UniPhi 14 - A virtuous circle and an old friend returns with a new look

Seven years ago, as part of the AECOM acquisition of Davis Langdon, we developed a rapid way for projects to get an estimate at completion. This was our first cut at resource planning from within UniPhi. Six years prior to this, we had completed an epic fail of a resource planning project with BlueScope steel that led to the development of UniPhi's timesheet module. In this project, we had set up a central resource pool of 125 researches in MS Project and linked this pool to numerous task-based MS Project plans. We then used the in-built thick client timesheet tool that was a secret add-on to MS Project 2000 and beyond. It was a horrible widget but I loved the idea of getting actual data against a baselined project plan. I was enamoured with theory of constraints, loved the idea of managing project float and had been commissioned by BlueScope Steel to come up with a way of managing the research load. Unfortunately, the end result meant researches spent more time updating Gantt charts than they did researching ways to improve the performance of the business.

Fast forward six years and we were determined to find a way that met the need for strategic resource planning as well as not consume the subject matter experts who were required to update it. This first cut, unbeknownst to us at the time, was actually loved by the cost managers at Davis Langdon. In this version, we went for a lifecycle phasing method where a user could:

1. Schedule lifecycle start and end dates (e.g. Masterplanning, concept design, detailed design, tender docs, implementation, close out)
2. Enter a budget total resource effort (or hours per week) against each person allocated to a lifecycle phase
3. Linear phase the total hours out over the dates of the phase
4. Track progress via the timesheets module into this data set
5. Forecast remaining to get an updated total effort
6. Apply standard cost rates to this to get an estimate at completion cost
7. Apply standard charge rates to get a high-level estimate for the project

By accident, this method mirrored the method our end users were using. However, as we expanded our user base, a more nuanced version was requested where you could "S" curve the effort and have people working at different capacities at different stages of the project. As we did not know how much the current version aligned to cost consultants estimating methods, we threw away our first effort and came up with the "enhanced" resource planning that can be seen in UniPhi 13 (lesson: always survey your end users). This has been mildly successful supporting some large infrastructure projects, however, it has proven too manual again.

A virtuous circle

UniPhi 14 brings in several elements that hopefully will finally crack the resource planning nut. The first and probably key part is that the resource planning effort can be leveraged into:

1. The contract deliverables of your proposal
2. Phased cash flow
3. Timesheet allocation
4. Actual updates back against the baseline
5. Updated estimate at completion
6. Earned value

An old friend

Not only this, but the resource plan can be shifted easily by linking the effort to the lifecycle dates as per our 2012 version (our old friend has returned). This means that when things change, all that needs to be updated is the lifecycle dates of the project. The shape of the phasing moves in unison with the shifting dates. This flows through the virtuous circle of contract dates, phased cash flow and timesheet allocation.

An early prototype of this virtuous circle was demonstrated in our monthly webinar two months ago and can be seen here:

Our feature releases are posted daily to LinkedIn and Twitter, so follow us to not miss out on an update!

UniPhi 14 - Linking Issues to Milestones

Projects are not managed by Gantt charts. 

Which is why feature 12 in our countdown is linking issues to milestones.

Instead of using Gantt charts, UniPhi uses the Issues module as the centralized method of collaborating to make real progress on a project. Issues are essentially the "things" that need to be completed within a project. Using issues to share ideas and communicate effectively until the task is complete makes a lot more sense that pouring over an antiquated concept (i.e. a Gantt chart), which will be an accurate and reliable aid for about.... 30 minutes.

A list of issues, on the other hand, is a living breathing view of where you project is at, and what needs to be addressed in order to deliver the expected outcomes.

Now, that's not to say the projects are a free for all, and that they can be approached in a haphazard way, and still succeed. The UniPhi approach is to identify as much as is known regarding a particular project, capture those items as issues, and then collaborate, track and manage each of those items. One of the key elements of managing your issues list is to understand where there are dependencies for particular items to occur within a life-cycle phase, and what milestones have been agreed. Once this information is known and understood, it is immensely powerful to see how delays on one task will impact on another, and the impact that delay will have on your project milestones.

