General Portfolio Setup (v8.xx)

General Portfolio Setup (v8.xx)

To access the Setup & Administration section of the Portfolio database, the Admin user must click

on the gear icon at the top right hand corned of the screen and select [Portfolio] from the drop down list.


  1. General


The ’General’ setup document is made up of multiple tabs.


  1. Miscellaneous




Do not modify the following sections:

Notifications Interface


Field

Use

Notification

Database path

Used to reference within the message. Used only for on premise installation.

Interface

Genius Integrator

Specify if Genius Integrator in enabled or not.

Genius Integrator makes the management of attached files easier. It allows the generation of preformatted Microsoft Excel templates.

Genius Integrator use an ActiveX control and is available only with Microsoft Internet Explorer.


Access path to the logo

Reserved for Genius.

Project request

Manage automatic codification

If "Yes," Genius automatically generates code according to the parameters.


Code generation

No longer supported.


Advance format

Choose between simple and advance code formatting. The "code format" and the "key format". The "code format" is defined by if tags (see below).

The "key format" if advanced is given by a formula allowing complex coding capabilities, if not advanced, the "key format" is also the result of tag parameters (see below).


Code format

If "Advance format" = No. The following tags may be used to build the code:

%A = User abbreviated name with 4 characters. Created by the server.

%U = External ID as it is defined in the 'Resource' document.

%S[1-9] = sequential number on 1 to 9 positions.

%X = Unique value based on the current date and hour. Created by the server.

%Y[2/4] = Year, on 2 or 4 positions. Default 4.

%B = Replica ID of the Projects database.

Code example: 'MI.%U.%S3'

If "Advance format" = Yes, it is possible to use @Formulas to compute the code. It is also possible to use the code %S[1-9] for a sequential number from 1 to 9 digits.

Code example: '@Right(@Text(@Year(@Now));2) + \".\" + @Right(@Unique;\"-\")+\"%S6\' will give something like '10.84CJ4Q000005'.


Key format

If "Advance format" = Yes, a formula to compute the code, for instance a formula returning the database unique ID (@ReplicaId) .

If "Advance format" = No, then all the tags available for the code building can be used to build the key.

The key is used only if the code format contains a sequential number ('%Sx').

A numbering document containing the last number in the sequence is then generated in the database 'Locks & Numbers' with the given key.




Field

Use



Key example: '%B%Y4'

With this key, the numbering starts anew at 1 each year.

Genius Charts

Allows chart export

If "Yes" then various exports will be available thru right click directly from the charts

Projects Gantts

Update when editing

Specify if stored multi-project Gantt should be updated or not when reopened


  1. Time Data


Those parameters are editable only during initial setup.


Field

Use

Weeks numbering

European ISO or American ANSI

Working days

Which days of the week are working days

First day of the week

Which day is the first day of the week


  1. Currencies


In multi-national organizations it is very common for financial information to be captured in multiple currencies. Geniusproject is designed to allow organizations to define each of the different currencies they would like to use within Geniusproject as well as define a ‘master’ currency to be used when consolidating the financial information in the different currencies.


When working with multiple project databases it is possible for each to have a different default currency. The reference currency defined in the Portfolio database is the one that will be used for all Portfolio reports.




Field

Use

Reference currency

The currency for all portfolio data

Other currencies

All other currencies to be available to all project databases

Currencies usable for project

Currencies selected from all available that may be used for




Field

Use

requests & budgets project requests & budgets


  1. Keywords & labels


In a multiple project database environment, it could be useful to have a reference for keywords, to avoid redefining keywords in each project database


Identifies in which database all keywords & labels are defined.


Field

Use

Reference database

Identifies in which database all keywords & labels are defined.


  1. Budget


The Budget tab is used to set the organization’s overall budget format.



