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Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions we hear most, each with a link to the full guide when you want more detail.
Getting started
What is Perspective for?
Perspective helps your organisation plan, staff and deliver its portfolio of projects in one place. You decide which work to take on, plan who does it and when, and see straight away if a team is being asked to do too much. As the work happens, logged time and costs flow back into the picture so everyone can see how projects are really going.
What should we set up first?
If you look after your organisation's setup, your Dashboard shows a Finish setting up checklist in the recommended order. It starts with Company details and holidays, then Roles, teams and people, then Resources and Project types and statuses. Importing your project history comes last on purpose, so your imported projects can match the teams, types and statuses you already have.
Can I import my people and projects from a spreadsheet or another tool?
Yes. An administrator or team lead can open People and choose Import to bring people in from a CSV or Excel file. It is the same import as the setup screen: Perspective matches your columns for you, creates the roles and teams it does not have yet, can give the people a sign-in, and shows you a preview before anything is saved. For projects, an Admin opens Projects and chooses Import history: it accepts files from Microsoft Project, Primavera, Excel or CSV, and nothing is saved until the last step, so you can review and change everything first.
Add your people · Import your project history
Which files can I import my projects from?
Microsoft Project (.mpp or .xml), Primavera (.xer or .xml), Excel (.xlsx) and CSV files, or a .zip of a whole folder of them. Each file can be up to 25 MB. Scheduling files are the best choice if you have them, because they keep the original baseline next to what actually happened.
Can I undo a project import?
No. Everything is saved together at the last step, and there is no undo afterwards, so check the Review step carefully. To take an import back, delete the projects it created. If you are unsure, try a small file first.
Can I import tasks into a project?
You can bring in a project's requirements from a Word, text or Markdown document, then turn them into tasks in one step, one task per requirement or several. Tasks in a Microsoft Project or Primavera file become plan time when you import project history, not items on the task list.
Turn a requirements document into tasks
Accounts and sign-in
I didn't get my invitation email, or the link has expired. What do I do?
Invitation links last for 3 days and can only be used once. Check your spam or junk folder first, then ask your administrator to send it again: on the Users page they can choose Resend invite next to your name, which sends you a fresh link.
How do I reset my password?
On the sign-in screen, choose Forgot your password?, enter your email address and select Send reset link. The link in the email works for 2 hours, so use it soon after it arrives. If you are already signed in and just want to change your password, open Profile from the menu in the top right and use Update password.
Can I sign in with Google?
Yes, when you see Continue with Google on the sign-in screen. It works for an account your administrator has already set up, using the same email address as your Google account. Signing in with Google doesn't create an account on its own, so if you haven't been invited yet, ask your administrator first.
Why is Perspective asking me to change my password?
You'll see Update your password when your administrator has asked you to choose a fresh password, or when your organisation's rules say passwords expire after a set time. The screen lists the rules your password needs to meet, such as a minimum length or a mix of letters and numbers. Choose a password that meets them and select Set new password to carry on.
Access
Why can't I see a page or a button?
What you can see depends on two things: the roles you hold, and the features in your organisation's plan. Roles decide what you can view and change, so a button such as Add plan only appears if your role lets you use it. Some pages, such as Roadmap, Requests and Reports, are only part of certain plans, and if your organisation's plan doesn't include one you'll see a message saying the feature isn't in your plan.
Why can a team member only see their own work?
People with the Contributor role use Perspective to see their own work and record their time, not to manage the portfolio. Their menu shows just Dashboard, Enter time and Time off, and their dashboard lists the projects they're staffed on. This keeps things simple for them and keeps project and financial details with the people who manage them.
How do I give someone more access?
An administrator opens Users, selects Edit next to the person and changes their roles under Role assignments, then selects Save. A person can hold more than one role, and their access is everything those roles allow together. For example, Team Lead adds managing a team and approving its time, while PM adds managing projects and seeing their costs.
Planning
What's the difference between a project and a plan?
A project is the piece of work itself: what it is, who it's for and where it stands. A plan is one way of delivering it, with the roles, people and hours over time. A project can have several plans so you can compare options, and one of them is active. The active plan is the one that counts toward people's capacity and the project's cost, and you can switch to another with Set active.
What does "tentative" mean on a plan?
A tentative plan is a soft booking: work you expect but haven't committed to yet. Its hours don't use up people's committed capacity and don't trigger capacity warnings, so you can pencil work in without crowding out confirmed plans. You can still see tentative bookings alongside committed ones on a person's page, and when the work is confirmed, select Commit plan.
Why is someone shown as over capacity?
A person is over capacity when the hours booked for them on a day, added up across every active plan they're on, are more than they have available. Their available hours come from their work schedule, which allows for holidays and any time off they've booked. Perspective warns you rather than stopping you, so you can still save and then rebalance the work when you're ready.
Where do project costs come from?
A project's cost is built from its active plan. People's planned hours are priced using the rates on their contracts, which an administrator sets up under Settings in Contracts, and other resources such as licences or equipment add their own costs. As approved time comes in from timesheets, it is priced the same way so you can compare what was planned with what was spent. Costs are only visible to roles that can see financials, such as Admin, PMO, PM and C-suite.
Time
How do I log my time?
If you're a Contributor, choose Enter time in the left menu; otherwise open your own page under People and select Enter time. Pick a project from Add a project…, select Add, then enter your hours for each day. Use Save draft as you go, and when the week is complete select Submit for approval, or Confirm week if your organisation doesn't need approval for it.
Who approves my timesheet, and what happens if it's rejected?
Your timesheet goes to the team lead of a team you're on, and administrators can approve it too. Depending on your organisation's settings, some weeks may be confirmed automatically, for example when they match the plan. If a week is sent back, you'll see Sent back: with the reason at the top of your timesheet, so you can make the changes and submit it again.
Can I edit a timesheet after I've submitted it?
Yes, until it has been approved. While the week is waiting for approval, or after it has been sent back, open it and select Reopen to turn it back into a draft, make your changes, then submit it again. Once a week has been approved its hours count as actuals and it can no longer be changed, so an approved week has no Reopen button. Weeks that fall in a financial period your organisation has closed are locked too.
Your data
Is my organisation's data kept separate from other organisations?
Yes. Everything your organisation puts into Perspective, including projects, people, costs and time, belongs to your organisation alone and can't be seen by anyone in another organisation. Within your organisation, what each person sees also depends on their roles.
Can I export my data?
Yes. On a plan, select Export to download it as an Excel spreadsheet. In Reports, you can download a report's results with Excel or CSV, which is a good way to take any list of projects, people or time into another tool. CSV gives you every row; Excel gives you the rows shown on screen.
Reports
Who can see a report I make?
Only you, until you share it. Tick Everyone in the company can run it under Sharing and it appears for everyone in your company, each of them seeing only what their own role allows. Pins are personal too: pinning a report puts it on your dashboard, not anyone else's.
Can someone outside my company see a report?
Yes, in two ways. A PMO or Admin can create a public link that opens the report without signing in, and a report can be emailed on a schedule to any address. Both show every column as the report was saved, money columns included, so check the columns before you share.
Why are some columns missing from a report?
Money fields such as budget, cost and rates only appear for people who can see financials. If a shared report includes them and you do not have that access, they are left out of your view and the report tells you so.
Can a report be emailed to me every week?
Yes. Open a saved report, select Email schedule and choose the days, time and recipients. You can attach every row as a spreadsheet and skip the email when there is nothing to report.
Still need help?
If your question isn't answered here, email us at info@perspectiveppm.com and we'll be glad to help.