Introduction

This view provides a series of pages in which to display information related to the project�s scope. Seven categories of information can be displayed:

• Objectives;
• Key Questions (i.e. questions or issues the project needs to address);
• Deliverables;
• Success Metrics;
• Budget;
• Scope In / Scope Out;
• Comments

The content you create can be viewed either with a summary page displaying 2-3 categories of information and 4-5 pages covering one category each, or over 7 pages with each category having a page of its own.

The main bullet points in each category of information (except Scope In/Scope Out) can be seen in the page header section of other views if desired. (Note: indented sub-bullet points cannot be seen in the page header section of other views, as the page header is designed for the display of high level information only).

 

When to use this view

• For your own thinking about what needs to get done
• For project scope / charter documents
• In meetings to discuss or review project scope or progress
• For communication with the project team, with senior management, stakeholders etc

 

Examples

Below is an example summary page showing the following categories of information: Objectives, Deliverables and Success Metrics:

Note: you can select which two or three categories of information to show in the summary page through using the Page Body Format dialogue

Example page showing a single category of information in this case Key Questions (i.e. to list the key questions or issues that the project needs to address).

Click here for more information about the Objectives and Scope view.

 

Introduction and Example

The timeline is an intuitive and highly configurable view that allows you to set out or review high level project plans and get a "big picture view" of what needs to get done quickly and simply.

The timeline is a "one page wide" window on your plan. The time span shown can be expanded / contracted to allow you to look at the time period you want (using the arrow icons in top right of the page body or using the date controls in the page body format dialogues). It can be one or many pages high depending on the size of / detail in your plan, though most simple plans can fit easily on one page.

The timeline can contain the page header (displaying high level information from the Objectives and Scope View), with the page body displaying key meetings, key milestones and information on the Activity Groups.

Laying out a timeline in this view is very quick and easy. The Dynamic Formatting Algorithm helps auto-fit the content to the page so that you can concentrate on what is in the plan without having to worry about formatting it. The different modes and configuration options give you great flexibility in selecting which content to display and in tailoring the view to suit your tastes or the needs of different audiences.

 

Different Modes of the Timeline View

The timeline has two main modes of display "Standard" and "Interlaced". You can select the mode from the format dialogue, or the tool bar. See below for examples:

Standard mode

: displays Key Meetings, Key Milestones and Activity Groups. The header section can also display categories of information from the Objectives and Scope View

Click here for more information about the Timeline (Standard mode) view.

Interlaced mode

: displays additional content related to each Activity Group, specifically the Activity Groups� Meetings, Milestones, or textboxes with information on the Activity Groups� Objectives, Key Questions, Deliverables, Success Metrics, etc. You can select which of these pieces of additional information you want to display using the page body format dialogue or the toolbar.

Click here for more information about the Timeline (Interlaced mode) view.

Example of a timeline interlaced with Activity Group Meetings and Milestones

Example of a timeline interlaced with the Activity Group�s deliverables, which are shown as bullets in the light blue text boxes

Review mode

: in standard mode, or in interlaced mode with meetings and / or milestones (but not with interlaced text boxes), you can also look at your current timeline relative to a "baseline timeline". (i.e. you can look at where you are vs where you said you would be). See the example for an illustration of this. You can set a baseline through the main reporting menu or when you first go into review mode.

Click here for more information about the Timeline (Review mode) view.

 

When to use this view

The timeline is an essential component of any good plan. It can be used across a whole variety of situations:

• When defining or updating the high level plan;
• For project scope / charter documents;
• In meetings to discuss or review project scope or progress;
• For communication with the project team, with senior management, stakeholders etc.

 

Introduction

This view provides a summary table of information about the Activity Groups. Up to twelve* categories of information about each Activity Group can be selected for display in the table:

• Objectives;
• Key Questions (i.e. questions or issues the project needs to address);
• Deliverables;
• Success Metrics;
• Budget;
• Comments;
• Responsibility;
• Status (e.g. Not Started, In Progress, Completed);
• Percentage Complete;
• Performance (traffic light icons);
• Activity Group Start Date;
• Activity Group End Date
  (* while all 12 categories can be displayed, the table may get crowded and it is generally better to select a smaller set of categories to suit the needs you have at the time)

 

The Activity Group Summary can also contain the page header (displaying high level information from the Objectives and Scope View).

You can enter or edit information directly in this view, with any additions or edits automatically being carried through into the relevant Activity Group Detail view, or, in the case of the page header, into the Objectives and Scope view.

The view can be formatted in the following ways:

• The categories (or columns) for display and font sizes can be selected through the formatting dialogue
• The order in which Activity Groups are shown can be chosen through the format dialogue or by selecting a row and moving it up/down using the arrows in the toolbar;
• Activity Groups can also be hidden if you don�t want to display them.

