Project Manager Help System

Project Manager

Help System

Helping you to plan, track & report on your

projects online.

© Project Manager Online Ltd. www.ProjectManager.com

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................3

1.1 USING THE HELP ...............................................................................................................................4 1.2 YOUR FREE TRIAL .............................................................................................................................4 1.3 HOW TO SIGN UP ..............................................................................................................................5

2 GETTING STARTED...............................................................................................6

2.1 CREATING A BRAND NEW PROJECT......................................................................................................6 2.2 BUILDING A TASK LIST........................................................................................................................7 2.3 TRACKING YOUR PROJECTS................................................................................................................7 2.4 REPORTING ON YOUR PROJECTS.........................................................................................................8

3 DASHBOARD.......................................................................................................8

3.1 HEALTH CHART.................................................................................................................................9 3.2 RESOURCE CHART ..........................................................................................................................10 3.3 TIME CHART ...................................................................................................................................11 3.4 COSTS CHART ................................................................................................................................12 3.5 CHANGES CHART ............................................................................................................................13 3.6 RISKS CHART .................................................................................................................................14 3.7 ISSUES CHART................................................................................................................................14 3.8 EFFICIENCY CHART .........................................................................................................................15 3.9 PROGRESS CHART ..........................................................................................................................15

4 TASKS .............................................................................................................16

4.1 MENU BAR .....................................................................................................................................16 4.2 DATA COLUMNS ..............................................................................................................................18 4.3 GANTT CHART ................................................................................................................................20 4.4 TASK INFORMATION .........................................................................................................................21

5 RESOURCES .....................................................................................................23

5.1 VIEWING RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................24 5.2 ADDING A NEW RESOURCE ...............................................................................................................25 5.3 EDITING RESOURCE DETAILS ............................................................................................................26 5.4 ASSIGNING RESOURCES TO PROJECTS ...............................................................................................27 5.5 ASSIGNING RESOURCES TO TASKS ....................................................................................................27

6 TIME ...............................................................................................................28

6.1 VIEWING TIMESHEETS ......................................................................................................................28 6.2 ADDING A TIMESHEET ......................................................................................................................28 6.3 COPY A TIMESHEET .........................................................................................................................29

7 EXPENSES........................................................................................................29

7.1 VIEWING EXPENSES.........................................................................................................................29 7.2 ADD AN EXPENSE............................................................................................................................29

8 RISKS..............................................................................................................30

8.1 VIEWING RISKS ...............................................................................................................................31 8.2 ADD A RISK ....................................................................................................................................31 8.3 EDIT A RISK....................................................................................................................................32 8.4 ASSIGN RELATED TASKS ..................................................................................................................33

9 ISSUES ............................................................................................................33

9.1 VIEWING ISSUES .............................................................................................................................33 9.2 ADD AN ISSUE.................................................................................................................................34 9.3 EDIT AN ISSUE ................................................................................................................................35 9.4 ASSIGN RELATED TASKS ..................................................................................................................35


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10 CHANGES .....................................................................................................36

10.1 VIEWING CHANGES..........................................................................................................................36 10.2 ADD A CHANGE ...............................................................................................................................37 10.3 EDIT A CHANGE ..............................................................................................................................38 10.4 ASSIGN RELATED TASKS ..................................................................................................................38

11 REPORTS......................................................................................................39

11.1 PORTFOLIO STATUS.........................................................................................................................39 11.2 PROJECT STATUS ...........................................................................................................................40 11.3 PROJECT PLAN ...............................................................................................................................42 11.4 PROJECT VARIANCE ........................................................................................................................43 11.5 RESOURCE PLAN ............................................................................................................................44 11.6 RESOURCE ALLOCATION ..................................................................................................................45

12 DOCUMENTS .................................................................................................46

12.1 USING THE FOLDER HIERARCHY ........................................................................................................46 12.2 USING THE MENU BAR .....................................................................................................................47 12.3 USING THE DETAILS AREA ................................................................................................................48 12.4 USING THE SEARCH.........................................................................................................................48

13 ADMINISTRATION............................................................................................49

13.1 SIGN UP ........................................................................................................................................49 13.2 ACCOUNT ......................................................................................................................................50 13.3 USERS ..........................................................................................................................................51 13.4 CUSTOMERS...................................................................................................................................52 13.5 CALENDAR .....................................................................................................................................53 13.6 PROFILE ........................................................................................................................................54 13.7 SETTINGS ......................................................................................................................................55 13.8 SECURITY ......................................................................................................................................55


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1 Introduction

Welcome to ProjectManager.com, the place that offers you everything you need to

deliver projects successfully. Using this software, you can manage your tasks, resources,

risks, changes and issues to deliver projects on time and under budget.

The project dashboard will tell you whether your projects are on track, and the reports

will save you time and effort by avoiding paperwork.

If you want to work smart by using smart software, then this is the place. You will be

able to create as many projects and tasks as you wish, giving you unlimited access online.

To get started, we have described in depth in this Help section every one of the core

features that this product has to offer. Here is a brief description of each core feature:

• Portfolio: The Portfolio tab offers a summarized view of all of your projects. The

data displayed on the dashboard is summarized across all of your projects, showing whether your portfolio is on track or in need of attention.

• Dashboard: The dashboard offers you a view, at a glance, of the progress of the

project. It shows you whether your projects are on time and under budget. The

efficiency and progress of each project is displayed, along with risks, issues and

changes.

• Tasks: This allows you to create a task list and then schedule each task

accordingly. You can allocate resources, create links between tasks and even assign related risks, changes and issues.

• Resources: On this panel, you will be able to manage all of your project

resources. Whether its people, equipment or materials, each resource can be assigned to your project as you see fit.

• Risks: Using the risks panel, you can create new risks, allocate existing risks to

your team for resolution, and monitor the risk status. A summarized view of each risk is also shown on your dashboard.

• Issues: Issues which arise during the project are tracked on the Issues panel.

You can view all issues within the project, sort them by their Level and reassign them to staff as you wish.

• Changes: As you encounter each change, you can create, assign and track them

on the Changes panel.

• Reports: There is a suite of reports in ProjectManager.com which help you gain a

detailed understanding of the progress of the project over a defined period.

• Documents: Why not use ProjectManager.com as your project library? Simply

drop and drag your documents into the store, so that you have online access to them whenever you want.

• Administration: You can manage your account, your assigned users, calendar

and profile in the Accounts section by simply clicking on the big round button.


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1.1 Using the Help

It's easy to use the help...

Simply click on the "+" button alongside each Help topic, and any sub-topics under that

item will be displayed. And if you wish to roll up the sub-topics, then you can click the "-

" button accordingly. When you click on one of the Content labels (such as "Getting

Started", "Dashboard" or "Tasks") then the help contents page will be shown on the right hand side.

In this way, you can navigate all of the help content, quickly and easily. Also, did you

know that the Help system is "context sensitive"? This means that it detects the area of

the system that you are currently in, and it will open the relevant Help content page when you click on the Help link in the top right hand corner.

So you don't have to find the relevant Help content yourself if you don't want to.

Instead, you can just go to the relevant place in the software and click on the Help link to get help on completing it.

For instance, say you wanted to look at your risks. You can open your project and then

click on the risks tab. If you then wanted help completing the Risks panel, then simply

click on the Help link in the top right hand corner, and the Help system will open on the

Risks topic. You can then read the topic to find out all there is to know about creating and managing risks.

Want help on a topic that isn't covered in the Help system? Please email us at

[email protected] and tell us about it. As well as responding to your

enquiry, we will consider whether it's a generic category that should be added to the

Help system. If it is, then we will add a new help category on it, so that others can read

about it as well.

1.2 Your Free Trial

Anyone can get a free 30 day trial to ProjectManager.com simply by clicking on the "Free

Trial" button on the website. When you register for a free trial, you will immediately

access the software, as though you had paid.

We are frequently asked the question "what are the differences between the free trial

version and the paid version of your software?" and the answer is that they are identical.

In free trial mode, you can do everything that a paid user can, including creating as many projects, tasks and resources as you wish.

When you enter the free trial, the first thing that you will notice is that there are three

sample projects already included. These projects show you at a glance, the powerful features that ProjectManager.com includes.

Each sample project has its own project dashboard. On this dashboard, you will see the

summary tasks that are included as well as the risks, changes and issues raised. The

graphs on the dashboard allow you to see whether or not the project is on track. There

is also a portfolio dashboard which shows you a "helicopter view" of the three projects, at the summary level.

You can then feel free to change the data provided in the three sample projects, or to

create new projects as you wish. Read the "Getting Started" section in this Help panel to learn how to create new projects and plan, monitor and report on them.


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Note:

• You will have complete unlimited access to this free trial for a period of 30 days.

During this time, you can assign multiple users to your account, so that you can start collaborating on projects.

• At the end of 30 days, your free trial will expire. If you haven't signed up within

this period, then any data you have entered during your free trial will be removed.

• If you wish to keep using the system after the 30 day period, then you will need to sign up.

• Remember, when you sign up you only pay one month ahead. You can cancel

your account at any time, so sign up now to use this smart software to help you deliver projects.

1.3 How to Sign up

It's easy to sign up. Click on the "Sign up NOW" button at the top, or visit

www.ProjectManager.com and click on the "Sign up" button.

When you sign up to Project Manager.com, you will pay a small monthly fee for

accessing the software. This fee helps us cover our costs and ensure a high quality of

service to you.

The sign up process is quick and easy. Here are the steps:

• Number of users: Enter in the number of users you require. Each user will get

their own login to the system and they will view the same projects as you. So if

you have 10 people in your project team and they all want to collaborate on

projects, then you will need 10 users accounts. If you give someone else your

login details and they login as you, then you will be logged out. So it's important that you identify the correct number of user logins you require upfront.

• Document Storage: You will be given a reasonable amount of document storage

when you sign up for free. If you wish to increase the amount of storage that you

require, then select the amount needed. Then click on the "Calculate Price"

button and the monthly amount that will be charged to your credit card will

appear. Note: After you have signed up, it's easy to change your user numbers and document storage amounts. You can do this in the Accounts area.

• My Details: In this panel, you can enter your email address, company name and

telephone number as well as your postal address. Please ensure that these details are correct as we will use them to correspond with you about your account.

• My Payment: Here you will enter your credit card details. We take Visa,

MasterCard and American Express. Again, please ensure that your details are correct before proceeding.

• Terms: Please read the terms and conditions provided. Then when you are ready,

tick to say that you have read and accepted them, and then click "sign me up

now".

We will then process your payment and confirm your account. After your sign up is

complete, we will immediately create a separate database on our server that is dedicated

purely to you. This ensures that your data is secure and can only be accessed by you and your users.


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Have any questions? Click on the Support link at the top to send us a message, or drop

us an email to [email protected]

2 Getting Started

To get started using ProjectManager.com read this section.

You will learn how to create a brand new project, build a task list, track your project and

report on progress. There are a lot of steps to take when creating a new project from

scratch, but if you complete each step in the order described in the help section, then you will be well on your way to controlling your project delivery.

Note: This software already comes with 3 sample projects. These projects are provided

to give you an overview of the system and show you all of the different types of

information that can be generated. At any stage during your free trial or paid subscription, you can delete these projects and the associated resources, to clean out

your account and get started managing your own projects.

2.1 Creating a Brand New Project

You can create a new project by either:

• Clicking the big round “Main Menu” button in the top left and then selecting “New

Project” or;

• Clicking the small “page” icon on the tab bar, then selecting “Create a new

project”

When the “Create a new project” panel becomes visible, you will be prompted to fill in

the following information:

• Project Name: The name of the project.

• Description: A description of the project. This can be anything you want.

• Start Date: This is the start date for the project.

• End Date: This is the end date for the project.

• Budget: Enter the budgeted cost of the project here.

• Standard Rate: This is the hourly rate for each resource on the project. You can

override this rate on the resource page, you need to enter in a default standard

rate here, if you do not enter a value here we default the standard rate to 0. The

reason is that in order to populate the charts on the dashboard, the software

needs to know what the approximate cost of each resource is. This cost will of

course vary and can be identified for each resource individually, on the Resource

page. Please note that having a standard rate of 0 will cause some reports to

show a planned project cost of 0 too.

Having created your new project, the next step is to create your task list.

User Access Define the users that can access this project.


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2.2 Building a Task List

After you select to create a new project, the next step in Getting Started is the creation

of a task list. This step helps you to plan out the phases, activities and tasks required to

deliver your project on time and under budget.

There are three options for creating a task list for your project:

1. Create a blank task list: This option allows you to go straight to the Task panel

and start entering new tasks from scratch. The list will be empty initially, so that

you can customize your task list as you wish. You will also be able to assign

resources to your tasks, add links between tasks and set milestones and even a

baseline, if you wish.

2. Copy an existing project’s tasks: If you select this option, then you will be

able to choose from one of the existing projects within your account. And when

you select an existing project and click “OK”, then the entire task list for that

project will be copied over to your new project. This option is frequently used by

Project Managers that manage similar types of projects. It allows them to take a

prior project and copy the task list into a new project, so that they don’t have to start from scratch.

