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Project Management Tools FOR PROJECTSOLVESP PROJECT SITES

Project Management Tools for ProjectSolveSP Project Sites

PSSP_PMTools_201904_1_2.docx 201904, v1.2 1 of 53

Table of Contents Overview ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

History ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3

ProjectSolveSP ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Approach ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Requirements Understanding ................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Process Flows ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Site Location .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Tools ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Workflows .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Users/Security Groups ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Tools ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6

ProjectSolveSP Tools List .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Basic Tools ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Announcements ................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Calendar ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Contacts ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Document Library .............................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Picture Library ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Survey .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Project Management Tools ................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Action Items ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Change Requests ................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

Company List ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Corrective Action Plan ...................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Correspondence ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

CRM ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Daily Report / Field Notes ................................................................................................................................................................ 21

Document Control ............................................................................................................................................................................. 22

Drawing Submission ......................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Email Archive ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Expense Reports ................................................................................................................................................................................ 25

Insurance Log ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 26

Invoice Management ........................................................................................................................................................................ 27

Issues ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Lessons Learned ................................................................................................................................................................................. 29

Meeting Minutes ................................................................................................................................................................................ 30



Milestones ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 31

My Ball in Court Page ........................................................................................................................................................................ 32

Non-Conformance Log ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33

Punch List ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 34

Tasks .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35

Reference Library .............................................................................................................................................................................. 36

Report of Accident/Damage ............................................................................................................................................................ 37

Request for Information (RFI) ......................................................................................................................................................... 38

Risk Register ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 39

Submittals ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 40

Transmittals ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 41

Information Tools .................................................................................................................................................................................. 42

Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................................................................................ 42

Web Log (Blog) ................................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Wiki ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44

Workflows .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45

Change Management ............................................................................................................................................................................. 45

Change Requests (External List) ..................................................................................................................................................... 45

Change Review (Internal List) ......................................................................................................................................................... 46

Request for Information ........................................................................................................................................................................ 49

RFI Log (External List) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 50

RFI Review (Internal List) ................................................................................................................................................................. 51

For Assistance .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 53



Overview “ProjectSolve” is the name given to a collection of Project Collaboration and Management applications hosted by WSP’s Project Information Management (PIM) group and provided to WSP clients on request for the capturing, tracking, administering and utilization of project information.

History ProjectSolve started in 1999 with the creation and deployment of a custom developed solution, supported by a large in-house development team. Each instance of the application was customized to the specific needs of the client that chose to use it.

In 2002, ProjectSolve2 was introduced, and moved the product from a custom programmed solution to a purchased, commercial-off-the-shelf product: “eRoom” by EMC Documentum. eRoom provided a simple set of tools, but allowed projects to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on a staff of programmers in order to create the tools desired for their projects.

In 2014, ProjectSolveSP was introduced taking the product to a new level by moving it to a Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Enterprise platform, keeping most of the features found in eRoom, and supplementing them with an array of new features and functionality provided by Microsoft and its partners.

ProjectSolveSP Like ProjectSolve2 before it, ProjectSolveSP (PSSP) is primarily a web-based collaboration tool that can be used to create and deploy project collaboration and management websites for WSP clients and their projects, allowing them to share, collaborate on and manage information between project team members. The value for building this solution in a Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Enterprise environment, is that the system is now capable of so much more than just simple collaboration.

Because every PSSP site starts off as a blank page, with a series of available tools available for development and deployment, every project site can take on a different appearance and level of functionality, associated with the specific needs of the project that the site is being created for and what the person creating that project site is trying to accomplish.



Approach We recommend the following approach when creating a new Project Management site within PSSP.

Requirements Understanding First, identify the requirements for that project. Things to think about include:

— What activities will they be using the project site for? — What type of tools would they like available? — What business processes will they be following? — Have these processes already been documented or are they still being developed? — What are the document management needs of the project? — Who will make up the users of the site? — Are there logical groupings of these users? — What types of security and access controls will be needed?

Process Flows Once the project requirements are known, identifying the business processes in place and how they flow and interact can ensure that the design and operation of the tools, security groups and workflows are set to match these identified needs.

Site Location Depending on the type of project site, and whether it needs to be a stand-alone project or part of a related series of projects, the location of the physical project site within the SharePoint environment may be at the top-level of a site collection or within a sub-site area under it.

