Little Changes: #6 Copy Paste Importing from Excel

A new import method we've been having a lot of fun with is the copying from Excel method. This was initially introduced in UniPhi 14 for updating cash flow and periodic custom fields and has now been expanded into 15.
The traditional import method has been the uploading of files, be they excel or csv to the system and then pressing save.

Import From Excel Function

Import From Excel Function - Browse File

The issue with this is that the result is a black box to the end user who has no idea whether the data has imported successfully or not. Even with good error handling the user is only ever presented with cell or row references of issues. The copy and paste function presents instant visual feedback to the end user. For those that missed this update in UniPhi 14, here's how cash flow phasing can be brought into the Cost Module.

To begin you simply need to go into the Phasing sub-navigation of the Cost module, select the relevant chart of accounts from the Cost Code drop down list and then Budget, Forecast or Actuals from the Phase drop down list (highlighted below). Note, Actual will only be available for project cost chart of accounts if accounting integration has been configured.

Phasing Cashflow Budgets

Then from an excel spreadsheet you can copy the data required - this data can be as ugly as you like as the system will just pick out the necessary bits from it. With the data copied, simply go to the paste from Excel screen.

Paste From Excel Button

Select forecast or budget from the Import drop down. This will already have Actuals that are being managed from the contracts.

Paste From Excel - Import Drop-Down

Depending on how you've configured the application you can then paste the values selected in from the excel cashflow into the budget.

UniPhi will then ignore columns that don't mean anything to the system and will match codes to pre-existing ones, for which you can have as many as you like. UniPhi will also match dates to the months and periods you are putting them into and if there is a gap in the data or something it can't match, it just won't highlight it.

For example in the image below, UniPhi has ignored columns 1, 2 and 3 and has matched the CF to the CF code within UniPhi. You can also see that the empty columns have been grayed out.

Data Pasted From Excel

The big red box it puts around something is the way in which the system tells you that an account code does not exist. In this exampled Total does not exist, but you can simply ignore that as it does not matter.

Additionally, if there is a typo, you can change it within the pasted function instead of having to go back to excel, update and then copy and paste again.

To finish, you simply tick the line that you want to bring in and click save. It will then automatically put the cashflow in the budget against the relevant codes for the months that you have highlighted.

Data to be Imported - Tick Box

Our benchmarking cashflow is based off the actuals of past projects, so if you've got that data and those profiles, you can quickly get them into the system using this paste from excel function. It's a quick way to get data uptake and portfolios of cashflows into the system that we hope will be useful for our users.

In UniPhi 15, this copy past functionality has been expanded to include resources.

The copy and paste functionality for resources uses the following workflow:

1) Go into Resources and ensure All Projects is selected or the Paste from Excel button won't appear.

Resource Module - All Projects

2) Copy the relevant Resource data from your excel file

Excel Resource File - Copy Data

3) Click the Paste From Excel button

Paste From Excel Button

4) Paste data into UniPhi. Any unrecognized data will be highlighted in grey.

Data Pasted From Excel

5) For unrecognized data you can map the column by selecting a UniPhi related field from the drop down box

Resource Filter Drop-down Box - Select Contact Name

 6) Map all the columns to the relevant fields and tick the lines of data you want to import. Any data left in grey will be ignored when imported.

Filter Categories - Drop Down Lists

7) When happy with your selection, click Save.

Save Button

8) Your resource data will now have been automatically brought into UniPhi!

The next big improvement that we have made is in the Cost Module will be released tomorrow so check back in to find out what that is!

Little Changes #5: Risks

Two modules of UniPhi that didn't get any major updates in UniPhi 15 are Issues and Risks. The Issues module is a stable module with little request for change from end users. Risks received a major overhaul as part of Uniphi 10 and 14. As a consequence here have been a couple of small legacy issues that have spilled over and have now been fixed in UniPhi 15.

Changes to Filtering

Issue number one was fixing the fact that originally our risk dashboard, which was built in 2007, didn't have the concept of a treated and an untreated risk level - it just had the one level. You simply rated your risks likelihood, consequence and a level so where you now see two columns, Untreated and Treated, you would only seen one.

