How To Use the Project Wizard

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The Project Wizard is your secret weapon for publishing task assignments across multiple locations or teams with lightning speed. With just a few clicks, you can ensure that everyone is equipped with the latest step-by-step instructions, setting your project on the fast track to success. By getting your teams up and running quickly, you'll be well on your way to completing the project ahead of your go-live date, all while maintaining clarity and coordination every step of the way.

The wizard allows a Moderator, Admin or Owner to:

Create a Project
Select from a list the Locations/Teams that will be responsible for completing the project
Add, Import, or Copy the tasks the teams will need to complete
Publish your Project by establishing end date(s) for all or a subset of your locations/teams

You will find the Project Wizard on the Company Overview Page within Pacer. It's in the Projects section as on one of the clickable tiles. Click on the Project Wizard to get started.

Step 1: Project Details

Start by giving your Project a name. The name you create will appear on every team's Dashboard once the project is published.

There is also a field to write a brief Project Description and select a Project Owner, the person responsible for the project. For your convenience, it is possible for an individual to create and publish a project on someone else's behalf.

Tip: Since a project can be assigned, eventually, to multiple teams/locations, ensure the name is generic and not specific to any one team. For example, if you intend on using this project for Property Openings across the globe, name the project 'Openings' instead of 'Hong Kong Opening'.

Step 2: Select Teams

This step in the Project Wizard is where you'll decide which Locations/Teams will complete this Project. You'll see a list of all of the locations/teams that you have access to with the ability to search or filter the list by attributes such as region, brand, company, etc.

Once you select a Location/Team it will be moved over to your "Selected" box.

Tip: Locations/teams can also be removed or added at a later time if necessary.

Step 3: Add & Review Tasks

Here is where you will decide which tasks you will be assigning to your locations/teams. There are three available ways to add these tasks.

Option A. Copy from an existing Project

If you're selecting this option, you'll be able to search through other projects (active or inactive) and create a copy of those tasks into the Project you are currently creating.

Option B. Import New Tasks from Excel

This is where you can import your tasks using our Baseline Import Tool. When selecting this option, you'll be presented with two variations of our Baseline Import Tool that offer the two different ways to calculate task due dates, Relative Days or Static Dates:

Relative Days lets you use the same set of tasks for different teams or locations, even if they have different go-live dates. Think of it like a countdown to a rocket launch: you'll decide how many days before the go-live date each task needs to be finished. When you assign these tasks to a team or location, Pacer will automatically set the due dates for you. This option provides a lot of flexibility when you create the project and is even more beneficial if the go-live date ever changes.
Static Dates let you assign the same set of tasks to different teams or locations, but everyone will have to complete their tasks on the exact same dates, no matter when their go-live date is.

Check out this Article on How to Use Baseline Import Tool

Advanced Tip: In Pacer you can actually have a template that blends Relative and Static together.

Option C. Create New Tasks in Pacer

If you don't already have tasks created from another project or an import tool ready to go, you can start creating tasks right here in this step of the Wizard. A prompt will open for you to fill out some task information and we'll start compiling them into a Baseline for you. You can always get started creating a few tasks now and come back later to import more.

Step 4: Publish Project

The last step in the Wizard is to publish the tasks to the locations and teams you've previously selected. You'll select the Zero Date (aka go-live) for the locations/teams. Pacer will then use that Zero Date to calculate the due date (Target Date) for each task.

Tip: The Zero Date can be changed at any time, and as long as your Baselines are built with Relative Dates, these tasks will be updated based upon the new Zero Date.

Advanced Options

The wizard highlights Pacer's most popular project features, but as a project manager, you have access to many more advanced options. At any point, you can save your progress and exit the wizard to go to the PM Dashboard. There, you can dive deeper by creating sub-task lists/baselines, setting Epic Dates, enabling project waivers, and other advanced project options.

There are several checkboxes on this table, to the left of each location. Ticking these boxes allows you to utilize the dropdown menu at the top of the table to Publish the Project (amongst many other actions). Ticking the boxes for multiple locations allows you to Publish the Project to all of these Locations/Teams with the same Zero Date. You can also Publish to each Location/Team one at a time to choose a specific Zero Date for each one.

Bulk Update Menu

ICON	TITLE	EXPLANATION
	Manage Task Lists	Appears after individual has Published a Project to a Location allows you to add additional Baselines
	Change Project Owner	Appears only when Location's Project is published and allows individual to change Project Owner
	Publish Project	Appears only when Location's Project is a draft and allows individual to Publish Project to the Location
	Pause Project	Appears only when Location's Project is Published and allows individual to Pause the Project
	Resume Project	Appears only when Location's Project is Published and on hold to allow individual to let the Project resume
	Reset Location	Appears when Location's Project is Published or paused - will reset to original settings. Individual is required to Publish again. Selecting this icon Revokes the Publication of the Project
	Remove Location	Allows individual to remove Location from the list of Locations to receive the Project
	Certify Location	Appears when Location's Project is Published and all tasks are completed
	Change Zero Date	Appears only when Location has Zero Date

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