The TPAssist Document

The TPAssist Document is a Mindjet® MindManager® mind map which a few extra structured topics and embedded properties.

Topics:

Creating TPAssist Documents

TPAssist 2007 includes a simple template for your TPAssist Documents. It is pre- configured with methodology structure and has a formatted "Journal" topic tree.

TPAssist can also be used on any mind map. When the TPAssist Console is first launched, it will look for the necessary embedded properties and then create them if missing. Once this is done, the full functionality of TPAssist will be available in this map.

The build-in template is accessed as follows:

1) Create a new TPAssist Map:

In MindManager 7 or MindManager 8, Choose New Map from the TPAssist Ribbon Tab.

OR in MindManager 6, From the File menu, choose New, then choose New TPAssist Document.

You will now be provided with a choice to "create a new document from the built-in template".

2) Choose OK

You should now see a new map, populated with a central topic, "objective 1", "Journal" and "Notes". The "Journal" and "Notes" sections are special topics which TPAssist will ignore when performing automated tree updates or exporting.

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Journals

TPAssist records or "journals" your actions and topic task information changes as you work with your task maps. These actions and task information changes are stored in a semi-structured format. We prefer to use this semi- structure approach for efficiency, so that rich information can be made available to integration with Microsoft Office, and also to ensure optimal compatibility other devices (i.e. Smartphones and PDAs).

This automatic tracking is recorded in two places:

Firstly journals are recorded with-in the "notes" of the topic and parent topics to which the action relates.
Secondly, actions are recorded in a "Journal" tree structure.

The "Journal" tree structure is located as a sub-topic of the central topic. This topic tree is just like any other map topic tree in that is can be reformatted, restructured and deleted. Deleting or restructuring won't stop TPAssist from functioning, however it may mean loss of or damage to your previously created journal entries. The Journal topic tree must always sit as a subtopic of the central topic. If missing, TPAssist will automatically create a new topic tree using the default new topic format.

For efficiency, TPAssist will remember where it found the Journal topic tree, therefore it can be renamed or re-ordered (so long as it stays as a sub topic of the central topic). NOTE: If you used TPAssist on a normal map template (i.e. you didn't create it from the "New TPAssist Document" command on the File- >New menu) you need to create at least one journal entry before you rename it or re-order it.

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Task Topics

TPAssist only processes Task Topics. Task Topics are those topics with dates, percentage complete and/or priority icons. This activity is performed either individually, when you use the Journal Tab of the Console, or on entire tree structures if you use the "Convert to Task Tree" button in the Topic Tab of the Console.

At an individual topic level, MindManager already supports task related capabilities for priority, percent complete, start-date, due- date, resources and duration.

TPAssist extends these build-in capabilities in a number of areas:

1) "Active" or "inactive" concept in task priority.

TPAssist assigns further meaning to the build-in Task Priority icons:

TPAssist treats Priority 5 or lower (i.e. 6,7,8 or 9) as a non-task topic, this task won't count towards percent complete calculation, task tree summarising or be incorporated in exports to Work Breakdown Structures. Priority 5 items are excellent for recording notes and general non- task specific information.
TPAssist treats Priority 4 as in- active task. This association is used in the settings relating to summarising or exports to Work Breakdown Structures.
TPAssist treats Priority 1, 2 and 3 as active tasks.

The colour coding used by Mind Manager lends itself very well to TPAssist's use of these priorities, in that you can scan across a whole map and quickly see where you have active activities and where your priorities are.

2) Flag map markers

TPAssist makes use of the Flag map markers. These flags are summarised across the tree so that the higher order flags can be see clearly seen from the central parts of the mind map.

3) Percentage Complete

A further aspect to TPAssist task support is the management of percent complete. All task related items can have a % complete, in fact TPAssist ignore tasks without a % complete value, assuming these are just notes.

The "Tree Update" (i.e. task information roll-up) capability changes the percentage complete of parent topics to reflect the overall status of the tree end topics.

