Acme Corp Project Tracker

🎯 Overview

The Acme Corp Project Tracker is a comprehensive, browser-based project management tool built specifically for the Engineering Operations team. It provides real-time visibility into project status, budgets, timelines, and team workload across all categories and regions.

The tool supports multiple user roles (Admin, User, and Guest), each with tailored permissions. Guests see a read-only summary view. Users can interact with projects assigned to their categories. Admins have full control over team management, categories, alerts, and system settings.

Data is stored locally in your browser (localStorage) and can be synced or exported as needed. All changes are logged in an activity audit trail.

🚀 Getting Started

Sign In: Click the Sign In button in the upper right corner. Enter your email address and password. If you don't have an account, ask your administrator to add you through Team Management.

Navigation: Use the tabs (Table, Gantt, Dashboard, Reports) to switch views. The Table view is the primary workspace where you manage projects and tasks.

🏷 Category Bar & Filtering

Just below the header banner, you'll see a row of category cards (e.g., 2GIG, Backbone, Midsouth, etc.). These are clickable and serve as quick filters.

Click any category card to instantly filter the table to show only projects in that category. Click the Summary card on the far left to clear the filter and show all projects. This makes it easy to focus on just the projects relevant to your team or region.

Role-Based Category Visibility: When an Admin assigns categories to a user in Team Management, that user will only see projects within their assigned categories. This means actionable items are always front and center. Users are not distracted by projects outside their scope. The category cards in the header will also reflect only the categories assigned to the user.

Dropdown Filters: You can also use the dropdown filters at the top of the table (Phases, Categories, Assignees, Statuses) to refine your view further. Combine multiple filters to drill down to exactly the projects you need.

➕ Adding & Cloning Projects

Add Project: Open the Actions menu and select + Add Project. Fill in the project name, category, assignee, budget, dates, and status. The project will appear in the table immediately.

Clone Project: Need to replicate an existing project structure? Use Clone Project from the Actions menu. Select the source project and all its tasks, budget allocations, and metadata will be duplicated into a new project that you can rename and modify.

Sub-tasks: Projects support hierarchical tasks (Level 0 = parent project, Level 1+ = sub-tasks). Expand any project row to see and manage its tasks. Each task can have its own assignee, dates, status, and completion percentage.

📄 CSV Import

There are two ways to import data into the tracker:

Easy Import (Bulk Subtasks): From the Actions menu, select Easy Import - Bulk. This lets you quickly add multiple subtasks under an existing project. Just select the parent task, set the child level, optionally add a name prefix, then paste your subtask names (one per line or comma separated). You can also set a default phase and assignee for all imported subtasks.

CSV / Excel Import: From the Actions menu, select CSV Import. This imports full project hierarchies from a CSV or Excel file. Download the provided template to ensure your columns match the expected format. The importer previews detected rows before committing. Parent projects (Level 0) automatically propagate their category and dates to child tasks. Unknown assignees trigger a user creation step where you can enter their email and role.

After either import method, use the Data Quality Check to catch any missing fields or inconsistencies.

🎨 Display Customizations

Background Shade: Use the shade slider at the bottom of the Actions menu to adjust the background darkness. Slide left for darker, right for lighter. Your preference is saved automatically.

Row Density: Choose between Compact, Normal, or Roomy row spacing using the buttons at the bottom of the Actions menu. Compact fits more data on screen; Roomy gives extra breathing room for readability.

Category Colors: Admins can customize the color assigned to each category through Admin > Category Colors. These colors appear throughout the tool in category badges, Gantt chart bars, pie chart slices, and the category cards in the header.

Column Sorting: Click any column header in the Table view to sort by that field. Click again to reverse the sort order.

📧 Email Notifications & Alerts

Alert System: The tracker includes an email alert system that can notify team members about overdue tasks, upcoming deadlines, and status changes. Admins can enable or disable alerts globally through Admin > Toggle Alerts.

Per-User Alert Settings: In Team Management, admins can configure alert preferences for each user. You can enable/disable alerts per user and even control which categories trigger alerts for each person. This prevents notification fatigue by ensuring users only receive alerts relevant to their assigned work.

Send Reminders Now: Admins can manually trigger a reminder email blast through Admin > Send Reminders Now. This is useful before meetings or status reviews.

SMTP Configuration: The email system requires SMTP settings to be configured by an admin through Admin > SMTP Settings. Enter your mail server details, sender address, and authentication credentials.

⚠ Data Quality Check

The Data Quality Check scans all projects and tasks for common issues: missing assignees, blank dates, projects without budgets, orphaned sub-tasks, and other inconsistencies. Access it from Actions > Data Quality Check.

Results are displayed in a categorized list so you can quickly identify and fix problems. Run this after bulk imports or periodically to maintain data hygiene.

📊 Reports & PDF Export

The Reports tab generates a comprehensive financial and status overview. Use the category and project selectors to scope the report, then click Generate Report.

Reports include: budget summary cards, pie charts showing approved/pending/rejected budget distribution (charts with no data are automatically hidden), a category budget breakdown table, a Gantt timeline, detailed project tables per category, and an assignee workload analysis.

Click Export PDF to generate a Vyve-branded PDF document suitable for stakeholder reviews and status meetings.

💡 Tips & Shortcuts