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.
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.
The upper section of the dialog box provides the Work Item Category, Key, Name, and Workflow State, as well as the following tools:
Workflow Actions | Allows the user to change the Work Item Workflow State. | |
Flag | Allows the user to mark the Work Item as flagged. | |
Notes | Indicates whether there are new notes or not, and displays the Notes dialog box. | |
More | Provides access to the following commands:
|
In addition, the following attributes are displayed:
Assignee | Indicates the Resource assigned to the Work Item. The following actions are possible:
|
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:
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):
|
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:
|
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. |
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):
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.
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:
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. | |
Indicates that the Work Item is not closed and the Estimated Date falls before Today’s date. | |
Indicates that the Work Item is open and that the Estimated Date falls after the Due Date. |
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. |
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”.
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
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.
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.
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:
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. | |
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. | |
More | Provides access to the following commands:
|
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.
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). |
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.
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:
New | Allows the user to create a new Attachment. | |
Connect to Existing | Opens the Global Attachments list from which the user can select an existing Attachment to be connected to the Work Item. | |
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). |
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:
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. | |
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). |