Edit Metric Template Settings

Metric Templates provide a framework for Metric instances that are attached to work items. They can be edited at any time.

Note: Changes made to Metric Templates will be applied to all existing Metric instances on PowerSteering work items.

 

To edit a Metric Template:

Before You Start: Users require the "Metric Template Administration" Context permission to access the Metric Templates page. From here, their Metric Template permissions determine their access.

Users with the "Edit" Metric Template permission can edit their own Metric Templates as well as other Metric Templates if they have been added as one of the template's administrators on the Basic Info tab.

PowerSteering administrators can edit all Metric Templates regardless of who created them.

  1. Select Admin → Templates → Metrics from the Navigation Menu.

  2. Select the first letter of the name of the Metric Template you would like to edit.

  3. Select the name of the Metric Template.

    Tip: Use the "Sort By" selector to sort the templates on the page alphabetically by either the template name or the surname of the template creator.

  4. Select the Edit button.

  5. Select any of the following tabs to edit their settings.

    Edit any of the following fields on the Basic Info tab:

    • Name: The name of the metric template.

    • Description: A brief description of the template's purpose (optional).

    • Administrators: Select users or groups that will have permissions to edit your metric template (optional). Only users or groups with the Metric Template Administration permission will be available in this list. See Set up Sub-Administration Permissions and Assign a User as a Sub-Administrator for more information about sub-administration.

    • Allow Rollup: Specifies whether or not to total all instances of this metric worksheet across projects. Select "No" if the metric is used for non-comparable data that should not be combined with any other data. If set to "Yes", you can also set the Rolls up field of individual line items to "No" on the Line Items tab to override rolling up specific line items.

    • Calendar: The Calendar option will be available if you have a Metrics Calendar defined for your context. Use this drop-down to select which calendar should apply to the metric.

    • Frequency Is: Specifies the time period covered by the metric: monthly, quarterly or yearly. Set this field to "No Frequency" if a metric is entered only once in a project's life cycle (e.g., a one time scorecard or assessment).

    • Period Starts On And Ends On: Specifies the earliest and latest dates when data can be entered. For most metrics the end date is left blank; you typically specify an end date only if the metric is used temporarily. The Starts On and Ends On values will automatically be set to the first and last days of the period, respectively.

      Example: Setting the frequency to Monthly and entering 12/15/2015 in the "Starts On" field automatically changes the date to 12/1/2015.

    • Send Reminders: Specifies when to send Metric reminders to Owners. Reminders will not be sent for work items with statuses of "On Hold", "Not Started", "Canceled", or "Completed".

      Note: In order for Metric reminders to be sent, the Metric Reminder Agent must be active. See Agents Overview for more information about this agent.

      • Never: Reminders to enter Metric data will never be sent.

      • Before Period Begins: Reminders to enter Metric data will be sent on the last Sunday (or another day that is configured as the first day of the week) before the Metric period begins.

      • After Period Begins: Reminders to enter Metric data will be sent on the last Sunday (or another day that is configured as the first day of the week) before the Metric period begins.

    • Send Lock Reminders: Specify when to remind Owners to lock the Metrics. Metric reminders are not sent out for work with a status of "On Hold", "Not Started", "Canceled", or "Complete".

      Note: In order for reminders to be sent, the Metric Reminder Agent must be active. See Agents Overview for more information.

      • Never: Reminders to lock Metric data will never be sent.

      • Before Period Begins: Reminders to lock Metric data will be sent on the last Sunday (or another day that is configured as the first day of the week) before the Metric period begins.

      • After Period Begins: Reminders to lock Metric data will be sent on the last Sunday (or another day that is configured as the first day of the week) before the Metric period begins.

    • Lock Remind Views: Specify which Metric views (tabs) to remind the Owner to lock.

      Note: If "Send Lock Reminders" is set to Never, this option will not be available.

      Tip: Click and drag your cursor over multiple views to select all of them at once:


      Click thumbnail to play.

    • Lock Reminder Ignore Condition: Specify when lock reminders should NOT be sent to the Project Owner.

      Note: If "Send Lock Reminders" is set to Never, this option will not be available.

      • Ignore on single lock:  If at least one cell is locked in the Metric period, the lock reminder will not be sent.

      • Ignore on entire sheet lock: If the entire Metric sheet is locked, the lock reminder will not be sent.

