CRM HOWTO

This article is Deprecated and should no longer be used, but is still available for reasons of reference.

Access and Login

The authentication in EGI CRM is performed through EGI SSO which has been integrated in Vtiger authentication mechanisms. However, not all EGI users have access to the system, which is only available to NILs and EGI.eu members. If you are a NGI staff, and you need access to EGI CRM, you should contact your NIL. NILs can ask for the inclusion of other actors, forming a network of trust, by requesting the access through egicrm.helpdesk@lip.pt.

The EGI CRM can be accessed at http://crm.egi.eu by using EGI SSO credentials.

Login window

Main Options

The navigation toolbar

Once logged-in, CRM users are redirected to the EGI CRM Home page. Currently it displays the main navigation toolbar (on the top) and a shortcut toolbar beneath.

The main navigation toolbar comprises the following EGI CRM functionalities / options:

• Home. The user can define his / her own preferences regarding what info should be displayed.
• Calendar. This option enables managing events such as 'Calls', 'Meetings' and 'ToDos' in the calendar.
• Organizations. This option enables creating, updating and browsing the information about Organizations details.
• Contacts. This option enables creating, updating and browsing the information about Contacts details.
• Documents. This option enables managing 'documents'.
• Dashboard. This option provides information in charts about 'Accounts by top 10 Countries'.
• More. Through this option the user can access to Support Documentation: 'FAQ', Analytics: 'Reports' and Tools: 'Recycle bin' and 'Integration' (with Gmail Bookmarklet).

Organizations

Organization is the Vtiger body used to represent entities which are being (or should be) contacted. Pragmatically, Organizations are used to:

• Store information about research projects that are being executed (in Europe or at national level).
• Store information about the research institutions that are participating in research projects.

Browsing Organizations

The Organizations option in the main navigation toolbar enables creating or viewing the details of Organizations. Once you choose the Organizations option, the system presents a list of all Organizations available in the system. Through this list, the user can:

• Navigate through all organizations with an Organization Name starting by a given character.
• Ordenate all organizations by alphabetic order by clicking on the Organization Name string (table top column).
• Have a preview of the information stored under a given organization by going with the mouse pointer on top of the Organization Name of a given organization.
• See the details of a given Organization by clicking on the name of the Organization.

Organizations List

Filtering and Searching Organizations

While browsing organizations, it is also possible to

• Select one of the predefined search filters to restrict the subset of data displayed in the list.
• Search a given organization by Organization Name, Organization Type, Project List, Scientific Discipline, Status or Assigned To.
• Refine your search using the Advanced Search functionality.

The following example shows how a user could use the Advanced Search functionality to search all the research institutes hosted in a given Country or Assigned to a given NGI.

Advanced Search example: Search all the research institutes hosted in Spain or Assigned to NGI_Spain

Adding an Organization

The details on how to insert any type or Organization are available in:

• For adding a Project: Record Projects Data.
• For adding a Research Institute: Record Research Institution Data.
• For adding a Company: Record Company Data.
• For adding a Non-Profit Organization: Record Non-Profit Organization Data.

It is very important that, when you add a new Organization, the Organization Type field is correctly set to:

• ESFRI Project, if it represents an ESFRI Research Project.
• ESFRI-Cluster Project, if it represents an ESFRI-Cluster Research Project.
• INFRA Project, if it represents an INFRA Research Project.
• National Project, if it represents a National Project.
• Other international Project, if indeed it is not an ESFRI, INFRA or National Project.
• Research Institution, if it represents a Research Institute.
• Company, if it represents a Company.
• Non-Profit Organization, if it represents a Non-Profit Organization.

Check the CRM Videos section to see the tutorial on how to add an Organization.

