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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Admin: IPSO Administrator has full access rights and permission to create, edit and remove projects, structures and user accounts. This should be a logon restricted to staff who have undertaken Administrator training and understand the implications of making changes to system settings etc.
Approval Process: When user enters information into a ToDo list or a Timesheet, before it actually gets entered onto the Project details it appears on the 'Approvals' list of the project or stage manager. Managers approve tasks off this list, the Gantt and all other details are then updated
Autoupdate: the process within IPSO that allows IPSO:Clients to upgrade to new versions of IPSO automatically after any update to IPSO:Server.
B
Business As Usual (BAU): covers activity that is non-project related. The essential difference between a BAU activity and a normal project is that in BAU it is the User him/herself that assigns the activity, whereas in a normal project, the Manager or Stage Manager assigns tasks.
C
Cache: the area on the local computer where information is stored on a temporary basis, essentially to improve the efficiency of network operations. The cache remains in place if IPSO:client is closed down, but if IPSO:client is updated, the local cache is emptied.
Check in, Check out: IPSO uses a process of Checking In and Checking Out to allow for controlled, multi-user access. This prevents confusion over different versions of the project plans or documents.
.csv files: a standard format for transferring information in tabular form between different software applications. CSV stands for Comma Separated Variables: each row of the table appears as a separate line in the file, and each field in the table is separated from its neighbour by a comma
Critical Path: If a task is on the Critical Path, any alteration to it's Duration will have the effect of altering the Start or Finish Date of the overall Project
Current User: the person logged on at a workstation. There can only be one current User on a workstation at any time.
Custom Views: set up by the Administrator to control completely what people can and cannot see. Custom views are required to in order to show Detail fields as columns
D
Default View: The Manager can set a default view of a project - this is the arrangement of columns and Gantt chart that appears when the project is first accessed. This includes the view that appears on a Public Project List
Detail fields: created locally by the IPSO Administrator - as opposed to Standard Fields which are fixed within IPSO
Documents - From File: Document is attached to a Task by copying it into IPSO from an external location. If the original is then deleted, the only way to access the document will be through IPSO
Documents - From Template: Document is attached to a Task by copying it from a Template already created in IPSO
Documents - Link to file: Document is attached to a Task by reference (path) to its external location. The document is not within the IPSO system and is therefore not under any configuration control by IPSO. If the document is moved of deleted from the external location, IPSO will no longer be able to access it
Document State Model: Defined Status stages through which a document progresses. The default 'Standard Document State Model' has Planning->Draft->Complete->Ready for Review->Approved. Different Task State Models can be individually defined by Admin. Once in use by any project a Document State Model cannot be subsequently altered. Also once a project has been created, the Document State Model it uses cannot be subsequently altered.
Duration: The length of time between the start of a project or task and its finish. As distinct from 'Effort' which is the actual amount of time spent doing the work. A task might have 3 days duration but within that only 6 hours effort."
E
Estimated Date of Completion (EDC): the date it is expected to complete the assignment or task
Edit Document: If a document is checked out and edited, it should then be saved and the editing application closed. The changes will then be saved.
Effort: The amount of actual work needed as distinct from 'duration' which is the overall time from start to end of the task. (So for example a task may have a duration of 2 weeks but require just 3days effort.)
Estimated Time to Complete (ETC): how much longer is needed to complete the assignment or task
G
Gantt: The conventional graphic illustration for project progress. IPSO shows colour coded Gantt charts that can be kept up-to-date from the recording of ToDo and Timesheet information
Gantt Chart Texts: can optionally be set to appear as annotations alongside each of the Gantt bars. They can show any of the Standard Fields
I
IP Address: IPSO Uses conventional Internet Protocol to identify and network workstations and server. A example of an IP Address is 198.116.20.10. IPSO can also use Computer Names in place of actual IP addresses
IPSO:Client: the software at a networked workstation. Workstations access central IPSO:Server.
IPSO Default Settings: the 'factory settings' that apply when IPSO is first installed. May be subsequently changed by Administrator
IPSO Help desk: a support service available to IPSO Administrators who have a current maintenance contract for the software. See Support menu item on www.psc-support.net.
IPSO:Monitor: the software that administers IPSO:Server. It is normally only accessed by the Administrator
IPSO:Server: the software on a networked server. It is accessed by IPSO:Client workstations
L
Lag factor: The Lag is used if a time gap is needed between 2 tasks. IPSO defaults to 0d lag
Lag - Fixed: Applies a definite time period on a link. The successor task must follow after a period no shorter and no longer than the stated lag
Lag - Variable: Applies a mimimum time period on a link. The successor task must follow after a period no shorter than the stated lag, but can be moved to start later
localhost: the Server address applied when IPSO:Client is running on the same computer as IPSO:Server
Lock Option: Tabs set up for Detail Fields can have a Lock option which is set by IPSO Administrator. This enables the data on that tab to be Locked at any future point in time by any of the Users entitled to access the Tab. Details of the lock (who applied it and when) will appear at the bottom of any locked tabs. Once Locked a tab cannot be unlocked - except by the IPSO Administrator
Log: keeps a historical record of all transactions on IPSO. It is viewed on an optional pane at the bottom of each project window.
Logfile server: IPSO server log file is ipssrv9x.log or ipssrv9x.~log found in the ipso\server directory. The log file starts afresh each time IPSO:Server ipssrv9x.exe is started.
Logfile client: IPSO client log file is ipsoclnt.log or ipsoclnt.~log found in the ipso\client directory. The log file starts afresh each time IPSO:Client ipsoclnt.exe is started
M
Managers: can open and fully manage the projects they create or are assigned to work on. They cannot create or edit the IPSO structure or add new users.
