Activios is more than just a software application. If used correctly it has the ability to transform a business towards excellence. Whether it be a small operation with a handful of people or a large multi-national organization, the principles of moving from struggling to stable or good to great, remain the same.
With this in mind, Activios serves to achieve the following:
It is our belief that meetings should be kept to a minimum in both frequency and duration, however, it is people that drive any business and engagement is essential to ensuring stability, growth and success. Teams are multi-dimensional with individuals bringing different skill sets and insights to the table. Only through collaboration can those individuals collectively understand the bigger picture, identify key focus areas and prioritise activities accordingly.
Activios is a leadership tool to build a cohesive and effective team.
Beyond these major building blocks, Activios also provides a structured framework to manage regularly occurring engagements regardless of frequency, duration or size. It is also possible to link meetings hierarchically to enable escalation of critical issues from lower levels. A convenient portal also supports virtual hosting.
Take your organization to the next level – inform, engage, empower!
Activios provides multiple layers of user role assignments which serve the dual purpose of protecting information as well as limiting displayed options to what the User needs. As such, not all features listed below are visible to everybody.
Distinction is made between the roles of system administrators versus end-users. Furthermore, different access rights are afforded to the roles of Chairman, Administrator, Participant and Data Administrator for Forums, Scorecards and KPI’s within scorecards.
In the settings section Users are able to update aspects of their profile, primarily their Display Name, email address and (optionally) to upload a portrait photo.
Depending on access rights it is also possible to list all registered Users and to view/set their global rights profiles.
For individuals involved with more than one organization it is also possible to switch from one organization to the other through this portal.
Lastly, this is where Users can log out of the system.
A forum is the term assigned to an Event title (e.g. monthly production meeting). Forums can also be grouped hierarchically (e.g. daily action centre meeting, weekly review, monthly review) to enable escalation of issues from lower levels.
Within this section Users can browse the Forum structures relevant to themselves as well as view the list the Events associated with each Forum. It is also from within this section that a new Event can be created in the Forum.
This section is the system’s engine-room and where most users will spend their time. Once again, only the Events relevant to the User are visible and to assist in organizing these events there are various folders which isolate different categories of Event as per the table below.
The Event types can be used at the organisation’s discretion, however, the traditional purpose of each is briefly described as follows:
| Menu Title | Purpose |
|---|---|
| My Meetings | Manage structured meetings, record minutes, view scorecards, assign and review actions and schedule follow up meetings. |
| My Projects | Manage longer term projects and track the status of project actions as assigned to teams and/or individuals. |
| My Action Centres | Manage daily action centres (note: there is a scorecard type designed specifically for this type). |
| My Audits | Assist with structured management of audits and following up on corrective actions, furthermore serving as a record of closing out previous findings. |
| My One-on-Ones | Manage one-on-one meetings with individual team members, be they regular exchanges, performance reviews or probation monitoring. |
| My Team | Manage internal departmental team meetings to track and monitor department or divisional objectives. |
| My Knowledge Base | Serves as a repository for relevant documents of any variety, be they policies and procedures, employee records or certificates of compliance. |
In each of these categories it is possible to record minutes,
view scorecards, manage actions and upload documents.
There is a section to describe the Guidelines for each agenda item – this assists in defining the purpose for the agenda item which narrows the scope of discussion and supports decision-making.
Lastly, there is a tab for Notes, the intention of which is to enable meeting participants to capture comments for discussion in upcoming meetings. This promotes proactive engagement and provides opportunity for others to anticipate impending issues so as to be better prepared.
Although scorecards are typically linked to meeting agendas, this section also provides opportunity to browse and view scorecards independent of the Events they are associated with.
Note: this is a portal to view scorecards but not edit them. Scorecards can only be edited from with Configuration/Scorecard Data.
Actions are assigned and reviewed in the various Events, however, outside the Event, this folder provides quick recall of all Actions assigned to the participant across multiple Events.
This is useful as it serves as an overview of all outstanding Actions which are linked to the suite of Forums to which the User is associated.
Within Actions, groups of individuals can be assigned to assist with implementing the Action, even if not the Action assignee.
This menu option lists all such assignments (if any) that have been linked to the User.
