Project Brief dialog box

The Project Brief dialog box sums up a project’s attributes and information, allowing the key stakeholders to access these details where and when they need them.

The dialog box left panel provides the following project attributes: ID, Name, Manager 1, and Workflow State.

In addition, the white lock icons allow the user to identify whether the project is currently locked or not as follows:

UnlockedGrey

Unlocked

Indicates that the project is not currently locked.

LockedGrey

Locked

Indicates that the project is locked. Upon hovering the mouse pointer over the icon, a tooltip indicates by whom the project is locked.

The folders available in the Project Brief depend on the features activated for the project.

Overview folder

The Overview folder allows the user to view the project’s main attributes, its Health Score, as well as the last submitted Status Report.

The following attributes are available in the upper section: % Completed, Total Labor Effort, Baseline Labor Effort, Total Cost, Baseline Cost, last Published Date, and Type.

ProjectBriefOverview.png

Upon clicking on the last submitted Status Report More (MoreVertical) button (located in the upper right corner), the full version of the Status Report is displayed.

Note

For projects whose Nature is “Business Case”, a graph will be shown instead of the Status Report. This graph summarizes the number of points per category as entered in the Home Page workspace, Evaluation tab.

Definition folder

The Definition folder provides the Description of the project, as well as information regarding the project Stakeholders and Dates.

The Timeline located in the top of the view provides the following dates: Start, Completed Date, Deadline, and Finish.

Upon clicking on the Detailed Table button, a popup is displayed with the following sub-tabs:

Planning

Provides the list of the project tasks, with the following attributes: Name, Current Start, Baseline Start, Current Finish, Baseline Finish, Duration, and % Completed.

Time

Provides the following sections:

  • The Time spreadsheet, which displays the Start date, Finish date, % Completed, Total Cost, and Total Labor Effort for each phase of the selected project.

  • The Key Facts section, which displays the # Tasks, the Late Task #, and the Late Critical Task # for the selected project.

  • The Task Outlook chart, which displays the number of tasks in progress to include those starting within one week, two weeks, and after two weeks, respectively.

  • The Task Status pie chart, computes and displays the percentage of tasks that fall within the following categories: tasks that are ahead of time, on time, less than one week late, between one and two weeks late, and more than two weeks late.

The following fields are then displayed: Portfolio Folder, Nature, Type, and Owning Organization. A description field is also available wherein the user can enter any additional information.

The Stakeholders section provides the following information: Manager 1, Manager 2, and Manager 3.

The Outcome section (if any) provides the Executive Summary, the Expected Benefits, as well as the picture of the project.

The Key Facts section provides the following information: Current Workflow State, Current Phase (if any), % Completed, Total Labor Effort, and Total Cost.

In addition, the bottom section of the Key Facts section provides the following buttons for quick access:

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.

WorkflowHistory

Workflow

Opens the Workflow Information dialog box.

monitored_milestones_22_md.png

Milestone Monitoring

Displays the Milestone Monitoring dialog box (if any).

Gantt folder

The Gantt folder provides the project’s Gantt view.

The Gantt toolbar provides the following tools and information:

As of Date

Indicates the date and time up to which the project data has been updated.

FilterGrey

Filters

Opens the Gantt Filters dialog box.

Zoom Controls

Allows the user to zoom in and zoom out in the Gantt chart graphic pane (i.e., it sets the time interval).

The Gantt spreadsheet display the following task attributes: #, Name, Duration, Start, and Finish.

The user can view the Gantt in full screen upon clicking on the Launch Full Screen button located in the upper right corner.

Evaluation folder

The Evaluation folder provides the same information as the Home Page workspace, Evaluation tab.

The Evaluation Score chart shows the computed points by Scoring category, based on the values entered when scoring the project.

By clicking on the Detailed Table button, the scoring details will be displayed (identical to the Home Page workspace, Evaluation tab, Scoring sub-tab.

Settings

The Scoring and Description sections of a project evaluation can differ a lot depending on the Scoring Template used. Scoring Templates are defined by the Administrator in the System Data workspace, Evaluation tab.

Status Report folder

The Status Report folder provides information regarding the last submitted Status Report.

This folder is only available for projects whose Nature is "Business Case".

Upon clicking on the last submitted Status Report More (MoreVertical) button located in the upper right corner, the full version of the Status Report is displayed.

