Exercise Workbook

This workbook accompanies the FolksPMS User Manual. Every lab is part of one continuous story — you'll take a single project, the Riverside Office Fit-Out, from a client record all the way to a deviation that auto-raises a Change Request. Save your work after each step so a trainer can review your progress.

Before you start

1. You have a working login with SuperAdmin or a fully-scoped delivery role.
2. The API and FE are both running (locally via F5, or against the hosted environment).
3. Both solutions build with 0 errors. Confirm with your trainer if unsure.
4. The database CF_MasGen_FolksPMS_Dev is restored with seed data.
5. Have a notebook open to record codes (Client, Project, Phase, Task, Budget, CR) — they're referenced in later labs.

Skill levels

Conventions used in this workbook

Get comfortable with the navbar, the eight pillars, the standard list/form pattern, the language toggle and the role you'll work as.

1.1 First login

• Open the FolksPMS FE URL. Sign in with your trainer-provided credentials (e.g. superadmin / superadmin).
• You land on the Command Center — your role's default landing page — with live KPI tiles.
• Note the role shown at the top right.

1.2 Walk the eight pillars

• Open each pillar in turn: Workspace, Multi-Level Gantt, Delivery, Governance, Service & Collab, Supply, Reports & Insight, Administration.
• Sub-menus expand under each pillar; pages share a consistent toolbar — Add / Refresh / Export / Search.

1.3 Try the language toggle

• Click the EN / عربي toggle in the top bar. Switch to Arabic, then back.
• The whole layout mirrors right-to-left and labels translate — not just the text direction.

1.4 Standard page anatomy

• Open Workspace → Projects. Identify: header toolbar, filter strip, data grid, the health-coloured status column, and the per-row action column.
• Click Add to open the entry form, then Esc to cancel without saving.

Self-check

• Q1.1  Which table stores your username and password?
• Q1.2  How many navigation pillars group the 34 modules?
• Q1.3  If the Add button is greyed out, which table likely lacks a privilege row for your role?

Every project needs a client. Create Riverside Holdings so the project in Lab 3 has somewhere to attach.

2.1 Create the client

• Open Administration → Client Master. Click Add and enter the client below — leave the Code blank.

• Record the auto-generated Client code (e.g. CLT-2026-00xx).

2.2 Add a primary contact

• On the client's Contacts tab, add Layla Al-Harbi · Facilities Director · primary with an email and phone.
• The contact appears, flagged as Primary.

2.3 Record the contract

• On the Contracts tab, add a contract — Fit-Out Framework, value 1,850,000 SAR, lump-sum.

Self-check

• Q2.1  Why must the client exist before the project?
• Q2.2  Which table holds the client header, and which holds the contacts?

Create the spine record of the whole workbook — the Riverside Office Fit-Out project — break it into phases, assign a team, and sign the charter.

3.1 Create the project

• Open Workspace → Projects → Add. Pick client Riverside Holdings; fill the fields below; leave the project Code blank.

• Record the project code (e.g. PRJ-2026-00xx) — you'll use it in every later lab.

3.2 Add phases

• On the project's Phases tab, add five phases: Strip-out · M&E First Fix · Partitions & Ceilings · Finishes & Second Fix · Handover.
• The Gantts in later labs will group tasks by these phases.

3.3 Assign the team

• On the Team tab, add yourself as Project Manager (100%) and one colleague as Site Supervisor (50%).

3.4 Sign the charter

• On the Charter tab, record the scope (interior fit-out, 1,400 m²), three objectives and three success criteria, then mark it Signed-off.
• The project detail page now shows phases, team and a signed charter.

Self-check

• Q3.1  Why is currency fixed at project creation?
• Q3.2  What does the list-view health bucket derive its colour from?
• Q3.3  Why structure work into phases rather than ad-hoc tasks?

Before scheduling, capture the work as lightweight planning items on the Planning board and rough-size them.

4.1 Capture planning items

• Open Workspace → Planning. Against the Riverside project, add backlog items for the major work blocks (one per phase is fine), each with a Priority.
• Rough-size each item with an effort estimate (e.g. person-days).
• The backlog lists, ranked by priority.

4.2 Commit one item

• Promote the highest-priority item toward a scheduled line (you'll formalise it as an Estimation task in Lab 5).

Self-check

• Q4.1  What makes a Planning record different from a scheduled task?
• Q4.2  Which module ranks the backlog by the Priority you set?

Level 1 of the spine. Draft rough-order-of-magnitude tasks and durations that size the work and seed the budget.

5.1 Draft estimate tasks

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Estimation for the Riverside project. Add ROM tasks under each phase using the durations below.

5.2 Roll up the estimate

• Use the Gantt's rollup to total the estimated effort.
• Record the total estimated duration (should be ~12 weeks).

