Concept of Health Status Dimensions

The Health application is intended to monitor Overall status of a unit (project, stream, and so on) as well as statuses of different dimensions, or sub-statuses, that can be configured depending on business needs. Sub-statuses can be combined in groups according to the domain specification. 

The radial Health Status Dimensions chart displays the overall status in the center and dimensions statuses around it. 

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Fig. 1 …. Template of Health Status Dimensions: overall status, dimensions, status groups

RAG Indication of Status

Health application provides a simple way to indicate a unit status with a traffic-light color: Red, Amber, or Green.

In general, GREEN means that unit health goes well, AMBER indicates a state with known and manageable risks, and RED alerts about occurred issues or high probability of heavy loss or failure. Each color corresponds to a certain range of Health Index (see below).

Health Index as Quantitative Indicator of Health

The Health Index quantifies actual health status of a unit on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0. It allows you to precisely assess the unit's status and track the status dynamics over time.

Red/Amber/Green status corresponds to a certain Health Index range on the scale (see Fig.2).

If status is either not provided or outdated, the Health Index equals 0.0.

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Fig. 2.....Health Index Ranges for Red, Amber, Green statuses

Overall Status
Overall status is a general indicator of unit health. It is set manually based on expert opinion. 

Dimension Status (or Sub-status)
Dimension is a single focus area of unit health. Sub-status displays the state of the dimension in the same Health Index and RAG (Red-Amber-Green) indication. 

Introduction to Health Widgets

Health application represents the Health Status Dimensions along with two other widgets that display health of a project from different perspectives:

1.  Health Status Dimensions

Displays the overall status of a unit and sub-statuses of the unit dimensions as a single radial status chart. Dimensions are combined in groups according to domain specification. Each status displays RAG indication that you can declare through the corresponding cards.

2.  Overall Status widget

Allows you to set the Overall and Forecast (forecasted Overall) status of a unit, and provide any kind of description, for example, project status description, or action plan with Action Items relevant to the project. The widget also displays when and by whom the status was reported.

Besides, it might be possible to keep links to external reports in the Overall status widget. Link to External reports is a link that can be regularly attached to the Overall status to keep track of external reporting regularity and have a history of those links (in Health Beats and on History page). The feature can be used when you, for example:

• keep additional information about the unit status/progress elsewhere;

• regularly provide someone with presentations that describe important status updates.

3.  Status Dynamics

The Status Dynamics chart displays how the Health Index of the Overall status of a unit changed over time and the status modification events. Also, it reflects the current and forecast status of the unit, as well as related signals (major updates) of Risks and Actions. 

How to Report Statuses

To reflect the unit Health across the Status Dimensions, you need to report the following:

1. Overall and Forecast status

2. Sub-statuses

To report Overall status:

1. To report the Overall status, click on the placeholder text in the status card.

2. Update status summary.

3. Update Health Index if needed.

4. Report Forecast Health Index.

5. Optional. Provide action items (if a status is not green, a go-to-green plan is recommended). To learn more about action items, see Action Items.

6. Optional. Add a link to the external report.

NOTE: The ability to keep links to external reports is a subject of configuration.

To update the Health index, do one of the following:

• Move the slider on the scale. The slider changes its color, and the Health index value in the text box also changes.

• In the Health Index text box, type in a new value, and then press Enter. The slider moves to the specified position.

To keep the Overall status actual, update it as soon as the situation with unit health changes or on the regular basis with the frequency agreed in your organization.

To report sub-statuses:

1. Open an appropriate status dimension sidebar by clicking an appropriate segment in Health Status Dimensions radial chart.

2. To report sub-status, click on the status summary or a placeholder text in the status card OR Select Red, Amber or Green (depending on the configuration of the application) - see Fig 7-1 and Fig 7-2.

3. Update status summary.

4. Update Health Index.

5. (optional) Add or/and update action items.

To review a status, who, and when updated it, click the respective dimension on the Dimension panel. On this panel, you can find information about all sub-statuses. On hovering over any status you can find additional information.

If a status (overall or a sub-status) is outdated, it must be reported again. In the Health Status dimensions radial chart, outdated statuses are displayed in gray with a frame that shows the color of the previously reported status. On a status card, you can see when the status will expire or has expired if the expiration period is configured for this status.

How to Comment on Statuses

If you want to ask something about the status provided, suggest or add anything, without becoming a reporter of a status, you can add comments to any status. Besides, it's possible to comment on a status that has not been provided yet.

To comment on a status:

1. Click on the comment icon in the bottom right corner.

2. Enter any text you want to add in the opened sidebar.

3. Select "Leave Comment".

Example of Usage

This is an example of how a company can apply the concept of Health Status Dimensions. For monitoring Project Health, we can use the following status dimensions:

• Alignment with Client
  Displays how effectively project leadership collaborates with the client. 

• GDPR Compliance
  Displays how a project complies with GDPR regulations.

• Quality
  Displays how a project meets the agreed customer's requirements of quality.

• Scope
  Displays how the project scope corresponds to the agreed scope.

• Schedule
  Displays status of how actual delivery makes progress according to the delivery plan.

• Team Retention
  Displays result of comparison of planned team retention with actual situation. 

• Team Performance
  Displays result of comparison of planned team performance with actual situation. 

• WFH Impact
   Displays impact of Work from Home mode on a project.

1. Status Dynamics: Overall status and Forecast dynamics.

2. Health Status Dimensions with eight dimensions configured in five groups.

3. Overall status with current summary, action items and a link to an external report.