3. Import an MS Project plan: If you use MS Project to plan your projects and

you want to import a plan from MS Project into your project here, then you can

use this option. You will be able to select an MS Project plan from your PC or file

server, and upload it into ProjectManager.com immediately. The entire task list

will be imported, along with the resources, durations and links (where appropriate).

By selecting the option which suits you best, you can proceed to the next step which is

to begin tracking your project progress.

2.3 Tracking Your Projects

When you have created a task list and you’re ready to begin tracking your project, then

read this section.

Tracking a project is all about entering project data that helps you view the actual

progress of the project to date. If you really want to track every aspect of your project

using ProjectManager.com, then there are a number of places that you can begin entering actual data in the Task panel now:

Column Selector:

The first place is to enter “actuals” information by clicking on the small tick icon above

the “ALL” icon shown below. This will allow you to see all of the columns that can be

made visible, in the column area of your Task panel. If you tick the “Actual Effort”,

“Actual Duration”, “Actual Start Date” and “Actual Finish Date” items, then these fields

will appear immediately. Click the small red cross to close the panel. You may need to use your scroll bars to see the fields available.

Task Information Panel

The second way to enter “actuals” is in the Task Information panel at the bottom.


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You can enter the actual start and finish dates, duration and effort fields, for every task

in the project.

2.4 Reporting on Your Projects

After completing your task list and entering planned and actual project data, you have

enough information to be able to use the intelligent reporting features provided by

ProjectManager.com

Click on the “Reports” tab and then select the project you wish to run. There are 5

reports provided, a brief description of each is provided below:

Portfolio Status: The “portfolio” level is the summary level which spans across all of

your projects. It allows you to see how your entire portfolio of projects is progressing,

and whether they are on track. If you want detailed portfolio level information, then click

on the “Portfolio Status” report.

Project Status: Almost every Project Manager is required to complete a regular Project

Status Report for their Sponsor or Customer. Take the hassle out of creating your status

report, by customizing and running this report on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. You can view, print or email the report as you wish.

Project Plan: If you want to view a complete list of all of the tasks in your project plan,

then this is the perfect report for you. You can the entire task list, as well as the timeframes, resources and related risks, issues and changes.

Project Variance: Knowing you’re on track is a critical part of project management.

This report helps tell you whether you’re on track, based in the variance between your

planned progress and your actual progress. And if you have baselined your project, then it will also tell you the variance against baseline as a well.

Resource Plan: Use this report to tell you whether your staff are under or over loaded.

It tells you this by calculating the variance between the available capacity of each staff member, and the amount you have allocated them to tasks.

For more information about these reports, see the Reports section in this Help panel.

3 Dashboard

The dashboard is the place that you go to, to find out whether or not your project is on

track. It contains a suite of charts and graphs which provide you with summary

information about your project. There are three types of dashboards that you may view:

1. Portfolio Dashboard: The portfolio level dashboard shows you a summary of all

of your projects. It allows you to see whether your entire portfolio of projects are health, being delivered on time, and are under budget.

2. Project Groups Dashboard: You can create groups of projects and view a

dashboard for your project group.

3. Project Dashboard: Every project has its own dashboard. The dashboard tells

you whether the project is currently on time, within budget and whether or not is has an acceptable level of risk.


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Customizing your dashboard

On every dashboard, there are a number of charts available. By default, the dashboard

will have a pre-defined layout of charts. You can customize this dashboard by:

• Adding another chart. Simply click on the chart name (e.g. “Issues”) and the

chart will be added to your dashboard.

• Removing a chart. Click on the small “+” on the top right hand corner of the

chart, to close it.

• Minimizing a chart. Click on the small “-" on the top right hand corner of the

chart, to minimize it.

• Moving the chart. Click and drag the chart into another desired location, using

your mouse. Drop it into the new location. If there is another chart already there,

then the charts will shuffle around it, to fit it in neatly.

• Changing the chart title: Click on the chart name, in the chart title bar. You

can then enter a new name for the chart and click “OK” to save it.

Changing your settings

Every chart comes with settings which are unique to it. These settings are covered in

depth in the Help section for each relevant widget.

3.1 Health Chart

The health chart tells you what the level of health is, for your project. It allows you to

easily identify those projects which are progressing fine and those projects which are in

trouble. There are several indicators shown on the health chart, as follows. Note a Grey

coloring indicates no data available.

Time

• Green indicates that at least 95% of tasks are on schedule

• Yellow indicates that 85-94% of tasks are on schedule

• Red indicates that < 85% of tasks are on schedule

Cost

• Green indicates that the projected finish costs are at least 5% under budget

• Yellow indicates that the projected finish costs are within 5% of the budget (over

or under)

• Red indicates that the budget has already been exceeded or the projected finish

costs are greater than 5% over budget

Effort

Shows you the percentage of incomplete tasks (i.e. tasks currently in progress) for which

the Actual Effort is less than the Planned Effort. In other words, it shows you the percentage of tasks that still have work remaining.

• Green indicates that >95% of incomplete tasks have not exceeded their

estimated effort

• Yellow indicates that 85%-95% of incomplete tasks have not exceeded their

estimated effort


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• Red indicates that less than 85% of incomplete tasks have not exceeded their

estimated effort

Progress

Shows you how much work has been done, vs. how much work should have been done, at this point.

• Green indicates that more work has been completed than planned

• Yellow indicates that more than 95% of the work that should have been

completed at this point, has been completed

• Red indicates that less than 95% of the work that should have been completed at

this point, has been completed

Risks

• Green indicates that the majority of risks have a “Low” level

• Yellow indicates that the majority of risks have a “Medium” level

• Red indicates that the majority of risks have a “High” level

Issues

• Green indicates that the majority of issues have a “Low” level

• Yellow indicates that the majority of issues have a “Medium” level

• Red indicates that the majority of issues have a “High” level

Changes

• Green indicates that the majority of changes have a “Low” level

• Yellow indicates that the majority of changes have a “Medium” level

• Red indicates that the majority of changes have a “High” level

Settings

• Portfolio Dashboard: When you click on the Settings button (shown in the title bar

for this chart), you can determine whether “Only Active” or “All” projects are included.

• Project Dashboard: There are no settings for this chart, on the project dashboard.

3.2 Resource Chart

The Resource chart is used on the Portfolio and Project dashboards, to help you identify

the level of resource available for your projects.

It shows you the overall quantity of available resources (“capacity”) versus the allocated

resources (“allocated”) along with the “planned” work for your projects.

Portfolio Dashboard

At the portfolio level, this widget shows summarized data for each open project. There

are three bars for each project, to help you quickly view the level of resource available for your projects:


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• Capacity: This is a summary of the total number of “working days” that are set

for each resource in the project. The working days are marked on each resource

calendar. The calendar can be accessed from the big round menu button at the

top. As you increase the number of working days available for a resource, then the overall Capacity in the chart increases.

• Allocated: This is the total number of days that resource have been assigned to

tasks to complete. As you assign a resource to complete a task (in the Task panel), the number of hours they have allocated to the task are added to this

calculation. Therefore, as you allocate more resource to tasks, the “Allocated” amount of resource increases.

• Planned: This is the total number of day’s effort that is required to complete the

project. When you create a new Task in the tasks panel, you can assign an

amount of “Planned Effort” to it. This graph summarizes all of the planned effort to complete each task and presents it on the “Planned” bar.

Project Dashboard

The way that the Resource chart works for the project dashboard is the same as the

portfolio dashboard. The only difference is that the chart shows it by resource as

opposed to by project. In this way, you can see which resources are over-allocated and which are under-allocated on a project. Here are some tips:

• Capacity vs. Allocated: The difference between the Capacity and Allocated bars

is your availability. So if a resource has 100 hours of Capacity (i.e. they have the

capacity for working 100 hours on your project) and only 50 hours of Allocated

time (i.e. they are only currently allocated to work 50 hours), then they have 50

hours available that are not yet allocated to tasks. Also if your Allocated bar is

greater than your Capacity bar, then you have over-allocated your resources and you need to reduce their workload.

• Planned vs. Allocated: Likewise, if your Allocated level of resource is greater

than your Planned, then you have over-allocated your resources and you need to reduce their workload.

Settings




3.3 Time Chart

The Time chart allows the Project Manager to identify projects which are on time, vs.

those which are slipping or overdue.

Portfolio Dashboard

On the Portfolio dashboard, the Time chart lists all of your projects and it tells you at a

glance, whether the actual progress matches the planned progress to date. For each

chart, there are up to 3 bars displayed, as follows:

• Actual: This shows you the Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date for a closed

project.

• Planned: This shows you the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Date for the

project. The Planned Start Date is the start date of the first task in your project


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plan, and the Planned Finish Date is the end date of your last task (in terms of timeframes) in your project plan.

• Baseline: This shows you the Baseline Start Date and Baseline Finish Date for the

project. The Baseline Start Date is the start date of the first task in your project

plan at the time it was baselined. The Baseline Finish Date is the end date of your

last task (in terms of timeframes) in your project plan, at the time the project was baselined.

Project Dashboard

On the Project dashboard, the Time chart lists all of your summary tasks and it tells you

at a glance, whether the actual progress matches the planned progress to date. The

same bars are shown as described above, depicting the planned, actual and baseline

timeframes for the project.

Note: These combinations of bars may display at any time:

• No Baseline, No Actual, Planned: This is for incomplete projects, with no baseline.

• Baseline, No Actual, Planned: This is for incomplete projects with a baseline.

• No Baseline, Actual, No Planned: This is for completed projects with no baseline.

• Baseline, Actual, No Planned: This is for completed projects with a baseline.

Settings




3.4 Costs Chart

The Cost chart is used on the Portfolio and Project dashboards, to show you whether

your projects are under or over budget. Your “Budget” is defined in two placed. Firstly,

you can enter your initial budget on the project creation page, shown whenever you

create a new project. This field is really just a reminder for you, so you know what the

initial budget was before you started out on your project.

The real budget figure is the one that is calculated based on all of your planned

expenses. So as you add new planned expenses to the project, these planned expenses

all summarize into what we call the “Budget” for the project. The budget is therefore the total planned cost of the project.

The advantage in defining the budget as the total planned cost of the project is that you

can compare it to the actual cost of the project and identify any variance. That’s the

purpose of this graph, to show you any variances between your planned and actual

costs.

Cost is purely associated with the cost of “resources” on the project. In the future, we

will allow you to enter non-resource costs such as the cost for rent, power, or one-off costs such as the purchase of stationery and equipment.

Cost is calculated as the number of resource hours, times the hourly cost of those

resource. This is assuming that the cost of the resource was manually entered by the

user. If the cost was not entered, then the default “standard rate” for the cost of a resource will apply.


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Portfolio Dashboard

On the Portfolio dashboard, the Cost chart shows you the differences between your

actual, planned and baseline costs. These are defined as follows:

• Baseline Cost: This is the sum of the cost of effort which was planned to be

consumed, when the project was baselined.

• Actual Cost:Actual costs are displayed for resource and expense costs (move your

mouse over the columns to find the exact values)

o Resource Cost: This is the sum of the actual cost of effort which has been consumed for the project to date.

o Expense Cost: This is the sum of the expenses which have been consumed

for the project to date.

• Planned Cost: This is the sum of the cost of effort which is planned to be

consumed by the project.

Project Dashboard

The Cost chart shows you the same details as for the portfolio dashboard. It show

differences between your actual, planned and baseline costs. It also displays the

project's budget (if available).

Settings




3.5 Changes Chart

This chart shows you the percentage of changes that you have, that are graded as low,

medium or high:

1. High graded changes are marked in red

2. Medium graded changes are marked in yellow

3. Low graded changes are marked in green

The grade of each change is called the change “Level”, as marked on the Changes tab

alongside the change itself. The change level is determined by the Impact and Priority of

the change. The higher the impact and priority assigned, the higher the “level” of the

change. So for instance, say you have change that is high priority and when

implemented, will have a high impact on the project delivery. This type of change will

automatically be marked as a “High” level change and will be assigned the color red. It

will then be added to the pie chart, into the red segment.

If you wish to reduce the number of highly graded changes in your Changes Chart, then

you will need to click on the Change tab and downgrade the impact and priority of each

change, as appropriate. The Change chart will then immediately be updated to reflect the most recent data entered.

Settings:

When you click on the chart Settings button shown in the top right hand corner, then

you will be able to decide on the data which should be included in this chart when it

loads. Here, you can choose whether to include Open, Closed or All changes. By default,


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only Open changes are included. This means that in the Changes panel (at the top), the

change will need to have a status of “Open” to be included in the results displayed by

this chart.

3.6 Risks Chart

This chart shows you the percentage of risks that are low, medium or high:

1. High graded risks are marked in red

2. Medium graded risks are marked in yellow

3. Low graded risks are marked in green

The grade of each risk is called the risk “Level”, as marked on the Risks tab alongside

the risk itself. The risk level is determined by the Impact and Likelihood of the risk. The

higher the impact and likelihood assigned, the higher the “level” of the risk. So for instance, say you have marked a risk as being highly likely to happen and if it does, it

will have a high impact the project. This type of risk will automatically be marked as a

“High” level risk and will be assigned the color red. It will then be added to the pie chart,

into the red segment.

