident or important details of the project need to be changed, the project can be retracted to the 'Preparation' status.
Request project budget adjustment
Usually the initial project budget is requested before the project starts. If it turn out that the initial requested project budget is insufficient to complete the project, a project budget adjustment request can be done by the project responsible(s).
On the ‘Budget' tab, the button ‘Request budget adjustment’ can be used to request a new (improved) budget. The requested project budget field becomes editable and the new budget can be entered. After entering the new requested budget, select the 'Confirm budget adjustment request’ to confirm.
The project will again move to the status ‘Waiting budget approval' and the project budget approval users need to approve the budget adjustment. After the requested budget adjustment is approved, the new budget becomes available for the project team to assign to the applicable project phases. The project will go back to the status where it came from (’Preparation' or ‘In progress’).
Close
As soon as all project phases have been handled and the project is finished, the project can be closed with the 'Close' button.
Cancel
A project can be cancelled during the whole process (workflow) until it is closed. Cancel the project via the 'Cancel' button.
4.2 Additional options and related modules
Via the 'Projects' navigation menu, the some quick insights are available.
Via the 'Reports' button, additional reports are available to see the cost vs realization and planned vs actual time.
4.3 All fields
The following overview(s) contain a description of the fields used in this module.
Project:
Field | Description | Field location |
|---|---|---|
Project name | The name of the project. | General tab |
Description | An additional (detailed) description of the project. | General tab |
Main responsible | The user who is the main responsible of the project. This user can execute the relevant workflow tasks of the project, can request the project budget, can create project phases, can assign buildings, can create project work orders, etc. Next to the main responsible, other project responsibles can be added to the project via the ‘Team’ tab. These additional project repsonsibles have the same project rights as the main responsible. Additional project responsibles can be added via the ‘Team’ tab. | General tab |
Reference | Every new project automatically gets a unique project reference. This reference is not editable and can be used to search particular projects. | General tab |
Status | The status of the project. The status of the project is determined by the workflow and can be used to quickly see in which phase the project is currently in. | General tab |
Start | The start date of the project. | General tab |
End | The (estimated) end date of the project. | General tab |
Completed | The percentage of completion of the project. This field is not editable and is automatically calculated based on the percentage completed of the project's project phases. | General tab |
Approved on | The date and time when the requested project budget is approved. This field is also automatically filled in after the project budget is approved or if no budget approval is applicable. | General tab |
Requested project budget | The requested project budget needed to complete the project successfully. The requested project budget can only be assigned to the project phases after it is approved. | Budget tab |
Approved project budget | The requested project budget is approved and can be assigned to the project phases. | Budget tab |
Project phase:
Field | Description | Field location |
|---|---|---|
Name | The name of the project phase. | General tab |
Description | An additional (detailed) description of the project phase. | General tab |
Part of | The project phase where this project project phase is part of. If a sub phase is created, the sub phase becomes part of the main project phase. This field is empty if it is a main project phase. | General tab |
Responsible | The user who is responsible for the project phase. The responsible user can edit the project phases details, assign budget, can create sub phase and can create project (phase) work orders. | General tab |
Project | The project where the project phase is part of. | General tab |
Reference | Every new project phase automatically gets a unique project phase reference. This reference is not editable and can be used to search project phases. | General tab |
Status | The status of the project phase. The status of a project phase can either be ‘Open’ or ‘Closed’. | General tab |
Start | The (estimated) start date of the project phase. If the project phase has sub phases, the start date of the main project phase is automatically determined by the sub phases earliest start date and is not editable. If the project phase does not have sub phases, the field is editable. | General tab |
End | The (estimated) end date of the project phase. If the project phase has sub phases, the end date of the main project phase is automatically determined by the sub phases latest end date and is not editable. If the project phase does not have sub phases, the field is editable. | General tab |
Completed | The percentage of completion of the project phase. If the project phase has sub phases, then the percentage completed is automatically calculated based on the percentage completed of the sub phases and is not editable. If the project phase does not have sub phases, the field is editable. | General tab |
Code | The code of the project phase. The code field can be used to give one or more project phases a reference code. This can be used to sort project phases based on the code and for consolidating project phases. | General tab |
Priority | The priority of the project phase. By default the project phase priority is Medium, but can be changed from Critical to Very low to create a distinction in priority to handle the project phases in the correct order. | General tab |
Budget | The budget assigned to the project phase. | General tab |
Project work order:
Field | Description | Field location |
|---|---|---|
