Project Engine Client

Project Engine Client Instructions

Project Engine drives the workflow of an entire project. It is a reliable, scalable and secure solution for projects ranging from a single user to a large corporation.

Project Engine manages tasks and assignments, schedules events, encourages work breakdown and delegation and improves the accuracy of time estimation. Changes are tracked through history and the current status of the project is revealed through a vast number of reports.

Project Engine brings the customer closer to the project and makes communication between project members efficient. Templates can be used for repeating common workflows and give the ability to create a customized way of working in the project.

Unlike other project management tools workflow is combined with a hierarchical tree of tasks, which gives Project Engine unique capabilities. With an intuitive user interface, all project members will be up and running in just a matter of minutes, and more efficient than ever before. Work as a single user or online as a team using Project Engine Server.

Table of Contents

Use for a wide range of purposes 1

Overview. 1

Project Engine is One of a Kind. 2

Benefits of Using Project Engine. 2

Importing from MS Project 5

Users, Workers and Groups 9

Connection Dialog. 12

Client Properties 13

Backups 13

Web Browser Interface. 14

Your Task Tree Menu. 14

Use for a wide range of purposes

Combining a hierarchical task tree with flow control gives Project Engine unique capabilities and flexibility.

Project Engine is a reliable, scalable and secure solution for:

managing tasks and assignments
handling personal or public to-do lists
tracking bugs
executing step-by-step test cases
scheduling events
project planning
version control of project files

Overview

Indicates the current status of the Project Engine Client. The indicator is red when working offline, yellow when synchronizing and green when working online against the Project Engine Server.

Any list or report can be saved to a text file, saved in Excel format or sent to the printer.

Your task list is the most important view. It shows the tasks currently assigned to you but only the ones you have to deal with and focus on at the time. View the details of a task by double clicking on the task in the list.

The task tree gives a complete overview of all tasks of interest to you. Use the task tree for adding, removing or copying tasks. The color of the tasks shows the task status. Tasks are red when not started, yellow when started and green when completed.

Right clicking on a task brings up the task menu. Use this menu to perform some action like adding a new subtask, removing or copying a task. Reports can also be generated with the selected task as a starting point.

The history list shows the latest changes of tasks visible in the task tree. More changes are stored on the Project Engine Server. Bring up an old version of a task by double clicking on that task in the list.

Project Engine is One of a Kind

One of the unique features about Project engine, when compared to other task managers and bug trackers, is that it is based on the idea of tasks consisting of smaller tasks. This concept leads to the single project task being broken down in manageable tasks that can easily be estimated and completed by a single person.

After the tasks are broken down a team member concentrates on assigning them to appropriate co-workers or to himself.

Project Engine also handles workflow in a convenient way. Instead of delivering a task immediately to the user, the task will be kept in the system until it is time to actually start working with it. That relieves the burden from the user who can focus on the actual work.

Benefits of Using Project Engine

The benefits of using Project Engine are many, below is a list of some of them:

� A task can be broken down into smaller tasks and each of these can be assigned to different users or to yourself. The ability to break down tasks and delegate is generally a good idea since the problem will be more manageable and easier to estimate.

� Tasks can be delivered both in parallel and in sequence and by combining those all kinds of workflows can be achieved. Project Engine only delivers a task when needed making each user focus on what is most important at the moment.

� Project Engine is easy to use and does not create additional overhead. The functionality and the user interface has been carefully designed not to be an extra burden to the project members.

� Makes communication between project members more efficient and reliable, therefore reduces the need for other methods of communication, such as e-mail, telephone, or meetings.

� Gives a complete view over the current project status for:

� Executive Management

� Project Manager

� Project members

� Customers

� Reference Groups

� Reduces the effort and improves the accuracy of time estimation.

� All tasks can be broken down into subtasks. Small tasks are easier to estimate than larger.

� Subtasks are estimated individually by the person who can make the best estimate.

