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IQ Release Notes — 2024

2024.11.24.1​

SenseiControlsV1, Kaizen and Atsumeru (2024.11.24.1) Solutions released on 3 December 2024

WARNING! This update removes the native task management tool "IQ Schedule" from your deployment per previous communications.

New and Improved:

  • #1101, #1208, #1256: Enhancements to the "Add Request" Dialog for Resource Demand (UserBack)
    We've improved the ways in which you can add new resource requests from the perspective of a Project Manager (Resource Plan) and Resource Manager (Resource Demand). The enhancements include the ability to add the request and specify the number of hours, FTE or %FTE, start and finish dates and the system will allocate the request(s) accordingly. The older ways of adding requests still work the same if that is still preferred.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1189, #1190, #1191, #1211: Premium Connector to External Sync System: Monday.com
    Monday.com is now a supported external task management system for Sensei IQ using our background sync (dataflow) synchronization process. By default, the included Project columns are: project name, ID, URL, work, remaining work, actual work, description, percent complete, start date. finish date and the included Task columns are: bucket, duration, effort, effort completed, effort remaining, index, milestone, parent task ID, project ID, task ID, name, order, percent complete, priority, summary, finish date and start date.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1192, #1212, #1213, #1214: Premium Connector to External Sync System: Smartsheet
    Smartsheet is now a supported external task management system for Sensei IQ using our background sync (dataflow) synchronization process. By default, the included Project columns are: project name, ID, and URL and the included Task columns are: duration, index, milestone, name, percent complete, parent task ID, project ID, task ID, summary, finish date, start date.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1224: Improvements to the New Project Experience, Sorting and Tooltips
    We've added the ability to sort both project types and external systems by the sort order column on both records. This would allow organizations to choose how the systems and project types appear in the choice lists. In addition, the "description" for each of the above are now visible as tooltips when hovering over the name of the system and project type.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1255: Resource Capacity Calculation "Batching"
    Some work was put into optimizing our plugin that handles the resource capacity calculation jobs. In addition, we've made the operation more configurable so that we can better handle large resource pools that may not require all resource types to have capacity calculated. See the "Resource Horizon" config setting for the new options.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1181: Added external system name to the External Project Selector control
    When viewing the link between a project in Sensei IQ and an external project on the Details tab of the Project form, we've added the external system name.
  • #1257, #1265: Export Options from Project Financials
    It's now possible to generate an "on the fly" report from your project financials by exporting to Excel or CSV file. Either the current view or "All" financials can be exported, and within seconds you have a basic report to embed in a presentation or email to a collaborator.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1184, #1247: Allow for customized Financial Variance calculations
    It's now possible to define a new way to calculate financial variance. If your organization requires that custom cost types be included in the variance calculation or if your usage of budget, forecast and actual differs from the recommended default in Sensei IQ, an administrator can change the calculation for the organization in a basic sense from a new configuration setting.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1226: Configurable Tooltips for Financial Items
    A new configuration setting for "Financial Item Tooltips" allows an administrator to add custom and built in columns to a tooltip window that will appear when users hover over a financial item name in the Project Financials grid. This allows for more flexibility when customizing the behavior of project financials. Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1140: Configuration Setting to allow organizations to hide default cost types and variance
    Some organizations do not use our out of the box cost types or variance calculations, so in order to provide them the ability to hide these, we added this option to the "General" setting for Financials. Now, an admin can choose which cost types to hide including variance.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1174, #1242: Optional setting - Limit timesheet approval to only the Timesheet Manager of the Resource (UserBack)
    We heard from one of our clients that due to compliance requirements, they needed to limit the approval permissions of their timesheets to just the timesheet manager for the resource. If the timesheet manager is unable to approve, they can edit the resource record to provide a delegate.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1178: New Link options for Landing Page Tile links (UserBack)
    Another great idea that has come from you through UserBack was the idea to allow for custom links from Landing Page tiles. We have now added the ability to link to a web resource (like the "Insights" reports) or an external site from the landing page.
    Demonstrated in the video above.

Fixes:

  • #1103 Resolved a edge case where when adding a resource request using the "Add Request" dialog the request wouldn't be added if the availability data had not fully loaded.
  • #1206 The Change Request Summary PCF for Programs and Portfolios wasn't allowing for customizations. This is now resolved.
  • #1233 In some cases, we had channel ids for connected Teams channels not stored correctly on the corresponding entity record. We've made changes to defaults to ensure this always happens correctly.
  • #1258 When creating and completing a resource timesheet on behalf of another resource/user through the bookable resource form, timesheet tab the totals columns for the timesheet were not being calculated and left blank. We've resolved this issue.
  • #1260 For some clients, there was an issue in the calculation of the fiscal year windows for reporting. This resulted in incorrect months being displayed on one two chart visualizations in the Portfolio IQ Insights report.
  • #1263 Pre-validation Plugin Step verified. In rare cases some users were able to duplicate timesheet rows even with our initial work on this plugin step. This step has been verified to remove duplicate rows if detected.

