ConcourseConnect Admin Training

Concursive Whirlwind Tour

• Founded in 2000, HQ in Norfolk, VA
• Major investor – Intel Ventures (2007)
• A media/technology company with rich/mature product set and experience across multiple industries
• Suite, a web-based CRM
• Connect, a web-based collaboration, social networking application
• Mobile, works with the Suite & Connect as back-ends, providing a feature-rich, mobile front-end
• See http://concursive.com for more information

Connect from a User’s Perspective

• Connect: a web/mobile based, enterprise collaboration, social networking, project management application
• Profile based, with many profile types
• Extensive roles & permissions
• Significant content management capabilities
• Easy to customize
• Extensive API’s, including mobile
• Has sophisticated web and mobile front ends
• Developed for performance, scalability and security foremost

Agenda

• Personal Profiles
• Tabs (Profiles) in general
• Content Management
• User Admin
• System Admin

Personal Profile

• This is your own home page. Similar to FB
• Get there by clicking on your picture
• Upload/set your picture(s)
• Reset password
• Set alerts
• Set privacy
• Share info about yourself (hometown, things that interest you, etc)
• Links/icons to FB, LinkedIn. Twitter, etc
• Activity stream
• Messaging
• Many Tabs can be configured by Admin - a reasonable default is set up during system config.
• Major Tabs are Profile (landing page), Photos, Friends, Messages
• Alerts configure how often you get email alerts from friends profiles you follow
• Accounts & Settings configure your name, location (locale, currency, TZ), reset password, privacy settings
• Configuration sets integrations to FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, others
• In the center is the Activity Stream. Activity in all Profiles you follow (Member)
• Below the fold on right are Profiles of which you are a member

Main Tabs

• System Profiles usually shown in the large tabs at the top of every page
• Here we see Blog, Groups, Projects, Events, Ideas, and People
• The location and “look” of these tabs may vary from site to site
• There are many possible - too many to have them all turned on
• Which ones are turned on for a site is configurable in Admin
• They can all be renamed in Admin to suit your usage
• New Profile types can easily be built, including content pages without special features

Connect from an Admin Perspective

• Site Content Management w/o Admin
• Invite user to main profile
• <site url>/show/main-profile
• Make user a champion of main-profile
• User can now edit content on all landing pages but cannot access Admin pages
• Admin functions
• Editing content
• User management
• Configuration
• Admin menu

Admin

• If you have been granted Admin privileges, your personal menu, accessible from all pages has an additional “Admin” choice
• Clicking will take you to the Admin page
• Manage Community refers to the Management Console, if configured

The Admin Tab

• This is where the hard-core user and system configuration is accomplished
• Any user can be made Admin (in user section of Admin)
• Admin has two main areas
• Community Stats: drill down in to system usage (see later slide)
• System Administration: hard core system stats and configuration (see later slide)
• Be VERY CAREFUL who you give Admin to. Can destroy system

Admin Tab: Community Stats

• Two main areas in the Admin tab:
• Community Stats
• System Administration
• Community Stats reports various usage information and allows an Admin to drill down (see next slide)
• Can visit Users and Profiles

Admin Tab: Active Users

• Drilling down into Active Users provides a list (I truncated this one)
• An Admin can see which users have logged in over the last day/month/year
• An Admin can visit users’ profiles

System Administration

• This is where hard-core system configuration is done.
• Browse, search, or edit users, turn on/off system access, make Admin, set document limit, visit profiles (see later slide)
• App Settings - Setup tabs and other main configuration (see later slide)
• System Info - a variety of system statistics. No configuration
• Configuration - a variety of system setup info. No configuration
• Branding & SEO - change theme, color scheme, hidden site text for SEO
• Site CSS - view main site CSS. No changes allowed yet.
• API - add and modify what mobile apps can talk to the system
• Sync - sync site data with Management Console if configured

User Administration: Search User

• Clicking on Manage Users brings up a search page to find the user you want
• You can search by any combination of email, first, or last name on the left.
• Searching for “Man” will get you all Manos, Manning, etc. The more search entries you use, the narrower the search (they are “and-ed”)
• Putting “hotmail.com” in the email field will give you all users with hotmail.com addresses
• You can also filter on the right with a variety of filters
• To look for users who are disabled, leave the left blank and select “no” in the Account Enabled dropdown

User Administration: User List

• In this case, the search term was just “David”. There were 247 results returned
• You can either page through the results looking for the one you want, or run a more narrow search, like putting in a last name.
• You can visit the profiles or edit the user (later slide)
• Editing user via the select button brings up a long page with two main sections
• Contact Information
• System Access

User Administration: Contact Info

• In Contact Information you can
• Change a user’s name, organization, and email address
• Be sure to click “Save” at the bottom of this long screen!
• Note that changing the email address also changes the user’s login

User Administration: System Access

• In System Access you can
• Enable/Disable login ability (uncheck the Login checkbox)
• Set up an Account Expiration (not often used)
• Give Admin privileges (Danger! Use Sparingly! Admin can modify anything in the system!)
• Give Community Management role (ability to use Management Console, if installed)
• Allow user to create projects (this is turned off even for Admin by default)
• Don’t use the Contacts boxes
• Don’t use Subscriptions
• Set a limit to the amount of Documents in MB a user can store in DocumentManagement (set to unlimited by default)
• Remember to click Save at the bottom of the page!

