Help Centre

Create and update resource requests in the resource plan

Create and define a new project

Set project KPIs and compose status narratives

Build a new project from an existing schedule in external tools

Drill-through Project insights 

Drill-through Strategy Insights

Drill-through Portfolio and Program insights

Drill-through Work insights

Explore the 'My Work' homepage

Navigating the Built-in Help 

Use the Altus for Teams app

Altus app Overview

Create and edit strategic themes

Create strategic goals within strategic themes

Associate benefits with strategic goals and delivery initiatives

Capture benefit outputs and outcomes

Define and update benefit metrics

Track existing benefits

Define a new portfolio and program

Identify portfolio and program stakeholders

Manage program issues

Manage portfolio and program risks

Track portfolio and program decisions

Record and manage program change requests

Document portfolio and program constraints

Capture portfolio and program assumptions

Capture program lessons learned

Manage portfolio and program documents

Describe roll-up portfolio and program progress 

Set program KPIs and compose status narratives

Generate and share the portfolio and program status report

Update portfolio and program support item associations

Update the portfolio and program status

Delete a portfolio or a program

Capture project, portfolio, and program benefits

Manage project issues

Create and submit ideas for innovation

Create and launch business challenges for innovation

Create and submit project proposals

Approve or reject project proposals

Capture project key dates 

Create a resource plan from the schedule

Build and manage the project group for collaboration

Identify work using the Timeline view

Record and update the project budget

Identify work using the Board view

Establish task dependencies

Assign bookable resources to tasks

Set reportable project baselines for variance tracking

Define and adjust the project financial forecast

Track project decisions 

Record and manage project change requests 

Capture project lessons learned 

Manage project documents 

Track task progress and variance in the schedule

Update and validate actual cost monthly

Track project deliverables

Align project resource requests to the project schedule

 Associate projects, programs, and portfolios to strategic goals

Integrate a Microsoft Project Plan (MPP) in the Altus app

Incorporate Altus Resources in the Microsoft Project Plan (MPP)

Import approved timesheet actuals into the Microsoft Project Plan (MPP)

Disconnect a Microsoft Project Plan (MPP) from the Altus app

Connect the Microsoft Word app with the Altus app

Synchronise Altus Information in a Microsoft Word Document

Maintain Document Templates with Altus Information 

Synchronise Planner Premium Task Assignments with the Altus app

Capture portfolio and program key dates

Associate related programs and projects to a portfolio

Manage project risks 

Unlocking of Terms (Glossary)

