Administration Framework – Project Workflows

Owned by amani imtiyas
Last updated: Jan 29, 2024
3 min read

This article contains:

1. Overview

There are several approaches that can be taken to managing project activities including agile, interactive, incremental, and phased approaches. Such phases can differ from organisation to organisation and from project to project. This area can be used to define customised workflows so that different project types can accommodate its own type of project management workflow.

Custom workflows created here work similarly to templates. Each workflow consists of a series of phases and each phase in turn, consists of a group of objects which are the activities involved in managing a project.

  • Create a new workflow

  • Create phases and objects for your workflow

  • Configure the workflow objects as per requirements

  • Designate and configure Sign Off Points

  • Designate and configure Email Alert Points

This is applied to the 'Default 'Project Type' which is provided with the standard configuration. If you apply this to a new project, you will be able to create and observe these phases via the tabs at the top as follows:

Figure 1.1

If a workflow has been applied to any existing projects, the system will allow you to add new objects as well as remove existing objects. However, removing objects will result in any data that was previously entered within that object for a project not being visible unless you add the object at a later date.

A warning message will be displayed if you try to remove such object:

Figure 1.2

2. Project Workflow Key Concepts

  • Workflow: A Workflow defines the series of phases involved in managing a project. This is configured by Project Administrator according to the organisational requirements and contains phases from the initial idea concept of a project, through to project completion and review.
    Multiple workflows can be created. However, each workflow must be assigned to a Project Type in order to select it for a project.

    • Workflow Link: This area lets you link existing workflows to project types. Remember that when creating a new project, its internal structure or 'workflow' is applied based on the 'Project Type' selection within the Project Details object.

      • STEP 1: Go to Settings Configuration > Workflow Link.

      • STEP 2: To create a linkage, click on a Workflow from the right-hand side and drag it onto a 'Project Type' on the left as illustrated below.
        A project type can associate with only one workflow, but the same workflow can be shared by multiple project types.

  • Phase: Each workflow may consist of a series of Phases - the major areas involved in managing the project. It is mandatory to have at least one phase in a workflow.

  • Object: Within each phase, there may be a number of objects, which are the key steps involved in completing the phase. Each object performs a unique function. Please refer 'Objects' section for more information.

  • Sign Off: Some phases may require one or more Sign Offs. A sign off points to the Sign Off Authority to provide an authorisation to continue the project.

  • Sign Off Authority: The Sign Off Authority is the decision maker who sign off a project phase. The responsible person(s) can choose to Approve, Reject or even Defer a sign off request.

  • Project Type: The IPM Administrator setups the project types according to organisational business requirements and assign each type to a particular workflow (Refer: Project Type Configuration).

  • When creating a new project, the 'Project Type' setting defines the workflow to be followed in order to complete the project.

View more details under the following sections: