Creating a new request from inside a project?

[JillAc]

There is a request tab inside every project but I can't see how I can set up the queues so that you can make a request from inside an existing project and get the proper forms, get it routed etc.

The use case is I have an email project and I want to request a video from the video team. Normally we would start a New Request and the Queue is setup etc. But then the video is separated from the email project. Is there a way to route it into the existing Queue so that these 2 things can stay connected?

I know I can add the form to the Project Details and submit it that way. However, the separation of Projects and Requests really confuses pretty much everybody because the task lists are never combined in one place and even with Dashboards and Reports and such, everyone hates how they are separate. So our video team only will work with Requests and never projects, so that they can stay organized and work on making videos instead of messing around with Workfront.

Any advice?

[KatherineLa]

Hi Jill,

This can absolutely be done, but it takes a little bit of setup to get there.

Step One: Start Here: https://one.workfront.com/s/document-item?bundleId=workfront-classic&topicId=Content%2FReports_and_D...

At the end of those steps, you'll have a Dashboard with your request queue(s) embedded inside it.

Back to your project, you'll then create a custom tab that links to that dashboard. This results in a tab that can access/submit to the appropriate queue without leaving the project itself.

For an example, the screenshot below shows a custom tab inside a project that allows the team to send a written quote request for a new customer to the queue (which goes directly to me). From my viewpoint as the recipient of that queue, nothing looks any different than if someone had gone directly to the 'Requests' tab. And switching personalities again, back to the submitter viewpoint, I got a standard 'closed' notification when the request was marked done.

That much will get you what your Video team is looking to have done. There does not appear to be any obvious setting that links the request to the project specifically though, maybe someone else will have an idea if that functionality is important to your users as well.

Hope this gets you started,

Katherine

[JillAc]

Hi

Thanks for sending this. Want to close the loop for history. This is a great way to embed a request queue within a project using a link for the request in a Dashboard that gets "pinned" to the project left rail -- but it doesn't retain the history of the request or a link to that request within the project which is what I'm hoping for.

[ElenaDooley · Accepted solution]

Hi Jill,

You can also embed request queues in project templates, or in individual projects for that matter, by setting up the Queue Details, Routing Rules, Queue Topics and Topic Groups (if applicable) from the left panel of the project or project template. If you do not see these in the left panel, check your layout template settings. This has been a game-changer for our work processes and keeps work connected. Just be sure any reports you use that look at requests reflect the new design; we had to redo a lot of reports to filter to Category ID = [the custom form name], as requests can now sit in individual projects AND the master request queue project.

[JillAc]

Hi

Thanks, this is the solution. Going back to update the existing projects is annoying but at least I can set it up in the template. I haven't used a request that wasn't where the project was the whole queue. This is very good.

[JillAc]

And yes I'm now about to struggle with the custom reports to include the Category instead of the project name. Glad I came back here to look at that, I was about to start sweating over how to think about this!

[BrandonNW]

Hey guys...

We have recently developed a need for this functionality with our PM team. I have the dash set up and embedded into the project layout, but I am not having success with the requests showing as issues on the actual project rather than the queue project. It sounded like, from the statement above, that this is possible, but I haven't been able to have any success at this. I realize there is a route to project option, but this would need to be dynamic so whatever project you are in, the requests would go to that project's issue tab and not the queue project issue tab. Is this possible? Am I missing something silly?

[ElenaDooley]

Hi Brandon,

I'll try to rephrase my response above, hopefully this makes sense!

We have embedded request queues in some of our project templates, so follow this process if you are using a project template(s) for your PM team. Within the project template, use the Queue Details, Routing Rules, Queue Topics and Topic Groups (if applicable) from the left panel to set up the request queues in the project template. For Queue Type, we just have "Publish as Help Request Queue" unchecked but have otherwise mirrored the settings to be the same as the main Requests area. This allows a project manager to use Issues > New Issue to make requests from wtihin their project using the project template.

[BrandonNW]

That is absolutely what I was looking for! I was thinking the embedded dash would connect to the project, but really it is using the queue details in the project to populate the correct forms.

Tested and confirmed! Thank you Elena!

[SolarNRG]

Hi Elena, I see that routing rules work in order to request an issue within a particular project. 

The issue I am running into when I do this routing of issues is: when the issue is logged within a particular project (and then routed to the appropriate queue/team) it is no longer shown as a pending issue within the project I requested the issue from - my requests tab says 0, even though the issue was logged. 

Is there a way to have the issue show up as pending within the project while still being routed to a particular team/queue?