� Project Engine summarizes all subtasks automatically, offering real-time, �big-picture� view of the project.

� Can generate a vast number of reports of different kind from the data created by all users involved in the project. Since all project members constantly enters data into the system, the statistics are always accurate and current, but the main advantage is that no single person needs to collect and update the data which saves a huge effort!

� The customer is more closely involved in the project since it is recommended that the customer also have access to Project Engine. All project members can give tasks directly to the customer which make the communication more effective and it will also make the customer more involved in the project.

� Access privileges are handled automatically by the system and makes sure that all users in the system only sees and may alter the tasks of interest to them.

� The tree of users, groups and workers will give everyone involved in the project a clear view over responsibilities and roles within the project. The lack of clarity in each individual role is a common problem found in many projects.

Terminology

PE	Project Engine
PE Client	Project Engine Client, the main client for accessing, adding and editing tasks. Normally connected to PE Server but can also be used off line.
PE Server	Project Engine Server, the server software that connects several clients to form a project team. The server can be accessed from PE Client, PE Mobile Client or from a Web Browser.
Task	An assignment from one user to another. A task may consist of subtasks.
Task Template	A template for creating tasks. Use templates for common task structures. A template can be converted into a task by activating it.
User	One single user of the system.
Group	A group of users and/or groups.
Worker	A role within the project. Several users can have the same role and one user can have many roles. A worker is a RUP term.
RUP	Rational Unified Process, Rationals process for developing software.
XP	Extreme Programming, a lightweight process for developing software.

Main Menu

Work online connected to the server.

Updates Task Tree and all other visible views.

Shows the Change Password dialog.

Brings up the Manage Users dialog.

Work offline without server connection.

Brings up the Properties dialog.

View Project Engine Client documentation.

Opens Project Engine homepage in Internet Explorer.

File Menu

Update - Updates Task Tree, Your Task List, History List, synchronizes with server and saves data locally.

Exit � Saves all data locally before terminating the application.

Options Menu

Properties - Brings up the Properties dialog.

Change Password - Shows the Change Password dialog.

Manage Users - Brings up the Manage Users dialog.

Views Menu

When views have been closed selecting them from this menu will reopen them.

Help Menu

Client instructions � Opens Project Engine Client documentation.

Project Engine on the Web - Opens Project Engine homepage in Internet Explorer.

Getting Started � Starts a small tutorial about how to get started using the client.

Your Task List

Your task list is the most important view and shows the tasks currently assigned to you but only the ones you have to deal with and focus on at the time. The goal for all project members is simply to complete all tasks in their task list. To bring up the task dialog from the list just double click on that task in the list.

You may save this list as text or Excel format or send the list to the printer.

A task that fulfills all rules below will appear in your task list

� The task is assigned to you, directly or indirectly as a worker.

� The task is not completed.

� The task has no uncompleted subtasks (all subtasks must be completed for a task to appear in Your Task List).

� The parent task must be started.

� If the parent task delivers subtasks in sequence the sibling task before (over) this task must be completed.

� The earliest delivery date is blank or is a date in the past (or today).

When a Task Appears in Your Task List

A task appears in Your Task List when you are supposed to either start a not started task or to complete a started task.

Before starting a task you might like to break the task down into subtasks. It is recommended to do so for larger tasks since smaller tasks are easier to manage and estimate. Create subtasks under the task that was assigned to you using the Task Tree view. Make sure you assign all the subtasks to the correct people before starting the parent task (the one that was assigned to you). Starting the parent task will deliver the first subtask (if the parent task was set to deliver subtasks in sequence) or all subtasks to the assigned users or workers.

Note that you may change the assigned to field for the tasks you have created at any time. Changing the assigned to field will move a task from one users Your Task List to another users Your Task List.

It is recommended to make a habit of starting a task before completing it. Starting a task might result in the delivery of subtasks that the task consisted of.