Project Schedule and Lifecycles

Once you have identified your project phases and schedules, your milestones, and issue dependencies, UniPhi will automatically update the rest. By linking issues and tasks to a particular milestone, and sequencing those milestones within a life cycle phase, any delay will be cascaded. This means that a delay on a critical date which has been applied to an issue action, will push out the due date for the actual issue, and the linked milestone will also shift. As the milestone shifts, so too will the projects life-cycle forecast date.

Milestones Dashboard

Milestones Visualisation

The key benefit here is that the project schedule, milestones, issues and actions are all updated in real time by the project team. It is now not up to a Project Manager to hold a scheduled meeting to get feedback from the team on who has completed what. It is also not up to them to then take that information and adjust the dreaded Gantt chart. Nor is it their responsibility to produce an updated status report which details how the project has slipped and which milestones are impacted. The Project Manager now only has to manage the project as all of this information is now available and updated live, saving administration time and effort.

Find out what's next on our list of new features by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

UniPhi 14 - Custom Filtering of Issues

To round off an exciting week of issue templates and derivatives for retention, we would like to circle back to the issues module for feature 13: custom filtering of issues.

The issues management functionality in UniPhi is one of its most useful features for running projects. This module allows for increased project visibility and effective collaboration due to issues being visible to all members of a project team. These issues can be easily navigated by filtering them according to their status (open, closed, and awaiting review), or their category (as defined by your organisations administrator). Furthermore, you can sort your issues according to the column headings such as; Rating (High, Medium, Low), Due Date (oldest / newest) and Assigned To (A-Z), allowing for quick and versatile filtering of project issues.

Despite this versatility, there are times, however, where even with all of those options, you still need the ability to further narrow down your list of issues. One of the frustrating things in previous versions of UniPhi, was that it allowed you to associate lists to issues but not filter by them. Though now you can do precisely that and have it set up and functioning in just a couple of quick and easy steps, which are listed below. 

To create and use custom issue filters you need to first create your own custom list. This can be accomplished by going into the hamburger navigation on the top left-hand side of the screen and selecting "Custom Lists" from the "Configuration" tab.

Once in the custom lists tab, simply create a custom drop-down list, as shown below and hit save.

This creates a list of filterable options that must now be linked to a custom field and category. This is done by, once again, going into the "Configuration" tab and selecting "Issues". 

Once there, go into "Issue Custom Fields" and create your issue custom field. Fill out the required information, optionally link it to an issue category and select the custom list that you just created from the drop-down list (highlighted below).

Tick the box that says your issue custom field should be filterable.

Go to your Issues tab, and filter for your issues. First by Category,

Then by the custom list filters that you created.

This will result in you being able to quickly and easily associate issues to custom lists and painlessly search for them, making the whole process a lot more efficient!

We still have 12 more features to reveal, so don't miss out on an update by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

UniPhi 14 - Derivatives for Retention

If you have been following us on LinkedIn and Twitter you will know that it is day two in the countdown to UniPhi 14. Yesterday we posted about issue templates and how to apply them to existing issues, but today we move across to the contracts module where our feature of the day (feature 14) is: derivatives for retention!

Retention is part and parcel of many large cost contracts. The purpose of retention is to withhold a portion of the earned cost from the supplier in order to ensure that the supplier completes the activities required of them under the terms of the contract.

UniPhi has two methods that you can use to help manage your retention. Firstly, and most simply is the standard adjustment method where a $ value is entered for the contract and the current claim. Secondly, we now have a new derivative calculation method, which actually calculates the retention value per claim for you, saving you time and effort.