    • Version Control: Specifies whether to save a version (a.k.a. "taking a snapshot") of Metric data whenever it is updated. If Version on Change is selected, Metric versions can be accessed on the Metric by clicking Details and selecting the Versions tab. If None is selected, the Versions tab will not save any versions. See Display Metric Versions for more details on versioning.

      Note: If Version on Change is selected, a new Metric version will be saved whenever Metric data is changed. This includes Tags, Custom Fields, numeric data, and Metric copy, but excludes Metric lock.

    • Views: Specifies whether the same template should be duplicated on one or more tabs with a different label.

      Example: You might want to enter data in a spreadsheet labeled "Planned" at the start of a project, and then as the project progresses, be able to enter data into additional instances of this template labeled "Target", "Actual", and "Audited". View labels are entered on the View tab of the metric template wizard.

    • Process:This setting has been deprecated.

    • Vertical Totals: Specifies how cell values are calculated and shown for summary periods. With Vertical Totals enabled, a summary period (i.e., a quarter) will calculate a cell value using the same calculation that is defined in the Metric. With Vertical Totals disabled, the summary period will simply sum the values and display the total.

    • Require Comments when Editing Numbers: If "YES" is selected, Metrics created from the Metric Template will require users to leave a comment whenever they edit numeric data.

    • Require Comments when Editing Tags and/or Custom Fields:If "YES" is selected, Metrics created from the Metric Template will require users to leave a comment whenever they edit Tag or Custom Fields data.

    • Require Comments when Editing Locks: If "YES" is selected, Metrics created from the Metric Template will require users to leave a comment whenever they lock or unlock anything on the Metric.

    • Max Fraction Digits: Choose the maximum number of decimal points that will be displayed on Metric values.

      Note: If scale is applied to any line items via the Spreadsheet tab, the Max Fraction Digits will be unavailable for the entire template.

      Note: This configuration is disabled by default. To enable it, please contact your PowerSteering Customer Success Manager.

    • Tag: Select a Tag to use as the Metric's beneficiary Tag. The Tag's values will be used as beneficiary lines.

      Note: If a Tag has already been set, none of the "Tag Breakdown" fields can be edited.

      Note: Metric templates that include a Beneficiary tag will not be available for the "My Financials" section of the Home page.

    • Allocate Benefits: Selecting "YES" will require a user to select a "Sponsor" Tag value before saving any data to the Metric.

      Note: Sponsors can only be added to Manual (bottom-up) Metric beneficiaries. If "YES" is selected, "Percent Allocation by Beneficiaries" (below) will automatically be set to "NO".

    • Percent Allocation By Beneficiaries: Choose whether the beneficiaries will receive a percentage of the Metric line items' values or provide the Metric line items with data.

      • YES: The Metric will use Percent Allocation (top-down) Metric beneficiaries. Numeric data will be entered into the Metric line items (acting as "Parents") and distributed between the Tag values below them based on the percentage that has been allocated to them.

        Example: Lucy uses a "Cost Savings per month" Metric to track the different categories of cost savings from her project every month. At the end of the month, she enters in the total amount of costs that were saved in each expense category.

        She has decided that cost savings will be allocated back into company departments in the following distributions: 50% for Operations, 30% for Sales, and 20% for Finance. She creates a "Cost Savings Beneficiaries" Metric Tag that contains each of these departments as values.

        While creating the Metric Template, she selects the "Cost Savings Beneficiaries" Tag from the "Tag" drop-down and makes sure to select YES from the "Percent Allocation by Beneficiaries" selection.

        Once she attaches the Metric to her project, she selects Edit Properties and adds all three Tag values with their distribution percentage.

        Now, she can see how much money will be allocated to each department as a result of each cost saving category.

      • NO: The Metric will use Manual (bottom-up) Metric beneficiaries. Numeric data will be entered into the Tag value line items and the Metric line items (acting as "Parents") will simply display the sum of the values below them.

        Example: Rita uses a "Monthly Revenue Contributions by Category" Metric to track the amount of money that is brought in by different revenue streams of her project every month.

        All of the revenue data that is available to her is split by the three geographic regions her company operates in: North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. She wants the Metric to record how much revenue comes from each of these regions for each stream, so she creates a "Revenue regions" Metric Tag that contains each of the regions as values.

        While creating the Metric Template, she selects the "Revenue regions" Tag from the "Tag" drop-down and makes sure to select NO from the "Percent Allocation by Beneficiaries" selection.