Contacts

Contacts is the Vtiger body used to represent persons from institutions (representative persons of actual or potential user groups) who EGI has interest to interact with. Pragmatically, Contacts are used to:

• Store information about individual persons in charge of research projects or research institutions

Browsing Contacts

The Contacts option in the main navigation toolbar also enables creating or viewing the details of all Contacts. Once you choose the Contacts option, the system presents a list of all Contacts available in the system. Through this list, the user can:

• Navigate through all contacts with a Last Name starting by a given character.
• Sort all organizations by alphabetic order by clicking on the Last Name string (table top column).
• Have a preview of the information stored under a given contact, by hovering over Last Name of a given contact.
• See the details of a given contact by clicking on the Last Name of the contact.

Contact List

Filtering and Searching Contacts

While browsing organizations, it is also possible to:

• Select one of the predefined search filters to restrict the subset of data displayed on the list.
• Search a given organization by First Name, Last Name, Role, Organization Name, Project List and Assigned To.
• Refine your search using the Advanced Search functionality.

The following example shows how a user could use the Advanced Search functionality to search all the Contacts Assigned to a given NGI.

Advanced Search example: Search all the Contacts Assigned To NGI_Italy

Creating a new Contact

There are two alternative (but equivalent) ways to create a Contact:

1. Create a standalone Contact (without being associated to any Organization).
2. Create a Contact associated to a Organization.

Creating a Standalone Contact

This method allows the user to create a Contact without associated it to a Research Institute or Research Project. This represents the use case where the user feels the need to record information about a Contact but has no idea which the Contact's Organization is.

Details are available in Record Contact Data. The association to a Organization is made through the Organization Name attribute in the Contact Creation web form, which in this case, can be left empty, and filled a posteriori.

Check the CRM Videos section to see the tutorial on how to add a Contact.

Creating a Contact and associate it to an Organization

If the user wants to create a new Contact and already knows to which Organization does the Contact belongs to, the best way is to:

• Search for the Organization the contact belongs to, which obviously has to exist in advance.
• Select the Organization.
• Select the Organization More Information tab.
• Expand the contacts section.
• Hit the Add Contact button, which will redirect you to the Contact Creation web form, but with the Organization Name attribute already filled.

Documents

Documents in EGI CRM are used as auxiliary tools in order to register important conversation / feedbacks between CRM users and contacts. Examples on how to use Documents are the following:

• Record the discussion a user has had with an ESFRI/non ESFRI project member.
• See the discussions (or a summary of discussions) that other NGIs had within their projects.

Browsing Documents

Documents stored in EGI CRM can be accessed from the main navigation toolbar. Once you choose the Documents option, the CRM will present a list of all Documents available in the system. Through this list, the user can:

• Navigate through all documents with a title starting by a given character.
• Sort all documents by alphabetic order, Document Number, Document Name, Modified Time, Assigned To, Download Type or Active.
• Download File by just clicking on the file name, or clicking the mouse right-button and then selecting 'save as' ...
• See the details of a given document by clicking on the Last Name of the contact.

How to insert a new document into CRM

Filtering and Searching Documents

While browsing documents, it is also possible to:

• Select one of the predefined search filters to restrict the subset of data displayed on the list.
• Search a given document by Unique Document Name, Assigned To, Download Type, Active, File Name or Version.
• Refine your search using the Advanced Search functionality.

How to insert a new document into CRM

Create a document to record discussions with Contacts and Organizations

In order to record/store conversations between NILs and contacts (from any kind of organization), you must create a Document with a resume of the conversation (.pdf, .doc or .txt files prefered) and associated later to the respective organization or contact. You can proceed by two ways:

1. Create a Document and latter associated it to a given contact/organization (Documents are accessible under the more information tab for a given Organization/Contact).
2. Direct way: go to a given Contact/Organization and under the more information tab select Document, then choose Select Documents. Follow the procedure explained previously whether the document already exists in CRM, as if it is a new one.

The details on how to fill the web form for the document creation are available in Record Document.

Activity

This section covers short term work related to a Contact or to an Organization. It describes the elements of this process - to do lists, events and documents - available within CRM and also the suggested way of utilising these.