2024.09.03.1​

SenseiControlsV1 (2024.08.24.1), Kaizen and Atsumeru (2024.09.03.1) Solutions released on 4 September 2024

This update is an interim release to provide a fix for the bug listed below. Expect a larger release later in Q4 continuing our enhancements in the Resource Management and External System Sync areas.

WARNING! This update removes the native task management tool "IQ Schedule" from your deployment per previous communications.

Fixes:

  • #1227 We've updated our project Set Current Stage function to ensure that for projects using multiple BPFs throughout their lifecycles the current stage column value always reflects the current stage from the active BPF.

2024.08.24.1​

SenseiControlsV1, Kaizen and Atsumeru (2024.08.24.1) Solutions released on 28 August 2024

WARNING! This update removes the native task management tool "IQ Schedule" from your deployment per previous communications.

New and Improved:

  • #1004, #1092, #1112, #1148, #1153: "Scroll to Start" for Resource Request Pages
    For quite some time, we've heard from users in the Resource Manager role that it was difficult to understand how to find the start dates for requests that needed to be approved. We started solving this challenge by introducing the tooltips that detail the start and end for the requests, but we wanted to provide an easier way to get to the start of a request or request group, and even take this further by providing an option that would always take the resource manager to the start of the earliest request that was unfulfilled to help make their task of review and approval easier. This feature has three main components, first is the ability to scroll to the start of a request or a request group on the row header in the ellipsis menu. The second is on the Resource Plan within a project, providing a single-click "Scroll to Start" button that will take the user to the first non-zero draft, proposed or committed request day in the resource plan. The last, and arguably most valuable feature is for the resource managers on the Resource Demand page where the user can toggle on the "Auto Scroll to Start" button and this will take them to the first proposed or committed request day for their resources and when used in conjunction with "Show Unfulfilled Requests Only", it will always take them to the first period where they have a request that needs action or approval.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1086, #1107, #1139, #1142, #1172, #1186, #1203, #1205: "My Time Off" for Team Members (UserBack)
    We heard from you that it would be beneficial to allow team members (resources) to create their own calendar exceptions. A new setting called "Calendar Exceptions" in the Resourcing category has been created that provides two toggles, one to enable the creation of "Team Member Calendar Exceptions" at an organization level when set to "Yes", and another to "Create Exceptions as Inactive" to allow for approval extensibility scenarios. Note, for each resource you would like to be able to create their own exceptions, the toggle on the resource record for "Allow to create exceptions" must be set to "Yes". These resources will then see a link in the "Work" area for "My Time Off" and will be able to create their own exceptions from the table on that page. We also added a view to the Resource IQ Insights report where exceptions can be viewed in a calendar format for Resource Managers reviewing requests for their resources. Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1100, #1116, #1201: Provide visibility to Synced Tasks in Read-only Power Apps view or Widget Dashboard Display
    We've added the ability for clients to visualize their tasks synced from external systems in the method of their choosing. For each external system, clients can choose to display their tasks in a "Read-only sub grid" (as a task list in a Power apps view) or as a "Widget Dashboard" that shows metrics and charts more suited to agile or "board-like" external execution tools. We hope to add additional task visualization options in the future. Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1159: Inclusion of "Draft" status dates in Resource Plan Tooltips (UserBack)
    Through UserBack, we heard that it would be beneficial to have even "Draft" status request dates used in determining the start and finish for requests in the Resource Plan so that Project Managers can quickly view the information they may have entered but not yet submitted. These draft status request days are also used in the "Scroll to Start" function for the Resource Plan only.
  • #1154, #1232: Filters for Active Resources and Banner/Warning indicator on Resource Plan when Inactive Resources are used (UserBack)
    Several of our clients have a resource pools that change frequently with the onboarding and offboarding of resources in various roles and suggested through UserBack that we provide a visual indicator for resources that are inactive on the resource request pages. As a solution to this, not only have be provided a banner and warning indicator for Project Managers on the Resource Plan tab for a project, but we've also filtered inactive resources from the Resource Demand and Resource Availability pages by default (individual users can remove the filter for their session if desired). Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1155, #1187, #1194: "Show Active Projects Only" filter option for Resource Request pages (UserBack)
    We heard from you that viewing only projects that have a status that would be considered "Active" in the resource request pages (Resource Demand, Resource Availability and Resource Allocation) would be very helpful in removing clutter for projects not considered active. We've added a configuration setting to set the status(es) your organization considers "active", and when the filter is enabled, "non-active" projects will not be considered in the calculation of availability. As part of this, in order to display relevant data to the user, we've added the "Status" for the project to the project tooltip displayed on resource request pages (#1187). To ensure that this filter is also available on Resource IQ Insights Request pages, we've added the "Initiative Status" column to the page-level filters on the filters pane for this report (#1194). Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1166: Protect Required column on Config Settings from User Modification
    We've locked the "Name" column for our config settings, which refers to the internal name of the setting used by the solutions to reference the setting for functionality so that administrators cannot inadvertently disrupt functionality by modification of the setting name.
  • #1088: Improved Portfolio, Program and Role Lookups
    The data shown when associating a project to a portfolio or program, or resource to their role has been updated to show more useful information to assist in making the correct selection.
  • #1020: Customizable labels on Project Change Request Summary Control
    We've added the ability to change the label shown for "Change Requests" on the Project Change Request Summary PCF control. This is to support organizations that don't use the term "Change Requests" and may call these items by some other name.