User Administration: System Access

• The two main capabilities here are managing Tabs and Action Plans
• The rest are specialty and not discussed here
• You can also modify the default settings for document folders, forums, picture albums, lists, ticket categories, and wikis for all the profile types

User Administration: Tabs/Object

• There are 17 different Tabs configured into this system. Yours may have more or fewer based on the actual configuration. I have shown one here (Products)
• The main capability you will use here is deciding which Tabs are displayed and what they are named
• Feel free to experiment by turning on Tabs to see what they look like. You can always turn them back off again
• Note that turning a Tab on or off does not affect/disturb its data or Profiles.

User Administration: Modify Tab

• Change the name of a Tab by modifying the Label. Results are immediate after save
• Change display order on all pages. Lower numbers to the left.
• Turn on/off the display of a Tab on the Access line. You can also
• Hide a Tab so it does not show on pages but is still available through its link
• Make a Tab only visible/available to logged in users
• It’s best to leave the rest of the capabilities alone as they are only useful in special cases and can damage the system if misused
• NEVER DELETE A TAB! ONLY ENABLE/DISABLE!

Administration Default Profile Data

• These options set up the default parameters for a variety of sub-tabs
• Folders defines the document folders that appear in a new Documents tab
• Similarly with Forums, Albums (Photos), Lists, Tickets, Wiki, and Ads (most won’t be using these).
• These are just defaults and can be changed or added to by each user

User Administration Default Profile Data

• An example - People (Personal Profiles) Document Folders
• Two defined (My Documents, My Pictures)
• Clicking Select results in a dialog to edit (add, delete, modify the default folders
• Changes will only be seen by new registrants

Second Day

• Some of the more complex and esoteric capabilities of Connect
• Programs
• Action Plans
• Projects
• Work Plans
• Tickets

The Programs Tab

• Programs provide a way to input, organize, validate, and approve data for things like grant applications that require filling out forms, making statements, or uploading documents
• A hybrid Profile using Projects, and Action Plans
• Each user needing to be run through the Program gets their own copy of a Project and Action Plan
• Each Project/AP rolls up to the Program level, providing a managers view of all the Projects in the Program and how much is complete

Creating a Program

• Creating a Program involves three steps, done in order
• Create the Action Plan (AP) for the Program in Admin
• It’s important to think the AP through first as it’s the central component to the Program, and changing it later is a little problematic. Time and effort spent now is saved later!
• Create the Program in the Programs tab, and link to the AP created for it
• Add a Project in the new Program Profile
• Invite applicant into the Project

New Program: Action Plan

• Click Admin --> Application Settings --> Action Plans --> Add an Action Plan
• Existing APs are shown

New Program: Add Action Plan

• Select Programs as the Site Category
• Name the AP something that will be descriptive and specific. You may be naming others something similar later!
• Add a Description - more is better here. After you get a lot of APs, they all start to look alike. Be descriptive!
• Click Save

New Program: Add Action Plan

• The new AP (Training Action Plan) is now in the list. It can be renamed or deleted
• Click the name of the AP to go to the AP Editor

Action Plan Editor

• APs are built in Phases, although only one Phase is required
• It’s a way of organizing the activities in an AP
• Click Add a Phase to add your first Phase.
• I will add a Phase for the next slide
• Gather Contact Information
• There only needs to be one Phase, and you can name it anything you want

Action Plan: Add a Phase

• After clicking Add a Phase you
• Name the Phase
• Provide a good description
• Specify whether the steps in the Phase (if more then one) can be completed in random order or must be competed sequentially
• Specify if this Phase is Global and exists outside of Phase order
• Save

Action Plan: Add a Step (2)

• After clicking Save, you are presented with the option to
• Add another Phase, or
• Add a Step
• We will add some Steps now, and describe what Steps are

Action Plan: Add a Step

• Describe the Step
• Choose what action must be completed from the dropdown
• Declare the step mandatory or not
• Estimate the amount of time required to complete the step
• Define who is allowed to complete the step
• I selected a User that will be specified when the AP is actually used. This will be the User who is the Applicant in each Program Profile
• Select what Role can review/approve the step when complete
• Allow the user to save an unfinished step and complete it later
• Note that Description is the only required entry on this page!
• Save!

