Workfront: Streamlined

One of the things that attracts a lot of users to Workfront is the huge range of options for configuration. It's great at facilitating all kinds of work process. Like any double-edged sword, there is an inherent danger in having all that capability. If your team is not enabled, they'll be staring into the Workfront abyss, too many options, not enough understanding of what they see.

Layout Templates: Get to the point!

One of the least utilized features I see in Workfront instances that I join is a well configured set of layout templates. In the worst of cases they don't even exist, in most cases, Layout Templates are there, but they are hardly utilized.

Did you know you can create a universal project dashboard that automatically shows pertinent information to any user with access, without the need for complicated filters? Layout templates can enable this useful feature by embedding object-level (Project, Program, Task, etc.) dashboards on the left hand sidebar.

Layout Template Trick #1: Slash The View

The image probably looks familiar. Lots of project data (Lots of blanks!) and lots of potential to simplify. Most teams have 1-2 major goals in using Workfront, but I have yet to hear "I want to scroll through endless lines of text" as one of them. Enter: Layout Templates.

Don't have project stakeholders? Why show them?

With about 5 minutes of updates to settings, you can take the noise shown above and distill it down to this view in the screenshot. The best part about this, is if your managers need a view with a few more details, you can spare their direct reports by creating two simple setups in Layout Templates to give each set of users what they actually need.

Focus on what actually matters!

Layout Template Trick #2: Monitor/Control... What exactly?

Workfront has a great set of features to filter down what users need to see in specific places. They are called Filters, Views, and Groupings. Unfortunately, even the base configuration of Workfront floods users with Views they:

A. Might not understand.

B. Will likely click on once in their entire time at the company, and then never use it again.

That doesn't have to be the case. Best practice for Views (Filters and Groups too!) is to cut down to minimalist options, and let users bring up the need for additional choices. Of course while working through this process, System Admins should explicitly state the goal of distilling options down to only what is useful, else users might think Workfront just can't do what they need.

Take this...

.. to this!

Don't Flood The Zone

I think everyone has hard it a some point in their life: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Workfront is full of capability, but it can be absolutely overwhelming for most users that are more focused on getting their content out by the deadline than anything else. As a responsible Workfront System Admin, your main goal should be to facilitate and smooth the process. Ensure your team gets off on the right foot by cutting out the excess. If your organization hasn't prioritized a Workfront feature, feel free to remove it from view complete until the time comes to spark some interest with a "New" feature!

Contact Us

Ready to transform your Workfront experience? Email info@smart-forge.net to schedule a consultation with John Mitchell, owner of SmartForge, and take the first step toward a smarter system.