OVERVIEW A project is an unique group activity with a definite beginning and end designed to achieve a specific goal. As a rule, during its life each project goes through five main stages: • Initiating Defining the main goal and objectives of the project. • Planning Developing a plan to execute the project: setting milestones, creating a project team, assigning tasks. • Executing Completing the work according the developed plan. • Monitoring Tracking and analysing the project execution activities in order to define potential issues and make necessary corrections. • Closing Accepting the result of the project execution and completing the project. TeamLab Projects is a project management tool developed to help you successfully carry out the project through all these stages: schedule your workflow, manage your project team and distribute tasks between its members, track and report project progress in order to achieve the main goal of the created project. To access the Projects module from any TeamLab portal page, use the drop-down list in the top left corner of the page and select the corresponding option. [Back to the Top]
CREATING PROJECT The very first thing you should do to coordinate the workflow is to create a project. To do that, 1. click the Create New... button in the upper left corner and select the Project option from the drop-down list, If you have previously created a template for such projects you can make use of it switching to the Project Template section. It allows you to considerably reduce the time you spend on entering data. To learn more about how to create a template visit our Tips & Tricks section.
2. specify your project Title and enter a short Description, if necessary, 3. assign a Project Manager, To do that, open the corresponding drop-down list and select a person you need. Sort all users by group or use the filter field at
the top to facilitate the search. Check the box near this field if you wish to notify the progect manager by email. 4. create a project Team, To start adding members to the project team, click the Manage Team link. In the left part of the form check the users you wish to add to your team and click the rightwards arrow. To remove the user you added by mistake, select him/her and click the leftwards arrow. When all the users are added, click the Save button. They will be notified by email. 5. enter tags separating them with commas, This helps categorize the project and facilitate the search for the other users. 6. check the Save this project as private box, Use this option if you'd like to restrict access to the newly created project. In this case the project will be available only to the project administrator, the project manager and its members with corresponding rights. 7. check the Follow this project box, if you don't plan to participate in this project but need to keep track of it, 8. click the Save button.
Only TeamLab portal owner and TeamLab administrators, who have full privileges to manage the portal or Projectsmodule, can create new projects on the portal.
Making changes in your project when it is underway is as much inevitable as indispensable step in the project progress. To adjust some project settings, 1. open the project page clicking its title, 2. click the icon to the right of the project title, 3. select the Edit option from the drop-down list, 4. make all the changes you need and click the Save Project button.
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MANAGING YOUR TEAM One of the key factor to your project success is your Team. When your project is underway you might need to add or remove some team members. To do that, 1. switch to the Team tab on the project page, 2. click the Manage Team button, 3. add new users to your team, To do that, check the users you wish to add to your team in the Users list and click the rightwards arrow. Use the Quick Search field to quickly find the users you need or click the Select All link above to check all the users. 4. remove members from your team, To do that, select the users you wish to remove in the Team list and click the leftwards arrow. To remove all the users from your team use the Clear link above the list. 5. check the Notify added/removed users option, if you wish to notify them about team changes, 6. click the Save button.
By default, each project team member can view all content inside the selected project: milestones, tasks, documents and discussions. To restrict the access just select the teammate you wish to set access rights for and click one of the links to the right: • Discussions - disable this option to restrict the access to the project discussions. If this option is enabled, a project member can view and comment discussions as well as start a new one. • Documents - disable this option to restrict the access to the project documents and files. If this option is enabled, a project member can view, load and create documents. • All Tasks - disable this option to restrict the access to all the project tasks. In this case the project member will be able to
access tasks assigned to him/her only. If this option is enabled, a project member can view all tasks and set tasks to other teammates. • Milestones - disable this option to restrict the access to the project milestones. In this case the project member will be able to access milestones with tasks assigned to him/her only. The same way you can set the access rights for each member of your project team unless he/she does not have projects administrator privileges. This function is available for private projects only.
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SCHEDULING WORKFLOW Once the project is created, the next step is to schedule the workflow using the milestones. A milestone is a key point in the progress of a project. To plan a new milestone, 1. click the Create New... button in the upper left corner and select the Milestone option from the drop-down list, 2. specify your milestone Title and enter a short Description, if necessary, 3. select the Project you need to add a milestone to, 4. select the Responsible person you wish to assign the newly created milestone to, 5. set a desired Due Date, The due date of a milestone is the date by which all the tasks attached to it are supposed to be done. To set a due date, use one of the available options: Week, Month, Two months, or select it from the calendar, or enter it manually in the following format dd/mm/yyyy. 6. check the Key milestone option, if necessary, Use this option if you consider the newly created milestone to be more important than others. All the key milestones are marked by the red key icon placed near its title 7. to be notified 48 hours before the due date check the corresponding option, 8. click the Save button.