The overall percentage complete calculation takes into account the percent complete of immediate sub tasks and averages them to obtain the overall percentage complete. i.e. if two tasks have been defined as half finished, whilst two others tasks haven't started, the overall status is 25% complete.

When percentage complete it changed to 100%, the "Tree Update" capability automatically updates Due Date, removes flags, removes status, removes priority icons and clears the task item background colour. Clearing the background colour puts the task in the background and out of immediate view.

4) Status Callouts

TPAssist provides a quick method for viewing topic status. This is achieved by added a Callout topic. The Callout Topic text will include the status and the date of the status change.

Task Status is entered using the "Advanced Option" with-in the Task Details of the Journal Tab.

The format of this Callout is customised via the Document Tab under the "Topic Status Macro".

The Topic Status for further details.

5) Journal Notes

In addition to the Journal tree structure, TPAssist records activities and actions with-in the Topic's notes. These notes are record as unformatted text and are incorporated between two text tags:

------------- Journal -------------

3/Jul/07: [DEMO] ... journal entry...

---------- End Journal ----------

Changing or deleting these tags manually may upset the format of subsequent entries.

See Journals above for further details.

6) Semi-Structured notes

TPAssist's use of the Topic notes area has been designed around interoperability with Microsoft Outlook (tm) and portable versions of the mind maps. TPAssist uses very simplistic headers and dashed borders. In this way, notes can be added and removed easily without the need for complex formatting, fonts or colours.

------- Project Notes -------

... my notes go here...

---------------------------------------

These semi-structured notes are best added using the " In Notes Tags" button from the list of Builder Tools in the Topic Tab of the Console. Once the dashed borders have been added, you can edit the text freely in the Topic notes. If you maintain the dashed borders, you can make use of the semi- structured information in Publishing.

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Non-Task Topics

TPAssist includes support for the following non-task topics. These topics will be ignore by Tree Updates.

Priority 5 - A topic with priority 5 will be ignored from Tree Updates, however remember if the topic has subtopics with different priorities, the priority of the parent topic will be overwritten during updates.
(Research) NOTES - Any topic with-in the map can be excluded from Tree Updates. These topics can be used to store notes and hide draft or archived topic trees (for optimal performance in large maps). Defining a particular map topic as a "Research / Notes" topic is achieved by selecting the topic and then clicking the "Research / Notes Topic" button in the Topic Tab of the TPAssist Console.

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Topic Status

TPAssist provides a quick method for maintaining topic status. This is achieved by added a Callout topic. By default, the Callout Topic text will include the status and the date of the status change.

Topic Status in the Task Details section of the Journal's Tab. It is one of the Advanced View options:

The status Callout is created from the Status Text and date, using a configurable macro. This macro is defined in the Document Tab , under properties.

The default status macro is "%ss [as of %d0]", this produces results like the following:

In addition to customising the overall call out format using the Document Tab, you can also add further information via macros with-in the Status Text area of the Journal Tab.

If you find yourself using work and Topic value macros in your status text you may find it useful to have the Status callouts automatically updated during Tree Updates. By default this features is disabled, but it can be turn-on for the map using the Tree Update tab of the Console.

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Topic Icons

TPAssist makes use of map markers to indicate specific functionality or presence of embedded properties. The following table summarises TPAssist's use of the customisable map markers:

