Projects: Creating and Editing Documents

Procedure/Resolution

Projects Overview 

Projects is the area of PolicyManager™ where you have the ability to update existing documents or draft brand new documents from scratch. You can add a new template, set up a workflow, allowing you to collaborate with other team members, add and review attachments, and much more.

Please note that only users with Projects privileges may participate in this activity, and some sections in this area are also subject to privileges. This guide covers the following information.

Projects Area Overview

Starting a project for a brand new document

• Project Setup
• Workflow Setup
• Document Set up
• Project Summary

Editing an existing document via Projects

• Options to start Full Edit (Projects)
• Important Notes for Full Edit

Projects Area Overview

Once you are logged in the system, you will find the Projects Icon on the top right corner:

First, get familiar with the Projects area and learn more about the sections within it. You can create a new document and edit documents, as well as use Content Linkage (for attachments) and Attestations. For more information on those, please visit the Content Linkage and Attestations Guides.

Below there is a quick image highlighting these sections:

The Projects area consists of 2 sections: My Projects and My Tasks. Under My Projects, there will be any projects you create, manage or/and own. Under My Tasks, you will find any tasks assigned to you.

Please note that when/if you create a project, you can also assign yourself tasks under the Workflow. Otherwise, other colleagues with this privilege can assign you a task.

The roles available for tasks are: author, reviewer and approver. The publisher role appears under my tasks as well.

Beside these 2 areas, you will see the “Add” and “Delete” buttons. You can start a new project by clicking on the Add button, and you can delete an existing project by using the Delete button. Please make sure you are not deleting someone else’s project when performing this action.

Note: some users may be able to create and participate in projects, and others may be able to only participate. Therefore the “Add” and “Delete” buttons will not appear in those cases.

Project Creators, Owners and Managers along with System Administrators can delete a project if necessary. Other Project participants will only be able to perform this action if they are given the privileges to do so.

There is also the Filters area on the right side, where users can choose to display only their own projects or All Projects, as well as select a specific status to display.

Attestations are formal acknowledgements from staff (individuals or groups). This is where attestations are set up/ managed. Only individuals with Attestation privileges will be able to access this section. For more information visit the Attestation guide.

Content Linkage is where users with permissions can create links/attachments as images, videos, websites, documents and standards and regulations for “under review” and published documents. This can be used during a project or after the project completion. This area is for “after project completion”.

Starting a project for a brand new document

• Click the Projects icon
• Click the Add button. The following pop-up box will appear (View Image on Project Overview to find the "Add" button). Navigate through the tabs, filling in fields with relevant information. Fields notated with a star are required fields; the rest are optional.

Project Setup

•  Required Fields 

Name – The name of the document, as you would like it to appear in the P&P Library 

Destination – Click the small blue plus sign  to select the location where you would like the policy to reside.

Last Review Date – It will be automatically placed as the Project Creation date, but it can be changed before publishing.

Next Review Date – Select a future date when the policy should be reviewed – The System Administrators can set up a default interval, therefore it will be automatically selected once the project is initiated, however it can be adjusted at anytime during the project work.

Committee / Policy Team – Select the Committee/PT that will be working on this Project. Committees should be set up by an Administrator and work as a group of Power Users who can be selected to collaborate on a project as authors, reviewers, and approvers.

Owner – The person who is ultimately responsible for the policy and will most likely receive the review email reminder.

Publishing Options – If you would like the policy to be published as soon as the workflow is complete (all members assigned to the document reviewed completed their tasks), choose “Automatically after Project completion.” If you would like the Publisher to approve the policy before publication, choose “Manually by Publisher after Project completion” and select a Publisher along with the amount of days allotted for publishing, similar to a deadline.

 Please note that some publishing options are subject to the System Administrators set-up and may not be available at the moment the project is created.

 
Optional Fields and Highlights 
 

Policy Number: strongly encouraged to be dropped due to PolicyManager™’s strong search capability. Please note that the system doesn’t not generate document numbers automatically.

Access Rights: this allows the creator to restrict the document to a specific Department/User Group once it is published.

Description: if desired, a description can be added to the document information.