Navigation Tips, Hints, and Tricks

Evaluate initiatives against the evaluation criteria

Gathering Altus Insights with Power BI

Perform a prioritisation exercise

Create a prioritisation model

Define the organisation's evaluation criteria

Define the evaluation criteria categories

Describe the requirements for the prioritisation process

Navigate the Altus Explorer view

Creating dependencies between projects

Perform an optimisation exercise

Important Notes

Basics

Insights Reporting

Strategy

Setting up and maintaining strategic themes and goals

Capturing and maintaining benefits

Implementing a prioritisation process

Implementing an optimisation process

Portfolios

Setting up a portfolios and programs

Collaborating on portfolio and program documents and support items

Tracking portfolio-program status and reporting

Portfolio administration

Setting up and maintaining ideas for innovation

Setting up and maintaining challenges for innovation

Projects

Setting up a project

Maintaining a project schedule

Linking a schedule from external execution tools

Tracking project financials

Maintaining a project resource plan

Collaborating on project documents and support items

Tracking project progress and reporting

Project administration

Using the Altus for Microsoft Word app

Managing interproject dependencies

Resources

Maintaining bookable resources and calendars

Managing resource capacity and demand

Managing Timesheets

Work

Collaborating on work documents and support items

Tracking work progress and reporting

Administration

Managing system and configuration settings

Managing users and security permissions

&nbsp;<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://vimeo.com/1049527512"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1049527512" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure>You can now consistently synchronise your Planner Premium project schedule with Altus to eliminate the double handling between these tools.Let’s learn how to maintain a project with Planner Premium task assignments so you can seamlessly communicate progress for updates, time tracking, and resource planning in Altus. &nbsp;To set-up a new project with Planner Premium tasks:<ol><li>In the Projects area, click + New and provide information using the New Project quick create form. &nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Select Planner Premium from the Project Schedule drop-down menu options. &nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Select the New Plan radio button from the Do you currently have an existing Planner Plan, or would you like to create and link a new one here? option. &nbsp;</li><li>Select Premium for the plan types option. &nbsp;</li><li>Unless you want to update the default name of the Project plan in Altus, leave it unchanged. &nbsp;</li><li>Finally, click Create to complete the process. Important: Once the process is complete, a new project will be created in Altus and a blank Planner Premium schedule will be automatically linked to it. &nbsp;</li></ol>To manage your schedule in Planner Premium from the Altus app:<ol><li>Click the Link to an External Project button then the name of your Planner Premium plan. Note:&nbsp;This will open up a new tab and launch the linked schedule in the Planner Premium app. &nbsp;</li><li>Once the schedule is built in the Planner Premium app, it automatically saves the changes. Tip: Wait up to 5 minutes for the synchronisation between Planner Premium and Altus to complete. &nbsp;</li><li>Verify the Last Sync timestamp within the project in Altus and verify the updated synchronised tasks using the Timeline view under the Tasks tab. Note:&nbsp;The synchronised tasks in Altus remain read-only which allows you to maintain the schedule only in the Planner Premium app. &nbsp;</li></ol>To link an existing Planner Premium schedule to a project in Altus<ol><li>Click the Link to an External Project button. &nbsp;</li><li>Select Planner Premium from the Select an external system drop-down menu options. &nbsp;</li><li>&nbsp;Select the Existing Plan radio button from the Do you currently have an existing Planner Plan, or would you like to create and link a new one here? option. &nbsp;</li><li>Look up the name of the existing Planner Premium schedule from the Select Plan list. &nbsp;</li><li>Finally, click Create to complete the process. Tip: Wait up to 5 minutes for the synchronisation between Planner Premium and Altus to complete. &nbsp;</li><li>Verify the Last Sync timestamp within the project in Altus and verify the updated synchronised tasks using the Timeline view under the Tasks tab. Note:&nbsp;The synchronised tasks in Altus remain read-only which allows you to maintain the schedule only in the Planner Premium app. Nevertheless, you can create multiple baselines of the synchronised tasks within Altus, track time against them using Timesheets, and create a resource plan from these tasks. &nbsp;</li></ol>To unlink an existing Planner Premium schedule from a project in Altus:<ol><li>Click the Link to an External Project button then select Unlink. &nbsp;</li><li>Choose either to Delete synced tasks or Leave tasks in place then Unlink. Note:&nbsp;If you choose to delete synced tasks, the schedule in Altus will become blank. If you choose to keep the tasks in Altus, they become editable and you can maintain those tasks in Altus going forward. &nbsp;</li></ol>Read: <a href="https://hub.sensei.cloud/Docs/Altus/Configuration/Integration/Planner.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Altus Integration – Planner</a>&nbsp;

&nbsp;<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://vimeo.com/1033718976?share=copy#t=0"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1033718976" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure>This overview includes naming conventions, navigation hints, and timesaver tips that will make your life easier when using the Altus application.These tips and hints apply to all main areas in the platform.

&nbsp;<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://vimeo.com/1064546626"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1064546626" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h3>Evaluating Initiatives</h3>Active Evaluation Criteria and their Categories are displayed within the Initiative's Evaluation tab.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/aaa62775-7fe9-4473-b838-b0ba4b3edb7d"></figure>Each of the evaluation criteria has a drop-down list associated with it.Initiative owners should select the relevant values for each Evaluation Criteria from the drop-down list, and save their changes.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/92765fe7-8e8d-4a16-a466-86b9644b53c4"></figure>The values selected for this initiative have Evaluation Impact Points assigned to them, which were determined when the Evaluation Criteria were created in the Prioritisation Settings.

