Term

Definition

Action List

List of To-Do items or tasks that need to be checked off as complete, such as a punchlist or a closeout checklist. This module is very versatile and can be used to track any list of tasks.

Audit Log

There are two different main areas where audit log is tracked. The first area is at the item level. This is where granular changes are tracked. You can access an item's (such as a document in the Document Management System) audit log by clicking the (add image here) information icon. The second area is called Global Audit Log and is accessed in the Site Admin area under Module Info. The Global Audit log tracks when items are created or deleted and when projects are created, name changed or deleted.

Term

Definition

Ball-in-Court

List of outstanding or pending tasks that have been assigned to a user and that show a user as the responsible party to advance the workflow. Most users can only see their own Ball in Court; however, some users are given access to view other users' Ball in Court.

Budget: Budget/Fund Code

Column within the Budget that can be used to display any client-specific accounting codes that needs to be included in the Budget. Each item and sub-item can have its own entry in this column. Furthermore, the label itself can be changed to match whatever nomenclature is used by the client.

Budget: Cost

The Cost tab within Budget module shows Commitments (Contracts + Purchase Orders), Approved Change Orders, Total Commitments (Commitments + Approved Change Orders), Pending Change Orders, and Anticipated Total (Commitments + Approved Change Orders + Pending Change Orders).

Budget: Earned value analysis

(EVA) is an industry standard method of measuring a project's progress at any given point in time, forecasting its completion date and final cost, and analyzing variances in the schedule and budget as the project proceeds. Since Projectmates tracks both the schedule and financial aspects of a project, you can link this information to track the earned value of your project. In layman's terms, this calculation compares the amount of time spent (by completing tasks in the schedule) to the amount of dollars spent (by processing invoices) to let you know if these are in sync with the planned amounts.

Budget: WBS Section

Column within the Budget that can be used to display the work breakdown structure, CSI code or any client-specific specification code that needs to be included in the Budget. Each item and sub-item can have its own entry in this column. Furthermore, the label itself can be changed to match whatever nomenclature is used by the client.

Term

Definition

Contracts

Module that tracks commitments with the ability to add changes to the schedule of values. Terms of the agreement are not automatically included; however, they can be added through document attachments or included through Word export templates, if your organization has standardized terms.

Cost Tracking

Group of modules that are used to track finances, including Bids, Contracts, Proposed Change Orders, Change Orders, Purchase Orders, and Invoices/Pay Applications. These modules are able to handle multiple financial agreements while being able to link each phase in a financial transaction, from bidding phase to contracting phase and change orders, all the way through to the final invoice.

CSI Divisions

CSI stands for Construction Specifications Institute. The Construction Specifications Institute has worked to standardize a list of codes to correspond to specifications. These codes are grouped into 'Divisions' that pertain to specific trades within construction, such as Concrete, Masonry, Openings and Finishes.

CSI Numbers

CSI stands for Construction Specifications Institute. The Construction Specifications Institute has worked to standardize a list of codes to correspond to specifications. These codes pertain to the different specifications within a specific trade within construction, such as 03 10 00 for Concrete Forming and Accessories, 03 20 00 for Concrete Reinforcing, and 03 30 00 Cast-in-Place Concrete.

Custom Business Process

Module that users can build on their own with drag-and-drop functionality. Custom Business Processes can be built for any client-specific form or function that is not already provided in Projectmates out of the box. An additional benefit of Custom Business Processes is that you can build Ad-Hoc reports against them at a site-wide level.

Term

Definition

Field Report vs Daily Field Report

Both of these modules are used to report project status. The Field Report is geared toward architects and engineers who visit the construction site on a weekly or monthly basis, and it tracks the observations that the architect or engineer saw on his or her walk through. The Daily Field Report is geared toward the Site Foreman or Construction Site Manager who is at the construction site every day, and it tracks the daily goings-on of the project, including weather, who was on-site, what equipment was used, and any occurrences (like accidents, inspections, etc.).

Global Approvals

This feature provides ability to set up site-wide approval processes, meaning that every project will use the same approval process for the specific module for which the 'global approval' has been set up. Standard approvals are set up in each individual project. The major benefit of global approvals is that when approval processes change, administrators can quickly make the change in one area and it will affect all projects at once.

