Project Configuration
Project Types
Altus utilises Project Types to determine what tabs, business process flows, and fields are required to be updated by project managers.
These project types ensure that the most appropriate level of detail is captured depending on the size and complexity of the project.
Out of the box, Altus has the following project types:
These project types have the following BPF stages associated with them:
| Project Type \ Stage | Planning | Execution | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Project | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Minor Project | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Agile Project | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Operations |
These are linked via the workflow tab, see the example below from the Major project type:
Form Tabs
The Project Types configuration enables Altus administrators to determine which tabs in are visible per project type. Below is a table of these for the four out-of-the-box project types plus an example of how this looks in the configuration settings in Altus:
| Tabs \ Project Type | Major | Minor | Agile | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Information | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Details | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Key Dates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Tasks | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Financials | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Documents | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tracking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Deliverables | ✅ | |||
| Status Updates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Status Report | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Issues | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Risks | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Decisions | ✅ | |||
| Changes | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Lessons | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Resources | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Resource Plan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Override Sell Rates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Strategy | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Benefits | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Goals | ✅ |
Financial Categories
Overview
Altus allows you to set Financial Categories in line with your LOB categories. These Financial Categories are used in the Financials app and are a mandatory field that needs to be selected for any Budget or Cost values entered. The structure of these values is created by selecting a Parent Financial Category for a value to sit within. There are no limits to the number of times you can nest a value within a Parent Financial Category. Values that are not needed anymore can be Deactivated so that they do not show in the UI anymore, but the data is retained.
Financial Category Structure
Financial Categories are setup with a two-level structure:
- Parent: Is the top level and groups together the child items. OOTB Parent codes = CAPEX; OPEX; Hardware; Labour
- Child: Sit below parent codes and provide further granularity for financials e.g., Training; Travel (both part of OPEX).
Views
Financial Categories are created within the Settings area in Altus. The menu link is found under the Project Configuration heading.
When you select Financial Categories from the menu the following views are available:
- Active Financial Categories (default view): this view displays the Active Financial Categories in the system.
- Inactive Financial Categories: this view displays the Deactivated Financial Categories in the system.
Both views display the following columns:
| View | Columns | Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Active Financial Categories | Name; Parent Financial Category; Created On | Status = Active |
| Inactive Financial Categories | Name; Parent Financial Category; Created On | Status = Inactive |
Forms
The screenshots below articulate how the Parent and Child items appear in the form:
Parent Item
Child Item
Access
Access to the Financial Categories area is limited to user groups who have access to the Settings area in Altus.
Fiscal Periods
A fiscal period, also known as a financial period or accounting period, is a specific length of time for which an organization prepares its financial statements and reports its financial performance. It is a standardized way for businesses and other entities to organize and present their financial information. Fiscal periods are essential for budgeting, financial planning, and performance analysis.
Altus enables Administrators to set the fiscal periods based on organisation needs. This could either be:
- Calendar Year: Runs from January 1 to December 31, aligning with the Gregorian calendar.
- Fiscal Year (FY): A 12-month period that may or may not coincide with the calendar year. Many organizations, especially those not following the calendar year, use a fiscal year that aligns with their operational cycle. For example, a company might have a fiscal year from April 1 to March 31.
Fiscal Periods View
Fiscal Periods are accessible from Altus settings. When selected from the site map link, the view of Fiscal Periods is displayed.
The default view is Active Fiscal Periods, displayed below:
| View | Columns | Filters |
|---|---|---|
| Active Fiscal Periods | Period Name; Locked Fiscal Period; Period Start; Period Finish | Status = Active |
| Inactive Fiscal Periods | Period Name; Created On | Status = Inactive |
Fiscal Periods Form
Additional fiscal periods can be added using the Fiscal Periods form:
The form enables the administrator to lock the Actuals, Budgets, and Forecasts for the selected fiscal period.
Fiscal Period Columns
The following columns exists in Altus.
Columns prefixed with sensei_ are those that form part of the Altus solution.
The remaining are default dataverse fields created automatically.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Display Name | Fiscal Period |
| Name | sensei_FiscalPeriod |
| Primary Column | Period Name |
| Description |
| Display Name | Name | Data type | Field Length | Customizable | Required | Searchable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Created By | CreatedBy |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Created By (Delegate) | CreatedOnBehalfBy |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Created On | CreatedOn |
Date and Time | Date and Time | True | False | False |
| Fiscal Period | sensei_FiscalPeriodId |
Primary Key | True | False | False | |
| Import Sequence Number | ImportSequenceNumber |
Whole number | True | False | False | |
| Locked Actuals | sensei_actualsstatus |
Yes/No | True | True | False | |
| Locked Budgets | sensei_budgetsstatus |
Yes/No | True | True | False | |
| Locked Fiscal Period | sensei_status |
Yes/No | True | True | False | |
| Locked Forecasts | sensei_forecastsstatus |
Yes/No | True | True | False | |
| Modified By | ModifiedBy |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Modified By (Delegate) | ModifiedOnBehalfBy |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Modified On | ModifiedOn |
Date and Time | Date and Time | True | False | False |
| Owner | OwnerId |
Owner | True | False | False | |
| Owning Business Unit | OwningBusinessUnit |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Owning Team | OwningTeam |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Owning User | OwningUser |
Lookup | True | False | False | |
| Period Finish | sensei_finish |
Date and Time | Date Only | True | True | True |
| Period Name (Primary name column) | sensei_periodname |
Single line of text | 500 | True | True | True |
| Period Start | sensei_start |
Date and Time | Date Only | True | True | True |
| Record Created On | OverriddenCreatedOn |
Date and Time | Date Only | True | False | False |
| Status | statecode |
Choice | True | False | False | |
| Status Reason | statuscode |
Choice | True | False | False | |
| Time Zone Rule Version Number | TimeZoneRuleVersionNumber |
Whole number | -1 to 2147483647 | True | False | False |
| UTC Conversion Time Zone Code | UTCConversionTimeZoneCode |
Whole number | -1 to 2147483647 | True | False | False |