If you wish to reduce the number of highly graded risks in your Risks Chart, then you

will need to click on the Risk tab and downgrade the likelihood and impact of each risk, as appropriate. The Risk chart will then immediately be updated to reflect your changes.

Settings:

When you click on the Settings button, you will be able to make changes to the data

included in this chart when it loads. Here, you can choose whether to include Open,

Closed or All risks. By default, only Open risks are included. This means that in the Risks

panel (at the top), the risk will need to have a status of “Open” to be included in the results displayed by this chart.

3.7 Issues Chart

This chart shows you the percentage of issues that are low, medium or high:

1. High graded issues are marked in red

2. Medium graded issues are marked in yellow

3. Low graded issues are marked in green

The grade of each issue is called the issue “Level”, as marked on the Issues tab

alongside the issue itself. The issue level is determined by the Impact and Priority of the

issue. The higher the impact and priority assigned, the higher the “level” of the issue. So

for instance, say you have an issue that is high priority and is currently having a major

impact on the project delivery. This type of issue will automatically be marked as a

“High” level issue and will be assigned the color red. It will then be added to the pie

chart, into the red segment.

If you wish to reduce the number of highly graded issues in your Issues Chart, then you

will need to click on the Issue tab and downgrade the impact and priority of each issue,

as appropriate. The Issues chart will then immediately be updated to reflect the most recent data entered.

Settings:

When you click on the Settings button, you will be able to make changes to the data

included in this chart when it loads. Here, you can choose whether to include Open,

Closed or All issues. By default, only Open issues are included. This means that in the


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Issues panel (at the top), the issue will need to have a status of “Open” to be included in the results displayed by this chart.

3.8 Efficiency Chart

The Efficiency chart is used on the Portfolio and Project dashboards to show you how

efficient your projects are in completing tasks on time. It shows you the percentage of

tasks per project that are complete on time, under the allocated time and over the

allocated time available.

Portfolio Dashboard

On the Portfolio dashboard, the chart shows a summary of all completed tasks for all of

your projects. It looks at every completed task and determined whether the Actual Finish

Date was; before, the same as, or after the Planned Finish Date. It then calculates the

amount of time difference between these two fields and marks the time difference in the overall chart.

Project Dashboard

This chart works the same on the Project Dashboard as it does on the Portfolio

dashboard. The only difference is that on the Project Dashboard, only the completed tasks for the selected project are taken into account.

Note: Only tasks which have been marked on the Task tab as 100% complete, are taken

into account on this chart. Any tasks which are less that 100% complete are not deemed to be fully completed and are excluded from the calculations.

Settings


for this chart), you can determine the timeframe that the task slippage applies to.

• Project Dashboard: Same as above.

3.9 Progress Chart

The Progress chart is used on the Portfolio and Project dashboards, to show you how

your projects and tasks are progressing.

Portfolio Dashboard

On the Portfolio dashboard, the Progress chart lists all of your projects and it tells you

what the overall percentage complete is per project. It does this by looking at all of the tasks for each project and averaging the total “percent complete”.

For example, say you had a project called “Project A” and it had three tasks: Task 1 was

25% complete, Task 2 was 50% complete and Task 3 was 25% complete, then it would calculate the average percent complete as 33% (i.e. 25%+50%+25% / 3 = 33%).

This chart tells you how much of your project has been completed to date, so you will

know based on the elapsed time to date, whether or not you’re on track. For instance, if

you have a 6 month project and you only have 1 week to go, and this chart tells you that you are only 50% complete, then you know you’ll probably be running late.

Project Dashboard

The Progress chart on the Project dashboard works in the same way as the same widget

on the Portfolio dashboard. The difference is that it shows you the progress of your “summary” tasks. Summary tasks are tasks which have sub-tasks beneath them. So say

in your plan that Task1 has 3 sub-tasks beneath it, Task2 has 5 sub-tasks beneath it and

Task3 has no sub-tasks beneath it. Then the summary tasks would be Task 1 and Task 2


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as they have sub-tasks beneath them. The widget would show you the average percent

complete of those sub-tasks, so that you can get a feel for whether or not the project is

on track.

Settings




4 Tasks

The Tasks panel allows you to create and manage your project plan. Your plan will

consist of a set of tasks, which are sequenced in order and assigned to team members

for completion. As they complete each task, you can update the plan to track their

progress. You can then view the progress of the project, real-time. See one of the sample projects provided in your account, to see what a fully completed project plan

looks like.

The Tasks panel includes a wide variety of software features which help you plan and

track projects. Here is a list of the major features included:

1. Menu bar: In the blue area at the top of the Tasks panel, you will notice a suite

of menu options. These options allow you to create new tasks, assign resources, link tasks together and show/hide elements of your page.

2. Data columns: Immediately below the Menu bar at the top, there are a suite of

columns. These columns allow you to enter task-specific information, to schedule your tasks and track progress.

3. Gantt chart: To the right of the data columns is the Gantt chart. This is a visual

representation of the data columns previously mentioned. Some people like using

the data columns to track projects, while others prefer to use the more graphical

Gantt view. Both represent the same data for your project.

4. Task information: At the bottom of your page is the Task Information area. In

this area, you can see for any individual task, all of the data relating to it.

For more information about these features, click on the relevant link in the Help menu

(to your left). Each feature has its own Help page to assist you.

4.1 Menu Bar

On the Tasks panel, the menu bar is the blue area at the top. It contains a wide range of menu options that allow you to enter and track tasks. Here is a list of menu options

(from left to right) along with a detailed description of each:

• Task: The “Task” button is the first button in the menu bar. When you click on it,

a new task will appear in the task list below. While you can create a new task

simply by clicking on the task list in an empty available task and typing in a

name, you can also click on this Task button to achieve the same result. If you

already have a task selected before you click on the Task button, then the new task will be created directly beneath it.

• Cut: The “Cut” button allows you to cut and paste a task into another location.

You will need to select a task first (by clicking anywhere on the task row itself)

before you click the Cut button. And when you do, the task will be removed from


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the list. Then proceed immediately to the target location in your task list and perform a Paste, as described below.

• Copy: Like the Cut button, the “Copy” button allows you to move a task from one

location to another. However the difference is that the Cut button will

immediately remove the task from the list, whereas the copy button will simply

take a copy of it and leave it as it was.

• Paste: After you have performed either a Cut or Copy operation, you will be able

to perform a Paste. You can either select an empty task to paste the content into,

or select an existing task and paste the cut or copied task into the row immediately below it.

• Delete: To delete a task, simply click on the task and click the delete button. All

links with this task will also be deleted.

• Rename: To rename a task, click on the Rename button. You will be able to

enter a different name for your task and then click another task, or Enter on your keyboard, to make the changes take effect.

• Milestone: A “Milestone” is typically defined as a minor or major achievement in

a project. Like Microsoft Project, you can make a task a “Milestone”. When you do

this, it will change the view of the task in the Gantt area, from a bar to a

diamond. This represents the date that your achievement is due.

• Import: To import a Microsoft Project plan, simply click on the Import button and select the plan you wish to import.

• Export: You can export your project plan into Microsoft Project format, by

clicking on this button.

• Restore: As you make changes in the Task panel, the changes you make will not

be saved until you click on the Save button. At any time, you can revert back to

your saved version (ignoring all of the unsaved changes you have made), by clicking on the restore button.

• Save: Whenever you wish, you can click the Save button to save your most

recent changes.

• Indent: If you have two tasks and you want one task to appear indented

underneath the other one, then select the task that it lower down on the list and click the Indent button.

• Outdent: This button performs the opposite function of an Indent. It aligns the

selected task, to the left.

• Resource: Click on a task and use this button to allocate resource to it. You can

allocate as many resources to each task as you wish.

• Baseline: Experienced Project Managers will often make a “Baseline” by clicking

on this button. It stores the planned view of your tasks in the database and

allows you to compare your current planned view against the baseline view, at any time.

• Add Note: You can click on any task and add a note to it. When you have added

a note, the note icon will appear in the Information column (marked with a blue circular “i”). Your entire team can then see the notes you have added.


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• Add Alert: If you want to receive an email alert when a task slips, then click the

Add Alert button. Any user in the system can receive email alerts for late tasks,

as they wish.

• Lock: When you select a task and click to Lock it, then you will notice that in the

Task Information area below that the Planned start and end dates are no longer

editable. This means that if you lock a task, you can no longer move the task to another date. You can then unlock the task using the same button, at any time.

• Link: To add links (otherwise known as “dependencies”) between tasks, use the

Link button. You will be able to select the tasks that you want to link to this task, from a list provided.

• Unlink: If you select a task that has links from or to other tasks, then you can

click “Unlink” to remove all of these links immediately.

• Show / Hide Planned: As you create new tasks, the Gantt chart shows you the

“planned” view of these tasks. When you start entering “actuals” or you set a

“baseline”, then you can turn off this planned view and instead show the Actual or

Baseline view in the Gantt chart area. You can only turn off the Planned view

when the Actual and Baseline views are available.

• Show / Hide Actual: When you complete the “Actual” Start and Finish dates for

each task (in the Task Information panel at the bottom of the Task panel), then

you will be able to see the ”Actual” progress of the project. You can click “Show Actual” to see the actual progress against the Planned or Baseline views, in the Gantt area below.

• Show / Hide Baseline: If you have clicked on the Baseline button previously, to

set a new baseline for the project, then the “Show Baseline” button will become

available. This allows you to show the Baseline view of the project in the Gantt area, against the Actual and Planned progress to date.

• Show / Hide Columns: If you only want to see the Gantt area and you want to

hide the Columns area of the Task panel, then click on the “Hide Columns”

button. You can click on “Show Columns” any time after that, to restore the Column view on the screen.

• Show / Hide Gantt: If you only want to see the Columns area and you want to

hide the Gantt area of the Task panel, then click on the “Hide Gantt” button. You

can click on “Show Gantt” any time after that, to restore the Gantt view on the screen.

• Show / Hide Task Info: If you want to show or hide the Task Information panel

at the bottom of the Task panel, then use this button. You will not lose any information. You will simply hide and show the features provided.

4.2 Data Columns

Immediately below the Menu bar at the top, there are a suite of columns which allow

you to enter project data for tasks. You can change the columns viewed, by using the

task selector below.


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As you tick and un-tick items in the list, the columns change dynamically in the

background. A brief description of each column follows:

• Information: This column shows any general information relating to the task.

This information includes notes, alerts and the lock/unlock status.

• Task Name: This is the name of the task itself. You can make the name

whatever you wish.

• Task Description: We suggest adding a brief description of each task, using this

task description column.

• Planned Start Date: This is the date that the task is planned to start on.

• Planned Finish Date. This is the date that the task is planned to finish on.

• Planned Duration: This is the planned duration of the task, calculated as the

elapsed time difference (in days) between the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Date for the task.

• Planned Effort: This is the amount of effort that that is planned to be spent (in

hours) completing the task.

• Actual Start Date: This is the date that work on the task actually commenced.

• Actual Finish Date: This is the date that work on the task ceased, when the task

was marked as 100% complete.

• Actual Duration: This is the actual duration of the task, calculated as the

elapsed time difference (in days) between the Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date for the task.

• Actual Effort: This is the amount of effort that was actually spent (in hours)

completing the task.

• Percent Complete: This is the actual current percentage of the task that has

been completed, to date.

• Resource: This is a list of resources that have been allocated to complete the

task.

• Milestone: This is a checkbox that shows whether the task is marked as a

Milestone task or not. A milestone task is one that is deemed to be an

accomplishment for the project, in achieving.

• Priority: This is the priority assigned to the task. It’s a numerical value that is

assigned by you, to show others in the team how important it is that this task be completed.

• WBS: This is short for “Work Breakdown Structure” and is a project management

term for the unique number assigned to this task, to identify it from others.

• Linked Risk: This shows the title of the risk that relates to this task.

• Linked Issue: This shows the title of the issue that relates to this task.

• Linked Change: This shows the title of the change that relates to this task.


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4.3 Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is the visual area provided on the Task panel that shows the sequencing

of tasks on your task list. Like Microsoft Project, you can click on bars in the Gantt chart

to change the task information, instead of changing this information in the Data Columns

or Task Information area. Here is what a task bar looks like when clicked on:

The small white box on the left is called the “Start Date slider”. The box in the middle is

called the “Percent Complete” slider and the box on the right is called the “Finish Date slider”.

Here is a list of all of the things you can do, with a task bar, once you’ve clicked on it:

Change the Planned Start Date

When you click on the Start date slider and drag it to the left or right, you will

automatically change the change the Planned Start Date for the task. Note: As you do this, it will automatically update the Planned Duration.

Change the Planned Finish Date

When you click on the Finish date slider and drag it to the left or right, you will

automatically change the change the Planned Finish Date for the task. Note: As you do

this, it will automatically update the Planned Duration.

Change the Percent Complete

When you click on the Percent Complete slider and drag it to the left or right, you will

automatically change the Percent Complete for the task. You can change it to any percent complete, from 0% to 100% as you wish.

Move a task to another timeframe

If you hover over the middle of the task, then the mouse will change as shown below.