Changes/Updates: it is recommended that once the document is finished, at the case of a review, the major changes are added to this field in order to facilitate the communication of changes and updates for that specific document. This information will be visible in the Document Viewer Metadata.

Project Creation Date: it is automatically added to the project information at the creation of the project.

Effective Date: If not manually added, the Effective Date will be automatically placed as soon as the document is published.

Setup review reminder(s) for this document: Specific review reminders can be set up by clicking on the checkbox. That will allow the creator to determine how far in advance and how frequent the email reminder will go out.

Enforce workflow task start date: If selected, this feature will enforce the added dates for each task. This means that even if the author finishes the task before the given deadline, the next email notification will only go to the next task owner at the date added to the task by the creator.

Standards: For organizations with the Standards and Regulations Module, this feature will allow any specific standard to be selected at that step of the project, also available via Content Linkage.

Workflow Set-Up  

The workflow is the set of tasks assigned to individuals who will be authors, reviewers and approvers. Below you will find key information about workflows:

• It is sequential – people can be assigned to tasks in order, therefore the creator of the project can determine who starts, reviews and approves it. There is no limit in task quantity.
• The creator should determine how long a task can last, after that date, it will be past due and can trigger notifications.
• Individuals can be added multiple times to a workflow, allowing them to be authors, but also approvers, reviewing the document in multiple stages of the process.
• If the workflow is used frequently, the creator can save it as a template and it will become available for future use.

 Please see the instructions next:

• Choose the role that will be assigned to the first member to work on this document. The available options are author, reviewer and approver.
• Next you will select the member’s name from the drop down based on the committee selected on the Project Setup.**
• Task name is a mandatory field and it appears on the email notification. It basically tells what needs to be done.
• Task Description is optional, but can be very helpful when there are important details to be added, other than just the task name,
• The dates are for when the task should start and end. You are assigning a deadline to each of them. Please note that the dates cannot overlap since the workflows are sequential. In case the task owner finishes earlier, the system will automatically email the next person in the workflow, unless the project creator selected to enforce the task dates.
• Click on the "+" button to add a new task and repeat all the above accordingly. There is no limit of how many tasks you can add.
• In case you wish to save this workflow as a template, click on the “Save as a template” button and name it. All the information will be saved, except for the dates.

Important Workflow Notes:

• Multiple individuals can be added to a single task, however, only one member at a time can work on the document. Whoever starts first, locks the projects and the others will need to wait until the first person completes their part, and another email will be sent. All selected members must complete their task for the system to notify the next task owners.
•  Members of the committee can be added multiple times in the workflow in different stages.
•  If you have are using a workflow template instead of creating one from scratch, you can still add more tasks to it.

Document Set-up 

Here is where the document template for a new policy will be added, or where the project creator will preview the current version of the document for the review process.

When users view the Document Set-up tab in Projects, they will be provided with 2 options for creating a new version.

1. Add Online: This option integrates Microsoft Word or Excel within the application, therefore users don’t need to leave PolicyManager™ to work on documents, they can do that right on the same screen. Templates can be pre-uploaded by System Administrators (under Document Templates > Setup Tools), or can be upload at the moment the project is created. They will be available under a drop down after selecting  the “Add Online” option.

The Add Online/Edit Online feature will be enabled when using the application on the Internet Explorer Browser along with the EdrawSoft plugin that needs to be added (please see IT Checklist for Online Edit feature). When using other browsers, Projects users will only have access to the “Upload Feature” option.

2. Use Upload Feature: This feature will allow users to upload documents within the application that are in Word and PDF format. When working with this tool, users will upload a template when creating the project. And project participants can download and re-upload edited versions as they collaborate.

Once the document template is added to the project, the project creator will need to select the “Update Document” button at the bottom right, and move to the next and final tab. At this point, the project creator can choose to enable “Track Changes” in order to have all edits from the project participants tracked. This can then be completed by the last person in the workflow or the publisher.

Project Summary 

The Project Summary tab allows you to review all information about the Project, including the workflow. If you are satisfied, click “Save and Start Project.” Otherwise, navigate the tabs to make any changes. 