SHAREPOINT SERVER

Site Collection A

Sub-Site A.1 Sub-Site A.2

Site Collection B

Sub-Site B.1 Sub-Site B.2

Sub-Site A.2.1

FIGURE 1 - PROJECTSOLVE SHAREPOINT SITE LAYOUT DIAGRAM



Tools Each PSSP project site is made up of various tools designed to provide a specific set of functionality to meet that project’s identified needs.

Microsoft provides a series of pre-made templated tools that can be quickly deployed to a project site and then configured to the needs of that project.

When no templated tool is available, custom tools can be created and configured to meet project needs as well.

Lastly, Microsoft has partnerships with various organizations that also release SharePoint tie-ins to their products to provide additional functionality without having to create it from scratch.

Workflows Another way to add functionality to tools created for use by a project is through the inclusion of electronic workflows. These can be simple workflows that provide a basic notification functionality, or more complex workflows that put project data through a series of review and approval steps to ensure that the proper data is being captured, collected, approved and provided as needed to manage the project.

Users/Security Groups Each PSSP project site includes identified users, and logical groupings of users, authorized to access that site, any sub-sites and the tools located on those sites. Users must be granted sufficient access to the project site, the tools on the site and the areas of the site, in order to access and work with the data stored there.



Tools SharePoint adds value to a project through the deployment and usage of tools and objects created within that environment.

ProjectSolveSP Tools List — Basic Tools

— Announcements – A specialized list used to make announcements to the members of a project. — Calendar – A standard calendar used to track project-related events; these can be viewed by month, week or day. — Contacts – A list of members for a project site and the contact information for each. — Discussion – An application for identifying project-related discussion points and capturing the comment thread

related to each. — Document Library – A standard library for capturing project-related documentation. — Picture Library – A library tool for capturing and storing project-related photographs and images, with an

automated thumbnail version created for each. — Survey – A tool used to create an electronic survey with various kinds of questions.

— Project Management Tools — Action Items – A tool for tracking project-related action items assigned as part of a project and tracking them

back to the tools/activities they were assigned against. — Change Requests – A tool for tracking project-related change requests. — Company List – A listing of all companies approved to work on a given project. — Corrective Action Plan – A tool for outlining a Corrective Action Plan, and capturing related files and

information. — Correspondence – A tool for tracking project-related correspondence. — CRM – A tool for capturing client interactions. — Daily Report / Field Notes – A reporting tool for capturing daily activity and field conditions from a job site. — Document Control – A tool for tracking and administering project-related documents. — Drawing Submission – A tool for tracking and reviewing project-related drawing submissions. — Email Archive – A library with an associated email address that people can send emails into to capture project-

related communications. — Expense Reports – A tool for capturing project-related expense reports and putting them through a review

process. — Insurance Log – a tool for tracking contractor insurance policies. — Invoice Management – A tool for capturing project-related invoices and putting them through a review process. — Issues – A tool for tracking project-related issues and identifying who they have been assigned to. — Lessons Learned – A tool for identifying and capturing project lessons learned during the life of a project. — Meeting Minutes – A tool for identifying project-related meetings and capturing the associated minutes for each. — Milestones – A tool for tracking project-related milestones. — My Ball in Court Page – A custom page displaying the personal views of all tools on the site that can be assigned

to specific individuals. — Non-Conformance Log – A tool for tracking non-conformance reports. — Punch List – A tool for creating a job site activity punch list and tracking the items through completion. — Reference Library – A document library configured for project-related reference material. — Report of Accident/Damage – A tool for identifying project-related accidents / damages and capturing those

details for management review and action. — Request for Information (RFI) – A tool for tracking project-related Information Requests. — Risk Register – A tool for capturing project-related risks and identifying their appropriate mitigation procedures. — Submittals – A tool for tracking project-related submittals. — Tasks – A tool for identifying primary and secondary project-related tasks, and tracking those against a set

timeline, Gantt chart or calendar. — Transmittals – A tool for tracking project-related transmittals.



— Information Tools — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – A list of commonly asked questions and the “official” response to each. — Web Log (Blog) – A project-related web-log tool for posting messages at periodic intervals. — Wiki – This is a Wiki product for creating project-specific wiki pages that can be updated and modified as needed

to reflect the needs of the project.

The remainder of this section will be used to review each of these tools.