Overall, you have a high degree of flexibility in selecting what information to display and how to display it

 

When to use this view

• For your own initial thinking about what needs to get done (e.g. after you have put together a timeline, you could come to the Activity Group Summary to note down deliverables by activity);
• For project scope / charter documents or project proposals (e.g. showing objectives, issues to address, deliverables and measures of success by activity)
• In meetings to discuss or review project scope or progress
• For communication with the project team, with senior management, stakeholders etc

 

Examples

Below is a fairly empty Activity Group Summary for a draft plan with only 3 Activity Groups in it. The columns shown are the default selections and the page header section is also visible.

Below is an example Activity Group Summary set up for a project review meeting. In this case the columns show by activity: who is responsible, deliverables, the activity end date, its status, performance (traffic light colours and icons) and then comments. The selected information helps facilitate the discussion about how the project is going, issues with progress and what needs to happen next.

Click here for more information about the Activity Group Summary view.

 

Introduction and Example

This view provides the detail on what is happening, or needs to happen, within a particular Activity Group.

The following information can be entered and displayed:

1. Activity Group Header
• The Objectives, Key Questions, Deliverables, Success Metrics (all shown above), plus two other categories (Budget, Comments) which have not been selected for display in this example.
• Activity Group Status: percentage complete; status (e.g. Not Started, In Progress, Complete); Performance (traffic light icons)
• Note: the information in the Activity Group header can also be displayed, or created/ edited, in the Activity Group Summary view, and selected information can be displayed in the Timeline view in interlaced mode.
2. Activity Group Timeline: the meetings and milestones that are part of the Activity Group (and also displayed in the Activity Group Action List – see below).
3. Activity Group Action List: this is the “to do list” for the activity, listing all the Meetings, Milestones and Actions. It gives you a simple list of “who has to do what by when”, and allows you to setup, monitor and update the status of each item in the list. Using the format dialogue, some or all of the following types of information can be selected for display:
• Type (icons for meeting, milestone, action);
• Description (“what”);
• Responsible (“who”);
• Involved (who else is involved);
• Due date (“when”);
• Status (e.g. Not Started, In Progress, Complete);
• Performance (Traffic light icons);
• Priority;
• Budget;
• Comments.

You can enter or edit information directly in this view with any changes automatically being carried through into the relevant other views (e.g. Action List, Action List over Time for Meetings, Milestones, and Actions).

The view can be formatted in many ways. e.g.

• The Activity Group Header can be selected for display, or it can be hidden;
• The number of rows of meetings or milestones in the Timeline section can be controlled.
• The order in which meetings, milestones and actions are shown can be chosen through the format dialogue or by selecting a row and moving it up/down using the arrows in the toolbar;
• Font sizes can be controlled through the format dialogue or the toolbars.

Overdue items are shown in red, and when they are complete they are crossed out.

There is a separate Activity Group Detail (AGD) for the each Activity Group in the timeline, and also one for the Key Meetings and Milestones shown at the top of the Timeline. There are thus many individual "pages" in this view. You can move to the one you want through using the "Go To" drop down menu, or the "next" and "previous" buttons which are in the blue row at the top of the AGD header.

 

When to use this view

• When setting up a project plan, perhaps after creating the main "big picture" timeline, this is a good view for creating the detail: e.g.
  • Thinking about and listing the deliverables, the key actions/steps, responsibilities etc.
  • Creating milestones against which you and others can assess progress
  • Looking at all the items in the Activity Group Action List and sanity checking whether you think it can be done given the time and resources available.
• When working with the team (or just yourself) to get going on an individual activity;
• When reviewing progress with the team (or management) and updating the plan;
• Depending on the nature of the project, it may have a role in documents or meetings related to the project scope / charter or to reviews of progress

Click here for more information about the Activity Group Detail view.

 

Introduction and Example

This view is the "to do list" for the whole project, listing all the Meetings, Milestones and Actions across all of the Activity Groups.

The Action List can also contain the page header (displaying high level information from the Objectives and Scope View).

In the example shown:

1. The page header is also shown, displaying the project objectives, deliverables and success metrics. Note: you can choose not to display the page header through using the format dialogues.
2. The lower section of the page has the action list. This gives you a simple list of "who has to do what by when", and allows you to setup, monitor and update the status of each item in the list. Using the format dialogue, some or all of the following types of information can be selected for display:
• The Activity Group that the items belongs to;
• Type (icons for meeting, milestone, action);
• Description ("what");
• Responsible ("who");
• Involved (who else is involved);
• Due date ("when");
• Status (e.g. Not Started, In Progress, Complete);
• Performance (Traffic light icons);
• Priority;
• Budget;
• Comments.

You can enter or edit information directly in this view, with any additions or edits automatically being carried through into the relevant other views (e.g. Activity Group Detail, Action List over Time for meetings, milestones and actions, or, in the case of the page header, the Objectives and Scope view).

The view can be formatted in many ways. e.g.

