PensionPro offers functionality to easily track the progress of Projects—including Distributions—and provide an at-a-glance view of the Project's status in Dashboards and Worktrays, as well as on PlanSponsorLink. This functionality can be customized to suit a firm's needs and preferences.
Tier Availability: Business
Article Contents
- Adding Status to the Project Workflow
- Viewing Project & Distribution Statuses
- Frequently Asked Questions
Adding Status to the Project Workflow
Requires Security Rights: Maintenance
Any Task within the Project workflow can be assigned a Project Status. When the Task is activated, the corresponding status is automatically applied to the Project. For example, a Project Status could indicate that the Project is In Process or Awaiting Census, or show that there was a Form Submitted. As the Project progresses, its status message will update to reflect the state that the Project is in.
These status messages can be created and edited to suit the firm's preferences. Project Status is a List Value located under Core > Projects.
Additionally, Distribution Projects use a unique Distribution Status List Value, located under the Distributions category. Although both status types are maintained separately, there is no difference in functionality between Projects and Distributions.
Updating Project Templates
Before a Project can make use of statuses, the Template will need to be edited, with appropriate status messages added to Tasks. This cannot be accomplished in an Excel workbook template; instead, to add a Project Status to a Task, perform the following steps in PensionPro:
- Navigate to Maintenance > Templates to open the Project Templates grid in a new tab.
- Double-click a Template to open it at the Summary view.
- Select the Workflow view from the list on the left.
- Double-click a Task Grouping to view its Tasks.
- Hover over the desired Task, then select Edit
on the right. The corresponding window displays.
- Choose a Project Status.
- This will be Distribution Status for Distribution Projects.
- Select Save.
If a status should persist across multiple Tasks, that Project Status should be applied to each Task. Any Task that does not have a Project Status assigned will revert the status to In Process upon activation.
Not In Good Order
Distribution Projects have one additional status that is not controlled by Tasks and is not a List Value: Not in good order. This Status denotes that a Task is currently on pause.
To utilize Not in good order, a Distribution Template needs to contain at least one Task Item that is assigned the Yes/Not in good order Data Type. This will enable the Yes/Not in good order dropdown options for that Task Item in a launched Distribution.
If a Task Item dropdown is set to Not in good order, and its corresponding Task is active, the Distribution Status will also update automatically to read Not in good order. Updating this field to Yes or completing the Task will remove the Not in good order status.
Viewing Project & Distribution Statuses
Once a Project Template is updated to include Project Statuses in its Workflow, the status can be easily tracked from a Dashboard, Worktray, or on PlanSponsorLink.
On Dashboards and Worktrays
The Project Status is meant to be a quick indicator of a Project's current progress. As such, it can be found on any Dashboard or Worktray where the currently-active Task is present, so long as the Project Status column is visible. To add the Project Status column:
- From the desired Dashboard or Worktray, open the Columns menuon the right side of the grid.
- Enable the Project Status column.
The above steps also apply to Distribution Status.
For more information on using Dashboards and Worktrays, refer to the articles Using the Dashboard and Using Worktrays.
On PlanSponsorLink
Plan Sponsors with the proper Website Rights can track the status of every Project and Distribution for a Plan on PlanSponsorLink. In this way, a well-constructed Project or Distribution Template can provide a Plan Sponsor with regular updates that can be checked at the Sponsor's convenience.
The Projects tab on PlanSponsorLink shows Plans and Projects, each with the Project Status and the dates the Project was started and completed. All of the following must be true for a Plan Sponsor to track a Project's Status via PlanSponsorLink:
- Show Projects Tab must be set to Yes in PlanSponsorLink Preferences.
- Enable Projects on PSL Projects Tab on the Plan tab > General view must be set to Yes.
- Enable to Show on PSL Projects Tab on the Project tab > Summary view must be set to Yes.
- The Plan Contact Role must have the Projects Website Right.
For Distributions, PlanSponsorLink's Distributions tab functions similarly, and also includes the participant and the distribution reason. All of the following must be true for a Plan Sponsor to track a Distribution's Status via PlanSponsorLink:
- Show Distribution Tab must be set to Yes in PlanSponsorLink Preferences.
- Enable Distributions on PSL Distributions Tab on the Plan tab > General view must be set to Show.
- The Plan Contact Role must have the Distribution Website Right.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I launched a Project before adding the Project Status to Tasks in the Template. Can I still track this Project?
Project tracking will not occur automatically in this case, and cannot be added after the Project is launched. The Project Status can still be updated manually from the Summary view of the Project tab, but will revert to In Process each time a Task is completed.