Project Templates

Template Categories

Templates are organized by client lifecycle stage to ensure projects contain relevant work items from the start.

1. Prospect Templates

Used when evaluating potential customers:

  • Focus: Discovery, qualification, proposal
  • Typical Tasks: Demos, technical reviews, stakeholder alignment, ROI modeling
  • Duration: Usually short-term (2-4 weeks)

Available Templates:

Prospect Engagement Standard evaluation activities including:

  • Product demonstrations
  • Technical consultations
  • ROI assessment sessions
  • Stakeholder coordination meetings

2. Onboarding Templates

Used during customer implementation:

  • Focus: Configuration, integration, training, launch
  • Typical Tasks: Requirements gathering, system setup, data migration, UAT, go-live
  • Duration: Medium to long-term (1-6 months)

Available Templates:

Enterprise Implementation Suite Three-phase rollout structure:

  • Phase 1: Discovery & Planning - Requirements gathering, technical architecture, resource allocation
  • Phase 2: Configuration & Integration - System setup, API integration, data migration
  • Phase 3: Testing & Go-Live - User acceptance testing, training, production deployment

Data Migration Project Specialized template for data migration initiatives:

  • Phase 1: Assessment - Data audit, mapping strategy, risk analysis
  • Phase 2: Design & Development - ETL pipeline creation, transformation logic, validation rules
  • Phase 3: Execution & Validation - Migration execution, data verification, rollback procedures

Multi-Department Rollout Cross-functional coordination template:

  • Phase 1: Central Planning - Stakeholder alignment, master timeline, resource coordination
  • Phase 2: Department Adaptation - Custom configurations per department, training materials
  • Phase 3: Phased Deployment - Staggered rollout, feedback loops, optimization

3. Active Customer Templates

Used for ongoing customer management:

  • Focus: Optimization, support, expansion, retention
  • Typical Tasks: QBRs, health monitoring, feature adoption, renewal planning
  • Duration: Continuous (ongoing)

Available Templates:

Active Customer Success Ongoing management with:

  • Quarterly business reviews
  • Performance monitoring
  • Growth opportunity exploration
  • Priority support access
  • Strategic planning sessions

Stage-Based Auto-Generation

The platform intelligently creates tasks based on the client's lifecycle stage:

Client Stage: Prospect
└── Project includes:
    ├── Prospect Evaluation phase (automatically added)
    ├── Selected template phases (if any)
    └── Active Customer Success phase (if "active" is anticipated)

Client Stage: Onboarding  
└── Project includes:
    ├── Selected template phases (or default onboarding phases)
    └── Active Customer Success phase (for post-implementation)

Client Stage: Active
└── Project includes:
    └── Active Customer Success phase only

This ensures projects always contain relevant, stage-appropriate work items without manual configuration.

Selecting Templates During Project Creation

Single Template Selection

In the Project Wizard, Step 2:

  1. Choose your client's lifecycle stage category
  2. Browse available templates
  3. Click to select one template
  4. Preview the phases and tasks it will create
  5. Proceed to customize appearance

Multiple Template Selection

You can select multiple templates, and the platform will intelligently combine them:

Example: Onboarding Client
Selected Templates:
- Enterprise Implementation Suite
- Data Migration Project

Result:
└── Combined Project Structure
    ├── Discovery & Planning (from Enterprise Implementation)
    ├── Assessment (from Data Migration)
    ├── Design & Development (from Data Migration)
    ├── Configuration & Integration (from Enterprise Implementation)
    ├── Execution & Validation (from Data Migration)
    ├── Testing & Go-Live (from Enterprise Implementation)
    └── Active Customer Success (auto-added for post-go-live)

The platform automatically orders phases logically and removes duplicates.

Creating Custom Templates

Organizations can create reusable custom templates tailored to their workflows.

Access Template Management

Navigate to: Settings → Templates

Create a New Template

Click "Create Template" and configure:

Basic Information:
- Name: "Healthcare Implementation"
- Description: "HIPAA-compliant deployment process"
- Category: Onboarding (Prospect/Onboarding/Active)

Add Phases to Template

For each phase:

Phase Configuration:
- Phase Name: "Compliance Review"
- Description: "Security and privacy assessment"
- Order Index: 0 (determines sequence)

Add Tasks to Phase

For each task within the phase:

Task Configuration:
- Title: "HIPAA Assessment"
- Description: "Conduct comprehensive HIPAA compliance audit"
- Estimated Hours: 8
- CSAT Required: Yes/No

Complete Template Example

Template: Healthcare Implementation
Category: Onboarding

Phase 1: Compliance Review (Order: 0)
  Description: Security and privacy assessment
  Tasks:
    - HIPAA Assessment
    - Security Audit
    - Privacy Impact Analysis
  
Phase 2: Secure Deployment (Order: 1)
  Description: HIPAA-compliant system configuration
  Tasks:
    - Encrypted Data Migration
    - Access Control Setup
    - Audit Logging Configuration
  
Phase 3: Validation (Order: 2)
  Description: Compliance verification and sign-off
  Tasks:
    - Penetration Testing
    - Compliance Certification
    - Sign-off Documentation

Set as Default Template

Toggle "Set as Default" to automatically apply this template to all new projects in the selected category (unless another template is explicitly chosen).

