How to Work with Projects

Here we describe how to work, manage, maintain, collaborate, and rate projects.

Note: This feature will not be automatically available to all subscribers and may be part of a separate ITONICS subscription plan.  If you would like to test workflow, please contact us via account_manager@itonics.de.

Maintain the to-do’s of a project

Maintaining the to-do's of a project is an important aspect of managing projects to ensure that it progresses smoothly through the different phases and can be considered for the next phases. One or many users might be involved during the workflow phases and responsible for the different to-do’s for example, the project manager, project team, or decision makers.

To begin, you should regularly review the to-do's of each phase of your project to ensure that they are up to date. Additionally, you should perform the actions described in the individual to-do’s, for example, enrich your project with more information and details such as attaching a business case, adding financial details, or rating the project.

To maintain the to-do’s:

  1. Go to the detail page of your project.
  2. Click on the Workflow tab (1).
  3. Check the checkboxes next to the to-do that you have finalized (2). You can also uncheck it, if needed.

To-do's and phase descriptions can be edited at any stage of the workflow. The prerequisite is that the project is in running status and the user has permission to edit elements.

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Note: If there is an open to-do, a red dot will appear next to the Workflow (1) tab on your project, indicating that there are still tasks that need to be completed.

In order to maintain to-do’s, the users must have the permission to edit elements.

Edit to-do’s

When editing existing to-do's on a project, you can easily make changes by hovering over the to-do text. An edit pen and an x icon will appear, indicating that the respective to-do is editable.

  1. Click on the edit pen icon (1). This will open up a text field where you can make any necessary changes to the to-do list item.
  2. Once the changes have been made, you can click the checkmark button to save the changes and update the to-do list item accordingly (2).

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Create new to-do’s

If you want to add a completely new to-do, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Add item button below the list (1). This will add a new text field where you can enter the text for a new to-do. 
  2. Once the text has been entered, click the Save checkmark icon to finally add the new to-do to the list (2).

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Remove to-do’s

To remove a to-do, click on the x icon.

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Configure phase descriptions

When configuring and editing phase descriptions, it is important to keep in mind the overall goal, objectives and requirements of the project. Therefore, the best practice templates provided by ITONICS can be a useful starting point, but they may not always meet the specific needs of your project.

To begin the configuration process, review the default phase descriptions and identify any that are not relevant to or necessary for your project. If that is the case, replace these with descriptions relevant to your specific use case.

You can also adjust the level of detail for each phase, depending on the complexity and importance of the phase. For example, a high-priority phase may require more detailed instructions than a low-priority phase.

To edit existing phase descriptions, follow these steps:

  1. Hover over the description text. An edit pen icon will appear, indicating that the description is editable. 
  2. To edit the text, click on the edit pen icon (1). This will open up a text field where you can make any necessary changes to the description. 
  3. Click the checkmark icon (2) to save the changes and update the description accordingly.

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Enrich your projects with more information

During the different workflow phases, you may be asked to enrich your idea with additional content and information in order to improve its quality and chances of success.

Information on how to edit elements in general, can be found here.

Rate projects

During the different workflow phases, it may be necessary to rate the various ideas in terms of different rating criteria, while the rating criteria may vary depending on the specific phase of the workflow.

Information about how to rate elements in general, can be found here.

How to change the phase of a project

Go to the individual idea detail page and click on the Workflow (1) tab. If all to-do’s are checked, it means that all tasks have been completed. This allows you to click the Move to next Phase (2) button in order to change the phase.

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Note : All to-do’s of the current phase have to be checked, otherwise the idea cannot move to the next phase.You cannot move ideas to a previous phase, and you can not skip phases.

What are the phase change conditions

There are two conditions to be met to move ideas to the next phase.

  • All to-do’s of the active phase have to be marked as done (1).
  • The project must be in the workflow status Running (2).

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Manage the status of projects

You can change the status of ideas per phase. There are three different statuses per phase:

  1. Running: indicates that an idea is currently being actively pursued or implemented. 
  2. Parked: indicates that an idea has been temporarily set aside or put on hold, but may be revisited in the future. 
  3. Rejected: indicates that an idea has been evaluated and determined to not be feasible or in line with the goals of the campaign or organization.

To change the status of an idea, go to the idea Workflow tab and click on the three-dot-menu of the active phase. Now, either select the option Parked or Rejected. Note that the default phase is always Running.

You can also change the status back from Parked or Rejected to Running.

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How to add a workflow to existing projects that do not follow a workflow yet 

There might be cases where projects have been created before the workflow feature has been activated. 

To add a workflow to projects without a workflow follow these steps:

  1. Open to your project element.
  2. Click on the Workflow tab (1). 
  3. Click on the Add Workflow button (2).
  4. Select the workflow template that you want your projects to follow, from the Add Workflow modal (3).

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Note: This selection cannot be undone, and your project will immediately follow the selected workflow.