Field

Use


Type

Global: There will be a single budget for projects regardless of whether they span across multiple years

Yearly: For projects spanning across multiple years, budget reports will be broken down by year

Period start

The start date of the first period being captured in the system

Tasks period

Only visible if budget type is set to ‘Yearly’.

Which task date to consider in project budgets

Costs period

Only visible if budget type is set to ‘Yearly’.

Which cost date to consider in project budgets

Block the version management

Yes or No specifies whether to allow multiple budget versions

Number of axes

Possibilities are 1 or 2.

Whether budget report will break down to one or two levels of categorization.


The section below is driven by the number of axes selected above. Use each field to specify what the budget category will be for each axis, for labor and non-labor related costs



  1. Ranking


The ‘Ranking’ tab offers organizations the option to include up to 10 fields to be used to calculate project ranking.


Each field represents a unique ranking criteria and its weight in the ranking calculation i.e. 25%. When PMs create new projects or project requests, the values they assign each criterion is used by the system to automatically calculate the project’s overall ranking.


Ranking fields can be:


A list Computed

A numeric value A value range

The type for each field is to be defined during the configuration of the system


Field Use

Computed

List - the default list includes the choices below, but can be changed to better reflect an organization’s terminology:

  • None

  • Low

  • Medium

  • High

Field type/

option o Unacceptable

Value – Manually enter a numeric value


Value Range – a slider bar to indicate value







Field Use

Label The name of the ranking criterion

Weight The weight it holds in the overall ranking calculation

Mandatory Whether the field is mandatory or not

The options are based on the selected field type: Field type ‘List’:

List options Field type ‘Value’:

Limit: The maximum value that can be entered

TBD

Unit: the unit of measure Field type ‘Value range’:

Values range: the first and last values for the range i.e. 0-100 Field type ‘Computed’:

Formula: the formula necessary to calculate the computed value

Default Value The default value upon creating a new project or request


  1. Hierarchy of portfolios


Geniusproject’s Portfolio module allows organization to design a three tier hierarchy for their project portfolios. The label for each level is used to represent the category of projects that will be displayed

i.e. Division, Business Unit, Program.


Once the level labels are defined it is possible to have unlimited portfolios at each level of the hierarchy.



Note: This feature have been replaced with OBS (Organization breakdown structure).


  1. KPI


Define how KPI actuals will be tracked.



Field Use

If "Yes," indicates that projects KPI’s targets are defined by project and by

Yearly target years.

If "No," indicates that projects KPI’s targets are defined for the whole project

Define how KPI actuals are tracked.

On deliverables: the tracking occurs when completing given deliverables

Metric capture

mode By month: the tracking occurs when creating the monthly "Progress report". An extra tab is added to the "Progress report".

Free: the tracking occurs at any time in a "KPI tracking document".

If "Yes" "Progress report" will automatically generated to manage KPI

Automatic tracking. generation of

progress reports Note: The agent "Generation of monthly reports" in the project database should be enabled.


  1. Exchange rates


It is possible to define monthly exchange rates in order to be more accurate. Geniusproject lets you define exchange rates by month for the secondary currencies.


Hint: If a rate for a current month/year is not available, the code to take the last available rate in a timeline.




  1. Updating the exchange rate


To create monthly exchange rates, access the [Portfolio] modules "Setup" context, select the


"Exchange rate" view and use the action "New periodic rates".






  1. Profiles


Access to Geniusproject is profile driven. Each licensed user is associated to a unique profile, and each profile defines what information its assigned users have access to.


There are seven default profiles available, however it is always possible to create as many more as needed. The default profiles are:

Administrator Project leader Project team Stakeholder Timesheets

Without license - Generic Without license - Not generic



Field

Use

Name

The name of the profile, as it will appear in the Navigation context documents. Free text. Mandatory.




Field

Use


Description

The description of the profile.

Active resource

Yes or No. Inactive resources may still be defined in the application, but it will not be possible to assign them to projects and tasks. Usually meant for resources that have left the company but must be kept for history reason (rates, etc.)



