Home Screen

The Home Screen is the e-Builder landing page. Tabs across the top of the screen allow movement to different functions within e-Builder, but you will find it most convenient to work from the Home tab.

The dropdown menu at the top of the page allows users to choose a specific project

The center portion of the page allows users to view and work on:

• Workflow in your court
• My first 10 tasks
• Submittal items in your court
• Items pending approval

From the left side of the Home Screen you can navigate to recent pages, or use Quick Start to begin a process. The right side of the page shows announcements of interest to the MIT e-Builder community.

Workflow in Your Court

The convenience of using The Home tab is that it is a centralized place where e-Builder users see upcoming pertinent items. From here, e-Builder automatically determines the items that are most important for you to look at or work on for the day. Each time you access this module or refresh the page, the most current data is populated; ensuring that all information is accurate and in real time. Data is pulled from various modules and for all of your projects. Collectively these items represent workflow that is "in your court".

Use the Show menu to determine how many items to display in the list

Announcements

On the right side of the page you will see the announcements that are specific to MIT.  It includes information on who to contact should you have any issues and Help Desk sessions time and locations.   Look here for additional updates.

Calendar

Under the announcements you will find the calendar events that are occurring for today’s date created in e-Builder.  The events are created through the Calendar module in a project.  You can click on the event for more information. 

My First 10 Tasks

The first ten tasks to which you have been assigned as a resource or manager will be listed in chronological order.

Quick Start

From the left hand side of the Home Screen, you can access available processes or forms for projects to which you have been assigned. 

1. Select a process/form, then select a project for which it will be saved; or

2. Click on “More” and select both the process and project.

Once the process / form is created, you will need to go to the project to access it.

Navigation Tips

Top Tabs vs Left Menu

Tabs along the top are the summary level, when you select one of these tabs you will be required to select a project

Left Menu options are project specific.  In other words, you must first select a project to view these options.  If from here you click on one of the top tabs, you will exit the project and will need to re-select it.

Project Dropdown Menu

The project dropdown menu allows you to switch between projects to which you have been granted access to.  To quickly find your project you can start typing the project name or project number and it will narrow the list in the menu.

Search

Search allows you to complete a key word search on any area of a project across all projects.  Documents search is restricted to a single project due to the number of results a key word can cause.

The search can be narrowed down by selecting a project first.

PROJECT DETAILS

Provides information about the project (i.e., description, team members, etc.).  This information should be kept up to date throughout the life of the project.  Not all users have the ability to view or update every field, it is based on your role and permissions.

To access:

1. Select a project.

2. In the left-hand column, click Details

The project details will be displayed.

To edit:

1. Click Edit on the top right corner.

2. Update the project information in the details page.

   1. Project roles cannot be updated here.

   2. To change project members, please use the Add a Resource process or an Action Item form.  (See Table of Contents)

3. Click Save when complete.

DOCUMENT FOLDER STRUCTURE

All project documentation, including documents attached to a process or form is stored in the Documents tab.  The structure was created for MIT and determined by a Committee.  If you have comments or suggestions, please provide them using e-Builder MIT Feedback.

To access the documents for a project from outside the project, click the Documents tab at the top of the page and then select the project.  If you are in the project, click the documents menu on the left side.

Once in the project you will be able to navigate through the folders for which your role has been given permission.

• The folders are labeled “I” for Internal (MIT users) or “E” for External or “I&E” for Internal and External. Project Managers can view all folders.  However, if you upload documents, pay close attention to which type of folder you upload documents. 

Upload Multiple Documents

You can upload multiple documents into a folder at one time, by dragging your documents from the folder on your computer to the right hand side of the screen. 

Note:  You must have IE 10 and above or any other browser.  If you have IE9, you will still be able to upload multiple documents, you would need to click the upload link first.

At the present time, the ability to Create Folder has been restricted.  Therefore, you will be unable to upload an entire folder at a time.

Menus

The menu under folder name on the right side is for multiple documents.  You would select the checkbox to one or more documents and click on an option (Download, Send, Compare, etc.)

The menu under the file name is just for that file. 

Email In

The contents of each folder can be viewed on the right side.  The folder name appears at the top. The menu under folder name on the right side is for multiple documents.  To Delete, Move, Copy, etc. document(s), you must select the item(s) by clicking in the checkbox and clicking the desired option (Download, Send, Compare, etc.)

From the project documents page:

1. Select the “00 – E-mail In-box (I)” folder.

2. On the right side, click “Email Address”

3. It will copy the email address (you may receive a prompt requesting access to do so)

4. In your email message, paste the email address.

The project email address format should be:  MIT_projectnumber@docs.e-builder.net.  If it is not, please contact the MIT e-Builder Administrator.

Sending Documents

Within the documents module you have the ability to send the document to users or nonusers of e-Builder from within the folder.

From the project documents page:

1. Select the document or documents you want to send.

2. Click the Send link (top link if multiple documents, link under document name for just that one)

3. You will have an option of

   1. Fax:  Sends to a fax machine anything that can be converted to a PDF

   2. Email: Send the native file or a PDF to any valid email address

      1. As Attachments – will physically attach the document to the email

      2. As Link – will provide a link to the document in e-Builder.  They do not have to be an e-Builder user to access.  This is recommended if sending large files that may be rejected by the recipient’s IT. 

   3. Notify:  Use inform another e-Builder user that the file is in the folder.  They will be provided a link to that folder and will be required to login.

4. In your email message, paste the email address. 

Check Out versus Download

A document that has been checked out by a user is temporary locked by that user.  Another user will not have the ability to upload a new version of the document until that document has been checked back in.  This helps prevent multiple people updating different versions of the same document.

