Projects and Project Structure

Question:
How do I create new projects and set up my project structure?

Answer:
Project Studio provides multiple layers to accommodate any project structure needs. It is not necessary to use all project structure elements, although recommended for better manageability and easy navigation. Here are the different project layers:

1. Project Groups
Project groups are the top level of the hierarchy. They are used as wrappers for a group of projects that are related. It could be projects for a particular client, or any other classification. It is easy to rearrange project via drag and drop of the project icon over the icon of the target project group. Project Groups can be nested to create more flexible structure.

To create new project group click the Add New Project Group button. Enter the caption for the group and click Save.

2. Projects
Projects are organizing the tasks for a particular project and act as the main container for managing activities. They have many settings like access, targets, workflow, notifications, etc. The number of tasks under the main project is listed after the project name.

To create new project select the target project group and click Add New Project. Enter the project caption and decide if a project tasks prefix is needed. In general it is recommended to create a prefix. Otherwise task numbers are shared among all projects with no prefix. For example, creating a project prefix WEB will start assigning sequential task numbers like WEB1, WEB2, etc. The project tasks prefix can be 0 to 8 characters long. Click Save to confirm the project creation.

After the project is created the following additional functions are available for configuring:

- Access tab provides an interface to assign user access to the project. By default all active users have access.
- Targets is a key function to set up project target dates. It allows adding, editing, deleting, or inactivating project milestones via a calendar format interface. Targets are then used when creating tasks to assign due dates automatically.
- Teams allows to set up team access to projects
- Workflow is a powerful tool to configure project workflows. A new workflow can be created from scratch or an existing one from another project can be assigned.
- Support tab has options to enable the support functions for the project. The built-in support is a great benefit to customers and team members. It provides an interface to enter support tickets related to the project and they become automatically tasks assigned to a user or a team. Team members can use the support functions to resolve issues and communicate back the results.
- Notification is a place to set up project level notifications.

3. Folders
Folders are the third level and their purpose is to organize tasks within projects. Each project can have multiple levels of folders nested. Tasks can reside either in the main project or in a folder structure. Folder support drag and drop so they can be moved and rearranged easily. The number of tasks in each folder is listed after the folder name.

To create new folder select the location of the folder in the project (a higher level folder or the main project) and click Add New Folder. Enter the folder caption and click Save.