Risk Dashboard - Untreated & Treated Columns

We expanded this into two columns 5 years ago in UniPhi 10 but what we didn't do was allow for both Treated and Untreated level filtering - just treated. Now, with UniPhi 15, the change we've made is that we have added an Untreated filter.

Untreated Filter

With this new addition you can now, for example, filter for very high on untreated and something else for treated and generate a subset of your risk management plan and risk framework.

Filter Drop-Downs

Changes to Reports

Just like in the dashboards, Risk Reports were missing some filters as well. In UniPhi 15, we have added status filters and escalation filters to the Risk Management Plan Report.

New Report Filters

You can now filter out the relevant statuses in the Risk Report that will then come into it when you run that Risk Management Plan.

Status Filter

Escalate to Filter

So hopefully a couple of frustrations reported by users have now gone away...bring on the next load.

Little Changes #4 - PCG Template Controls

The fourth little change we've made to the usability of UniPhi is some small tweaks to the template controls. These changes are only accessible by those who have a System Administrator license but do have impact on the end-user - so this can be handy for users to know what your system admin can do for you!

For those who don't know, template controls are the things that we use to create the steps in the document templates that you may have seen in Part I and Part II of the little changes to Documents.

Template Steps

These templates are created by your organisation's system administrator who has a selection of optional controls that enable them to bring information into the document in order to automatically generate content. This ensure a level of consistency and quality every time a team members creates any type of document and allows for the dynamic creation of content based on information stored elsewhere in the system.

Changes to PCG Reports

The small changes that we have made to template controls can be seen when creating a PCG report. This report has been around for a while but now we have added some tweaks to some of the information that is in there.

One of the requirements clients have when using this template is to be able to compare one report to the next. This latest tweak allows this for the template controls highlighted below: Financial Year v Budget, Contracted Costs, Cash Flow -  Table and Cash Flow (Graph).

Template Changes

Changes to Financial Year v Budget

The financial year based report looks at month by month and year to date data. It displays data for the month selected by the user (in this case: June), Year to Date and Total for this financial year as it exists in the system now.

Cost Columns

Though now, due to this feedback, what we have done is incorporate that this data with the ability to compare it with previous PCG reports. This data comes into the Variance Last Forecast (VLF) column highlighted below.

VLF Column

The VLF column looks up what was reported in previous PCG Reports (in this example: PCG Repor 2), which is selected from the new "Last Forecast Document" drop-down.

Previous PCG Reports Drop-Down List

This drop-down allows you to select any relevant report previously issued and to then compare any changes to the latest report. These differences are displayed in the VLF column for users who can then comment on and demonstrate it to clients. This concept has also been included in the whole of project cost report.

Drop-Down - Select Report to Compare

Changes to Cash Flow - Table

Cash Flow - Table shows the month by month phasing of a project over time. One of the things we noticed in this area is that when we were doing month by month phasing on a program basis, this table didn't provide the complete program data just discreet projects' cash flow. to solve this problem we have now incorporated what we call portfolio mode. This mode allows you to select all projects that relate to a particular meta-data type, displayed in the highlighted section below. This could be Sector, Parent-Child relationship (Project Type).

Project Meta-Data Type

If you select a parent project from the "Project" drop-down this will then consolidate all the cash flows that exist in the children projects and the parent project into this view. This will then match with the next step which is cash flow graph.

Parent Drop-Down List (Mirvac Program)

Changes to Cash Flow (Graph)

In this step we have made it possible to now select the same Parent project as the previous step, and then have the S-curve graph display the same data as what was in the previous table.

Cash Flow (Graph) - Mirvac Program S Curve Graph

This has enhanced the ability to do portfolio aggregation across multiple projects both in the graph and in the table which is a new ability now available in UniPhi 15.

Little Changes #3: Documents Part II

Yesterday's post on Documents Part I was all about changes to document naming conventions and how template information is displayed to users who are creating documents.