When this happens, you can drag the task bar to the left or the right, to change the

planned timeframe that the task should be completed in.

Link two tasks together

If you click on a task bar and you move your mouse vertically, then the mouse pointer

will change into a “Link” pointer as shown below. You can then click on another task to

create a link to it. These links are otherwise known as dependencies. Links work the same in ProjectManager.com as in Microsoft Project.

Right Mouse Click

When you right mouse click on a task bar, a small menu will appear as shown below.


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You can:

• Unlink the task, deleting all links to and from this task.

• Lock the task, so that the start and finish dates cannot be moved

• Alert users in your account by email, when the task is late.

• Delete the task from your task list.

Change the view

On the right hand side of your Gantt chart, you will see a small “eye” graphic. When you

click on it, a small drop-down menu will appear as shown below:

There are 3 views available to you:

• Planned: This is the Planned view of all of your tasks. When you first created

your task list and the Gantt chart populated automatically as you went, then this is the view that will display when this item is selected.

• Actual: This is the actual view of your tasks. It will only be available if you have

entered “Actuals” data in the Data Column or Task Information areas, for each

task. This includes the “Actual Start Date”, “Actual Finish Date” and “Actual

Percent Complete”.

• Baseline: This is the baseline view of your tasks. The baseline view was created

when you clicked the “Baseline” button on the Menu bar at the top. The baseline

view is of course only available if you have baselined your project.

You can click all 3 views if you have sufficient data to display. Note: the performance of

the Gantt chart will slow down, the more views you have displayed. The reason is that it

needs to extract a larger amount of data from the database to present on the screen. If

you wish to speed up the Gantt chart performance, then reduce the number of views

visible.

4.4 Task Information

At the bottom of your page is the Task Information area. In this area, you can see for

any individual task, all of the data relating to it. There are 5 tabs in this area, and each

is described in the following sections:


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General

On the General tab, you can change any of the core data relating to each task. This

includes the:

• Name: This is the name of the task itself. You can make the name whatever you

wish.

• Description: We suggest adding a brief description of each task, using this task

description field.

• Percent Complete: This is the actual current percentage of the task that has been completed, to date.

• Priority: This is the priority assigned to the task. It’s a numerical value that is

assigned by you, to show others in the team how important it is that this task be completed.

• Locked: This checkbox allows you to lock and unlock the task. When the task is

locked, the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Dates are fixed and cannot be

moved. You can unlock a locked task at any time.

• Milestone: This is a checkbox that shows whether the task is marked as a

Milestone task or not. A milestone task is one that is deemed to be an

accomplishment for the project, in achieving.

• Planned Start Date: This is the date that the task is planned to start on.

• Planned Finish Date: This is the date that the task is planned to finish on.

• Planned Duration: This is the planned duration of the task, calculated as the

elapsed time difference (in days) between the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Date for the task.

• Planned Effort: This is the amount of effort that that is planned to be spent (in

hours) completing the task.

• Actual Start Date: This is the date that work on the task actually commenced.

• Actual Finish Date: This is the date that work on the task ceased, when the task was marked as 100% complete.

• Actual Duration: This is the actual duration of the task, calculated as the

elapsed time difference (in days) between the Actual Start Date and Actual Finish

Date for the task.

• Actual Effort: This is the amount of effort that was actually spent completing the

task, in hours.

Links

On the Links tab, you can add links (otherwise known as “dependencies”) from other

tasks, to this task. Simply click on the tasks that are presented in the right hand column,

to “Add” them as a link to this task. Links work in the same way as dependencies in

Microsoft Project. Therefore, if the tasks that link to this task are delayed, then they

could delay the start of this task. This is known in project management terms as a “Finish-to-start” dependency.

Note:

• You can delete each link individually, by clicking on the “Remove” button beside

the link you wish to delete.


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• The “Lag” is the duration (in days) between the Planned Finish Date or one task

and the Planned Start Date of the task that it links to.

• If you click on a task which appears in the left hand side of the “Links” panel,

then the Gantt chart above will scroll to the relevant place and the task you have

selected will immediately become visible. This helps you to find tasks which have

links, more easily.

Resources

On the Resources tab, you can assign resources from your resource list, to the task

selected. The list of all resources in your account will appear on the right hand side. You

can then click “Add” to add one or more resources to this selected task. You can also click “Remove” to remove a resource from the list.

Notes

On the Notes tab, you can add notes about the task selected. A lot of clients add notes

to the task that they wish to share with their team. Here are some ideas for the types of notes you might add about a task:

• Describe the work competed to date and the work remaining on the task.

• List items that have come up that you want to draw to others attention.

• Record your notes about what you learnt when completing the task.

Risk/ Issue /Change

On this tab, you can link any risk, issue or change in the system to the selected task. The principle is that when you create a risk, issue or change (on the Risk / Change /

Issue tabs at the top of your page), you often want to create a list of tasks that need to

be implemented to resolve it. So you then go into the Task panel and list all of the tasks

required. And to record the fact that these tasks have been created to resolve the Risk / Issue / Change, then you can add a link to them here.

To link a risk, issue or change to the task selected, click the “Set” button beside the

relevant item shown. You will then see that the item has been set against the task.

Note: For the reasons described above, you can only link one risk / issue / change to a

single selected task. However if you wish to change the risk / issue / change assigned, then click on a new item and click “Set” to reassign it.

5 Resources

The Resources panel is the place that you create new resources and allocate them to

your project team. Resource can be people, equipment, materials or anything you would

like it to be. In fact, anything that has a cost to the project can be added as a resource,

whether it’s a person, a crane, materials or a photocopier.

There are a number of things you can do to manage your resources, including:

1. Viewing resources: You can view a list of all of your resources for a single project, or across your entire portfolio of projects.

2. Adding a new resource: You can add as many resources as you wish. Each

resource can be allocated to many projects. You can even set the percentage of

their time that they should be allocated to particular projects and monitor their overall percentage allocation.


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3. Editing existing resources: You can edit any of the resource details, for any

project, at any time. You can set the cost of a resource at the generic Portfolio

level, and you can also assign project-specific rates as you wish.

4. Assigning resources to projects: You can assign specific resource to specific

projects. One resource can be assigned to many projects, and one project can

consist of many resources.

5. Assigning resources to tasks: Of course, using the Task panel you can assign resource to tasks.

The following sections describe in further depth, how to perform these functions.

5.1 Viewing Resources

There are two ways to view your resources:

1. Click on the Portfolio tab and select “Resources”

2. Click on a Project tab and select “Resources”

Portfolio Resources

When you click on the Portfolio tab and select the Resources button immediately below

it, you will see a list of ALL resources that have been created, across ALL projects within

your account. This is the global area that allows you to administer your resources and

view their allocation across projects. The information provided on this page includes:

• Name: The name of the resource.

• Short Name: The short name that was entered for the resource.

• Total Allocation: Whenever a resource is allocated to a project, the person

creating the resource adds their “Project Allocation”. This is the percentage of the

person’s time, that will be made available to the project. For instance, if they

entered 50%, then it would be expected that 50% of the person’s time is being

allocated to this one project. When you view the figure on the Portfolio Resources

tab, it shows up as “Total Allocation”. This is the summary of each resources

project allocations. So if they were allocated for 50% against Project A, 25% against Project B and 35% against Project C, then their Total Allocation would be

“115%” and you could therefore see that they have been over-allocated to

projects.

• Active: This is the status of the resource and it shows whether the resource is

Active or Inactive. If they are Active, then they are listed on the available resources list in the Task area, for the Project Manager to allocate against tasks.

• Edit: In this column, you can click to edit the resource details, delete the

resource, or copy the resource details and create a new resource with those details.

Project Resources

When you click on the Project tab and select the Resources button immediately below it,

the functionality works very much the same as described for the Portfolio Resources tab

above. The fields you will see are the:

• Name: The name of the resource.

• Short Name: The short name that was entered for the resource.

• Project Allocation: Whenever a resource is allocated to a project, the person

creating the resource adds their “Project Allocation”. This is the percentage of the

person’s time, that will be made available to the project. For instance, if they


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entered 50%, then it would be expected that 50% of the person’s time is being allocated to this one project.

• Edit: In this column, you can click to edit the resource details.

• Remove: In this column, you can click to remove the resource from the system.

5.2 Adding a New Resource

There are two ways to add a new resource:

• Click on the Portfolio tab and select “Resources”

• Click on a Project tab and select “Resources”

Portfolio Resources

When you click on the Portfolio tab and select the Resources button below it, you will see

a list of ALL of the resources that have been created to date.

To add a new resource, click on the “Add Resource” button and a panel will appear to the

right, which allows you to enter the following information:

• Active: This selection determines whether the resource is currently Active or

Inactive. If they are Active, then they are listed on the available resources list in

the Task panel. If they are inactive, then they are not available in the list of

resources viewed.

• Name: This is the name that you wish to assign to the resource. You should enter a name that distinguishes this resource from the rest. Remember, this

name is visible on the resource list, so the more precise you make the resource name, the easier it will be to identify it on the list.

• Description: This is a long description of the resource.

• Short name: The short name that was entered for the resource.

• User Login: This drop down list allows you to select a user login to be associated

with the resource. Say for instance that you have a user ([email protected]) who you

want to assign to tasks. You can create Bob as a Resource on this page, and

select Bob’s user login (email address) so that they system knows that whenever

you assign Bob to a task, that the resource is actually the same person as the one who logs in using their email address [email protected]

• Default Rate: This is the default hourly rate for the resource. When you later

assign this resource to a project, the default hourly rate will be put in place.

Project Resources



above. To create add a new resource, click on the “Create New” button and a panel will

appear to the right, which allows you to enter the following fields (as described above):

• Active

• Name

• Description

• Short name

• User Login


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• Default Rate

Note: There are two additional fields on this page that are not provided on the Portfolio

Resource panel. They are:

• Project Rate: By default, the “Default rate” applies to each resource. However if

you wish to override this rate on this particular project, then enter in a rate in the

“Project rate” field. The Project rate will always override the Default rate, where provided.

• Project Allocation: This is the percentage of a person’s time that will be

allocated to this project. For instance, if you put in “25%”, then what you are

saying is that 25% of this persons time (as marked in their Calendar) will be made available for this project

5.3 Editing Resource Details

There are two ways to edit a new resource:

• Click on the Portfolio tab and select “Resources”

• Click on a Project tab and select “Resources”

Portfolio Resources

When you click on the Portfolio tab and select Resources, you can edit a particular

resource by either clicking on the name of the resource shown, or by clicking on the edit

symbol in the Edit column. You can edit any of the following information:

• Active: This selection determines whether the resource is currently Active or

Inactive. If they are Active, then they are listed on the available resources list in

the Task panel, for the Project Manager to allocate against tasks. If they are

inactive, then they are not available in the list of resources viewed in the Tasks panel.

• Name: This is the name that you wish to assign to the resource. You should

enter a name that distinguishes this resource from the rest. Remember, this

name is visible on the resource list, so the more precise you make the resource

name, the easier it will be to identify it on the list.

• Description: This is a long description of the resource.

• Short name: The short name that was entered for the resource

• User Login: This drop down list allows you to select a user login to be associated

with the resource. Say for instance that you have a user ([email protected]) who you

want to assign to tasks. You can create Bob as a Resource on this page, and

select Bob’s user login (email address) so that they system knows that whenever

you assign Bob to a task, that the resource is actually the same person as the one who logs in using their email address [email protected]

• Default Rate: This is the default hourly rate for the resource. When you later

assign this resource to a project, the default hourly rate will be put in place.

Note: You can also see which projects the resource is currently allocated to.

Project Resources



above. To edit an existing resource, click on the name of the resource shown, or

alternatively you can click on the edit symbol in the Edit column.

You can only edit the following fields:


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• Project Rate: By default, the “Default rate” applies to each resource. However if

you wish to override this rate on this particular project, then enter in a rate in the

“Project rate” field. The Project rate will always override the Default rate, where provided.

• Project Allocation: This is the percentage of a person’s time that will be

allocated to this project. For instance, if you put in “25%”, then what you are

saying is that 25% of this persons time (as marked in their Calendar) will be made available for this project.

• You will also see the generic information relating to this resource, in the fields

above. It is advisable to only try and change this generic resource information

through the Portfolio resource tab, as it applies to all projects that the resource is

assigned to.

5.4 Assigning Resources to Projects

When you have created a number of resources and you are ready to assign them to your

projects, open each project and click on the Resources tab. Then click “Assign Existing”

and you will be able to assign an existing resource to your project, creating your project

team.

On the right hand side, you will see a list of all of the resources from the global resource

list. On the left hand side, you will see a list of all of the resources that have been

allocated to this project already. You can click on the “Assign” button which is placed

alongside each resource, to assign the resource to the project.

After you have assigned resources to the project, you can remove resource just as

easily. Click on the “Remove” button and this will remove the resource from the project.

Note: It doesn’t delete the resource from the system. It simply removes their

assignment from the project. You can always re-assign them back to the project if you wish.