The created milestone will be added to the Milestones list. The same way as many milestones as you wish can be added to your project. When all the task are done, you can close the milestone changing its status from Open to Closed in the Milestoneslist. All you need is to click the blue arrow to the left of the milestone title and select the necessary status from the list. If you need to shift a milestone, 1. select the milestone you need from the Milestones list, 2. click the icon to the right of the milestone title, 3. select the Edit option from the Actions drop-down list, 4. make all the changes you need and click the Save Changes button. To delete a milestone, choose the corresponding option from the Actions drop-down list. [Back to the Top]
ASSIGNING TASKS Once the project is created and the milestone is added, one more step is left. Distribute the tasks among the project team members. To add a task, 1. click the Create New... button in the upper left corner and select the Task option from the drop-down list, 2. specify your task Title and enter a short Description, if necessary, 3. select the Project you need to add a task to, 4. assign a task to one of the available Milestones, Use the none option if you don't want to attach this task to any milestone.
5. select the responsible person you wish to assign this task to from the Assigned to list, You can assign the task to as many responsible persons as you wish selecting them from the list. To remove a person added by mistake from the list of the responsible persons, hover on his/her name and click the icon which appears to the left. All the responsible persons will be informed about a new task assigned to them by email. 6. set a desired Due Date, To do that, use one of the available options: Today, 3 days, Week, or select it from the calendar, or enter it manually in the following format dd/mm/yyyy. 7. check the High option to set the task priority, The icon will be added next to the task title in the Tasks list. 8. click the Save button or use the Save & Create New Task button to save this task and start creating the new one right away.
The created task will be added to the Tasks list. The same way as many tasks as you wish can be added to your project. If you need to edit a task, 1. select the task you need from the Tasks list, 2. click the icon to the right of the task title, 3. select the Edit option from the Actions drop-down list, 4. make all the changes you need and click the Save Changes button. When the task is done, close it right in the Tasks list changing its status from Open to Closed. To do that, just click the blue arrow left of the task title and select the necessary status from the list.
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To delete a task, choose the corresponding option from the Actions drop-down list. [Back to the Top]
CREATING SUBTASKS Sometimes to complete a task you need to perform several steps or divide it into parts and distribute them among several persons. Creating subtasks will help you manage your to-do list and stay organized. To create a subtask, 1. open the Tasks list clickig the corresponding option in the leftside menu, 2. select a desired task, To find a necessary task make use of our filter at the top of the list. Click the Add Filter button and select one of the options: • use the RESPONSIBLE list to display the tasks assigned to you, to a certain user or a group, or the tasks with no responsible; • use the STATUS list to display the tasks you are working on (open) or you have already completed (closed); • use the PROJECT list to display the tasks within your projects or the projects you don't participate in, or the projects with a specified tag; • use the DUE DATE list to display the tasks with a specified due date; • use the MILESTONE list to display the tasks assigned to a specified milestone. You can also enter a task name, entirely or partially, in the field and press the Enter key to find the necessary one 3. hover the cursor over the selected task and click the Subtask link which appears to the right of the task title, 4. specify your subtask Title, 5. select the responsible person you wish to assign this subtask to from the Responsible list, 6. press the Enter key.
The created subtask will be added and displayed below the selected task. The subtask due date will coincide with the due date of the task you attached the subtask to and can NOT be altered. If you need to edit a subtask, 1. select the subtask you need from the list, 2. click the icon to the right of the subtask title, 3. select the Edit option from the Actions drop-down list, 4. make all the changes you need and press the Enter key. When the subtask is completed, close it checking the box to the left of its title. To delete a subtask, choose the corresponding option from the Actions drop-down list. [Back to the Top]
LEADING DISCUSSION Once the project is underway any sort of problems or outstanding questions may occur. To find a right solution, discuss the issue with your project team. To start a project-related discussion, 1. click the Create New... button in the upper left corner and select the Discussion option from the drop-down list, 2. select the Project you wish to add a discussion to, 3. specify your discussion Title, 4. type in your massage and edit it using the Formatting Toolbar, 5. use the TeamLab Cut button to select a part you wish to be shown on the Discussions page, To do that, select the part you wish to hide with the mouse and click the TeamLab Cut button. The selected part will be highlighted. In this way only a short snippet of the post (not selected) was shown at the discussion list and feed pages. 6. invite people to your discussion,
To invite all your project team members, just click the Add Participants of This Project button. If you need to remove some of them or invite the persons who don't take part in the project click the Manage Subscribers link. The Manage Subscribers window will open. • To invite some more people, In the left part of the window check the users you wish to invite to your discussion and click the rightwards arrow to move them from the Users list to the Subscribers list. • To remove a subscriber, Select him/her in the Subscribers list and click the leftwards arrow. When all the users are added, click the Save button. The invited users will be added to the discussion participant list. The people you selected will be informed about the discussion created and the comments added to it. 7. preview the result and save your discussion.