The Task Tree

The task tree gives a complete overview of all tasks of interest to you. The color of a task reflects the current status of it. Red is not started, yellow is started/ongoing and green is completed/closed. An �S� on the task icon indicates that subtasks should be delivered in sequence. The small arrow to the left of the task icon indicates that the task is currently delivered to a user or worker.

Use the task tree to edit add, move, copy, paste, search for or delete tasks. Move tasks by using drag and drop or use the up- and down arrows. You may also create reports that are generated from the selected task, including all subtasks.

You bring up the task tree menu by right clicking on a task in the tree. The menu contains all functions available on the selected task including all possible reports that can be created with start at the selected task. Double clicking a task brings up the task dialog for that task.

A task that fulfills any of the rules below will be visible in the task tree

� Tasks that is assigned to you, by you or visible to you.

� All parent tasks or subtasks to the tasks described above.

� All tasks that are visible to any child users to you in the Manage Users dialog.

Scheduling tasks

Project Engine has a unique way of delivering tasks to the users (a users �Your Task List�). Instead of delivering a task immediately after creation, Project Engine will delay the task until it is time to start working with it.

Normally a task delivers all subtasks (if any) when started (task icon is yellow). A task can also deliver its subtasks in sequence starting with the topmost task. The second subtask will be delivered when the first of the subtasks has been completed, and so on. In this way the subtasks will be delivered in order making it possible to create a flow of tasks that have dependencies.

Task Menu

Right click a task in the Task Tree to bring up the Task Menu.

Edit � Bring up the details of a task.

Add New � Add a new Task or Task Template under the selected task.

Move Up � Move a task up one step.

Move Down � Move a task down one step.

Copy � Copy the selected task and all subtasks.

Paste � Paste the last copied task and subtasks under the currently selected task.

Repeat � Make a copy of the selected task and subtasks and reset the status and result description.

Activate Templates � Activate all templates on selected task and below. They will be converted to normal tasks.

Search � Search for a task id or title below the selected task.

Import Menu � Import a Project Engine xml or an MS Project xml.

Report Menu � Create a new report dialog.

Importing from MS Project

Microsoft Project is an excellent tool for creating a project plan. However most projects have a tendency to deviate from the plan resulting in a mismatch of the actual project and the initially planned project. Project Engine does not have that problem since it always shows the actual status of the project and is therefore more suitable for tracking a project.

Newly created project plans or existing projects in MS Project can easily be imported into Project Engine. Select a task in the task tree and select Import Menu / Import MS Project xml from the popup menu to insert an xml file exported from MS Project. An xml file can be exported from MS Project by saving a project as an xml file.

Non-existing users found in the MS Project xml will be inserted automatically to Project Engine. All new users will be added to the root. We recommend adding all users from MS Project to Project Engine before the import since the users can then be arranged in a suitable hierarchy. Users are compared by name (not case sensitive).

The Task Dialog

The task dialog shows a task and all its properties. All properties on this page are optional except title. It is recommended to update a task frequently since it will give the user that assigned you this task the benefit of always knowing the current status of the task and that will also make the reports more accurate.

There is no way to deny a task that has been assigned to you. If you think that this is not your task at all add a subtask assigned to the one that assigned the task to you and ask him to assign it to someone else.

Access Rules

� The user who created this task (assigned by) may alter any property in the task. That user is the only one allowed to change the assigned to field.

� The user who is assigned to this task may change most properties. The fields that are not allowed to change are disabled in the task dialog.

� All users that of some reason are allowed to view this task are not allowed to make any changes.

Assigning a Task

A task may be assigned to any number of users, workers or groups. The assign to list will be split up into a number of tasks each assigned to one user or worker. A task assigned to a worker will appear in Your Task List of all users belonging to that worker. The first user that makes a change to a task assigned to a worker will be exclusively assigned to that task.

Task Type

Select the type of task from the list of available task types.

