¶ Creating Projects
Key Note: In Planally, creating a "project" can mean creating a contract, tender, research initiative, product, audit, or any other entity defined by your workflow. Your workflow may use its own word, such as Contract or Case. The steps below apply universally, but examples here use projects for clarity.
¶ Overview
Projects are where execution happens in Planally. When you create a project, the selected roadmap automatically applies structure (phases, activities, roles, and governance rules) so work starts governed from day one. Every project has:
- Phases: Lifecycle stages defined by the roadmap.
- Activities: Tasks and deliverables within each phase.
- Registers: Structured lists such as risks or issues, if your workflow has them.
- Team: Who has access, and the roles they play.
- Settings: Visibility, roadmap, phase, status, and tags.
To move a project forward:
- Complete the activities in each phase.
- Add more activities if needed.
- Reach a decision point (gate) where you decide to Proceed (advance), Go Back (return to the previous phase), or Stop (set the project to Inactive).
¶ Key Features
- Create Projects: Add new projects within a workflow.
- Roadmap Automation: Choose a roadmap to set up phases and activities automatically.
- Visibility: Public or Private, unless your workflow sets it for every project.
- Team: Control who has access and assign project roles.
- Project Settings: Update details, current phase, status, roadmap, tags, and attributes.
- Delete Project: Permanently remove a project.
¶ Creating a Project
¶ Steps
- In the side menu, open Projects (or your workflow's term) and click Add Project. You can also click Add Project on the Project List.
- Complete the form:
- Tags (optional): Add tags to group and find projects later. Type to search existing tags or click + Tag to add a new one.
- Name (required): A clear, descriptive name.
- Roadmap (required): The roadmap the project will follow (e.g. Major, Medium, Minor).
- Visibility (required):
- Public: Visible to everyone, who can then request access.
- Private: Visible to assigned users only.
- Add Team (optional): Add the people who'll work on the project.
- Click Create.
Don't see Visibility? Your workflow sets visibility for every project (all Public or all Private), so there's nothing to choose.
Once created, the roadmap's phases, activities, and governance rules are in place, and you can start working in Workflow Views.
¶ The Project Page
At the top of every project you'll find:
- Two tabs: Workflow (phases and activities, in four views) and Registers (the project's registers). See Workflow Views and Registers.
- Three buttons at the top right: Snapshot, Team, and Settings. On a smaller screen, they're under the ⋮ menu.
¶ Team
Click Team at the top right of the project to manage who has access and the roles they play.
¶ Access
- Shows everyone with access to the project.
- Add User to give someone access; they're notified.
- You can add people to projects that are Completed or Inactive, too.
Steps
- Click Team, then open Access.
- Click Add User and select from the user list.
- Assign the appropriate access level and save.
Who else can see this project? Workflow Admins and Workflow Users can see every project in the workflow without being added here. See Roles & Permissions.
¶ Roles
Roles shows the project's team structure in two ways. Switch with the toggle at the top:
- Table of Roles: every role and who's assigned to it.
- Chart: the same roles as an organisation chart.
Roles are set up automatically from the roadmap, and you can edit them.
Role Types
- Key Role: Full control of the project.
- Non-Key Role: Can view everything and update only their assigned activities.
- Assistant Role: Flags a supporting role in the project.
Steps
- Click Team, then open Roles.
- Switch between Table and Chart.
- Click Add Role, or select a role to update it.
- Assign users and save.
Tracking team changes over time: Use Snapshot to compare how roles and team structure have changed between two points in time. See Workflow Views.
¶ Project Settings
Click Settings at the top right of the project. The Project Settings panel has these sections:
| Section | What you can change |
|---|---|
| Project Information | Name, Roadmap, Current Phase, Status (Active, Inactive, Completed), Description, and Visibility (if your workflow lets each project choose) |
| Project Attributes | Attributes your admin has set up, such as Business Segment or Area |
| Metadata | Tags, plus the project's ID, Created At, and Last Updated dates (read-only) |
- If the project is Inactive or Completed, its settings are read-only until you click Reactivate on the project banner. You can still add people to the team.
- Clicking a tag takes you to the Project List for that tag.
- Changing the roadmap moves the project to the new roadmap from the current phase onwards. Completed data isn't affected.
- Tags are now set here, under Metadata.
¶ Steps
- Click Settings at the top right of the project.
- Make your changes.
- Click Save.
Tip: If a project's roadmap has been updated, a banner reads Project Roadmap has new changes. Click Update to move the project to the latest version.
¶ Delete Project
Deleting a project permanently removes all its data: project information, activities, register records, organisation charts, roles, and documents. Only people who can edit the project see this option.
¶ Steps
- Open Settings for the project.
- Scroll to Delete Project.
- Type DELETE to confirm.
- Click Delete.
Important Notes
- This action cannot be undone.
- Export anything you need (Table View and registers both export to XLSX or CSV) before deleting.
¶ Best Practices
- Use tags consistently so projects are easy to find and report on.
- Assign Key Roles early to avoid access bottlenecks.
- Use Private visibility for sensitive projects, and remember Workflow Users can still see them.
- Update the current phase and activities promptly so dashboards stay accurate.
- Use gates to make phase decisions deliberately.