Why Can’t I See the Earned Value Indicators?

by admin | Dec 12, 2023

Why Can’t I See the Earned Value Indicators?

The Earned Value indicators and charts for each project can be accessed in the project progress section.

To display the values corresponding to the project’s Earned Value, click on the Load Earned Value Section button.

Please note that the button will not be displayed if no tracking has been performed on the project, as the Earned Value data is shown for the last tracking date. Without tracking, the system will not calculate the Earned Value indicators.

AI-Generated Reports Feature

by admin | Nov 28, 2023

AI-Generated Reports Feature

Introduction

In project management, clear and effective communication is essential, particularly when working with diverse teams and complex projects. Traditional tools like dashboards are valuable, but they can sometimes present challenges in interpretation for all stakeholders.

To support clarity, ITM Platform offers an AI-Generated Reports Feature. This uses the capabilities of Generative AI to transform complex project data into clear, concise reports. It is designed to be accessible to stakeholders of all levels, regardless of their familiarity with project management terminology or data analysis.

The AI-Generated Reports Feature operates by analyzing and summarizing the extensive data generated in project management activities. It processes various data types, including financial information, time estimates, risk assessments, and more, converting them into an easily digestible format.

AI Reporting ITM Platform

How to Use the AI Reporting Feature

Navigate to the “Progress” tab in your project. Here, you’ll find a button labeled “AI Report.”

Click on the “AI Report” button. The report will be processed and sent to your email within a few minutes.
The “AI Report” button will remain disabled for the specific project until the report is delivered to your email.
Interpreting the Report. Please note that, as an AI-generated report, it may contain inaccuracies. It provides an overview and is not intended as a detailed analysis tool. For a comprehensive analysis, refer to our dashboards (How to Use Customizable Dashboards).

Weekly Subscription to Reports

From the same section, choose “Subscribe to the AI report”. You will receive an immediate report, and then one each week with any updates that have occurred.

IA reports subscription

The administrator can select the project statuses that can be subscribed to from the ‘Parameters > Projects > Project Statuses’ section.

Who are subscriptions useful for?

Project Managers, to have up-to-date information
Managers and stakeholders who connect to ITM Platform less frequently but want to stay informed about the progress of the most relevant projects.

How It Works in the Background

The AI reporting feature operates by:

Data Collection: Gathering raw data from your project in a machine-readable format.
Data Processing: Different project management methodologies yield various data types. For instance, Waterfall projects calculate Earned Value metrics, while Agile projects focus on task flow. Common data elements like financials, risks, issues, and time reports are also included.
AI Processing: This raw data undergoes preprocessing and is fed into an AI model. The AI then generates a human-readable report directly sent to your email.

Security and Data Handling

Third-Party AI Systems: We utilize advanced AI systems like Azure AI and OpenAI for processing.
Data Anonymity: No company-identifiable data or project names are shared.
Preprocessing of Data: Data is preprocessed to minimize the risk of identification. However, please be aware that some data may potentially lead to identifying your company or project.
Encryption and Privacy: All communications are encrypted. There is no data retention in third-party services, nor is your data used to train other models.

The AI Reporting Feature on ITM Platform simplifies the interpretation of complex data, ensuring project insights are easily accessible to stakeholders at all levels.

What Is the Purpose of Project Approval if a Workflow Exists?

by admin | Nov 7, 2023

What Is the Purpose of Project Approval if a Workflow Exists?

Project approval is a simpler and more general mechanism than the approval of each project stage, which is what the workflow manages

Project approval helps to determine if a project has the consent to commence, and, generally, it is a field that one fills out only before the project starts.

ITM Platform provides a set of predefined approval statuses, customizable for each organization.

Project-Approval

These fields appear on various ITM Platform screens, such as the portfolio or project prioritization in the strategic alignment section.

Additionally, or as a complement, you can use the state workflow, which offers a complete model of authorizations and rules for state project approvals.

Should I Use Workflow, or Are Approvals Enough?

Generally, it depends on the level of control required over the project steps. If your organization requires strict investment supervision involving different people subject to various rules (for example, if the budget exceeds a certain amount), activating the workflow is a good idea.

If you are still at that level of management maturity or manage control differently, you can use the approval field, which the project managers themselves can fill out.

Slow or Delayed Project List Display

by admin | Nov 7, 2023

Slow or Delayed Project List Display

Occasionally, the project list may take longer than expected to display, sometimes taking up to two minutes in some instances.

