Box Types
- Anna Ciepłota
Introduction
When you buy a car, you must pick a model. It's impossible for a car to exist and not belong to a car model category. A car model encompasses a range of similar cars.
In BigPicture 8, we have introduced a concept of Box types - you can think of them as preconfigured Box templates. After creating a new Box, you can further customize it to deviate from the Box type specifications.
Each Box must belong to a type. You can't create a Box without selecting it.
Box types allow you to set up any number of default Boxes - flexible, high-level containers that come preconfigured, partially customized, or fully personalized. In practice, this means unprecedented flexibility in the way you can shape a portfolio hierarchy to best suit your business needs.
A Box type is akin to a template, which, once configured, can be used each time you or your team want to start working on something new. Each of your teams can have a different Box template to accommodate different types of projects and individual team preferences.
Additionally, if you want to reorganize your work or a team needs to take over Boxes already configured in a way they dislike, you can easily make adjustments and meet their preferences. How? When you move Boxes in the hierarchy, they can be set to inherit settings from higher-level Boxes. This can save you a lot of time and let you focus on your work.
The Overview module has a built-in Box type filter - you can, for example, create a Box type dedicated to a particular team, reducing the clutter and making it easy for the team members to locate their work.
You can configure a variety of settings for each Box type. These include:
Parent types that determine possible nesting (hierarchy) of Boxes.
Default Box configuration, including the Inheritance mode (for selected features) of:
Available modules and naming
Column Views for Gantt
Quick filters
Period scheduling rules (overlapping and auto-scheduling adjustments)
Security settings
Adjust the settings of a section and confirm by clicking "Save". If you were editing a Box type in a separate tab, refresh the page to make sure changes are reflected in the App.
You cannot change a Box type of a given Box - for example, once a Box has been created as a "Program Increment," you can't turn it into a "Program."
Security and access
Only the App admin can access and change the Box type configuration.
Click the "wrench" icon and select "Box types" from the drop-down list.
Click the Box type name to open its settings.
Box information can be checked on the Overview module by adding columns:
Period mode
Sequentiality
Created date
Scope type
This doesn't require an App admin role.
Which Box type to choose?
Decide which project type would be the best option for your business goals:
Agile project - A built-in type that is recommended for projects run in agile methodology
Iteration - A built-in type that helps to schedule work iteratively
Program - A built-in type that replaced former Programs
Stage - A built-in type that helps to organize classic project scope into stages
There are built-in Box type templates and that you can freely adjust to your preferences.
The diagram below shows the default, out-of-the-box configuration in BigGantt:
The Home Box (root Box) in the hierarchy belongs to the Main type - you can't remove this Box. It is the only Box of this type in the hierarchy, and all the subsequent Boxes are nested within it.
Box type attributes
Each Box type has a set of attributes such as:
Prefix
Name
Status
Parent Types
Description
More attributes can be found in the Administration > Box types > edit > General > Basics section.
Add new Box types
To add a new Box type, click Add new Box type, and specify a Box type name and Box prefix. Then, select a default icon and adjust its color.
You can configure more attributes for a newly created Box type in the General section.
Duplicate Box types
To make setup easier, you can duplicate an existing Box type (all settings are copied) and make needed adjustments. Click the Duplicate button as shown in the image below.
Delete Box types
You can delete a Box type only when no Boxes use it and the Box type status is set to DRAFT. Deletion is irreversible.
To delete a Box type, click the Delete button.
Archive Box types
Archiving a Box type doesn't affect existing Boxes that use the configuration - an archived Box type can still be in use but won't be available when creating a new Box. Only the Box types in the IN USE status can be archived.
You can restore archived Box types at any time.
Restore Box types
You can restore Box types that are archived. Toggle the Show archived Box types switch to hide/show archived types. To restore a Box type click the curved arrow button.
Update rules
The table below presents policies applicable to changes made to Box types.
Policy | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
Existing Boxes updated | New values for a Box type attribute will automatically affect all existing Boxes of a given type. | If you change the "Box type name" attribute of an existing Box type, a new "Box type name" will be updated everywhere. |
Existing Boxes affected (no invalidation) | New values for a Box type attribute will not invalidate existing Boxes of a given type (it will not recalculate/change Boxes according to the existing rules). | You remove a type A and add a new type B in the "Parent types" attribute of a Box type C. |
Template (new Boxes only) | New values for a Box type attribute will be applied only to new Boxes of a given type and do not influence existing Boxes of a given type. | You change the "Prefix" attribute for a Box type from PROG to PROJ. |