Managers View: a quick way that the logged on Manager can list and access all projects or tasks which he/she is responsible for.
Milestones: appear as a symbol on the Start and/or End date of the task's Gantt Bar to make the event more apparent in on the display. It is also possible to filter the Gantt chart so that only those tasks have milestones are displayed on the Gantt.
N
Notes prefix buttons: The following stamps can be entered at any time in a Notes field using the relevant pushbuttons: 'DS'-Date 'TS'-Time 'DTS'-Date and Time 'DTSN'-Date, Time and Name
Non working days: refer to settings made in the Global or project based Working Times where particular days of the week can be designated as not working. Normally these refer to Saturday and Sunday
NULL: indicates that the field has no entry. For example a NULL date field means that the date has either never been entered or has been removed
O
Organisation structure: can be setup within IPSO. This might be used to reflect the departmental structure of a large organisation, or simply as a convenient way of filing different projects if your organisation is not so deeply structured.
P
PRIDE: a project methodology, produced and maintained by Public Sector Consultants Limited. It is compliant with PRINCE2, but is much more easy to follow and introduce for corporate use
PRINCE2: the UK government standard project methodology
Profile: A user profile is established the first time a registered user logs in at a PC. Some user-specific files are created and the user name will appear on the log-in drop down list. The user profile can be removed with the 'Manage Logins' function under the main IPSO menu. User profiles are also automatically removed whenever IPSO server is upgraded. If a user profile is removed, then local changes to any tasks or documents that are still checked out will be lost.
Product Breakdown Structure (PBS): a self-maintained numeric hierarchy of Tasks and subtasks
Programme Gantt Charts: provide for read only display of a collection of project as a Gantt Chart view
Project Summary Reports: provides for whole page reporting of project details (as distinct from the information appearing in tables).
Public Project List: provide Read-only views of Project details. Each project can optionally identify a User Group which has the viewing facility. It may be useful for example to have a 'Senior Management' User Group which works in this way
Project Tasks: the table (rows and columns) that form part are all of the normal display of project information on the screen. A 'Project View' comprises Project Tasks on the left hand side of the screen and (optionally) the display of a Gantt chart on the right hand side
Project view: the normal display of project information on the screen. It comprises of a Project Tasks and (optionally) a Gantt chart
R
Read only: means that the project or document is in a state that can be read, but not edited (changed) by the user. Sometimes the item can be made available by Checking it out
Recursive: means 'carry out action on this level and all levels below it'. For example if the Recursive checkbox is flagged on the Check out dialog box, then the task plus all its subtasks will be Checked Out
Repeat Tasks: Where it is known that a task will be repeated regularly with predicatable times and durations, the Create Repeat Tasks facility allows this to be done quickly and efficiently. For example Checkpoint meetings can be pre-planned on a weekly basis to take place on a given date, to last for a certain duration of time and to require an anticipated amount of effort.
S
Server Agent: a background application running on IPSO:Server. It enables the IPSO:Monitor to stop and start IPSO:Server.
Special days: settings made in the Global or project based Working Times where particular days of the calendar can be designated as not working. These can refer to Public Holidays, factory shut-downs etc.
Stage Managers: have similar access to Managers, but only for those tasks (parts of a project) which they have been assigned to work on.
Standard fields: the fields that are fixed within IPSO - as opposed to Detail Fields which are created locally by the IPSO Administrator
State Models: present the different status settings that a Task or Document passes through. They apply to Task and to Documents. The Standard Task State Model is the initial default which has a task passing through: 1)Planning 2)Not Started 3)In Progress 4)Complete and if appropriate 5)Cancelled.
Summary Task flag: found in 'Task Properties' and is used mainly for clarity of display of the project information - indicating that it is a summary of a series of sub-tasks. The Summary Task will appear with tags at each end of the Gantt chart and its cell entries can be selectively hidden (using Tree Grid Column Settings).
T
Table Reports: where the data is produced in rows and columns - the conventional database output
Task Menu:called either from the Main Menu or by R-Clicking on a Task in a Project View
Task State Model:Defined Status stages through which a project progresses. The default 'Standard Task State Model' has Planning->Not Started->In Progress->Complete. Different Task State Models can be individually defined by Admin. Once in use by any project a Task State Model cannot be subsequently altered. Also once a project has been created, the Task State Model it uses cannot be subsequently altered.
Team Members (Users):able to see their Todo lists or Timesheets and the tasks that are assigned to them but have limited access rights to other functionality or information.
Templates:can be created for both Tasks/subtasks and whole projects. All task entries are stored and optionally all documents, assignments and dependencies. Assignments can be stored as named individuals, or as the name of a group; if the latter is selected, the individual (from the stored group) is selected when the template comes to be used.
ToDo user:has been assigned to manage their time using ToDo Views. ToDo views record effort, task status and Estimated Dates of Completion
Timesheet user:has been assigned to manage their time using Timesheets. Timesheets record effort, task status, Estimated Dates of Completion and also the actual date when the work was done.
U
Users:the people who are involved in the projects at the various levels such as Project Manager, Stage Manager, Team member or Executive. They are given access rights to the system by the system Administrator.
User accounts:used for 1) Assigning access rights and privileges to different people involved in any way with the system 2) Grouping similar users of IPSO together to make the use of the system more efficient and convenient
User Group:is a collection of people who will use the system in the same way. They are managed by the system Administrator.
W
Working Day:The number of hours in the Working day is calculated from the number of working hours assigned to a Monday in the Working Time settings. A default for this is set Global Working Times and this can be overwritten at individual project level
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