Work Item dialog box

The Work Item dialog box is named differently depending on the category of Work Item (Action, Change Request, Deliverable, or Issue). In accessing it, the user is able to define and edit the attributes of a given Work Item.

The dialog box is made up of:

  • A header, which provides the Work Item's key information and commands,

  • A common section, which is always displayed and provides the main commands and attributes, and

  • A series of optional sections that can be added by using the buttons located on the right-hand side of the dialog box.

Important

To remove an optional section, the user has to delete all the existing objects it contains first (if any).

In cases where the Work Item dialog box is used to create a new Work Item, the following buttons will be available in the bottom right section of the dialog box:

  • Done – Allows the user to complete the Work Item creation and closes the dialog box.

  • Done & New – Validates the Work Item creation and opens a new Work Item dialog box (of the same category) for the user to create the next Work Item.

  • Cancel – Closes the dialog box without creating the Work Item.

Header

The upper section of the dialog box provides the Work Item Category, Key, Name, and Workflow State, as well as the following tools:

WorkflowAction

Workflow Actions

Allows the user to change the Work Item Workflow State.

FlagBlue

Flag

Allows the user to mark the Work Item as flagged.

notesUnread22_md.png

Notes

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

MoreVertical

More

Provides access to the following commands:

  • History – Displays the Workflow Information dialog box, with an additional sub-tab including the Work Item Cycle Time and Activity Stream.

  • Move – Allows the user to attach the Work Item to a new Project, Portfolio, or Work Package.

  • Copy – Allows the user to duplicate the Work Item.

  • Delete – Allows the user to delete the selected Work Item.

  • Print – Opens a printer-friendly version of the Work Item in a new tab.

In addition, the following attributes are displayed:

Assignee

Indicates the Resource assigned to the Work Item. The following actions are possible:

  • Clicking on the "Add Assignee" label (or the assigned Team Member's Name) allows the user to select who is in charge of the Work Item. Note: A prompt will list the following users to select from: Performing Users (Project Team resources who are defined as users), Manager 1, 2, 3, Users Readers, and Users Writers.

  • Clicking on the Remove (closepopupcirclehover22_md.png) button empties the Assignee field.

Parent

Indicates the Parent Object (Project, Work package, or Portfolio) the Work Item is attached to. By using the Move feature, the user can change a Parent object.

Type

Indicates the Type of the Work Item. The following actions are possible:

  • Clicking on the Attach (EditColor) button (or on the defined Type's Name) prompts the Types popup, allowing the user to select a Type for the Work Item.

  • Clicking on the Remove (closepopupcirclehover22_md.png) button empties the Type field.

Note

The Remove button is only available if the Type is not a required field

Estimated Date

Indicates the date on which the Project manager plans to deliver the Work Item. By default, the Estimated Date is automatically filled in as follows (from highest to lowest priority):

  • Finish date of the Task (if a Task has been defined in the Related Task field)

  • Committed Date (if any)

  • Due Date (if any)

Common section

Definition

The main section provides the following fields:

Name

Name of Work Item

Risk Action

Allows the user to define whether the Action is part of the Mitigation or the Contingency Plan. (For Actions connected to Risks only.)

Related Task

Allows the user to attach the Work Item to a task. In doing so, the Work Item will then be available in the Gantt side panel, Work Objects tab. The following alerts can be displayed:

  • ExclamationPointFullRedRed – Indicates that the Estimated Date falls outside the Task’sStart and Finish time frame.

  • ExclamationPointFullAmberAmber – Indicates that the Estimated Date is not aligned with the Task Finish date but still falls between the Task’s Start and Finish.

Priority

Indicates the urgency of the Work Item (for informative purposes only).

Client

Indicates which Organization has requested the Work Item. This field also conditions the Work Item availability in the Client Portal workspace. By default, the Client field is filled in with the Initiator’s Organization.

Planning

The following date fields are provided:

Due Date

Indicates the delivery date requested by the Initiator.

Committed Date

Indicates the date on which the accountable User plans to deliver the Work Item.

Estimated Date

Indicates the date on which the Project manager plans to deliver the Work Item. By default, the Estimated Date is automatically filled in as follows (from highest to lowest priority):

  • Finish date of the Task (if a Task has been defined in the Related Task field)

  • Committed Date (if any)

  • Due Date (if any)

Note: The Estimated Date can be overwritten manually at any time.

Completed Date

Date on which the Work Item has reached the “Closed” Workflow State (or “Completed” in the case of the Deliverables).

When the Activity Log feature is active, the following fields will also be available: Estimated Effort, Actual Effort, and Remaining Effort.

