The OnePlan team is pleased to announce the latest release of OnePlan. Check out what's new & enhanced this month!
RESOURCE PLANNER
We have a theme of this release and it is Resource Planning, with numerous new features & functionality around the Resource Management tools.
IMPORT TYPES
There is now an import button in the Resource Plan to import from another type. For users familiar with the Import Costs functionality in the Financial Planner, this Import functionality works the same way. The users would click the Import button and select from which type and date range to import.
There is also an auto-import option now. This is an admin setting to enable auto-import. If auto-import is in use, it is recommended to make the receiving type read-only. One example use case for this would be to have the Timesheet hours auto-import into a Timesheet Actuals type in the Resource Planner. Another example use case would be to have the Work Plan schedule details auto-import into a Schedule type in the Resource Planner. The schedule for when to run the auto-import is managed in the Schedules section of the Admin Settings.
If a Resource Planning type is set to read-only, the hours imported will also be auto-approved.
COMPARE TYPES
There is now an option to show & compare between types within the Resource Planner. Users would click on the Show Other Cost Types button to see the different types side by side. There is also the ability to show the difference.
The different types can also be compared with color. If Compare is enabled, the default comparison is against each resource's Capacity, colored in the current/primary type's values. When a selection is made to compare two types, the colors show in the other compared type's column. There is the option for > and < for each comparison, based on what is the desired greater/lesser quantity.
FIND RESOURCES BEST MATCH
When using the Find Resources (bottom grid) in the Resource Planner, there is a new feature to help find the Best Match for resource needs. The Best Match is based off the resources' availability and whichever field is set as the 'match' field. There is an admin setting for selecting with Resource-level choice field (such as department, role, etc.). To use, click the Find Resources button to show the bottom grid in the Resource Planner. In the drop down, select Best Match. The match will list the resource candidates based on which row is selected in the top grid. The resource candidates will sort with the highest match value top to bottom. Match is based on availability, match field, for the time period shown. Availability is calculated as: Availability = (Capacity - Total) / Capacity * 100.
COMMUNICATION
Collaboration and communication are essential for effective resource management.
- There is a new comments feature to allow comments to be entered per row on the Resource Plan. A notification gets sent to the Plan Manager, Resource Manager, and anyone else included in the comments conversation. Comments will not reset the approval status of the row.
- If Negotiations are enabled, there is an additional notification that goes out to the Plan Manager when the Resource Manager makes a change if is unapproved yet by the Plan Manager. The notification says, "A resource manager has made a change and approved one of your resources. Please review and approve." with link back to the plan.
OTHER RESOURCE PLANNING FEATURES
- There is now an admin setting for the Resource Planner Default Mode (either Hours, FTE, or %). This will be the first default mode, and then if the user changes it, then the system remembers what the user selected & will keep that mode the next time.
- Based on the Estimated Start and Estimated End date values on the plan, when viewing the Resource Plan, any time-frame outside that date range will be shaded.
- Users may now filter the Resource Plan view based on the resource booking state being Proposed vs Committed.
- Drag and drop the plan row to move the entire plan's resource plan out or back.
- The Plan total row now shows above all resources in the Resource Plan. This will roll up totals for the resources in the plan. Note: this is not visible in the global Resource Plan page, only on the plan-level Resource Plan page. The total shows for FTE and Hours modes, not %.
- There is now a Cancel button available for Resource Managers when selecting resources from the pop-up menu. If Cancel button is clicked, the user is able to navigate elsewhere.
RESOURCE SCHEDULER
- There is now a Cancel button available for Resource Managers when selecting resources from the pop-up menu. If Cancel button is clicked, the user is able to navigate elsewhere.
- A user with contributor permissions who is also a Resource Manager will be able to see all plans for selection when adding a task from the global Resource Scheduler.
- Inactive users no longer show in the Resource Scheduler.
