What are project phases?
Project phases are a high-level way of looking at your project timeline. They divide your project into smaller sections so you can group similar tasks and assignments together.
Phases can run in parallel or one at a time, depending on the nature of the project. Typically, each phase leads to a project milestone and contributes to a major project deliverable.
Managing project phases
In Runn, there are two ways to create and manage project phases. You should create phases before creating assignments.
Note: After creating your linked phase and assignments, they will not be connected by date. i.e. When you move a phase its corresponding assignments will not move with it, vice versa. However, they will be still be linked for reporting purposes, such as in the timesheets.
1. From the Project Planner
Creating a phase
Expand your project.
Hover on the planner in the Phases row. You will see a green plus button appear on the planner where your cursor is.
Click-and-drag to create a phase, or click to use the calendar option and select the start and end dates.
Enter the phase name.
Choose the project phase color.
Click the Save button.
To create phases in parallel, hover over the project planner and move your cursor to the white space just below or above an existing phase - a green plus button will appear. Click-and-drag or use the calendar option to create a new phase.
Editing a phase
Click-and-drag to adjust the dates and duration, or click to edit the name, color, or dates and duration using the calendar.
Deleting a phase
Select the phase and click the Delete button.
⚡ Top tip: To view project phases on the Project Planner at all times, click on the Toggle button and turn on Always Show Phases
2. From the phases table
Creating a phase
Go to a project dashboard page and scroll to the Phases section.
Click the Add phase button.
Enter the phase name.
Select the start and end dates.
Choose the project phase color.
Click the Save button.
Editing a phase
Click the three-dot menu of the phase from the phases table. Edit the details as necessary.
Deleting a phase
Click the three-dot menu of the phase from the phases table. Click the Delete button.
Tracking project phases
Creating project phases before assignments will make it faster and easier to link assignments to your project phases. You need to link assignments to phases to track them.
You can track these metrics for each phase from the phases table on the project dashboard page:
Total hours or days (reflects the workload across the phase, not the length of the phase)
Revenue
People cost
Gross margin
🏃 Can I generate a report based on phases?
We do not support phase-based reporting at the moment. please note that you cannot generate a report by phase in the Reports section, nor can you break down the number of hours each person spent on each task.
Linking assignments to project phases
After you have created the phases, begin drawing out your assignments on the planner. Select the phase from the pop-up box or select No Phase if the assignment is not related to a specific phase in the project.
After linking the assignment to a phase, you'll still be able to move the phase and corresponding assignment separately for planning flexibility.
