PPM Express is excited to announce our latest updates for March! We’ve been hard at work to make sure our platform is equipped with the features and functionality you need to streamline your project management tasks and achieve your goals.
This month’s updates include significant improvements to our Jira and Project for the web integrations, new export/import to/from .csv file functionality for Calendar Exceptions, and updated Key Result formulas for Objectives.
Additionally, we’ve made many crucial enhancements and fixes to make your experience with PPM Express even smoother.
We’ll dive into the details of each update and show you how to get the most out of our platform. Plus, we’ll share how you can try PPM Express for yourself with our free trial. Let’s get started!
Table of contents
Let’s have a closer look!
The calculation logic of Project Progress for the Jira connection was improved
Before: The calculation of Project Progress for Jira connection involved specifying issue types to be included in the calculation and mapping Jira statuses to PPM Express progress categories. While this approach was quite flexible, it was not very user-friendly regarding setup.
Now: Project Progress calculation will be done by specifying issue types and mapping the PPM Express “Progress” field and Jira “Status Category” field for each issue type that needs to be included in the calculation.
Issue types currently selected for Project Progress in your Jira projects will be preserved.
Please note: If you had previously used the default setting for calculating project progress, the value for project progress will remain the same. However, if you had enabled the ‘Use custom’ toggle and mapped the statuses with PPM Express progress categories in a unique way different from the default, the project progress value may be recalculated based on the new rules.
If you want to continue mapping the PPM Express ‘Progress’ field and Jira ‘Status’ field instead of Jira “Status Category” field, you can do so by mapping these two fields in the ‘External Items Mapping’ tab for each issue type that needs to be included in the calculation.
You will also need to specify the transformation rules, as in the example below.
Please note: If you manually changed the default mapping between the PPM Express “Progress” field and Jira “Status Category” field, your mapping will not be overwritten after release. If you want to calculate Project Progress for your Jira projects, please ensure that the PPM Express “Progress” field and Jira “Status Category” field are mapped together by reviewing the fields mapping.
The export/import to/from .csv file functionality was added to Calendar Exceptions
It is now possible to export/import Calendar Exceptions to/from .csv file. This functionality is available for the Calendar Exceptions on the tenant level and per resource.
If calendar exceptions are created in the .csv files and imported to PPM express, make sure there is a start and finish date (or a start date only) for all exceptions. The exception will not be imported if there are no start and finish dates.
If the exception is created for one week or less, the Days field will not be editable, all days of the selected period will be included in the exception. If the exception is created for more than one week, you can exclude the necessary days of the week.
Key Result formulas were updated for Objectives
Before: The progress for Key Results was calculated automatically by the following formula: (Current Value – Start Value) / (Target Value – Start Value) * 100
Now: The Start Value field was added to the Key Result project field to align with the Key Result from Objectives.
The progress can be calculated automatically or manually. Also, the direction value was added to the Key Results (Growth, Reduction, Above threshold, Below threshold). If the direction is set to Growth or Reduction, then the same old formula is applied: (Current Value – Start Value) / (Target Value – Start Value) * 100. PPM Express also checks the Start/Target values and shows warnings if there is data inconsistency. For example, if the Growth direction is selected, but the Start Value is higher than the Target one.
If the Above Threshold value is selected for direction, the Key Result progress will be 0 until the Current Value is the same as Target. As soon as the values are the same or the Current Value is higher, the progress is set to 100%.
If the Below Threshold value is selected for direction, the Key Result progress will be set to 100% when the Target is achieved or the Current Value is less than the Target.
The same logic is applied to the Objectives.
Essential improvements and fixes that make all the difference
At PPM Express, we’re always striving to make our platform better for our users.
In addition to the major updates we’ve shared with you, we’ve also made a number of additional improvements and fixes that we believe will make a big difference in your project management tasks.
From enhancements that streamline your workflows to crucial fixes that ensure the security and accuracy of your data, these small changes have a big impact. We’ll highlight some of the most important improvements and fixes we’ve made this month, so you can stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in PPM Express.
Improvements
- Project for the Web connection: Mapping of the project-level fields is now configured per connection.
- Synchronization of tasks custom fields for Project for the Web connection is now available.
- It is now possible to switch on synchronization with Azure AD without sending invites to users.
- Dependencies between items can now be exported into the .csv file via the ‘Export to PNG option.’
- Resource Workload and Governance report packs were added to the Reporting page and are now available from PPM Express for download and configuration.
- Users from nested groups in Azure AD are now also available for synchronization with PPM Express users.
Fixes
- Fix for the case when the was no error about an expired token displayed for a Smartsheet connector.
- Fix for the case when Office 365 group that had no members was not displayed in the list of available groups.
- Fix for the case when synchronization with Jira failed in a specific case.
- Fix for the case when dependencies between items were not displayed properly via ‘Export to PNG’.
- Fix for the case when the ‘500 error’ was displayed when a project was cloned with task dependencies.
- Fix for the case when a manually set status was reset to the calculated one for key dates imported from the external system.
- Fix for the case when some values were displayed as links for the WBS field.
- Fix for the case when configuration was not saved for the Schedule section with tasks from Azure DevOps when a new view or layout was created.
- Fix for the case when it was not possible to change Tenant Time zone back to the initial time zone.
- Fix for the case when Summary tiles were shifted to the left.
- Fox for the case when synchronization with the Azure DevOps project failed when the item was deleted in Azure DevOps.
- Project for the Web connection: Fix for the case when the Milestone flag remained for Summary Tasks if Duration was erased.
- Fix for the case when a wrong confirmation popup was displayed if several resources were deleted from the project.
- Fix for the case when the ‘500 error’ was displayed on updating a task in a specific case.
If you would like to receive an email notification with an extended features overview a few days before the upcoming release, please fill in the PPM Express Release Notification Form.
We hope you’re as excited about these updates to PPM Express as we are!
We’re committed to continually improving our platform and providing the features and functionality you need to manage your projects and portfolios efficiently and effectively. Whether you’re looking to streamline your workflows, gain better insights into your progress, or simply stay organized, PPM Express has you covered.
And with our trial, it’s easier than ever to try out our platform for yourself and see how it can benefit your team.