Administrators

This chapter guides administrators (admins) through their tasks.

SPMS admins have backstage access to all data and have permissions to perform any action.

SPMS maintainers in contrast have access to the database backend and can easily and safely modify data in bulk.

The role of admin, maintainer, and developer is currently shared.

Download a data snapshot

Go to the Project list and click “Download Projects” to get a full list of Projects with their details. Do not update this spreadsheet - do update projects directly in SPMS instead.

Close annual reporting cycle

  • Close any progress reports which are “in approval” through Menu > Backstage > Batch-approve all Progress Reports.
  • This can be done as soon as the annual report content is print ready.
  • Approving a Progress Report reverts its Project from “update requested” to its normal “approved and active” state.

Prepare SPMS for a new annual reporting cycle

Instruct the Directorate to solicit the following actions from SPMS Project Teams through an email broadcast:

  • Initiate Project Closure for any complete, suspended, or terminated Project (SP or CF). These projct types require a formal approval process and might solicit a last Progress Report.
  • Close any completed Student Project or External Partnership. These project types close immediately without any approval process.
  • Register and seek approval for any new Project, especially those which have progressed significantly since the last annual report.
  • Update all External Partnerships. Their Project details will be used in the annual report.
  • Remember that only members of a Project Team have permission to update Project Documents, and they can add other SPMS Users to the Team to give colleagues write permissions.

Allow sufficient time for Project teams to register their new Projects and author Project Closure documents, and SCMT to discuss and approve Project closures.

Create a new annual reporting cycle

Precondition:

  • All Projects, their documentation, and their approval are up to date.
  • Project closures are initiated and approved. Projects with “closure pending final update” will participate in the upcoming annual report.

Action:

  • Create a new BCS Annual Report.
  • Select all participating Divisions. This is likely only BCS.
  • Enter the reporting year.
  • Chapter images and introductions can be updated later on.
  • Open/close dates are not acted upon, they are optional.

On creation of a new annual report, and only when it is created for the first time, all relevant projects will enter the life cycle state “update requested” and spawn a new Progress Report (SP and CF) or StudentReport (STP). This populates the “My Tasks” portfolio of each User, but will not send email notifications.

Post action:

  • Broadcast to all involved staff that annual reporting season is now open.
  • Members of External Partnerships do now have to provide a Progress Report, but need to update Project details or close them where appropriate.

View Projects of other Divisions

  • Edit your own profile and set your own Program to one of the intended Division.
  • Now the Project List will show only Projects of that Division.

Onboard Users

New SPMS Users must set a Program in their Profile.

  • See also “Authors > Onboarding a DBCA colleague”.
  • Make them visit SPMS once if they are DBCA staff. This creates an SPMS profile.
  • Edit their Profile and set the correct Program if they haven’t yet.
  • Set special roles (see below) as required through User Groups.

Onboard Reviewers

If a Program Leader appointment changes, a Superuser must:

  • Update the Program, set new Program Leader. This is shown in the Project list and the Annual Report.
  • Edit new Program Leader’s User profile, add to SPMS Group SMT. This gives the User permission as a reviewer for their own projects, and any other project in their division (as a stand-in for an unavailable PL if needed).

Onboard Approvers

If a Director or their Approver changes, a Superuser must:

  • Update the Division, set the Director and/or Approver. This is shown in the Project List and the Annual Report, and used to determine who can approve Documents for a Division.

Onboard special roles

The special roles of Biometrician, Herbarium Curator, Animal Ethics representative (unused), and Data Manager (unused), are appointed by a Superuser as SPMS groups in the respective Users’ profiles.

  • Only a superuser can update the User Group.
  • BM or PL can grant BM’s approval in Project Plans.
  • AE or PL can grant AE approval in Project Plans.
  • Each role needs to setup an email inbox rule.
  • Each role needs to be trained personally.