Project attributes

Project attributes are custom fields that hold extra data about a project: a number, a client, a category, an approval date or a value calculated from the budget. You define them in the Projects module, on the Attributes tab, and enter values in the Information panel of each project (see Project information).

Attributes can be shown on the project list, in reports, in graphical summaries, and on the project charter and in reviews. The supported types are Short text, Long text, Single-choice list, Multiple-selection list, Number, Date, Function and Link.

Managing project attributes

The Attributes tab sits next to the Projects and Templates tabs in the Projects module. It contains a table of attributes with the columns Name and Type and, when the organisation has more than one workspace, Workspaces.

Adding an attribute

1. Click New attribute. The Add attribute window opens.
2. Enter the Name (required).
3. Optionally, enter a Description. It appears as a tooltip on the information icon next to the attribute name.
4. Optionally, switch on Attribute visible in project list. The attribute is then available as a column on the project list for all users (see Project list).
5. Choose the Workspaces the attribute belongs to (the field is visible when the organisation has more than one workspace, see Workspaces).
6. Choose the attribute Type and the settings that depend on it:
   • lists – add options, each with a name and a colour,
   • Number – set the number of Decimal places (0 to 6),
   • Function – build a formula in the builder (described below).
7. Save.

Note: the attribute type cannot be changed after creation. A new attribute appears immediately in every project of the organisation with an empty value. A Date attribute can be linked to a schedule item in the project, and a Link attribute appears as a clickable attribute name.

Deleting an attribute

Deleting an attribute opens a window with the question Are you sure you want to delete the attribute “name”?. The attribute together with the entered values is removed from all projects in the related workspaces. It is also removed from project charter templates, reviews and saved reports, and functions that used it lose their result. This cannot be undone.

Project number

The project number is an attribute of type Short text and behaves like any other attribute: you can hide it, show it on the project list, add it to reports, portfolios and reviews, and to the project charter template. An organisation that does not use numbers can switch it off in the attribute settings.

Function attributes

Function and the formula builder

The value of a Function attribute is read-only and recalculates automatically. Build the formula by dragging elements from the list into the Formula field. You can rearrange the elements and remove them with the cross. The available groups are:

• Operators – add, subtract, multiply, divide and parentheses,
• Values – your own number, your own date and Today’s date,
• Project information – Creation date,
• Schedule – Project start date, Project end date, Project duration, Allocation, Time tracking, Progress, and dates, duration and differences against the initial and current baseline,
• Budget – project costs, revenue and budget (planned and actual) and their values from the initial and current baseline,
• Project attributes – other attributes of type number and date.

Choose the Result format (Number or Date) when you create the attribute; it cannot be changed later. For a number, set the Decimal places. The Calculation preview field shows the result once the formula is built. Possible messages:

• Formula cannot be empty,
• Division by zero detected,
• Formula contains invalid project attributes,
• Formula contains an error, please correct the formula or try again,
• Maximum number of items exceeded.

When a project lacks the data needed for the calculation, the attribute shows No data, and when the result is invalid it shows Error.

Dates linked to the schedule

A Date attribute can take its date from the project schedule. It then updates itself when the date of a task or milestone changes, for example an acceptance date or the end of the planning phase.

1. In the project Information panel (see Project information), click the Date attribute field. The Select date window opens.
2. Select Link with schedule element and choose a schedule item from the list.
3. Choose whether the attribute takes the item’s Start date or End date, and confirm. The field shows the item’s date and a chain icon.

When the item moves in the schedule, the attribute date changes automatically. On the project charter, in reviews and in project lists, such a date shows a chain icon with the tooltip Date derived from schedule item. To enter the date manually, choose Select from calendar in the same window.

Project attributes in reports

Project attributes can be added as columns and filters in table reports. The exception is attributes of type Link, which are not available in reports.

1. Go to the Reports tab and open a report.
2. Click Columns.
3. Click Add column and pick a project attribute from the list.
4. Save.

Attributes of type Function behave in a report like numbers or dates, depending on the result format, so you can sort and filter by them.

More about reports in Reports.

Attributes in the graphical summary

The Project attribute widgets (bar and pie) in the graphical summary group projects by the selected attribute. The graphical summary is available in a portfolio (see Project portfolios) and in a project review (see Reviews).

• Only attributes of type Single-choice list and Multiple-selection list can be used for grouping. Each attribute value is a separate bar or slice.
• The colour and order of the values come from the attribute definition.
• Projects without a value go to the None category. A value that no project has does not appear on the chart.
• With a multiple-selection list, a project with several values counts in every matching bar, so the total can exceed the number of projects.
• By default a bar or slice shows the number of projects. In the widget editor you can choose a number attribute or a function that returns a number – the widget then sums their values.
• The widget title defaults to the name of the grouping attribute and can be changed.

Attributes of type date, short and long text, and link have no widget in the graphical summary.

Project attributes on the Charter and in Reviews

Project charter. Project attributes can be added as fields of the project charter template (see Creating a project charter template). On the charter the field shows the attribute value from the project and depends on the attribute type: a date has a calendar, a number has a number field with the configured precision, and a list has a drop-down with coloured options. Function attributes show the value calculated from the formula.

A Date attribute linked to a schedule item has a chain icon next to the field with the tooltip Date derived from schedule item. Such a date changes in the schedule or by changing the link (see Project information).

Review. Project attributes are available as columns on the project lists in a review. Values display as in other project tables: a date with the schedule link icon, a number with the attribute precision, a list with colours, and a function with its result or the message No data or Error. A Link attribute appears as a clickable attribute name. Working with reviews is described in Reviews.

Workspaces and project attributes

Every project attribute is assigned to one or more workspaces (the Workspaces field in the attribute window, visible when the organisation has more than one workspace). The workspace decides who can configure the attribute, not which projects hold a value: the attribute is available in all projects of the organisation.

• The Attributes tab is visible to users with permission to project attributes.
• An administrator, or a user with permission to attributes in at least one workspace, can add a new attribute. This permission is set in the Attributes column in the Configuration section of workspace permissions (see Workspaces and Users).
• An administrator, or a user with that permission in at least one of the attribute’s workspaces, can edit an attribute. Adding or removing a workspace on an attribute requires permission in that workspace.
• The deletion window lists the workspaces the attribute will be removed from, including those where you have no attribute permissions.