It is important to know that you cannot allocate resources to tasks (in the Tasks area)

unless they have been assigned to the project first. To ensure that you don’t forget to

assign your resource to the project, on the panel that allows you to create a new

resource, the default checkbox states that they will automatically be assigned to the current project, unless you choose otherwise.

5.5 Assigning Resources to Tasks

After you have created new resources and assigned them to your project, you are ready

to assign them to tasks in your project. Open the Tasks panel and view your task list

first. Then navigate to the task that you wish to assign resource to and click on the

relevant task number (on the left hand side) to select the task first.

You can then assign resource to your selected task, in two different ways:

1. Scroll across to the “Resource” column for that task and click on the Resource cell

for it. You can then choose which resource to allocate to the task. Note: If the

Resource column is not visible, you can click on the “Tick” graphic above the “All”

graphic on the LHS and use the Column Selector to make the “Resources” column visible.

2. Or more simply, you can scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the Task

Information area. Click on the “Resources” tab and then click the relevant “Add” button to add resource to this task.

By assigning resources to tasks, you can ensure that you have the right people working

on the right tasks, at the right time.


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6 Time

Using the "Time" tab, you can enter timesheets for your projects. Start out by selecting

the week that the timesheet is to be entered for and then use the "project", "resource" and "task" drop-downs to select tasks to enter time against.

The principle of the "Time" tab is that you are entering time spent completing tasks on

the project. So you need to select the tasks first and then enter time against those

tasks. The task list will be generated from the "Tasks" tab in ProjectManager.com

The "Copy previous week" button allows you to copy the previous week’s timesheet to

the current week. If you often complete the same tasks each week, then this useful

feature saves you time completing the current week’s timesheet.

And lastly, at the bottom of the panel, you can view summary totals of the amount of

time entered each day. So if you work a 40 hour week for instance, then you can easily

identify the total time entered to date, to make it up to 40 hours for the week.

6.1 Viewing Timesheets

When you click on the Time tab, you will be able to view all of the timesheets that have

been entered for the project to date. Simply enter in the "Timesheet for the week

starting on:" and click "Go" to view that week’s timesheet.

At the moment, you can change the time entered for any previous week’s timesheet.

However in the future, timesheets will go through an approval process and once

approved, only the approver will be able to change previous week’s timesheets in the system.

6.2 Adding a Timesheet

To create a new timesheet entry, follow these steps:

• Enter the date for the “week starting” and select “Go”. You will immediately view

the time entered for that particular week, to date.

• Click “Select a project” - to select the project that time will be entered against.

You will only see projects that you have access to. The Administrator for your

account may have limited your project access, so if you can’t see the projects

that you wish to enter time against, then contact your Administrator for the

ProjectManager.com service and request that they make the required projects

available

• Click “Select a resource” - to select the resource that time is being entered

against. A resource may not necessarily just be a person. It could be equipment or a meeting room, for instance.

• Click “Select a task” – to select the project plan task that time is being entered

against. The Task list is the same list as that displayed on the “Tasks” tab, for this project.

• Then enter the hours spent by that resource, on those tasks within the specified

project. As you enter each hour, the summary totals at the bottom will be

updated. At any point, you can click the red “minus” button to remove the timesheet record.

• When you are finished, click “Save”.


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6.3 Copy a Timesheet

If you regularly complete the same tasks for the same projects, then instead of having

to complete each timesheet manually each week, simply click the “Copy previous week”

button and click “Save”. Here are more details on how to do it:

• Enter the date for the “week starting” and select “Go”. You will immediately view

the time entered for that particular week, to date.

• Click the “Copy previous week” button. This will copy the previous week’s

timesheet, over to the current week selected.

• Change any of the data in the timesheet, and select “Save” when complete.

Using this quick and easy way to copy a previous week’s timesheet, you will save time

each week, boosting your efficiency.

7 Expenses

Within the “Expenses” tab, you are able to complete Expense Forms for your project.

Simply click on “Create New” and enter your expense details. And when you are ready, click “Save” to save the expense details in the system.

On this panel, you can enter a variety of different types of expenses, using the “Edit

Types” button. And you can enter as many expense types for your project as you wish.

The information entered on this panel will be used in the Dashboard, Tasks and Reports

tabs, to provide you with summarized information of the current total cost of the project to date.

7.1 Viewing Expenses

When you click on the “Expense” tab, you will see a list of all of the expenses that have

been entered for your project to date. You can either search for a particular expense, or use the “From” and “To” fields to find the expense you are looking for.

The following expense information is provided:

• Name: The name of the expense that has been entered

• Project: The project that the expense has been assigned against (only visible on

Portfolio tab)

• Date: The date that the expense occurred

• Amount: The amount of the expense

7.2 Add an Expense

When you click the “Create New” button on the “Expense” tab, you will be provided with

all of the fields needed to create a new expense for the project. The following fields are provided:

• Name: The name of the expense that has been entered

• Description: A detailed description of the expense incurred


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• Type: The type of expense incurred. Note: administrators can manage their own

expense types through the “Edit Types” button

• Project: The project that the expense has been assigned against

• Task: Where relevant, the task that the expense has incurred against

• Date: The date that the expense occurred

• Amount: The amount of the expense

• Recorded by: The person who is completing this expense form, i.e. you.

You can also select to “Amortize across the length of the project”. This means that the

expense will be spread across the entire length of the project, as opposed to just apply

to the current reporting period (e.g. the current week). For instance, you may wish to

amortize the cost of a photocopier across the whole length of the project, so that the full cost of the purchase doesn’t show up in the currently weekly status report.

If you want, you can make an expense “recurring”. This means that it will reoccur on the

days, weeks, months or years you specify. For instance, the rent for your project office might be due on the 20th of each month.

8 Risks

A risk is defined as “a foreseeable event in the future that may impact on the project”. A risk has an associated “Likelihood” and “Impact” rating. These ratings determine how

likely the risk is to occur, and in the event that the risk does eventuate, the extent to

which it will impact on the project.

Examples of risks include:

• “That the customer may request changes to the project scope”

• “That funding is unavailable when it is required by the project”

• “That external suppliers do not produce their deliverables on time”

Anyone in the team should be able to identify a project risk, and enter it into the system.

When a risk is entered, the Project Manager will want to review the Likelihood and

Impact ratings. They will then want to identify a suite of tasks needed to reduce the

likelihood of the risk eventuating. These tasks will be entered into the Task panel and

each task can be linked to this risk in the Task Information panel (under the “Risk /

Issue / Change” tab). When the tasks are completed, the risk likelihood can be reduced on the Risks panel and if applicable, you may wish to delete the risk altogether from the

system.

For further information, read the following sections which cover:

• Viewing risks

• Adding a new risk

• Editing an existing risk

• Assign related tasks


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8.1 Viewing Risks

When you click on the Risks tab, you will see a list of all of your risks for the selected

project. If you are clicking it for the first time, then no risks will display until you create

your first risk, using the “Add Risk” button.

The following fields display in the risk view:

• Name

• Description

• Status

• Level

• Edit

• Delete

• Search

Note:

• The Status field will tell you whether the risk is open or closed.

• The Level field tells you whether the risk is low (marked in green), medium

(marked in yellow) or high (marked in red).

• The Edit field allows you to edit the risk, or to create a new one by copying it.

• The Delete field allows you to immediately delete the risk.

• The Search field allows you to enter in a string of text and search for that text,

within the risk names and descriptions you have entered to date.

• You can click on any column in the table, to sort the risks in that order. If you

click the column header once, then it will sort the data on that column, in ascending order. If you click it again, it will search in descending order.

• You can add as many risks to your project as you wish.

8.2 Add a Risk

To add a new risk, simply click on the “Add Risk” button on the risk tab for your project.

When you do this, you will see a panel to your right appear. The information contained

on this panel is as follows:

• Name: This is the name that you wish to assign to the risk. You should enter a

name that distinguishes this risk from the rest. Remember, this name is visible on

the risk list, so the more precise you make the risk name, the easier it will be to identify it on the list, at a later date.

• Description: This is a long description of the risk. You will want to describe in

this field, the risk itself, the reason why the likelihood rating has been assigned as it has, and the actual impact on the project, should the risk eventuate.

• Raised by: Enter the person who has identified (i.e. raised) the risk, by entering

their first and last name.


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• Date Raised: This is the date that the risk was raised. By default, it will be

marked with today’s date, but you can by using the Calendar button to the right

of the field.

• Impact: Identify the impact of the risk to the project. You can mark it as Low,

Medium or High.

• Likelihood: Identify the likelihood of the risk occurring. You can mark it as Low,

Medium or High.

• Level: This is a calculated field and it denotes the overall risk level. The level and

color shown are based on the highest impact and likelihood setting that you have

assigned. For instance, say you mark the risk with a Medium Impact and a Low

Likelihood. Then the highest value (the “Medium” assignment) will become the risk “Level”.

• Assigned to: Here you can identify the person who will be responsible for

mitigating the risk, by assigning it to a team member. Using the drop-down list provided, you can assign it to any of the resources that have been created.

• Status: You can choose here, whether the risk should have a Status of Open or

Closed. An Open risk is usually one that is still likely to occur, and a Close risk is one that is not likely to occur.

When you have completed all of the above fields, click the “Save” button to save the

details to the database. You can click the “Cancel” button if you do not wish the details

to be stored.

8.3 Edit a Risk

If you wish to edit an existing risk, then read how to do it here.

Open the project that contains the risk, using the “New Project” page icon on the tab

bar. Then when you have the project open, click on the Risk tab. You will see a list of all

of the risks that are contained within your project. You can then search for your risk by

glancing down the “Name” column (and using the scroll bars, if applicable), or you can

enter in the name into the Search field to find it.

When you have found your risk, the next step is to open it. To do this, simply click on

the risk name (which is marked in blue, and will be underlined). A panel to your right will appear, with the details of your risk included.

You can then update any of the details in this panel and click “Save” to save the changes

to the database. Here is a list of fields that you can edit:

• Name

• Description

• Raised by

• Date Raised

• Impact

• Likelihood

• Level

• Assigned to


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• Status

8.4 Assign Related Tasks

After entering your new risks, you can assign tasks to mitigate them. The theory is that

to mitigate any risk, you need to complete a suite of tasks to reduce their likelihood and

impact. These new tasks will be entered into the Tasks panel.

When you enter each task, you will see at the bottom of the Tasks panel and area called

“Task Information”. In this area, there is a tab called “Risk/Issue/Change”. In this area,

you can assign the risk you created previously, to this task so that you know which tasks

are being completed to resolve which risks.

If you then click on the Risks panel at the top and open the risk, you will see a list of all

of the tasks that you have related to it. The benefit of knowing this information is that

you can see how the tasks that were initiated to resolve a risk, are progressing. You will

see on the risk tab (in the “Related Tasks” section) the Resource working on each task,

the due date for the task and the percent complete. Then when each of the tasks has

been completed, you can review the risk and decide whether or not to close it.

9 Issues

An issue is defined as “something that is currently affecting the ability of the project to

meet its objectives”. An issue has an associated “Impact” and “Priority” rating. These

ratings determine the extent of impact on the project, and therefore the overall priority

that should be assigned.

Examples of issues include:

• “Equipment which arrived on site is faulty and had to be returned”

• “Staff sick leave has delayed the project by 10 days”

• “Poor weather conditions have made the site inaccessible”

Anyone in the team should be able to identify a project issue, and enter it into the

system. When an issue is entered, the Project Manager will want to review the Impact

and Priority ratings. They will then want to identify a suite of tasks needed to reduce the impact that the issue is having on the project. These tasks will be entered into the Task

panel and each task can be linked to this issue in the Task Information panel (under the

“Risk / Issue / Change” tab). When the tasks are completed, the issue priority can be

reduced on the Issues panel and if applicable, you may wish to delete the issue from the

system.


• Viewing issues

• Adding a new issue

• Editing an existing issue


9.1 Viewing Issues

When you click on the Issues tab, you will see a list of all of your issues for the selected

project. If you are clicking it for the first time, then no issues will display until you create

your first issue, using the “Add Issue” button.


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• Name

• Description

• Status

• Level

• Edit

• Delete

• Search

Note:

• The Status field will tell you whether the issue is open or closed.

• The Level field tells you whether the issue level is low (marked in green), medium

(marked in yellow) or high (marked in red).

• The Edit field allows you to edit the issue, or to create a new one by copying it.

• The Delete field allows you to immediately delete the issue.


within the issue names and descriptions you have entered to date.

• You can click on any column in the table, to sort the issues in that order. If you


• You can add as many issues to your project as you wish.

9.2 Add an Issue

To add a new issue, simply click on the “Add issue” button on the issue tab for your

project. When you do this, you will see a panel to your right appear. The information

contained on this panel is as follows:

• Name: This is the name that you wish to assign to the issue. You should enter a

name that distinguishes this issue from the rest. Remember, this name is visible

on the issue list, so the more precise you make the issue name, the easier it will

be to identify it on the list, at a later date.

• Description: This is a long description of the issue. You will want to describe in

this field, the issue itself, the reason why the impact rating has been assigned as it has, and the priority in resolving it.

• Raised by: Enter the person who has identified (i.e. raised) the issue, by

entering their first and last name.

