Project Management

🏷️ General
1

Hi,

Is there a way to aggregate all things from a project on a workspace/workgroup? I will explain…

I usually work with a group of persons that come and go… And i used the platform Feng Office to manage workgroups and projects.
I would create a workspace for the project and then give users access to this workspace.
This workspace includes documents, tasks, calendar, contacts, etc…
So, creating a workspace would define a structure for all the project and the user with access to this project would create notes, tasks and whatever assigned to them working and completing them. All this data is saved on the projects workspace so the users don’t have any data depending on them. They can come and go as needed.
The structure is based on the project.

The problem is that we need to save files and we need to have a robust file management like Nextcloud has.

So, we are trying to make the move to Nextcloud and organize everything there.

But there’s a problem using Nextcloud. I know Nextcloud has some king of project management, but…

The problem is that everything in Nextcloud is focused on the User and not on the Project. So, if a user leaves the platform all the files and all the things that the user did on his user is saved on him and not on a centralized project.
So we cannot delete the user and clean it because we would loose everything he shared.

We use Deck, Notes, Contacts, Bookmarks, Calendar, Tasks, and some more apps available to organize all the aspects of the project.
An example… a user creates a bookmark, and share, another user creates a category and share that category, then another creates another share, so this end up as the data being scattered by dozens of users, some of them not existing anymore.

If we are using lot’s of projects we will loose control of all these applications information because the information are all scattered by all of these users that worked on the project.
This would get uncontrollable.

So is there a way to accomplish this?

Thanks

1 Like
2

Not currently.

Nextcloud is open source and actively looking for contributors. If you’re interested in something like this then you can contribute the code and have it added to nextcloud.

3

You can manually transfer files though:

https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/21/user_manual/en/files/transfer_ownership.html

4

Yes, files we can transfer, but the bigger problem is everything else. All the other applications data that is saved in database…

5

wouldn’t group folders solve this problem?

6

Hum!!!.. That interesting i will look at that addon.
But does this work for the other addons? Deck, Tasks, Calendar, Bookmarks, Contacts, etc… or just for folders?

7

Project Management is supposed to be managed via the new Dashboard app, which is the default app as of 20. In 21 you should be able to filter items by their project association, allowing you to know what relevant bits are needing attention in which apps through their Dashboard widget.

Hope this helps.

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8

Yes, i know, but my problem is related with where is the data… and the data is saved on the user structure (files and folders and database tables)…

If i need to remove the user or make a cleaning of some kind i will loose the data that depends on the user, and all the shared items of the different addons we use on the projects.

The alternative is to have a never ending users list for all the life of the system because they all have files and information for all projects and shares between all of other users.

The data is scattered by all users that worked on the project and it«'s impossible to reorganize or restructure in the future if we need to reorganize the project itself.

9

Database-based apps will not be switching over to file-based. Best you can do is use the functionality that allows you to change ownership from one user to another. Hope that helps.

If additional functionality is added that allows what you are describing that would be awesome, but it will certainly take many years and iterations.

10

For files, calendars, contacts you should definitely use groups. Circles is also a tool you can use. The group owns the data.
Check out if you can share tasks with a group. You probably can.

11

Thanks, i will look into those 2 addons.

I will try to manage with one user has project admin and then share everything from there and try that the other users centralize everything on things shared by that user.
I think this could be an option.

12

Start with defining groups. Add a group folder and then add members to that group. All members can then use the files in that folder. You can share calendars and contacts with the group. The group is the essential part for cooperation.

13

You’re talking about Group Folders, right?
And where is the Group saved?
Is saved on the user that created the Group?

