The Project Creation Wizard (v8.xx)

The Project Creation Wizard (v8.xx)

Geniusproject’s "Project Creation Wizard" has been designed to simplify the user’s project creation experience by walking them step by step through the process and ensuring they do not leave out any critical creation steps.


The project creation wizard quickly captures important project information, but more can be entered using the Project description form.


To use the project wizard:


Navigate to the [Projects] tab on the Module navigation menu.

Select "New Project" from the contextual navigation.



The project wizard will open.


The project wizard is made up of the following elements: A navigation bar indicating the steps (1).

Navigation buttons to move forward or backwards during the process (2). Content window to input the data for the active step (3).

Note: It is also possible to advance or move back by clicking directly on the next step in the navigation bar. It is not however possible to skip a step if its fields are not complete.

  1. The [General] tab


The project wizard opens to the [General] tab. This section holds the most general and basic information about the project.



Project Template

Select one of the available project templates. Leave the field blank if not using a project template.

Project Name*

Enter the "Detailed" name of the project. This field is mandatory and must be unique.


Code

Enter the code that identifies the project. This field is Mandatory and must be unique. The project code field is either editable or automatically computed. If automatic, the code is computed using the code format set up in the General setup document. If editable, the code format from the General setup document is used to initialize the default value and the user can modify it.

Status*

Select the current project status. See detailed description of the "Project description" form to learn more about the default status list.




Planning mode

This field only appears if a template has been selected in the "Template" field. It is used to specify whether Geniusproject needs to calculate project dates ahead based on a set start date or backwards, based on a set end date.

"Start", planning based on the start date specified in the upcoming "Start dated" field.

"End", planning based on the end date specified in the upcoming "End date" field.


Start date / End date

If a project template was not selected in the "Template" field above, enter the intended project start date. If a project template was selected in the "Template" field above, enter the start or end date, depending on the selection made in the "Planning mode" field.


Currency

The currency of the project. All project amounts will be expressed in this currency and in the reference currency if different. The list of available currencies comes from the field "Other currencies" of the General setup document.

Billing mode

Billing mode of the project. Possible options are: Not billable / Fixed price / Time & material.

Track tasks physical progress


Whether or not to track physical progress for the project.




Project Template

Select one of the available project templates. Leave the field blank if not using a project template.

Earned value calculation method

This field is only displayed if "Track physical progress" is set to "Yes". Users can specify how they would like to calculate earned value; based on physical progress or work progress.

Objectives

Enter a brief description o the project objectives.


Once all of the fields have been completed, click "Next" or "Categorization" on the Navigation bar.


  1. [Categorization] tab


Here you will find one text field (Sponsor) and up to 14 single or multi-value classification fields, depending on your setup. These classification groups are very helpful for reporting purposes. Only 4 of them are static fields in Geniusproject: Sub-project of, Type, Customer and Priority.




Sub-project of

Select the parent project if there is one.

Type

Select the type of project. The list of available options is defined in the setup.


Customer

Select the customer associated to the project (if there is one). If the customer name is missing from the list. Press the "Add" button. A dialogue box will open to add a new customer name.

Priority

Select the priority of the project. The list of available options is defined in the setup.

Others

All other classification fields are dependent on the setup, i.e. "Services", "Business units", etc.


Once the classification fields have been completed, click "Budget" on the navigation bar or "Next" to advance to the next step. If do not want to enter any classification details at this time you can advance directly to the "Budget" step, unless some fields have been set as mandatory by the application administrator.

  1. [Budget] tab


The budget screen is where the financial resources allocated to the project are defined as well as its external rates if the project is billable.


A project budget can be detailed or not. If the budget is not detailed the user can simply enter the total anticipated workload split across internal and external labor. It is also possible to enter the internal and external/ billable costs associated to the workload as well as other non-labor related project expenses.


If the budget is detailed, it is then possible to define the costs and billing targets with more finesse, depending on budget axes defined in the application settings. For more information see "Detailed budget".









Internal Labor

Days

Budgeted workload for internal resources.

Budge t

Budgeted costs of internal resources.

Billing

Budget billable amount for internal labor costs.

Margin

Expected margin on internal labor "Billing-Budget".



External Labor

Days

Budgeted workload for external resources.

Budge t

Budgeted costs of external resources.

Billing

Budget billable amount for external labor costs.

Margin

Expected margin on external labor "Billing-Budget".


Investments & Expenses

Budge t

Budgeted amount of non-labor costs.

Billing

Budgeted billable amount for non-labor costs.