• Date Raised: This is the date that the issue was raised. By default, it will be

marked with today’s date, but you can change this using the Calendar button to the right of the field.

• Impact: Identify the impact of the issue to the project. You can mark it as Low,

Medium or High.


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• Priority: Identify the priority associated in resolving the issue. You can mark it

as Low, Medium or High.

• Level: This is a calculated field and it denotes the overall issue level. The level

and color shown are based on the highest impact and priority setting that you

have assigned. For instance, say you mark the issue with a Medium Impact and a

Low Priority. Then the highest value (the “Medium” assignment) will become the issue “Level”.


resolving the issue, by assigning it to a team member. Using the drop-down list provided, you can assign it to any of the resources that have been created.

• Status: You can choose here, whether the issue should have a Status of Open or

Closed. An Open issue is usually one that is still likely to occur, and a Close issue is one that is not likely to occur.



to be stored.

9.3 Edit an Issue

If you wish to edit an existing issue, then read how to do it here.

Open the project that contains the issue, using the “New Project” page icon on the tab

bar. Then when you have the project open, click on the issue tab. You will see a list of all

of the issues that are contained within your project. You can then search for your issue

by glancing down the “Name” column (and using the scroll bars, if applicable), or you

can enter in the name into the Search field to find it.

When you have found your issue, the next step is to open it. To do this, simply click on

the issue name (which is marked in blue, and will be underlined). A panel to your right

will appear, with the details of your issue included.



• Name

• Description

• Raised by

• Date Raised

• Impact

• Priority

• Level

• Assigned to

• Status


After entering your new issues, you can assign tasks to resolve them. The theory is that

to resolve any issue, you need to complete a suite of tasks to reduce their likelihood and

priority. These new tasks will be entered into the Tasks panel.


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“Task Information”. In this area, there is a tab called “issue/issue/Change”. In this area,

you can assign the issue you created previously, to this task so that you know which tasks are being completed to resolve which issues.

If you then click on the issues panel at the top and open the issue, you will see a list of

all of the tasks that you have related to it. The benefit of knowing this information is that

you can see how the tasks that were initiated to resolve an issue, are progressing. You will see on the issue tab (in the “Related Tasks” section) the Resource working on each

task, the due date for the task and the percent complete. Then when each of the tasks have been completed, you can review the issue and decide whether or not to close it.

10 Changes

A change is defined as “a request from a person of authority, to change the scope to the

project”. Like an Issue, a change has an associated “Impact” and “Priority” rating. These

ratings determine the extent of impact on the project of implementing the change, and

therefore the overall priority that should be assigned.

Examples of changes include:

• Changing the quantity, type or size of deliverables required

• Changing the number or skill-set of the project team

• Changing the amount of budget available

While anyone in the team should be able to identify a project change, only those people

authorized should be allowed to enter it into the system. When a change is entered, the

Project Manager will want to review the Impact and Priority ratings. They will then want

to identify a suite of tasks needed to implement the change. These tasks will be entered

into the Task panel and each task can be linked to this change in the Task Information

panel (under the “Risk / Change / Change” tab). When the tasks are completed, the

change priority can be reduced on the Changes panel and if applicable, you may wish to

delete the change from the system.


• Viewing changes

• Adding a new change

• Editing an existing change


10.1 Viewing Changes

When you click on the Changes tab, you will see a list of all of your changes for the

selected project. If you are clicking it for the first time, then no changes will display until

you create your first change, using the “Add Change” button.


• Name

• Description

• Description

• Status


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• Level

• Edit

• Delete

• Search

Note:

• The Status field will tell you whether the change is open or closed.

• The Level field tells you whether the change level is low (marked in green), medium (marked in yellow) or high (marked in red).

• The Edit field allows you to edit the change, or to create a new one by copying it.

• The Delete field allows you to immediately delete the change.


within the change names and descriptions you have entered to date.

• You can click on any column in the table, to sort the changes in that order. If you


• You can add as many changes to your project as you wish.

10.2 Add a Change

To add a new change, simply click on the “Add change” button on the change tab for

your project. When you do this, you will see a panel to your right appear. The

information contained on this panel is as follows:

• Name: This is the name that you wish to assign to the change. You should enter

a name that distinguishes this change from the rest. Remember, this name is

visible on the change list, so the more precise you make the change name, the easier it will be to identify it on the list, at a later date.

• Description: This is a long description of the change. You will want to describe in

this field, the change itself, the reason why the impact rating has been assigned as it has, and the priority in resolving it.

• Raised by: Enter the person who has identified (i.e. raised) the change, by

entering their first and last name.

• Date Raised: This is the date that the change was raised. By default, it will be

marked with today’s date, but you ca change this using the Calendar button to the right of the field.

• Impact: Identify the impact of the change to the project. You can mark it as

Low, Medium or High.

• Priority: Identify the priority associated in resolving the change. You can mark it

as Low, Medium or High.

• Level: This is a calculated field and it denotes the overall change level. The level

and color shown are based on the highest impact and priority setting that you

have assigned. For instance, say you mark the change with a Medium Impact and

a Low Priority. Then the highest value (the “Medium” assignment) will become the change “Level”.


38


resolving the change, by assigning it to a team member. Using the drop-down list

provided, you can assign it to any of the resources that have been created.

• Status: You can choose here, whether the change should have a Status of Open

or Closed. An Open change is usually one that is still likely to occur, and a Close

change is one that is not likely to occur.



to be stored.

10.3 Edit a Change

If you wish to edit an existing change, then read how to do it here.

Open the project that contains the change, using the “New Project” page icon on the tab

bar. Then when you have the project open, click on the change tab. You will see a list of

all of the changes that are contained within your project. You can then search for your

change by glancing down the “Name” column (and using the scroll bars, if applicable), or you can enter in the name into the Search field to find it.

When you have found your change, the next step is to open it. To do this, simply click on

the change name (which is marked in blue, and will be underlined). A panel to your right will appear, with the details of your change included.



• Name

• Description

• Raised by

• Date Raised

• Impact

• Priority

• Level

• Assigned to

• Status


After entering your new changes, you can assign tasks to resolve them. The theory is

that to resolve any change, you need to complete a suite of tasks to reduce their

likelihood and priority. These new tasks will be entered into the Tasks panel.


“Task Information”. In this area, there is a tab called “change/change/Change”. In this

area, you can assign the change you created previously, to this task so that you know which tasks are being completed to resolve which changes.

If you then click on the changes panel at the top and open the change, you will see a list

of all of the tasks that you have related to it. The benefit of knowing this information is

that you can see how the tasks that were initiated to resolve a change, are progressing.


39

You will see on the change tab (in the “Related Tasks” section) the Resource working on

each task, the due date for the task and the percent complete. Then when each of the

tasks have been completed, you can review the change and decide whether or not to close it.

11 Reports

When you click on the Reports tab, you will notice that a number of reports are available

for use. These reports allow you to view the status of your project and portfolio, from a

single place. A summary of each report follows:

• Portfolio Status Report: Shows you the health of your entire portfolio, based

on whether your projects are on time and under budget. Resources, risks, issues, changes and tasks are also factored in when determining your portfolio health.

• Project Status Report: This report provides an overview of the status of your

project. It helps you determine whether you are currently on time and under

budget, and it also gives you a list of all of the overdue tasks that need to be

completed.

• Project Plan: Helps you determine whether your project is on track and when it

is likely to be completed. It provides an overview of your schedule and tells you when each task is planned to be finished.

• Project Variance: Tells you how your current schedule compares to the baseline

and planned views of the project. This will help you identify whether or not you’re going to deliver your project on time.

• Resource Plan: Shows for the remainder of the project, the amount of time that

your team are “allocated” to tasks, vs. the time that they have available (“capacity”) in their calendars.

• Resource Allocation: Helps you see at a glance whether your project resources

are over or under utilized. Each resource is listed and their utilization rates are displayed, so you know who is too busy and who is not busy enough.

11.1 Portfolio Status

This report shows you the health of your entire portfolio, based on whether your projects

are on time and under budget. Resources, risks, issues, changes and tasks are also

factored in when determining your portfolio health. The report displays the following

information when viewed:

• Project: This is the name of the project.

• Schedule Variance: This is the difference between the work (i.e. effort) that as

been completed to date versus the work that should have been done to date.

• Tasks Overdue: The number of tasks that are not marked as 100% complete

but have passed their Planned Finish Date.

• Budget Variance: The planned cost of the work performed minus actual cost of

the work performed.

• Over-allocated Resources: This tells you whether the amount of work that has

been allocated to your resource, exceeds the amount of time that they have

available.

• Issues: The number of open issues across all of your projects.


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• Risks: The number of open risks across all of your projects.

• Changes: The number of open changes across all of your projects.

11.2 Project Status

This report provides an overview of the status of your project. It helps you determine

whether you are currently on time and under budget, and it also gives you a list of all of

the overdue tasks that need to be completed.

Summary Information

This is the information provided at the top of the report. It summarizes the overall progress of the project to date. The fields include:

• Name: This is the name of the project, as entered on the Project Details panel.

• Description: A shortened version of the full description of the project, as entered

on the Project Details panel.

• Project Manager: The name of the Project Manager, as entered on the Project

Details panel.

• Budget: The overall budget assigned to the project, as entered on the Project

Details panel.

• Start Date: The start date for the project, as entered on the Project Details

panel.

• Finish Date: The finish date for the project, as entered on the Project Details panel.

• Cost: Tells you whether or not your current total project cost is under budget.

• Schedule: Tells you the number of days you are currently ahead of or behind

schedule.

• Resources: Tells you whether or not your resources are over-allocated.

• Open Issues: The number of open issues within this project.

• Open Risks: The number of open risks within this project.

• Open Changes: The number of open changes within this project.

Tasks

In the tasks section of this report, you can see information relating to tasks which are

overdue, and those which are due this week. This data is taken from the Tasks panel for

this project. The fields include:

• WBS: This stands for “Work Breakdown Structure” and is a common project

management term. It is the unique number assigned to this task that allows it to be recognized differently from the rest.

• Name: The name of the task.

• Planned Start: The planned start date for the task.

• Planned Finish: The planned finish date for the task.

• Planned Effort: The amount of planned effort for the task.

• Actual Effort: The actual amount of effort spent completing the task.


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• Actual Start: The actual start date for completing the task.

• % Comp: The percentage of the task that is currently complete.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to complete the task.

Risks

In the risks section of this report, you can see information relating to risks which are

overdue, and those which are due this week. This data is taken from the Risks panel for


• Name: The name of the risk.

• Date Raised: The date that the risk was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the risk is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the risk will have on the project.

• Likelihood: The likelihood of the risk eventuating.

• Status: The status of the risk, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to mitigating the risk.

Issues

In the risks section of this report, you can see information relating to issues which are



• Name: The name of the issue.

• Date Raised: The date that the issue was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the issue is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the issue has on the project.

• Priority: The priority in resolving the issue.

• Status: The status of the issue, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to resolving the issue.

Changes

In the changes section of this report, you can see information relating to changes which are overdue, and those which are due this week. This data is taken from the Changes

panel for this project. The fields include:

• Name: The name of the change.

• Date Raised: The date that the change was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the change is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the change has on the project.

• Priority: The priority in resolving the change.

• Status: The status of the change, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to resolving the change.


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11.3 Project Plan

This report helps you determine whether your project is on track. It provides an

overview of your schedule and tells you when each task is planned to be finished. The

information in this report is similar to the Project Status Report, with the difference

being that this report shows you ALL tasks, risks, changes and issues – and not just

those which are due this week or overdue (as are shown in the Portfolio Status Report).

The report displays the following information:

Summary Information

This is the information provided at the top of the report. It summarizes the overall progress of the project to date. The fields include:

• Project Planned Start Date: The planned start date for the project. This is the

date of the first task in your project plan, on the Task panel.

• Project Planned Finish Date: The planned finish date for the project. This is

the end date of the last task in your project timeline, on the Task panel.

• Total Planned Effort: The total amount of planned effort for each task.

• Total Planned Cost: The total cost of all planned tasks, based on the cost of the

effort required to complete them.

• Project Actual Start Date: As you enter actual effort against your planned

tasks, this is the date of the first task that you enter effort against.

• Project Estimated Finish Date: The estimated finish date for the project.

• Total Actual Effort To Date: The total number of hours of actual effort entered

against the tasks in your project plan.

• Total Actual Cost To Date: The cost of the total actual effort completed.

Tasks

In the tasks section of this report, you can see information relating to tasks which are

overdue, and those which are due this week. This data is taken from the Tasks panel for


• WBS: This stands for “Work Breakdown Structure” and is a common project

management term. It is the unique number assigned to this task that allows it to be recognized differently from the rest.

• Name: The name of the task.

• Planned Start: The planned start date for the task.

• Planned Finish: The planned finish date for the task.

• Planned Effort: The amount of planned effort for the task.

• Actual Effort: The actual amount of effort spent completing the task.

• Actual Start: The actual start date for completing the task.

• % Comp: The percentage of the task that is currently complete.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to complete the task.

Risks

In the risks section of this report, you can see information relating to risks which are


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• Name: The name of the risk.

