After you have imported your data and configured the capacity planning basics, you can customize a few final elements so that Meisterplan is tailored to your organization's needs.

You don't have to use or customize all of these elements, but we recommend you review them and decide if you want to change anything.

• Portfolios
• Scenarios
• Custom Views
• Project Details
• Project Overview
• Reports
• Dependencies
• User Groups
• Customizable Navigation
• Systemwide Currency

Portfolios

Use portfolios to divide your list of projects into more manageable sub-portfolios, for example one sub-portfolio for each department, and define who has the right to access which data.

Where to Find:

In the left sidebar, click Manage > Portfolios.

How to Configure:

Add a new portfolio and give it a name. From here, you can add filters to the portfolio via the project filter and resource filter tabs. You can use multiple filters at a time in one portfolio, ensuring you only see the most relevant data.

Result:

When a user selects a portfolio, the respective view displays only data that is part of the selected portfolio:

For more information on configuring portfolios, visit the Working with Portfolios section.

Scenarios

Availability Pro Premium

With scenarios, you can answer what-if planning questions and take “snapshots” of your portfolio at a specific point in time.

Where to Find:

In the black Header bar at the top of the screen, click the name of the current scenario ("Plan of Record" in the image above) and select Manage Scenarios.

How to Configure:

Add a scenario and give it a name. This new scenario is a copy of the Plan of Record that you can modify to your liking without disturbing the original plan.

Read more about scenarios in the Working with Scenarios section.

Custom Views

Define which configuration your users will see when first opening the Team Planner, the Project List, the Board view and the Roadmap. This allows you to ensure that all users see the same preconfigured view and can work with Meisterplan more easily. If necessary, you can configure different views for different user groups.

Where to Find

You can save configurations as custom views in the Team Planner, the Project List, the Board view and the Roadmap. In each view, you will find the drop-down menu to the right of the page title.

How to Configure

Click the drop-down menu next to the page title and select Add New Custom View:

Enter a name and define which users or user groups have access to the view to share it with them.

Next, configure the view (e.g., columns or filters) and click Save Configuration:

Result

All users with access to this view will see the saved configuration. Sharing custom views will be especially helpful for new Meisterplan users because the settings for the view are saved, and they can immediately see the data that is relevant to them.

Learn more:

Find more information on custom views in our Custom Views article.

Project Details

Here you can specify which project details should be displayed when viewing a single project's details. If you added custom project fields to Meisterplan, you'll want to add them to the project details so that the fields are displayed for each project.

We recommend outlining the configuration of the project details and the project overview together to specify what information you want displayed in which view.

Where to Find:

In the left Sidebar, click Manage and select Project Details.

How to Configure:

Add new sections by clicking Add Section, or drag and drop them to another position. Delete a section by clicking the trash can icon which appears when hovering over that section.

Click the Add Project Field button to add fields. Drag and drop them from one custom section to another. Delete fields by clicking the X symbol.

Result:

The fields and details you selected will then be displayed in the project details view.

Find more information on configuring project details in our Configuring Project Details article.

Project Overview

Here you can define what project information should be displayed when opening a project's overview in the Portfolio Designer.

The project information available for display in the project overview needs to be configured first. We recommend configuring the project overview and project details in unison to better understand what information is displayed in each view.

Where to Find:

In the left Sidebar, click Manage and select Project Overview.

How to Configure:

Add new fields by clicking Add Field, or drag and drop them to another position. Remove a field from the configuration by clicking the x after the field name.

Result

In the Information Panel on the right, you will see the project information you selected in the order you specified.

Find more information on configuring the project overview in our Project Overview & Program Overview article.

Reports

Reports allow you to analyze portfolio data from different perspectives and create visual charts for meetings with management. This will improve your next portfolio preparation and help you drive the right decisions.

Integrated or External Reporting?
With Meisterplan you can use integrated reports as well as your preferred external reporting software such as Microsoft Power BI or Tableau. This page covers configuring integrated reports. If you want to use external software, see the Reporting API section for details.

Where to Find:

In the left Sidebar, click Reports.

You can add new reports or templates, or use the preconfigured reports that are included in your trial account. Open a report by double-clicking it in the report list.

How to Configure:

Configure your report by defining which fields, and charts you want to include in your report, and what allocation unit and time unit the data should be displayed in.

You can rename the report and give specific users access by clicking the pencil icon next to the report.

Result:

Sections within pivot reports are interactive and reflect how other sections are changed. For example rearranging project fields, choosing different charts or drilling down into specific data lines or columns will change how data is displayed.

Find more information on reports in our Reports View and Integrated Reports article.

Dependencies

Dependencies between projects are represented in Meisterplan as links between milestones that signify that one milestone must be completed before the other. When a project’s milestone is scheduled for a date later than a dependent milestone, the dependency will show red, indicating a conflict.

Dependencies Require Milestones
Dependencies are always added to a milestone. If you don't have milestones in your system, you can add them manually or import via Quick Import.

Where to Find:

In the left Sidebar, click Portfolio Designer.

How to Configure:

To add a dependency, simply hover your mouse over a milestone in the Gantt chart and move it slightly to the right, until you see your cursor turn into a hand icon. You can now click and drag the dependency to the intended dependent milestone.

Read more about adding milestones and dependencies in Milestones, Project Phases and Dependencies article.

Result:

In the Portfolio Designer, hover your mouse over a project in the Gantt chart to see it's milestones and dependencies.

User Groups

Flexibly manage user permissions and get a transparent overview of rights by organizing users into groups.

Where to Find:

In the left Sidebar, click Manage and select User Groups.

How to Configure:

At the top of the view, you can click on Add Group to add a new user group. To configure an existing group, move the cursor over a group and click the pencil icon on the right.

For each group, you can configure detailed rights and assign users.

Result:

When your colleagues log in to Meisterplan, they will be able to view and edit only the data that is relevant for them.

More information:

Find more information on user groups in our Manage User Groups article. 

Learn how to configure the rights to fit the Lean PPM™ responsibilities in the Set User Rights by Lean PPM™ Role article.

Best Practice Hints
It’s helpful to plan permissions in detail before setting them up in Meisterplan. Initially, be conservative with your user rights at first. These rights can be further refined as you use them and determine what works best for your organization. It is easier to add rights than to remove them.

Customizable Navigation

Once you have defined your user groups as well as their user rights, you can also determine which views in the left sidebar each user group can access. You can also hide a view in the left sidebar for all user groups if your organization does not use it.

Where to Find:

Select Manage in the left sidebar, and then Customizable Navigation.

How to Configure:

For each view, select which user groups, if any, have access.

Result:

Each user group will only see the views in the left sidebar that are relevant for them.

More Information:

For more information on Customizable Navigation, see the article Manage Customizable Navigation.

Systemwide Currency

Your currency is not US Dollar? Change the currency to your preferred value to have it correctly displayed for all cost and benefit fields.

Where to Find: 

In the left Sidebar, click Manage and select Advanced.

How to Configure:

Select your preferred currency under Global Settings > Currency.

Result:

All financial values will now be displayed in the selected currency, for example under Project Finances.