Save & Start Project: Once you start the Project, email notifications will be sent to the Owner and Manager of the Project, indicating that the project has been started. An email will also be sent to the first person on the workflow prompting them to complete their task. Once that person has completed their task, the subsequent person in the workflow will receive an e-mail prompting them to begin their task. This will continue until all tasks are completed and the document is published.

Save Project as Draft: This saves the project under the “Not Started” status. The Project Creator, Owner and Manager can add additional information and start the project once ready. No email notifications are sent until the projects is started.

Content Linkage: This allows Project Creators, Owners, Manager and other participants with privileges to add/edit content to the project document. Once published, the content added will be visible to users via Document Viewer. This step can also be done after the document is published.

Please view the Content Linkage Guide for more details.

Editing existing documents via Projects (Full Edit)

This is the most common way of starting the policy review process in PolicyManager™. If you are the policy Owner, Manager or even the Creator, depending on the email notification settings, you may receive an email letting you know when a certain policy is close to the review date; the period can vary according to the settings i.g:, 60 days, 90 days before the Next Review Date.

See below an email notification sample (the email wording can vary depending on when the document expires):

Options to start the full edit (the review process)

Email Link

Click on the email link or copy and paste the link on a new tab (keep in mind that the link expires, however you will receive more reminders periodically).

Main Library

Go to the Main Library, select the folder and open the document you wish to start the full edit in the document viewer. 

Dashboard

Click the Dashboard icon and visit the Past Due Documents or Upcoming Document session and select the correct filters.

Reports

Run Report #4 under P&P Reports > General, to view all active upcoming/due for review documents. (You can select a specific folder).

Once you get to the document viewer, follow the steps below: 

1. Click Full Edit on the right-hand side.

2. There will be a pop-up message to confirm: 

3. Start editing the project fields and navigate all the 4 tabs until you are ready to start the project. Please review all the Project steps and tabs mentioned earlier in this guide.

Navigating the tabs is very similar to when you create a brand-new document, but there will be slight differences. Please see next section.

Important notes for Full Edit

• The folder location is already selected. 
• The dates are reset but you can always adjust accordingly (Tip: click on the year first, then month and day – this is how the selection will be saved). 
• Usually the creator, committee, owner, and manager fields are already part of the metadata. In case this information is missing, you will need to add it as they are mandatory fields.
• The workflow can either be brought over from the previous version or can be re-created. Also, keep in mind you can use workflow templates (if available), and you can add/remove tasks as needed. During this process, saving a workflow as a template is available as well (subject to profile limitations).

• In the Document tab, there is an option to view the currently published version added. You will also have 2 options for editing the current document (or just enable track changes if desired): “Edit Online” and “Use Download/Upload Feature”.

Please review the Document Set-up section in this guide for more details.

New Template: If you need to transfer the current content to a new template, the best option is to use the Download/Upload feature as you will have the ability to use the current version in Word outside the system, but you will still be able to click the “Edit Online” button to add the new template using the template drop down. This will allow you to copy and paste the content. 

In case you don’t have access to the template drop down (not using Internet Explorer or the System Administrators did not upload the templates in the area), please be sure to have the new Word template already open on your computer. That way, you can copy and paste the current content to the new template, save it and upload it to the Document area in Projects, therefore you can start the project. If you wish to assign someone else this step as a task, provide all the details in the task description in the Workflow tab. 

As soon as all the necessary information is added to the project, the creator will click “Save and Start the Project” just as described previously in this guide. Email notifications will be sent out to the appropriate parties (according to System settings). That means that the first assigned task owner will be able to initiate the task.

To learn how to complete a task in Projects, please visit the guide How to complete a task in Projects.
 

How to view Currently Published version while Editing in Projects

Go to Projects

Navigate to your intended project. Click on the document tab, and select edit online. 

While the Editor is open

While the online editor open click on 'Currently Published Version', once that's done minimize the editor screen. In the URL bar click on the red icon that appears. 

Enable pop-ups

When you click on that icon, please allow pop-ups coming from PolicyManager. 


The Currently Published version will appear in a new window in your browser.