• Date Raised: The date that the risk was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the risk is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the risk will have on the project.

• Likelihood: The likelihood of the risk eventuating.

• Status: The status of the risk, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to mitigating the risk.

Issues

In the risks section of this report, you can see information relating to issues which are



• Name: The name of the issue.

• Date Raised: The date that the issue was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the issue is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the issue has on the project.

• Priority: The priority in resolving the issue.

• Status: The status of the issue, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to resolving the issue.

Changes

In the changes section of this report, you can see information relating to changes which

are overdue, and those which are due this week. This data is taken from the Changes

panel for this project. The fields include:

• Name: The name of the change.

• Date Raised: The date that the change was raised.

• Date Due: The date that the change is due to be resolved by.

• Impact: The level of impact that the change has on the project.

• Priority: The priority in resolving the change.

• Status: The status of the change, as either “Open” or “Closed”.

• Assigned To: The person assigned to resolving the change.

11.4 Project Variance

This report tells you how your actual progress compares to the planned and baseline

views of your project. This will help you identify whether or not you’re going to deliver

your project on time.

The report allows you to view:


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• Actual to Planned: This is the difference between the actual and planned

progress.

• Actual to Baseline: This is the difference between the actual and baseline

progress.

• Planned to Baseline: This is the difference between the planned and baseline

progress.

The information provided on this report tells you for each task, the:

• Start Diff: This shows the difference (“Diff”) between the two Start dates. For

instance, if looking at “Actual to Planned” then it tells you the difference between the actual start date and the planned start date.

• Finish Diff: This shows the difference between the two End dates. For instance, if

looking at “Actual to Planned” then it tells you the difference between the actual

end date and the planned end date.

• Effort Diff: This shows the difference between the amount of effort consumed.

For instance, if looking at “Actual to Planned” then it tells you the difference between the actual effort consumed vs. the planned effort consumed.

• Duration Diff: This shows the difference between the two durations. For

instance, if looking at “Actual to Planned” then it tells you the difference between the actual duration and the end duration.

• %: This tells you the current percent complete of the task

Note: The options “Actual to Baseline” and “Planned to Baseline” only appear if you have

baselined your project. To create a project baseline, click on the “Baseline” button on the

Task panel.

11.5 Resource Plan

This report shows for the remainder of the project, the amount of time that your team

are “allocated” to tasks, vs. the time that they have available (“capacity”) in their

calendars. The report displays the following information when viewed:

Summary information

This is the information displayed at the top of the report:

• Name: The name of the project, as entered on the Project Details panel

• Description: The description given to the project, as entered on the Project

Details panel

• Start Date: The start date for the project, as entered on the Project Details panel

• Finish Date: The finish date for the project, as entered on the Project Details

panel

• Resources: The number of resources that have been created for the project to date

Detailed information

This is the information displayed in the body of the report:

• Project Team/Resource: This is the name of the resource that the data in the

columns beside it, applies to


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• % Allocated: The percentage of the total time for the resource that has been

allocated to the project. This information was entered on the Resources panel

when the resource was initially created

• Capacity: A calculation of the total amount of time that the resource has

available to do work on the project (at the time they were first created), based on

the number of working days made available (for the duration of the project) in their resource calendar

• Allocated: When you allocate a resource to tasks (in the Tasks panel), some of

their time is allocated to completing the tasks specified. So this column tells you

the total amount of time that each resource has been allocated against tasks in the project plan.

• Variance: This tells you the difference between the Capacity and Allocated fields

for each resource. If there is a positive variance, then the resource has been

under-allocated by that amount. And if there is a negative variance, then the resource has been over-allocated by that amount.

11.6 Resource Allocation

This report tells you who is too busy, and who is not busy enough on the project. This is

based on the number of tasks and the amount of work you have assigned to them. If you assign more work than a person is able to complete in a working day, then you have

“over-allocated” them work. If you have assigned them less work than they have available hours to complete, then they are “under-allocated”.

You can assign a resource work by allocating them to tasks in your project plan, under

the “Tasks” tab. Every time you allocate a resource to a particular task, the number of

hours needed to complete that task are added to their workload (i.e. allocation). The

system knows how many hours they have available to work (from their calendar), so it’s

easy for the system to identify whether your staff are under or over allocated.

The report shows you the following information:

• Capacity: This is the total number of hours that the resource has available,

according to their calendar and the percentage of their time that you have

allocated them to this project. For example, if the resource has no holidays

planned in a five day week and was 100% allocated to the project, then their

“capacity” for the week would be 40 hours.

• Allocation: As described above, this is the total amount of time that is required

to complete the tasks that they have assigned to. If they are the only resource

assigned to complete 5 tasks in a week and each task takes 10 hours, then their “allocation” would be 50 hours.

• Variance: The variance is the difference between the capacity and allocation. If

the figure is negative, then the resource is over-allocated for that period. Using

the example above, if they have capacity to complete 40 hours of work and they

are allocated to complete 50 hours, then they are over-allocated by 10 hours - so

you need to ask them to work another 10 hours this week, or reduce the number of tasks that they are assigned to them, by 10 hours.


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12 Documents

The “Documents” panel allows you to create a library of files and documents, for each

project you undertake. You can use this panel as your “central file store” for all of your

project documentation.

Before you start uploading all of your project documents, you are best to create a folder

structure for each project. This will enable you to structure your document hierarchy, so

that you can later find documents related to specific projects, much more easily. See the Help page “Using the folder hierarchy” for more information.

You can then use the menu bar across the top, to add files to your new folders, from

your PC or server. You can easily upload files into the documents area, by clicking on the

“Add File” button. You can also use the menu bar to search for files you have added in

the past, as well as navigate your document hierarchy. See the Help section “Using the menu bar” for more information on this topic.

In the lower left hand corner a panel will appear from time to time, called “Details”. This

area shows you all of the various versions of the document that exist. If you have

multiple versions of a document, then this panel will appear and allow you to open them,

as you wish. See the Help topic “”Using the details area” for more information.

And lastly, the search feature at the top allows you to search for files that you have

added previously. It uses the file name to perform the search. See the Help topic “Using the search feature” for more information.

12.1 Using the Folder Hierarchy

When you sign up, you receive a large amount of document storage space for free. So

why not go ahead and use it to create your own project document library? You can do

this in the “Documents” panel.

Note: While the Documents area looks like it is particular to a single project, we have

made it generic to all projects. This way, no matter what project you’re in, you can click on the “Documents” panel to see all of the document files stored in your account.

By default, your folder hierarchy will be empty. We suggest setting up a new folder

hierarchy that becomes your online Project Library. If you create a new folder for every

project you undertake, and you create folders for past projects as well, then you will be

able to keep all of your project document files in one place. Here is what your completed Project Library could look like:


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You can create a folder hierarchy like this in 3 simple steps:

1. Click on the “Add” button in the menu bar, to add your first folder. (We suggest

that your top level folders become your project names, as shown in the example

above). Then click on the “Add” button again to continue to add folders to your library. Every folder should be for a project.

2. The next step is to create sub-folders under the top level folders you have just

created. Click on each Project folder and click the “Add” button to add sub-

folders. We suggest making it so that you have a sub-folder for every phase in

your project. That way, your team can look back through past projects and easily

find documents, as they will know which project and which phase in the project

lifecycle (e.g. Initiation, Planning, Execution, Closure) it will have been created

and stored in.

3. The last step is to populate your new project library, by adding files to each

folder, from your PC or server. Simply upload all of your project files into this online project library, using the “Add File” button.

12.2 Using the Menu Bar

At the top of the Documents panel, you will see a comprehensive menu bar, helping you

manage your project documentation. Here is a list of the entire menu features provided:

• Navigate Back: Allows you to return to the previous view of your documents

area. This feature will not undo any changes that you have made, it will simply

restore the previous view that you had before you clicked through to the new screen.

• Navigate Forward: Allows you to go forward to the screen you were just in. The

navigate back and forward features work the same as Internet Explorer and

Firefox, allowing you to navigate backward and forwards through the site, making

it quicker to go to places that you have been before.

• Navigate Up: If you are buried deep in a folder structure and you want to click

to go to the next level up, then click this button.

• Search & Find: Use this feature to search and find documents in your store. This

function will search across all of your folders. It has been described in more depth in the Help page titled “Using the search feature”.

• View Details: If you happen to have brought up a view that is unfamiliar to you

(e.g. the Search button view) and you want to return to the normal folder details screen, then click this button.

• Add: To add a new folder to your existing folder structure. This function has been

described in more depth, in the Help page titled “Using the folder hierarchy”.

• Add File: Use this button to upload a file from your PC or server, into this online

document store. The document will be stored in the folder you have selected.

• Download: To download a selected file to your PC or file server. First select the

file and then click “Download”. You can choose the target location and then download your file quickly and easily.

• Move: User this feature to move files form one location to another. Select the file

you wish to move and then click the Move button. You can then select the target folder that you wish to move the file to.

• Delete: To delete a file, simply select it and click the “Delete” button.


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Did you know that you can also access most of these menu functions by right mouse

clicking on any selected file? This makes using the document store quick and easy.

12.3 Using the Details Area

When you click on a document that you have uploaded into your Documents store (on

the Documents panel), you will notice that a Details panel appears on the lower left hand

side. In this area, the following information is displayed, for your selected document:

• Document title

• Document type

• Document size

• Document date

Immediately below this is the “Revisions” area. In this area, you will see any revisions to

your document. The way this works is that if you import a file into the document store

(from your PC or file server) that has the same name as an existing document, then a

revision to the document is recorded. When this happens, the old version that was

showing in the main documents panel will move to the Revisions area, and the new

document you have imported will display in the main documents panel instead. If you

wish to revert the old version back to the main documents panel, then you can do so by

clicking on the “Revert” button at any time.

12.4 Using the Search

In the Documents panel, you can search for documents by clicking on the Search button

in the menu bar. When you do this, a Search panel will appear below it.

In this panel you can type in a search term (such as a document file name, or a file type

by entering *.doc for instance) and then click “FIND” to find the relevant document.

For advanced users, you can also narrow down your search in two ways:

Searching by date

In the “Date” area, you can use the Calendar controls to select a date range and search:

• Before the date entered

• Between the first and second dates entered

• After the date entered

Searching by Size

In the “Size” area, you can enter a document file size range in kilobytes and search for

files which are:

• Less than the size entered

• More than the size entered

• Between the lower and higher values entered

The search results will display in the main display panel. When you’re finished searching,

you can click “return to folders” at the top to return to the original file view off the

Documents panel.


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13 Administration

The Administration features are under the “main menu” which is the big round button at

the top left of your screen. When you click on this round button, you will have the

following options to select from:

• New Project: If you wish to create a brand new project, then select this option.

You will be able to enter your project details and then create a new task list.

• Open Project: You can click this option to open an existing project. When you

select it, a list of all of your existing projects will become visible. You can then click on a project to open the details immediately.

• Recent Projects: To view a list of all of your most recent projects, select this

option. You will see a list of the projects that you have most recently worked on.

If you select one of the projects in the list, then you will be able to immediately

open that project’s details and continue working on it.

• Sign Up: If you are a trial user, then the Sign Up page will be visible here. You

can choose this option to sign up as a paid subscriber to ProjectManager.com

• Account: In the Accounts area, you can view your account settings, as well as

your payment details and personal alerts. If you want to allow more users to

access your account, or use more document storage, then this is the place for you.

• Users: The Users panel is the place that you can see and administer your user

details. You can change your user email address and even reset their password.

• Calendar: The Calendar panel allows you to determine which days are working

days, non-working days, public holidays and personal holidays for your team. As

you change your calendar days, the resource “Capacity” is affected, determining

how many days and hours the resource has the capacity to complete, for your projects.

• Profile: In the Profile panel, you can update your personal details for your own

user account. You can also change your password for your personal user login to

ProjectManager.com

Further Help relating to these pages are provided in the following sections (see the Help

menu to the left).

13.1 Sign Up

When you click on the “Sign up NOW” button at the top, you will be taken to the Sign Up

page. This page is also accessible under the big main menu button at the top of your

screen.

The Sign Up page is the place that you can sign up to become a paid subscriber to

ProjectManager.com

When you sign up, you will have unlimited access to the features, functions and

document storage provided by this smart online software.

The following information is provided on this page: Account Setup:

• Number of (user) licenses: Please select the number of user licenses you

require. Each user will be provided with a unique login, so that they can access this software from anywhere in the world, at any time.


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• Document Storage: You will receive a lot of document storage for free, when

you sign up. However if you require more document storage than that allocated,

select the amount you require here.

• Calculate Price: When you click this button, the total monthly price will be

calculated. Your card will be debited this amount each month, until you cancel

your account.

Payment details:

• My details: Please enter your personal details so that we can administer your

account. Your details include your full name, company name (if applicable), telephone number and address.

• My payment: These are the payment details for your monthly subscription.

Please enter your credit card details and recheck them to ensure that they are accurate.

• Terms and conditions: Read the terms and conditions provided on the lower

half of this page.

