With the most recent release of Infralink/IMMS (v3.5.35), we are happy to offer the following new features and functionality.
System Construction and Commissioning
The release of InfraLink v3.5.35 expands Production module capabilities, including the widely used task-based workflows and milestone reporting tools. Enhancements include more robust reporting views to better assess the system's progress towards critical milestones. Learn more below.
Milestone Report
Previously known as the Milestone Progress Report, the Milestone Report is an enhanced version of its predecessor. The Milestone Report continues to summarize the status of System Elements, progress across their respective life cycles and any remaining work, but the view also now displays the number of associated Device Issues and schedule compliance.
While communicating essential information, these new report details also offer user-friendly navigation. Tapping an Issue count within a Life Cycle Status column will open the corresponding System Element Details panel to display a list of open Issues that should be resolved prior to the device reaching that milestone. The Milestone Report also introduces icons that represent a System Element's schedule compliance, allowing Users to easily determine if a System Element achieved or has yet to achieve a milestone by its Planned Date.
Issue Resolve Before...
Issues can be marked with a "Resolve Before" value that specifies by which status/milestone that Issue should be completed. See v3.5.34 - New Feature Highlights (May 2023) for additional information on the "Resolve Before" feature.
What You Will See in the User Interface:
- The Milestone Report is accessible from the Main Menu, under the Production stack.
- Under a status column, the Milestone Report may display a red number in a circle. This icon communicates the number of Issues that should be resolved prior to a System Element achieving that milestone (i.e., status).
- Selecting that red number will open a Milestone Report Details panel, which includes an Issues section.
- Each Status added to the Milestone Report grid view receives an associated filter, titled "<Status> : Completion". This allows Users to filter according to the Schedule Compliance for that status.
- Under each status, the Milestone Report displays icons that communicate whether a System Element reached a status by the Planned Date, after the Planned Date, or with no Planned Date set.
Icon | Schedule Compliance | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Not Planned | No Planned Date has been set for the System Element Status. |
| Late | The System Element transitioned into the status after the Planned Date, or the System Element has not transitioned into the target status and the Planned Date has already passed. |
| On Time | The System Element transitioned into the status before the Planned Date. |
| On Time - Pending | The System Element has not transitioned into the status and the Planned Date is still in the future. |
n/a | On Time - At Risk | The System Element has not transitioned into the status, the Planned Date is still in the future, but a dependency status is late. ** Currently Users are able to Filter according to this condition, but the grid view does not display an icon for "On Time - At Risk" Schedule Compliance. |
Milestone Report Summary
The Milestone Report Summary allows Users to display milestone progress for System Elements according to Location. Selecting a Location under the Location column will open the relevant Milestone Report grid view displaying all of the devices at that Location and any relevant milestone progress for the System Element and associated components (e.g., links, connections, terminations).
What You Will See in the User Interface:
- The Milestone Report Summary is accessible from the Main Menu, under the Production stack.
- The grid view will be empty until the User applies at least one System Element Type and Location filter and adds the desired status columns via the View→Columns widget.
- Like the Milestone Report, the Milestone Report Summary displays a count of all Issues that should be resolved prior to a System Element achieving a milestone.
- Issues can be marked with a "Resolve Before" value that determines by which Status/Milestone that Issue should be completed. See v3.5.34 - New Feature Highlights (May 2023) for additional information on "Resolve Before" functionality.
- Tapping on a Location within the grid view will open the Milestone Report view for that Location in a separate window.
Device Task Completion Progress
InfraLink Device Tasks are currently measured, in terms of reporting purposes, as 100% complete or 0% complete. While adequate for Tasks associated with low labor estimates, this limitation is amplified when a single task has a very large labor component, sometimes hundreds of hours. It can result in misleading progress reporting, an inability to forecast the remaining work, and/or an inaccurate roll-up of all work on a project. For example, pulling a feeder cable with many sets is often tracked as a single Task. However, the completion percentage for that Task should be updated when each set is pulled.
With the release of InfraLink v3.5.35, Users can now specify a "% Complete" value when updating a Task that allows it. That is, the Task must be generated from of a Task Template configured to Allow % Complete.
What You Will See in the User Interface:
- A new configuration option, Allow % Complete, is available on the Advanced Settings tab of the Create/Edit Task Template form.
- The % Complete value will only display in the Details Panel of a Task that is still "In Progress".
- The All Tasks grid view will allow the addition of a new column for % Complete.
- A filter for this new column is not currently available via the Filters panel.
General Scalability and Usability
The release of InfraLink v3.5.35 expands on the current User Experience offering a more intuitive and cleaner layout for various Details panels. Learn more about these enhancements below.
Enhanced User Interface
The release of InfraLink v3.5.35 begins our full transition to the new user experience. This phase of transition focuses on the presentation of record (e.g., Issue, System Element, Location, etc.) details, as well as user interaction with the details panel. The new user experience focuses on intuitiveness, consistency and decluttering of the User Interface, and performance improvements. You will notice changes in workflow controls (i.e., buttons) and on-hover menus. As we continue to enhance the user experience, InfraLink allows Users to discover and interact with elements that are not yet enabled by default. Please note that while the experimental elements may open up some new features, those features are considered beta stage and still undergoing testing. Likewise, InfraLink allows Users to revert to the classic (legacy) user experience as they accustom themselves to the new User Interface. Some functionality, especially administrative, may be available only via the new User Interface. Examples of such features include managing Contract Roles availability, default Role assignments for newly activated accounts, Bill of Material forms and functionality, full-page mode for all entity details panels, etc.
Selecting Your User Experience
Please note, users are free to switch between the classic UI and new UI, if they wish to explore the new features and clean layout in select details panels. Users can switch between UI versions via a setting in their User Preferences.
- Access the User menu.
- Select Update Profile.
- Navigate to the Preferences tab.
- From the UI Setting dropdown menu, select “Use Classic UI” or “Use New UI”.
- Click Save.
Note: If your selection does not save, refresh your browser and repeat the steps above.
