TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is the difference between GANTT and Delivery Path?

In Sharktower there are two different ways to plan; GANTT or Delivery Path. 

GANTT is the more traditional way of planning and allows you to structure the plan similar to Excel or Microsoft Project. You can show dependencies between outcomes and related activities but the feature currently has a limitation in that it's not possible to depict dependencies between the activities themselves - if you want to depict a strong dependency-based plan, see below for our Delivery Path method. (Outcomes/Dependencies inherits the status and estimated/end date of the activity(s) leading to it; if there are multiple activities, the outcomes will inherit the "worst" status and the worst of all end/estimated end dates.) Gantt does have the advantage over that method of showing a 12 month view which is not available in the delivery path - so if this is important for your project, you may be best off using Gantt.
Click here for a more in-depth guide to planning in GANTT. 


Delivery Path offers a different way to plan and allows you to draw the key phases, activities, and outcomes. Think of it as a map towards the intended outcome, giving a visual representation of how different teams operate in parallel, where dependencies occur and key milestones. Note that the maximum zoom level in the out of the box version of this feature is 3 months, whereas Gantt allows a user to see 12 months at a time.

Click here to find out how to plan in Delivery Path. 


When should I use a plan? Do I always have to use a plan?

We recommend creating a plan when there are clear outcomes or milestones to track. Plans don't have to be large and complex (although Sharktower does lend itself remarkably well to the task when they are!). 


A simple plan can consist of a few activities, tasks and outcomes. This will allow stakeholders to see when things are due and if anything slips. The outcomes will pull through to the Overview page and can also be linked to Business Objectives. 


However, if there are no specific milestones to track towards, then Sharktower can also be used to track tasks on their own by using the Kanban and Meetings features.


Why can't I see the activities I've created in my plan? 

You might be in view mode for a plan which hasn't yet been published. If you can still see your activities when you click edit then all you need to do is publish the plan.


You might also have navigated away from the activities - if this has happened then try going to the Overview page and clicking on one of the activities in the Activity Updates area - this should re-centre you in your plan.


I'm getting an error when publishing my plan 

I'm getting the error The plan couldn’t be published because some of your activities don’t have a workstream or title - how do I find the offending activities?

  • Firstly, zoom out as far as possible so you can see as much of your plan at once as possible - this will help you spot the offending activities.
  • An activity with no workstream will always be black, because you haven't yet given it a colour (i.e. a workstream) so this is usually a good way of identifying those (unless you have also created a black workstream!).
  • Sometimes it can be that you've created an activity by accident when clicking around, so the other thing to look for is very short activities (sometimes just the two nodes very close together). 

Once you've found the activities without names or workstreams, if you do want to remove them, holding down shift on your keyboard and drawing a box round them, then pressing delete on your keyboard will remove them. (note this is not applicable for Gantt as it is Published automatically.)


Can I delete an activity?

Yes. First, make sure you're in EDIT mode. Then click on activity > hamburger menu > DELETE ACTIVITY.


Alternatively, you can hold down shift and select multiple activities at once and hit delete on your keyboard.


Activities only appear in the link dropdown in a task if they have been published - if you go to Plan>EDIT and then press Publish Plan, you should see the activities appear in the link dropdown on any task, story, decision, risk or issue.


Is there a best practice way to lay out my plan activities?

Sharktower is method-agnostic so you have free rein to do what works for you and your team. The aim is making your plan as easy to follow as possible. However, we do have some best practice suggestions - check out this article here.


What is the meaning of the angle/curvature of the lines?

Just a visual device to make the plan easier to read!


How do I disconnect activities from each other?

If you hover over a node connecting two or more activities, you should see a white node/handle appear at the end of the activity you're nearest to - if you click this handle and move it, it will disconnect the activity from the rest of the node.


If you're not sure which activity the white handle relates to, try looking at which one seems to be "selected", i.e. its start date, end date and number of is being shown.


Note - This is not applicable for Gantt, it is not possible to connect dependencies between activities.


