Table of Contents Project Management Process 3 Project Management Flow Chart 4 Project Management Security Setup 5 Project Management Codes Setup 6 Quote Role Assignment 7 Project Status Code Setup 8 Project Milestone Setup 12 Project Type Codes Setup 14 Project Management Operations 17 Project Listings 18 Project Summary 19 Creating a Project 20 Assigning Project Milestones 22 Linking Quotes 23 Project Tracking 26 Contacts 28 Vendors 29 Notes 30 Attachments 32 Other Inquiries 33 Conclusion 35 2
Project Management Process Project Management module captures the planned project activities and all data related to a particular project. Setting up the project as early as possible will allow you to assign needed activities, track progress and allow an overview of where the project stands in relation to the various tasks required for completion. This is accomplished by assigning a quote to a project. All remaining processes related to that quote will automatically be added to the project also including Locations, Proposals, Sales Orders, Work Orders, Purchase Orders, and Shipments. Many of our customers use the Project Management module when they need to track the progress of large-scale orders that cover the manufacturing and installation of multiple products. Rather than having to move between various modules for each part of the project, Project Management can consolidate them into a single place for review and coordination across multiple business segments (sales, estimating, production, accounting, etc). For example, if you have an account with a national chain and all of their signs need to be updated due to a logo change you can set-up a project to plan and assign activities, track progress and monitor the deliverables in order to meet the customer s schedule. This can be accomplished by linking the various quotes associated with the logo change to the project. Then all related processes associated with that quote will automatically be incorporated into the project as each task progresses. Without this capability you would have to jump between modules for each quote and never get a complete picture of the overall effort. This module could also be used to track company projects outside of producing a sign. For example, if you need to move your business to a new location. A project can be set-up and tasks can be assigned and tracked to accomplish that goal. The same notifications, notes and schedule would be available to the individuals involved with planning and executing the move. 3
Project Management Flow Chart Project Management Milestone Quotes Work Orders Milestone Locations Purchase Orders Milestone Proposals Shipments Milestone Sales Orders 4
Project Management Security Setup For long-time users of KeyedInSign you may not have activated this module yet through the System Management/Users and Security tab. For both new and old users your personnel must be given access to the Project Management module in order to use it. This can either be done through Group Security or User Security. Identify the group or user who needs access, go to the Project Management security page, click on the various segments required, once the segment turns green click Update Page. NOTE: If the user is currently on the system when security is updated either through the Group or User process, the user must log off KeyedInSign completely and then log back in to have access to the new areas. 5
NOTE: If the user is not given access to all of the parts of Project Management then that tab will not be shown in their view. In the above example, DAVES will not see Purchase Orders linked to any project. Project Management Codes Setup The first step in project management is to set up the assignments and codes you will use throughout the project s lifecycle. At first you may not capture all the codes you need. As you use the module more and develop repeatable processes you can update the listing. Codes can be added and updated at any time. Quote Role Assignment System Management Codes and Setup Maintenance Quote Role Assignment Project Management takes advantage of the roles you set-up for Quotes. This is an important step because only the Project Manager will be allowed to add Quotes to a project. This screen designates who in the company will fill the listed roles or positions. Each identified role will create a drop down list for you to choose from in the Project Management screen. All users entered in the system will populate a list when setting the roles up. To set up the Role, simply check the box next to the user s name to place the individual in the role and click Save. 6
7
Project Status Code Setup System Management Project Management Codes and Setup Maintenance or Reports and Inquires Project Status Code Setup Project Status Code Listing The Project Status Codes can be used to track where a project is in its life-cycle. Any significant state that your project may go through such as Active (Open), Closed, On Hold or Waiting for Permit can be used. The Project Status Codes can also be used as a filter on your Project Listings. To create a code, select Add a code and click Go 8
Chose the letter you want to use for that status and click Go Now enter in the description for the code and click Save. 9
You can also Inactivate codes you no longer want to use for tracking projects. Simply select the code you no longer need from the drop-down menu and click Go. 10
Then check the Inactive box and click Save. NOTE: Inactivating a code will impact any project that currently has the Inactivated code. The next time the project is opened the user will be alerted that the code is no longer available and they need to select a new status code. 11
Project Milestone Code Setup System Management Project Management Codes and Setup Maintenance or Reports and Inquiries Project Milestone Code Setup Project Milestone Code Listing KeyedInSign uses Milestones to indicate phases or steps in the life of a project. It can be a specific point in time or show a period that will cover a couple days/weeks. For example, obtaining final customer approval could be planned for a specific date. You would enter the same start and stop date. Installation might span a few days. Then you would establish the start and stop date when installation is expected to take place. Milestones may be common to all projects, used only with certain types of project or unique to an individual project. Setting up Milestones is similar to setting up status codes. 12
Milestones also include the capability to alert individuals assigned to the project when the Milestone is started, completed or both. These alerts are sent to the user s e-mail address stored in KeyedInSign. Select the individual requiring notification once you have entered a description and hit Save. NOTE: You can also Inactivate a Milestone. Inactivating a code will not impact any project that currently has the Inactivated Milestone. 13
