Quick-Start Guide. Version 1.0 September 10, by Knucklehead Computers

Transcription

1 Quick-Start Guide

2 Page 2 of 36 Conventions Used in This Manual Full-Size Italics: Small-Size Bold: SMALL CAPS ITALICS: The name of a form or a report. Example: New Project The name of a label or a field on a form. Example: Project Name The name of a button on a form. Example: ADD TO PROGRAM Other Notes: PROTIP: These tips spread throughout the manual will either help you use the advanced features of the program, or give you ideas for organizing and running your project like a pro. NOTE: These notes will explain details about how the program works. They will help you use EnCompass to the greatest advantage.

3 Page 3 of 36 The Basics Main Menu Since this is a quick-start guide, we won t go through all the options on this screen. You ll have to pull out the User s Manual for that. To start a new project, click on START NEW PROJECT

4 New Project Page 4 of 36 When you first open the New Project form, you will see this blank page. You must enter a project name before you can enter any of the other fields: Type the name of the new project here. If you haven t entered any employees, you can click ADD EMPLOYEES. These fields are optional. You can fill them now or later when you do the project charter Once you have entered information in these fields, it will look like this: Check this box to add a charter to the project. The Project Charter form will open next. Once you are satisfied, click on SAVE PROJECT to open the following:

5 Project Charter Page 5 of 36 If you did not add a charter, you will see the Project Status form instead, which is addressed in the next section. Why are we doing this project? What are we doing? What s IN? What s OUT? Boundaries? When these things are done the project is complete The project charter is an important part of the project, since it records the specifications up front. Written definition of the project helps keep expectations under control and defends against scope creep.

6 Page 6 of 36 A completed charter: Once one of the approvals has been obtained, the charter is frozen and must be revised to be changed. Close this form to go back to the Main Menu:

7 Page 7 of 36 Main Menu Moving on to the Project Status Report. Click on PROJECT STATUS UPDATE

8 Project Status Page 8 of 36 The next step is to put together the milestones, or top-level schedule. These are the items that get reported to management. Next, click on EDIT MILESTONES to put together the top-level schedule

9 Page 9 of 36 Project Milestones Blank form before entering any milestones: Click on ADD NEW MILESTONE or EDIT MILESTONES to open the Edit Milestone form.

10 Page 10 of 36 Edit Milestone Enter the milestone description here Dates are not entered in the Current Due Date field. If you TAB or click here, the cursor automatically goes to the Due Date field under Due Date Revision History. All dates are entered in the Due Date Revision History section of the form. This way a history of date changes and reasons is always available. The due date entered most recently always appears in reports. See below for a filled-in milestone detail page:

11 Page 11 of 36 Use CHANGE DATE when you want to change a previously-entered date. The cursor will automatically move to the Due Date field below on a new line in Due Date Revision History. Keep adding milestones until the schedule is complete. When all milestones have been entered, click on SAVE AND EXIT to see the completed Milestone list as shown below:

12 Page 12 of 36 Completed Milestone List: You are almost ready to generate a Project Status Report, or a Monthly Project Report for management. Close the Project Milestones form to return to the Project Status:

13 Page 13 of 36 Project Status Now your newlyentered milestones show up here. Click on EDIT COMMENTS Comments make up the last important part of the Project Status Report and Monthly Report. They provide a way for project team members to report on the progress of the project. The comments also become an integral part of the project history, so use them to record as much as possible.