Priority

Select the priority of this task. The project should have a definition of how to determine the priority of a task otherwise this field does not add any real value.

Deliver subtasks in sequence

All subtasks are normally delivered when the parent task has been started. Checking the �Deliver subtasks in sequence� checkbox will deliver subtasks in order, one by one, after being completed.

Auto start/complete if task has subtasks

Automatically control the task status of a task that has subtasks and no work remaining. An automatically controlled task has a folder icon.

Expiration Date

Usually entered by the creator of the task to set a date when the task, including subtasks, should be completed. A task is considered to be late if the task has not been completed at this date.

Task Status

One of the most important fields is the Task Status field. Make sure you set this field to Started / Ongoing before starting working with the task. It is recommended to break the task down into subtasks before Starting the task but not at all required. After completing a task change the status to Completed. When changing status the Started Date and Completed Date fields will be filled with the current date.

Estimated Completion Date

A user may enter a date in this field to give the one that created this task a hint of when it is scheduled to be completed.

Work Remaining

Enter the number of estimated hours (in ideal working hours) remaining before the task, not including subtasks, will be completed. It is important to know that, any existing, subtasks are not included in the count.

Work Done

Enter the number of estimated hours (in ideal working hours) that you have spent on this task. It is important to know that, any existing, subtasks are not included in the count.

Assigned by User

The user that created this task. This field is automatically set by Project Engine.

Title

Enter the title of this task. The title will appear in the Task Tree and in Your Task List.

Goal Description

The goal of the task. This field is filled out by the creator of the task. Use the tags [parentTitle] or [parentGoal] with templates for inserting parent title or goal description. The tags will be replaced when the template is activated.

Result Description

The current result of the task. Note that this field could be changed any number of times, the more the better, during the work with a task. A used does not have to worry about losing any old information about the task since everything will still be the in the history list.

Consult

Sometimes it might be good idea to take someone else�s advise. The creator of the task might give this hint by assigning a user that you should consult before completing the task. Project Engine does not check that this has been done since you might have consulted that person in another way than creating a subtask, for example by email, telephone or in a meeting.

Delivered to

When a task has been delivered to a users Your Task List the user and date is registered and will be shown after the task id in the dialog title. This is useful as a verification that the task has reached its destination. Note that the delivered to user and date will only be registered if the user has Project Engine Client running.

Earliest delivery date

If the earliest delivery date field is not blank the task will be delivered (to one users �Your Task List�) at the specified date or later.� The reason a task is not guaranteed to be delivered at a certain date is that the parent task has to be started and, in the case of a serial parent task, the task above must be completed before a task is delivered.

Earliest delivery time

Same as date but on a specific hour and minute. Date and time can be set regardless of each other. If time is blank the task will be delivered at the specified date.

Repeat

Automatic repeat of a task can be specified in two ways:

By a number of times after completion.
Periodically every X days/weeks/months/years starting at a specified date.

Repetition will occur after completion or after the delivery of the last repeated task. The repetition will continue until you set the last repeated task to off.

Visible To

Specifying a worker or group in the visible to field will make the task, and all subtasks, visible to all users of that worker or in that group. Use this carefully since Project Engine normally handles the visibility of a task.

Visible in instance of list

Check when you want the task or template to be visible in the �Instance of� list in the Add New menu. Tasks or Templates in this list may be created quicker since they otherwise needs to be copied and pasted to the desired position.

Attachments

Use the add button to add an attachment to the task and the remove button to delete the attachment. Select the attachment and press the retrieve attachment button to download the attachment from the server. A save dialog will prompt for the directory to store the attachment locally. Use the view attachment button to show the attachment in Internet Explorer.

Version Control

Project Engine has a clever and easy to use version control system for attachments built in. Attachments to a delivered task is assigned to the user or worker assigned to the task.� Only the user assigned to an attachment is allowed to pass the attachment to another user. Attachments are considered to be the same if the filenames (without path) are equal. Project Engine will remember all versions of the same file, enabling you to go back to any version of the attachment. The user or worker currently assigned to an attachment is shown after the filename (within parentheses).