Part II focuses on what information is displayed to non UniPhi users who don't have access to the systems and how information can be hidden from them but used by licensed users.

In UniPhi, it is possible to hide steps in a document. There can be many reasons for this but one would be to have a link to an issue that has been logged in the system from being seen by a non-licensed user. Currently, if a step is hidden, it can't be seen by any user, this meant that links to issues were not hidden and were sent as part of the document body to non-licensed users. The receipients of the document don't have access to issues linked into that document and this can lead to confusion when they click on links that lead them nowhere.

For example, in UniPhi 14, when creating a document such as a variation order, all issues, emails and documents that had been around since this variation came up could be linked to the document. This is due to the variation order being the last the last step in the entire process once everything has been thoroughly scoped out. Internal users could select and view the included issues, however external contractors could see the reference link but not access and view what these issues were about.

Now in UniPhi 15, a "Hide Output" checkbox, which is automatically ticked as part of the template,  hides any links from the final PDF documents that are sent to external parties. 

Hide Output Checkbox

This helps avoid any future confusion created whilst generating the document and when the document is finalized and created, the way that information is shared is two-fold.

First, if you have access to UniPhi, you can access document information by just viewing the document as html in your browser. From this view you can "'Show Hidden" fields to view the internal references, as well as mask them once done.

Contract Variation with Fields Hidden

Contract Variation with Hidden Fields Shown

From there you can sign it off, email it and send the document to the contractor. Once emailed, it will be sent as a PDF with your company letterhead and so what we've done in UniPhi 15, is take advantage of this difference.

When rendered to PDF those internal references won't be there so that people who don't have access to UniPhi won't be confused by links they can't view.

Variation Order as a PDF

This means people with access to UniPhi can see the whole audit trail around that particular issues and the emails that have come and gone over time, but those who don't won't see those internal references but will still receive the document instructing them on what to do. 

Little Changes #2: Documents Part I

Our second little change to the system that we have in store for you is to the new document screen. There are 3 tweaks to this screen.

Tweak number 1 relates to displaying the template name, description and any associated sign off rules relating to it. In the example below a variation order template has been used to create an new variation order document. Users will be surprised by the new card on the right-hand side of the screen that tells you what the template is all about.

Create Variation Order Document - Information Card

This explanation card can be as verbose as your system administrator decides, as they control what is inputted there. In this example, the card also shows users the delegations that relate to the template. Depending on the template this could show the financial delegations linked to it, which role this is and who is in that position. If there are no users delegated to this role, it will simply show the roles that need to sign it off, if there are any. If there are none, then the explanation card won't show anything except the description of what's in the template.

The second thing to notice in the create document screen, is that the document name isn't editable (greyed out). The document name can now be optionally configured by the system administrator to follow a set of business rules that will then auto-generate a name based on those rules. In this example, the name is generated based on the contract name and the name of the variation. Though this name can be edited in the final step, just in case users desire to name it something specific.

Create Document - New Document Name

The third change to this screen has been in the addition of the little "i" which has started to permeate its way through the system. 

This symbol provides contextual help details when hovered over. In this case it tells you that the document name will be auto-generated at the final step. 

These little symbols and card updates have been implemented to enable users to get a lot more info about what this template is all about before they jump in and use it. This will hopefully help team members understand what templates they are using, why and who they need to get approvals from for it to be signed-off. 

The second major tweak to documents will be revealed in Part 2.

Little Changes #1: Project Summary View Screen

In the upcoming UniPhi 15 release, we have been making a lot of changes to the user experience of the system. Lots of little tweaks and updates have been made to the interface so that areas of UniPhi are now simpler and easier to use.

One of the first small tweaks we have added to UniPhi is the summary screen view you get when drilling into a project.

If you aren't assigned a project manager access level role (or above) on a project, what you see when drilling in on a project, is the same as before. You will see a summary of that project, as you did before, though now there is an up arrow which takes you back to the summary screen - part of some of the handy new shortcuts making their way through UniPhi!