Global Search

This feature provides ability to search in selected module for keywords in a selected project or across all projects. Search results provide a link to jump directly into the item without having to drill to its location.

Term

Definition

Leapfrogging

This feature provides ability to switch to the same area in a different project without having to drill to its location. Just click the name of the project that you are in (shown in the top right-hand corner of the screen) and type the name of the project that you want to be in. The top three search results will be displayed below the entry field as you type. Keep typing until you see the project you want. Then click on it. The screen will load the new project in the area you were on in the first project.

Term

Definition

Master project profile

Typically this is the name of the project that is used as a template project, or blank project that is used for copying pre-determined settings into new projects.

Module

Major functionality type within Projectmates. Examples include RFIs, Submittals, Schedules, Action Lists, Document Management, and Photo Albums. Projectmates has over 40 different modules, or functionalities that can be accessed via the buttons at the top of the screen when you are in a project.

My Favorites

This feature provides ability to mark high priority projects, or highly active projects, to cause them to show at the top of the list when users access the My Projects tab to view their list of projects. This setting is personalized for each user, so each user can mark their own projects with this designation for him or her.

My Team: Contact Manager vs Team Directory

Both of these modules are virtual rolodexes. The Contact Manager lists contact information for contacts, those who do not have access to Projectmates, while the Team Directory lists contact information for users, those who do have access to Projectmates. The Contact Manager includes both shared and personal contacts. The Team Directory includes all members of the project.

Term

Definition

Park

This feature provides ability to hide projects. Usually, this designation is used for closed or completed projects to streamline access to open or ongoing projects. Also, keep in mind that parked projects are not included in reporting.

PCO

Proposed Change Order (not pending Change Order). This functionality is used to allow vendors or contractors to provide pricing for proposed changes to the scope of work, so that the owner or owner representative organization can decide if they want to move forward with the proposed change.

Project Info screen

Page that stores specific project-related information, such as address, accounting information and up to 80 custom fields. These custom fields can be configured to show client-specific field labels. In addition, the custom field types can be configured to be text boxes, drop-down lists, or radio buttons, for example. Depending on client-specific settings, the Project Info screen can also be called Store Info screen.

Project Tags

Project tags or flags are a visual marker used to identify specific properties of projects or stores. These can be configured to identify project type or status or any quality needed by the client.

Projectmates Corner

This term refers to the area which displays important information, updates, and links to important documents. This area is located in the same area of the screen where left-side menus appear and on the Home Page of every project.

Projectmates University

Online training videos and other resources that are free to all who have login credentials for any of the Projectmates websites. Projectmates University is accessed on www.projectmates.com in the Resources drop-down menu. Also, one must enter the URL (web address) for the website where he or she has access to Projectmates along with the login credentials to gain access to this area. There are several training videos, webinars, and other resources available here.

Term

Definition

Reporting: Ad-Hoc Reports

This term refers to reports that users can build on their own with drag-and-drop functionality. Ad-Hoc reports can be built for Purchase Orders, Contracts, Invoices, Budgets, RFIs, Submittals, Schedules, Action Lists, Daily Field Reports, Project Info, Project Requests, and Custom Business Processes.

Reporting: Dashboard

This term refers to a personalized collection of graphic reports that allow report users to quickly ascertain project status and other key points of interest within Projectmates. These graphic reports are easily created using drag-and-drop technology and are based on Ad-Hoc reports.

Reporting: Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is a one-page report for a single project that shows high-level information regarding the project. It includes budget summary details, schedule milestones, team notes, latest project picture and even RFI and submittal overview.

Reporting: Mini Reports

This term refers to project level reports that show status of items in a graphical layout. Action Lists, Schedules, RFIs and Submittals as well as financials have mini reports.

Reporting: Portfolios

This term refers to groups of projects used in Pre-built reporting. These groups can be all projects in a program or a sub-set of projects, such as by region, project manager, or project type, etc.

Reporting: Pre-Built Reports

This term refers to reports that come out of the box with Projectmates. There are nearly 200 pre-built reports that cover nearly every module.