&nbsp;<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://vimeo.com/1059401197"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1059401197" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure>Prioritisation can be found in Altus Strategy under the Prioritisations item.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/fd622c9f-e674-45ec-8ee0-2bf84974af32"></figure>The Prioritisations page lists all the prioritisations created for your organisation.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/d095c0b3-12d8-4c20-bcac-ede8330dc7ad"></figure>This page contains the standard Dynamics features that allow you to modify the view:<ul><li>The view drop-down, allows you to switch between views easily. The All Prioritisations view is the default view.</li><li>The Edit columns function, allows you to modify the columns within the view.</li><li>The Edit filters function, allows you to modify the hard-coded filters set within this view. There are none set by default.</li><li>The Filter by keywords search function, allows you to search for matches within the Name column.</li></ul>This view contains the following columns by default:<ul><li>Name: The name of this plan</li><li>Created By: Who created the prioritisation</li><li>Created On: When the prioritisation was created</li><li>Status: The status of this prioritisation (Active / Inactive).</li></ul><h2>Creating a Prioritisation Plan</h2>Click the New button within the menu bar.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/f4269aad-68df-4a56-bade-89b893a8f1c9"></figure>This will open the New Prioritisation page.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/f0d716da-943c-4c33-a677-28d9ea8c86ff"></figure>The New Prioritisation page Details tab contains the following fields:<ul><li>Name: The name you give the plan prioritisation should be short and specific.</li><li>Description: This is where you can expand on the plan prioritisation and provide more details.</li><li>Status: Only Active plans can be created; this can be edited later if the plan prioritisation becomes Inactive.</li></ul>Once you have entered the above values, click Save and move to the Prioritisation tab.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/590f02ba-be06-41ad-9db7-4b305b8d65a9"></figure>The Prioritisation tab is where you start to add Initiatives and select a Prioritisation Model so that you can see how these Initiatives score against each other.This screen also has a Search function, you can find a specific Initiative by searching by its name or type.You can add the Initiatives in any order at any time.<h2>Selecting a Prioritisation Model</h2><ol><li>From within the Prioritisation Model drop-down list, select a Prioritisation Model. Note: Only Active Prioritisation Models are shown in the drop-down.</li></ol><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/a9c0f4c3-fc86-4582-be19-8cfe74ac73f5"></figure>When you have selected a Prioritisation Model from the list, the right-hand side of the grid will display the Evaluation Criteria included in the model and the order in which they are set.<h2>Selecting Initiatives to Include in the Prioritisation Plan</h2><ol><li>Click the Select Initiatives button.</li></ol><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/0595fc5b-ba23-4cdc-ba25-0b51a1bea11c"></figure>This will open the Select Initiatives form.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/a2c362e9-8624-4473-be60-a0cd5d1c9aeb"></figure>Note: The default view for initiatives shows only Active Initiatives.This page has the following items:<ul><li>Initiatives tabs, these tabs are broken down into the Initiative Type:<ul><li>Projects</li><li>Proposals</li><li>Ideas</li></ul></li></ul>Initiative types are configured by the administrator.<ul><li>Search field, you can search for the name of a specific Initiative.</li><li>Group By drop-down field, you can group the initiatives and make it easier to select groups of initiatives at once. For example, you could group all Proposals by Department and select all the IT Proposals in one click. Your grouping selection will be remembered even if you close the form.</li></ul>To add Initiatives to your prioritisation, select them within this form, then click Apply Initiatives.Once you have selected a Prioritisation Model and Initiatives, you can start analysing the priorities.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/5aef71d0-9deb-4e64-8189-242227768ac3"></figure>Note: You can use the Select Initiatives function more than once to add or remove Initiatives from the prioritisation.The Evaluation Criteria in your model and the values showing how each of these Evaluation Criteria has been scored within the Initiative, give you the Initiative's Score, and therefore Rank.The Initiatives are sorted in the view from the highest score to the lowest score.If an Initiative is missing a value for one of these Evaluation Criteria it will not have a Score and will show at the top of the view, so that you can see that data is missing and fill it in.