Action Plan: Required Action

• Select the Required Action
• Attach a Document (file upload)
• Create a single note ( no upload, done on the form itself)
• Create multiple notes
• Fill out a form (We will do this. The others are reasonably self explanatory)
• Create a Post (in a Blog tab within this Project)
• Upload multiple documents

Action Plan: Who can Complete?

• Who can complete this step: three choices
• Anyone
• Member of a specific role in this Project (VIP, Champion, etc)
• A User specified by the Manager. This is the usual choice. The Manager chooses the user when a Project is created. The user is usually the Applicant

Action Plan: Who can Review?

• Who can Review this step: by Role - Anyone at or senior to the selected Role
• You can just use Manager normally
• Sometimes you will have judges or experts that will need to review. Just assign your judges a VIP (or whatever, NOT MANAGER) Role and select that Role.

Action Step Complete

• After clicking Save, you are back at the Phase page, with your newly created Step
• From here you can
• Perform some action on the Phase or Step (next slide)
• Create the Form you just required for the Step
• Add Step(s) (Maybe you want to gather spouse and Children info)
• Add a new Phase and associated Step(s)
• We will create a simple Form

Action Plan Editor Modify Step

• Clicking on the name of a Step allows you to
• Go back and modify the step
• Move the step up or down in the list of Steps
• Add a new Step before or after this one
• Delete this Step
• The same applies to clicking on the name of a Phase
• Be aware that any changes will not apply to Action Plans that are already in use in a Project. Only for new Action Plans in new Projects created from the Programs page

AP Editor Modify Step

• Clicking Create a Form results in a page with a single text box allowing you to name the Form
• I’ll name this one “Gather Contact Data”

Action Plan Form: Editor

• Forms are organized into Sections and Fields
• Sections are like Phases in an AP and are not required.
• Nice to use if you have a lot of Fields that can be separated by function
• Contact information
• Family information
• Employment
• Education
• We will not use them here
• There is a Form Markup editor on the right which is for experts only
• Let’s add some Fields and explain the possibilities

Action Plan Form: Add Field 1

• We’ll separate the process of adding a Field into three slides
• This is the top portion of the Add a Field page
• The first part is choosing which Section this Field should be appended to (if you have defined Sections, this dropdown would allow you to choose
• Next is a non-required text field used for giving instructions for the person filling out the form. Use this as necessary
• Finally, the label that will show on the form, i.e. “First Name”. This is mandatory.

Action Plan Form: Add Field 2

• The bottom half of the page is more interesting
• First the Field Type. There are many choices, the default is “Text” (next slide)
• The next field changes depending on the Field Type chosen. Here it can limit the text box to something less than the default 255 characters
• Next allows you to add some additional info for this Field if you want to.
• Finally, a checkbox that requires the Field to be completed in order for the Form to be completed/validated. You can’t say you’re done without filling out this Field. This is usually checked.

Action Plan Form: Field Types 2

• Field Types - all will have labels/names that you give them:
• Text - just a text box, max 255 characters. Can limit.
• Text Area - a larger text box with unlimited area. Use for lots of input
• Check Box - a single Check Box (yes or no). You label it
• Multiple Selection list (many check boxes) You label them
• Calendar - select date from calendar or type one in. Checked for validity
• Number - can specify below, above, between, max or min
• Decimal number - same choices as Number
• Percent - same choices as Number
• Currency - same choices as above. Uses system currency
• Email address - checked for valid format
• URL - checked for valid format
• Phone number - checked for valid format
• Country - results in a Country select dropdown on the form
• User List - This is not used for Programs and will not work. Will be removed in a future version

AP Form: Field Types 3

• If you are gathering a lot of information, it might be best to define multiple Forms with multiple Sections in multiple AP Phases
• The system is very flexible and scales from simple one or two field forms to extensive data gathering and validation Forms/Phases

Projects Splash Page

• Projects - as it says above
• Similar to most Profile types with a couple of differences
• A Project can only be created by a user with permission to do so (Admin)
• Projects are almost always private. They cannot be searched for unless you are a Member
• Always by invitation only
• They use some special sub-tabs
• Plan - a project plan, like a MS Project-light
• Tickets - trouble ticketing and resolution

Projects Plan

• Project Plan - like a fancy outline
• If you are familiar with MS Project, etc, you will find this similar, except
• No GANTT charts
• No dependencies
• Does include
• Ability to group steps together by indentation or Folders
• Priorities, Assignments, LOE, Start/End dates, Status, Notes

Create a Project 1

• Clicking Add a Standalone Project results in the Project Definition form
• Enter a Project name
• A location if applicable
• A PO Number if applicable
• A contact person (name, email, phone, etc.)