Main profile


Field

Use

License type

The type of license for this profile. Possible choices are: Project leader

Project team Timesheets Stakeholder Without license

See License information for more information.

Single selection field.

Generic resource

Visible only if 'License type' is 'Without license'. To specify if the profile is for generic resources.


Level of access


Field Use

Level Visible only if the option 'Management of the user profiles and associated groups' is set to ‘yes’ in the General setup document for the 'Resources' database. Used to specify which of the access profiles defined in the 'Resources' database will be applied to this navigation profile.


Note: SaaS installations have a Limitation of 10 Profiles!


  1. Navigation


Geniusproject is a multi-database system with a single point of entry granting users access to data stored in each of its different databases; also referred to as ‘Modules’. (See Architecture and agents for additional information on the various modules and their interaction).


Navigating through Geniusproject is very intuitive and can vary from one user to the next, depending on their license type, access rights, and navigation profile.


The Geniusproject user interface is composed of various elements that are described below. Geniusproject’s main point of entry point is through the ‘Projects' database, and the modules, views and menus visible to each user at that point is based on their navigation profile.


  1. How navigation context is computed


Here is how the navigation is computed for a user. The application:


  1. looks if a context is defined for this database and the user's profile.

  2. If none is found, then it looks if a context is defined for this database and the "Other" profile.

  3. If none is found, then it looks if a context is defined for this type of database and the user's profile.

  4. If none is found, then it looks if a context is defined for this type of database and the "Other" profile.

  5. If nothing is found, message "No navigation for your role...", and the default navigation is found (in the Web client, the first one found is used)

So now that the users are correctly published, you must first check if navigation contexts are defined for the specific database, and check if one of them is defined for the "Other" profile.


  1. Navigation Context


The ‘Navigation Context’ is the first step in customizing Geniusproject’s navigation. It defines which tabs are visible in mono and multi-project mode, and for each role. By default, the roles correspond to the license types, but they can be customized as well.

To create a new Navigation Context:

Navigate to the Setup tab in the Portfolio database Select «Navigation» from the menu on the left

Click the [New navigation context] button on the action menu bar


The context form will open




Field

Use

Title

Assign a name

For database type

Indicates which type of database the navigation applies to. Possible values are:

Resources, Projects, Archiving,

Consolidation, Timesheets.

Currently, only navigation for 'Projects', 'Archiving' and

'Consolidation' databases are taken into account. The other ones are reserved for future use.

For example, it is possible to have a different navigation for a 'Projects' and 'Archive' database.

Which databases

The options available in this field are determined by what has been selected in the «For database type field» before. One or several databases can be selected to apply this navigation to. The values are the linked databases of the selected type.

For the profile

The profile the context will apply to.

'Other' is applied to users without a profile, i.e. users that connect to the system without being declared as a resource. This can apply only for on premises install.

Disable

'Yes' or 'No'. The context is not available if disabled.





Field

Use

Labels

The list of tabs for the context. Once the document is saved, a Navigation tab setup document is created for each entry in the list. An entry that already has an existing document cannot be renamed, only moved or removed. Keywords selection field. The label can be changed directly in the corresponding 'Navigation tab' setup document.

Homepage tab

The function is outdated since version 8.00.


There is no more home - icon in the new navigation. If still in


use, the entered navigation point will move up to the first entry


in the navigation list.


Save and close the document once it is complete and move on to the Navigation tab setup document.


  1. Navigation Tab


The ‘Navigation tab’ document is used to define the entries displayed for each of the tabs "Module" menu bar in Geniusproject main user interface. The tabs are defined in the Navigation context setup documents. It defines the "Contextual Navigation Menu" of each Modules.


The ability to customize each tab (Contextual navigation) is very useful when defining groups of functions; adapting the software’s vocabulary to the company's standards or including new customized options added to Geniusproject.




