The development focus for ProjectDox 9.2 was to enhance the Applicants’ and Reviewers’ User Experience. This topic highlights new features and product enhancements to ProjectDox 9.2 designed to simplify, streamline, and improve overall user efficiency, system security, and plan review performance.
Applicant Experience:
Step by Step Task Instructions for applicants on performing file uploads, resubmissions and downloading approved plans is as easy as 1-2-3. Best in class workflows for Building and Planning now include step-by-step user instructions for the applicant – easy to understand and easy to follow. This will ensure an applicant completes their submission, corrections and download of approved plans successfully. Also, the instructions are easily configurable by the jurisdiction.
“Learn how” Instructional Videos conveniently located throughout the plan review process providing additional guidance for self-service applicants – no training required! (Learn how videos are an annual subscription service offered by Avolve.)
Applicants can Easily Invite Project Team Members to their project for view-only access or task completion responsibilities directly from any of their workflow tasks.
Color Coded File Names upon upload communicate to the applicant the state of each file (new file, new version or duplicate file) visually and easily. Uploading files now display distinct colors, making it easy to understand the upload process.
New Project Files Tab designed for easy folder navigation and quick access to all files within a folder. New Files list grid provides quick search and filtering of specific files, including fast File Info and History navigation of easy-to-view large thumbnail images and details of each file.
Support for Signed PDF File Certificates are now automatically checked and validated upon upload and can optionally be rechecked prior to stamp approval and download.
Centralized Reviewer Comments / Corrections are located, listed, and accessed in one simple Reviews Tab location and can optionally be made viewable to the applicant throughout the plan review process.
Applicants can Dynamically Open Review Comment Markups and be automatically zoomed to the specific markup comment location, along with an applicant response field, allowing the applicant to easily enter their response while viewing the markup comment. Once a response is entered, the response is automatically saved onto the Review Comments list. After an applicant enters a response, the file viewer navigates to the next markup comment without the applicant ever leaving the viewer. The applicant can also page back and forth through the files that require responses. This allows the applicant to easily respond to each comment, saving time and ensuring the applicant responds to all required review comments. ePlan Review Process Solution Trusted by 150+ Jurisdictions www.avolvesoftware.com ©2020 Avolve Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Team Collaboration with Export to Excel provides applicants with a simple one click button to export their entire review comments list to an Excel spreadsheet to be shared with project team members. The list can also be auto separated into individual trade specific Excel files. The specially designed Excel spreadsheet includes all review comment information as well as a quick hyperlink to each marked up PDF file. This allows the design team members access to the file markups without needing an account or logging into ProjectDox. Applicant responses typed into the Excel spreadsheet can be easily imported back into ProjectDox via their resubmit task. This saves applicants time not having to retype responses from their design partners.
The new Automated Response Verification feature in ProjectDox auto-checks to ensure the applicant has responded to all their review comments before they complete their resubmit task. This eliminates the need for reviewers to check that each review comment has been responded to.
With File Version Auto-Naming, revised files no longer must be named exactly the same as the original file. Experienced customers can continue to upload large plan sets that are properly named. However, you now have the option to select a versioned file named differently than the original file version and ProjectDox will auto-name it correctly. This will ease file naming frustration with customers who may only use the system occasionally.
Project Status Tab keeps everyone informed. All users now have quick access to the new Status Tab within their project which provides specific details of their plan review process. This includes current task status, time tracking, outstanding review comments and quick access to a detailed project review summary report.
Approved Plans are Ready for Download and ProjectDox will email the applicant a link to access and download a zip package of their approved plan set – it is just that simple.
Reviewer Experience:
Pre-screen Made Simple with fast file thumbnail viewing and complete file information. The reviewer can quickly select and mark files that need additional review or to be copied and sent back to the applicant. Checklist comments are at the user’s fingertips while viewing any file. Once selected, they are automatically added to the Review Comments list, to allow the reviewer to keep working.
Mark as Reviewed is a new checkbox feature in the viewer and on the File Info screen allowing a reviewer to easily mark a file as reviewed and it automatically keeps track of the files that have been reviewed on the Files list.
Files Marked as New makes it easy for a reviewer to quickly see when an applicant has uploaded any “new” file versions as well as any “new” additional files that a reviewer might otherwise have overlooked.
Accept a Review Task with One Click and start plan review – fast and simple.
Quick Files Sorting, Filtering and Navigating, makes it easier to only review the new files. This also allows the Reviewer to navigate to the Next and Previous file while in the viewer.
All Your Review Tools in One Place allows reviewers to open a file, add markups, select library comments, and note informational-only items all in a single screen. All items are automatically added to the Review Comments list – plan review has never been faster.
Verify and Resolve All in One Place with ProjectDox, reviewers can access all review comment responses from the Reviews Tab, sorting and filtering the applicant responses. When a file has a new version to be checked, the reviewer, with one click of the Verify button, can automatically open consecutive file versions side-by-side, and auto-zoom to their review comment and view the applicant’s response in the viewer. From here the reviewer can “Resolve” the correction or send it back to the applicant and then auto advance to the next file review comment. This provides the reviewer with all the tools they need in a single view, resulting in saving time and improving review accuracy. ProjectDox automatically tracks the unresolved items to be sent back to the applicant and verifies that no unresolved items are overlooked when the reviewer completes their plan review task.
Individual Stamp Categories for different plan review departments to have secure access to their own specific file approval stamps.
Review Comments Saved as a Word Document allows team members to sort, filter and select any or all review comments from any or all review cycles to be instantly exported, formatted, and saved as a Word document. This can then be use for peer reviews and status meetings.
Review Comment History is Locked and Protected. Review comments and responses are automatically saved when entered. When the user’s task is complete, these comments and responses cannot be changed or edited, preserving the discussion history. EN-U
Overall Product Updates:
Fully Updated Product User Interface with quick tab navigation to key areas of your projects. Tab selections are remembered across projects for direct access to relative information, including a new quick Project Search feature.
Clean and Simple Email Templates with direct links to project workflow tasks will improve communication to the applicant and ensure their task instructions are easy to follow.
New Workflow Task Settings to ensure “All Review Comments Must Have a Response” and “Validate All Review Comments are Resolved”. This guarantees the plan review process moves smoothly without missed or overlooked items.
New Configurable Workflow Milestones for tracking specific project stages beyond review cycles.
Optional Review Groups have been added to support specific review departments that may need to be aware of a project review, but may not need to always respond. With optional reviews enabled, those specific review departments will not hold up a plan review cycle beyond a predefined due date.
Notify Additional Users or Groups when a workflow task becomes past due, increases transparency to the plan review process, keeping everyone informed and projects on time.