Project Summary Screen - Non-Program/Project Manager Role

If you are assigned a project manager access level role (or above) on a project, this is where our new UX improvements kick in. When you drill into a project you will now be presented with a brand new view. What used to be a ridiculously long page to scroll down in UniPhi 14, has now been broken up and recreated into relevant sub-navigation bars.

Project Summary Screen -  Program/Project Manager

New Sub-Navigation Bar - Program/Project Manager

Expanding the use of sub-navigation bars has been under continuous improvement since UniPhi 13 and the previous removal of the Portfolio and My Portfolio navigation gave us a lot more room to improve workflow and moving around the system.

One of the main and most useful areas of change has been in creating the Custom Fields sub-navigation. Now when your system administrator creates custom fields for your organisation, they are neatly listed and organised on their own page. Users can then easily access that page and enter relevant information into those fields without having to scroll for centuries, like they used to on the project summary page.

Custom Fields Sub-Navigation

What may seem like quite a small tweak has greatly improved the usability of the application by simplifying it and has added a lot of time-saving value to our users (especially those who have been testing the changes!).

Other improvements to functionality in the Project Details screen, has been in adding the ability to change the sector field, as well as a bunch of other data fields that the projects belong to.

Editable Data Fields

These changes are but a few of the small tweaks we've made and we'll be blogging about the rest up until the release of UniPhi 15. Check our LinkedIn and Twitter everyday to find out what other improvements we have in store for you!

UniPhi Support & Communications Survey

At the end of last year we sent out a survey asking users what they thought of  the service we provide at UniPhi and what they thought of our support and communication networks. We wanted to find out how users use and get help in the use of UniPhi and what they thought of the different avenues of support we provide from webinars to how-to-videos to one-on-one consultations. 

We a very grateful for the great number of responses we have received as it has given us a lot of valuable insight into how our users get help, what they think of our support and communication networks and most importantly how and in which areas they are satisfied or dissatisfied with.

How UniPhi is being used

  

How-to-videos

• Cash flows and feasibility scenario analysis

• Dashboards

• Financial Reporting

• Risk Management

• Guest presenters discussing innovative ways they have configured UniPhi

• More how to use

• Trouble shoot errors, showing different examples that have happened and how to resolve them

• Website Support Portal

• How-To Videos

• Webinars

• Training Manuals

• Online Forum

• Training Courses

• Or email us at:  info@uniphi.com.au

x

What we found with how UniPhi is being used, is that unsurprisingly, the majority of users access UniPhi from a PC (78%). Mobile and tablet, were however, an unpopular way of accessing UniPhi. This may have to do with the fact that that users work mainly from an office and desktop space or because until recently, it was not optimized for mobile screens. Hopefully with the recent release of UniPhi 14 and its screen optimization we will see changes in how people access UniPhi, with more of them opting for tablet or mobile.

 

We also found that Chrome is the browser of choice with 57% of users opting for it, followed by Internet Explorer, which was mentioned in comments to be the default IT policy choice at certain workplaces. Interestingly, nobody uses Microsoft Edge by choice but despite that, we will continue to test updates on all platforms and make sure UniPhi runs smoothly across all browsers.

 

Surprisingly 67% of respondents do not use the Outlook add-in, which comes as a shock to us here at UniPhi as we use it ALL the time and so it begs to question why not? Unfortunately we did not have a comment section to delve further into this, but we can speculate that either they do not receive emails relevant to their work in UniPhi and/or do not know about the add-in.

 

Seeing as the majority of users previously stated that they access UniPhi through a PC, it does not come a surprise that the majority do not use the mobile app. What is surprising is that there is relatively the same percentage of users who did not know it existed (15%) as there are users who use it (16%). This is quite important information for us, as it lets us know that there is work to be done in educating users about what add-ons we have out in the marketplace.

How Users Get Help

In-house super-users were the most used avenue of support (22%) closely followed by one-on-one consultations (18%). We are pleased to see that we do have super-users at our various deployments who are clearly doing a great job in supporting other users and are one of their main ports of call! 