RESOURCE CENTER
Previously, the quantity field was only available on the resource form. It also now available in the Resource Center grid view. It is also editable. Quantity is what drives the capacity for a resource. "1" is 1 FTE, or full time equivalent. Typically, this is 40 hours/week. ".5" would be 1/2 time resource. The capacity is also based on the calendar settings in the Admin settings.
PORTFOLIO ROADMAP
- Plans can easily be shifted around by moving the plan gantt bar in the roadmap page. This will adjust the Estimated Start & Estimated End dates of the plan. Note, this does not adjust the schedule items, Resource Plan, or Financial plan data.
- Color coding is now available in the Roadmap, just like it has been already available in the Boards page. Formatting will follow the Color By setting for a selected field. If the color formatting is configured for the selected field, the gantt bars will now align. If no color formatting is configured for the selected Color By field, the colors will be applied randomly. This is the same as how the Boards page coloring works.
- When saving a new view in the Portfolios Roadmap and Boards pages, the user will remain on that new view and the view name in the top right corner will update to the new name. Note, this does not yet apply in the List page.
FINANCIAL PLANNER
Based on the Estimated Start and Estimated End date values on the plan, when viewing the Financial Plan, any time-frame outside that date range will be shaded.
PLANS
- People picker fields on the plan detail form now sort alphabetically (alpha numeric) by first name, in ascending order.
- There is now a hidden plan-level field called Schedule Driven. If you create schedule in the Work Plan module (even a single task), the Schedule Driven field will auto-set to yes. If desired, the admin may add a plan-level field called "ScheduleDriven" as field type: Yes/No. Then the field will be available to add to views, plan details, etc.
STATUS REPORTS
When restoring a group template and creating a status report provide better message
There is now better messaging when the OnePlan group has been restored from a template and a user creates a new status report. The message now states: "No schedule has been setup for this plan type. Please go to your configuration and setup a schedule."
MY WORK
Sorting is now disabled in My Work, and the option is greyed out.
MS PROJECT CONNECTOR
The plan's team permissions are meant to align to the Project schedule (MPP file). So, when the team permissions change, the permissions are also updated in the MPP file.
ADMIN SETTINGS
GENERAL
- There is a new Schedules section for any scheduled jobs. This includes Roll Up fields, Timesheet notifications, and Auto-Import of Resource Plan types.
- A new date format is available: 22-Apr-2020
FIELDS
- On the Fields page, the admin can click on the "Name" field to sort alpha-numerically. There is also an "Order" field that shows the field order. The admin may also sort by the Order field. The admin may manually drag/drop the fields to reorder them. But, if the Fields page is sorted by Name, Type, or Order, the drag/drop is disabled. In order to be able to drag/drop again, the admin needs to refresh the browser & come back to the screen.
- The system no longer allows two fields with the same name in the same entity (i.e. Plans, Work Items, Resources), and if the admin tries to create a field with a name that already exists, then the following message will show: "You can not create two fields with the same name, please change the name and try again." Note, two fields can exist in different entities, such as the State field in both Plans and Work Items.
- Roll Up Number fields now format like other number fields, which have commas and are right-aligned.
CALENDARS
- The Hours per Day field now supports decimal numbers, such as like 7.5.
- The Availability section of the General calendar now requires that the start time must be later than the end time on the previous row.
SYSTEM
- For trial customers, the admin may now delete their OnePlan grou with the trial is expired. All data for the OnePlan group is deleted.
- For a single browser session, the group you are in now sticks. This is especially relevant for users who may log into different groups frequently using the same user account. This also applies to the Admin Settings page.
- There is now a Country drop down field on the OnePlan Registration form.
- When a user submits a request for purchase, a text banner now shows the request has been submitted. Then, the purchase button is disabled after it has been clicked.
REPORTING
- The Prioritization field is now available in the OData Feed, in the Plans table.
STAY TUNED...
We have a number of new solution templates coming for OnePlan soon. Stay tuned...
- Strategic Planning
- Lean Portfolio
- OKR (Objectives & Key Results)
- Product Roadmap
BUGS
We squashed 37 bugs this release!