Basic Tools Announcements

FIGURE 2 - ANNOUNCEMENTS SAMPLE

— Definition: A specialized list used to make announcements to the members of a project site. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Body — Expired

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — This tool is often placed on the front page of a site to provide news to the team.



Calendar

FIGURE 3 - CALENDAR EXAMPLE

— Definition: A standard calendar that can be viewed by month (default), week or day. — Recommended Fields:

— Event Title — Location — Start Time — End Time — Description — Category — All Day Even — Recurrence — Attendees

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — The SharePoint calendar can be tied to Outlook and accessed locally.



Contacts

FIGURE 4 - CONTACTS LIST EXAMPLE

— Definition: A list of members for a project site and their contact information. — Recommended Fields:

— Last Name — First Name — Job Title — Company — Department — Address/City/State/Providence — Zip/Postal Code — Country/Region — Email Address — Business Phone — Cell Phone — Web Page — Picture — Notes — Added to Site — Invited to Site

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — Add pictures so people know who is who. — Add an invitation workflow to send invitations to users from the project site.



Discussion

FIGURE 5 - DISCUSSION EXAMPLE

— Definition: An application for identifying project-related discussion points and capturing the comment thread related to each.

— Recommended Fields: — Subject — Body — Question

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — Allows readers to respond to the discussion topic, or respond to a previous response.



Document Library

FIGURE 6 - DOCUMENT LIBRARY EXAMPLE

— Definition: A standard document library for capturing project-related documentation. — Recommended Fields:

— File Name — Title — Description — Category — Status

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — SharePoint includes built in Document Management features, including:

— Secured Access and Editing — Version History and Tracking — Document Preview — Document Comparison — Auto-numbering — Group Editing

— Consider adding multiple public views to categorize and filter the data so that the Document Library emulates different folder structures for accessing the specific data needed.



Picture Library

FIGURE 7 - PROJECT PHOTOS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A library tool for capturing and storing project-related photographs, with automated thumbnail creation for each.

— Recommended Fields: — Title — Description — Date Picture Taken — Keywords — Original URL

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — This tool can be used in conjunction with the “Picture Rotator” web part to provide a slide show on a web

page on a project site.



Survey

FIGURE 8 - SURVEY EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool used to create an electronic survey with various kinds of questions. — Recommended Fields:

— Question — Notes:

— Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — The tool will provide graphical response showing you charts on how people have answered. — The survey tool comes with 10 types of questions. — Surveys can be exported to MS Excel for review as well.



Project Management Tools Action Items

FIGURE 9 - ACTION ITEMS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related action items assigned as part of a project and tracking them back to the tools/activities there were assigned against.

— Recommended Fields: — Title — Description — Initiated By — Action Status — Priority — Start Date — Today’s Date — Due Date — Days Open (Calculated Field) — % Complete — Assigned To — Completed (y/n) — Completed Date — Comments — Related Items

Related Meeting Related Request Related Issue Related Risk Related Submittal Related Transmittal Related Change Request

— Notes: — Use Look-Up Columns to create cross list connections.



Change Requests

FIGURE 10 - CHANGE REQUESTS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related change requests. — Recommended Fields:

— Change # — Change Title — Description — Reason for Change — Cost Impact (Y/N) — Cost Impact ($) — Schedule Impact (Y/N) — Schedule Impact (Time) — Requested Date — Due Date — Status — Change Approved (Y/N) — Approved By — Approved Date — Comments — Related Items

Related Change Request Related RFI

— Notes: — You can use a Nintex Workflow to automatically populate the Change number.



Company List

FIGURE 11 - COMPANIES LIST EXAMPLE

— Definition: A listing of all companies approved to work on this project. — Recommended Fields:

— Company Name — Abbreviation — Company Address — City / State / Zip — Company Contact — Main Phone — DBE — MBE — WBE

— Notes: — This list is often used to feed other lists where “Company” is needed as a field choice.



Corrective Action Plan

FIGURE 12 - CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for outlining a Corrective Action Plan, and capturing related files and information. — Recommended Fields:

— Action Plan Title — Associated Issue — Associated Risk — Owner — Priority — Change Request (Y/N) — Expected Implementation Date — Actual Implementation Date — Issue/Problem Definition — Root Cause — Action Steps — Alternatives Considered — Metrics/Timeframe — Implementation Verification — Notes

— Notes: — This corrective action plan can link to other items (Risks/Issues) and include attachments. — You could include a Plan URL field for linking to the actual plan documents.