• Sign me up now: When you click this button, we will record your personal

details and process your payment. Note: We do not keep a record of your credit

card details on our servers. This information is retained by our bank, in a secure

facility. Our payment mechanism ensures that there is no risk to your credit card payment details, making the process safe and secure.

Note: After you have completed this signup page, the “Sign Up Now” button at the top

will disappear and the Sign Up page will be removed. You can then increase and

decrease your user license and document storage amounts, through the “Accounts”

page, which is shown when you click the big round main menu button.

13.2 Account

In the Accounts area, you can view your account settings, as well as your payment

details and personal alerts. If you want to allow more users to access your account, or

use more document storage, then this is the place for you. The following information is provided:

Users:

• Total Licenses: The total number of user licenses in your account. If you are in

trial mode, then this will be the number of users that we have allocated you for

free, for your first month. If you are a paid subscriber, then this is the number of

users that you have signed up for. Each user gets a unique login and they will be

able to help you collaborate on projects.

• Licenses used: On the “Users” panel (when you click the big round button at the

top), you can see all of the users who currently have access to your account. As you sign up for and assign more users, the number of “license used” will increase.

• Remaining: This is the difference between your Total Licenses and your Licenses

used.

Document Storage:

• Total Storage: Shows the total amount of document storage associated with

your user account.

• Storage used: Shows the amount of storage that you have used, by uploading

documents into your user account.


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• Remaining: Calculates the total amount of storage remaining, as the Total

Storage less the Storage Used.

Change Settings:

• Number of licenses: Here you can change the number of user licenses

associated with your account.

• Document Storage: Here you can change the total amount of document storage

assigned to you account.

Payment details:

• Primary Credit Card: The primary card is the first card that we will use to debit

your monthly payment. If the primary card fails at any time, then by adding a

secondary card, we can debit that card instead.

• Secondary Credit Card: As mentioned above, the secondary card is the card

that can be debited, in the event that your primary card fails to process.

Alerts:

• “I’ve used more than 80% of my allocated disk space”: Emails you when

you have nearly exceeded your total allowable amount of disk space.

• “There’s been a problem with my credit card payment”: Emails you when

there is any problem with your credit card.

• “My credit card is due to expire (within 1 month)”: Every credit card has an

expiry date. When your card is almost ready to expire, we will email you to tell you about it.

Cancel Account

If you click on this button, you can contact us about cancelling your account.

13.3 Users

The Users panel is the place that you can see and administer your user details. You can

change your user email address and even reset their password.

When you first open the Users page, you will see a “User Licenses” panel on the left. This

panel shows you the total number of user licenses that you have purchased (as per the

“Accounts” page). It also shows you the number of user licenses used (i.e. allocated to people) and the number available for use.

If you have a user license available for use and you wish to allocate it to a person, then

click the “Add New User” button. A panel will appear on the right, which allows you to

add their first and last names, along with their email address. When you click “Save and

Invite”, the system will then send the user an email telling them how to login, using their email address and the temporary password shown.

In the centre panel is a list of all of your users within your account. If you have just

signed up as a single user, then only your details will be shown there. You will notice

along the top that the user list is grouped into folders, to handle larger user volumes.

You can click on any folder and it will show you the users who have a first name that

falls within the folder category. The categories are grouped by the first letter of the user’s first name.

You can also search for a user by typing in their name and clicking the search button, on

the top right. The “Edit” button allows you to edit a users details, and the “X” will delete a user from the system.


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Editing a users details

You can edit user details in either of two ways. As described above, you can click the edit

button alongside the person’s name, and you can also click on the person’s name, to edit

their user information. When you do so, a panel on the right hand side will appear. In this panel, the following information is provided:

• First and Last Name: This is the name of the user that you have assigned.

• Email Address: This field is the persons email address that will be used by them,

to log into their account. The email address is entered into the “Username” field on the login screen.

• Status: This field tells you the status of the users account. There are four

statuses, as follows:

o Invited: This is when you have added a new user and they have been

automatically sent an invite email, along with their login details.

o Active: As soon as the new user logs in, their status will be set to Active so

that you know that they are up and running.

o Locked: If one of your users tries to log in three or more times in a row

with the wrong login details, then they will be locked out. Their status will

change here to “Locked” and a button will appear which says “Unlock

User”. You can click on this button to unlock their account, so that they

may log back in again. This process helps ensure that the security of your account is not compromised.

• Last Login: This is the last date that the user logged in to the system. It helps

you to know who logged in and when, so that you know if a data record goes

missing, who may have deleted it.

• Reset Password: At any time, you can reset a user password. When you click

this button, the system will automatically email the user with their new

temporary password. This password will be visible on the screen, until the user

changes it. It is not possible for you to view a non-temporary user password, as this will be confidential to your user.

13.4 Customers

This feature of ProjectManager.com allows your Customers to access your projects for

free. Most Project Managers deliver projects for a particular customer. So this smart

software allows you to give your Customer access to your projects, to be able to view

their status online whenever they want. This saves you having to produce reports for

projects and send them to your Customer. Instead, your Customer can login and see the project status themselves.

Your Customer will be able to access the following pages for each of the projects you

select: Dashboard, Tasks and Reports. So they can’t access your Risks, Issues, Changes

and Documents pages as these are usually confidential to a project. Also, they can only

access your project in “read-only” mode. They can’t change any of the project data,

thereby protecting your projects from unauthorized changes.

Assigning Customers Logins

To allow one or more of your customers to access your projects, click on the big round

menu button on the top left and select “Customers”. Then click “Add Customer” and complete the customer details. Select the projects you wish them to have access to, and


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click “Save & Invite. The system will then email them a login to your account. They will

gain read-only access to the Dashboard, Tasks and Reports pages for those projects

selected.

Managing Customers Logins

Once you have assigned new Customer logins, there are a variety of tasks that you can

complete, to manage their account. Here’s what you can do:

• Delete their Login: If you wish to delete their login, then in the panel which

displays a list of all of the Customers, click the small trash can icon on the right.

• Reset their Login: If your customer has forgotten their password, then you can

reset their login by clicking on the Customer and on the right, selecting “Reset

Password”. The system will then send an email to the Customer, which provides their new login details.

• Change their Projects: If you want to grant or remove the projects that a

Customer has access to, then click on the Customer name and under the “Project

Access” section, tick or untick the relevant projects. When you click “Save”, it will add or remove the respective projects from the customers account.

Tips & Hints

Here are some tips and hints for managing Customers:

• The username you assign must be unique.

• Only Administrators and Project Managers can assign Customer logins. Team Members are unable to assign Customer Logins.

• You can add as many Customer logins as you want for free. It does not affect the

number of Users that you have signed up for.

• If your Customer wants full access to your projects and you are happy to provide

this, then delete them as a Customer and instead allocate them as a User.

• When you assign a new Customer, their User Name and their Email address must

be different. This is because in the future, they may wish to sign up for the

ProjectManager.com service, and if they do, then their email address will be used

as their login.

• Your Customers can change their passwords by clicking on the large round menu

button and selecting “Profile”.

13.5 Calendar

The Calendar panel allows you to determine which days are working days, non-working

days, public holidays and personal holidays for your team. As you change your calendar

days, the resource “Capacity” is affected, determining how many days and hours the

resource has the capacity to complete, for your projects. Here is a more detailed

description of the Calendar page features:

Select Your Calendar

• There are two types of Calendars. The “Global” calendar is the calendar that is

the default calendar for all of your project resources. In this calendar, you can set

the standard working days in the week and assign public holidays.


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• The second type of calendar is the “resource” calendar. When you click the

“Select” drop down list, you will see a list of all of the resources in your account.

You can choose a single resource and then view the calendar particular to that resource only.

• Note that the calendars provided are generic and relate to all projects.

Select working days:

• For the resource selected, you can determine which days in the week are working

days and which are not. By default, Monday through Friday will be set as working

days, for each resource. You can click on each day by ticking and unticking it with

your mouse, to determine whether the day should be a working or non-working day. When you click “Set”, the days in the calendar beside it, will be updated.

• Note: Please be careful when applying changes in this area, as they effect every

day in your calendar. If you change a Friday to be a non-working day for

instance, then every Friday in the system for this resource will be set as non-working.

Add a public /personal holiday

• Here you can enter a date range (“from” date and “to” date) and click “Add” to

add a public or personal holiday.

• If you are viewing the “Global” calendar, then you can set a “public” holiday for

all resources in your account.

• If you are viewing a calendar for a particular resource, then you can set a

“personal” holiday and click the “Add” button to apply it to your personal resource calendar.

Other tips:

• Did you know that you can click on the individual days in the Calendar itself, to

make those days a working or non-working holiday?

• If you make a change to one calendar and you wish to view another, you will

need to save the calendar first.

• The arrows at the top of the Calendar itself, allow you to navigate backward and

forwards a month, or a year, as you wish. This speeds up the time needed to enter public and personal holidays.

13.6 Profile

In the Profile panel, you can update your personal details for your own user account. You

can also change your password for your personal user login.

You can open the User Profile page by clicking on big round main menu button and

selecting “Profile”. The User Profile page will appear, showing you your own personal details currently captured in the system.

There are two panels on this page, as follows:

Personal Details Here, you can change your name, email address and physical address. Note:

• It is important that your “Email 1” address is 100% accurate, as this is the

address that is used on the login page, to access this system.


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• There is a second email address provided. Please populate this field, as it

provides an alternative means of contacting you, should your first email address

fail.

• The physical address is the address that we use to send you free products from

time to time. We will not give this address to any third parties (see our Privacy

Policy on our website), so please keep this address up to date at all times.

Change Password

On this panel, you can change your password that you use to log in with. To do this, first

enter your existing password, then enter your new password and re-enter it a second

time in the following field, to ensure that we have captured it correctly.

Auto Save Tasks

On this panel, you can set up your account to automatically save your project plans at a

selected duration. When you switch auto save on, the system will fire the auto save

feature on the tasks page at the specified time span regardless of whether you have

been actively changing your tasks or not.

Please note:

• You must log out and then back into the system for changes to the Auto Save

Tasks setting to take affect.

13.7 Settings

The purpose of the “Settings” panel is to allow customize your interaction with the

system. In the future, this panel will allow you to configure and customize the entire

system, so that you can turn on and off, various features as you wish. You will even be able to add new fields to forms, as well as add your own company branding.

But for now, the Settings panel simply allows you to maintain your Customer Account

details, so that we have a single record of your contact details, should we need to get in

touch with you. Please make sure that your Primary and Secondary emails are always

kept up to date and are accurate.

Please note that changing the country for your Customer Account will change the culture

(currency sign, date format etc.) of your entire account. This gets set up the next time you log on to the system.

13.8 Security

If you want to assign different access rights to different types of users within your

account, then you can do it using the "Role" field on the User panel. To access this

panel, click on the big round menu button and select "Users". Then click on a particular

user in your account and on the right hand side, you assign the user a "Role". The three roles available are: Administrator, Project Manager and User, as defined below:

Administrator:

• The Administrator has full access to all parts of the system. More than one

administrator can exist and the role can be transferred from one user to another.

• At least one administrator must exist for an account at any given time.

• As an Administrator, you can view all projects and use all of the features available

within ProjectManager.com

• Only the Administrator can assign new users to the system.


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Project Manager:

• The Project Manager has full use of the system, except that they cannot:

o View projects that have been hidden from them, by the Administrator

o Assign new users or change the account settings

o Change the global calendar

• Only the Administrator has the right to perform these functions.

• However as a Project Manager you can create as many projects as you wish.

When you create a new project, you will immediately gain full access rights to

that project by default.

• You will also have full access to the Dashboard, Tasks, Resources, Time,

Expenses, Risks, Issues, Changes, and Reports tabs.

Team Member:

• As a Team Member, you have restricted access to the projects that you are

authorized to view.

• You can make full use of the Time, Expenses, Risks, Changes and Issues panels.

• You also have read only access to the Resources and Details panels.

• Typically, this role is used for:

o Team Members - who simply need to track their time and expenses on a

project, and enter risks, changes and issues when they come across them

o Customers - who may wish to view the progress of a project without

needing to change the project details

o Suppliers - who may also need to enter time, expenses, risks, issues or

changes

Administer security

If you are the Administrator - then the best time to assign a role to a user is when

you first create the new user account. You can choose their role and then determine which projects they should have access to, as shown in the following screenshot:


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If you are a Project Manager - then you can assign user access to projects you are

authorized to view. Simply click on the "Details" panel and add or remove users for the

list on the right hand side. Note: You can’t prevent users with "Administrator" access from accessing your projects. See the example below.

Security for documents – In the "Documents" panel, the folders are also secured.

Whenever a new project is created, a new sub-folder is added to the 'Projects' folder.

This sub-folder has the same name as the project and cannot be deleted, renamed or

moved. This way, you always know which documents are associated with which projects.

And more importantly, you will know who has access to it, because whoever has access to the Project will have access to the Project document folder.


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If an entire Project is deleted, then any documents associated with that project will be

moved to the "Deleted Projects" folder which looks like a trash can. Only administrators

have access to this folder.

This allows recovery of documents from deleted projects. Any folders created outside of

the 'Projects' folders are considered 'global' and are accessible by anyone within your

customer account.

Technology

Project Manager Help System