As an example we have two users Tom and Jennifer working together on the same Word document. Tom creates the document and starts working with it. Tom realizes he needs help from Jennifer to complete the document so he creates a new task asking for some help. Attached to the task is the halfway finished document. Next Jennifer discovers the task and downloads the attachment. After adding the part Tom needed she creates another subtask assigned to Tom with the modified document. During this Project Engine will make sure that the document cannot be changed by anyone else than Tom and Jennifer (in turns).

The History List

The history list shows all changes in tasks that might be of interest to you. Double clicking on a task in the list brings up the actual version of the task at the date of the change. The history list only displays a limited number of the latest changes.

All changes to any task ends up in the history list. Estimation History and Estimation Accuracy reports use data from the history list to produce the result.

Workflow

Project Engine has a unique workflow. Tasks are not delivered until it is time to start- or completed them.

All subtasks are normally delivered when the parent task has been started. Checking the �Deliver subtasks in sequence� checkbox will deliver subtasks in order, one by one, after being completed.

Delivered tasks are visible in one or more users �Your Task List�. Delivered task are marked with a small arrow to the left of the task icon. Bringing up the task also reviles the user or worker the task is currently delivered to in the Task Dialog title. Notice the arrows in the example above, as the �Project X� task gets closer to completion.

A started task with completed subasks will be delivered again, this time because it is now time to complete the task (a task with uncompleted subtasks are temporarily not delivered). A parent task can however be completed at any time even if there are some uncompleted subtasks giving the result that none of the subtasks are delivered.

Tasks must be assigned to a user or worker to be delivered!

The task status can be automatically controlled when a task has subtasks by checking the �Auto start/complete�� checkbox. The task will then be started as soon as there is at least one subtask and completed when all subtasks are completed. A task that has work remaining will however be delivered as a normal task. A folder icon is used to indicate that the task status is automatically controlled.

The example above shows the first steps of completing a sequential task (marked with an �S� on the task icon). Subtasks to a sequential task will be delivered in order of completion. Notice how the �Module 2� tasks gets delivered after the �Module 1� task is completed.

Users, Workers and Groups

All users, workers and groups within the project can be managed using a tree view in the Manage Users dialog. A worker is a RUP term and refers to a role in the project. One user could take more than one role and there may be several users with the same role. There could, for example, be a number of users assigned to the worker �tester� but normally only one user assigned to the worker �project manager�.

Workers are very useful for assigning people to a template since a template may be reused without change even if the worker may refer to a different user in a later stage in the project or in another project. Both workers and groups can be nested; in other words, there could be sub-workers and sub-groups under a worker or a group.

Even users can be nested. The tree of users should reflect the line organization of the company with the highest manager at the top. A user placed as parent to a number of users is considered to be the manager for those users. All tasks visible to a user will also be visible to its manager in the task tree.

A user, worker or group is called a unit. Units may be altered at any time during a project, but it could be a good idea to make the users� tree as complete as possible from start. Be careful when deleting users during a project since that might lead to unassigned tasks.

There are three types of user privileges: restricted, normal and administrator. An administrator is allowed to make any changes in the manage users dialog while a restricted user have no rights. Normal users may add new users, workers or groups but is not allowed to change units created by other users. Administrators also have the rights to update, delete or reassign any task. The password for a user can only be cleared by an administrator.

The User Dialog contains fields for entering the ideal working hours for each day in the week. Note that ideal working hours is not the same as working hours. The actual amount of work performed on tasks per week can be measured from previous weeks using, for example, the Gantt Chart. The Gantt Chart Report uses the ideal working hours for all users to calculate the actual time needed for a team to complete a task.

