Introduction
You can group individual users into teams to make effort-based planning easier than ever. The concept of teams is used mainly in the Resources module - task data can be presented in team swimlanes.
The information about teams can also be displayed in the Gantt module by adding teams to the Column View.
Benefits of using teams
monitor work across teams
team capacity and workload information
automatic assignment of a task to a team based on the assignee
How does it work
A team is created in a box - automatically, this is the primary box a team is assigned to. A team can be managed only in the primary box it is associated with. It is possible to assign a team to a different box (change the primary box).
A single team can be available in multiple BigPicture boxes. This is useful when the same teams work in multiple projects.
Users are assigned to teams - this creates a ‘membership’. Membership information specifies how much time a user dedicates to the team effort.
Assign tasks to a team
Assign tasks to team
Tasks can be automatically assigned to a team based on the assignee.
View teams
Go to the Teams module to see the list of teams available in a box.
Team attributes
Information | Description |
|---|---|
Basic attributes  |
Inherited vs primary teams Each team must be managed in the primary box it is assigned to. Teams can be used in multiple boxes, but team information can’t be modified in secondary boxes. By default, the box in which a team has been created becomes its primary box. The primary box can be changed when you ‘assign existing team’ to a different box. |
Details tab  | Identifying team information:
|
Members tab  | Team members - the list contains current membership information of team members:
If a team membership has a future date it doesn’t apply yet - resource is listed as having ‘no membership’. To see all memberships of a user, click on the resource name. |
Boxes involved tab  | List of boxes the team is available in:
|
Team management
Create new team
Newly created teams don’t have any members - add team members to finish setting up a team.
If the button is greyed out (team cannot be created):
You don’t have sufficient box permissions
Box type settings don’t allow for a team to be created
In the Teams tab:
Click the
button at the topSelect Create new team from the dropdown menu
Provide
team name
team code
team code color
Click Create
Assign existing team
A team from an upper-level box is assigned in a lower-level box → team is added as an inherited team to a lower-level box. The upper-level box is unaffected.
A team from a lower-level box is assigned in an upper-level box → primary box of a team is changed. The upper-level box (where the action is performed) becomes the primary team box of a team. In the lower-level box (that used to be primary) the team still available, but is treated as inherited.
If the button is greyed out (team cannot be assigned):
You don’t have sufficient box permissions
Box type settings don’t allow for a team to be assigned
Click the
button at the topSelect Assign existing team from the drop-down menu
Select a team from the list
Click Assign
Duplicate existing team
All team information, including memberships, is duplicated. Make sure to adjust the team memberships.
Original team is unaffected.
Click the
button at the topSelect Duplicate existing team from the list
Select a team
Click Duplicate
Edit
Team name, code, and code color can be modified in the Details tab of the Teams module.
Delete
A team is deleted from ALL the boxes (including the boxes in which it is listed as ‘inherited’)
The action cannot be reversed.
In the Teams module:
Click the
iconClick Delete to confirm
Unassign
Only teams marked as inherited can be unassigned.
In the Teams module:
Click the
unassign iconClick Unassign to confirm
View team assignment
Screen | Description |
|---|---|
Teams module | List of all users assign to a team. To edit team assignment, you must go to the box a team was created in (assigned to). |
Resource details page | List of all memberships of a user - includes all teams from all the BigPicture boxes in the app (read-only). |
Team membership attributes
a user can be a member of multiple teams at the same time - memberships can overlap
a user can have multiple memberships in the same team - membership periods within a team cannot overlap
start date | Memberships are applied for a time period. Start date must be provided. |
end date | Calculated automatically. When a new membership is added, the start date of a new assignment sets the end date of the previous workload plan assignment. |
availibility | How much of resource capacity is dedicated to their work in the team. Note: it is possible to exceed 100% of user capacity (user assigned to multiple teams). Signified with an orange circle around the avatar.  |
skills | Skills assigned to a team member |
Manage team memberships
Add
The Members tab shows currently applicable memberships.
If a team membership has a future date it doesn’t apply yet - resource is listed as having ‘no membership’. To see all memberships of a user, click on the resource name.
Edit
Changes cannot be made in a box that inherited a team. Go to the primary team box to edit team memberships.
Delete a single membership
Click on a team and open the Details panel
Go to the Membership tab
Click on a resource name
Click on the delete icon
Click Remove to confirm
Delete a user from a team (remove all memberships)
In the Teams module:
Click on a team and open the Details panel
Go to the Membership tab
Click on the delete icon
Click Remove to confirm
Assign tasks to teams
Resources module
Drag-and-drop
Use the drag-and-drop mechanism to position a task in a selected team swimlane.
Task details pop-up
Click on a task to open the task details pop-up. Select a team from a drop-down.
Gantt module
You can quickly assign tasks to a respective team by inline editing in a column view in the Gantt module.
Automatic
Tasks can be automatically assigned to a team.
Click the Advanced Settings (wrench icon
) in the top right of the screen.Select Modules.
Go to the Resources tab.
Trigger
Change of the task assignee.
Conditions
The "Tasks assigned to an individual are auto-assigned to their team" functionality is enabled.
The task is in the scope of the box.
The assignee is in only one team in a box.
The assignee must be available in the team (has an active membership in a given task period).
Recalculation of the team takes place only when the task assignee is changed in BigPicture or Jira.
Limitations
The automation is not run:
If the assignee is in more than one team in a box.
The task is in the sub-scope (sub-box such as Iteration) and the scope definition is different for each team (avoiding the endless loop of team assignment).
Recalculation is NOT triggered when:
The team membership changes:
The assignee is moved to another team in the box.
The assignee is added to another team in the box.
The assignee is removed from another team in the box.
The assignee is removed from a team (to which the task is currently assigned).
The task period changes (the assignee's membership is no longer in the task period).
Deleted team
When a team is deleted from a box, the task is placed in the 'unknown' team swimlane.
Inherited teams
Inherited teams = teams that are available in a box they weren’t created in.
How to know if a team has been inherited
Inherited teams have an
arrow next to their name (teams module).
Configuration - Box type settings
Box type configuration settings apply to ALL boxes of a given type.
Click the Advanced Settings (wrench icon
) in the top right of the screen.Select Box types.
In the Box types tab, click on a Box type name to open the Box type configuration screen.
Toggle the switch | on | off |
|---|---|---|
Manually allocated teams | You can add teams to boxes. | Teams can’t be added to boxes. |
Auto-inherited upper-level teams | When the toggle switch is on, all teams created in upper-level boxes are inherited. | Teams aren’t automatically inherited. If the Manually allocated teams toggle switch is on, you can assign |