Finance folder

The Finance folder provides the following sub-tabs:

Budget

Allows the user to review at a glance the potential shifts between the project's Budget and Cost values.

Cost

Allows the user to compare the Budget with the Project Cost and the Forecast Cost.

Savings

Allows the user to review the project's Savings.

The Key Facts section provides the following information (depending on the selected sub-tab: Direct Budget, Total Cost, Total Forecast, Adjusted Total Cost, Forecast Cost, Budget, Savings, NPV, ROI, and Payback.

The bottom section of the Key Facts section provides the following buttons for quick access:

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.

WorkflowHistory

Workflow

Opens the Workflow Information dialog box.

monitored_milestones_22_md.png

Milestone Monitoring

Displays the Milestone Monitoring dialog box (if any).

Budget sub-tab

The Budget histogram shows the following values over time: Direct Budget, Indirect Budget (if any), Delegated Budget (if any), Total Cost (or Adjusted Total Cost), and Forecast Cost (if any).

ProjectBriefBudgetChart.png

The Budget spreadsheet shows the different types of budgets for the selected project (Direct, Indirect, Delegated, and Total) along with the corresponding costs (Project Cost, Outbound Cost, Inbound Cost, and Total Cost/Adjusted Total Cost).

ProjectBriefBudgetSpreadsheet.png
Tip

Available budgets will differ depending on the project’s Nature and connections.

Upon activating the Cost Centers (CostGrey) display option, the spreadsheet displays the Direct Budget breakdown by Cost Center.

Once activating the cost center breakdown, if both Effort and Cost Cost Centers are allowed, the Effort Display (Layers) display option becomes available, allowing the user to display the Effort values as entered by the user (“As Defined”) or as Monetized Amount (“As Costs”).

Colored indicators are also provided to highlight the shift between the budget and the corresponding cost values. The user can access the legend for the colored indicators by clicking on the Legend (Legend) button available in the bottom right corner.

Settings

Colored Indicators are defined by the Administrator in the System Settings workspace, General Settings folder, Colored Indicators tab, Cost Preferences.

Cost sub-tab

The Costs spreadsheet allows the user to compare the Total Budget of the selected project(s) with the corresponding Total Cost (or Adjusted Total Cost) and Total Forecast (Labor Forecast + Cost Item Forecast + Transaction Forecast).

The Total column displays the Total values for the selected time period. Upon expanding the Labor Cost, Cost Item Cost, and Transaction Cost rows, the user can review the Actual and Remaining values.

Colored Indicators are provided to:

  • Highlight the shift between the Total Cost and the Budget values in the Total Budget row.

  • Highlight the shift between the Total Cost and the Forecast values in the Total Forecast row.

The user can access the legend of the colored indicators by clicking on the Legend (Legend) button located in the bottom right corner of the spreadsheet section.

Settings

Colored Indicators are defined by the Administrator in the System Settings workspace, General Settings folder, Colored Indicators tab, Cost Preferences.

When the Cost Centers (CostGrey) display option is activated, the spreadsheet data are broken down by Cost Centers.

Two charts can be displayed:

  • When the Cost Centers (CostGrey) display option is deactivated, the chart allows the user to compare the evolution of the Total Cost (or Adjusted Total Cost), Forecast Cost (if any), and Budget (if any) over time.

  • When the Cost Centers (CostGrey) display option is activated, the chart allows the user to compare the Total Cost (or Adjusted Total Cost), Forecast Cost( if any), and Budget (if any) by Cost Centers.

Savings sub-tab

The Savings chart allows the user to review the Billable Revenues (if any), Savings, and Transaction Savings as opposed to the project’s Total Cost (or Adjusted Total Cost) over time.

The Savings spreadsheet shows for each Saving Type (by default, "Increased Revenue", "Reduced Costs", and "Strategic Advantage") the time distributed and overall "Planned" and "Current" values.

The Planned values can be entered to keep track of the initial amount of the Savings (filling in this field is optional).

The user can take advantage of the Time Navigation toolbar to change the displayed time frame of both the chart and spreadsheet.

Billing folder

The Billing folder allows the user to review information regarding the project revenues.

Note

This folder is only displayed if the Billing Feature is used for the selected project and if the project Billing Mode is other than “None”.