Reporting: Reports

This term refers to a document containing information stored in Projectmates organized in a graphic or tabular form. Projectmates has several different kinds of reports including log pages, mini reports, pre-built reports, ad-hoc reports, and dashboard reports.

Term

Definition

Site Admin: Localization

In the Site Admin area, under Custom Content, the Localization option leads the user to the area where terms and labels can be changed to suit the lingo of your organization. For example, you can change the word Project to say Store, which can make more sense if you are a retailer. You can also change the labels for the custom information fields in the Project Info page to say whatever your organization needs to track in these fields.

Site Admin: Portfolio Default Tabs

In the Site Admin area, under Custom Content, the Portfolio Default Tabs option leads the user to the area where the site default for the layout of pre-built reports is configured and managed.

Site Admin: Portfolio Reports

In the Site Admin area, under Custom Content, the Portfolio Reports option leads the user to the area where the pre-built reports are uploaded, stored, and managed.

Site Admin: Site Layout

In the Site Admin area, under Custom Content, the Site Layout option leads the user to the area where the layout of the navigation pane can be configured. You can change the name and organization of tabs, buttons, and even the icons that are shown. This allows you to control the look and feel of Projectmates.

Site Admin: Site license

Overall agreement between Systemates and the client. The Site License lists the contractual limits of users per type, projects and storage. When these limits are overreached, the Projectmates site will become locked down until the situation is corrected. If you think this has happened, please contact Projectmates Support at 214.217.4100 option 2 or by emailing support@systemates.com immediately.

Site Admin: User Skills

User skills are a way of tracking different qualities for users. These can be configured to track regions that a contractor works in, certifications that a contractor has, or any other qualities that need to be tracked.

Term

Definition

Thread (multi-threaded)

This term refers to breakdowns within a module. Several modules in Projectmates are called 'multi-threaded' when you can have more than one instance of the module within a single project. Examples of multi-threaded modules include RFIs, Submittals, Schedules, Action Lists, Document Management and Photo Albums. Threads are represented as red bars in the left-side menu and each can have its own role rights and approval set up.

Term

Definition

Unpark

This feature provides ability to unhide projects. Unparked projects are included in reporting.

User Management: Associate Company

This link is shown in User Profiles for Site Administrators. It is used to link individual user profiles to a specific Company profile. Users who are linked to the same company profile can view each other's financial items, such as Contracts, Change Orders, Purchase Orders and Invoices/Pay Applications.

User Management: Bid User

This term refers to a user profile that includes login credentials and allows access to the Bids and Planroom tab.

User Management: Contact

This term refers to a contact profile that does not include login credentials and does not allow access to Projectmates at all.

User Management: Mobile user

This term refers to a user profile that includes login credentials and allows access to Projectmates via the mobile version or via the mobile app.

User Management: Power user

This term refers to a user profile who has Site Administrator access or who heavily uses Projectmates. These users are the ones who know the most about Projectmates within your organization and can answer questions that other users within your organization may have.

User Management: Project User

This term refers to a user profile that includes login credentials and allows access to the My Projects tab.

User Management: Report User

This term refers to a user profile that includes login credentials and allows access to the My Reports tab.

User Management: Role

This term refers to a group of users who have the same access rights within a project. Access rights within Projectmates are granted based on roles, and when users are added to the project, they must be assigned a specific role within the project to gain any access rights to the project.

User Management: Site Admin

This term refers to a user profile that includes login credentials and allows access to the Site Admin tab. The Site Admin is the on-site Projectmates guru who can answer any question users may have and their contact information is usually listed on the portal page or login page for the individual Projectmates site. The Site Admin area provides ability to make site-wide changes to the look and feel of Projectmates as well as manage everything from the list of projects, users, CSI codes, etc.

User Management: Super user

This term refers to a user profile who has Site Administrator access or who heavily uses Projectmates. These users are the ones who know the most about Projectmates within your organization and can answer questions that other users within your organization may have.

User Management: User profile

This term refers to the page that shows information tied to each individual user account within Projectmates, including name, email, contact information as well as the access rights they have within Projectmates.