You will find a number of options available within the derivative function for managing contract retention. For starters, UniPhi offers you a number of pre-configured adjustment types. These options are a time saving feature which simply provide you with standard descriptions that will appear in your contract, and in all progress claim documents. You can change these default descriptions as and when required. Furthermore, you have full flexibility around how you apply the formula to calculate your retention. As seen in the screen shot below, you can choose:

• The derivative percentage
• Whether it applies to the original contract value, or the adjusted contract value (including variations)
• The percentage retained per claim
• And the budget code line that the retention is related to (Note that you can have more than one retention amounts against specific budget code lines, if necessary)

Claim Adjustments

Once your details have been entered, the retention value will calculate and be presented in your output documentation (e.g. Certified Progress Claim). You and your project team will now know exactly what is being retained, and your supplier will also be aware of the retained amount once each claim has been authorized for payment. You will no longer need calculators and external spreadsheets, as UniPhi will automatically calculate for you, reducing time and errors!

To keep up to date with what other time saving enhancements we have in store for you, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

UniPhi 14 - Issue Templates

Today marks the day that we begin the countdown of new features in UniPhi and so we would like to begin with feature 15: applying issues templates to existing issues.

As our more experienced users may already know, UniPhi uses the Issues module as the central hub for project-based collaboration. It is the engine room for identifying, tracking, and managing the activities required to make progress with a project. 

Issues Module

While projects are, by definition, unique undertakings with specific start and end dates and a defined scope, there are occasions where the same actions are required across numerous projects. For example, an RFI will typically require the same series and sequence of actions to be completed within a defined time period by various project team members

Creating a set of actions can be time consuming to do each and every time and so to simplify this process, UniPhi allows you to create issue templates. An issue template is essentially a list of defined actions, due dates, and tasks assigned by role. Any number of these templates can be created and configured according to the needs and requirements of your organisation. Once a template has been created, you can use it whenever you create an issue and UniPhi will automatically assign actions with defined due dates to the relevant team members - a simple time saving feature that our clients love!

Issue Templates

So why are issue templates the feature of today? Well that is because, due to client feedback, we know there are times when issues that arise may not immediately require any or all of the actions which have been defined within an issue template. A template has therefore not been used when creating an issue, but may be needed later.

For example, you may receive details about a tender that you would like to submit a response. You are not certain that it fits your strategic target, and hence your first step is to conduct a review without bringing your colleagues and stakeholders into the issue. Once you have reviewed the tender in more detail though, you decide to proceed, and will need input from members of your project team. But if you have already created an issue, how can you apply an issue template to it?

Tender issue without a template

Well, now, UniPhi has been enhanced to allow you to do exactly that. You can apply your issue template to an existing issue by simply clicking the template option in the right-hand corner and selecting the appropriate template (as seen in the image below). 

Selecting a template

Once you select a template, actions are automatically added, assigned and given a due date. 

Automatically created template

With this new feature, UniPhi does all the time consuming administrative work for you so you can focus on more important things.

Find out what other features we have in store for you by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter and make sure you don't miss out on tomorrow's update!

UniPhi 14 - The countdown has begun!

There's only 20 more sleeps until we release the next version of UniPhi. To celebrate, we'll be posting short blogs about one new feature every working day up until the release date. That's 15 new things to get excited about, including:

• Enhanced contract admin functions to save you time, allowing you to work on more productive project matters and eliminate more spreadsheets!
• New dashboard reporting that leverages off our API to improve the visual experience. This is a term you'll hear much more of in UniPhi 15, but you'll have to wait until November for that!

As we don't want to give away all of the grand excitement today, we won't include any more and will leave you guessing as to what will be coming next...

To not miss out on your daily update, watch this space or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter as we work our way towards the biggest and best updates. Let the countdown begin!

UniPhi 14 - August 1 Release Date Set

Earlier this year we sent out a survey to our end users, asking what new features they would like in UniPhi 14. We received a lot of useful feedback (the results were posted back in April) which has helped us greatly with developing the new release. It has now been two months since then and we don't want to put pressure on the software developers but the release date has been set for August, so they better get cracking.