&nbsp;You can Remove Initiatives or Open Initiatives directly from the table by clicking the ellipsis on an Initiative row.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/5fb998cf-2c56-4262-9d6f-21c2548842df"></figure><h3>Editing an Initiative's Evaluation Value</h3>If you think that an evaluation value previously selected for an Initiative is incorrect, you can update it from the prioritisation screen or open the initiative to access the Evaluation tab of the initiative.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/28c7d1e4-93d2-4d1a-83bb-daccdd5af8d4"></figure>The drop-down list displays all the relevant impact values for this Evaluation criteria. If you hover over the information icon, you can see the description field for each impact.If you change one of the evaluations, you will see the Score recalculated immediately. This could also change the Rank of the Initiative, so it may move position within the table automatically.When you are satisfied, click Save.Note: When you update an initiative evaluation value from the prioritisation form, the changed value is saved back to the initiative once you Save the prioritisation.Warning: The autosave feature is deactivated on the Prioritisation so that values are not saved back to the initiative automatically.<h2>Finalising the Prioritisation Plan</h2>Once you have added all your Initiatives and are happy with their Evaluation values, Score and Rank your Prioritisation Planning phase is complete.For more details regarding how the Scoring of initiatives is done click <a href="https://help.altus.pro/en/article/describe-the-requirements-for-the-prioritisation-process#prioritisation-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here.</a><h2>Maintaining a Prioritisation Plan</h2><h3>Data Update of Initiatives</h3>Changes in initiatives and Prioritisation Models can happen while you are doing your prioritisation exercise.The following changes can happen between the last time you opened your Prioritisation and reopened it:<h4>Changes that Impact the Score</h4><ul><li>A user can change an Evaluation Criteria value of the Initiative (from the Initiative).</li><li>An administrator can update the Prioritisation Model (especially if they decide to re-assess a model).</li><li>An administrator can change the Evaluation Impact Points of an Evaluation Criteria used in your Model.</li><li>An administrator can remove an Evaluation Impact of an Evaluation Criteria used in your Model. If so, the Evaluation of the initiative on this Criteria will reset to unselected and evaluation will need to be completed again for a score to be calculated.</li></ul>When a change impacts the Score, a banner will show in the Prioritisation notifying the user that the Score values have been updated. To remove the banner, Save the Prioritisation.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/831ae800-2c48-4df7-a213-6194566a744a"></figure>If you have your prioritisation opened, edited evaluations, and it just happened that a user changed the same initiative evaluation (from the Initiative) that you have just modified, when saving or refreshing, you may encounter this banner: the version of the data you are updating has changed elsewhere …<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/0331b412-c444-4e33-9510-3ceb53c4512f"></figure>Only the changes made from the Initiative Evaluation tab (on the specific initiative) will be taken and restored (they take priority over the ones done from the Prioritisation view).To remove the banner, click Refresh and Discard changes.<h4>Changes impacting names, labels, descriptions</h4><ul><li>An administrator changing names, descriptions, etc. It will update directly without impacting the Score.</li><li>An administrator making an Evaluation Criteria Inactive (used in a Prioritisation Model before deactivation) will not impact the score. Refer to the section below about Active/Inactive behaviour.</li></ul><h3>Active / Inactive Behaviour</h3>Over time you may find that you don't need some of the previously created prioritisation elements (categories, criteria, models, prioritisation) and still want to keep them in the system to be able to view back prior prioritisation or for any other reasons. If so, you may want to consider deactivating items.Note: you can delete prioritisation items but if you do so you will lose all the history of that item, so it is better to deactivate it so that it cannot be actively used but can still view how it was used in the past.