A document that has been checked out will have a check mark in over the document icon next to the document name.  If you hover over that icon it will list the person’s name who checked out a document.  To check the document back in, a new file with the same name can be uploaded to the folder by the user that checked out the document and it will automatically check the file back in.

Download is used when you do not need to make any updates and would like to review or distribute the file outside of e-Builder.

FORMS

Forms are used to have a ball-in-court communication.  The initiator selects and submits a form and sends it to another e-Builder user.  That person becomes responsible for responding.  They need to either complete the form and send it back or they have the ability to send it to others for additional comments or information.  Each send makes a new person responsible to complete the item until the initiator or a role with permissions marks it complete. 

Creating a Form

Select a Project:

1. Click on Forms in the left-hand column

2. Click on Fill Out Form on the right side of the screen.

   • Note:  You will only be able to fill out forms you have access to.

3. Select a Form.

4. Fill out the details of the form and select the recipient.  Recipients must be e-Builder users.

• Note:  All fields with a red asterisks are required before sending.

• Click the documents, processes or forms tab to attach supporting documentation.

1. Click “Post Form”

Replying to a Form

To find forms created related to a project:

1. In the Filter Forms:  Select Forms In My Court” , “Opened” and

   ‘All Workflow and Static Forms” and click filter

2. Select a Form in the grid.

3. Fill out the details of the form click Reply.  This will allow to send the form back to the originator and add comments.

4. Click “Reply” again.

   Note:  You can also forward the form to another user if additional review or action is needed.

    

Closing a Form

From in the Project Form Page:

1. In the Filter Forms:  Select Forms In My Court” , “Opened” and

   ‘All Workflow and Static Forms” and click filter

2. Select a Form in the grid.

3. Review the details, if everything looks complete, click “Close Form”.

PROCESSES

Processes are similar to forms where you fill detail and pass it along, but with processes it is structure of what steps and approvals are needed determined by the team and approved by the steering committee.  In addition, there are processes that are cost integrated the cost module, which allows you to have the status of the cost item (such as an invoice) be updated as the correct approvals are received.  Giving full consistent visibility.

Starting a Process

1. Select a Project, then go the Processes in the left-hand column.  Or, select Processes from the tabs at the top and select a project.

2. Click on Start Process on the right side.

   • Note:  This will list the processes you have the ability to start based on your permissions.

3. Select a Process.

4. Fill out the details of the process. 

   • Note:  All fields with a red asterisks (*) are required before sending.

   • Click the documents, processes or forms tab to attach any supporting documentation needed.

5. Click “Submit”

   • The workflow will automatically get routed to the next step.

Taking Action on a Process

When a process reaches a step where you are listed as an actor through the structured workflow, you will need to take action on the process/

From the Project Process Page:

1. In the Filter Processes:  Select Processes In My Court” , “Opened” and

   ‘All Processes” and click filter

2. Select a Process in the grid.

3. Fill out the details on the process, attach any support documentation necessary.

4. At the top of the page, there will be an Action drop down, select your action and click the button.

   • The workflow will automatically move to the next step.

      

Navigating a Process

Process Name & Number

Allows you to always see what process you are in and the number instance it is on the project. 

Action Dropdown

If you are an actor on the step and are responsible for completing the task you will see this drop down with the different actions you have the ability to take.  Should you want to see what step is next you can use the Show Workflow Diagram link..

History

Clicking on the Show History link will give you all the details about the process:  what steps it has gone through; who took action on those steps; the date/time and field values that have been changed and by whom.

Current Actor

The user(s) currently responsible for reviewing this step and taking action.

Current Step and Show Workflow Diagram

If you click on the Show Workflow Diagram another window will pop up and it shows the entire process.  The current step will be outlined in blue.

Comments & Attachments

If you want to add a comment or see the comments that have been made you have the ability to click on the comments tab.  In addition, any documents, another form or another process can be attached in the following tabs.

SCHEDULE

The schedule module will be used to track the project schedule.  A template has been created for consistency across projects and ease of use.  The following are the steps you will take when you first start using the schedule:

1. Adjust the durations and dates to fit the project.

2. Activate the schedule.

3. Save Baseline of the schedule tasks.

4. Update and maintain the schedule.

Updating Schedule

The steps to updating the schedule are the same for when you first setup the project schedule to when you are maintaining the project schedule. 

To update the schedule you will click the Pencil icon, update dates or the duration and click the Save icon.

You may also want to save Snapshots so you can compare current schedule to prior Snapshots and/or the Schedule Baseline

Activate and Save Baseline

Activing a schedule makes it available for all users to see.  Before the schedule is activates only the e-Builder Administrator and the Schedule Manager have the ability to see it.

To activate the schedule select all tasks with the first checkbox and go to Actions – Activate

Once you have activated the schedule, select all the tasks again, click the Action button and select Save Baseline.

SINGLE SIGN-ON (SSO)

Single sign on allows you to access e-Builder without having to login using your name and password.  SSO will notice that you are signed in as an MIT user and will sign you into e-Builder using the below link.

To access e-Builder using SSO:

1. Make sure you are authenticated in Kerberos, to enable e-Builder to use your MIT credentials.   If you can log into Atlas or Touchstone, you are authenticated in Kerberos.

2. Copy the following URL and paste it in your browser, or click the link below:
   http://e-builder.mit.edu

   1. You should be logged into e-Builder automatically using your MIT credentials.

   2. You do not need to log out of the application when you are done.

You can save the URL as a favorite to make it easier to access e-Builder by using SSO:

1.       In e-Builder, save the URL as a favorite.

2.       Edit the settings of that favorite and replace the URL with http://e-builder.mit.edu.

Note that you can still log into e-Builder from outside the Kerberos environment by using your existing e-Builder login and password. Changing your password in e-Builder only affects your logins when you are outside Kerberos.