(2024.2) Projects
- David Engblom
A 'Project' is any number of associated Service Orders, Service Requests, Work Orders, Incidents, or Incident Requests. Say for example, that a User's organization has expanded and needs to retrofit an older building with all new Services and Equipment. Such an endeavor could require multiple stages, dozens (or more) Orders and may take place over weeks, if not months; these activities could be compiled and addressed as a whole – as a Project. The PCR-360 application empowers Users to do just that.
Building a Project
Navigate to the Service Desk Projects grid by clicking Main > Service Desk > Projects. Select the button on the Grid Toolbar above the Projects grid (shown in the above image).
Project Data Entry Form
Users must define the Project's Source, Status, and Service Rep from drop-down menus. Keep in mind that even though Projects represent multiple Service Desk items, a Project is assigned only one Service Rep.
Associated Items
The critical function here, however, is to consolidate several Service Desk items under one Project. This can be accomplished using the 'Associated Items' tab in the data entry form.
By clicking the button located immediately above the 'Associated Items' grid, the user is presented with a comprehensive list of all the Service Requests, Service Orders, Work Orders, and Incidents currently in the system (see image above). By checking the boxes flush to the left margin of the Service Desk items the User wishes to associate, Users, can choose to "bundle" as many Service Desk items together as desired.
Keep in mind that Users can navigate page-to-page, selecting as many Service Desk items as they choose, while those boxes checked on previous pages will remain checked.
When the appropriate boxes have been satisfactorily checked, click the button at the bottom of the 'Add Associations' form. The new Association will appear in the 'Associated Items' grid. Once the User saves the new Project, the Project will appear on the original Service Desk Projects grid.
Tabs
When on the Project Form, the tabs are displayed immediately below the input fields in the data entry form. By accessing these tabs, Users can see all the associated data that is related to the Project and edit the data that is specific to the Project. The 'Tabs' associated with Projects are Associated Items, Equipment, Contacts, Charges, Labor, Activity/Remarks, Email Thread, Attachments, and User Defined Fields.
Add to Project/Problem
Associating Service Orders, Service Requests, Incidents, or Incident Requests to a Project can be done with the button. A Problem can be associated in this same manner. To associate items follow these steps:
Click the
button.
This will open the 'Associate Project' form.
Select the Project(s) that should be associated.
Click the
button.
Editing a Project
Projects can be edited in the same manner as all other Service Desk items. To edit a Project, simply double-click an item on the Service Desk Projects grid. In the Project's data entry form, Users can add and delete further associations, change the Project's Source, Status, and Service Rep, and interact with the Service Item tabs.
Data on the Equipment, Contacts/Owners, Charges, and Labor tabs cannot be modified for a project. These tabs contain information from the Service Desk items associated with the Project, and all edits must be made to the associated Service Desk item itself.
For example, if an iPhone is listed on the Projects Equipment grid, with an SD number of SO201200232, the Equipment must be changed on Service Order SO201200232. Double-clicking on the associated Service Order on the 'Associated Items' grid will open the Service Order for editing.