Correspondence

FIGURE 13 - CORRESPONDENCE LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related correspondence. — Recommended Fields:

— Subject — Correspondence Date — Date Received — To Company — To Person — From Company — From Person — Category — Item Type — Priority — Status — Ball In Court — Author — CC List — Message — Notes

— Notes: — Lots of projects have their own version of what should be tracked in a Correspondence Log, so be sure to

check first before building.



CRM

FIGURE 14 – CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking communication events with client representatives. — Recommended Fields:

— Client — State — Office — Contact Date — Representative — Discussion Topic — Discussion Notes — General Notes — Track?

— Notes: — This is a basic CRM tool; many companies have more advanced tools for use if desired. — The “Track?” field, if set to yes, sends a message to the PM for the given client.



Daily Report / Field Notes

FIGURE 15 - DAILY FIELD REPORT EXAMPLE

— Definition: A reporting tool for capturing daily activity and field conditions from a job site. — Recommended Fields:

— Project Name — Job Number — Project Location — Report Date — Inspector — Start of Day — End of Day — Temp – High — Temp – Low — Sky Conditions — Wind Speeds — Field Conditions — Crew — Equipment — Visitors — Resource Notes — Field Work Report — Disruptions / Delays — Inventory List — Incidents — Additional Comments

— Notes: — It is important to have a good list of the resources in play at the job site when creating this tool so that

the inspectors can properly track what happened. — If desired, written documents, scanned forms, and photos can be added as attachments to the entry as

back up documentation.



Document Control

FIGURE 16 - DOCUMENT CONTROL LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking and administering project-related documents. — Recommended Fields:

— Document Title — Document Description — Document Type — To Person — To Company — From Person — From Company — CC — Document Date — Status — Importance — File Type — Segment — Category — Summary Task — Response Required (Y/N) — Responder — Response Date — Approval Required (Y/N) — Approver — Approved? — Comments

— Notes: — Template documents can be added to content types and made accessible through a SharePoint Document

Library.



Drawing Submission

FIGURE 17 - DRAWING SUBMISSION EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking and reviewing project-related drawing submissions. — Recommended Fields:

— Item — Submission Description — Disposition — Date Received — From Person — From Organization — Review Organization — Reviewer — Date Notified — Required Return Date — Returned Date — Review Manager — Comments

— Notes: — Can be done as a list (with multiple attachments for a single entry) or as a library (based around a single

drawing.) — If done as a library, Brava! can be used for drawing preview, redlining and comments.



Email Archive

FIGURE 18 - DROP OFF LIBRARY EXAMPLE

— Definition: A library with an email address associated with it that people can email into in order to capture project-related communications.

— Recommended Fields: — Title — Description — Category — Email Address

— Notes: — You can attach an email address to a document library so people can add files via email, drag and drop or

standard file addition. — Mailed in items can be from anyone with that address or only from people who are given access rights to

that library.



Expense Reports

FIGURE 19 – EXPENSE REPORT TRACKER EXAMPLE

FIGURE 20 - SAMPLE EXPENSE REPORT WORKSHEET

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related expense reports; includes a sample “Expense Report” worksheet. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Submitted By — Start Date — End Date — ER Total — Status — Submitted for Review

— Notes: — Can include approval workflows for review and approval.



Insurance Log

FIGURE 21 - INSURANCE LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking contractor insurance policies and ensuring that they are active. — Recommended Fields:

— Contractor — Contract # — Policy Type — Policy # — Limit — Effective Date — Expires Date — Insurance Company — Status — Remarks

— Notes: — Can be enhanced with reminder workflows when policies are about to expire / have expired.



Invoice Management

FIGURE 22 – INVOICE MANAGEMENT LIBRARY EXAMPLE

FIGURE 23 - INVOICE DOCUMENT SET EXAMPLE

— Definition: A listing project-related invoices and approvals for each. — Recommended Fields:

— Name — File Description — Invoice Date — Invoice Number — Invoicing Company — Invoice Amount — Invoice Status — Project Reviewer (PR) — PR Review Date — PR Approved — PR Comment — Date Forwarded to Accounts Payable (AP) — AP Approved — AP Approve Date — AP Comments

— Notes: — Utilizes “document sets” to keep all related invoice materials together.