Fixes:

  • #1115, #1133 Removed banner on Resource Request grids indicating that the project was not associated with an O365 group when committing resources.
  • #1164 Changed the filter for "Show Unfulfilled Requests Only" for the "Resource Plan" request page to the original default of OFF.
  • #1152 Reduced "flicker" in Strategic Goal form tabs by hiding tabs by default.
  • #1038 Removed unused columns in Project for the web Project Sync dataflow to better utilize auto map feature from Microsoft.
  • #1175 Added "Search" bar to the Resource Availability Heatmap page with the same logic as other Request page search bars. Search term will match to Project name and Resource name.
  • #1163 Resolved issue where 'Sensei IQ' Teams Channel Tab (Power Apps) was not loading correct data for Programs or Portfolios.

2024.06.11.4​

SenseiControlsV1 (2024.06.11.1), Kaizen and Atsumeru (2024.06.11.4) Solutions released on 12 June 2024

This update is an interim release to provide for fixes to a few bugs identified by clients. Expect a larger release later in Q3 focused on Resource Management improvements.

New and Improved:

  • #1109: New Configuration Setting for Strategy Management Mode
    To support the two modes for Strategy Management, we've added a configuration setting that hides the "Benefits" links for those organizations that are focused on Strategy Alignment only without the usage of Benefits and Benefits Tracking. For those organizations that require tracking benefits, they can enable the "Strategy Realization" mode. Note, this setting will not affect the visibility of Strategic Goal form tabs, as that is handled in a separate setting.
  • #1086: New Configuration Setting for User Feedback Cadence
    We've added a setting to allow organizations to control how often (in days) that their users are prompted for feedback on Sensei IQ.
  • #1073: Reset all Settings to Default option for Configuration Settings
    We've added an option (with protections) to the Configuration Settings page that allows for a Sensei IQ Administrator to reset all configuration settings to their defaults. This allows for a "quick restore" to the default state for a Sensei IQ Deployment.
  • #1108: Slight Change in Resource Request Tooltips (UserBack)
    Due to the way that some organizations utilize "Shift" for Resource Requests, old dates were being used in the "Request Start" and "Request Finish" for the tooltips. We've changed the logic to ensure that only non-zero values are used in the tooltips.

Fixes:

  • #1130 (Direct Client Communication) We are now hiding availability where it offers no value (i.e. against project rows) in the resource request and availability focused pages, and only showing availability for resource rows and resource row groupings. As part of this work, another issue was fixed where if a resource was fully allocated to their capacity, remaining availability showed as full capacity.
  • #1143 Resolved issue where when using the Power Apps form drop down menu to switch forms, Project tabs did not display as expected.
  • #1161 Fixed a problem that intermittently occurred where form tabs and BPF did not show on the Project form without a manual form refresh.
  • #1099 Pre-validation Plugin Step added. In rare cases some users were able to duplicate timesheet rows even with our key constraints in place. This step will remove duplicate rows if detected.

