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Most of us probably have "short" names for many Projects.  In fact, in Tip #1, a relatively short name is mandatory to fit on the labels for Project folders and other documentation.  However, our short Project names may not really delineate the "operational outcome" that defines the successful Project.  If you are like me, having a description in front of me that fosters visualization of the successful outcome helps immensely.  This Tip #2 ( and the next two that will follow) illustrate how to set up your Project list view to highlight your Project outcome.

Step 1 ... Create a New Projects View
Note:  You should follow these steps to create a new view.  If you apply the tip to one of the default Contacts view, the changes (which are for Projects only) will show up when you use the view in an actual Contacts folder.  For example, if you just change the default "By Category" view, then you will end up seeing the view you create using this tip when you view your Contacts folder "By Category".

While you are in your Projects folder, define a new view (View, Current View, Define Views).



Step 2 ... Define the View
In the "Define Views for Projects" window, click "New", and the "Create a New View" window will pop up.  Name the new view "Project List", and select "Table" as the type of view.  Select the radio button indicating that the view can be used on "This folder".  Click "OK".




Step 3 ... Select the Fields
When you clicked "OK" in the previous step, the "View Summary" window should have popped up.  Click the "Fields" button, and the "Show Fields" window will pop up.  At the bottom of the window, select "All Contact fields" from the drop-down list under "Select available fields from:".  Select the fields that you would like to display in your view by highlighting them in the "Available fields" list, and clicking the "Add" button (do one at a time). As a starting point, I suggest that you select the fields "Icon, Flag Status, Full Name, Categories, & Notes".  Click "OK".



Step 4 ... Format Your New View
When you first look at your new view, the labels at the top of the columns will be the same as the "field names" that they represent.  Let's make them more appropriate for Projects.  Right-Click on the row of column labels at the top of your view.  From the drop-down menu, select "Format Columns".



Step 5 ... Re-label Your Column Headings
In the "Format Columns" window, highlight any field in the "Available fields" list.  In the "Label" field on the right, you can type in any new column heading that you would like.  I suggest that you "re-label" the "Notes" field as "Outcome".  When you are done re-labeling, click the "OK" button.



Step 6 ...Input and View Your Project Outcomes
To view your Project outcomes in your Project list, you need only to summarize the outcome in the first line or so of the "Notes" section of the Project form.  In the example screenshots at the right, the outcome that I visualize for my [Test Stand] Project is a "modified setup that will reduce our testing time to under three minutes".  I've summarized that outcome at the top of the "Notes" section, and it now appears nicely in my Projects list.  In the "Outcome" column of my list, I have a catalog of clues to help me visualize where I am heading.



8/28/02