Issues

FIGURE 24 - ISSUES LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related issues and identifying who they have been assigned to. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Descriptions — Category — Assigned To — Due Date — Issue Status — Priority — Related Items

Related Meeting Related Actions Related RFI Related Submittal Related Transmittal Related Issue

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — This tool has automated emails associated with it as part of the Microsoft template.



Lessons Learned

FIGURE 25 - LESSONS LEARNED EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for identifying and capturing project lessons learned during the life of a project. — Recommended Fields:

— Lesson Title — Descriptions — Category — Project Phase — Keywords — Recommendation — Author/Contact — Comments

— Notes: — Lessons Learned can vary by project; be sure to get input from the project you are building the tool for to

ensure you are providing what they were expecting.



Meeting Minutes

FIGURE 26 - MEETING MINUTES EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for identifying project-related meetings and capturing the associated minutes for each. — Recommended Fields:

— Meeting ID — Meeting Topic — Meeting Type — Meeting Date — Owner — Agenda — Project Attendees — External Attendees — Actions Identified — Actions Assigned — Comments

— Notes: — You can cross-reference the Meeting Minutes tool with an Action Item tool so that they use each other

for Look-Up References.



Milestones

FIGURE 27 - MILESTONES LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related milestones. — Recommended Fields:

— Milestone — Description — Phase — Due Date — Responsible Party — Status — Discussion

— Notes: — You could also use a Task List for capturing milestones so that you could utilize the Timeline feature for

displaying them.



My Ball in Court Page

FIGURE 28 - MY BALL IN COURT PAGE EXAMPLE

— Definition: This is a custom page displaying the “[Me]” views of all tools that can be assigned to specific individuals.

— Notes: — Suggest reading the “How Do I Create a “My Ball in Court” (BIC) Page?” help file

(https://public.pbid.com/sites/help/HDIDocs/HDI-MyBIC.pdf) for more information on creating “My Ball In Court” pages.



Non-Conformance Log

FIGURE 29 – NON-CONFORMANCE LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for capturing project-related non-conformance reports. — Recommended Fields:

— Project — Title — To Person — To Company — From Person — From Company — Start Date — Action By Date — Response Date — Completed Date — Description of Non-Conformance — Recommended Corrective Action (CA) — CA Approved — CA Approved By — Date CA Approved

— Notes: — Each project should have their own version of this report, so tool configuration may be required.



Punch List

FIGURE 30 - PUNCH LIST EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for creating a job site activity punch list and tracking the items through completion. — Recommended Fields:

— Item # — Location — Description — Contractor/Sub — Date Performed — Performed By — Completed (Y/N) — Verified (Y/N) — Verified By — Verified Date — Work Notes

— Notes: — Some companies / clients have their own version of punch lists, if possible use the company’s as a guide

when building out this tool.



Tasks

FIGURE 31 - PROJECT TASKS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for identifying primary and secondary project-related tasks, and tracking those against a set timeline, Gantt chart or calendar.

— Recommended Fields: — Task Name — Description — Start Date — Due Date — Assigned To — % Complete — Completed — Predecessors — Priority — Related Items — Task Status

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — You can add additional fields if you desire. — The Timeline across the top must be created by hand based on the items within the task list. — Tool includes calendar views and Gantt views of the data in the task list.



Reference Library

FIGURE 32 - REFERENCE LIBRARY EXAMPLE

— Definition: A document library configured for project-related reference material. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Description — Category — Comment

— Notes: — You can set up different views for different file types to help users quickly narrow down the materials

shown. — You can use the different views created to create menu links to those views.



Report of Accident/Damage

FIGURE 33 – REPORT OF ACCIDENT/DAMAGE EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for capturing project-related accident/damage reports and providing that information for management review and action.

— Recommended Fields: — Report Date — Contractor — Contract Number — Sub-Contractor — Section Designer — Report Number — Location of Accident — Equipment Involved — Resulting Damage — Personal Injuries? — Injured Party — Description of Injuries — Est Value of Damage — Witnesses? — Witness Names — Witness Statements Obtained? — Witness Statements Attached? — Remarks — Accident Date and Time — Weather Conditions — Temperature — Surface Conditions

— Notes: — Tool can be enhanced with notification workflows to expedite the action process.



