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2
How to use the participant workbook
This workbook is designed to increase your knowledge of the AtTask tool. The margins
on the left are indented to take notes and record any “ah ha” moments you want to
remember as you progress through the course.
∞∞ our instructor will guide you through the objectives and give examples
Y
throughout the course. Follow along as the instructor demonstrates AtTask
using a real-life scenario.
∞∞ ait until the instructor gives you directions to begin the simulated
W
exercises. Once you understand the concepts, you will be able to complete
the exercises.
Objectives
∞∞ his training is objective based. Each chapter begins with an objective and
T
explains the specific skill or process you will be able to accomplish once
you complete this course.
Scenario / Simulation
∞∞ t the end of each chapter, you will have the opportunity to practice what has been
A
taught in a simulated environment. It is recommended you complete all
exercises to allow the instructor to see if there are concepts that need to be
discussed further.
∞∞ he scenarios present a possible “real life” use case that relates to the topic
T
discussed. Instruction for the course will follow this scenario.
3
Table of Contents
Reassigning Tasks 41
Negotiating Commit Dates 42
Updates on Projects 44
The Project Gantt Chart 45
4
Queues &
Routing
Rules
Prioritization
Framework
Team Workload
& Capacity
Projects & Portfolios
Work Automation
Real Time Status Updates
Centralized Repository
Goals &
Initiatives
Milestones &
Approvals
Reporting &
Dashboards
Chapter 1
The Work Management Lifecycle
WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK
REQUESTS PLANNING COORDINATION COLLABORATION ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTING
5
Work Management
Overview
As a Manager, you make sure you understand each job
preformed in the Work Management Lifecycle and how it fits in
your organization.
Request: c
an make and receive simple requests (like
documents)
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
8
My AtTask Application
Storyline
Marketing IT PMO
You are a member of You are a member of You are a member of the Project
the organization’s event your organization’s IT Management Office. Your
marketing group. Your group. You specifically department is responsible for the
group’s responsibilities help with hardware delivery of projects that are on time,
include trade show issues, including on budget and meet the goals of
representation, hosting personal computers, those projects. Your team ensures
user conferences, and servers, and phones. that the projects your company
delivering any other type is working on are in line with the
of internal or external strategy of the organization, and
event. Your group has creates internal processes that help
a Director of Event people get their work done.
Marketing who reports
to the Chief Marketing
Officer.
9
SCENARIO
Your Executive Team has decided to install a
new phone system. You will create a project
and call it New Phone System.
Project Creation
To Create a New Project
1. Locate the projects area in the
Navigation Menu.
Creating a Project
Marketing IT PMO
Primary Audience Director of Event Marketing Director of IT Director of Project Management
Top Pains Once an event is approved, You’ve approved a project Your company is developing a
you need to create the to update the computers new app for the iPad that helps
project. Typically you do this for the Customer Support executives and business leaders
by sitting down and listing team. There are a number understand what work is being
out the work that needs to of tasks that need to done for their projects. Your
be done, and what skills you scheduled into the project responsibility is to outline the
need to have on those work plan. You anticipate this project so the app can be developed.
items. It’s a process you could type of project happening You’ve never done this before, but
recite in your sleep, but you in the future again, so you anticipate that your company
have to do it for every event, you’d like to save the will want to start doing this type of
and it takes hours out of your project outline as a project more in the future.
week. template.
12
Create and Manage Tasks
Once a project is created, start planning it out.
To Create Tasks:
1. Navigate to a project.
The options are the same for copying a task as they are for
moving a task to a different project.
To reassign a task
1. Highlight a task by clicking on the task number. All
fields are in-line editable.
You are able to click and drag tasks in the calendar as long as you
stay within the task’s constraint. Hovering over a task displays the
projected dates.
Once tasks have been created, they show on the project plan.
The tasks can now be moved, predecessors established or other
project planning components set.
