Who is this article for?

Product and project teams 

Access to the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) or Design Verification Test (DVT) is required.

Version 3.1

The Ideagen Boards modules are used by Product and Projects teams to track configuration changes, requirements, and bugs as products are implemented.  

Each board (Board Title module) can be configured to track elements such as priority, category, due dates, etc. If those items are not needed, they can be disabled reducing complexity for the end users when creating and managing Board Items. The solution consists of the following modules:

The primary module users interact with is the Board Item module which has the following features

• Tracks the requester and date
• Tracks the last user to update the item and date
• Tracks a reportable activity log of status changes and by whom
• Tracks the project the Board Title is associated with
• Tracks items by release
• Tracks the level of effort for each item
• Tracks the number of comments added
• Tracks the Applicable module per item
• Tracks the Variance Hours (Actual Hours - Estimated Hours) if enabled (Visible to admins only when looking at an item)
• Each item is a distinct object rather than a row at a child level, this reduces record locks and makes reporting much easier.
• Most fields are header level, greatly improving reporting though all child levels are reportable.
• Supports import/export, all header fields, and enabled for data import
• Tracks requirements related to the item, if enabled
• Items can easily be assigned to another board if necessary
• Dependent Items tracking
• The last comment and last comment by are available as a header field for reporting
• A comment log header field consolidates all comments and can be added to table reports for easy export on project closeout.
• Custom “create new” shortcut menus can be created per board (See below)
• Works consistently in Miramar and Classic UI

All Board modules support Platform search and reporting with default filters, default columns, and record prints configured.

Initial Board Setup

1. Create 2 new Subscriber roles from Administration (Gear icon) > Subscriber Roles screen
   • Ideagen Boards Admin (Code: XXXX-IBA)
   • Ideagen Boards Participant (Code: XXXX-IBP)
   • No additional options need to be selected for these roles.
2. Load the Module package (Ideagen Boards v3.1 Module Package.zip) into the area from the Module Developer (<> Icon) > Import screen
3. Match roles and assign the reporting authorities to the area, as necessary.
   • NOTE: The modules are designed to use the Debug role as well.
   • NOTE: If upgrading from a prior version, the existing roles (DevonWay Board Admins, XXX-DBA, and DevonWay Boards Participant XXX-DBP (can be used, simply map the roles to the module roles when importing.
4. Once the modules have been loaded, log out and back in to make the subscriber roles available to be granted. Assign yourself to both roles. Log out and back in to allow changes to take effect.
5. Load the Data Package (Ideagen Boards v3.1 Module Package.zip) into the area from the Module Developer (<> Icon) > Import screen.
6. Load the Reports and Dashboards Package (Ideagen Boards v3.1 Reports and Dashboard Package.zip) into the area from the Module Developer (<> Icon) > Import screen.
7. Reassign the Imported Reports and Charts to the Board Admin user from the Users Admin Screen. 

Connecting modules

The Applicable Module feature has a dependency on the Module Info module used by many products.

Creating additional Reference Data

The following reference data is used by the Boards modules and is visible only to users with the Ideagen Boards Admin role only.

Board Title (XXX-MLDBT)

This is the primary module for setting up a new board. Users with the Ideagen Board Admin role can create one or many boards for users to track items. Boards may be created by module, product, or project phase.

The Board Title module allows the admin to create boards that track different details for an item on a per board basis. Sort order: Controls the order of boards in the Board selection picklist of the Board Item.

Options are Yes to make the option available or Required to make it available and required.

Options Accessible by Participants & Admins include:

• Project: Allows the board, and thus all items created on the board, to be associated to a project. New Projects may be created from the triple dots menu.
• Use Dependent Items: Allows the creation of children items in a Dependent Items grid. If Allow Parent Changes is selected Child items may change their parent association from the parent field of the child item.
• Use Category: Allows the categories to be assigned per board item.
• Category: If left blank all “Item” categories are available. If a “top-level” category, called a category classification, is selected only sub-categories of that classification may be selected per board item.
• Use Priority: Allows for a priority to be set per board item.
• Default Priority: If Use Priority is selected, sets the default priority for all new items created.
• Use Requirements tracking: Displays a Primary requirement reference, if a primary requirement (Header field) is populated it is automatically added to a Requirements child level and allows the user to add additional requirements.
• Use Level of Effort: Allows for a level of effort to be set per board Item.
• Use Releases: Allows the user to associate the item with a release.
• Use Assigned to: Allows a named assignee to be associated to the board item. The system will attempt to send the assignee an email, but the email may be blocked in test areas.
• Use Applicable Module: Allows the tracking of a related module per board item.
• Applicable Modules Grid: If Use Applicable Module is selected, select the modules that users can pick from, at least one is required. One of the added modules can be assigned as the default selection.  