Request for Information (RFI)

FIGURE 34 - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related Information Requests. — Recommended Fields:

— RFI # — Requestor — RFI Status — RFI Priority — RFI Question — RFI Category — Request Date — Work Impact (Y/N) — Work Impact Description — Schedule Impact (Y/N) — Schedule Impact Description — Budget Impact (Y/N) — Budget Impact Amount — Project Point of Contact — Assigned To — Date Required — Answered (Y/N) — Answer Date — Answered By — Answer — Comments

— Notes: — Many clients and projects have their own way of doing RFIs; be sure to review their approach before

building a tool. — You can use a workflow to automatically create the RFI # assigned.



Risk Register

FIGURE 35 - RISK MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for capturing project-related risks and identifying their appropriate mitigation procedures. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Description — Probability — Impact Type — Cost Impact — Schedule Impact — Performance Impact — Response Approach — Mitigation Plan — Comments

— Notes: — Some projects have their own Risk Management tools, so make sure that is known before building this

tool.



Submittals

FIGURE 36 - SUBMITTALS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related submittals. — Recommended Fields:

— Submittal Package — Submittal Number — Submittal Name — Submittal Rev # — Submittal Type — Status — Initiator — Initiated Date — Reviewer — Review Date — Reviewer Comments

— Notes: — Many clients and projects have their own way of tracking Submittals; be sure to review their approach

before building a tool. — You can create a Submittal Packages list and use that to keep the Submittal Package field choices up to

date.



Transmittals

FIGURE 37 - TRANSMITTALS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A tool for tracking project-related transmittals. — Recommended Fields:

— Title — Date — To Company — To Contact — From Company — From Contact — Project Name — Project Number — Delivery Method — Submitted For — Item Type — Related Items

Related Submittal Related Transmittal

— Responsible Party — Due Date — Copied Parties — Transmittal Details — Comments

— Notes: — Many clients and projects have their own way of tracking Transmittals; be sure to review their approach

before building a tool. — Some countries / projects consider “Submittals” and “Transmittals” the same thing; others see

“Submittals” as the items and “Transmittals” as the communication.



Information Tools Frequently Asked Questions

FIGURE 38 - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS EXAMPLE

— Definition: A list of commonly asked questions and the “official” response to each. — Recommended Fields:

— Category — Question — Response

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — A creative use of numbering can go a long way in making sure that the list orders in the way you desire.



Web Log (Blog)

FIGURE 39 - WEB LOG EXAMPLE

— Definition: This is a web-log tool for posting messages at periodic intervals. — Notes:

— Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — Microsoft has tied the BLOG tool to MS Word so that the person keeping the BLOG can update it from MS

Word and post it to the SharePoint environment.



Wiki

FIGURE 40 - WIKI EXAMPLE

— Definition: This is a Wiki product for creating project-specific wiki pages that can be updated and modified as needed to reflect the needs of the project.

— Notes: — Microsoft provides an out of the box template for this tool. — This tool operates differently than the others in SharePoint and requires the creator to have a good

understanding of the structure they want to build before starting, as the sub-pages are built from connection points placed in existing pages.



Workflows One of the tools that is included with the ProjectSolveSP environment is Nintex Workflow that allows projects to utilize electronic workflows to automate the identified process flows and project tools identified. Nintex is a graphical workflow engine that allows the workflow creator to map out the workflow to be followed using graphical symbols and the application then creates the associated code.

We can add required functionality to tools by creating a mix of workflows that work together to enhance the applications. Below are some examples of this approach from actual projects.

Change Management We created a Change Management system in ProjectSolveSP for a client, and they requested that we break it into two versions of the tool to provide segregated, secured access:

— Change Requests (SharePoint List) – This is an “external” version of the tool where the contractors can enter their requested changes and provide key information about those requests, and then submit those change requests for review.

— Change Review (SharePoint List) – This is the “internal” version of the tool, hidden from the contractor, where the internal team can review the requests and brainstorm the proper response without worry that the contractor will see any comments or discussions until the “official” answer is provided.

It took nine (9) Nintex Workflow electronic workflows to automate this functionality as the client desired, as outlined below:

Change Requests (External List) — CR_Autonumber – This is an electronic workflow that runs automatically each time that a new entry is added to

the “Change Requests” list, and applies a unique, automatically generated ID number.