Chapter 2—Predecessors 21
Chapter 2—Predecessors 22
My AtTask Application
Creating a Project
Marketing IT PMO
Primary Audience Director of Event Marketing Director of IT Director of Project Management
AtTask Tool Create a project using in-line Create a project using Create a project using in-line edit to
edit and save it as a template in-line edit to save as a save as a template
template
Primary Benefit Standardizes the project Standardizes the project Standardizes the project planning
planning procedure planning procedure procedure
23
Constraint Value Abbrevia-
tion
Description
Task Start/Finish
As Soon As ASAP Places the start date and time of the task at the planned start date of When you create a task, you must select a
Possible the project. When a predecessor is used, the task start date is placed Start/Finish value so AtTask can put the task in
as close to the project planned start date as possible. This is the its proper time frame on the project. Users may
default constraint if a project uses a schedule mode of Schedule from want certain tasks done as quickly as possible,
Start Date. but other tasks may need to be reserved until a
As Late As ALAP Places the finish date and time of the task at the planned completion certain date. Start/Finish allows this to happen.
Possible date of the project. When a predecessor is used, the task finish date
is placed as close to the project planned completion date as possible. Depending on the Start/Finish chosen,
This is the default constraint if a project uses a schedule mode of users may have to indicate a Planned Start,
Schedule from Completion Date. Completion, both start and completion dates,
Earliest Available EAT This constraint acts just like the ASAP constraint except in certain or none at all.
Time extremely rare situations; we recommend using ASAP instead of this
option. The table lists possible constraint values with
Latest Available LAT This constraint acts just like the ALAP constraint except in certain their abbreviations.
Time extremely rare situations; we recommend using ALAP instead of this
option. To Set a Start/Finish
1. Select the task where you need to add a
Start No Earlier SNET The task is scheduled to start at any time AFTER the date that you
constraint.
Than specify. So if you pick April 15 as a constraint date, the task needs to
start any time after April 15.
2. Select the Task Details tab.
Start No Later SNLT The task is scheduled to start at any time BEFORE the date that you
Than specify. So if you pick April 15 as a constraint date, the task needs to
3. Click the Start/Finish drop-down and
start any time before April 15.
then select from the list.
Finish No Earlier FNET The task is scheduled to finish at any time AFTER the date that you
Than specify. So if you pick May 20 as a constraint date, the task needs to
finish any time after May 20.
Finish No Later FNLT The task is scheduled to finish at any time BEFORE the date that you
Than specify. So if you pick May 20 as a constraint date, the task needs to
finish any time before May 20.
Must Start On MSO The task must start exactly at the time and date that you specify. The
duration of the task determines the Planned Completion Date.
Must Finish On MFO The task must finish exactly at the time and date that you specify.
The duration of the task determines the Planned Start Date.
Fixed Dates FIXT You specify the exact start and end dates in the Planned Start Date
and Planned Completion Date fields. This selection determines the
duration of the task.
Days
Description
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
28
My AtTask Application
29
SCENARIO AssignING Job Roles
It is time to decide who is going to be on the New Phone System
project team. You need to include resources that will best fit the In order for the Team Builder tool to work as intended, it is
needs of the project and who will fill both the general and the specific necessary to assign a job role to the tasks created on the project.
skill-sets necessary to complete task assignments.
The Team Builder tool helps you assign users to tasks based
on their scheduled availability. This lesson will introduce the
Team Builder interface and includes:
4. Drag and drop the name of the user you want into the
task you want them assigned to. This will add the user
to the project team if they are not already a member and
assign the task to the user.
Note:
When assigning users to Tasks, it is important to assign users
with a full license. If you have a Collaboration License and
assign a Review users (which you can) they will not be able to
mark an item as complete. They will not receive a notification
they were assigned a task.
2. Right click the task name in the User Panel. All users
available to perform the task will be highlighted in green
the user panel.
The Task Schedule panel displays: the Gantt view of tasks, hours
required for tasks, or the remaining hours needed to complete
a task.
37
Practice Exercises
∞∞ Using the Product Launch Template
project, select all tasks.
NOTE:
Assigning a user to the project team from
the Group or All tab requires the appropriate
access level. If you have appropriate access,
the user will automatically be added to the
project team.
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
∞∞ Reassign tasks
∞∞ Make updates
39
My AtTask Application
40
Reassigning Tasks
Occasionally a task may need to be reassigned to a different
team member.
To Reassign a Task
1. Navigate to the task that needs to be reassigned. View
who is currently assigned to the task. The resource grid
appears as a light box.
4. Click Assign.
Team Members can log in to AtTask and see various tasks and
assignments assigned to them. While it is ultimately up to the
Project Manager to make sure the team member completes
the task in a timely manner, AtTask allows individuals to make
updates to task timelines and notify the manager as to when the
task will be completed.
