Let's say that your organization has some sort of a process, or project, that occurs on a repeatable basis. To streamline the repeatable process, TaskRay allows you to create project templates, which can include all of the steps, or tasks, of the process.
These templates can then be cloned to create new projects, preserving all of the project details and structure, tasks, and other specifications, such as dependencies and attached files. The cloning process can also be automated using the Lightning Process Builder, which you can read about in the Automate TaskRay article.
Templates also work in conjunction with the TaskRay Customer Onboarding Kickoff Flow, which is designed to streamline the process of onboarding a new customer. You can read more about that in the TaskRay Customer Onboarding Kickoff Flow article.
Furthermore, templates can also be used with the Stitcher. The Stitcher allows joining together multiple template projects and task groups to make a single project (in other words, you can think of it as building blocks of a project). For more information, go to the Stitcher article.
Performance of templates can be analyzed in the Template Performance View. In this view, you can see how the projects created from templates are performing compared to the template targets, what the project averages are, as well as view the template trends. With template trends, you can view and identify any potential bottlenecks and opportunities for making the templated process even more efficient.
Create a Template
- In the All Work tab, in the left sidebar, click on the Plus icon at the top of the Projects section.
- Select Create New Project.
Note: If you have Record Types enabled, you will be asked to select a Project Record Type first, which will appear instead of the Create New Project option in the dropdown. You can learn more about record types here. - This will open the Project Details. Enter the Project Name along with any other necessary information.
- Check the Template checkbox.
- Click Save & Next.
- Optional: Add Team Members to the project. Under the Team tab, in the search field, start typing the name of the User, Queue, or Public Group you want to add to the project and click on the name to make your selection.
Note: If project privacy is enabled, you will also be able to manage user privacy settings from this tab. - Optional: Connect Chatter Groups to the project. Click on the Chatter tab. In the Add Project to the following Chatter Group Filters field, click to add one or multiple Chatter Groups. If you connect Chatter Groups to the project, that project will appear in all board filters that use a Chatter Group filter to sort projects.
- Click Save or Save & Close.
All of the templates are stored under the Templates board filter in the left sidebar.
Add Tasks or Task Groups to Template
Overall, the process of adding tasks to templates is the same as adding tasks to projects. You can also create task groups in template projects to organize the tasks.
When adding tasks to templates, you can choose to schedule them. When you clone templates, the task dates will automatically adjust in the new project based on your specifications (if dependencies are enabled in your org).
If necessary, you can also add checklists to the template tasks, as well as create task dependencies. All checklists and task dependencies will preserve when cloning the template.
Turning Existing Projects into Templates
If you have an existing project that you would like to turn into a template, you can do so by following these instructions:
- In the All Work tab, in the left sidebar, hover over the project that you want to turn into a template and click on the More Actions icon that appears.
- Select Edit Project. Alternatively, double click on the project.
Tip: You can also access Project Details from the Performance tab Portfolio View. To do this, hover over the row for the project that you want to turn into a template, click on the More Actions icon on the far right, and select Project Details.
- This will open Project Details. Double click on the Template field and select the checkbox. Alternatively, click Edit and then check the Template checkbox.
- Click Save & Close.
The project will turn into a template, preserving all of the details, tasks, dependencies, and team members. You can find the project under the Templates board and project filters.