Naming conventions in Workfront for Programs and Projects

[StacySc]

Hi All- Wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks for naming conventions of Porfolios, Programs and Projects. Currently we are using this naming structure: Portfolios: 2016 GWC External Program: AVAIL 2016 Marketing Campaign Project: AVAIL 2016 PDM Video Due 6/1 If you don't have the Workfront icons memorized you don't know if you are looking at a Program, Project or Task. The 'AVAIL' is a client code. Is anyone else struggling with this and do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Stacy Scarborough

[GlennJo]

HI Stacy, We use drop down menus in the custom forms that are completed by stakeholders - we then use our views in projects to group these into campaigns. eg. They choose Winter, AW16, Womenwear, July - this then forms the campaign, also allowing a more granualar level of reporting. We dont use porfolios.

[StacySc]

Hi Glenn- Our Portfolios are set up each year by Client type (we only have 5). The Programs are a drop down in the Custom Form. I guess the real struggle is when you use the search field it is hard to distinguish what you are really looking at i.e Program, Project &/or task the way we are currently naming things because it is so similiar. Thanks, Stacy

[AnthonyIm]

Hi Stacy, Being honest, we could not get our different business units to use a single naming convention for their Portfolios, Programs, and Projects. We focus it on how they like to group things for reporting since you can add dashboards to Portfolios and Programs in the layout and it automatically applies the filter for you. The majority use Portfolio for Client and then Program for the key initative (normally identified in the Annual SOW). But some have business pillars/divisions that they like to do reporting on (i.e. all pharma accounts, etc.) and then use program for the specific client. We can allow this flexibilty since we have an integration with our financial system to pull in the official client, division, product info (codes and description) and it attaches them to a custom form on a project. I do agree that users tend not to know the difference between the Workfront icons, but I think if you set the expectation (Portfolio is client, program is type of project, or whatever works for you), your users will get that.