Field

Use

<Subject>

The label of the tab as it was entered in the parent 'Navigation context' setup document. Editable.

If modified, the parent document is updated.

For the profile

The profile(s) the tab will apply to. Computed. Retrieved from the parent 'Navigation context' setup document.

Entries\Labels

The list of entries for the tab. Once the document is saved, a Navigation entry setup document is created for each entry in the list. Already existing entry documents can be renamed, moved or removed. The entry label can be changed also in the corresponding 'Navigation entry' setup document.

Disable

'Yes' or 'No'. The tab is not displayed if disabled.

Hide in

Refers to project filter.

"Non filtered mode" if checked the entry will not be displayed if no project filter is active.

"Mono project filter" if checked the entry will not be displayed if a project filter on a single project is active.

"Multi project filter" if checked the entry will not be displayed if a project filter on multiple project is active.

Display in the "More" menu.

The function is outdated since version 8.00.

There is no more-tab in the new navigation.


  1. Navigation Entry


The ‘Navigation entry’ document is used to define what is displayed for each entry listed for each "Contextual Navigation Menu" in Geniusproject. The list of entries is defined in the Navigation tab setup documents under ‘Entries’.




Field

Use

<Subject>

Label of the entry as it was entered in the parent 'Navigation tab' setup document. If modified, the parent document is updated.

Has a sublevel

If "Yes", indicates that this level is a node with sublevel entries

Database

Visible only if "Has a sublevel" = NO

Indicates which database the entry resides in. Possible values:

Current -, the 'Projects' database that the user is navigating in.

Portfolio -, Resources -, Activity reports -, User's mailbox -,

<List of all 'Projects', 'Archive', 'Consolidation', 'Simulator' and External linked databases.

Single selection field.

Sublevel Labels

Visible only if the field 'Has a sublevel' is set to 'Yes'.

The list of sublevel entries for the context. Once the document is saved, a 'Navigation entry' setup document is created for each sublevel entry in the list. An entry cannot be renamed, only moved or removed. Keywords selection field. The sublevel entry label can be changed directly in the corresponding 'Navigation entry' setup document.

Type

Visible only if the field 'Has a sublevel' is set to 'No'. Indicates the type of the entry. Possible values:

Database: opens the database specified in the field 'Database'. View: opens the designated view.

Page: opens the designated page. Form: opens the designated form.

Frameset: opens the designated frameset.

URL: opens the designated URL. Not yet implemented.

Project description: opens the project description. Only works in mono-project-mode.

Project plan: opens the project plan. When there is more than one plan in the project, a dialogue box is displayed to select the plan to open. Only works in mono-project-mode.

Chart: opens the designated chart. Dashboard: opens the designated dashboard. Single selection field.

Name

Visible only if the field 'Has a sublevel' is set to 'No' and the field 'Type' is not

'Database', 'Project description' or 'Project plan'.

The value depends on the selection in the field 'Type': URL: the URL to open.

All others: the name of the item to be attached to the menu entry




Field

Use

Unique category

Visible only if the field 'Has a sublevel' is set to 'No' and the field 'Type' is set to 'View'.


Can be used as filter, if the View has it's first category 'Project' or 'User'

Disable

'Yes' or 'No'. To disable the entry in the menu

Hide in

'Notes' or 'Web'. Makes it possible to have different navigation entries depending on the client used.

'Multi-projects mode' or 'Mono-project mode'. Makes it possible to hide entries in either of the two modes.

If hiding the entry both for 'Notes' and 'Web' or both 'Multi- projects mode' or 'Mono-project mode', then the entry will never be visible.

Display in the "more" menu

Outdated since V8.00


  1. Create a new View


To create a new view you first have to select the needed navigation context. Meaning, if you would like to create a new view for all users with the main profile project manager you need to select this navigation.


Second step is to select the navigation menu tab you would like to have the view for e.g the tab projects. If you would like to enable the view for a sub level you have to select the sub level needed.