The Distributed Revenues vs. Costs chart allows the user to compare the Total Revenues with the Project Total Cost per month for the duration of the whole project.

The Billed vs. To be billed chart illustrates the Billable Amount depending on the Billing Status.

Tip

Upon hovering the cursor over a portion of the chart, the exact billing amount is displayed.

The Purchase Orders chart allows the user to compare the Total Budget and the Total Revenues for each Purchase Order.

The Key Facts section provides the following information: Total Revenues,Total Cost, Margin (Total Revenues/Total Cost), Billable Effort, and Non Billable Effort. In addition, the bottom section of the Key Facts section provides the following buttons for quick access:

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.

WorkflowHistory

Workflow

Opens the Workflow Information dialog box.

monitored_milestones_22_md.png

Milestone Monitoring

Displays the Milestone Monitoring dialog box (if any).

Resources folder

The Resources folder provides a chart which allows the user to compare the Cumulative Total Effort, Cumulative Baseline Effort, Total Effort, and Baseline Effort. This graph time frame can be modified by using the Time Navigation toolbar.

Below the chart, the Project Team is displayed, with each Team Member displayed in the form of a card that contains the following information: Name, Job Classification, Origin, Start Date, Finish Date, and Total Effort.

Note

The Start and End dates are the first and the last dates for which the Resource Usable Effort is greater than 0 for the currently selected project. When a resource has been added manually to the Project Team, the Start Date and End Date fields will be indicated as “N/A”. These fields are not to be confused with the Start Date and End Date fields.

The Origin of Allocated, Committed, and Dedicated resources is displayed differently depending on the situation:

OriginBlue.png

Blue

Indicates that the resource is “active” (the allocation Finish Date is in the future).

OriginGrey.png

Grey

Indicates that the resource is “inactive” (the allocation Finish Date is in the past).

Upon clicking on the Resource’s name, the Team Member Details dialog box is displayed.

The following additional display options are also provided:

GroupBy

Group By

Allows the user to group the Team Members by Organization, Job Classification, Origin, or Contract Type. Upon doing so, the Total Effort Share will be displayed for the available groups.

ShowHide

Show Inactive

Allows the user to display "Inactive Resources".

Note

If the Contract Type feature is enabled, External Resources will be flagged with the External (ExternalResources.png) icon.

The Key Facts section provides the following project information: Baseline Effort, Actual Effort, Remaining Effort, and Total Effort.

In addition, the bottom section of the Key Facts section provides the following buttons for quick access:

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.

WorkflowHistory

Workflow

Opens the Workflow Information dialog box.

monitored_milestones_22_md.png

Milestone Monitoring

Displays the Milestone Monitoring dialog box (if any).

Connections folder

The Connections folder will only be displayed if at least one Connection has been created for the selected project. The Connections feature allows the user to link together various objects to facilitate the visibility and the tracking of related elements.

In the upper left corner, a pick-list allows the user to switch between the following views (when available):

  • Parents view – Displays all the source objects of the currently selected project. The connections can be with Ideas and projects (depending on the selected project Nature)

  • Connections view – Displays all the target objects connected to the currently selected projects. The connections can be with projects (depending on the selected project Nature) and Work Packages.

The user can take advantage of the Show Closed or Completed (ShowHide) display option to display or hide projects whose % Completed has reached 100% and/or projects that are indicated as Closed.

Project connections

Project connections provide the following attributes regarding the connected object: Nature, Name, Workflow State, Manager 1, Portfolio Folder, Type, number of days before the Finish date, and % Completed.

The Status section of the card displays the Health Score, as well as the last submitted Status Report date and indicators.

Work Package connections

Work Packages connections provide the following attributes regarding the connected Work Package: Name, Workflow State, Manager 1, Portfolio Folder, and Type.

The Status section of the card displays the Health Score, as well as the last submitted Status Report date and indicators.

Idea connections

Ideas connections are non-editable and provide the following attributes regarding the connected Idea: Name, Workflow State, Originator, Type, Score, and Idea Folder.

Phases & Gates folder

The Phases & Gates folder provides the selected project Phases & Gates flowchart, as well as the Phases & Gates spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet provides the following attributes: Name, Workflow (“Phase” or “Gate”), Start, Finish, Duration, % Completed, OTD Baseline Start, OTD Baseline Finish, and Workflow State.