Map Marker	Usage with-in TPAssist
	Contains Reference: This topic contains a reference as drawn out in the "%r" macro in TPAssist Document Properties. The reference is defined in the "Reference" prompt in the Journal Tab of the Console .
	Percentage Complete: Usage is identical to MindManager usage. During "Tree Updates", the overall percentage complete calculation takes into account the percent complete of immediate sub tasks and averages them to obtain the overall percentage complete. i.e. if two tasks have been defined as half finished, whilst two others tasks haven't started, the overall status is 25% complete.
	Task Priority: TPAssist treats Priority 1, 2 and 3 as active tasks. Priority 5 is treated as a non-task activity, this task wont count towards percent complete calculation, task tree summarising or be incorporated in exports to Work Breakdown Structures. Priority 5 items are excellent for recording notes and general non-task specific information. TPAssist treats Priority 4 as in-active task. This association is used in the settings relating to summarising or exports to Work Breakdown Structures.
	Task Flag: Usage is identical to MindManager usage. NOTE: The BLACK flag is also automatically assigned during "Multimap" Tree Update if a topic contains a broken or invalid map link.
	Outlook Task Linked: This topic is integrated with Outlook, in that Outlook will contain an Outlook Task item for this mind map topic.
	Outlook Reminder Linked: This topic is integrated with Outlook, in that Outlook will contain an Outlook Appointment item for this mind map topic. This item will be configured as zero duration and FREE so that is only appears in your calendar as a reminder.
	Outlook Appointment Assigned: This topic is integrated with Outlook, in that Outlook will contain an Outlook Appointment item for this mind map topic.
	Automate Dates (Levelling): This topic and topic tree have been configured for Topic Levelling .

NOTE: The Map Marker descriptions with- in the built-in TPAssist Document template has been customised with the above descriptions. Maps created separately will need to be manually reconfigured if you want the descriptions to appear when you select the icon.

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Original Target Date

TPAssist's "Original Target Date" feature captures and manages topic task "original target date" (as well as Due Date). This date is automatically captured whenever you use the Journal Tab to change the Due Date. This feature allows you to track your task completion date (Due Date) against your original target.

The "Original Target Date" can be also be changed manually using the advanced options of the Journal Tab .

Exposing the date on the map can be achieved through macros and is also available in the "Pivot Source" Excel export.

Export task list to the new Excel "Pivot Source" format and perform rich analysis of task completion performance.

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Topic Display Profile

TPAssist's Topic "Display Profile" is a mechanism to expose TPAssist managed properties on the map. This is achieved by populating a predefined set of MindManager custom properties templates with TPAssist settings.

The "Display Profile" is set per topic using the "Topic Tab" or for groups of topics using the MindManager 7 Ribbon "Display" command.

The values populated into the "Display Profile" are updated during Tree Updates and when ever a topic is modified using the Journal Tab.

The list below provides a guide to the templates available:

"Summary" - Reference; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled
"Summary (with Financials)" Reference = xxxx; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled; Work (Act.) = 50days / 10,000; Value (Act.) = 5000; Total (Act.) = 15,000
"Financial - Bottom line" - Actual = 13,000
"Summary (with Work)" - Reference = xxxx; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled; Actual Work = 50days / 10,000; Remaining Work = 50days / 10,000
"Work" - Actual Work = 50days / 10,000; Remaining Work = 50days / 10,000
"Financial - Budget" - Estimate = 15,000; Actual = 13,000; Remaining = 2,000
"Work (with estimate)" - Est. Work = 50days / 10,000; Act. Work = 50days / 10,000; Remain. Work = 50days / 10,000
"Financial - Estimation" - Work (Est.) = 50days / 10,000; Value (Est.) = 5000; Total (Est.) = 15,000
"Scheduling" - Reference; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled; Levelling = On/Off/Inhert - Mode = Start-Start ....
"Scheduling (with Financials)" - Reference; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled; Levelling = On/Off/Inhert; Mode = Start-Start ....; Work (Est.) = 50days / 10,000; Value (Est.) = 5000; Total (Est.) = 15,000
Scheduling (with Work)" - Reference; Auto Dates = Enabled/Disabled; Levelling = On/Off/Inhert; Mode = Start-Start ....; Actual Work = 50days / 10,000; Remaining Work = 50days / 10,000

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Topic Auto Title

The TPAssist Topic Auto Title function provides the means to expose TPAssist properties and other aspects with-in topic titles.