Generally, the cause can be attributed to one of the reasons explained below or a combination of both:

The presence of calculated fields in the requested list of columns.
A high volume of projects in the list (more than 50) without pagination.

Calculated fields are not stored as data in ITM Platform but require processing to display a value.

A typical example of a calculated field is the “Budget Estimate.” To display this data, the system must go through:

all the projects,
for each project, all tasks,
for each task, all team members,
for each team member, all the daily hour reports,
and for each report, verify the cost of the professional profile for that date.

Then, apply the cost to each hour of each day and accumulate costs upwards, including purchases if required. A project with 25 tasks, 4 people, and six months of duration requires about 20,000 calculation operations to provide the “Cost Estimate” field.

Project-List-ITM-Platform

To solve the response time problem, select only calculated fields when necessary.

You can also use reports to generate high volumes of information or with calculated fields.

Concurrent or not with the above, another reason may be the number of projects requested on the list. All lists on ITM Platform offer the option to paginate so that the visible part is limited to a volume of 10, 20, 50, or 100 items.

paginate-list-purchases You also have the option to select all items but keep in mind that this will be at the expense of response speed.

If your list setup contains both cases (more than 50 projects and calculated fields), you should expect response times of over 30 seconds, potentially spanning several minutes, depending on the volume.

In general, lists of more than 20 items are not useful since the filtering system will allow you to obtain the information you need. Consider using these filters, the reporting system, or adding calculated fields and the complete list only when essential.

Share Gantt Snapshot Feature

by admin | Aug 30, 2023

Share Gantt Snapshot Feature

What is a snapshot of the Gantt?
How to share a snapshot of the Gantt?
What will invitees see on the link?
Who can share the Gantt?
Why sharing a Gantt snapshot?

Project managers and team leaders often find the need to share the progress and timeline of their projects with stakeholders. This is where the “Share Gantt Snapshot” feature in ITM Platform comes into play.

What is a snapshot of the Gantt?

A snapshot of the Gantt is essentially a freeze-frame or capture of your project’s Gantt chart in its current state. Think of it as taking a photograph; whatever changes you make after the photo won’t appear in it.

It’s Static: After you’ve taken a snapshot, further changes to the Gantt won’t be reflected unless you decide to update the snapshot.
Access to Snapshot: While it’s easily accessible to anyone provided with the link, you don’t have to worry about unauthorized access. The link is not easily guessable as it is protected by a unique hash code.

Sharing a snapshot is designed to be intuitive:

Navigate to the Gantt section of your project.
Click on the share button located at the top-right of the page.

A pop-up window will appear. Depending on if you have previously created a snapshot, you’ll be presented with options to either create a new snapshot, update an existing one, or delete the current one.
After creating the snapshot, a “Copy Link” button will become available. Clicking this will save the unique link to your clipboard, ready to be shared.

If you decide to revoke access to the snapshot, simply click on the share button and opt to delete the snapshot. Remember: once a snapshot is deleted, anyone with the link won’t be able to access it. To share the Gantt again, you’ll have to generate a new snapshot.

What will invitees see on the link?

Those who access the snapshot link will be presented with:

Gantt Chart: The primary component is the Gantt chart itself in read-only mode. This ensures that external viewers cannot make changes.
Project Details: This includes the project’s name, its start and end dates, the progress recorded at the time of the snapshot, and a timestamp. Additionally, they will see the name of the person who shared the Gantt and the associated company’s name.

Controlling who gets to share the Gantt snapshot is governed by role-based permissions:

Navigate to Organization > User management > Role definition.
Select the desired role. Note: Only roles based on the “Project Manager” and “Full Access” licenses can share the Gantt snapshot.
Click on “Set Manager’s permissions” and check the “Share Gantt Snapshot” checkbox.

Role-permission-gantt-snapshot

If you ever decide to revoke these permissions from a role, any users assigned to that role will no longer see or use the share option. This includes their ability to delete existing snapshots. Should you need to remove a snapshot, make sure someone with the necessary permissions takes action. Remember, the Company Admin will always retain sharing privileges.

Sharing a Gantt snapshot can be helpful in several scenarios:

Stakeholder Updates: Keeping stakeholders, especially those who don’t access the ITM platform regularly, in the loop.
Quick Reviews: For when you need immediate feedback or review without giving editing rights.
Documentation: Archiving or documenting project stages and timelines.
External Communication: Sharing project timelines with clients or third-party collaborators without giving them full access to the platform.
Presentations: When you need a static representation of your project timeline for presentations or meetings.

Ensure you manage permissions appropriately and leverage this feature for improved project communications.