The main purpose of the CRM is to capture, track and develop contacts in a mutually beneficial manner. This can be done in a relatively straight forward manner with the CRM. That said this is a new service and a new way of working for EGI and the NGIs so the instructions and guidance may evolve as we learn.

There are three ways to initiate these operations:

1. They can all be accessed through the Quick Create tab on the right hand end of the top menu bar.
2. They can be created from the list of Actions on the right hand side of the screen under the Contact Information. The 'Action' option Add Note ultimately achieves the same thing as New Document but the sequence of steps is different.
3. They can be initiated from under the More Information tab to the right of the Contact Information tab above the contact details.

The third of these methods is recommended as it shows the clearest presentation of how the various elements work together and support the interactions with contacts. The elements each are associated with individuals but can be reassigned to create workflow of tasks.

Do be aware that all contacts have the right to view information about themselves. Please do not use this service to record personal opinions about individuals, simply factual but constructive information.

• To Do Lists (Actions to be undertaken). Click on 'Add To Do' and a new task can be added - the fields are self-explanatory. Once saved, the list of tasks can be viewed.

• Document/note (records of meetings or interactions).

• Event.

Reports and Analytics

EGI CRM provides a very strong functionality to generate several kinds of reports. To access this functionality:

• Select More from the main navigation toolbar.
• Select Reports.

Once the Reports option is selected, the user is redirected to a list of pre-defined reports. Among those reports, we emphasize:

1. Contacts by Organizations: All Contacts in the system associated to a Research Institution or to a Research Project Organization.
2. Contacts without Organizations: All Contacts in the system not associated to any Organization.
3. Organizations without Contacts: All Organizations in the system without associated Contacts.
4. Organizations not contacted: All Organizations with associated Contacts but still not contacted.
5. Documents per Organization: Documents per Organization.
6. Documents per Contact: Documents per Contact.
7. Organizations contacted: Organizations with Contacts that were already contacted.
8. New Organizations (last 30 days): List all new Organizations from the last 30 days.
9. Modified Organizations (last 30 days): List all modified Organizations from the last 30 days.
10. New Contacts (last 30 days):: List all new Contacts from the last 30 days.
11. Modified Contacts (last 30 days): List all modified Contacts from the last 30 days.
12. New Documents (last 30 days): List all new Documents from the last 30 days.

Creating custom reports

Users can create their own custom reports. The following example shows how a user can generate a custom report to determine the list of Research Institutes Organizations withouth Contacts, assigned to a given NGI.

• Select Reports below the 'Analytics' title accesing through the More tab.
• Select the green plus sign to add a new report, and a new window with a Wizard will be opened.
• Select the module (Organizations, Contacts, etc) on which the report will act on. In this case: Organizations.

• The customization of the report consists on the following steps:

1. Report Details: Type the Name & Description for the report.
2. Related Module: Select a module to correlate information. In this example a report for Organizations is being customized and there is a need to access information from Contacts, therefore Contacts should be selected in this step.
3. Report Type: Select Summary Report.
4. Select Columns: Select the information you what to see displayed in the report.
5. Specify Grouping: There are three hierarchical ways to organize the report output.
6. Calculations: If there is reports with numerical columns, here you have the change to present grand totals.
7. Filters: Add conditions for the report. In this example "List of Institutes":
   1. First condition is: "Organization Name" field (under Contacts section) equals to a blank field.
   2. Second condition is: "Assigned To" field (under Organizations section) equals to a value "NGI Netherlands (NL)".
8. Sharing: Select if you want to have the report private or public.
9. Schedule Email: Schedule Report to be sent to the selected Recipients at regular intervals through email.

The output generated by the previous report is:

Note: if institute participates in more then one project, the list of projects is split by "|##|".

Support

A list of FAQs can be accessed through the option Support / FAQ, which also can be consulted at the wiki page CRM_FAQ.

Additional comments or questions can be sent to the egicrm.helpdesk@lip.pt, and if they are of global interest, they will be published in this section.