The following Items are Accessible by Admins Only when working in Boad Items, however in Search and reporting all users can see this information.

• Use Due Date: Allows the item to have a due date. Dates must be today or in the future.
• Due Date Offset: Sets the number of days after the item was created to default on the due date to. If left blank, no due date is defaulted.
• Use Number of Estimated Hours: Allows for the tracking of estimated hours.
• Use Numer of Actual Hours: Allows for the tracking of actual hours. 
  NOTE: If both estimated and actual hours are tracked, a non-modifiable field called Hour Variance will appear in the item. Variance = Actual Hours - Estimated Hours, a Positive variance indicates the task took longer than estimated (over budget on time). A Negative variance indicates the task took less time than estimated (under budget on time).
• Use Quick Comment: Used to quickly add a board item comment. This feature is primarily used with search grid mode mass editing from a grid mode search.

The Board Status Tab allows for only specific statuses to be used in Board Items. Leaving the grid blank allows all active statuses to be used in the Item.

Board Status (XXX-MLDBS)

Visible only to users with the Ideagen Board Admin role, used to define the statuses a board item moves through as the item is worked to completion. A default list of status objects has been provided.

One status may be set as the initial status used for all newly created board items. One or more statuses may be marked as a closed status meaning the board item is not modifiable once set, except by users with the Ideagen Board Admin role. Sort order is used to sort the status list in the item.

Board Category (XXX-MLDBC)

Visible only to users with the Ideagen Board Admin role, used to categorize items or requirements. A sample list of categories has been provided for import, but each implementation may customize both lists. Type is used to identify the category as an item category or a requirement category. Sort order is used to sort the category hierarchy within each type.

The following is the recommended structure for board items:

• Classification: The first level of the hierarchy, groups categories in to buckets such as Initial Configuration, Discovery, UAT, etc.
• Parent: The second level of the hierarchy defines categories within each classification. For example, in the "Configuration" classification: Initial Setup, Customization, QA, etc.
• Child: The third level of the hierarchy defines sub-categories within each classification. For example, in the "Customization" parent: Field Behaviors, Help Text, Workflow Assignments, etc.

Board Project (XXX-MLDBP)

Visible only to users with the Ideagen Board Admin role, used to associate one or more boards, and thus their related items to a given project, or project phase.

TIP: Always create at least one project and assign all boards to this project. If future projects are added this will keep the boards and items cleanly organized.

Board Requirement (XXX-MLDBR)

Visible to users with the Ideagen Board Admin and Ideagen Board Participant roles, used to document requirements and can be used to associate board item(s) to one primary and many additional requirements. Users can create requirements from the Create New menu and from the Primary Requirement reference in the Board Item module.

Board Release (XXX-DWBRL)

Used to group items into a release (or sprint) with an associated release date.

Changing a release date:

Changes to the release date will update all board items associated with the release to reflect the new release data on the item.

Creating Board Items

See the related Using Ideagen Boards v3.1 Guide.  Each feedback item should be entered into a new Board Item object.

Post Setup Notes

1. Grant users who will need to access the boards the Ideagen Boards Participant Role.
2. Consider creating a customized Create New Menu group with shortcuts to each board. 
3. Only users with the admin role can see Due Date, Estimated Hours, Actual Hours, and Variance Hours on a per Item basis if enabled by the board. Keep in mind that these fields are still viable via search and reporting.
4. A Migrated Line ID field is available for importing prior board IDs into the new modules. This field displays in the upper right corner if populated, it is editable by Admins.
5. The Comment Log field combines all comments into a single header level field that can be added to search reports for project close out export.
6. When an item is moved to another board, and if that board doesn’t track items such a priority, or the estimated hours, these values are NOT cleared to prevent accidental data loss.
7. Users with the admin role can see a Quick Comment feature to quickly add comments to board items from multi record edit search view.