Non working days like holidays, vacation or planning days can be added as exceptions to the ordinary weekly work schedule. Days off work are individual for each user. Add any number of days or date intervals that will be considered as days off work.

Email address can be entered for a user to be able to receive email notifications about new tasks or changes to tasks assigned to a user. The email will contain the title and goal description of the task.

Templates

Use templates for creating structures suitable for reuse by one or many users in the project. To use a template, first copy or add a new instance of the template to a suitable place in the task tree, then activate the template. A task template will be converted into a task when activated. Before activation of a template task the task will not be delivered to any user. After activation, a task assigned to multiple users or workers will be split into several tasks assigned to only one user or worker per task.

Project Engine Server installs with four useful templates that are aimed for use in XP (Extreme Programming), RUP (Rational Unified Process), a traditional type of project and a test process. If your project follows another process it would be a good idea to start developing your own tailor made templates.

When creating templates it is recommended to assign tasks to a worker instead of a user since that makes the template more reusable. Templates normally work with a set of workers defined in the Manage users dialog. Create a template by right clicking a task and selecting Add New / Task Template from the popup menu. The details of a task template contain most fields found in a normal task.

To make a template visible in the instance of list go to the advanced tab and check the �Visible in instance of list� checkbox. Tasks or Templates in this list may be created quicker since they otherwise need to be copied and pasted to the desired position.

Use the tags [parentTitle] or [parentGoal] with templates for inserting parent title or goal description. The tags will be replaced when the template is activated. The tags can also be added by the push of a button located at the right of the goal description.

On/Off-Line

Project Engine Client can operate connected to a server but also offline using local data stored on the client. A user can decide to turn offline for many reasons; for example to bring the laptop to a conference room without network connection or to continue working outside the office. Some users might even prefer to use Project Engine Client without ever connecting to a server.

Use the red or green button on the toolbar to switch mode. More information about the details of going on/off-line can be found under �Synchronization�.

The color indication on the client application main window reveals the following three states of the client:

Green � The client is connected to the server (online).
Red � The client has currently no connection with the server. The client is working offline.
Yellow � Synchronisation is in progress or trying to find the server.

Synchronization

When the user presses the work online button the client will also try to synchronize data with the server. The synchronization will only occur when the client has been used offline since there is otherwise nothing to synchronize.

When a user decides to go offline the client will be updated with the latest data from the server. Bringing the client back online will first synchronize the client and server.

Upon synchronization all commands found in the synclog.txt file will be sent to the server. When synchronization has been performed without problems the synclog.txt file will be cleared. It is allowed to remove this file to avoid a synchronization or to free up some disc space for single users since it will grow pretty fast.

When working offline, as a single user without a server to synchronize with the client will instead just save all data to the local directory located in the directory where Project Engine Client was installed. Data will be saved at every automatic and manual update.

Reports

From Project Engine you can create a number of reports that you can view in the client but also export to a text file, as an Excel file or send to a printer. Apart from �Your Task List� view and �History List� view Project Engine have an additional set of reports described below. You can create these reports from your �Task Tree� view by right clicking a task to create a report based on and selecting a report from the Reports submenu. The currently available report types are:

� Task List

� Status Report

� Late Task List

� Workload Report

� Estimation Summary

� Estimation History

� Estimation Accuracy

� Gantt Chart

Task List

Use the Task List to create a list of tasks. Before the report is generated you will be queried to enter a form to filter out the tasks you are interested in. Leave the Assigned to fiald blank to return a list of unassigned tasks.

Status Report

The Status Report gives an overview over completed, started and late tasks for the project or a part of a project. The data is suitable for creating a graph from in Microsoft Excel. An example of such a graph is shown above.

Late Task List

This list shows the tasks that are late, are completed late or is estimated to be late when compared to the expiration date. A task that doesn�t have an expiration date cannot be late. Note that it is also possible to spot a potential late task using the GANTT chart. Tasks that are estimated to be late are marked with red color.