&nbsp;<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://vimeo.com/1059611884"><div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1059611884" style="position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0;" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>What is Prioritisation?</h2>The Prioritisation module of Strategic Planning allows you to prioritise any initiative (Programs, Project, Proposals, Ideas). This module helps your organisation focus on the right initiatives that align with your strategic goals, ultimately driving better business outcomes.An overview of the terms and how Prioritisation works:<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/dc5e7e88-2d07-42e6-a809-3d2a04340f79"></figure>The prioritisation module is available for Strategic users to prioritise upcoming work. To do so, a user will have to use a Prioritisation which is composed of the following elements:<ul><li>Initiatives: Upcoming and in-flight projects, proposals, and ideas.</li><li>Prioritisation Model: defines how the prioritisation score is calculated based on initiatives evaluation. A prioritisation model is defined by a set of weighted evaluation criteria. An Evaluation Criteria can be created/edited from Settings, or Goal. &nbsp;</li></ul><h2>How it is implemented.<img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/66247b08-cc1e-4fdb-ac4a-c16b14dadf86"> &nbsp;</h2><h2>Glossary</h2>Here is an overview of the terms defined below:<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/4576f132-41de-40ec-b283-ebb614116a08"></figure><h3>Initiatives</h3>An Initiative is a work item you want to prioritise and plan. By default, an initiative can be an idea, a proposal or a project. This is defined in the General Settings of the Strategy. Refer to the setting section for more information.<h3>Prioritisation model</h3>A Prioritisation Model is the key element that will allow strategic users to prioritise the initiatives against each other. A prioritisation model should reflect a reasoning as to why we are prioritising an initiative over another one. A prioritisation model should derive from the strategic goals (due to its Evaluation Criteria) to ensure that the business focuses on and prioritises the right work.<h3>Evaluation Criteria and Evaluation Criteria Category</h3>To allow a prioritisation model to map to strategic goals, we are using Evaluation Criteria. Evaluation Criteria are forces that influence your decision-making and stem from a strategic goal.Evaluation criteria can have a positive or negative impact towards a goal (and so on the prioritisation score).Example1:<ul><li>Goal: Keep the churn rate to 2% this current year</li><li>Evaluation Criteria: Customer Retention (positive impact)</li><li>Theme: Customer</li></ul>Example 2:<ul><li>Goal: Deploy 2 new digital projects advancing productivity this current year</li><li>Evaluation Criteria: IT Complexity (negative impact)</li><li>Theme: Digital Transformation</li></ul>Evaluation Criteria are grouped into Categories. The grouping displays Evaluation Criteria together in the Initiative Evaluation view.<h3>Evaluation Impacts</h3>Each Evaluation criterion is composed of a list of Evaluation Impacts.Each Evaluation Impact has:<ul><li>A meaningful name that shows in the drop-downs to evaluate an initiative against an evaluation criteria.</li><li>Points that will be used in the Prioritisation Score.</li><li>A statement to explain to the user what the evaluation impact means and when to select it.</li></ul>Each evaluation criterion can be evaluated differently. The definition of an evaluation criteria is very flexible. This means that you can have the following 3 evaluation criteria for instance:<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/afe37ac9-816e-4312-a765-360d6b9b9121"></figure><h3>Prioritisation Score</h3>The Prioritisation Score is the calculated score based on the evaluation criteria values of the initiative and the prioritisation model selected.Below is an example of how a prioritisation score is calculated:Prioritisation Score = SUM (Positive Evaluation Criteria Weighted Points) - SUM (Negative Evaluation Criteria Weighted Points)Example: <img src="https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/7a94a1dd-2a65-4679-8241-a23114a8adf1"><h2>Prioritisation Planning</h2>Before you start using Altus Prioritisation and setting it up, you will need to do the following thinking:<ul><li>Reflect on the Evaluation Criteria you want to track (for your organisation or department). How would they relate to the Strategic Goals?</li><li>Reflect on when you would want to use prioritisation and strategic planning. Is it for Ideas? Proposals? Projects? What types of entities do you want to compare against each other?</li><li>Reflect on the prioritisation model. Would you want a unique prioritisation model for the whole organisation (using Altus) or multiple prioritisation models? If it’s your first prioritisation model implementation in your company, we suggest you start with a department and trial prioritisation.</li><li>Finally, reflect on the point system you want to set in place, and the maximum points per evaluation criteria (to standardise the evaluation impact points).</li></ul>We suggest that you try the prioritisation first with different settings. Remember that, as soon as you start using a prioritisation model, changing it will impact all prioritisation using it and therefore will impact priorities that may have been discussed or agreed before any change.Make sure you try the prioritisation, and once you agree with the governance on the prioritisation model to use (evaluation criteria, points, weights etc.), make it official and available by activating it.There are technical aspects of the system that your administrator will need to be set up before you can begin creating your first Prioritisation Model. These details can be found <a href="https://hub.sensei.cloud/Docs/Altus/Configuration/Prioritisation/Prioritisation.html#how-to-configure-prioritisation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here.</a>

Altus Technical Docs

Was this article helpful?

You recently requested to reset your password for your account. Use the button below to reset it. This password reset is only valid for the next 24 hours.

If you’re having trouble with the button above, copy and paste the URL below into your web browser.

Please check your email for instructions to reset your password.

Check your email

Enter your email address and we will send you instructions to reset your password.

Please enter a new password below.

Set your password

I am still learning but you can ask me anything about Altus