14

I assume that you have admin rights to NC.
You can start by creating Groups from the Add users menu.
Then add the users to the Group from the same menu. You you mark the user, and under the Group column you can choose the Group, and You can even decide if that user should be admin for the group. But you do not need to choose an admin for the group.
Then go to the settings menu and choose Groupfolders. There you create a Groupfolder and assign the Group to that folder. The Groupfolder is accessed through the usual way via the File-app. The folder has an icon that shows it is a Groupfolder. All members of the Group have access to it. Do not use an ordinary foldername that is already created as the new folder will hide the previous and the files in that folder will not be visible.
In lots of menues for other apps you will find the possibilty to share things with a Group. You can create a Calendar and share that with a group. Same with contacts list etc.
Now the users that belong to the group have a shared folder for their files, and a calendar and whatever you want them to have common access to.
Each user in that group can create, save and delete files in that folder. They can add new events to the calendar. And these resources are not visible or available to users outside the group or other groups. One user can belong to many groups.
I agree that there is a need for a Wiki about how to use groups. You need to change the thinking from users and sharing folders and files between users to using groups and adding users to groups.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-create-a-group-calendar-in-nextcloud/
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-enable-2fa-for-groups-in-nextcloud/
configure - Nextcloud users' settings "Group admin for" - what is it? - Super User

15

So, what you are suggesting is to use a user that share everything about a project to other users, being that user the centralized content for everything… Files, Calendar, Contacts, Bookmarks, Deck, Tasks, etc… Right?

So, nothing special about that, just using the base functionality that Nextcloud has… but using a user to share all the things so others can use to organize everything about the project.

So i can’t understand the difference between the normal shared folder that i can share to a users group and the Group Folders that i can share to Group of users… What is the difference?

16

I could be mistaken, but I believe you’re working this from the opposite direction.
I think what we’re missing here is this:
You’re looking at it from one man handing out and putting back all the toys in the toybox for everyone.
Where what you want (and groups provide), is a toybox where everyone goes on their own to get their own toy, and put it back when they’re done.

17

I assume that you have admin rights. Maybe you can give more details about how teh users are supposed to collaborate, what roles they have and what kind of data.
You want users to collaborate. They need to have access to some common stuff.
It seems that you have had individuals sharing folders and files with other individuals but as they own the material it is lost if they leave.
You can go two ways to solve this -
You can define a dummy-user and share the dummy-users folders with other users. In the long run this gets complicated if you have many users.
I propose an alternative to use Groups and Groupfolders.
Start by defining Groups and add users to the Groups. The members can come and go - you add new members and remove those leaving.
Then you define Groupfolders and assign a Group to those folders. You can even assign many Groups to a Groupfolder, depending on their roles. . The members of one Group have all equal rights to the content of the folder. But you can define supergroups with special rights.
You need to switch perspective from individual users to Groups of users that collaborate. There are other alternatives also using circles for temporary smaller groups that collaborate, but start with Groups and Groupfolders.

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18

AFAIK the group folder is just a folder outside of all users. I use them for ‘family’ ‘operating’ and stuff like that.

I think it covers the ‘file-based’ objects quite nice., but does not help for calendars, contacs and the like

19

NorbertK

I do not agree. For an organisation you should work with Groups. Each Group have access to its Group folder, calendar, contacts etc. I think most functions in NC can be shared within Groups.

You assign users to different groups. One user can be member of many groups.

We use NC for a church. We have about 100 users. Some are ordinary members. They have limited access to some Group folders. Others are leaders in different groups. They have access to special Groupfolders - each for their groups - scouting, sunday school, etc. When leaders come and go the Groups remain. The employed have access to their special Groupfolders that are related to their functions in the church.

In fact for us we would like to turn off the possibility to private usage of the resources - saving private photos etc . And the mobile apps are more or less useless for the organisation. I have attached webbaccess as an icon on the homepage of my phone. It works very well.

20

Great i’m thinking of doing just that…
Use Group Folders to organize folders and files…
Create users and give them various Groups…
Then give the folders permissions based on those groups…

On, Deck, Calendars, Tasks, Bookmarks and other apps i will use a user admin and that user will create the boards, calendars, categories, and everything that will be shared to the groups, and like this everything on those groups are saved on that admin user (centralized).

On the users it self i will give only 1GB or less space to work, and everything about the projects/groups they are in, has to be saved/created on those shared boards/categories/calendars/etc… that will be the rule.

Is this the right approach?

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