Been Re-Negotiated
AtTask’s calculations are based on work completed, percentage
complete, and planned duration. These objects may not
accurately paint a whole picture of when a task will finish.
Often, the one completing the work can give the most accurate
measure of when a task will be done.
1. Open the New Phone System project and navigate to the
Tasks tab.
46
Chapter 5 Finance
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
∞∞ Track expenses
47
Revenue and Cost
Calculating Revenue and Cost
Track billing and revenue by creating billing records to record
what has been billed and what remains to be billed on a task/
project.
When a task is created, he option exists to set how revenue will
be calculated. Set this on the Task Details tab under Finances.
Revenue Type: This allows you to set a billable amount for your
task. The amount can be hourly, fixed, or a combination of both.
Another option is to set a flat rate for a project, and then set
hourly rates for the tasks within the project. AtTask adds the
hourly rates for the tasks to the flat rate for the project. For
example, a mechanic using AtTask could enter a cost for parts
as fixed revenue for the project, then bill hourly for the time
spent fixing a car. Fixed Revenue on projects or tasks is then
realized on completion.
Project Expenses
To Manage Expenses on a Project
1. Navigate to a project.
Chapter 5—Expenses 51
Task Expenses
To allow Team Members to update expenses on a task, make
sure AtTask is configured correctly. Team members will need to
have access to make these updates. A Team Member will be able
to add expenses via timesheets, if this options is enabled.
Chapter 5—Expenses 52
To Update Expenses
1. Navigate to a project or task and click the Expenses tab.
Changing Currency
AtTask allows currency rates to be modified using the view drop
down. A Change Currency view can be added and customized
by the System Administrator. Once this is done, toggle between
currencies and see them exhibited differently in a report.
A fly out menu will appear to select the desired currency for the
report.
Chapter 5—Expenses 53
Practice Exercises
∞∞ Using the Upgrade Servers project, add an
expense. Select materials as an expense type, the
description as ‘More RAM needed’, and an actual
amount of $1,000, and then mark it as billable.
Chapter 5—Expenses 54
Billing Records
Billing records are generally used to take hours recorded in
AtTask and create invoices in an external financial system.
5. Enter the billing date in the Billing Date field. The default
is today’s date, but any date can be selected.
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
6. Click Save.
3. Type the name of the project to move the task to, in the
field.
6. Click Next Step and select the Parent tasks (if any).
The task will now be removed from the previous project and
placed into the project you selected.
1. Locate a project.
2. Click the Issues tab. Here you can view all issues logged
to the project.
5. Make sure the ‘Keep the original issue and tie its
resolution to this task’ option remains selected so the
issue isn’t deleted when converted.
The ‘Keep the original issue and tie its resolution to this project’
and the ‘Allow Jennifer Campbell to have access to this project’
boxes are selected by default. Complete the fields the same as
you would when you convert an issue to a task. Users will be
able to assign a project owner, a group, and use a Template if
needed.
Primary Benefit Insight into problems that Insight into problems that Insight into problems that
delay the project progress delay the project progress delay the project progress
Chapter 6—Converting
Chapter 6—Practice
an Issue toExercises
a Project 68
ChapteR 7 AtTask Support & Services
Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
69
Education
Services
onDemand Learning
AtTask is now offering a variety of
eLearning courses to help optimize
your use of the product and really drill
down into the core functionality that
will make work easier for you and your
organization.
Webinars
Webinars are live, instructional sessions
designed to provide information for up
to one hour.
Visit: community.attask.com/webinars
ChapteR 7 —Education 70
Support
Services
AtTask offers four customer support plans,
ensuring you receive the level of support
that is appropriate for your business.
Support plans can be adjusted at any time.
ChapteR 7 —Support 71
Consulting
Services
The AtTask roadmap for success follows this
simple formula:
Success = Realistic Scope + Right Resources + Achievable timeline
ChapteR 7 —Consulting 72
Customer Success
Program
The customer success program puts you, the
AtTask user, at the forefront of the AtTask business
model. Our customer success consultants
connect and engage with you to ensure you
receive maximum value from the AtTask platform
by providing additional resources and expertise
tailored to your AtTask solution.
∞∞ Conference calls
VP of Customer Success
gwendolynsmith@attask.com