        Once she attaches the Metric to her project, she selects Edit Properties and adds all three Tag values as beneficiaries.

        Now, she can add each region's monthly revenue per stream into her Metric. The Metric line items will display the total amount of revenue for the stream from all three regions.

    • Beneficiary Allocation Must Equal 100%: Select YES if the Percent Allocation (top-down) Metric beneficiary distribution percentages must equal a total of 100%. This will prevent users from saving beneficiaries with distributions that do not equal 100%.

      Note: This selection is only relevant for Percent Allocation (top-down) Metric beneficiaries. Selecting NO from "Percent Allocation by Beneficiaries" (above) automatically set this selection to NO as well.

    • Automated work type association: Select the work types that the Metric will automatically be attached to upon creation. The Metric will only be applied to new instances of work items created using the work type, not existing ones. For information on attaching Metrics to existing work items, see Attach a Metric to a Project.  

    Edit any of the following fields on the Display tab:

    Note: If the "Frequency Is" field is set to No Frequency on the Basic Info tab, this tab will not be editable.

    • Display By Default: Determine the time periods (monthly, quarterly, etc.) that are initially displayed upon opening the Metric. Users can change the display range on the metric worksheets that use this template.

      Note: The Metric's time periods are chosen using the "Frequency Is" field on the Basic Info tab.

      • Current Date: The metric will display columns from the current date on.
      • Project Start Date: The metric will display columns based on the project start date.
      • First Period with Data: The metric will display columns based on the first period which has data in any metric view.
      • Current fiscal year: The metric will display columns from the current fiscal year.

      • Sticky Dates: When this option is selected for a Metric Template, a selected date range will "stick" and be saved for the user whenever that template is used on the same work type (i.e. all Gated Projects). Before the initial "Sticky Date" is set, the Metric Template will display the current fiscal year by default.

        Example: You have added a Metric Template with "Sticky Dates" to two separate Gated Projects. While viewing the first Gated Project, you use the button to change the displayed date range to "March-September":


        Once you view the same Metric in a different Gated Project, you see that the "March-September" date range you selected on the previous Gated Project has "stuck" to this one as well:


        Remember, the "Sticky Dates" will only stick to work entities of the same work type. If you were to view this Metric on a different work type (i.e. a Basic Project), it would display a different date range than what you set on the Gated Projects.

    • Totals Displayed: Choose how to display the line item totals for multiple periods.

      Example: This Metric displays quarterly totals.

      • Never: Totals will not be displayed.
      • Quarterly: Totals will be displayed for each financial quarter.
      • Yearly: Totals will be displayed for each calendar year.
      • Grand Total: A single "Totals" column will display the sum of each line item's values.

      • Display Range: A single "Totals" column will display the sum of each line item value that is currently displayed on the Metric.

        Note: Users can configure the display range themselves when they visit the Metric.

    • Pinned Totals: Add any pinned columns with Metric line item totals that will remain in place as a user scrolls horizontally through a Metric.


      Click thumbnail to play. Notice how the "Display Total" column remains on the right-hand side of the Metric as the user moves the scrollbar.

      Note: If Never has been chosen from the "Totals Displayed" drop-down menu, the "Pinned Total" drop-down menu will be disabled.

      • Never: Metrics created from the Metric Template will not contain pinned totals.

      • Grand Total: Metrics created from the Metric Template will contain a pinned "[Project] Total" column that adds up totals for every value in a given Metric line item (row).

        Click thumbnail to play.

        Notice that the values in each line item do not add up to equal the values in the pinned "[Project] Total" column. This is because the "[Project] Total" column is adding up values from the entire line item, which may include columns that are not currently displayed on the Metric.

        Note: This option will not be available if DisplayRange is selected from the "Totals Displayed" drop-down menu.

      • DisplayRange: Metrics created from the Metric Template will contain a pinned "Display Total" column that adds up totals for every displayed value in a given Metric line item (row). Values that are not currently displayed on the Metric will not be added to the pinned "Display Total" column.

        Click thumbnail to play.

        Notice that the values in each line item add up to equal the values in the pinned "Display Total" column. This is because the "Display Total" column is only adding up line item values from displayed columns, not from the entire Metric. If there are values that exist outside of the display period, they will not be added to the totals.

        Note: A Metric's display period can be changed at any time by selecting the Calendar icon and setting a date range:

        When DisplayRange is selected, only values within this date range will be included while calculating totals.

