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Components of Goal Module
Once registered for the Goal module, you'll be well on your way to reaching your project goals and fulfilling the potential of your projects. Although the Goal module has an intuitive interface, our easy-to-follow tutorial will make everything smoother for you to be up and running in no time.
Module Switcher
You can use the Module Switcher to easily switch between different modules on WayLoader. Just click the candy box icon in the header and select the module you want to work in.
Project List
Here you will see the list of all projects registered in your account. The project name of your current work will be prominently displayed on the top banner, along with a gear icon that provides access to the Project Settings. You can switch between projects by clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting the project you want to work in from the list.
View Switcher
The View Switcher offers you different views to cater to your specific needs and preference. The types of views are as follow:
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Map View
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Work Breakdown
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Code Breakdown
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Histogram
You can select the view you want by simply clicking on the view switcher icon.
Map View
The first view available in the Goal Module is the Map View. Once you select it, you will be able to see your items within the site boundary as well as specific locations such as site areas, buildings, and additional layers. The items will be shown according to their respective assigned location.
Work Breakdown View
In the Work Breakdown view, you can efficiently prioritise and manage tasks required to complete a specific project or work. Here, the Schedule Owner can create tasks, groups and milestones as well as manage dates, duration, and progress. On the other hand, Scheduler View will be able to see all data created and managed by the Schedule Owner.
Understanding the Work Breakdown View
The Work Breakdown view is divided into three panels which are, the left, middle and right panel.
Left Panel: In this section, you will find two components: the Work Breakdown and the Codes floating window at the bottom. The Work Breakdown is presented in the form of folders that are standalone or that contain items nested on it. However, tasks are not be visible in this view.
On the other hand, the Codes Floating Window at the bottom contains the code breakdown list. Additionally, you can create a New Code Group and a New Code and assign these codes to tasks as needed.
Middle Panel: It shows a detailed Work Breakdown Structure presented through groups, tasks, and milestones and you can create one of these items by simply clicking on the '+' sign located on the top left of this panel.
Right Panel: It displays a Gantt chart in which you can visualise the Work Breakdown in the form of bars and provides a clear overview of the project's progress and helps you to stay on track with your tasks.
Methods for Creating a Work Breakdown Structure
There are two ways to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): the bottom-up and the top-down method.
Bottom-Up Method
To use the bottom-up method you will begin creating standalone work items and then grouping them under their respective WBS parents. Alternatively, you can create a WBS parent specifically for existing work items.
Top-Down Method
With the top-down approach, you have the option to create a WBS parent without any work items under it initially, and then proceed to add the tasks accordingly.
To distinguish the different item types and make them easy and quick to be identified, different colours are used, as illustrated in the image below.
In the WBS, the darkest orange represents the Group Item and it's the top-level items. E.g. Procurement. For items nested within the main WBS the opacity will be lower. E.g. 'Procure OFCI'. Tasks are always displayed in white or light orange once you have it selected or hover over it.
Notably, the opacity level gradually decreases as you descend in hierarchy in the WBS.
Work Breakdown Info Panel
Once you click an item in the Work Breakdown you will access the Info Panel which has three different sections.
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Left section: it displays the WBS.
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Middle section: it contains information about the selected item, including its progress, start and end dates and linking.
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Right section: it contains useful tabs such as codes, hooks, links, chat, files and history.
To switch between Info Panel modules of a hooked task just click at the top of the middle panel.
The Info Panel of a Group differs from a Task in terms of visuals and available features. Hooking and linking options are absent in the Info Panel of a Group and it can only be accessed from the Info Panel of a task.
Note: Milestone tasks do not have an Info Panel.
Group Info Panel
Task Info Panel
Features available within the third section of the Info Panel:
Codes: It displays the colour code list and shows which one is assigned to the selected folder or task.
Hooks: This tab gives you all the information about a hooked task. You can also use this option to hook any task in the Plan module. To learn about how to hook a task click here.
Links: This tab shows the task-linking information. If there are any links between tasks, the details will be displayed here. In addition, you can add a new link by clicking the + sign. Click here to learn more about linking tasks.
Chat: This tab enables you to create task-specific messages and attach media related to it.
Files: This tab allows you to upload files, such as images and documents. Additionally, you can import media from the Chat tab by enabling the toggle located at the bottom left of the section.