Margin

Expected margin on non-labor costs "Billing-Budget".



Total

Days

Total budgeted workload.

Budge t

Total budgeted costs.

Billing

Total budgeted billable amount.

Margin

Total expected margin.




Once the budget has been entered, click "Team" or "Next" on the navigation bar to advance to the next step. If you do not want to enter budget information at this time, you can advance immediately to the next step.


  1. [Team] tab


Now it is time to define your project team. This section is used to select the project participants and identify their role in the project. Geniusproject proposes a predefined team structure with predefined groups and roles.


Note: The following form appears only if no project template has been selected. If a project template has been selected, a different form appears where it is possible to replace the resources inherited from the template by resources of your choice. Once the project has been created, the form as shown here under can then be seen in the "Project Description".




Project leader

By default, the resource creating the project, but this value may be changed. This field is mandatory.


Project leader substitute(s)

The substitute(s) have the same rights as the actual project leader, meaning that the substitutes may create the documents and execute exactly the same processes as the actual project leader. This can be very useful, particularly if the project leader is absent. It is recommended that project substitute(s) also have a Project leader license.

Customer representative

Can be used to reflect the internal resource that deals with the customer directly, a resource belonging to the customer or even a particular usage that may be required.

Project Steering Committee

The group that drives the project and constantly monitors its progress. The Project Steering Committee is the key body to oversee the week-to-week progress of the project. It owns the business case.


Internal project team

The list of the people involved in the project that are part of your payroll, meaning that they are considered your resources, not resources you have to buy from another organization or department.


External project team

The list of the people involved in the project that are NOT part of your payroll, meaning that they are NOT considered as your resources. They are resources you have to buy from another organization or department, as contractors or external consultants.




Project leader

By default, the resource creating the project, but this value may be changed. This field is mandatory.


Stakeholder

Group of resources not belonging to the project but who should be informed of the project’s progress. These resources MUST be defined as "Resources" in the system in order to have access to the project information.


Once the project team has been defined, click "Critical success factors" or "Next" button to advance to the next step. If you will not be selecting the project team at this time you can advance immediately to the next step.


  1. [Critical success factors] tab


The critical success factors section allows you to define how important and aligned the project is with your business and strategy.


This section is divided into 2 parts. The first section is not configurable and contains essential metrics that exist across all projects, they are: budget, ROI (return on investment), forecasted workload and risk factor.


The second section is configurable and can capture up to 10 distinct criteria used to qualify the importance of the project to the organization. The combination of the values will calculate the project score and reflect its importance.






Budget & ROI

Budget

The expected budget for the project. Defined in the budget section.

ROI

Enter expected return on investment for the project.

Workload

The expected project workload.. Defined in the budget section.

Risk

The risk doing the project may have to the organization.


Project ranking

Critical success factors "1 to

10"

Enter values according to critical success factors defined by your administrator. See Define critical success factors and project ranking calculation in the setup section.




Once the critical success factors have been entered, click "Summary" or "Next" button on the navigation bar to advance to the next step. If you will not be entering a budget at this time you can advance to the next step immediately.


  1. [Summary] tab


This tab offers a quick summary of all the data entered using the wizard prior to creating the project. At this stage it is still possible to revisit any of the tabs to make necessary changes. Simply click on the "Next" or "Previous" button, or directly on the name of the tab you would like to edit on the navigation bar.




Click "Done" to create the new project, or "Cancel" to abort project creation.


Once the project has been created, Geniusproject automatically opens its "Project Description" form, which can be completed. See "Project Description" form below.


In addition to the project description, Geniusproject has also created the associated budget and Gantt chart for the project.

    • Related Articles

    • Create a Project without Wizard (v8.xx)

      Navigate to the [Projects] tab on the Module navigation menu. Select "New Project" from the contextual navigation. An empty Project Description opens. No documents are included.

    • Project Definition (v8.xx)

      A well-defined project is a project with the highest potential for success completion. Unfortunately, the project definition step is one that is often neglected and therefore the cause of most project problems. Defining a project well means to ...

    • Completing the Project Description (v8.xx)

      The project description is a kind of identity card for the project, where the project leader can define the project name, objectives, start and end dates, project participants, the budget and the categorization criteria. As described above, there are ...

    • 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 ...

    • Create a Project Request (v8.xx)

      To create a new project request: Navigate to the [Project requests] tab on the Module navigation menu. Select "New request" from the contextual navigation menu. Otherwise select "Project request" from Create Tab. A new Project Request form will open. ...