A template is a repeatable resource that can be used for multiple projects in a delivery. Templates are created in the template builder, which is where you will define the workflow, add ledgers, invite people and define their roles.
Setting up a template is the most involved part of the TCP process, but if you spend time planning here, the rest of your project will benefit. Your template will be used across multiple projects within your delivery.
To get started, navigate to ‘Templates’ in the top navigation menu. Select whether you are starting a New Retail Workflow Template or a New Commercial Workflow Template in the toolbar. This will open up the template workspace.
To rename your template, click the ‘edit template’ button. This will open a modal screen where you can edit the template name and add an optional description.
Workflow
To build the workflow in your template, you will add a series of phases, milestone phases, add a series of tasks within those phases, and set conditions and dependencies on a task-by-task basis.
Phases
A phase is a segment of a workflow; it is the child of a workflow and the parent of a task.
Certain phases are pre-defined based on the template ‘kind’ you selected earlier. These pre-defined phases are designed to assist your process, though you can rename these by clicking the ‘edit phase’ button and filling out the form in the modal screen.
Phases can have ‘milestone’ status turned on or off via the checkbox in the ‘edit phase’ modal screen. When you apply your template to a project, the project-create form will ask for deadline dates for any phases set with milestone status. Milestone deadlines for projects will be reflected in the project header, as well as in reports and analytics. Learn more about Milestones and Date Tracking in TCPinpoint >>
To add additional phases, scroll down to find the ‘add new phase’ card. Provide a name and optionally check the ‘milestone’ box, then click ‘Add’ to add the phase to your workflow.
Tasks
A task is a single piece of work in a project, to be completed by users assigned to roles as designated in the template builder or project workspace. Tasks are children of phases. Tasks have conditions, which are either yes/no or document upload.
To add a task, click the ‘+Add’ button underneath the phase to which you want to assign a task. This will open a modal screen that will prompt you to fill out a number of fields, as outlined below.
Task Details
- Task Name
- Task description: This will appear on the task page as a reminder of which this task is about
- Length: Assign a duration of the number of working days estimated to complete the task
Role Responsibilities
- Primary Responsibility: Use the drop-down to select the one role responsible for completing this task. The team member assigned to this role will be able to view the task, receive notifications about the task and complete task conditions.
- Copied To: Use the drop-down to select one or more roles responsible for completing this task. The team members assigned to these roles will be able to view the task, receive notifications about the task but not complete task conditions.
Dependencies
Dependencies refer to tasks in the workflow that must be completed in order for other tasks to be started. Click the ‘add’ button under the dependencies heading and select one or more tasks that the current task depends upon. In other words, select other tasks in the workflow that needs to be completed before the current task can be worked on. Click ‘OK’ once you are done.
Conditions
Conditions are what determine whether or not a task has been completed; they must be met in order for a task to be closed. There are two types of conditions: ‘yes/no’ and document upload.
To add a condition to a task, click the ‘add’ button under the Conditions heading. This will open a modal screen in which you can supply a condition name, add an optional description and identify the condition ‘kind’.
- Name: the name of your condition. If your condition is to upload a document, this should be the name of your document.
- Kind: upload a document, or ‘yes/no’
- Description: optional; this tells the person responsible anything specific they should know about the condition
Continue adding phases and tasks as above until all phases and tasks have been created. At any time you can edit a phase by clicking the ‘edit phase’ button to the right of the phase name, and you can edit the task simply by clicking on the task itself.
Team Members
The team members tab is where you will add the core people in roles for project delivery.
In the first card, you’ll see a list of members that have been added to your team. In the second card, you’ll see an interface where you can add people by email address and nominate a role for them.
The people invited to the project team will be assigned tasks based on their assigned role, and the tasks those roles are responsible for.
Adding the team members means they will automatically be added to any project this template is applied to. The benefit of that is that you can add people once, and save yourself work when setting up projects. However, if you’ve missed anyone, you can add more team members later in the team members tab of the project workspace.