One of the top requested updates we received was for resource planning and so we have gone ahead and added:

• Ability to forecast future timesheets which is then integrated with resource planning. Forecast timesheet hours will now be added to or replace the existing forecast resource planning information on that day.
• “Offset” functionality to allow for a resource or all resources on a project, tactical plan. This new feature allows for a resource plan to be broken down into a more detailed and itemized day or week view, as opposed to the current more strategic monthly project overview.
• Copy a resource profile enables to set up one phased allocation profile and copy it to others on the project.
• Faster bulk updating of resource allocation by clicking the apply changes and submit buttons
• Enhanced reporting See who is over and under allocated both next week and over the next x months.

New forecast timesheet screen

Besides resource planning, there were a bunch of other features that were requested, including feasibility, API capabilities and new visualization dashboards, amongst other. Based on these request, we have also:

• Upgraded outlook integration with drag and drop filing.
• Enhanced accounting integration including allocation of disbursements captured in the accounting system to an invoice and the creation of a debtors dashboard.
• Tweaked the new interface updates such as speed and improved navigation. Its amazing the affect some of these simple tweaks have had on early adopters of UniPhi 14.
• Cost/benefit analysis capability via enhanced integration between metrics, revenue and costs module including deriving revenue and costs from metrics. 
• Added API capabilities which allow users to directly access UniPhi data through Microsoft Power BI and create their own dashboards and visuals. This is a lot more efficient for end users as they no longer have to download an excel spreadsheet and re-upload to create custom dashboards! It is also, conveniently, a two for one solution for users wanting to integrate apps and produce new visualization capabilities.
• Enhanced mobile optimization to make UniPhi more accessible from anywhere, on the move

We will be providing a dedicated blog entry to each of the above over the next two months as we prepare to go live. The more expansive features will also get their very own webinar. Make sure you register your attendance.

If you wish to receive an early release of UniPhi 14, send your request to info@uniphi.com.au

UniPhi 14 Survey Results Are Out!

A few weeks ago, we sent a survey asking you, our users, what you thought of the current features and modules of UniPhi 13 and what you would like to see in the next update of UniPhi 14. We had a great number of responses and are extremely grateful to all who participated. It has allowed us to gather a lot of insight into what is and isn’t working for our user base, what ideas they have for the future of the software and where we should go from here.

And so, without further ado (we won’t keep you in suspense any longer), here are the results of the survey.

Current Modules
The purpose of the first part of the survey was to find out what users thought of the current modules and gain some insight into their experience using UniPhi 13.

We found that the most used modules of UniPhi 13 were Resources, Contracts Management and Costs Management, with the least used module being Risks Management.

This linked in with the most liked modules, being Contracts Management, Costs Management and Resources, potentially being the result of why they are the most used or vice versa.

Though, where there are highs there are also lows. The least liked modules of UniPhi 13 were Document Management and Issues. This was mainly accredited to a lack of drag and drop functionality within Document Management and wanting more features in Issues such as the ability to email out of UniPhi.

Further improvements suggested in the comments, were those regarding outlook, with users wanting improved functionality particularly with regards to saving emails as issues, enhanced reports and dashboard charts and graphs, as well as more training around auto phasing to make it appear less black box and mysterious.

The rate of response of the system was however not found too slow with the majority saying so.

New and Improved Features
This leads us to the second half of the survey, which was designed to ask users what features they would like to see in the update. Respondents were therefore offered a predetermined list of options to pick from of potential future updates.

It comes as no surprise, given the previous comments that enhanced outlook integration was the most sought-after feature with 68% of respondents opting for it. This was closely followed by mobile optimization (62%) and new visualization dashboard, including design your own dashboards embedded in the application (56%).