2024.04.24.3​

SenseiControlsV1 (2024.04.24.3), Kaizen and Atsumeru (2024.04.24.2) Solutions released on 30 April 2024

New and Improved:

  • #480, #901, #942, #973, #1018: Sensei IQ Teams App Improvements (UserBack submissions)
    We've improved a number of usage scenarios in our Sensei IQ Teams app. When Microsoft pushed users to switch to the "New" Teams last month, we experienced issues in how this new version provided "Website" access in channel tabs as Microsoft deprecated access to "Website" focused channel tabs in Teams Desktop. We've altered the app used by the "Sensei IQ" tab to select the "Power Apps" tab instead of website, now offering the same functionality that was deprecated by Microsoft previously. In addition, we've added the functionality to turn off, rename and create new Sensei IQ teams app tabs, even if an app tab already exists for that entity. Finally, we are now selecting the correct "Tasks" channel tab app to use based on the type of external project your Sensei IQ project is connected to. We currently support Planner, Project and Azure DevOps, with a goal to support Jira Cloud in the future (Project Online does not offer a channel tab app for tasks, but this can be added manually using the "Website" tab if desired).
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1002, #1011, #1012, #1013, #1014, #1015, #1016, #1060, #1067, #1068, #1070: Strategy IQ Improvements to Support Strategic Alignment
    After many client interviews regarding usage of Strategy IQ, we validated that some organizations were struggling with the various interfaces required to properly input strategic planning elements and needed a simpler format. We have updated the standard out of the box experience to support a more straightforward method of aligning your strategic goals to execution (Projects) and enhanced some of the supporting views and reports to provide users with the data needed to gain insights into their organizational strategy. This 'Strategic Alignment' mode will be the default for Sensei IQ deployments, and organizations can customize and "grow into" additional features such as benefits realization management (BRM) as their requirements warrant. (Reporting improvements requires manual update.)
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #818, #959, #1061, #1062: Key Date Cross-Project Dependencies (UserBack submission)
    We heard that organizations needed a way to provide their project managers to link projects to one another if there were "external" dependencies from one project to the next. To allow for this, we've implemented "Key Date Cross-Project Dependencies" so that a Project Manager may link their key date to another key date in the system, and review this link as dates may change or slip. On the key date form, we can now review the details of the "Depends On" date, as well as any other key dates that are linked to our key date in a table below our key date's details. A new report page and view have been added to show these details as well. (Reporting improvements requires manual update.)
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #979, #1021, #1036, #1039, #1060, #1062: Power BI Report Updates (Requires Manual Update)
    We've made a number of small changes to our Power BI reports - more detail can be found here (versions 2024.03.01 and newer): Reporting Versions | Sensei Docs (senseiiq.cloud)
  • #1051: Further advocate for Business Cases as default "Pre-project" initiative
    We've decided to lessen the visibility into the "Proposal" entity in Sensei IQ, as "Business Cases" offer more functionality and support more usage scenarios out of the box. For clients still utilizing "Proposals" please speak with your engagement lead regarding this item prior to upgrading as there will be two post update steps to complete to provide continued quick access to Proposals through the site map and landing page.

Fixes:

  • #1032 (ZenDesk): Resolved an issue with the SetCurrentProjectStage plugin inconsistently setting project current stage to "Finished" when the BPF was complete.
  • #1022 Removed the redundant IQ Icon in Project List views within Sensei IQ.
  • #1028 Added "%" sign to "Target Utilization" column to indicate that this should be considered a percentage of time that the resource should be utilized. Note: this value does not currently impact any resource availability calculations, as that is done through the resource calendar.
  • #1019 (UserBack) Fixed a typo in the "Risk Owner" Description tooltip.
  • #1084 (Direct Client Communication) Fixed an issue where in the "Add Resource" dialog for the Resource Demand Grid, FTE and %FTE were not taking into account the number of periods in view and showing a total value instead of an average.
  • #1074 Fixed an issue where the defaults for certain settings weren't available and improved the confirmation dialog displayed to the user when resetting to the setting default.

Training:

  • In conjunction with this release we have published numerous updates to Sensei IQ training to reflect recent product updates, including My Work app; My Projects app; Business Cases; Project Prioritization; Scheduling with Project for the web; Usability Tips and Hints.