New Project 2

• Enter Project Start/End dates if desired
• If this is a budgeted Project, enter the budget amount in the proper currency
• Enter a Category if desired (Categories modifiable in Admin)
• Do not use Related Workflow at the bottom
• Save!

Create a Project 2

• Pressing Save informs you that your new Project is available and clicking on the name takes you to the Project

New Project Splash Page

• The new Project page looks like most new Profile pages, except:
• It has Deliverables, Tasks, Issues
• It allows for cloning of the Project (later slide)
• Note that your sub-tab names may be different and can be changed by an Admin
• Now you can
• Invite members
• Create a Project Plan (Deliverables in this System)

Deliverables/Outline Page

• Clicking Deliverables shows this blank page
• Click New Outline to begin defining the Project

Add Outline 1

• Begin by naming and providing some details
• Use a link to a wiki if there is one
• Most fields are not mandatory

All Outlines

• Now Deliverables shows our new outline
• Projects can have any number of outlines
• Especially useful for long running or complex Projects* We can now start adding tasks by clicking on the name of the Outline under Description, and then again on the Outline page

Add Outline Menu

• Click on the Name (Test Outline) to show the menu
• Add an Activity or Activity Folder to begin adding Activities
• Let’s click Add Activity Folder

Add Activity Folder

• Adding a Folder pops up a new window with just a few choices:
• Name (mandatory)
• Indent Level defaults to 0 and can be changed later
• Details
• You can save the Folder, or save it and create a new one immediately.
• I clicked Save

Add Outline Menu 2

• Now I can click on the original Name as last time or click on the Folder I created. Clicking on the Folder gives the above.
• Here I can
• Add another Folder below this one
• Add an Activity to this Folder
• Update the Folder information
• Delete the Folder and move its contents to the left
• I will click Add Activity

Add Activity

• This is the Add an Activity pop up
• The only required entry is the Description
• The rest of the options on this page are optional and pretty self-explanatory
• Assign this activity to a Member near the bottom of the page. Be sure to click Save on the assignment and then for the Activity
• Assigning to a Project Member will alert the Member and put a notice on her Profile page
• I added another Activity and a Folder by clicking on the name above where I want them to go and filling out the form

Outline Content

• Here you can see two Activities and a new Folder* I can update an Activity by clicking on it and using its menu
• Update end dates, % complete, add notes, etc.

Outline Content 2

• I updated the Build server hardware task and declared it Complete
• The checkbox to its left is checked off to show it complete

Tickets & Issues

• Issue tracking, or trouble ticketing is an important part of Projects
• Allows project team members to document, troubleshoot, and correct problems in a process oriented fashion
• Problem documentation is particularly important as it formalizes communication so that those tasked with correcting problems have a good understanding of what the issue really is
• FILTER line across the top allows viewing various types of issues
• New Ticket button creates... new ticket
• Click on id# or Status button to see details or update a ticket

Tickets Desc 1

• Issue tracking, or trouble ticketing is an important part of Projects
• Allows project team members to document, troubleshoot, and correct problems in a process oriented fashion
• Problem documentation is particularly important as it formalizes communication so that those tasked with correcting problems have a good understanding of what the issue really is
• FILTER line across the top allows viewing various types of issues
• New Ticket button creates... new ticket
• Click on id# or Status button to see details or update a ticket
• The second half of the page provides additional info about the ticket, including all ticket activity
• Allows editing details, adding comments, or deleting the ticket
• Next: creating and modifying a ticket

New Ticket 1

• Creating a ticket is simple. The form is long, but much of it deals with updates
• The first to do is describe the issue. BE COMPLETE! The person responsible for correcting the problem needs more info, not less!
• Next, declare a Severity. Critical is usually for “show stoppers”. For me, that might mean a site is down.
• You can attach a file, like a screen shot. Screen shots are very helpful!

New Ticket 2

• Evaluation dropdown describes the “state” of the ticket, for the people working on the solution. It changes over time from “not started” to “complete”
• In the Assignment section, we assign responsibility for this ticket to a member of the team. They will be notified by email an in-app
• You can input an expected resolution date if the ticket is that formal. I usually don’t use it, or the other fields in this section

New Ticket 3

• Moving down the page - next is Communication. Comments are entered, perhaps multiple times, as the problem is resolved. This can be done very simply from the Ticket Description page.* Resolution is a required entry before a ticket can be closed. Be complete and as descriptive as possible.
• Ticket ready/closed are two checkboxes. Only Close ticket is required, Ticket ready is for situations where a technician fixes a problem but a manager is required to close the ticket

New Ticket 4

• Finally, you can notify as many people as you want about this ticket and changes made to it. The dropdown gives you plenty of options of where the contacts come from. As you add them, they are added to the text box below the dropdown.
• There is a checkbox to email you any time there is a change to the ticket.
• Be sure to Save!