A project keeps one automation job in one place: where it is in its life, what you still need from the client, the plan and its dates, the files, and the processes it delivers.
Projects are on plans that include Projects. Open Projects from the menu and click Add, or promote an opportunity to a project (see Opportunities).
1. Create a project
Fill in Project name, Description, Status, Due date, Client name and Client email. You can set Portal access and Linked resources now or later.
2. Lifecycle stages
A project moves through seven stages:
Discovery → Design → Build → Test → Deploy → Operate → Retired
Click Advance to move to the next stage. The project page shows the stages in a row with the current one marked. Each stage suggests documents under Suggested docs for this stage, such as a Process Definition Document (PDD) in Design, a Solution Design Document (SDD), a Test Plan or a Runbook. Adding one creates a wiki page with a ready outline.
3. The document checklist
The checklist lists what the client must give you: sample files, answers, documents and logins.
- Start from template fills it for a common job: Invoice Automation, HR Onboarding or Bank Reconciliation.
- Item adds one item. Give it an Item name, a Description, a Type (File upload, Short answer or Wiki document) and say whether it is Required.
- Bulk add adds up to 100 items at once, one per line.
- Drag items to reorder them.
Each item shows whether it is Pending, Uploaded, Approved or Rejected. On an uploaded item, click Approve or Reject. Use Request to email the client for one item, Request again after a rejection, or Request all for everything still missing. Each item has its own comments.
Logins from the client
When the client must hand over a login, add it with Dependency: say What is needed, its Kind, Needed by, and Who at the client provides it with Their email. A dependency can be a document, system access, a credential or a decision. The client gets a single-use link that lasts 7 days. What they type goes straight into your encrypted Credentials, never into the checklist, the portal or an email. The item then shows Handed over securely into Credentials. Asking again cancels the earlier link.
4. The plan
- Add each Milestone with its expected date.
- When the dates are agreed, click Save as the plan. This fixes today's dates as the promise the project is measured against. Until then the dates can move freely.
- Each milestone shows Planned, Expected and Reached dates, and Late when it slips.
- Waiting on the client counts the working days lost to items the client has not provided.
- Click Record a delay to note why something slipped. Delay record downloads the plan against what happened, the waits on the client and every reason, as a spreadsheet.
5. Status updates
Click Write an update. A draft is written from the project's own records: milestones reached and items received since the last update, the next milestones, and what is still outstanding from the client. Nothing is invented. Edit it, click Send… to see exactly what will go, then Send now. It goes to the client and the project team and shows on the client portal.
Choose Weekly to have a draft written every week. The project team is told when it is ready, and nothing goes to the client until someone sends it.
6. Client portal
The Client Portal lets the client see the project and upload what you asked for, without an account in your workspace. Set Portal access when you edit the project:
- Disabled: no portal.
- Anyone with link: anyone holding the link can open it. Use Copy link to share it.
- Sign-in required: the client must sign in.
7. Files and recordings
Files the client uploads and documents you add appear under Documents. You can also upload a Teams or meeting recording of up to 2 GB for the team to review. The Activity box shows who did what, including uploads from the portal.
8. Link processes and other work
Edit the project and add processes, folders, wikis, forms, Kanban boards and other items under Linked resources. They show on the project page so the team can open them from one place. A process recorded by a bot from the project's opportunity is linked for you.
Use Information on the project page to add stakeholders and the client's systems (with their name and web address).