Managing Projects with AERES A Hands-On Guide

Managing Projects with AERES: A Hands-On Guide Contents   Project Tracker to AERES: Goals Getting it done, Faster and Easier: Using AERES - just the basics Managing projects Reporting on projects Doing more - advanced concepts      Wrap-up Project Tracker to AERES: Goals      To make Project Tracker data available on the web To allow Project Managers to create, save, and share custom reports To directly link master AERES building, room, etc. data with Projects To attach project documents (“scans”) directly to project information To capture more data:  Multiple buildings, multiple code & items, etc. Basic System Use     Login - Get access Navigate - Move around Search - Find what you need Organize and Refine:     Sort Filter Print Export Basic System Use: Login   https://aeres-fpd.fis.ncsu.edu/ h ttp s://a e re s-fp d .fis.n csu .e d u Type your username and password try it n o w ! The m enu Basic System Use: What's Inside? E s c a p e H a tc h W h e n d o n e , lo g o u t h a s 3 ke y a re a s: 1 . D a sh b o a rd 2 . S e a rch 3 . R e p o rts L o ts o f D a ta ! P ro je c ts , B u ild in g s , R oom s, U tilitie s ... a n d it's a ll c o n n e c te d Basic System Use: Searching    Remember the 3 key areas?  (Dashboard, Search, & Reports) Those 3 let you find data  Once found, you act on it: print, edit, etc. We'll look at all, but we start with Dashboard Dashboard  The “Google” of AERES   Type a keyword, press enter AERES finds matching information Click “Dashboard” in menu & you're there  Always ready!   Try it now   Type a building name Make sure you have Projects checked From Dashboard to Results th e to o lb o x filte r, s a v e , e tc . p rin t, e xp o rt to d isk th e d a ta n o tice th e co lu m n s Quick Lab #1 (3 min)    Go back to Dashboard Type your last name What are the results? Sort    Multi-column sort supported Choose order Click “double green arrows” Try it now! Apply changes With double green arrows Choose order Filter  Narrow down the results Limit the information you want to see Apply when ready Quick Lab #2 (5 min)     Go to dashboard Type your last name Filter on a building where you have projects Sort by project number Print   From results, click the printer icon In new window that appears, click Ok Export   From results, click the disk icon In new window that appears, click red link Managing Projects   Synopsis - the big picture Edit - change it! How to Get to Synopsis  Each row in results has project icon on left Click icon to open project synopsis Synopsis Provides an Overview of the Project Timeline Actions Key information Shuttle move b/w results People & firms involved Synopsis Provides an Overview of the Project Project data by phase. Click the tab and the phase data appears Quick Lab #3 (10 min)  Shuttle between your search results    Go to the last result Go back to the first Next through each  Click the phase “tabs” fields at the bottom  Notice the phase tab defaults to the project's current phase  Click View all Phases in the phase data   What appears? What happens if you click “View Current Phase”? Edit  From Synopsis, you can Edit the project Click edit NOTE: you may not have this privilege Edit  w h a t to d o a fte r clickin g U p d a te o r C a n ce l Access controlled - you may not be able to edit all fields Quickly control what phases & data are shown Update = save changes Cancel = abandon Edit Each phase has its own container Each phase has its own data fields, too Show or Hide phase fields, and quickly jump between phases Quick Lab #4 (10 min)  Go to Dashboard    Type an exact project number you're familiar with Make sure Projects is checked Click Go     What page appears? Click Edit (if you have permissions) What fields appear? Make changes...  Don't worry, you're not changing Tracker data Reporting on Projects    Saving search results as a report Running previously saved reports Building a custom report   From scratch By modifying a template Saving Search Results  Every time you see this screen.... Just click Save as “Report”  You can save the results as a report Saving a Report  Give your report:    a title a description access  The report remembers:     Columns Sort order Data filters and more advanced options Running a Report  Once saved, your report is always available   Hover your mouse over Reports in the menu Move down over My Reports, System Reports, or Public Reports  To see a list of all reports, just click on the Reports menu item NOTE: There is a bug in IE 6 (Internet Explorer). Sometimes the report menu appears behind a drop-down. If that happens, just click the Reports menu to get an easy-to-access list of your reports.  Quick Lab #5 (10 min)  Go to Dashboard    Type your last name Make sure Projects is checked Click Go, and make sure your projects appear   Click Hide Toolbar Click Save as Report, then    Type “My Projects” into text field beside Title Click “Only you may access this report” Click Save as Report  From Reports menu   Hover over My Reports Click “My Projects” Building Custom Reports: Search with Filters  Dashboard gives you fixed columns   No matter what keyword you type, you always get the same 9 columns: Project #, Code & Item, Building #, Building Names, Project Title, Design PM, Const. PM, Fac Ops PM  Search with Filters:   Define what columns you want What order you want them in Hover your mouse over “Search” in the menu, then select “Search with Filters”  How?  Search with Filters   Click “Projects” Choose what you want to see Available Columns - Lots! Selected Columns - Project # & Title are Defaults Double click to move from one side to the other Search with Filters  You can always come back & add or remove columns Shuffle the order of your columns Click Search when ready Quick Lab #6 (10 min)    Select Search > Search with Filters Click Projects In the left-hand side select, find and double click each of these:    Construction Project Manager Design Project Manager Total Project Funding  Using the Up/Down buttons, put columns in this order:  Number, Funding, Title, Design PM, Const. PM   Click Search Save results as a report only you can access titled “My Test Report” Modifying Reports  Creating reports from scratch is hard  Remember, dashboard is a quick alternative to just finding the data you need  Modifying an existing report is a way to “template”      Run a report from the Reports menu Click Show more fields... Notice that the columns are already selected based on the existing report Modify any attribute of the report you want Click Save as report... to save your changes as a new report Quick Lab #7 (7 min)       Run the “My Test Report” report Click Show more fields... Change the column order to:  Title, Design PM, Const. PM, Number, Funding Click Search Sort by Funding (Descending) Save as a new report entitled “My New Test Report” Advanced Concepts   Configuring AERES Time-savers Configuring AERES  AERES is highly configurable...   ... and becomes more so every day Adapt AERES to fit your needs  Easiest way to change all settings is from Dashboard Configuring AERES Third column holds settings If you don't see the gray column, click “show news & Settings” Configuring AERES Scroll down until you see the “My Settings” panel Click “More Settings” to see them all Configuring AERES   Settings are grouped You might want to change:    Fast Find Settings: Default Category = Projects General: Start page after Login = Dashboard Synopsis Pages Settings: Default phase to show on project synopsis = Design, Construction, etc.  Click Apply when done Time-Savers   When your dashboard keyword matches only one result, you jump immediately to the synopsis If you single click the project icon, you go to synopsis; double click and go to edit Can change in your settings  Wrap-Up    Summary of How-to Guides Important Note Thank You! Summary     Use Dashboard to quickly find data Single click to synopsis; double click to edit Save results as a report when needed Modify existing reports to save time building a report Important Note   AERES will replace Project Tracker soon Continue to use Tracker until notified Thank You!   Thank you for your time Please direct questions or suggestions to Rob Yaeger (Rob_Yaeger@ncsu.edu)