Self-check

• Q5.1  Why don't Estimation tasks need hard calendar dates?
• Q5.2  What does the Estimation total feed into next?

Level 2 of the spine. Convert the estimate into money — a budget header with cost lines mapped to phases.

6.1 Create the budget header

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Budgeting for the project. Create a budget header tied to the project; currency SAR.

6.2 Add cost lines per phase

• Add cost lines mapped to the phases — split each into Labour · Materials · Other.

• Record the budget total (1,500,000) — it must sit under the project's 1,650,000 envelope.

Self-check

• Q6.1  Why align budget cost lines to phases?
• Q6.2  At which spine level does the budget become a frozen baseline?

Level 3 of the spine. Turn the sized, budgeted work into a real calendar — dated tasks, dependencies and the critical path.

7.1 Date the tasks

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Scheduling. Give each estimate task real start/finish dates running from 2026-07-01.

7.2 Add dependencies & find the critical path

• Link the finish-to-start dependencies as above. Run the critical-path calculation.
• The chain Strip-out → M&E → Finishes → Handover lights up as the critical path; partitions has a little float.
• Note which tasks are on the critical path — a slip on these slips the whole project.

Self-check

• Q7.1  What is the first spine level that renders true calendar bars, and why?
• Q7.2  What does "float" mean for the partitions task?

Level 4 of the spine — the pivotal moment. Freeze the schedule into an immutable baseline. Everything from here is judged against it.

8.1 Freeze the schedule

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Kick-Off. Use Freeze Baseline to copy the Scheduling Gantt into the Kick-Off baseline.
• The Kick-Off Gantt now shows the locked baseline bars; the tasks are read-only.
• Record the baseline date — this is the reference for every deviation later.

8.2 Confirm immutability

• Try to edit a baseline task date.
• The edit is blocked — re-baselining is a governed action, not an inline edit.

Self-check

• Q8.1  Why is the Kick-Off Gantt read-only once frozen?
• Q8.2  What does re-baselining do to the deviation reference?

Break the baseline phases into day-to-day tasks, assign owners and priorities, and link a blocking dependency.

9.1 Create tasks

• Open Delivery → Tasks. Add tasks under the M&E First Fix phase: Cable containment, Power & data rough-in, HVAC ductwork. Set owners and priorities.
• Record the three task codes.

9.2 Link a dependency

• Make Power & data rough-in depend on Cable containment (finish-to-start).
• The dependency is recorded on TK_TaskDependencies.

9.3 Block a task honestly

• Set HVAC ductwork to status Blocked with a reason (awaiting duct delivery).
• The Command Center risk tile picks the blocker up.

Self-check

• Q9.1  Which table records that one task blocks another?
• Q9.2  Why does honest use of the Blocked status matter?

Register the people delivering the work and allocate their capacity — then catch an over-allocation.

10.1 Register resources

• Open Delivery → Resources. Register an M&E Lead and two Electricians with roles, rates and capacity.

10.2 Allocate to the project

• Allocate the M&E Lead 60% to Riverside, then deliberately allocate them another 60% to a second project.
• The system flags the resource at 120% — an over-allocation conflict.
• Fix it by dropping the Riverside allocation to 50%.

Self-check

• Q10.1  What is the most common resource-planning error?
• Q10.2  Which resource field feeds actual labour cost later?

Log effort against tasks, submit a timesheet, approve it, and watch it become actual labour cost.

11.1 Log time against tasks

• Open Delivery → Time & Attendance. Log a week of hours for the Electricians against Power & data rough-in.
• Submit the timesheet for the period.

11.2 Approve & cost it

• As manager, approve the timesheet.
• Hours × rate becomes actual labour cost, which feeds the Actuals Gantt in Lab 15.

Self-check

• Q11.1  Why should only approved time flow to cost?
• Q11.2  What is the formula for actual labour cost from a timesheet?

Raise a material requisition, turn it into a purchase order to a vendor, and receive the goods with a 3-way match.

12.1 Raise a requisition

• Open Delivery → Materials. Raise a requisition against Riverside for HVAC ductwork — 120 m needed for the blocked task in Lab 9.
• Record the requisition code.

12.2 Raise the PO

• In Supply → Buy / Sell, convert the requisition into a Purchase Order to a vendor.

12.3 Receive & match

• Post a goods-received note (GRN) when the duct arrives.
• Requisition ↔ PO ↔ GRN now agree — the 3-way match clears for payment. The blocked HVAC task in Lab 9 can be unblocked.

Self-check

• Q12.1  What three documents must agree in a 3-way match?
• Q12.2  How does Materials differ from Buy / Sell, given they share the requisition/GRN vocabulary?