How do I use clusters?

Clustering is a useful way to group activities on the plan - you can use them to create a roadmap view when fully zoomed out. 


Ultimately, they do not affect any reporting and are not directly linked to the activities themselves so you can use them in any way you wish to create visual groupings on the plan canvas - inventive examples include using them to block out periods of time such as people's holidays, or to specify which environments different testing phases are happening in.


How do I edit/delete clusters?

  • Deleting, renaming and changing the colour are all done by clicking on the name of the cluster (in the top left of the box)
  • Moving the cluster can be done by clicking on the name in the top left corner (a cursor with a 4-way arrow will appear) and then dragging to the desired place
  • Resizing the cluster can be done from any corner in the usual way - it may be easier to zoom 


How do I bulk move items on the plan?

You can bulk move activities and outcomes by holding down shift on your keyboard and selecting the items you wish to move - you will see a dashed box appear and when you let go there will be a grey background showing you which area is selected.

It is not yet possible to bulk move clusters


What is an outcome and where does it appear?

Outcomes in the delivery path should be at the end of activities where you want to call out key milestones on your plan. All outcomes are displayed on the Overview page of the project and the next upcoming outcome is displayed on the project tile on the Projects page. They are also used as the link between high level business goals and the projects themselves.

There are two types of outcome (Project Milestone and Business Outcome) - see here for more information.



Outcomes in a Gant plan appear either as standalone or as part of an activity. Just as the Delivery path all outcomes are displayed on the Overview page and the next upcoming outcome is displayed on the Projects page. 


I am clicking on the plan and all I see is a blank canvas, but I know there are definitely activities

In a Project:

Go to the Project Overview page and you can either click on an outcome or an activity to re-focus on the plan. 

 

In a Template (e.g. one that was created a while ago - the plan will still have the dates it was originally created with)

If there are work items that have been linked to an activity, go to the Kanban and open one of them, and you can click on the activity in the detail view of the work item - this will take you to the plan and refocus you.


Can I assign more than one outcome to an activity?

No. The best way to do this is to split the activity into two activities and assign outcomes to each of them.


What are the boxes in the bottom left-hand corner of the plan? 

This is the workstream legend - if you have not created any new workstreams, you will just see the default workstream here (with code "WS"). Otherwise, you will see all workstreams in this project shown here with their codes and colours. If you click on one of the boxes, you will get more information including the owner and full name of the workstream (and in edit mode, you're able to change these properties if you wish). 

In Gantt, workstreams are shown on the lefthand side next to the Phases & Activities names. If you click on the workstream you will see the owner and full title of the workstream. Here you will also have the ability to edit the workstream. To create a new workstream you need to be within the add activity page, here you will see the option to select a workstream, click the workstream model and at the bottom you have the ability to create a new workstream. 


What happens if I change the assignee of an activity?

It is possible to delegate responsibility of an activity. By default, the activity owner will be set to the workstream lead. However, if you wish to represent a sub-level of ownership, you can do so by selecting a different user as the "assignee".
This user will then receive requests for updates and will be responsible for updating the status of the activity.


What is a workstream?

The purpose of workstreams is to make it visually apparent who is responsible for each activity - giving them each different colours, and a sensible abbreviation helps use this as a communication tool.


How do I zoom in the plan?

There are several options for this:

  • If you are using a traditional mouse, you can use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out
  • If you are using a trackpad, simply use the two-finger scroll approach you would use to scroll up and down on a webpage or document
  • If you are in Edit mode, there is an option in the toolbar on the left to zoom to 1, 2 or 3 months (if you find this the easiest method to zoom, it's worth knowing that Plan remembers your zoom level between View and Edit modes - so you could always go into Edit, change the zoom level using the toolbar, then come back out)
  • If you need a 12 month (or longer) view, this is not currently available in the app (but it is on our roadmap to build!) - there are other ways of achieving this using the data extracts and our tailored reporting services so please get in touch if you're interested in having a conversation about this