Overview of Project Template Development

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Tier Availability: Business 

Security Rights Required: Maintenance 

 

PensionPro's workflow system is based upon the successful development of Project Templates. To understand the lingo, a Project Template is a blueprint of the processes in your firm. For example, an annual 401(k) administration template is a blueprint of the sequence of tasks that should be followed each time administration services are performed by your staff. The tasks should represent your firm's best practices and be uniform across all personnel. Project Templates can be created for many types of Projects, from internal management projects to fee disclosure projects, and can occur only once or reoccur on several frequencies from daily to annual. A Project Template is editable by users with rights to the maintenance menu. 

 

A Project is created when a Project Template is added or “launched” to a Plan. Once a Project Template becomes an active project, it is no longer editable, so it is important to test a Project Template during the process of Project Development. 

 

Two important items to remember as you move forward with Project Template development: 

 

  1. Project Templates are the blueprints of projects that are created and edited by the user. They should reflect the best practices of your firm. 
  2. Projects are created when Project Templates are launched to a plan. Projects can be overridden by those with rights, but the actual Project cannot be edited.  

 

Stages of Project Template Development 

 

Below are some easy-to-follow steps to help users who are developing Project Templates in PensionPro. 

 

  1. Create a list of desired Project Types. For example, Onboarding Projects, Administration, Trust Accounting, Plan Notices, Plan Documents, Accounting, Distributions and Loans, etc. 
  2. Under each Project Type, create a list of Project Template names for each Project Type. For example, Onboarding might include New Plan Document or Takeover Plan Document, Accounting Set Up, New Client\Plan\Contact Set Up. 
  3. Prioritize! What is the first goal for your Project Template development? Are you starting with distributions, annual administration or onboarding? The time of the year may push certain Project Types to the forefront.   
  4. Flowchart the process using anything from Visio to a whiteboard. Your flowchart should not reflect checklist steps, but the actual movement of the process through your firm from start to finish. For example, a distribution project might move from Clerical to Admin Support to an Administrator for review, then back to Admin Support, and ultimately to the Billing Specialist! 
  5. Create the Project Template in PensionPro. 
  6. Test, test, test!! Add the Project to your test plan (Very Important Client) and complete the Project. Including staff members in the testing process is a great way to get feedback and have a better outcome! 
  7. Launch the Project Template to Plans to set the process in motion. 

 

Project Management Chart.xlsx (40 KB)