14 Page 14 of 36 Edit Comments Blank form before adding any comments: Click on ADD NEW COMMENT After entering a comment: Click on SAVE AND EXIT

15 Page 15 of 36 Project Status You are now ready to generate reports. Click on GENERATE REPORT

16 Page 16 of 36 Project Status Report Builder Use these filters to narrow your project list when it gets long. Select the project or projects to report from the list. (If no projects are selected, all projects on the list will print) Click on GENERATE REPORT To create the following report, an important tool for reporting project progress:

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18 Action Items Page 18 of 36 Now let s look at some of the everyday uses for EnCompass. Your most-used feature will probably be Action Items. Have this open during your project meetings to quickly and accurately record who should do what. On the Main Menu: Click on ACTION ITEMS

19 Page 19 of 36 Action Item Entry Assign responsible person Date Entered is filled in automatically, but you can change it. Comments and important details about the item. Describe the work to be done. These are To-Do items, not longterm tasks. Date complete, NOT due date. Notice that completed items are sorted to the top. Use this form at your project meetings not only to record action items, but other details and decisions as well. These items will become integral parts of your project history.

20 Page 20 of 36 Double-click in any field to open the detailed view.

21 Page 21 of 36 Action Item Detail Provides more room to read and write lengthy action item descriptions and comments. Note that you can assign action items to multiple projects from this form. Probably not used often, but it can come in handy. Once you start using the action items, you will want a quick way to see who needs to finish what. For that you will use the Action Item Report. Close Action Item Detail and Action Item Entry to return to the Main Menu.

22 Page 22 of 36 Action Item Report Click on ACTION ITEM REPORT

23 Action Item Report Builder Page 23 of 36 You will notice that most of the report builders have a similar format: Use these filters to narrow your project list when it gets long. Select the project or projects to report from the list. (If no projects are selected, all projects on the list will print) Click on GENERATE REPORT

24 This report shows all the Action Items for one project because Very Important Project was selected in the report builder above. Page 24 of 36 If no projects had been selected, the generator would have included all projects on the displayed list. It would have looked like this

25 Page 25 of 36 Action Item Report with no projects selected from the list:

26 Page 26 of 36 You can use the Filter By Assignee drop-box to generate specific individual reports for all of your team members. Note that a name selected in the filter changes the project list. Click on GENERATE REPORT Using the filter will generate a report for that individual only.

27 Page 27 of 36 Action Item Report with Smith selected as assignee: Encourage your team members to generate these reports often, or distribute them yourself on a regular basis.

28 Page 28 of 36 Purchase Orders EnCompass can also track your purchase orders. From the Main Menu: Click on PURCHASE ORDERS

29 Page 29 of 36 Purchase Order List Use filters to narrow the list of Purchase Orders Click here to enter a new Purchase Order If you select a single project, the list will show only purchase orders for that project and update the total at the bottom. Clicking on ENTER NEW PURCHASE ORDER will open the following form:

30 Page 30 of 36 Purchase Order Detail If you have not entered any vendors, simply type the name here and EnCompass will prompt you for the details.

31 Page 31 of 36 After completion, the Purchase Order Detail looks like this:

32 Project History Page 32 of 36 The Project History report can be very helpful in recreating the what and when on your projects. From the Main Menu: Click on PROJECT HISTORY

33 Page 33 of 36 Project History Report Builder Look familiar? Select Very Important Project for this example Delete the prefilled date range to show all dates Select all three options: action items, milestones, and comments for the most comprehensive report. This report shows only completed action items and milestones it is a history report after all. The more data you record throughout the life of the project, the more helpful the Project History Report will become. Be sure to enter all action items and encourage your team members to comment often. You can cut and paste directly into the Edit Comments form.

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35 Two-Month Look Ahead Page 35 of 36 This is the last item in the Quick-Start Guide. There are many other features hiding in the program, but you ll need to look at the User s Manual for all the details. From the Main Menu: Click on TWO-MONTH LOOK AHEAD

36 Page 36 of 36 This report shows all of the open milestones either past due or coming due in the next two months. It can really help by making sure nothing takes you by surprise. Run it once a week, and make sure Gate Review meetings are scheduled, and upcoming milestones are on track. Now would be the time to reschedule if you are seeing problems ahead. That s it for the Quick-Start Guide. If you have any questions, please refer to the User s Manual. You can also contact me if you still need help at bill.denise@knuckleheadcomputers.com. Thank you!