Run an inspection against a checklist, raise a defect with a severity, and walk it through to closed.

13.1 Run an inspection

• Open Delivery → Quality. Run a first-fix inspection against the M&E checklist.
• Raise a defect — two data points missing at desk 14, severity Medium.
• Record the defect code.

13.2 Resolve & close

• Move the defect Open → Fixed → Verified → Closed as the work is corrected and re-checked.
• The quality trend on the Command Center improves as the defect closes.

Self-check

• Q13.1  What is the full defect lifecycle?
• Q13.2  Why does defect severity matter for governance?

Onboard a flooring sub-contractor, assign them a scope package tied to the schedule, and certify a milestone payment.

14.1 Onboard the sub

• Open Supply → Sub-Contractors. Onboard Skyline Flooring with contract terms (lump sum, retention 5%).

14.2 Assign the package

• Assign a scope package — Carpet & vinyl, all floors — linked to the Finishes phase, with two milestones.
• When milestone 1 is met, certify the payment.
• The sub's work is now planned and costed alongside your own.

Self-check

• Q14.1  Why tie sub-contractor payments to milestones, not the calendar?
• Q14.2  What does linking the package to a phase let the Gantts do?

Level 5 of the spine. Record what actually happened — actual starts, progress and cost — and overlay it on the frozen baseline.

15.1 Log actuals on plan

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Actuals. For Strip-out, log actual start 01 Jul and 100% complete on 14 Jul — exactly on baseline.
• Overlay Kick-Off (KG) and Actuals (AG): the bars sit on top of each other — no deviation yet.

15.2 Post actual cost

• Post the approved labour cost from Lab 11 plus the duct material cost from Lab 12 as actual cost.
• Record the running actual cost against the 1,500,000 budget.

Self-check

• Q15.1  Which overlay is the single most useful comparison on the multi-level Gantt?
• Q15.2  What does actual cost reconcile against?

Level 6 — the signature moment. Introduce a real slip, watch the Deviation Engine detect it and auto-raise a Change Request.

16.1 Set the threshold

• Open the Deviation thresholds for Riverside. Confirm the Material band fires at schedule variance ≥ 5% or cost variance ≥ 3%.

16.2 Introduce the slip

• Back on Actuals, post M&E first fix as finishing 11 Aug instead of the baseline 04 Aug — a one-week slip on a critical-path task.
• The AG bar runs past the KG baseline bar on the overlay — visible slippage.

16.3 Watch the engine act

• Open Multi-Level Gantt → Deviation (or refresh the Command Center deviation tile).
• A deviation is logged at the Material band — and a Change Request has been auto-created in Governance.
• Record the deviation magnitude and the auto-raised CR code — you'll resolve it in Lab 17.

Self-check

• Q16.1  What two inputs does the Deviation Engine subtract to find variance?
• Q16.2  Why did a one-week slip here breach the threshold when float elsewhere wouldn't?
• Q16.3  What did the breach create automatically?

Take the auto-raised Change Request through its approval gate, implement it, and re-baseline the schedule under change control.

17.1 Review the auto-raised CR

• Open Governance → Change Requests. Find the CR from Lab 16; add a rationale (long-lead duct delivery) and a proposed new finish date.
• Submit the CR for approval.

17.2 Approve it

• Open Governance → Approvals. As the approver, clear the CR's approval step.
• The CR moves Submitted → Approved.

17.3 Implement & re-baseline

• Mark the CR Implemented, then re-baseline the schedule to the agreed dates (a governed Kick-Off action).
• The deviation closes against the new baseline; the audit trail keeps the whole history.

Self-check

• Q17.1  What is the full CR lifecycle?
• Q17.2  Why is re-baselining a governed action rather than an inline edit?

Tie it all together. With no step-by-step hand-holding, drive a fresh small project through the entire spine in one sitting.

The challenge — do all of this without looking back

• Reuse the Riverside Holdings client; create the new project with two phases and a signed charter.
• Draft the Estimation Gantt, convert to a Budgeting Gantt within a 240,000 envelope.
• Schedule it with dependencies and a critical path, then freeze the Kick-Off baseline.
• Add tasks, allocate a resource, log & approve a timesheet.
• Post actuals — make one task finish late enough to breach the Material band.
• Confirm the Deviation Engine auto-raised a CR; approve it and re-baseline.
• Finally, run a cross-module Report and open Insights to read the burn trend.

Acceptance — you're done when…

• The project shows a frozen baseline, posted actuals, a closed deviation, and an Approved/Implemented CR.
• The Command Center reflects the new project in its rollups, and the Audit trail shows every step attributed to you.

Thirty minutes, closed-book. Five multiple-choice, five short-answer, and one practical. Trainers: the answer key is at the foot of this page.