What's New in Accolade 15.3 Release
The following sections describe new functionality and areas that have changed in Accolade in the 15.3 release.
Updates to the Portfolio Planner
In this release of Accolade, we have made improvements to the Portfolio Planner feature, introduced in Accolade 15.2. This release includes updates to the way Portfolio Managers can view and manage their portfolio. Users with the appropriate permissions can now:
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Modify and save project metric data to the scenario
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Sort project metric data in the project table
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Add a second constraint metric to waterline calculations
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Remove projects from inclusion in waterline calculations via filtering
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Delete planners without affecting scenario data
Additional Edit Rights in Layouts
In Accolade 15.3, Process Designers can configure layouts so that project team members with specific roles can edit specific data in layouts. Previously, if team members wanted to edit specific data in layouts, either they had to use deliverables and activities to do so, or they required Extended Edit Rights or Process Manager Manage Process Rights. This was not ideal as layouts are often used for data input, and these edit rights are too wide in scope. With 15.3, layouts can be configured to be editable by specific team member roles, via role-based editing.
Introducing Standard Process Models
Accolade 15.3 and later versions now offer a set of standard process models for new implementations. These models are ready-made innovation processes that can be immediately used upon installation of 15.3. The standard process models have been formulated to provide a well-defined framework for effectively managing innovation initiatives. Opting for one of these pre-built models can significantly accelerate implementation and optimize the innovation process.
Conditional Formatting Upgrade
Accolade 15.3 announces an upgrade to the conditional formatting display which allows users to select different enabling options within the table. We now support Pill and Bubble options that can enhance the visual appeal of your reports.
This display upgrade will also automatically set the text color of any cells with conditional formatting to provide better readability. If a dark background is used, the text should shift to a lighter color.
Data API Upgrade
Accolade 15.3 has added additional endpoints for the Data API. These newly created endpoints for Resource Demands and Capacities along with Timesheet Entries take advantage of OData capabilities (Select and Filter) to allow for smaller sets of data to be retrieved at a time. It is imperative to switch to the new endpoints to leverage this exciting functionality. The old endpoints are incompatible with these new features but will still continue to function.
Complete Workflow Mitigations While Completing Other Tasks
Workflow migrations will now allow users to work on daily tasks, while migrations happen in the background. The initiating user and project manager will receive notifications when the migration starts and finishes.
Enhanced Time View User Interface and Experience
Accolade 15.3 introduces a fresh new presentation and experience to the Time View, matching other interfaces across Sopheon’s family of products. This improved Time View is currently being presented as a project page that needs to be turned on, and is not a pod. It will live in tandem with the older Time View layout.
Sending and Receiving Financial Information via Acclaim Projects
In Accolade 15.3, when an Accolade project is integrated with Acclaim Projects, they can now send actual and planned costs back and forth between the two applications. This out-of-the-box feature allows volumes of financial information stored in Acclaim Projects to be subtotaled and sent to Accolade daily, where it can be rolled up into a single line to make it easy to see monthly totals.
Acclaim Projects is an optional Accolade solution that you may not have access to. To implement this solution, contact Sopheon Customer Support.
Enhancing the User Experience
In this latest release, we have updated Accolade to improve your user experience. These changes will enhance the way you interact with Accolade.
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Updates to Link Rules – In Accolade 15.3, we have introduced an option to evaluate existing projects for link creation at the time the link rule is created. Selecting the new option to not evaluate projects saves the link rule, and new links are created when new projects are added. You can add links to existing projects via the importer feature. This feature is useful for very large systems where new link rule creation could time out before projects were evaluated for link creation.
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Updating Logos – In addition to updating the Accolade logo, we have streamlined the process for Administrators to replace the Accolade logo with their own custom logo. With this improvement, your saved logo will be retained during future upgrades.