About Projects

Overview

Projects is a module in gaiia that helps teams track and manage complex service delivery and maintenance work from start to finish. Projects can be standardized using Project Types, which define default details, a structured form, and a predefined list of tickets that are automatically created with the project.

Projects are available from the main navigation and from the Projects tab on Accounts, Business Accounts, Properties, and Network Sites. This article covers the permissions required to use Projects, how to set up Project Types and statuses, and how to create and manage projects.

To start using Projects, please reach out to your account manager or support@gaiia.com.

Permissions

Access to Projects is controlled by the following permissions.

Setting up Projects

Before your team starts using Projects, an admin should configure Project Settings, accessible from the Projects sub-menu. Project Settings has two tabs: Types and Statuses.

A. Creating Project Types

A Project Type is a template that standardizes how projects are created. It can include default details, a form, and a predefined list of tickets.

To create a Project Type:

1. Navigate to Project Settings, then open the Types tab
2. Click on the New Type button

3. In the General Information step, enter a Project Type Name

   You can also set optional defaults: a Default Description that pre-fills the project description, Default Assignees automatically assigned to new projects, a Default Start Date (check Start on Creation Date to set it to the day the project is created), and a Target Date defined as a duration (e.g., "After 14 days") calculated from the default start date.

4. In the Form step, build a form to collect structured information for every project of this type (see section B below)
5. In the Tickets step, add a predefined list of tickets that will be automatically created with each project of this type (see section C below)
6. In the Review step, confirm the details and click on the Create button

Once created, the project type appears in the Types list and can be edited, duplicated, or used when creating new projects.

B. Building a Project Type form

Within the Form step, you can define the structured information to collect for every project of this type.

To build a form:

1. Click on the New Section button and give the section a name
2. Within the section, click on the Add Field button
3. Enter a Field Name and select an Input Type: "Short text", "Long text", "Number", or "Dropdown" (dropdowns require adding options)
4. Click on the Add button to add the field to the section
5. Repeat for all sections and fields

Field names must be unique within a section. Fields and sections can be reordered by dragging and dropping them.

C. Adding predefined tickets to a Project Type

Within the Tickets step, you can define a list of tickets that are automatically created every time a project of this type is created.

Adding predefined tickets requires the Tickets > Edit permission.

To add a predefined ticket:

1. Click on the Add Ticket button

2. Fill in the ticket details: Title (required), Type (required), Priority, Description (required), Assignees, Categories, and URL

   You can also set a Due Date After Creation — a number and unit (days, weeks, or months) used to automatically calculate the ticket's due date relative to when the project is created.

3. Click on the Add button to add the ticket to the list

From the ticket list, you can edit or delete any predefined ticket before saving the project type.

D. Editing Project Types

To edit an existing Project Type:

1. Navigate to Project Settings, then open the Types tab
2. Click on the type you want to edit
3. Update the name, default details, form, or ticket list
4. Save your changes

You can also duplicate a project type to use it as a starting point for a new one.

E. Managing project statuses

Projects come with three default statuses: "Unstarted", "Started", and "Closed". You can add custom statuses to match your team's workflow.

To create a custom status:

1. Navigate to Project Settings, then open the Statuses tab
2. Click on the New Status button
3. Enter a name and select a parent category: "Unstarted", "Started", or "Closed"
4. Save

From this view, you can also rename or delete custom statuses. Default statuses cannot be deleted.
 

A custom status cannot be deleted if it is currently assigned to one or more projects.

Creating a project

To create a new project:

1. Navigate to Projects in the main navigation, or open a linked entity (Account, Business Account, Property, or Network Site) and go to its Projects tab
2. Click on the New Project button
3. Select a Project Type if applicable, or click on the Continue Without a Type button

The remaining steps depend on whether a project type is selected:

•  

  1. In the General Information step, enter a title, description, start date, target date, linked entity, and assignees

     Default values from the project type will be pre-filled.

  2. In the Form step, fill in the type's form fields — these can be updated at any time after creation
  3. In the Review step, confirm the details and click on the Create button
•  
  1. Enter a title, description, dates, linked entity, and assignees
  2. Click on the Create button

Once created, the project appears in the Projects table with a unique Project ID, and any predefined tickets from the project type are automatically created.

Managing a project

From the project page, you can:

• Edit the title and description by clicking the pencil icon next to the title.
• Update the status by clicking the status field in the side panel.
• Set or update dates by clicking Start Date or Target Date in the side panel.
• Add or remove assignees from the Assignees section in the side panel.
• Link or unlink an entity from the Linked Entity section in the side panel. You can link an Account, Business Account, Property, or Network Site; linking an entity displays its address directly on the project.
• Edit additional information — custom fields configured for Projects are displayed in the Additional Information section of the side panel.

Each project also has the following tabs:

Viewing projects on an entity

Projects can be linked to and viewed from Accounts, Business Accounts, Properties, and Network Sites. Each of these entities includes a Projects tab on its detail page. From this tab you can view all linked projects, open a project, or create a new project that is automatically linked to that entity.