Reference | Every new project work order automatically gets a unique work order reference. This reference is not editable and can be used to search work orders. | General tab |
Status | The status of the work order. The status of the work order is determined by the workflow and can be used to quickly see in which phase the work order is currently in. | General tab |
Created from | From which object is this work order created from. Project work orders can be created from project phases. The created from field provides information from which project phase the work order is created and is linked to. | General tab |
Request date | The date and time when the project work order is created. | General tab |
Requestor | The user who created the project work order. | General tab |
Subject | The project work orders subject. By default, the project phases subject is automatically taken over to the work order subject. | General tab |
Description | An additional (detailed) description of the project work order. | General tab |
Start | The start date of the project work order. | General tab |
End | The end date of the project work order. | General tab |
Internal responsible | The user who is internally responsible for the project work order. The responsible user can add cost items and forward the work order to the applicable contractor. If the contractor does not have a user account, the internal responsible will be responsible to handle the work order on behalf of the contractor. | General tab |
Contractor | The contractor to whom the work order is forwarded to. The contractor needs to carry out the work associated with the work order. If the contractor has a user account, the contractor can handle the work order themselves. | General tab |
Finish work by | This field indicates who is responsible to execute the task 'Work finished' to handle the work order. This can be the contractor (if the contractor has a user account) or the internal responsible. The field is automatically determined and not editable. | General tab |
Send work order via email | Per work order it can be decided if the work order is forwarded to the contractor via email. | General tab |
Remarks for contractor | Additional remarks for the contractor. These remarks are also included in the work order email to the contractor. | General tab |
Planned amount | The expected/planned work order amount (excl. VAT) | General tab |
Planned VAT | The expected/planned work order VAT amount | General tab |
Planned total | The expected/planned total work order amount (incl. VAT) | General tab |
Amount | The actual work order amount (excl. VAT) | General tab |
VAT | The actual work order VAT amount | General tab |
Total | The actual total work order amount (incl. VAT) | General tab |
ID | Every new work order item or cost item automatically gets a unique ID within the work order. This ID is not editable. | Cost include |
Description | A description of the work order item. The description gives information about the work that needs to be executed. | Cost include |
Planned quantity | The expected/planned quantity of the work order item. Can be entered before the work order is forwarded to the contractor. | Cost include |
Actual quantity | The actual quantity of the work order item. Can be entered by the contractor to register the actually used quantity. | Cost include |
Planned price | The expected/planned price of the work order item. Can be entered before the work order is forwarded to the contractor. | Cost include |
Actual price | The actual price of the work order item. Can be entered by the contractor to register the actual price. | Cost include |
Per | The planned and actual price is applicable per X units. For example the price per 1 piece or 10 kilograms. | Cost include |
Unit | The planned and actual price is applicable per X units. For example the price per 1 piece or 10 kilograms. | Cost include |
Cur. | The currency which applies to the price. The clients default currency is automatically taken over to the work order and all work order items. | Cost include |
VAT | The work order items applicable VAT percentage. | Cost include |
Planned amount | The expected/planned work order item amount (excl. VAT) | Cost include |
Actual amount | The actual work order item amount (excl. VAT) | Cost include |
Total | The actual total work order item amount (incl. VAT) | Cost include |
5. Automated emails
Both the Project workflow, as well as the work order workflow can automatically send emails, for example, if a workflow task needs to be executed.
The following overview contains all possible standard emails in this module. It will however depend on whether they are enabled or not.
Project workflow:
Email content | When is it sent | Send to |
|---|---|---|
An email that the project budget needs to be reviewed | If budget approval is enabled, the requested project budget needs to be reviewed after the project is submitted | The project budget approver in the context of the project |
An email that the project budget adjustment needs to be reviewed | If budget approval is enabled, the requested project budget adjustment needs to be reviewed after the budget adjustment request is confirmed | The project budget approver in the context of the project |
An email that the initial requested project budget has been rejected | If the initial requested project budget is rejected | The project responsible(s) |
An email that the requested project budget adjustment has been rejected | If the initial requested project budget adjustment is rejected | The project responsible(s) |
Work order workflow:
Email content | When is it sent | Send to |
|---|---|---|
An email that the work order can be handled | When the work order is forwarded | The work orders contractor |
6. Related articles
The following articles are aimed towards application managers and implementation consultants:
For more detailed implementation information (including how to activate the module, which system groups are involved, data imports, see: Project management module activation and information
For more information on the content of this module, including detailed descriptions of some of the core components, see: Project management module in the 'Application Managers' section.