30th November Release

New Feature

Instant Status Reports from Project Dashboards

You can now add a project status report directly from the project dashboard, removing the need to navigate to the project workspace page.

Just click on a project's name in the Project with Status component to see the menu options. If you are the project's PM, 'Add New Status Report' will be right there for you. Click on it, enter your new status report and save. The dashboard will immediately refresh with the latest update. 

This update is all about saving time and making your workflow more seamless. 

Enhancements / Fixes

• Optimised the Project Upload and Schedule Upload processes for faster and more efficient performance.
• Refined the Schedule Bulk Edit process for more effective management of dependencies.
• Resolved an issue where users with Project Viewer roles encountered a 'permission denied' error when attempting to view project status reports from the project dashboards.
• Fixed a bug where users were occasionally receiving incorrect 'Timesheet Locked' messages when accessing timesheets.

24th November Release

Enhancements 

• Resource Capacity Dashboards have been updated to include Non-Project Time allocation totals, enhancing resource planning capabilities.

• If you are using Schedule-based allocation without timesheets, the % complete field for these tasks can be manually updated, rather than being automatically calculated based on booked hours.
• The Non Resource Actuals & Forecasts upload now includes the financial custom properties enabling financial administrators  to set these properties directly when uploading actuals or forecast amounts for more precise financial management.

23rd November Patch Release

This update addresses the issue of memory degradation, which leads to site performance slowdowns when a large number of custom properties are in use.

17th November Release

New Features

Fluid Application Embraces a New Color Scheme

This release features a refreshing update to our application's colour scheme, embracing a bold and dynamic style that aligns seamlessly with our brand's vibrant palette. This visual enhancement is designed to enrich your user experience while maintaining the dependable functionality you trust.

Task-Based Resource Allocation: Enhancing Precision in Project Scheduling

The standard practice when doing resource allocation is role-based allocation. This method involves assigning resources to a project in alignment with specific roles. This approach works well for roles with fixed commitments to a project, such as Project Managers, where the allocation is typically independent of the phases of the project schedule.

This latest release introduces a complementary approach to resource allocation: Task-Based Scheduling. This approach shifts the focus from roles to individual tasks within a project's schedule. Resources are allocated directly to these tasks, with the allocation detailed down to the number of hours expected to complete each task. This allows for a clear and detailed view of which resources are engaged in specific tasks and when their involvement is required. 

Task-Based Scheduling offers a distinct approach for projects where aligning resources with specific tasks is crucial. It enables project managers to match resource allocation accurately with the task-driven demands of the project. This method significantly enhances the visibility of resource utilisation throughout the project lifecycle, facilitating more targeted planning and effective tracking.

Using Task-Based Scheduling is simple. If the feature is turned on on your instance, you can set the allocated hours for each task using the schedule task dialog, the quick edit entry on the Gantt page or the schedule task bulk edit functionality.

Once the hours are allocated, the application will use the assignee's rate cards to calculate the corresponding monthly headcount allocation as well as the financial forecast.

If later on you re-adjust the schedule - whether you are changing the start or end dates of a task or the allocated hours - the application will automatically recalculate the new monthly headcount allocation and financial forecast.

In the below example, Chris Bown's task was updated to start in January instead of December and the headcount allocation and financial forecast are now posted to January as a result.

Resources assigned to scheduled tasks can record the time they spent on each task using timesheets. The scheduled task will appear in the timesheet for the weeks that correspond with the task's duration.

Project managers have then multiple ways to track the allocated time vs. actuals time. The project workspace will display the total allocated and booked hours per assignee. 

The schedule dialog or the financial exports can be used to see the breakdown of book hours per task.

New Team-Based Resource Plan Tracking for Enhanced Team Allocation

Building on our previous enhancement in resource structuring, we've improved the integration of team dynamics into resource planning. Now, a resource's division, department, and team are linked directly with their respective resource plans. This update allows for historical tracking of the teams a resource has been part of by creating distinct resource plans for different periods. 

This change not only facilitates better resource management but also improves team capacity planning based on specific dates. With this new capability, you can gain deeper insights into team resource allocation over time, enabling more strategic planning and deployment of your workforce, and ensuring that teams are optimally structured for efficiency and effectiveness.

Choose Between PDF or Print Options for Improved Reporting Flexibility

We've expanded our document output capabilities to include both PDF and Print options, offering more flexibility and control in how you generate reports and documents from Fluid. This means that you can easily convert any page you are viewing - whether it's a project dashboard, a financial report, or other pages in the application - into a convenient PDF format. 

The 'Print Page' feature leverages your browser's built-in print service, enabling you to create a clean PDF with customisable dimensions, zoom levels, and margins. This option is ideal for times when you need a tailored output of the visible page content. 

On the other hand, our 'PDF Page' function uses Fluid’s PDF generation service to render a pre-formatted, comprehensive PDF. This is perfect for larger reports that can then be generated asynchronously. 

Feature Upgrades ⬆️

Enhanced Financials Export for Quicker, Larger Downloads

We've significantly enhanced the performance of the Financials Export feature. By incorporating lightweight Excel formatting, we've optimised both download and report generation times, ensuring a more efficient and rapid user experience. 

Additionally, we've increased the maximum number of projects that can be directly downloaded, eliminating the need for email delivery for larger files. This upgrade means you can now access your financial reports more quickly and easily than ever before.

Please be aware that with this update, all exports will now use the labels defined in the project setup page for column headings. 

For example, the 'Owner' column in the Financial Details Export will display the 'Owner' label as configured in your project setup.

Improved Resource Forecast Bulk Edit: Automated Overallocation Check

This release brings a new level of efficiency to instances configured to prevent resource overallocation. 

Now, when you use the Resource Forecast Bulk Edit feature, it automatically checks whether new allocations will lead to overallocation. If this is the case, the system will not record these allocations, ensuring you stay within your resource management parameters. 

This upgrade is designed to enhance the accuracy of your resource planning, avoiding overcommitment and maintaining the balance of your project resources.

Enhancements / Fixes 

• We have made further enhancements to the user experience for setting catalog data. We also fixed an issue when using the same custom property name as the catalog name.
• Action reminder notifications have been updated to only alert users about actions that are overdue or due within the upcoming month, for more focused and relevant reminders.
• Resolved a graphical issue on the Gantt page where the 'Now' line was not displaying correctly.
• Addressed a problem where task dependencies were not properly shown when schedules were exported to PDF format.
• Corrected an issue in the daily user activation process that was incorrectly resetting the role of Unlicensed resources to 'User'.