We found that our website support portals were the least used avenues, with only 2% using the online Forum, 5% accessing the website Get Help page and 6% using support tickets. Clearly when it comes to getting help, human support is the clear winner.

How users rate our support and communication networks

Overall users have found the UniPhi staff to be responsive and quick and for the service they provide to be helpful. We are also happy to hear that an overwhelming majority of users have had positive experiences with UniPhi (43.15% agreeing and 27.55% strongly agreeing) and overall users seem happy with how we communicate changes and updates with them. 

Whether information needed for support was easy to find or not was a mixed bag of agreeing that it is easy and a neutral neither agree or disagree. This combination of responses with how people get help, leads us to the conclusion that we can perhaps do better in letting users know how, where and what kind of support materials we have, particularly with regards to our online support (how-to-videos, Get Help page etc).

This lack of awareness of our various online support options ties into our feedback about the how-to-videos as a lot of people replied N/A or neither agree or disagree for this section of questions. We can therefore conclude that not many users know of their existence on our website or YouTube channel, especially as several respondents commented so.

Webinars

Generally, most users who have viewed a webinar were happy with the overall quality, ease of use, topics and usefulness. We also got a bunch of great suggestions for what our upcoming webinars should be, which is always a great help for us  – especially when the idea bank starts to runs dry.  

A few of the topic suggestions we received were:

What we learnt

Overall, we were happy to find that most users have had a good experience with UniPhi and the service we provide. This survey has helped us identify which areas are working well and which need more attention. One such area is making our online support networks  more known from the YouTube channel with the how-to video’s to the online forum and support section on the website. 

It is also always interesting to see how different users are accessing and interacting with UniPhi and good to know how we are helping support them and how we can continue to do so in the future. 

So, thank you once again, to everyone who responded to our survey and if you ever stuck and need help with UniPhi, remember we have a variety of different support options from:

UniPhi 14.1 - AR Dashboard

UniPhi 14, released in September, included expanded accounting integration with MYOB and Xero where invoices would be updated as paid when receipted in these systems and the organisations outstanding balance would be displayed.

AR Balance displays against customer/client within a contract

UniPhi 14.1 has expanded upon this, at request of our wonderful end users, to include an AR dashboard that shows all unpaid invoices and their ageing. It also includes cool bulk email functionality that allows you to send reminder emails to all, a filtered list or single invoice.

New listing of aged invoicing

To access this new screen, all you need to do is go into the Resources module and select AR Dashboard from the sub-navigation.

This new function allows users to view all invoices and filter based on how overdue they are (current, 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 or 90+ days). 

Date Filter

Bulk select invoices and email all unpaid clients in one go, straight out of UniPhi. Simply check the ones you wish to contact and write a standard email - no more individually emailing each client!

Bulk Emailing

To find out other new updates we have follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!

UniPhi 14.1 - Mobile Formatting

Our interface re-design released last year uses a wonderful CSS platform technology called Materialize. For those non-techy people, CSS provides the look and feel of the application. The wonderful bit about this platform is it provides for easy to code scaling of the application to different screen sizes. Unfortunately, being such a broad application, this still took a lot of time and money to implement and as we already had killer native apps (and still do) for iOS and Android, we held off making the changes....not any more!

Clients can now look forward to login into UniPhi on any screen size and having it automatically scale text, buttons etc. 

We have gone from this:

Previous UniPhi Mobile Login Screen

To this much more user-friendly screen - no more having to manually zoom in and out of the screen to be able to login!

14.1 Login Screen

This automatic scaling and formatting has been applied to all areas of the application. As you can see in the image below columns have been hidden. Only key information is now shown in smaller screens, making it quicker and easier to view, find and drill into the issue or information that you want.

Issues Tab in Mobile

An Individual Issue in Mobile

 Additional benefits, to automatic formatting, are that now the search functionality is available in all screen resolutions, meaning the full functionality of the web browser is now available in any screen size.

We will be posting all the new updates to LinkedIn and Twitter so be sure to follow us to keep informed on 14.1!