Anyone with viewing access can create a Task or Milestone within Project, Proposal, Award, and Subaward records. Please note: Only certain users (specified below) can edit Tasks or Milestones after creation.
Prior to creating and assigning a Tasks or Milestone, please note the following:
- Being assigned a Task or Milestone on a record does not automatically grant the assignee viewing access for the entire record.
- To ensure Task and Milestone email notifications are received, check with your RS Admin or SP Templates Manager to confirm Ad Hoc email template notifications are enabled.
Understanding Milestones and Tasks
Milestones and Tasks work together to break projects into clear, manageable steps, making it easy to track progress and stay organized.
Milestone
A high-level project that can include multiple Tasks. Typically longer-term and features a progress bar that visually tracks completion based on the progress of associated Tasks. A Milestone cannot be moved to Closed status until all linked Tasks are closed or unlinked. Once closed, a Milestone can be re-opened.
Task
Tasks are generally shorter-term and can be linked (in any status) to Milestones, contributing to their overall progress. However, they can also exist independently and remain unlinked to a Milestone. Once a Task is closed, it cannot be reopened.
Understanding the Task Dashboard
From the Task dashboard, you can:
- Set View of Task tab (Columns will display in the order selected).
- Create New Task or Milestone
- Link to Milestone (enabled when the checkbox next to an available Task is selected)
- Table view of created Tasks and Milestones. Clock icons indicate upcoming Task due date:
- Yellow = due within 30 days
- Red = overdue
- Milestone completion Progress (visually represents the Milestone completion status, updating as Tasks are completed or linked/unlinked)
- Status filter
- Type filter
Accessing the Task Dashboard
- From the Sponsored Projects landing page, click the desired tab (Proposals, Awards, or Projects).
- Click on the Tasks tab.
- From the Tasks tab dashboard:
- View existing Tasks and Milestones in the table
- Select the Set View button to customize the columns in the table view. Please note: Columns will display in the order selected.
- Link a Task to a Milestone (button enabled when the checkbox next to an available Task is selected)
- Select the checkbox next to the desired Task.
- Click on the Link to Milestone button and complete the information.
Creating a New Task
- From the Task tab dashboard, click the Create New button and select Task.
- Fill in the details of the new Task:
- Task title (required)
- Milestone (optional - link to existing Milestone)
- Category (optional)
- Description (required)
- URL (auto-populated url to Task)
- Add Attachment (optional)
- Add Comments (optional)
- Assign to Person or Team (required - see below for additional details)
- Internal Due Date (optional)
- External Due Date (required)
- Reminders (optional)
- Any user with edit access to the Task can add comments and attachments. Attachments can be dragged and dropped or uploaded using the file uploader. The following attachment parameters and limitations apply:
- Up to 9 attachments may be uploaded per Task
- 75 MB maximum file size per uploaded attachment
- Users with an admin level access to the SP record (i.e. SP Proposal Administrator or SP System Administrator access on a proposal) can delete all attachments on any open Tasks.
- Once a Task is closed, the attachments cannot be deleted by any user.
- Select Assign and Send once the details of the Task are complete.
The assignee(s) will receive an email notification alerting them to the Task for completion.
Creating a New Milestone
- From the Task tab dashboard, click the Create New button and select Milestone.
- Fill in the details of the new Milestone:
- Progress bar (visually represents the Milestone completion status, updating as Tasks are completed or linked/unlinked)
- Milestone title (required)
- Category (optional)
- Description (required)
- URL (auto-populated url to Task)
- Add Attachment (optional)
- Add Comments (optional)
- Linked Tasks (optional - view, search, add, or remove related tasks. Add opens a new tab and auto-fills, when available)
- Assign to Person or Team (required - see below for additional details)
- Internal Due Date (optional)
- External Due Date (required)
- Reminders (optional)
- Any user with edit access to the Task can add comments and attachments. Attachments can be dragged and dropped or uploaded using the file uploader. The following attachment parameters and limitations apply:
- Up to 9 attachments may be uploaded per Task
- 75 MB maximum file size per uploaded attachment
- Users with an admin level access to the SP record (i.e. SP Proposal Administrator or SP System Administrator access on a proposal) can delete all attachments on any open Task.
- Once a Task is closed, the attachments cannot be deleted by any user.
- Select Assign and Send once the details of the Task are complete.
The assignee(s) will receive an email notification alerting them to the Task for completion.
Assigning to Person or Team
Users with permission to add or update Tasks (e.g., Assignee, Creator, Admin) can specify whether a Task is assigned to a Person (default) or a Team using a radio button in the Task form.
- Selecting Person retains the existing ability to assign a Task to an individual.
- Selecting Team introduces a dropdown field to assign Tasks to an entire team, with an optional Team Member dropdown for assigning the Task to a specific member within that Team.
Team assignments ensure all team members can view, edit, and collaborate on the Task, even if it's assigned to an individual for completion.
Editing Tasks and Milestones
The following users are able to edit an SP Ad Hoc Task after it has been created:
- User that created the Task
- Users assigned to Tasks individually or as part of a team
- Users with Admin level privileges on the associated SP record (For example, if an SP proposal has an ad hoc Task, any user with SP System Administrator role or SP Proposal Administrator role for that record will be able to edit that Task’s content).
To update a Task, open it and make necessary changes. Once complete, be sure to Save Changes.
Please note: Reminder dates will be automatically deleted when a Status is updated to Closed.