Summary
This article covers how to use the Projects model to manage time-based initiatives. You'll learn which key Fields to capture, the most commonly used Global Filters, and how to leverage Metrics for deeper insights into trends and performance across your projects.
Who is this article for?
Planhat builders/admins who configure their tenant for their team (e.g. CS Ops).
This article is part of the Data Models Course.
Article Contents
Introduction
Projects have a many to one relationship to the Company and a time component. They can receive time-series data via the API, integrations or imports to create Project level Calculated Metrics.
Projects are generally used by companies that sell time based components such as Marketing Campaigns or Sales Competitions, but can also be used to track Customer objectives.
Key System Fields
First, we have basic Project Fields such as:
Name - a text field that displays the name of the project.
Start Date - a date field that contains the project start date.
End Date - a date field that contains the project end date.
ARR / MRR - a number field that displays the Project's ARR / MRR.
Currency - a list field that gives you the option to select one of the following currencies: USD, EUR, SEK, AUD and GBP.
NRR (non-recurring revenue) - a number field that displays the Project's NRR.
The two technical Fields are
External ID - a text field that holds the Project externalId. Typically this will be an Id that you have in your own system which makes it easy to map the Project from your own system to Planhat.
Source ID - the unique identifier for Projects synced with an external CRM system such as Salesforce. This field ensures your Projects in Planhat sync with the correct Projects in your external CRM system.
Key Custom Fields
Custom Fields will be dependent upon the reason that you are using Projects, so it will vary from org to org.
Some common examples of types of Custom Fields include:
Project Type (list) - e.g. Custom integration, Consulting, Training, Custom development, etc.
Days in Project (formula field) - the days difference between today and Project Start date
Project Owner (team member) - to identify who owns the project internally
Project Status (list) - e.g. To Be Scheduled, Scheduled, In progress, Delayed, Completed
Project Contacts (end users) - this is used to identify project owners on the customer/prospect side
Project Description (rich text) - to provide additional background information
Project Health (rating) - to provide insight into the health of the project
Integration Type (list) - e.g. CRM, ERP, Data Warehouse, etc.
Field Groups
Now that you have an understanding of the Key Fields, let’s look at how to group them in a logical way. This will display those fields in Previews (as well as full page profiles) for Projects. We recommend a set up as below:
For more information on Field Groups, take a look at Help Center Article: Field Groups.
Create Form
To ensure your data stays clean, it’s important you make fields mandatory for creation. We recommend the following at a minimum to enable you to manage your Projects in the best way.
Common Global Filters
You may want to create some standard views for your Projects, to ensure everyone has the same definition.
Here are some of the most commonly used Global Filters
By Project Type - e.g. Conversion Optimization, Lead Generation, Revenue Generation, Traffic Engagement, etc.
By Project Size - e.g. Small, Medium, Large projects
Delayed Projects - to understand which Projects are delayed and why
On-track Projects - to gain insight into which Projects are on-track
In the example below, we wanted to look at all of the Large Projects within our customer base. In order to do this, we first created a Grouped List Data Table, then applied a Global Filter to narrow the results down to just show Large Projects, grouped by Company.
Useful Metrics
Depending upon how you’re using Projects, important metrics may vary a bit from org to org. Here are some common examples to get you started / give you inspiration.
Total # of projects created in last day / week / month / quarter
# of projects by type created in last day / week / month / quarter
Trending # of projects over last day / week / month / quarter
Trending # of projects by type over last day / week / month / quarter
Trending average # of days to complete Projects by type over last day / week / month / quarter
For additional information on working with Projects, check out this Help Center Article.