Create and manage activities

You may create a new activity at the root of a project or as a sub-activity.

1. Open the project management section () in the project sidebar.

2. Add an activity in one of the following ways:

   • Click Add in the top-right corner to add a new activity to the root of the project and select the activity type you want.

   • Click Add () beside an activity listed in the Project overview section add a new task as a sub-task.

     The New activity window opens.

3. In the Details section, fill out all required information (marked with an asterix).

   • Type - The type is already set to the type you chose and you cannot change it.

   • Priority - Select the priority of the activity.

   • Workflow - If this activity is a Task, (optionally) select a workflow for it. It is not required to select a workflow. Milestones and Stage Gates are not governed by workflows.

   • Name - Enter a descriptive name or title for the activity.

   • Assignee - Select the person, role, or team responsible for the activity. The activity creator (you) is selected by default. You can leave this field blank if you do not yet know who will be responsible for it.

     Note: If the selected Assignee has an out-of-office (OOO) notification configured, their OOO message is displayed. You can still assign the activity to the OOO Assignee.

   • Date (Milestone and Stage gate only) - Select a start date for the activity.

   • Duration (Task only) - Select a duration for the task.

   • Constraint type (Task only) - Select one of a variety of constraint types for the start or end of the task.

   • Description - Enter any additional information or context for the activity.

4. (Optional) In the Add Upchain Documents section, select the checkbox next to any Upchain documents you want to associate with the activity.

5. (Optional) In the Add items section, add any BOM items you want to associate with the activity.

   1. Click Search.

      A new tab opens in your browser.

   2. Use the Advanced search to locate the item you want to associate with the activity, then click Copy .

   3. Switch back to the tab where you are creating a new activity, and click Paste.

   4. Repeat for any additional items you want to associate with the activity.

6. Click Add activity.

The newly-created activity is added to the list view and its status is set to Draft. The activity assignee receives an email notification.

Constraint types

Constraints define the degree of flexibility available when scheduling or rescheduling a task by specifying restrictions on its start or end date. Constraints combine with task dependencies to affect the timing of tasks.

The following task constraint types are available:

• As Soon As Possible - If you apply this constraint to a task that is not dependent on preceding tasks, the task will be scheduled to start at the project start date. If you apply it to a task dependent on a preceding task, it will start as soon as the preceding task will end.
• As Late As Possible - If you apply this constraint to a task that is not dependent on a subsequent task, the task will be scheduled so that its end date coincides with the end date of the project. If you apply it to a task dependent on a subsequent task, the task will be scheduled to end when the subsequent task will start.
• Start No Earlier Than - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, may not start before the given date. It may start later than this date if necessary due to a dependency.
• Start No Later Than - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, may not start later than the given date. It may start earlier than this date if necessary due to a dependency.
• Finish No Earlier Than - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, may not end before the given date. It may end later than the given date due to a dependency.
• Finish No Later Than - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, may not end later than the given date. It may end earlier than the given date due to a dependency.
• Must Start On - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, must start on the given date - no earlier and no later.
• Must Finish On - The task, whether or not it has any dependencies, must end on the given date - no earlier and no later.

There may be cases where the dependencies between tasks may conflict with the constraint. In these cases, the constraint will take precedence and the task will not be moved in the Gantt chart to satisfy the dependency.

Reorder activities

The left side of the Project management page shows all activities in a list. The first column is the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the project plan. This numbering system is automatically generated and helps you identify the hierarchical relationships between your various activities and sub-activities.

To reorder the activities, click and drag an activity to its new position. The activity is saved automatically and the dates of parent activities is changed if needed. The work breakdown structure is automatically renumbered accordingly.

Edit an activity

A new activity begins in a Draft status, which means the activity details are editable.

1. Select the activity you want to edit.

   Its detail view opens.

2. Click Edit.

3. Make your changes.

4. Click Save.

The following fields may be changed after the creation of an activity:

• Priority

• Workflow (as long as a different workflow hasn't already started)

• Name

• Assignee (the new assignees will receive an email notification)

  Note: If the selected Assignee is has set an out-of-office (OOO) then their configured OOO message is displayed as well as their appointed delegate.

• Status

• Completion %

• Start date or Constraint type

• Duration

• Actual Start Date

• Actual End Date

• Description

• For Tasks, once the workflow has been started, the only fields that are editable are Priority, Completion percentage, Actual start date, Actual end date, and Description.
• If your changes to actual start/end dates conflict with the constraint type you have set, you will receive a warning about this and ask if you want to remove the constraint.
• The Actual End Date must come after the Actual Start Date when saving your changes to the task.

Delete an activity

Activities can be deleted as long as they are still in Draft.

1. Select the activity you want to delete.

   The activity detail view opens.

2. Click Delete.

The activity is deleted from the project.