Add new Context by mark the Submenu and choose "New navigation context" from menu. Otherwise open up the selected level. Add a new label to the labels list. E.g. „new gird view“.



Save and close navigation entry. Refresh the page and the new navigation entry is now ready to get a view assigned.


Open up the new entry „new grid view“.


Select the database your view is stored at. In our case we select a view from the projects database. Select type and name of the view.


All grid views are shown as customizable views.



Furthermore it is possible to select a menu icon for the new navigation entry.




Save and close the document, refresh the page and you are ready to use your new view.


  1. Hierarchical structures


Geniusproject supports the definition of a hierarchical structure. Hierarchical structures are defined as a tree with one root and as many branches and sub-branches as you want. This is very useful to define an organization’s OBS as well as other structure like for instance product nomenclature


By default the OBS "Organization Breakdown Structure" is created with 3 levels.


Both resources and projects can link to the OBS. Geniusproject considers the first Hierarchical structure defined in the system as the OBS.


  1. Setup tab


This is where we define the property of the structure. After each node for each levels have to be defined separately.



Field

Use

Title

Name of the hierarchical structure.

Description

Short description what represent the structure.

Number of level

How many levels the structure has.

Level 1 to X

Name (label) of each level. The number of the entry depends on the number of levels.

Structure

Representation of the structure.


  1. The access right tab

Hierarchical structure can be used to manage access rights. There are 3 possibilities: No access right managed in relation with the structure.

Managers, managers of each node are used to manage access rights. Meaning that level's manager and substitutes will have read access to all project defined on this level

and sub-levels.

Managers and resources, managers and resources attached to node are used to manage access right. Meaning that level’s manager, manager substitutes, and resources defined at this level will have read access to all project defined on this level and sub-levels. This last level is available only for OBS.

To manage access by the managers and resources, Geniusproject will create a group. The field "Group prefix" allows prefixing the name of those groups for better reading of the Access Control List.


  1. Add a new node in a structure


In the hierarchical view of the setup select the level where you want to add a new node below.

Click on the Action menu [Create > Create a level under] Fill the document according to the table below.


Save it


Field

Use

Parent

Parent level/node.

Title

Name of the new level/node.

Description

Short text description.

Manager

Select the resource assigned as a manager to this level. If the hierarchical structure is used for access right management and the option is "Managers" or "Resources and Managers", then the defined manager will have read access to all project data under this level and all related sublevels.

Manager substitutes

Select the resource(s) assigned as a manager substitute to this level. If hierarchical structure is used for access right management and the option is "Managers" or "Resources and Managers," then the defined manager will have read access to all project data under this level and all related sublevel.


  1. Phase review process


See "Phase review process definition"


    • Related Articles

    • General Setup (v8.xx)

      To access the Setup & Administration section of the Resources database, the Admin user must click on the gear icon at the top right hand corned of the screen and select [Resources] from the drop down list. General It is the main setup document of the ...
    • General Project Setup (v8.xx)

      The General setup document allows for the definition of the general settings and certain defaults for the 'Projects' database. It is divided into seven sections. General The 'General' tab includes general settings. Field Use Workload unit Workload ...
    • Portfolio Agents (v8.xx)

      Agents synchronize Data between the different Databases in the Genius Project. They either run in the background (scheduled agents), or may be started by a user action. Agents that can be run from the 'Agents' tab in the 'Setup & Administration' ...
    • How to Access the “Setup and Administration” Console

      The Module Setup and Administration Console tools are accessible from the upper right-hand corner of the Geniusproject user interface. Click the icon in the upper right corner. A drop down list appears with all available modules, select the one you ...
    • Initial Setup, On-Premise Only (v8.xx)

      The initial setup is done once per database after its installation by the administrator, if not done already. It consists of: Linking the new database to the 'Portfolio' database (the 'Portfolio' database is the only one not linked). The creation or ...