History: This tab allows you to upload files, such as images and documents. Additionally, you can import media from the Chat tab by enabling the toggle located at the bottom left of the section.
Progress
In the Goal module, a graph will indicate progress on a task with time along the x-axis and percentage completion along the y-axis. However, in Plan module the progress will be represented by one line which indicated percentage completion.
Progress graph in Goal
Progress graph in Plan
Progress indication on Timeline: The progress on the taskbar will be shown by the yellow-coloured slanted lines. To change the progress, you can simply drag the arrows available at the bottom of task bars in the grid.
How to save changes in Goal
To save any changes made in the Info Panel or the Grid view, you must click the 'Rebranch' option that will appear at the top right corner of the grid after changes were made.
Item Types
When creating a new item in the Goal module, you have the option to create it as a Group, Task, or Milestone.
a. Group
Groups are the highest-level WBS items that you can create in the Goal module. Represented by a distinctive dark orange bar, they function as folders that can contain additional subfolders or standalone tasks within them, allowing for a flexible and customisable project structure.
b. Tasks
This is the second option from the new item creation list. Tasks represent the lowest-level item in the module, but if you create a task or if you drag an existing one under another task, it automatically will convert into a WBS.
c. Milestone
A milestone is a significant achievement point represented by a diamond shape in the grid. Although it is categorized as a task, it has zero-day duration, serving as an important checkpoint to monitor progress. Once all linked tasks are completed, the milestone is achieved, signifying an accomplishment in your goal.
d. Bulk Action on Items
This feature allows you to perform the same action on multiple selected items at once, saving you time and effort. Simply select the item checkbox and the bulk action bar will appear at the top of the screen.
On the left side of the bulk action bar, you'll find the number of tasks you have selected and on the right side, you can access the following options:
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Delete: Permanently remove the selected items.
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Hook: Connect the task to Plan module by using this option.
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Break Hook: Break the hook with Plan Module task from this bulk action bar.
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Duration: Set the duration of items.
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Assign Code: Assign codes to multiple items simultaneously.
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Copy To: Copy items to any other available project.
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Assign Location: Assign a location or an address to the selected items.
Note: To clear your selection click on the x sign which appears beside the number of selected items on the left side of the bulk actions bar.
e. Columns Description
In the Work Breakdown view you will find the default columns:
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Name: it shows the name of the items.
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Duration: it displays the total duration of the items.
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Start/ End Date: it presents the start and end dates of the items.
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Progress: It allows you to track the progress of your tasks and it will be represented by a percentage.
You can also add more columns to the default list by clicking on the settings gear at the top and toggling on the desired column from the list. The newly added column will then appear alongside the existing ones, providing you with more detailed information about the item.
Note: You can change the start and end dates if the WBS has no lower-level tasks within it. On the other hand, changing the date of lower-level tasks will automatically reflect on the top level, exactly as it is in the Plan module.
Additional columns that can be added to WB:
Actual Start Date and Actual Completion Date: When a task is hooked in the Plan module, these columns will bring in the corresponding information. Once a Start Date is added to a hooked task in the Plan module, it will become the 'Actual Start Date' in Goal, and the Schedule Owner cannot overwrite it.
For unhooked items, once the Schedule Owner has set up the date and updates the progress over zero percent, the Actual Start Date will be generated. Similarly, the Actual Completion Date will come from the Plan module in case the item is hooked, or it will be directly fed from actions taken in the Goal module.
The data for the additional columns, such as Progress, Company, Location, Owner, Lead Status, Variance, Labels and Board, will come from Plan Module once the item is hooked. It is important to note that Progress will be reset to zero in the Goal module once it's hooked, since the data will come from the Plan Module.
Note: The Schedule Owners cannot assign Company, Location, Owner, and Lead roles within the Goal module, as these roles are only available in the Plan module.
Code Breakdown
The Code Breakdown view in Goal module is a read-only and it allows you to view items assigned with codes, segregated under their respective code groups. This view is particularly helpful when multiple tasks or groups share the same code, as it allows you to find them all together in one code group. By using this view, the Schedule Owner can easily monitor tasks by category as per the project's needs.
The Code Breakdown view also has three sections being the first one the same as in Work Breakdown view.
In the second and third sections, you will see items laying under code groups represented by different code colours. In this view, you might notice duplicated tasks due to the different codes assigned to the same tasks as explained above. E.g. Commissioning item which appears multiple times under different codes.
