Working with Project Types

This how-to article will help users to create and manage Project Types using the TDAdmin interface. The user must be an organization administrator over TDAdmin.

Overview

A project type is an essential component used to classify the kind of work to be done on a project. Looking at past projects you can see that projects fall into similar classes of work. For example, your organization deploys new software several times a month, so this could be classified as a Software Implementation project type. Or if you use TeamDynamix to manage facilities projects, you could create a Building Management project type.

Types define many of the attributes and default values that will be applied to a project or request.

All project requests need to go through a workflow evaluation before becoming actual projects. Project types can be used to assign the review of a project request to a specific user, or to start a particular workflow. Strategic, complex, and high-budget projects might go through an advanced governance process – while less complex and lower budget projects may just have one or two steps to an evaluation before getting approved.

The project type can also be used when creating reports. Users often create a pie graph showing the percentages of active projects by project type.

Project and request types are available in two places in TDAdmin– the Projects application and Portfolio Planning application. For the instructions in this article we’ll walk through steps in Projects, but the steps are the same for Portfolio Planning.

Creating a New Project Type

To create a new project type:

1. In TDAdmin, navigate to Projects > Types.
2. At the top of the page, click +New.
3. Choose a Project Type Category.
4. Enter a Name for the Project Type.
5. Optionally, enter an Evaluator for projects created using this type.
6. Click the Active checkbox to allow new projects to be created using this type.
7. Optionally, click the Notify evaluator of new projects or requests? checkbox.

   If checked, the evaluator listed for this project type will get a notification when new projects are created, or project requests are submitted using this project type.

8. At the top of the page, click the Save button.

The Project Type window will refresh, and several settings tabs will appear.

Project Type Configurations

Once a project type is created the settings can be configured. These settings will be applied to all new projects created with this type.

Project Time Types and Request Time Types

These time types settings will automatically be added to a project or request that is created using this project type. The request time types are added to all new project requests. Project time types are added to new projects but are also added to project requests when they are converted to projects.

Expense Accounts

The expense account added to a project type will be added to any new projects created using this type. If this setting needs to be different on an individual project, it can be modified by the project manager.

To add an expense account to a project type:

1. In TDAdmin, navigate to Projects > Types.
2. Click the name of the Project Type you would like to add an expense account to.
3. At the top of the window, click the Expense Accounts tab.
4. Select one or more Expense Accounts.

   To select multiple expense accounts, hold down the CTRL or CMD key

5. Check the Billable box to indicate that the selected expense accounts are billable.
6. Click Add.

Deleting expense accounts on a project type follows the same steps 1-3 as above, then:

1. To the right of the expense type you want to delete, click Delete.
2. When the confirmation window opens, click OK.

Groups

Associating groups with a project type limits who would be able to use the type when creating new projects. To select multiple groups in the Associate Groups field, hold down the CTRL or CMD key.

If the Type Permission Allow ONLY the associated groups below to use this type is selected, only the selected groups will be allowed to access this type. They will be allowlisted.

If Allow all individuals to use this type EXCEPT the associated groups below is selected, the selected groups will be denylisted, and all the other groups will be able to use the type.

Users with the "Can see all types" permission will be able to see the type regardless of any groups they may or may not belong to.

Attributes

The Attributes section allows you to configure which custom attributes are associated to projects and requests using this type. When this Type is selected for a project or request, these attribute(s) will show up to be filled in.

Settings

For descriptions of the project settings, see this Project Settings/Sections article.

Project/Request Sections

Project/Request Sections allows you to determine which sections of project information will be available when a project request or a project is associated with that type.  Details on these settings may be found in this Project/Request Sections article.

Editing an Existing Project Type

If the settings on a project type are modified after a project has been created, the changes will not have any effect on the existing project’s settings. The changes will only effect newly created projects.

1. In TDAdmin, navigate to Projects > Types.
2. Click on the name of the Project Type you would like to edit.
3. Make any necessary changes.
4. At the top of the page, click Save.

Reassociating Project Types

Use with caution, this action cannot be undone.

Administrators can reassociate one project type to another project type. This changes the original project type on any existing projects, requests, and opportunities to the new one. You might wish to do this if you are joining project types together or when sunsetting a type and need an existing type’s projects to be part of a more accurate type.

To reassociate project types:

1. In TDAdmin, navigate to Projects > Types.
2. At the top of the page, click the Reassociate button.
3. In the Reassociate From Type field, click the magnifying glass.
4. Choose the project type you want change.

   This From project type will be merged into the To project type, and all projects and requests of this type will change.

5. In the To Type field, click the magnifying glass.
6. Choose the project type that the From type will be merged into.
7. Click the Reassociate button.
8. When the confirmation modal opens, choose OK to reassociate the project types, or choose Cancel to back out of the reassociation.