Template Management

View All Templates

Settings → Templates shows:

  • Template name and description
  • Category (Prospect/Onboarding/Active)
  • Number of phases
  • Number of tasks
  • Created date
  • Default status
  • Actions (Edit, Duplicate, Delete)

Edit Existing Templates

  1. Click "Edit" on any template
  2. Modify phases, tasks, or metadata
  3. Changes apply only to new projects (existing projects remain unchanged)

Duplicate Templates

Create variations of existing templates:

  1. Click "Duplicate" on a template
  2. Platform creates a copy with "(Copy)" appended to name
  3. Edit the duplicate to create a variation
  4. Useful for industry-specific customizations

Delete Templates

  1. Click "Delete" on a template
  2. Confirm deletion
  3. Template is removed from library
  4. Note: Existing projects using this template are not affected

Template Best Practices

Phase Organization

Recommended Phase Count: 3-7 phases
Too Few: < 3 phases (not enough structure)
Too Many: > 10 phases (too granular, overwhelming)

Phase Duration Balance:
- Prospect: Days to 2 weeks per phase
- Onboarding: 2-6 weeks per phase  
- Active: Ongoing (milestone-based)

Task Granularity

Good Task Sizing:
✓ Can be completed in 1-5 days
✓ Has clear deliverable
✓ Single responsible party
✓ Measurable completion criteria

Avoid:
✗ Tasks spanning multiple weeks (break down further)
✗ Vague outcomes ("improve performance")
✗ Multiple unrelated activities in one task

Template Naming

Good Template Names:
✓ "SaaS Enterprise Onboarding"
✓ "E-commerce Platform Migration"
✓ "Financial Services Compliance Review"

Poor Template Names:
✗ "Template 1"
✗ "The Big One"
✗ "Client Template"

Template Descriptions

Write clear, specific descriptions:

Good Description:
"End-to-end implementation process for enterprise SaaS clients requiring 
SSO integration, custom reporting, and multi-tenant configuration. 
Includes data migration from legacy systems."

Poor Description:
"For big clients"

Using Templates Programmatically

Create Custom Template via API

// Server-side action
await createProjectTemplate(
  "Healthcare Implementation",
  "HIPAA-compliant deployment process",
  [
    {
      name: "Compliance Review",
      description: "Security and privacy assessment",
      orderIndex: 0,
      tasks: [
        { 
          title: "HIPAA Assessment", 
          description: "Conduct comprehensive HIPAA compliance audit",
          estimatedHours: 8
        },
        { 
          title: "Security Audit", 
          description: "Review security controls and access policies" 
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      name: "Secure Deployment",
      description: "HIPAA-compliant system configuration",
      orderIndex: 1,
      tasks: [
        { title: "Encrypted Data Migration", description: "..." },
        { title: "Access Control Setup", description: "..." }
      ]
    }
  ],
  false  // isDefault
);

Apply Template During Project Creation

const result = await createProject({
  name: "Patient Portal Implementation",
  clientId: "client_xyz",
  organizationId: "org_abc",
  templateStructure: {
    id: "custom-healthcare-impl",
    title: "Healthcare Implementation",
    description: "HIPAA-compliant deployment",
    phases: [/* ... */]
  }
});

Query Available Templates

const templates = await db.query.projectTemplates.findMany({
  where: eq(projectTemplates.organizationId, orgId),
  orderBy: [projectTemplates.name]
});

// Filter by category
const onboardingTemplates = templates.filter(
  t => t.category === 'onboarding'
);

Industry-Specific Template Examples

SaaS Implementation

Phase 1: Discovery (2 weeks)
  - Stakeholder interviews
  - Technical requirements gathering
  - Integration mapping
  - Success criteria definition

Phase 2: Configuration (4 weeks)
  - Tenant provisioning
  - SSO setup
  - API integration
  - Custom branding
  - Data import

Phase 3: Testing & Training (2 weeks)
  - UAT coordination
  - Training sessions
  - Documentation delivery
  - Go/no-go decision

Phase 4: Launch & Support (1 week)
  - Production cutover
  - Hypercare support
  - Performance monitoring
  - Feedback collection

Agency Client Onboarding

Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy (1 week)
  - Brand audit
  - Competitive analysis
  - Goal setting workshop
  - Creative brief

Phase 2: Design & Development (6 weeks)
  - Wireframes and mockups
  - Client review cycles
  - Asset creation
  - Implementation

Phase 3: Review & Launch (1 week)
  - Final approval
  - Deployment
  - Analytics setup
  - Knowledge transfer

Consulting Engagement

Phase 1: Assessment (2 weeks)
  - Current state analysis
  - Interviews and surveys
  - Data gathering
  - Gap identification

Phase 2: Strategy Development (3 weeks)
  - Recommendations formulation
  - Roadmap creation
  - Business case development
  - Stakeholder review

Phase 3: Delivery (1 week)
  - Final presentation
  - Documentation handoff
  - Implementation planning
  - Success metrics definition

Next Steps