Finally, we were interested in finding out what other ideas and suggestions users might have for the update.  There were a lot of great suggestions for new features in UniPhi 14, some of which were:

• More obvious track changes in document management
• Project calendar with integration to outlook + event scheduler
• Auto job creation in MYOB and the sending of PDF invoices across MYOB with an automated sync function between MYOB and UniPhi for paid invoices
• Payroll functionality
• Ability to hide cards on the project summary screen
• Allow users to select the view for the project summary screen in resources, default setting
• Ability to show linkages between tasks in or with other projects
• Ability to import contract deliverables and overwrite existing identical lines
• Feasibility analysis
• Profit reporting by resource not just by team
• Process for expense claims through UniPhi using OCI

Where to from here?
Now that we’ve gathered all your responses, had a chance to learn about what you do and don’t like and what you’d like to see in UniPhi, we can get cracking on UniPhi 14.

We will be writing an update blog post in late May and in June we will start presenting the new features with a set to be released date in July/August.

Watch this space.

New review and awards

UniPhi Receives Project Management Software Distinctions from Platform for Software Reviews

In exciting news, UniPhi has been the recipient of two awards and a glowing review from FinancesOnline.

FinancesOnline, which is an independent software review platform that aims to help business and software vendors find their best fit, recently reviewed us on their site. They gave us a fantastic review for our comprehensive project portfolio management tools, rating us an 8 out of 10, including us in their list of project management tools, and ultimately awarded us the Great User Experience award and the Rising Star award for 2018.

A little snippet of what they said about us:

“Construction consultants (e.g. engineers, and architects) often struggle to integrate the completion of deliverables with the value assigned to that deliverable on the project. This can lead to cost overruns. The causes of this are the dissociation of delivery of work to the capturing of time on the job.

UniPhi integrates these two elements through three pieces of functionality, issues collaboration, contract deliverables and timesheets to contract deliverables. Issues collaboration ensures rapid progress on delivery, timesheets have an “hours remaining” function which allows for earned value to be captured and therefore warning project managers that the project may be running over time even when progress is at 5%.”

We’re also proud to be highlighted in their article detailing the purpose of project management. And so, with a few more awards under our belt, we can confidently begin working on UniPhi 14.

To find out what else FinancesOnline had to say about UniPhi, visit:

https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/uniphi/#review

Wonderful new employees have landed!

Here at UniPhi, a lot of changes have been happening. We’ve successfully launched UniPhi 13, are looking at what’s next with version 14 and have been recruiting like a company possessed; hiring four brand new staff members in the past two months.

Introducing you to, in all their glory, our four new team members:

Drum roll......

Andrew Fist, Jason Zheng, Stephanie Larkin and Trudi Kirk!

Left to right: Andrew, Stephanie, Jason. (Trudi in spirit)

Andrew is our new national sales manager. He came to us from BST Global and has vast sales experience in the IT and SaaS sector. He is dedicated to matching businesses with the right solutions and is also so enthusiastic about working at UniPhi that he commutes 2 hours every day through thick and thin. That is some dedication to the cause.

Next is Jason, our handy resident software engineer, who was recently an intern at NVP Studio. He is experienced in writing code, from JavaScript, SQL to C#. In his spare time he plays guitar and if he plays guitar anywhere near as well as he writes code, he just might be the new office rockstar – watch out Mitch…

Stephanie is a recent graduate and our new marketing specialist. Having relocated from Melbourne, she likes to think of herself as the new office chair ornament and lord of marketing. You may also begin to recognize her work in all newsletters, emails, videos and blog posts.

And finally, Trudi our new UniPhi consultant, specialising in cost management. Due to her being located in Melbourne, we like to think of her as our second office ghost in Sydney, along with Simon Day, – you hear their voices but do you ever see them? In addition to her ghostly ways, she has had vast experience in all aspects of Cost management and has worked on a range of building construction projects. Trudi is your go to for cost benchmarking success.

Now that we have once again a full house and that the old staff have adjusted to the shock of change, we look forward to their future success becoming our success.