Group Action Projects
Action Projects are great for grouping related Actions together (and gamifying the results). But what about in Groups, where a larger project may be broken down into Actions for various people on the team to complete?
You can now also create Action Projects for a Group. Assign the parts of a project to the people who will actually do those items, and see the entire project move along. Some coaches have let us know this feature has allowed them to drop task sharing software like Asana and Trello.
Here’s how to set up a Group Action Project.
Enable Group Action Projects
By default, Group Action Projects are hidden in order to simplify your experience. To enable them, go to a given Group’s Settings >> Basics and check the box. You’ll then see Action Projects appear on the left sidebar.
If you’ve given Group members the ability to view and participate in this Group, they’ll be able to see the Action Project and its progress. If you’ve given them the ability to add Group Actions, they’ll be able to contribute Actions to the project. Check those settings in the Group’s Settings >> Participation (just right of the Basics tab pictured above).
Create a New Group Action Project
Go to Action Projects and click the +Project button (or click the Action Projects (+) button as found in the left side menu) and give it a name. All the Group members will see this name, so make sure it’s descriptive and clear. Once you’ve created the Project, you can click the edit icon in the upper right to change the name or add a description if desired.
To add Actions to the project, click the (+) button in the upper right of the Action Project (it appears when you hover your mouse).
From here, you’ll see a fairly typical Action setup screen. The main difference to note is that you can now choose an assignee, or in other words select the Group member to whom the item will be assigned.
As Group members mark items complete, the progress bar will advance based on the weight you’ve given each Action.
Making Changes
Notice that, from the Action Project tab, you can see who’s been assigned which Action; that person’s picture shows on the left. Hover over the picture to have that person’s name appear.
If an Action should be reassigned to another member, click the edit icon on the right of that Action. Click the assignee’s name in the Assign To section and choose another Group member. Just like with individual Action Projects, you can also change the due date, edit reminders, cancel or delete an item from this screen.
Should many items be shifted on the timeline? No problem, just click on the edit icon in the upper right of the entire Project. Here’s where you can change multiple due dates or item weights.
If you’ve got multiple Action Projects going on simultaneously, you can collapse the Actions and just see the progress bar by clicking the arrow in the upper right of that Project.
Use Cases
Setting up a Group Action Project can be useful for a few scenarios.
Perhaps you’ve got some members of a departmental team collaborating on the same project with different tasks that contribute to an overall goal. Action Projects allow you (and the team) transparency into whether the project is bottlenecked with one team member.
Or maybe you have a project that gets handed around as it works its way toward completion. A Group Action Project allows for easy reassigning of project items.
Some coaches work with small businesses, such as businesses run by a couple. Group Action Projects help keep both members of the team organized with all the different projects they’re juggling simultaneously.
Thanks to all who contributed by asking for this feature to help make your group coaching relationships run more smoothly. We’re happy to help minimize the number of systems you need for your coaching!
Have you been looking for software to keep your business coaching clients organized? Ready to drop some expensive project management services and put more things into one place? Try out CoachAccountable free for 30 days.
More recently: Group Whiteboards
Previously: Delightful Collaboration IX – Smarter At-A-Glance Displays