Using Process Dashboard Enterprise Server for Team Data

The Process Dashboard Enterprise Server was purpose-designed to provide specialized storage for team and personal data. It is optimized for fast, reliable access, and eliminates many of the challenges associated with other storage options. To use the Enterprise Server for an existing Team Dashboard, see the migration instructions below. The Enterprise Server provides a number of benefits:

PRO: Creation of new team and personal dashboards is fast and easy, and team project creation/joining operations are more automated. This saves time and eliminates work for coaches as they onboard new teams, allowing them to focus on value-added work.
PRO: You can access team data from any number of different computers (including a mix of Windows / Mac OS X / Linux computers) and diverse networks (including geographically distributed teams and remote workers using a VPN).
PRO: Dashboard operations are not affected by the speed of your network. Startup and shutdown times remain consistent, even over a slow VPN.
PRO: When you need to let a coach or team leader access team reports, you can easily grant them permissions. This can be done by opening the Team Dashboard and choosing "Tools → Edit Users," or by logging in to the Enterprise Server, clicking the "Details" link for a dataset, then clicking "Edit Permissions" on the dataset details page.
PRO: Local and remote coaches can easily access live, up-to-date team data. Live access makes it possible to view the WBS change history, leave notes for the team about data problems, correct minor data problems, and adjust labels for special analyses.
PRO: Team data privacy is protected automatically, without the need to manually configure filesystem permissions, and without the ongoing headache of reconfiguring permissions when team membership changes.
PRO: Team data is safely backed up to the server at all times, and won't be lost if your hard drive crashes.
PRO: Existing team project data (from past and current projects) can be easily migrated into the server with no team downtime.
PRO: You don't need to manually upgrade the Dashboard when new versions of the software become available. The server administrator can push software upgrades automatically.
PRO: A "time machine" feature makes it possible to view reports, charts, and data as they appeared at any point in the past. This can assist with postmortem analysis, data recovery, and more. You can view historical reports by logging in to the Enterprise Server, clicking the "Details" link for a dataset, then clicking the historical data link in the "Actions" section of the dataset details page.
PRO: It is possible to share process definitions, workflows, custom WBS columns and tabs, proxy estimation tables, defect type standards, and custom reports across the entire organization. With the data warehouse option, organization-wide cross-team data analyses become possible.

For more information on the server, visit https://www.processdash.com/pdes

Enterprise Server Team Dashboard Creation

The general steps for creating a new Team Dashboard on the Enterprise Server are:

  1. Obtain an account on a Process Dashboard Enterprise Server.
  2. Log in to the Enterprise Server in your web browser. After successfully logging in, click "Create New Dataset" in the navigation menu on the left side of the page.
  3. Return to the "My Datasets" page, and click the link to the team dashboard you just created. This will download a small file with instructions to launch the team dashboard.

Migrating Existing Team Data into the Enterprise Server

Historical data is extremely valuable for team planning, tracking, and postmortem analysis. If you've already been using the Team Dashboard, it's easy to migrate your existing data into the Enterprise Server. The general steps for migration are:

  1. Obtain an account on a Process Dashboard Enterprise Server as described above.
  2. Obtain Enterprise Server accounts for all individuals who are active team members, leaders, or coaches of the projects in the Team Dashboard you wish to migrate. Ask them to log in to the server at least once to establish their password.
  3. Go to a computer that has an existing icon for the Team Dashboard you wish to migrate. If the Team Dashboard is running, close it.
  4. Download the Enterprise Server migration tool and install it by opening/double-clicking the downloaded file.
  5. Open the Team Dashboard. Then choose "Tools → Migrate Data to Server" and follow the prompts.
  6. The migration wizard will import project data into the server, followed by core configuration data.

This migration operation is mostly seamless to end users:

Typically, the only change people may notice is a new username/password prompt from the dashboard and the WBS Editor. Completing Step 2 above will ensure they know the right credentials to use at that prompt.