        Note: This option will not be available if Grand Total is selected from the "Totals Displayed" drop-down menu.

        Tip: Selections from the "Totals Displayed" and "Pinned Total" menus can work in conjunction with one another. For example, selecting Quarterly from the "Totals Displayed" menu and Grand Total from the "Pinned Total" menu will result in quarterly totals that the user can see while scrolling through the Metric as well as a pinned column for the grand total:

        Click thumbnail to play.
        However, if the same selection is made for both drop-down menus (either Grand Total or DisplayRange), only one pinned column for the totals will be displayed on the Metric.

    • Totals Display Preference: Specifies where the "Totals" columns will be displayed on the Metric.

      • Right: The totals will be displayed to the right of the time periods.

      • Left: The totals will be displayed to the left of the time periods.

      • User Preference: Users viewing the Metric will be able to decide which side to display the totals. They can access this on the Metric instance itself by clicking on the "Metric View Settings" icon and selecting the "Settings" tab:

    Use the View tab to edit the template's current views and add new ones. If Views are enabled on the Basic Info tab, project cost types can be mapped to a Metric Template using the View tab.

    The View Tab

    Caution: Once a view is added to a metric template, it cannot be deleted or removed.

    Tip: Select Add Line Items create additional Metric View slots.

    The following fields are available for each view:

    • Name: Name of the view displayed as a tab on the Metric.

    • Sequence: Specifies the order in which views appear.

      Tip: Consider using multiples of 10 or even 100 for sequence numbers. This allows new Metric views to be inserted between existing views later on. For example, if you would like to insert a new view between two existing views with sequence numbers "100" and "200", you can enter "150" as the sequence number.

    • Cost Mapping: Choose how the line item will map to the Costs module. If set to Manual, the Metric will still be editable if it is mapped.

    • Work Types: Select work type(s) for which the Metric View will be applicable (optional). The view will only be seen in the work types selected.

      Tip: Hold down the Ctrl key and click to select multiple work types.

      Tip: If you no longer want to use a view, hold down the Ctrl + Alt keys and click to deselect all work types.

    • Cost Roll Up: Specify whether Cost data should be rolled up from descendant work. In order for Costs to roll up appropriately, the Cost module must be enabled for the parent work item and all descendants.

      Note: Only non-manual (estimated or actual) costs can be rolled up.

    • Roll Up For Work Types: If "Cost Roll Up" is set to Yes, select the work types from which Cost data should roll up. Any work types that are selected will have their Cost data rolled up into the view.

  6. Select the View Permissions tab to apply visibility and editing permissions to specific Metric views (tabs).

    Note: This tab is only visible while editing Metric Templates. It will not be available while creating them.

    This tab contains an "Apply custom permissions by role" checkbox for each of the Metric's views.

    Selecting a view's checkbox allows administrators to configure custom permissions by Role for that specific view.

    When the Metric is attached to a work item, users assigned to the listed Roles on the work item will inherit the corresponding permissions.

    Note: This tab cannot grant any Metric permissions beyond a work item's Project Task permissions. In other words, this tab cannot grant additional Project Task permissions; it can only limit them.

    For example, imagine a work item that does not grant the "Update Metric numbers" Project Task permission to the Contributor Role. If "Contributor" is given the "Edit" permission for a view on the Metric Template's "View Permissions" tab, the Contributor will still not be able to update any numeric values on the Metric when it is attached to that work item.

    Instead, imagine that the Contributor Role is granted the "Update Metric numbers" Project Task permission on the work item, but only the "View" permission on the Metric Template's "View Permissions" tab. Any assigned Contributors will be able to access the Metric view, but they will not be able to update any numeric values. Their Project Task permissions on the work item are limited by the Metric Template's "View Permissions" tab.

    Note: Metric view permissions do not have any effect on a user's ability to select Beneficiary tags or set the Metric as "Ready for Rollup".

    The following Metric view permissions are available for each Role:

    • None: Users assigned to the Role can not access the Metric view nor can they see any data entered into it.

    • Default: Users assigned to the Role will not have their permissions changed. Their permissions are still determined by the work item's Project Task permissions.

    • View: Users assigned to the Role will be able to access the view and see any data entered into it. However, they will not be able to edit any numeric data, Tags, or Custom Fields. Additionally, they will not be able to lock or unlock any parts of the Metric view.