2024.03.15.7​

SenseiControlsV1 (2024.03.15.2), Kaizen (2024.03.15.3) and Atsumeru (2024.03.15.7) Solutions released on 19 March 2024

New and Improved:

  • #870, #920, #921, #936, #946: Active Status Filtering for Project Management Artifact Entities (UserBack submission)
    For Risks, Issues, Decisions and Deliverables, we now are giving you an option in the respective configuration settings to set which status(es) your organization considers "Active". Items that have a status that is considered "Active" will be counted and appear in the respective PCF controls (Status Summary or Risk Matrix). The default "Active" statuses for each artifact will be used by default until adjusted by your organization.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #916: Cross filter Project, Program and Portfolio Risks from the Risk Matrices
    Users can now interact with the Risk Matrices and click on the cells to cross filter the list of risks to the right of the matrix. Leaving the page or clicking the clear filter button will reset the filter. Filters applied to the list (subgrid) will be additive to the matrix filters.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #941, #994: Resource Request Start and Finish dates on Request Tooltips
    We've enhanced the tooltips that were added in our last release to allow for the display of the request start and finish on the tooltip. For non-rollup rows (rows that represent the individual requests) you'll see the request start date and request finish date on the tool tip. For the roll-up rows (heading rows that represent a resource or project) you'll see the "Earliest Request Start" and "Latest Request Finish" for all requests that relate to that resource or project. This will help users in understanding the full range of time they should look at when reviewing unapproved requests or commitments that differ from the original request.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #938, #939, #968, #993, #986, #987, #988, #991, #1006: New Bookable Resource form tabs (Availability and Timesheet)
    Two new tabs have been added to the resource record for the main purpose of allowing Resource Managers additional visibility into pre-set/pre-filtered pages that focus on a single resources availability and current timesheet. The "Availability" tab will show the Availability Heatmap pre-filtered for only the current resource. The "Timesheet" tab will default to the current timesheet for the resource, but all controls are functional, allowing resource managers to approve/reject and also recall and adjust a resource's timesheet. Both tabs are available for deep linking from reports.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #876, #1019: Organizational Maximums and Minimums for Timesheet Submission (UserBack Submission)
    We heard from you that it would be beneficial to have controls around whether timesheets could be submitted based on their adherence to organizational limits (max and min) for hours on the timesheet (and in a given day). Now your organization can implement a maximum number of hours per timesheet, minimum number of hours per timesheet, and maximum number of hours per day on the Timesheet Configuration setting.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #940, #990: Auditing Features for Admins on Timesheet Periods (UserBack Submission)
    We heard from you that administrators need better insights into whether there are still "unapproved" timesheets in any timesheet period before making the decision to close a period. To offer this, we've added a column to the Active Timesheet Periods list view to show the count of any unapproved timesheets in that period. In addition, when clicking to open a period, a banner will display if there are any unapproved timesheets, and the admin can click through to a secondary tab which shows the list of unapproved timesheets, their status, and who to contact (bookable resource and timesheet manager).
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #1000: Timesheet view option - Show only rows with Values (UserBack Submission)
    Another great idea came in from our user base, suggesting that we have a view option to only show rows in a timesheet that have values (greater than 0) entered on them. This view setting is shown as the "eye" icon in the upper right of the grid controls. When enabled, the icon will be colored red, when disabled, it will be blue.
    Demonstrated in the video above.
  • #904: "My Active Ideas" view
    We've added a new view for "Ideas". The "My Active Ideas" view will show any idea that you're the owner of that is in the "New" or "Submitted" status.
  • #957: Availability Heatmap calculation for Resources without Requests
    We heard that it was confusing to see resources without requests on the Availability Heatmap grid without having their availability reflect their total capacity (since they do not have current requests). We've altered this calculation to ensure that all resources on the Availability Heatmap show a true reflection of their availability (when this column is turned on in the view settings) based on committed requests and their calendar.

Fixes:

  • #967 (UserBack Submission): Slightly decreased the vertical height of the Timesheet grid to accommodate the action buttons (like "Submit for Approval") at the bottom of the page without vertically scrolling.
  • #980 (UserBack submission/Direct client communication): Updated the "Documents" control/tab to fix the margin issue on the left (caused by Microsoft's "New Look").
  • #998: Fixed authentication to the Sensei IQ Teams app in the "New Teams" desktop client. Note - additional changes are coming in this area (likely in Q2) to support continued usage of the Sensei IQ and Tasks Channel Tabs that must align to Microsoft's new standards for the New Teams Desktop client.
  • #989: Resolved an issue where the baseline finish date, forecast finish date and start date would shift to 1 day earlier in the Status Update persisted information panel.
  • #1009: Fixed an issue where an existing Planner Plan could not be selected when linking a Sensei IQ project when group creation was disabled.
  • #1033: Fixed an issue where the "change resource" text entry box was not accessible due to limited screen space on only the last row of the resource request (demand) grid.
  • #1029: Fixed a typo in Risk Owner description.