Completing Work on Online Deliverables and Activities

A deliverable or activity may exist as an online form that does not require the download of a template, or the creation of a document to upload. All the information for the deliverable or activity is entered in a form that displays on the screen.

To export an online form to a document file, click Export from a working copy of the form. Accolade exports the last saved instance of the form.

For information about completing collaborative documents, see Assigning Yourself to Collaborative Documents for more information.

To complete work on an online deliverable or activity:

1. Display the project and select the Stages page to display all deliverables and activities in the stage.

The number of completed required deliverables and activities displays along the top if the grid. This count does not include deliverables and activities that are set as Not Required.

You can also access all deliverables assigned to you across multiple projects using the All My Work page available on the Workspace menu.

2. Identify the deliverable or activity you want to work on and ensure that the current status is set appropriately in the Status column.

Additionally, if the Allow Document Owners to Set Start Date, Allow Document Owners to Set Deadline, and the Allow Document Owners to Set Function system parameters are enabled, as the assigned document owner, you can also set the dates and functions for the deliverable or activity, respectively.

3. Click the document name to display the details.
4. In the Contents tree, click the name of the online form and do one of the following:

• To open the form for editing - Click Open Working Copy to display an editable version of the online form in a new browser tab. If prompted, select whether to load the form with any metric data from the last saved version, or with the current metric data as it exists in the database. More...

  You are prompted if the form was saved but not published. It is possible that a saved version of a form can have different metric values than the current metrics if the form was saved without being published.

  Click Print from the working copy to print an online form without needing to export.

• To share the form with one or more contributors - Click Share Working Copy to open an email in your default email program that contains a link to the online form. Complete the email details including the recipients, a subject, and any explanatory information and click Send. More...

  Recipients must have access to the Accolade server and be defined as an Accolade user; however, they do not need to be a team member on the project to access the shared form. This feature is designed to allow experts outside the project team to contribute to a deliverable. Since this flexibility creates potential security issues, project teams should have a clear policy about sending and forwarding such emails.

5. Complete the contents of the online form.

If a deliverable or activity contains a link to a research website, click the Process Assistance button to access the website to complete research while completing the online form.

6. Select how to save your changes:

• To create a new version - Select the Publish this version check box to make the version accessible through Quick Search and Advanced Search and click Save and Create New Version. To create an unpublished version, clear the Publish this version check box prior to saving. Document owners, and any users to which the form is shared, can create a version of an online form.
• To save without creating a new version - Click Save to save the changes to the form without creating or publishing a new version. The form displays with the saved information the next time any user opens the form.

If you share the form for multiple users to edit, they can save their changes, but cannot create a new version.

7. Click Close to close the form and return to Accolade.
8. If the deliverable or activity is ready for the next gate meeting, return to the document's details or the Stages page, and update the document's status to Completed.
   

Notes:    To stop sharing access to an online form, access the form details and click Remove Shared Access. All shared links to the document sent through emails are no longer active. If an Accolade user is currently modifying the document, you can proceed, which undoes any unsaved changes, or cancel and contact the editor have them save their changes and close the form. If you are using an email system with a restricted-length of mail-to strings, and the Enable Simple Email Support system parameter is enabled, a dialog box containing the link displays when you click Share Working Copy. Copy the link, create a new email, and paste the link into the body of the email.