Actions can also be Escalated to higher levels if they are not making adequate progress or if additional support is required.
This menu option lists any Escalated Actions, across all Forums, for the attention of the User.
Tasks are smaller, one-off “To-Do’s” which can be self -assigned or assigned from within a Meeting or an Action.
This menu option lists any Tasks, across all Forums, for the attention of the User.
This is the area where the system administrators will spend most of their time and accordingly, is not visible to the majority of Participants. It is the section where Forums and Scorecards are created and defined. It is also where KPI targets and actuals are captured into the Scorecards.
There are various other features which primarily influence some of the
parameters which govern the system. Configuration aspects in this
section are listed as follows:
| Menu Option | Function |
|---|---|
| Forum Structure | Enables the creation of new forums as well as forum structures with hierarchical relationships. Roles specifying administrative and escalation rights can also be assigned. |
| Scorecard Group |
In this sub-section, scorecards and groups of associated
scorecards are created. Within each scorecard a number of KPI’s
can be defined along with various parameters. Roles of:
|
| Scorecard Data | This is where the Target and Actual data is captured into Scorecards. It should be noted that Target data must be added first before Actual figures can be captured as only fields with targets are eligible to be filled. |
| Templates | Upload standardised forms or documents and link these to different Event types. This enables convenient availability of these templates and supports consistency and compliance to quality standards. |
| Organisation | Edit the Organisation and User profiles, add new Users etc. |
| Event Rules | Enables the System Administrator to define access rights for Events for each of the Role titles. |
| Action Rules | Enables the System Administrator to define access rights for Actions for each of the Role titles. |
| Scorecard Rules | Enables the System Administrator to define access rights for Scorecards for each of the Role titles. |
| Version updates |
Although primarily a web-based platform, Activios can also be hosted from a local server if web connectivity is a challenge. To ensure optimal performance it is suggested that you load Activios from Google Chrome. If running from an Apple Mac, ensure that Chrome is set to the English date format:
System Preferences/Language & Regions/Apps/ add Google Chrome and set to English.
The software includes the ability to interface with any web-based virtual meeting platforms, so remote participants are able to engage in meeting events. Activios also enables event invitations to help manage your calendar effectively.
The Activios team is available to provide technical support as well as
offering assistance in how to structure your engagements to maximise
the full benefits that the system offers.
The following provides a high-level workflow to creating a new Organisation account for use by system administrators:
The following terms are used throughout Activios - here is an
explanation of each:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Action | A delegated responsibility to achieve a specific outcome by a specific date. Typically fairly complex in that it requires interim monitoring or the support of multiple persons (or 'Group Assignees'). |
| Action Centre | A quick daily meeting (usually standing) for a team to review current status and make short-term operational decisions. |
| Admin | Role assignment - User assigned with Administrative rights to an aspect in the system. |
| Agenda | Structured sequence of topics to be discussed within a meeting or Event. |
| API | Application Programming Interface. A software mechanism that allows two applications to talk to each other (e.g. to pass data from one application to another). |
| Assignment | A role given to an individual (or group) to assist with implementing an Action. |
| Chair | Chairman of a meeting or Event. Roles similar to that of Admin are awarded to this role-player. |
| Child level | A sub-structure (or folder) within a Forum or Scorecard. Even a child-level can contain another child-level (i.e. a sub-sub-folder). |
| DataAdmin | A role assigned to a User who is awarded rights to capture and update Scorecard data. |
| Display Name | This is the name assigned to a User that will be visible within Activios when assigning roles in Events and Scorecards. This is captured during registration but can be edited in 'Settings'. |
| Events | These are the actual, scheduled activities within a Forum, i.e. the gathering of Forum participants at a specific date and time. Events are organised into agenda points. |
| Forum | The title given to a collection of regularly occurring Events such as meetings or audits (e.g. "Monthly Financical Review", "Quarterly Safety Audit"). Forums can be arranged into a hierarchical structure with Forum Groups and sub-forums. |
| Group Admin | This is a role assigned to a User who has authority to modify Scorecard Groups. |
| Group Assignment | A list of Users assigned to a specific Action to support the Action Assignee to fulfil defined objectives by a deadline date. |
| IMX | The name of the Company that developed Activios. |
| Knowledge Base | An Event type which isolates those Events used to specifically contain information (i.e. documents or templates). |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator. These are high level measureables which can be analysed to make trend observations and assist with decision-making. |
| Offset | An integer value which offsets a graph's x-axis starting point. For example, financial KPI's are often displayed in terms of tax years; a tax year starting in March would require an offset of '2' so graphs would be displayed March to February (instead of the default January to December). |
| Navigation | A sequence of steps taken when interfacing with software, usually through mouse-clicks or via keyboard entries. |