A task can be late because of the following reasons:

� The task status is not completed but current date has passed expiration date.

� The task is completed but the completed date passed the expiration date.

� The task is not completed but the estimated completion date is greater than the expiration date.

Workload Report

Using the workload report you can view the workload of the entire project or on a single user in the past, the present and in the near future. The report is very useful for creating a chart in Microsoft Excel, giving a great overview of the workload over time. Making sure everyone in the project uses the work done and work remaining fields are crusial for giving an accurate result in the workload report. Also the estimated completion date is important for giving useful information about the near future.

The workload report spreads work performed over time in the following way:

� Work done for completed tasks is spread evenly over start date to completed date.

� Work remaining for uncompleted tasks is spread evenly over current date to estimated completion date.

� Work done for started tasks is spread evenly over started date to current date.

� No work is spread over weekends (saturday and sunday).

Note that some international versions of Excel uses decimal commas instead of decimal dots. In that case just replace all dots with commas before creating the graph in Excel.

Estimation Summary

Shows the sum of estimations starting from the selected node and summarizes estimations from all subtasks. As a result the total work remaining and total work done is presented. This information is very useful for calculating the estimated completed date in the Task Dialog.

Estimation History

Estimation history shows the history of estimations made on a single task. This information is useful for deciding how accurate the initial estimations were and can be used to improve them in the future.

Estimation Accuracy

The estimation accuracy report shows how accurate estimations a user or all users makes on their tasks. The accuracy shows the deviation in percent from the actual time to the first estimation done by that user. This information is useful for deciding how accurate the initial estimations were and can be used to improve them in the future.

Gantt Chart

The Gantt Chart in Project Engine is despite its name quite different from traditional Gantt Charts since the graph is created from bottom up, based on actual (and current) data retrieved from the task tree, instead of being created manually from a time line. The Gantt Chart is a very powerful project planning tool.

To create a chart, right click the projects task (or a sub project task) and select Gantt Chart from the Report menu. Select any number of users, workers or groups that you would like to include in the graph and the number of days/weeks to view (from today). It is assumed that today is a full working day so the chart will be most accurate in the beginning of a day. Note that you may create several Gantt Charts to view the contribution from various users in the team. The Gantt Chart is always however created from work allocated from all affected team members (users/workers assigned to tasks).

The graph shows the selected task tree viewed from a time perspective. It is assumed the team has nothing else to do than to complete the selected task tree. Tasks in progress are marked with yellow in the table. Estimated work performed on a task is indicated in ideal working hours. The work performed by a single user can be defined in the User Dialog.

The Gantt Chart is created by simulating each user in the team working with their tasks. Tasks are completed in order of priority and expiration date. Tasks with same priority and expiration date are completed simultaneously. Tasks marked with red color are not completed before its expiration date. Try to redistribute tasks or change the priority to be able to meat the preconditions of your project.

The following parameters are considered when calculating the Gantt Chart:

Task status, priority, expiration date, assigned to, work done, work remaining, deliver subtasks in sequence, auto start/complete, expiration date, estimated delivery date/time, task scheduling, ideal working hours for a user, days off work.

All views in Project Engine are automatically refreshed every time a change in a task is detected, but remember that this report will take a lot of processing power from both the server and the client so we recommend closing this view when not is use.

Time Estimation

Project Engine has a carefully designed way of estimation time in a project. It is up to the project members to take advantage of the time estimation functions available. You might for example decide to leave all estimations out in the beginning but it is never too late to start enforcing estimations on tasks later in the project cycle.

Time estimation in Project Engine is made to be simple but useful. There are only a few fields in the Task Dialog that needs to be filled out:

Work remaining

Enter the number of estimated ideal hours remaining for this task (not including the hours estimated for the subtasks � if any) to be completed. The ideal working hours is the actual amount of hours spent if you can work focused without any interruptions.