• The type of information for display can be selected using the format dialogue;
• The order in which meetings, milestones and actions are shown can be chosen through the format dialogue or by selecting a row and moving it up/down using the arrows in the toolbar;
• Font sizes can be controlled through the format dialogue or the toolbars.

Overdue items are shown in red, and when they are complete they are crossed out.

The Action List may fit on one page or, more likely, over many pages depending on how much detail is in the project. You can move up and down the list using PageUp and PageDown or the scroll bars.

 

When to use this view

• For simple projects with a small number of actions, meetings and milestones, you can use this view as an alternative to the Activity Group Detail view to create the detail of what needs to get done
• If you like using lists, then you may find using this view is good for creating plans even for more complex projects.
• After the plan has been created, this is a good view for:
• Quickly reminding yourself (or the team), what needs to be done by when;
• Updating what needs to be done, working with the team (or just by yourself) to check the status of existing action items, add new ones to the list etc.
• For simple lists, reporting in to management on whether you did what you said you were going to do.

Click here for more information about the Action List view.

 

Introduction and Example

The Action List over Time provides a view of all the actions, meetings and milestones in the project laid out either by week (4 weeks to a page, see example below), or by day (5 or 7 days to a page).

This view can also contain the page header (displaying high level information from the Objectives and Scope View).

It is a great view for creating, reviewing or updating “what needs to get done in the next week or few weeks”, or for reviewing what should have happened, as it gives you a perspective across all the Activity Groups.

The actions, meetings and milestones can be displayed by Activity Group (as above), and also by person / contact so you can look at individual responsibilities over time.

The view defaults to show the next 8 weeks with 4 weeks to a page, so it starts off two pages wide and as many pages deep as is needed to show the all the actions, meetings and milestones in that time period. The example below illustrates conceptually how four pages (2 wide covering 8 weeks, and 2 deep) would appear in Swiftlight. When in the Action List over Time, you can PageUp and PageDown, or scroll up/down/across to look at the page you want.

You can enter or edit information directly in this view with any additions or edits automatically being carried through into the relevant other views (e.g. Activity Group Detail, Action List over Time for meetings, milestones and actions, or, in the case of the page header, the Objectives and Scope view).

The view shows some of the information on each item (generally, its Activity Group, description, due date, who is responsible). More detail can be accessed by double clicking on it, or through the right click dialogue and selecting "edit".

Overdue items are shown in red, and when they are complete they are crossed out.

The view can be formatted in many ways. e.g.

• The type of information for display can be selected using the format dialogue;
• Font sizes can be controlled through the format dialogue or the toolbars.

 

When to use this view

• Creating a plan: you can use this view when creating the detail in a plan (as an alternate to the Activity Group Detail or Action List) as it is easy to add actions, meetings and milestones and see how they fit together over time. Whether it is a better view for this than the others depends on your own working style and the complexity of the plan. Many people seem to prefer the Activity Group Detail for the initial creation of a plan.
• Updating a plan: the Action List over Time is a great view for reviewing and updating the detail of a plan:
• It gives you a great perspective on what should have happened / should be happening across all the activities;
• It is easy to cross things out when they are done, move things that should have happened to another date, or add new items to the plan.
• Working towards a deadline:
• This view helps you look forward to an upcoming deadline and either create the to do list for how you are going to get there, or review where you stand and update the plan.
• Working with the team: this is a great view for working with the team one-on-one or in a group meeting
• Creating a plan together;
• Looking at what needs to get done;
• Reviewing where things stand, and updating the plan.

Click here for more information about the Action List over Time view.

 

Introduction and Example

The Contacts view displays contact information for people or groups/entities involved in the project. It gives you one place to collate useful contact information (e.g. phone numbers, emails), roles etc either for yourself or for others involved in the project, as illustrated below:

Contacts that are listed here can be assigned responsibility for items (i.e. meetings, milestones, actions, Activity Groups, issues) in other views.

You can enter or edit information directly in this view, and also import contacts from vCards or Windows Address Book through File > Import Contact…

 

When to use this view

• At the start of the project when you are listing the people who are going to be involved (Note: if you create the contact list early on when you are developing your plan, then the right list of people will be available in the drop downs when you are trying to assign responsibilities for meetings, milestones etc.)
• For sharing with the team / others involved in the project
• When you need to locate someone�s contact details

Click here for more information about the Contact List view.

 

Introduction and Example

The Issue log provides a place for tracking and dealing with issues that may arise on your project. It allows you to describe the issue, its potential impact and the actions you plan to take to deal with them as shown below

 

When to use this view

• To help you and the team keep track of and on top of issues that may affect project success (a) Listing issues when they arise (b) Reviewing progress in resolving them
• For communicating with the team, senior management or other stakeholders about the issues you are dealing with
• When reviewing progress or when wrapping up the project to gather learnings for the future

Click here for more information about the Issue Log view.