Tips for the planning version - for administrators

Are you soon going to open up the planning for next year? Here, we have gathered our best tips for you as an administrator to make your work easier.

As an administrator in Stratsys, there are several tasks you need to complete before each new planning year to ensure everything is in order for users to start their planning.

The article Planning version and version management provides valuable information on how the planning version works, so if you need to refresh your knowledge, we recommend reading it as a complement to this one.

Preparation checklist for opening the planning version

1. Create the planning version

The planning version must be created first. You can do this through the "Planning" menu in the administration section. Choose "Add" and name the version - for example, "2022" or "Planning 2022".

Review the other settings to ensure they are as desired, such as the "Visual indicator for planning version". 

2. Grant users access to the planning version.

Review that the appropriate user groups have access to the planning in the initial stage - access is controlled through this checkbox in the user groups:

There is a function that removes "Allow planning" from all permission groups - use it if only a select few should have access from the beginning. This way, you can avoid having to manually check this in all permission groups.

If all users should have access to planning later on, you can use this function. It enables the "Allow planning" option in the user groups mentioned above, eliminating the need to update each user group individually.: 

3. Menus and Views

Update the menus based on the version, if you use version-specific menus. This is common in some products. For example, change the menu name from 2022 to 2023, and check that the views in the menu point to the correct version if you have set it up.

Also, review the node properties in views if you have node properties that point to fixed periods, such as key KPIs, to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

4. Inform your users

We have put together an article with some tips for your users. You can find the article here: Tips for working in planning version - for users

5. Evaluation

• Take the opportunity to evaluate your work in Stratsys. Is there anything you can do to improve your work? We at Stratsys are here to support you and provide recommendations - reach out to your contact person!
• Are you planning to make adjustments to your existing model? A new year often brings changes to the process, which may result in changes to Stratsys. Make sure to plan for them well in advance and reach out to us if you need support.
  
  

Organizational Changes

Have you made any organizational changes in connection with the planning version?

If so, a recommendation is to check the following.

• Have all the new units in the planning received the correct department groups?
• Have you moved users from removed department to new departments?
• Have the reports and other essential information, such as goals and KPIs, been distributed to the new departments in the planning verison?

FAQ

When will the nodes I have marked for removal be deleted?

They will be deleted during the version management process.

How do I hide nodes that are marked for removal?

In the filter settings under "Other," you can enable the option to hide nodes that are "marked for removal" and then add it to the standard filter if needed.

Why can't I switch to the planning version in certain views?

This depends on how the menu is configured - there is an option to control whether the view should be visible in the planning version or not.

How do I set up new description fields and keywords to only appear in the planning version?

Unfortunately, we do not have support for displaying description fields and keywords in only a specific version. In these cases, we recommend clearly naming them to indicate which year they apply to.

Why aren't all activities displayed in the planning version?

The default setting in views in the planning version is that activities that have been completed (have a status of "Completed" or similar) during the current year are not visible in the planning version.

They are not deleted, but filtered out to not be shown, and can be removed during the version management process if desired. If you want the completed activities to still be visible, you can either change the default filter in individual views or change the default setting to always show all activities.

To make changes in an individual view, first enable the option to filter by status in the filter settings for the relevant activity column, and then set the default filter to the "All" option. To change the default setting, go to Activity Settings in the administration section, navigate to the Status tab, and in the Default Filter setting, select "All" instead of "All from the version".