Work done

The total amount of hours spent on the task so far (not including the hours estimated for the subtasks � if any) in ideal working hours.

Estimated completion date

Can be estimated from the two variables above and is the date you estimate the task (including all subtasks) to be completed. To aid in the calculation you are recommended to use the Estimation Summary report.

Since the completion date depends on how focused and efficient you can be and that you might have other tasks to perform this can be tricky to estimate. As a small hint - you should seriously question if you can be much more than 50% efficient.

Connection Dialog

The connect to server dialog appears when the client is launched or when a user selects the work online button. Enter the server address, port and select the security mode of the server. In some cases when using SSL (secure sockets) a proxy server needs to be specified. Leave the proxy server address blank if not used.

The current settings are stored in the client.properties file located in the same directory as the ProjectEngineClient.jar file.

In the table below all properties in the connect to server dialog are described:

Property	Description
port_number	The port number used by the client to connect to the server. It is important that all clients use the same as the server. Project Engine may use any port, even port 80 (HTTP).
server_address	The Internet address where the Project Engine Server is located. May be an URL or an IP address.
security_mode	Specifies the security of the communication between the client and the server. Note that all clients must have the same setup as the server to be able to communicate! 0 = No security, communication between client and server is in readable text. 1 = Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
proxy_server_address	Enter the address of the proxy server. Provide this address when accessing the Internet through a proxy and therefore need to tunnel through using SSL. Remove (or set to blank) this property if not behind a proxy. Only used for security mode 1!
proxy_port_number	The port number of the proxy server. Only used when tunneling through a proxy server. Only used for security mode 1!

Client Properties

The client.properties file located in the same directory as the ProjectEngineClient.jar file contains the properties for the client. This file is created during installation but you might want to make changes to it during the time of the project. You may also edit some common properties in the properties dialog by selecting that option from the menu or by pressing the properties button.

In the table below all properties in the properties dialog are described:

Property	Description
language	The language to use in Project Engine Client. For example �English�. The selected language will also affect the date and time format.
update_interval	Time in seconds between automatic updates of the information in all visible views and reports. The same as using the Update button. Setting this value to 0 will turn automatic updates off.

Backups

When working as a single user without a server connection it is recommended to make backups of the data periodically. This is not so important when the client is in contact with a server since backup will most likely be performed on the server side instead. The data to backup can be found in the xml directory located in the directory where Project Engine Client was installed. The client does not have to be shut down before performing this action.

Web Browser Interface

Project Engine Server has the ability to act as a web server providing common task operations from a web browser.

Navigate to the address: http://server_address:port_number to get the login screen. Port number only needs to be specified if any other number than the default (80) is used.

The web interface can be used for many operations but is targeted to normal or restricted users of the system. Administration like adding new users or using templates can only be performed from the Java client.

Starting or completing a task can be performed by a single click on the button to the right of the task in your task list. View and edit details of a task by clicking on the task title in your task list or select Edit from your task tree.

Your Task Tree Menu

Edit/view the selected task.

Move a task up one step.

Create a report based on the selected task.

Copy a task and its subtasks.

Move the copied task. Place under the selected task.

Create a new subtask to the selected task.

Move a task up one step.

Delete the selected task.

Paste the copied task.

Task Menu

Deliver subtasks in sequence

Auto start/complete if task has subtasks

Earliest delivery time

Visible in instance of list

Tasks must be assigned to a user or worker to be delivered!

To make a template visible in the instance of list go to the advanced tab and check the �Visible in instance of list� checkbox. Tasks or Templates in this list may be created quicker since they otherwise need to be copied and pasted to the desired position.

Estimation History

Gantt Chart

Property

Description

port_number

server_address

security_mode

proxy_server_address

Only used for security mode 1!

proxy_port_number

Only used for security mode 1!

The language to use in Project Engine Client. For example �English�. The selected language will also affect the date and time format.