The topic title automation is managed via the Journal Tab and can also be enabled by default with- in the Document Properties Tab .

The properties are exposed via the "percent" macros.

Once enabled, all changes to Topic text must be made via the Journal Tab. Any changes made directly on the map to the topic text will be overwritten during the next Tree Update.

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Macros

Macros are used in a number of places. These percent (%) prefixed coded words provide you with the means to customise Outlook integration, export to Excel, automation of topic text and how topic status is displayed.

The table below lists the macro, the purpose and any usage scope restrictions.

Macro	Purpose	Scope
%%	Replace with single '%'	Not restricted
%a1 \| %a2 \| %a3	Topic Auto Date (Levelling) information: %a1 = Status (i.e. On/Off/Inherit) %a2 = Levelling Function %a3 = Levelling Properties	Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%c	Topic Context (include parent tree & RE 'current topic')	Not applicable to Auto Topic Task.
%d1 \| %d2 \| ...	Status Date , with number specifying the format (where dd=day of month, MM=number of month, MMM=abbreviated month name, yyyy=year,ddd=abbreviated day of week): %d0 = "dd/MMM" %d1 = "dd/MMM/yyyy" %d2 = "MM-dd" %d3 = "dd-MM" %d4 = "MM-dd-yyyy" %d5 = "dd-MM-yyyy" %d6 = "ddd dd/MMM" %d7 = "ddd MM-dd" %d8 = "ddd dd-MM"	Not restricted
%j1 \| %j2 \| ...	Original Target Date , with number specifying the format (where dd=day of month, MM=number of month, MMM=abbreviated month name, yyyy=year,ddd=abbreviated day of week): %j0 = "dd/MMM" %j1 = "dd/MMM/yyyy" %j2 = "MM-dd" %j3 = "dd-MM" %j4 = "MM-dd-yyyy" %j5 = "dd-MM-yyyy" %j6 = "ddd dd/MMM" %j7 = "ddd MM-dd" %j8 = "ddd dd-MM"	Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%k1 \| %k2	Difference between Original Target Date and topic Due Date. Use %k1 to obtain simple difference and use %k2 to obtain difference in weekdays (excluding weekends).	Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%m	Central Topic text
%n	Notes (as specified in Journal Notes )	Only applicable to Document Clip Macro

%o	Customer (as defined in Customer option of Document Tab ).	Not restricted
%p	Topic Context - Parent focused (no current topic)	Not restricted
%r	Reference (as assigned per topic using the Journal Tab 's Reference option (see Advanced Options)	Not restricted
%ss \| %sl	Status Text (%ss for short-form and %sl for long-form)
%t	Topic Text	Not applicable to Auto Topic Task.
%ue \| %ua \| %ur	Work Cost Estimate (%ue), Work Cost Actual (%ua) or Work Cost Remaining (%ur)	Requires that the Financial Capabilities be enabled. Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%ve \| %va \| %vr	Value Estimate (%ve), Value Actual (%va) or Value Remaining (%vr)	Requires that the Financial Capabilities be enabled. Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%we \| %wa \| %wr	Work Estimate (%we), Work Actual (%wa) or Work Remaining (%wr)	Requires that the Financial Capabilities be enabled. Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%xe \| %xa \| %xr	Total Estimate (%xe), Total Actual (%xa) or Total Remaining (%xr)	Requires that the Financial Capabilities be enabled. Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.
%y1 \| %y2 \| ...	Produce count of sub topic: %y0 = All subtopics (not filter aware) %y1 = All subtopics (filter aware) %y2 = Immediate subtopics (not filter aware) %y3 = Immediate subtopics (filter aware) %y4 = End Nodes (not filter aware) %y5 = End Nodes (filter aware)	Not applicable to Document Clip Macro.

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Copyright (C) 2009 TPAssist Limited (Ireland)	Last updated: 21/09/2009

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