The Key Facts section provides the following attributes: Number of Gates, Number of Gates on Time, Number of Gates Late, and OTD in %.

In addition, the bottom section of the Key Facts section provides the following buttons for quick access:

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.

WorkflowHistory

Workflow

Opens the Workflow Information dialog box.

monitored_milestones_22_md.png

Milestone Monitoring

Displays the Milestone Monitoring dialog box (if any).

Agile folder

The Agile folder allows the user to review Agile-related information regarding the project.

The following information is available:

  • Objects – Number of Epics, Number of Completed Iterations / Total number of Iterations, Number of Completed Releases / Total Number of Releases.

  • Backlog Items – Number of Backlog Items by Type.

    ProjectBriefAgileBI.png
  • Progress – % Completed (Backlog Items), % Completed (Story Points).

    ProjectBriefAgileProgress.png
  • Teams – Lists the Agile Teams and their following attributes: Name, Manager's Name, and number of Team Members.

    ProjectBriefAgileTeams.png
  • How’s the Project doing? –Remaining Issues & Defects, DRE, Average Velocity, Cycle Time, and Velocity Chart.

Work Items folder

The Work Items folder is only displayed if at least one Work Item has been created for the selected project. It provides graphs for Issues, Actions, Deliverables, and Change Requests.

Settings

The graphs displayed differ depending on the "Enable Work Items Home Page Charts" setting value defined by the Administrator in the System Settings workspace, Work Management Settings folder, Global Options tab.

Upon clicking on the Details button for each Work Item category, the corresponding popup will be displayed:

Issues

Provides the following charts: Issues by Type, Issues by State, Issues by Project, Created vs Closed Issues, and Issues by Assignee.

Actions

Provides the following charts: Actions by State, Actions Outlook, Actions by Assignee, and Created vs Closed Actions.

Deliverables

Provides the following charts: Deliverables by Type, Deliverables Outlook, Deliverables by State, and Deliverables by Assignee.

Change Requests

Provides the following charts: Change Requests by State, Change Requests Outlook, Change Requests by Initiator, and Created vs Closed.

Risks folder

The Risks folder is only displayed if at least one Risk has been created for the selected project. It provides the following graphs:

  • Risk Matrix – Allows the user to easily identify the number of Risks for each Severity and Probability combination.

  • Risks by Type – Shows the number of Risks by Type.

  • Risks by Workflow State – Shows the number of Risks by Workflow State.

Strategy folder

The Strategy folder provides read-only content similar to the Home Page workspace, Objectives tab.

Completion over time chart

The chart displays for each Objective the evolution of the completion % (i.e., the ratio between the Current and Target values).

The available time frame is driven by the Changelogs dates.

Objectives list

This section provides a list of all the Objectives the selected project contributes to.

BriefStrategyFolder.png

Each Objective is represented in the form of a card which provides the following information:

Objective Information section

Name

Indicates the name of the Objective.

Upon clicking on it, the Objective Brief dialog box is displayed.

Workflow

Indicates the Objective Workflow State.

Parent

Indicates the name of the Objective to which the current Objective is hierarchically attached.

KPI

Indicates the Name of the KPI.

Manager 1

Indicates the person in charge of the Objective.

Alignment tile

The Alignment tile display differs depending on the options selected in the Strategy Definition dialog box.

When the Strategy Alignment feature is deactivated, the Alignment tile is not displayed.

BriefStrategyAlignment.png

When the Strategy Alignment is enabled and the “Project Management” option is set to “Manual”, the Alignment tile displays the following information:

  • Alignment Level – Indicates how much the Project is aligned with the Objective.

  • Alignment Score – Represents a combination of the Alignment level and the Corporate Objective’s Final Weight.

Current tile

The Current tile display differs depending on the options selected in the Strategy Definition dialog box.

CardsCompleted.png

When there is no tracking feature, the Completed indicator will be displayed.

PFCardCurrentDetails.png

When the tracking is made at the Project level but the user is not enabled to edit the tracking information, the Current tile displays the following information:

  • Objective Current value

  • Objective Health Indicator

  • Objective Target value

  • Details – Opens the Track Values popup in read-only.

The following tools are also available:

ShowHide

Show Completed

Allows the user to display or hide Project Objectives that have been marked as Completed.

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

Indicates whether or not there are new notes, and opens the Notes dialog box.