FIGURE 41 - CHANGE REQUEST AUTO-NUMBER NINTEX WORKFLOW



— Submit Change Request – This is a manually activated electronic workflow that takes all data for the selected entry in the Change Requests log, including any attached files, and creates an entry within the Change Review list that is an exact duplicate of this entry.

FIGURE 42 - THE SUBMIT CHANGE REQUEST NINTEX WORKFLOW

Change Review (Internal List) — Notify CR Site Manager – This workflow activates automatically and notifies the Site Manager when new items

are added to the Change Review list by the “Submit Change Request” workflow.

FIGURE 43 - THE NOTIFY SITE MANAGER NINTEX WORKFLOW



— Request SME CR Input – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to invite input on the request from the selected Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on the project.

FIGURE 44 - THE REQUEST SME INPUT NINTEX WORKFLOW

— Provide SME CR Feedback – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the SME to provide their response back to the Site Manager.

FIGURE 45 - THE PROVIDE SME FEEDBACK NINTEX WORKFLOW

— Client CR Review – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to notify the client project lead about the suggested response to the selected request to get their input.

FIGURE 46 - THE REQUEST GMTO REVIEW AND INPUT NINTEX WORKFLOW



— SM-CR-Approval – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to indicate their approval the requested change.

FIGURE 47 - THE SITE MANAGER CHANGE REQUEST APPROVAL NINTEX WORKFLOW

— SM-CR-More Info Needed – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to request more information about the potential change from the requester.

FIGURE 48- THE SITE MANAGER CHANGE REQUEST NEED MORE INFORMATION NINTEX WORKFLOW



— SM-CR-Denied – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to reject the proposed change.

FIGURE 49- THE SITE MANAGER CHANGE REQUEST DENIED NINTEX WORKFLOW

These workflows were designed based on the required functionality of the specific project.

Request for Information Another ProjectSolveSP tool that can be significantly improved through the addition of workflows is the “Request for Information” (RFI) application. In the example below, we also broke this tool into an “external” and “internal” version to allow us to ensure that the requestor was not exposed to the back and forth of the team providing the response:

— RFI Log (SharePoint List) – This is the version of the tool where the contractor enters their requested for information and key information about those request, and then submits those for review.

— RFI Review (SharePoint List) – This is the review portion of the tool, hidden from the contractor, where the internal GMTO and WSP team can review the requests and brainstorm the proper response.

Additionally, seven (7) Nintex Workflow electronic workflows were created to automate as much of the data movement as possible, as outlined below.



RFI Log (External List) — RFI_Autonumber – This is an electronic workflow that runs automatically each time that a new entry is added to

the RFI Log, and writes a unique, automatically generated ID number for the entry.

FIGURE 50 - THE RFI AUTO-NUMBER NINTEX WORKFLOW



— Submit Request – This is a manually activated electronic workflow that takes all data for the selected entry in the RFI log, including any attached files, and creates an entry within the RFI Review tool that is an exact duplicate of this entry.

FIGURE 51 - THE RFI SUBMIT REQUEST NINTEX WORKFLOW

RFI Review (Internal List) — Notify Site Manager – This is an automatically run electronic workflow that notifies the Site Manager when new

items are added to the RFI Review tool by the “Submit Request” workflow.

FIGURE 52 - THE RFI NOTIFY SITE MANAGER NINTEX WORKFLOW



— Request SME Input – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to invite input on the request from the selected Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).

FIGURE 53 - THE RFI REQUEST SME INPUT NINTEX WORKFLOW

— Provide SME Feedback – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the SME to provide their response back to the Site Manager.

FIGURE 54 - THE RFI PROVIDE SME FEEDBACK NINTEX WORKFLOW

— Client Review – This is a manually activated workflow that allows the Site Manager to notify the client project lead about the suggested response to the selected request.

FIGURE 55 - THE RFI GMTO REVIEW WORKFLOW



— Answer RFI – This is a manually activated workflow that takes the answer, answer date, and answered by information and writes them to the correct entry within the RFI Log and then notifies the contractor that their request has been answered.

FIGURE 56 - THE ANSWER RFI NINTEX WORKFLOW

These workflows were designed based on the required functionality outlined in the related process flow above.

For Assistance If you have questions on what you read here, or for further assistance implementing these tools on your own PSSP site, please contact the ProjectSolveSP Support Desk at:

[email protected]

Thank you.

mailto:[email protected]

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