Settings

The Administrator can make the Activity Log available for each Work Item in the System Settings workspace, Work Management settings folder, Work Items tab.

In addition, the following icons that indicate there is an issue with a Work Item Date can be displayed:

TriangleRed

Indicates that the Work Item is open and that the Committed Date (or Due Date if the Committed Date field is empty) falls before Today’s date.

Estimated_in_the_past.png

Indicates that the Work Item is not closed and the Estimated Date falls before Today’s date.

Planned_Beyond_Due_Date.png

Indicates that the Work Item is open and that the Estimated Date falls after the Due Date.

Optional sections

Other Attributes

The Other Attributes section provides the following fields:

Other Assignees

Allows the user to add other stakeholders to the Work Item.

Link

Allows the user to enter a URL link regarding the Work Item. He/she can then click on the arrow icon to open the link in a new browser tab.

Acceptance Criteria

The Acceptance Criteria section is specific to Deliverables and provides a Rich Text section, which allows the user to describe the criteria required for the Deliverable to be defined as “Completed”.

Impact

The Impact section is specific to Change Requests and allows the user to enter information regarding the possible consequences if a Change Request is implemented (for informative purposes only). Here the user may specify the following:

  • Budget Min – Minimum estimated cost of the Change Request

  • Budget Max – Maximum estimated cost of the Change Request

  • Schedule Min – Minimum estimated impact of the change request on the schedule

  • Schedule Max – Maximum estimated impact of the change request on the schedule

Resolution

The Resolution section is specific to the Issues and provides a Rich Text section where the user can fill in information regarding how an Issue was resolved.

Connections

The Connections section can be added for all kinds of Work Items. It provides information regarding the relationship between the selected object and other objects.

Note

For more information regarding the possible connections for an object, please refer to the Connections topic.

Each connection is represented by a card, providing the following attributes of the connected object: category of object, ID, Type, Description, Assignee, and Workflow State.

The following tools are provided:

NewProject

Create & Connect

Allows the user to create a new object that will be automatically connected to the current object.

Note: If the Work Item is closed, and if the “No further action” option was selected upon reaching the “Closed” Workflow State, then the other options will be made available upon clicking on the “Create & Connect” command.

ConnectionColor

Connect to Existing

Allows the user to connect the current object to another object.

Note: The Backlog Item option will only be displayed if at least one Backlog Item exists for the selected project.

DeleteRed

More

Provides access to the following commands:

  • Remove Connection – Allows the user to delete the selected connection.

  • Connection Details – Opens a popup displaying the Name of the creator of the connection, and the Created Date.

Actions

The Actions section can be added for the following kinds of Work Items: Change Requests, Deliverables, and Issues. It provides an interface for creating the relationships between the current Work Item and different Actions.

Note

For more information regarding the possible Action connections, please refer to the Actions topic.

The following information regarding the connected Actions is displayed: Name, Due Date, Assignee, and Status.

The following commands are available:

Create & Connect

Opens the Action dialog box where the user can create a new action that will be automatically connected to the selected Work Item.

Connect to Existing

Opens the Global Actions list from which the user can select an existing action to be connected to the Work Item.

Remove Connection

Allows the user to delete the selected Action relationship(s). This command is only available if at least one relationship is selected (i.e., the corresponding checkbox is ticked).

Attachments

The Attachments section can be added for all kinds of Work Items. It provides a spreadsheet, which allows the user to attach information to the Work Items in the form of URL links. Attachments can be of any type (i.e., spreadsheets, documents, images, etc.) and are not saved in the Sciforma database.

Settings

The Attachments section is only displayed if the corresponding option has been activated by the Administrator in the System Settings workspace, Work Management Settings folder, Display Preferences tab.

The following attributes are available for viewing and editing: Type, Initiator, Name, and URL.

The following commands are available:

NewProject

New

Allows the user to create a new Attachment.

ConnectionColor

Connect to Existing

Opens the Global Attachments list from which the user can select an existing Attachment to be connected to the Work Item.

DeleteRed

Delete

Allows the user to delete the selected Attachment relationship(s). This command is only available if at least one relationship is selected (i.e., the corresponding checkbox is ticked).

Activity Log

The Activity Log section can be added for all kinds of Work Items. It allows users to specify the effort spent on a Work Item, and then import the Effort in his/her Timesheet. Each Activity Log entry is defined by the following attributes: User, Date, Actual Effort, and Comments.

The following commands are available:

NewProject

New

Adds a new entry in the spreadsheet for the user to fill in. The User field will be automatically filled in with the name of the logged-in user.

DeleteRed

Delete

Deletes the selected Activity Log entry. This command is only available when at least one entry is selected (i.e., the corresponding checkbox is ticked).