| One-on-One | An Event type specific to personal meetings between two persons (usually Manager and Subordinate) to formally discuss work progress, performance reviews, probation monitoring etc. |
| Parent level | This describes a level (or folder) in a Forum or Scorecard Group that is above a folder deemed to be at 'Child level'. |
| Participant | A User who participates in an Event but has no administrative duties in terms of creating or modifying agendas, scorecards, documents etc. |
| Role | All Activios Users are assigned to Roles within Activios which grants certain access rights. One User can be assigned many Roles as these are linked to specific Events, Scorecards etc. e.g. a User can be a Chair in one Event and a Participant in another. |
| Scorecard | A framework which contains a group of KPI's and enables graphic representation of data to observe trends and performance. These can be linked to Events or observed separately in the 'Scorecards' menu option. |
| Secretary | A User Role assignment which is similar to Admin. An Admin Role typically attends an Event and operates the computer; a Secretary would not necessarily attend the Event but can assign User Roles, modify Agendas etc. independently. |
| Task | This is a single once-off 'To Do' assigned to an individual (much smaller than an 'Action'). |
| Template | A standardised document designed to ensure consistency of application within an organisation, e.g. problem solving forms, check-lists, Quality documents. |
| Toolset | This is a section within the Actions framework which enables access/visibility to relevant Templates in the resolution of an Action. |
| User | A person registered on Activios. |
| User Group | A list of high level Role assignments which grants a User access to various features of Activios. These are assigned in Organisation settings. |
Below is a list of icons used in Activios together with their
descriptions:
| Icon | Meaning | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
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Function Edit | offers Role assignments and further definition of the highlighted structure |
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Previous | returns to previous Agenda point or Scorecard |
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Next | returns to next Agenda point or Scorecard |
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Filter | having set filter parameters using drop downs, press this button to activate the filter |
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User Manual link | press this icon to view the User Manual |
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Agenda | edit the agenda |
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Send invites/Notification | When a new Event is created this button is visible in the Event header to send invitations. It is also used for Escalation notifications. |
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Add User | Add a new User to Activios or link an existing User to an Event or Scorecard |
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Add Event/ Attendee | Add an Event or an Attendee |
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Open | Status indicator to indicate whether an Event is open or locked. |
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Save | Save the current changes before moving to the next screen |
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View (not edit) | Clicking this icon will allow the User to view but not edit the Event contents. |
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Edit | Clicking this icon will allow the User to both view and edit the Event contents. |
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Copy Event | Copies the highlighted Event to create a new Event with similar characteristics |
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Manage Users/ User Group | Used to edit User profiles or to assign high level Roles (User Group) to Users |
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View details | Clicking this icon will delve deeper into the contents of the displayed item. |
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Search | Clicking this with an empty search field will list all Users, otherwise, type a portion of a User name to find the User's profile. |
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Documents | This icon enables document management - uploading, editing, deleting etc. |
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Tasks | Create a new Task |
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Entry captured | This symbol appears beside tab titles as a visual indicator that there is an entry behind that tab (e.g. Notes, Documents, Guidelines). |
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Upload document | To upload a document into the Activios workspace. |
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Delete | Deletes a KPI, Heading, Scorecard or Forum structure. |
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Download document | Enables download of a document |
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Show/Hide graph | Click this to display or hide a graph. |
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Add to current level | Will add a Forum or Scorecard folder at the same level as the currently selected one. |
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Add to child level | Will add and link a Forum or Scorecard folder below the level of the currently selected one such that one is a sub-folder of the other. |
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Link events | Used to link existing constructs to the current one. |
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Upload template document | Loads a standard template into Activios so that it is accessible to the User community. |
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Reload | Enables reloading of a document. |