Before you begin creating a template, ensure that you are in a master workspace. This is the primary project where all templates will be stored. Please contact your workspace administrator to confirm this setup. Alternatively, you can proceed with creating a plan instance.
You cannot save a template as a single plan inside the same project; you need a separate project within the master workspace. However, you can clone a template to the same master project.
Basic Info
Project Code
Click on the "Project Code" and type in a 4-character code for your template project plan. This code has to be unique across the workspace and will help you identify the template.
Plan Title
Specify the plan’s title, e.g., “Design Management”.
Columns and Rows
Next, define the columns and rows that will create a matrix.
Columns will represent a plan of work, which may be a stage, phase, or gateway. Any work breakdown structure can be placed as column headers. For example, you can use it to manage a detailed tender or handover process. These gateways define logical and chronological steps in a sequence to complete a set of tasks.
Rows can represent any deliverables, such as disciplines or locations for which you might want to create packages.
By default, Asite's Playbook names columns as "Gate" and rows as "Deliverable," but you can change these labels to suit your needs. After defining columns and rows, the names will automatically update under Row/Column Info.
You can then add specific names to your columns, such as RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) plan stages, by typing their names and clicking "Add". By default, the new column will appear as the last one in the table, but you can change this by selecting "Specific column", as shown below.
Follow the same process for adding rows until you have a matrix suitable for your plan.
Bear in mind all details you associate with your rows and columns are editable. You can change their titles, duration, or add more details.
Hold Points
Hold points are important checkpoints in the plan. They stop users from moving to the next activities until they finish the previous ones. You can set up hold points between stages as one point or as separate points for each deliverable. Bear in mind that hold points only work vertically, so you cannot create them for individual packages or tasks.
Adding Hold Points:
By default, hold points are added after the last column you created. However, you can customize their placement by choosing a specific location. The hold point will appear in your matrix as a thinner column, as shown below.
Define Hold Point Owner:
Click on the person icon to assign the role of hold point owner to a specific person or role. The hold point owner will be responsible for approving and verifying prior stages and granting permission to start the following stage. You can assign the same role/person for an entire column or have different hold point owners for each package.
Bypass Hold Points
Bypass hold points are exceptions in which the hold point is not necessary for a particular package.
Adding a Bypass Hold Point:
To add a bypass hold point, specify its location on the plan.
Example:
If you decide you don't need a hold point for Design after the first two stages, type in its row number and column number, then click "Add Window". As a result, you will see a green window in place of the hold point.
Security Info
Click "Playbook Admin" and "Playbook Manager" to assign Admin and Manager specific to this Template.
By default they have the following permissions:
Playbook Admin (Super Admin)
• Can create Columns/Rows/Hold Points
• Can create titles and configure custom fields & add info in packages
• Can assign responsibilities
• Can manage tasks
Playbook Manager
• Can add info in packages including custom fields
• Can assign/edit responsibilities
However, you can update permission according to your needs, using the "Permission Matrix".
Packages and Sub-packages
Packages group tasks for which we assign delivery responsibility. Within a package, there can be sub-groupings of activities called sub-packages. The groups of tasks or activities bundled together make project management more efficient. They help break down a large project into smaller, more manageable parts.
To create a package, click on the pen and paper icon on the top right corner on the blue tile:
A window will open, asking if the package is required. Click on the red "No" button to slide the bar to "Yes". Next, add the package title and its owner. You can choose to assign package ownership to a specific person or more generally to a role.
Package owners are responsible for delivery. In ISO terms, they may be a discipline owner, task manager, or someone within the organization assigned to be accountable/responsible for a group of tasks or deliverables.
You can create more packages for the same deliverable by clicking on the green plus sign on the left-hand side below your package.
Add as many packages as you need. The sequence number will automatically update to the next integer, as shown in the picture below.
There are two small icons on the bottom right corner of each package. If you click on the small red circle with a minus sign, you will remove the package. If you click on the small green circle with a plus sign, you will create a sub-package.
The sequence number for a sub-package will start with the number of its main package and continue in increasing order after the decimal point. To add more sub-packages, click on the green circle with a plus sign at the bottom corner of the main package.
To create a sub-package for your sub-package you can follow the same process using icons on the bottom right corner of each block, as shown below:
Follow the process until you have all stages and deliverables of your plan filled with packages and sub-packages (note that sub-packages are optional). Then, click "Send" at the bottom right corner to save the template.
You will be directed to the matrix view of the template plan you've just created. You can add tasks, customize them, and save them as a single plan or another template. We will explore these options in the next articles.