Project Type Code Setup System Management Project Management Codes and Setup Maintenance or Reports and Inquiries Project Type Code Setup Project Type Code Listing The project type code setup can be used to create different types or categories of projects that you have in your business. This will enable future projects that are similar to start with the same Milestones. 14
Adding a Project Type Code follows the same steps as adding a Project Status Code with the following exception. When you enter a description you will also be asked to assign Milestones to that Project Type Code by highlighting the Milestone you want to use for this project type and selecting the arrow to move the Milestone to the right. 15
Use the up and down arrow keys to set the order of the Milestones. When you have the Milestones set, hit Save. NOTE: You can also Inactivate a Project Type Code. Inactivating a code will impact any project that currently has the Inactivated code. The next time the project is opened the user will be alerted that the code is no longer available and they need to select a new type code. 16
Project Management Operations Project Listings Project Listings allows you to see all of the projects that are being tracked within KeyedInSign. This list can be exported to Excel or printed. 17
Click the Selection Criteria button to select projects to view by a number of different criteria including: Status, Type, Project Manager, Customer, Date Ranges and Milestones. 18
Project Summary The Summary tab shows an overview of the selected project or can be used to create a new project. To start a new project enter a N or new project number and click the Go button. Data Fields Project Number Customer Number Address Primary Contact Phone Email 15 characters Required or you may enter an N and the system will automatically generate a number This is the KeyedInSign customer number from the Customer Master. It is not the CRM account number. Enter the customer s name, once entered the information related to this customer will automatically populate Automatically populated from the Customer Master information Automatically populated from the Customer Master information. You are able to override this information for the Project Automatically populated from the Customer Master information. You are able to override this information for the Project Automatically populated from the Customer Master information. You are able to override this information for the Project 19
Customer PO# Creating a Project Enter the Customer Purchase Order # for this project. This field is the customer s assigned purchase order number from within their system. It is not generated by KeyedInSign 1. Enter a project number or N for the system to automatically assign it 2. Click on the Go button 3. Enter the Customer Master number (Not the CRM number) a. If the number is not known, you can search by customer name (see Customer Master Maintenance): i. Enter part of the customer name. As you type, a list of customers will appear that include the information typed ii. Select the customer name from the list iii. The customer information will self-populate 4. Fill in the rest of the enabled fields and click Save 20
5. The Milestones attached to your project type will appear. You are able to remove them, add more and move them up and down. Once you have your milestones set click Save Milestones. 21
Assigning Project Milestones Project Milestones tab is where you can enter milestone start date, due date and assign that action to a person. As the project progresses the Milestones should be marked as Started and Done (completed). Red dates indicate Milestones that have not reached their expected status. Milestone dates can only be changed by the Project Manager. 22
Linking Quotes The Quotes tab allows you to link quotes to your project. Once you link your quotes any locations, proposals, Sales Orders, Work Orders and Shipments will also be linked to the project for proper tracking. Only the Project Manager can link Quotes to a project. 23
When you click Link Quotes, KeyedInSign will present a list of all Quotes not linked to any Customer Account number within the system. It will also display any Quotes assigned to the Customer Account number tied to the project. You can use the column headers (Quote, Quote Desc, Customer #, etc) to help organize the Quotes and find the items you want to link. 24
To link a Quote highlight the Quote you want and click Link Selected. You can link multiple Quotes by holding down the control key (Ctrl) and clicking on the Quotes you need. 25
Project Tracking From the Project Status page you can track the Quotes, Sales Orders, Work Orders and Shipments tied to your project. You can also access these items using the hyperlink on each page as the example below shows for a Sales Order. 26
27
Contacts The Contacts tab shows the contacts associated with the Customer Accounts within KeyedInSign. 28
Vendors The Vendors tab shows any vendors used to fill Purchase Orders associated with the project. 29
Notes The Notes tab allows you to enter notes relevant to the project. Click on the the Page symbol from any tab and a note will be created. For example, if there are additional people to contact that aren t directly tied to the Customer Account, you can enter them here. You have the option to flag the note as important to easily find it or keep it so that only the Project Manager can see it. 30
Once you save the note it will appear in the list. The yellow highlight indicates it is flagged as important. 31
Attachments The Attachment tab allows you to view all attachments associated with the Quotes assigned to the project. 32
Other Inquiries From Project Management you can monitor Certificates of Insurance for your Vendors. This report can be generated for various time periods and a range of different vendor types. Certificate of Insurance data is entered and maintained within the Vendor Master Maintenance. 33
Project Management also allows you to see listing of Landlords, Mall and Tenants. The data for these categories is maintained under System Management Codes and Setup Maintenance Landlord File Setup or Mall Location File or Tenant Coordinator Setup 34
Conclusion The Project Management module of KeyedInSign provides a one-stop shop to track the progress of any project you want to create. It allows all the data associated with a project to be linked and consolidates the information that has to be searched for in other modules. It also allows you to develop a disciplined, repeatable process to handle similar jobs through the creation of Milestones. Finally, it has the capability to keep the project team informed through e-mails, notes or access to the detailed project information. 35