Getting a new Project Name filter to all users "Saved" filter list

[ajdifonzo]

Hi All, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this question already, but I have been surprised before.  

I'm wanted to get a new project name filter to all used to have as a "Saved" filter, not a "Shared with me" filter since this filer will be used when they are looking to add a new project task to their timesheet.  

Oh yes I'm aware that if the project owner makes the assignment it will appear on the timesheet, but it's not the PM's "process" yet. 

[Lyndsy-Denk]

I'm almost certain that Saved and Shared with Me aggregate very specifically (that is, Saved filters are ones you've created and Shared with Me are filters someone else created). However, an admin can add a filter to a Layout Template and it will appear in the System Default grouping.

[Madalyn_Destafney]

If you want certain filters/views/grouping to appear for users with other options and not under Shared With Me, add these to the Lists area in the layout template(s). You can indicate even what you want as the defaults too.

[ajdifonzo]

The real challenge is I'm wanting the filter available for each user to use and edit the project in the filter.  

[Lyndsy-Denk]

I'm unsure a filter is necessary to accomplish what you need. If I'm reading accurately, you have users who need to log time to work that doesn't yet exist in Workfront. So you want to give them a project where they can add tasks so they can therefore log time. Additionally, you want to make it easy for these users to access the project. Is that correct?

[ajdifonzo]

Hi Lyndsy, thanks for asking about this.  The issue is we have 100+ projects open at any given time and users are trying to find the task they need with just the Quick Search that is part of the Add Task function.  While this "sometimes" works, there are usually many pages of results.  I want to have each use have a filter for Project Name that they can use and edit based on the project they are working on.  Since many users are not very technical and only use Workfront to enter time I'm looking to make this as easy as possible for them. 

[Madalyn_Destafney]

Hi, not sure I'm quite grasping this yet. If they are searching for existing tasks or projects, is the in-page search not working for you? The magnifying glass next to the filter icon - you can enter keywords to quickly search for a project or task (project from a projects page or task from a tasks page):

If it's really a filter that you want, and there is a specific filter you want them to use in their layout template or that has been shared with them, they can duplicate a filter and make it even more custom to what the specific user needs...

[Lyndsy-Denk]

If I understand correctly, you want to help users who are assigned to tasks find their tasks more easily. If that's the case, you have a couple options:

• The Home area (classic or the New Home Experience) can list all the work assigned to the user viewing the space. My users have mixed opinions about these spaces (and New Home is, well, new).
• Build a dashboard. In my instance the dashboard is called My Tasks. I pin this dashboard to the top of Workfront for all users via the Layout Templates so it's easy to see and access upon logging in. The dashboard includes these reports in this order:
  • My tasks due today or overdue (I attached a screenshot of this report as I see it today.)
  • My tasks due this week
  • My tasks due after this week
  • My tasks ready to start
  • My projects by priority

The Reporting Cookbook inspired this dashboard for me, so you might take a look at the ideas to see what works for you.

Does that help?

[ajdifonzo]

This is great information and I have created something similar at past companies.  The issue here is users are not assigned to tasks within Workfront, they are given the project name.  

So when users are trying to add the task they want to their timesheet the Quick search can show hundreds or over a thousand tasks in the list. 

I'm not finding a way to get a filter to a users "Saved" area, so I'm going to go with instructions on how to duplicate and save so they can edit the project in the filter. 

[Lyndsy-Denk]

I think I'm starting to see. I recognize that you said earlier that you don't yet have a process in place yet for your project owners to assign directly. However, without some sort of data point added to a project that says "This user is associated with this project" the user experience for your workers is going to be less than ideal. There are a few alternatives for bringing people into the project (in order of what I think is easiest versus demands system administration or process governance):

• At bare minimum, project owners should share the URL to the project, not just the name.
• When users find the project they need, they favorite it for easy access.
• In the Projects area, yes, you can use the Quick Filter to search for project names. I would use the Projects area instead of the Workfront global search.
• Add project participants and stakeholders to the People area of a project. In the Projects area, a user can then filter to Projects I'm On (I think this is a Workfront standard filter), which shows any project the user is associated with as an owner, sponsor, resource manager, task assignee, or just in the People area.
• Assign job roles to Tasks. You can build reports much like the My Tasks report I mentioned above, but point to unassigned tasks with the job role(s) of the user viewing the report. Workload Balancer can also accomplish this, but reports/dashboards can sometimes be more direct. If your project owners find assigning job roles to still be too big of a lift, creating project templates can standardize the job roles  commonly associated with certain tasks. ADMIN PREREQUISITES: Create job roles in the Setup. Assign job roles to users.
• Assign the tasks to a Team that includes the users who might pick up the work. I like this approach when project owners might not be authorized or educated about who is best to do the work. In this case, you don't necessarily need a report. Instead users can view their Team and see what work is ready to be picked up. ADMIN PREREQUISITES: Create Team(s). Assign users to Team(s).

[Heather_Kulbacki]

Depending on the number of open projects, incomplete tasks, and number of tasks generally on a project at any one time, you might be able to use a filter/view combo on the Timesheets page to make it a bit easier for users to find the task they're looking for.

From the timesheets page, when they click Add Tasks, I'd first have them filter by Incomplete Tasks (I believe this is a system filter), then create a View that includes the project name and make that available via the layout template when viewing tasks. Then they could use the quick filter to search for the project name they've been given and could scroll through the tasks to find the particular one they should bill time to.

Along those same lines, but requiring more training, and what I think you were originally asking would be to create a Filter that searches for a particular project, give everyone edit access to that filter, and make it available via the layout templates when viewing tasks. Then when they click Add Tasks on the timesheets page, they could edit the filter for the project they need, then use the quick filter to search for the specific task name to add to their timesheet.