      Note: Users without the "View Metric Values" Project Task permission will not be able to view the work item's Metrics even if granted this permission.

    • Edit: Users assigned to the Role will be able to edit data on the Metric view, including numeric data, Tags, and Custom Fields. Additionally, they will be able to lock or unlock any parts of the Metric view.

      Note: Users without permissions to edit or lock/unlock Metric data will not be able to do so even if granted this permission.

    Example: Joanna is in charge of a Metric that keeps track of a Project's charitable donations. The Metric contains a view for "Projected Donations" (donations that are committed, but not yet paid) and "Delivered Donations" (donations that have been paid).

    Certain employees are responsible for keeping track of donation commitments while others are responsible for keeping track of paid donations. Joanna would like these individuals to use the Metric to track these amounts, but she wants to limit their access so they do not accidentally add projections or deliveries into the wrong view.
    To prevent this, she creates a "Projected Donation Manager" Role and a "Delivered Donation Manager" Role. She ensures that both of these Roles have the "Update Metric numbers" Project Task permission on her Project (which, in her PowerSteering environment, belong under "Edit").

    While editing the "Project Donations" Metric Template, she uses the "View Permissions" tab to grant special permissions to these Roles. On the "Projected Donations" view, she gives Projected Donation Managers "Edit" permissions while limiting Delivered Donation Managers to "View" permissions.

    On the "Delivered Donations" view, she gives Delivered Donation Managers "Edit" permissions while limiting Projected Donation Managers to "View" permissions.

    Users assigned to the "Projected Donation Manager" Role on her Project will be able to edit the "Projected Donations" view, but not "Delivered Donations".

    Notice that the Edit Table button is only available under the "Projected Donations" tab.
    Conversely, users assigned to the "Delivered Donation Manager" Role on her Project will be able to edit the "Delivered Donations" view, but not "Projected Donations".

    Notice that the Edit Table button is only available under the "Delivered Donations" tab.

  7. Select the Custom Fields / Tags tab to edit the Custom Fields and Tags attached to the Metric.

    Note: Prior to adding Custom Fields and/or Tags to the Metric layout, administrators will need to create them and associate them with Metrics. For information on how to create these items, see Add a New Custom Field and Add a New Tag

    Caution: Tags and Custom Fields cannot be removed from a Metric Template once values have been saved for them in a Metric instance on a work item. Be sure that you want to add any Tags or Custom Fields that you choose.

    To associate Tags or Custom Fields with a Metric Template, simply scroll through the available options and click on their checkboxes. To make a Tag or Custom Field mandatory on a Metric, you can select the "required" checkbox next to it. Once a Tag or Custom Field has been marked as "required," the Metric instance on a work item cannot be saved again until it has been populated with a value.

    Additionally, administrators can use the two checkboxes at the top of the page to determine how required Tags and Custom Fields will behave on Metrics:

    • Required Tags and Custom Fields only require values when there is data on the line: When this is selected, all "required" Tags and Custom Fields will only require values when numeric data has been entered into the line item.


      Notice that the "Savings Type" Tag is only outlined in red within the "Software" line item. This is because only the "Software" line item contains numeric data, so it requires a value for the Tag.

    • Required Tags and Custom Fields do not require values on calculated line items: When this is selected, Metrics created with this template will not mandate values on required Tags and Custom Fields on calculated line items. Any Tags or Custom Fields marked as "required" on the Metric Template will not require values on Metric line items that are only used for calculations.

      Note: Calculated line item add up the totals of other Metric cells. They have a white background and use bold-fonted values:

    Tag Dependencies can also be added to Metric Templates:

    When the Tag Dependency is attached, each of the Tags that make up the Tag Dependency will be represented by Tag columns on the Metric instance:

    While editing the Metric, however, only the "Top" Tag can be directly selected at first:

    Note: The "Top" Tag is the first Tag of a Tag Dependency that a user interacts with.

    This will open up window that allows the user to interact with the Tag Dependency:

    Click thumbnail to play.

  8. Select the Delegate Owner tab to reassign ownership of the Metric Template to another user.

    Note: See Delegate Ownership of a Metric Template for more information.

  9. Select the Team Members tab to edit the template's Team Members.

    Note: Metric Template Team Members are notified of any changes made to the template. See Edit Metric Template Team Members for more information.

  10. Select one of the Submit buttons.

After selecting Submit, your changes will be saved to the Metric Template.