Setting Up a Project

Now that the Client Company Information is recorded already in the system, the next thing to do is to set up projects.

All of the data that you and the other PM’s have gathered from client meetings and business proposal talks will now be converted into a clear set of instructions and specifications your staff needs to follow.

You need to start designing the project with the most basic information. Identifying the Project Manager; configuring the Workflow Setting; and setting the Description, Priority, Live URL, Staging URL, Development URL, and Team will create a strong foundation for the project.

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To set up the project, do the following:

  1. Go to Settings > Accounts, Projects and Permissions > Projects. After doing this, a page will appear like the one shown here.

    Note: The Projects sub-tab lists out all of the projects that are stored in the system. Clicking on the Edit link will enable you to edit the information of an existing record.
  2. Click on the Add New Project button.
  3. In the Project Name box, type the name of the project that you are adding.
  4. In the Company box, type the name of the company which the project belongs to. As you type the first letters of the project name, the list of projects that match your entry will appear. To avoid committing typo error, please use the list.
  5. In the Project Manager box, type the name of the PM to whom the project will be assigned. As you type the first letters of the PM name, the list of PM’s that match your entry will appear. To avoid committing typo error, please use the list.
  6. In the Workflow Settings area, do the following:
    1. In the first box, type the user account that will be the Default Quality Assurance Account for this project. If you leave this box blank, the same user account chosen in Settings > System Settings > Workflow Settings will be applied.
    2. Using the dropdown list, select the user role who will receive the project’s returned cases. If you can recall, there’s a Return Case button when a case is in Testing state. When a user clicks on the button, the case gets automatically assigned to the role you chose.
  7. In the Optional Information area, do the following:
    1. In the Description box, type the project’s complete description or any other information that you think will help the PM and Analysts understand the project more.
    2. In the Project Priority dropdown list, select the project’s level of importance.
    3. In the Live URL box, type the URL of the website where the project will be deployed upon completion of requirements. Mostly, it is the client’s site.
    4. In the Staging URL, type the URL of the website that will be used as the temporary platform for the project. This is commonly used when some issues either in Live or Development site need to be replicated.
    5. In the Development URL, type the URL of the website where the Analyst (Designers, Programmers, QA Analysts, etc.) will be working at. Upon completion of requirements, the whole content of this site will be pushed to Live.
    6. In the Team box, type the name of the users who will be involved in the project. As you type the first letters of the user’s name, the list of users that match your entry will appear. To avoid committing typo error, please use the list.
  8. Click on the Save Project button.

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After you set up the project, you will have to divide the whole project into smaller but more detailed pieces called case. A case is nothing but a set of tasks dedicated to one portion of the project. If the project, for example is about making an online directory system, the cases can then be about creating a login page for the admin panel, creating a design mock-up for the project, etc. They can also be about fixing the bug found in the login panel, fixing the web design flaws, etc. How to divide the project and how to create cases are all up to the Project Managers. (If you want to know more about case management, read the next chapter)