You can always edit the text of your discussion, manage its subscribers. To do that, 1. select your discussion from the Discussions list, 2. open the discussion page clicking its title, 3. click the icon to the right of the discussion title, 4. select the Edit option from the Actions drop-down list, 5. make all the changes you need and click the Save Changes button. To delete a discussion, choose the corresponding option from the Actions drop-down list. [Back to the Top]
REPORTING PROJECT PROGRESS To increase the chances for project success, once your project is created you need to constantly monitor its progress keeping up with what everyone is doing. To do that, make use of TeamLab Reports system: 1. open the Reports list clickig the corresponding option in the leftside menu, 2. select the type of the report you wish to generate from the Reports list, 3. configure the available parameters, 4. click the Generate Report button.
Once the report is generated you can export it to a CSV file or print it using the buttons at the top right corner. You can set up needed parameters once and regularly receive automatic reports by email on certain date and time. To learn how it can be done refer to our Tips & Tricks section.
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SUSPENDING/CLOSING/DELETING PROJECT If you no longer work on your project, you may choose to either suspend or close it changing its status. All the project milestones and tasks should not necessarily be closed for you to be able to pause it, but you cannot close a project with open tasks.
To do that, 1. select your project from the Projects list, To find a necessary one make use of our filter at the top of the list clicking the Add Filter button and selecting one of the options:
use the TEAM MEMBER list to display the projects you or a certain user participate in; • use the STATUS list to display the projects you are working on (Active), you have temporarily suspended the work on (Paused) or you have already completed (Closed); • use the PROJECT MANAGER list to display the projects managed by you or by a certain user; • use the OTHER list to display the projects you don't participate in but keep track of (Followed) or the projects with a specified tag; You can also enter a project title, entirely or partially, in the field and press the Enter key to find the necessary one. •
2. click the blue arrow to the left of the project title, 3. select an appropriate status from the drop-down list. The paused or closed project will be faded and moved to the end of the Projects list. But you can easily access its milestones and tasks and change its status back to Active anytime.
If you wish to delete your project permanently, 1. select your project from the Projects list, 2. open the project page clicking its title, 3. click the icon to the right of the project title, 4. select the Delete option from the drop-down list, 5. conferm the operation. If you decide to delete a project, keep in mind that the project with all its tasks, milestones, files, discussions etc. will be lost with no possibility to restore.
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CHANGING PROJECTS MODULE SETTINGS
By default, all portal users can access the Projects module. There are 4 different access levels inside it: user (a TeamLab user not participating in any project), project team member, project manager and project administrator. Being a user you may perform the following operations: • view all content (except private projects); • add comments in discussions; • follow necessary projects; Being a project team member you may perform the following operations: • perform all user operations; • add tasks and assign them to yourself or other team members; • manage tasks created by you/assigned to you; • start new discussions; • add/remove your own files. Being a project manager you may perform the following operations: • perform team member operations; • add/remove people from project team; • manage tasks, milestones, discussions, comments inside a project; • change project status; • edit project settings; • set access rights to project team members (for private project only). Being a project administrator you may perform the following operations: • perform project manager operations; • create/edit/delete projects; • assign project manager; • import projects from Basecamp • create and edit project templates; • fully manage all content across all projects (manage team, tasks, milestones etc.). But being a portal owner you can restrict access to the Projects for some users or even disable this module, if you don't need it at all. To do that, 1. click the Portal Access Rights link at the left-side panel, 2. go to Projects section, 3. check the Users from list radio button, 4. select the users you wish to grant access to, To do that, use one of the available options;
use the Add user link if you wish to grant access to one or more people; • use the Add group link if you wish to grant access to all portal users, or to one or more groups. To disable the Projects module just switch to the Modules & Tools section selecting the corresponding option from the left-side menu, uncheck the Projects module and click the Save button. •
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