A HighQ solution template focused on helping clients who have HighQ and Contract Express to improve the tracking, collaboration, transparency and success of automation projects.
Introduction
The template is for Contract Express automators to create a site to manage Contract Express template automation projects in regards to:
- Collecting information about the required automation
- Collecting user testing feedback
- Collating required amendments once the template is live
The template is intended for Knowledge Management Teams, project managers and automators, but may also be used by template test users to provide user feedback during template testing.
Use Case
Contract Express is a Document Generation platform. Microsoft Word templates can be automated and uploaded to Contract Express so that users can generate documents in a quick, efficient and compliant manner.
When automating a template or suite of templates ready for use within Contract Express, an automator collects the following information:
- Details of the automation request such as the practice area/department requiring the automation
- Details on the automation goals
- The template and notes
- Project stakeholders (requestor/s, project manager, automator and test users)
- Project dates (project kick-off date, automation completion date, testing dates and go-live date)
- Test user feedback
This information is normally stored in emails, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets and is difficult to collate and review.
Automators and other stakeholders require frequent status updates and notifications before and during testing and when project milestones and tasks are due.
If there are multiple automation projects being conducted, senior stakeholders need to keep track of the projects and automator workloads.
Goal
The goal of the Contract Express Automation Project Management site is to allow automators to collate all the above information in one place and use the site to project manage the template automation project. It allows stakeholders to view status updates, and for milestones, tasks and notifications to be automatically generated as the automation project progresses. The analytics dashboards also allow automators and applicable stakeholders to view the status of multiple projects and automation workload.
Key modules
The iSheets module hosts and manages the template automation information, status update and key dates. This provides a live overview of the automation project and works as a project management tool. Users with access to HighQ can log on and view the project as it currently stands. The information on the projects feeds into the dashboard, where key information (e.g. status overviews) is reported (using the data visualization add-on).
The files module hosts any applicable files, documents, emails and templates and allows collaboration on these files.
The tasks module displays automatically triggered (utilising the workflow automation add-on) and manually created workflows and reminders for applicable actions to be taken through the project (for example, assign Test Users to the project, or review the template received).
The events module provides a visual display of project milestones and deadlines, and the wiki module allows stakeholders to capture and collaborate on ad-hoc notes and information. Finally, the people module allows stakeholders to identify automators and stakeholders who are working on automation projects.
Module Deep Dive
iSheets Module
Part I: ‘Project iSheets’ Header > Project iSheet
The Project iSheet is divided into seven stages:
- General Details, Practice Area and Project Preparation
- Project Kick-Off
- Automation
- Testing
- Testing Conclusion
- End-User Communication
- Launch
Each stage of the Project Tracker iSheet contains multiple columns, covering dates, key statuses and other project data.
The most prominent iSheet view is the All Ongoing & Paused Projects (Complete View). This is where all the project information is surfaced and updated by all the relevant parties. A collection of views are provided for different project stages.
To add a new project, the User can click on the Project iSheets > Project Tracker iSheet and click on the Add button. Please review the Workflow Automation section below for details of how the iSheet interacts with other modules (Workflow Automation add on required)
Part II: ‘Project iSheets’ Header > User Testing Feedback
The User Testing Feedback iSheet allows Test Users to provide feedback on automation testing.
To add new feedback, the Test User can click on the Project iSheets > User Testing Feedback iSheet and click on the Add button. Please review the Workflow Automation section below for details of how the Test User can receive an automatic email with a link to add new feedback and how the iSheet interacts with other modules (Workflow Automation add on required)
Part III: ‘Project iSheets’ Header > Live Template Changes To Be Made
The Live Template Changes To Be Made iSheet allows automators to collect and schedule required amendments to Live templates
To add new amendments, the user (typically the Automator) can click on the Project iSheets > Live Template Changes To Be Made iSheet and click on the Add button.
Tasks Module > Tasks
The Tasks tab allows Project Managers and Automators to get project milestones and deadlines. This facilitates the project management features within the iSheet.
Please review the Workflow Automation section below for details of how Tasks are automatically created and assigned based on iSheet input (Workflow Automation add on required).
The module provides a set of Task Lists (categories) and task statuses.
Events Module (Project Calendar)
This Project Calendar tab displays project milestones, stages and deadlines in a calendar form. These can be created manually or (utilising the Workflow Automaton add on) automatically based on the input in the Project Tracker iSheet.
Please review the Workflow Automation section below for details of how Events are automatically created and assigned based on iSheet input (Workflow Automation add on required)
Wiki Module (Adhoc Project Notes)
The Adhoc Project Notes tab allows automators and stakeholders to collate and collaborate on notes.
Files Module (Documents)
The Documents tab allows automators and stakeholders to file templates, documents and files for reference and collaboration.
Please review the Workflow Automation section below for details of how Document Folders are automatically created and assigned based on iSheet input (Workflow Automation add on required)
Home (Dashboard)
The Dashboard Module allows automators and applicable stakeholders to see an overview of the template automation projects and workloads.
Metrics and information from all stages are captured in the Dashboard.
Workflow Automation
Workflow Automation is used to automatically generate email notification, tasks, events and Project folders based on the input into the Project Tracker and User Testing Feedback iSheet.
Please note, the Workflow Automation add on must be available within the HighQ Instance. Please also ensure you have validated the workflows before using the site.
5.4 Updates
There are a number of additional features in the 5.4 release that benefit the Contract Express Automation Project Management template:
- iSheets 'attachment' integration in the Files Module - Instead of having to upload files to the files module and then have to attach them to the relevant row in an iSheet, users are able to attach them to the iSheet record directly and also have the file appear in a relevant folder in the files module. This gives the Project Management iSheet a much more interactive feel and removes an administrative step.
- Multiple site homepages - Gives the option to provide separate dashboards to different stakeholders (i.e. Automation Stage only) instead of one large Dashboard, making it easier to navigate and review the information. Permissioning can be used to ensure the correct stakeholders see the Dashboards applicable to them.
- Contract Express Module - If using the HighQ Doc Auto (powered by Contract Express) module, templates can be tested within the site and made live for document generation use in HighQ (please note, this is not an extension of Contract Express standalone and is purchased separately).
- Document Comparison within HighQ - Useful for clients who do not have a licence for Workshare Compare and wish to compare amendments between two Word documents (two templates, for example).
