My TeamFlow model opens with some of the process elements invisible.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 3 fixes a problem which can occur in some new dual-core processors in which the Shape Library has not completely finished loading prior to ingesting the TML file. This can result in some or all process elements appearing with no graphic icon.

I am having problems creating new shapes. They appear in the shape editor and can be added into a diagram. But when I save and close the diagram, and then reopen it, the new shape is gone.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 3 fixes a problem in the Shape Editor which could cause a new shape to be incorrectly saved if there was a copy of TeamFlow running at the same time. Please note that changes to the Shape Library will not be used by TeamFlow until you restart it after closing the Shape Editor.

Some of my extended columns are disappearing.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 3 fixes a problem with extended columns if the extended column is the only column on a sub-level worksheet. Under some unusual circumstances the column would be saved to a TML file as a non-extended column and all the process element segmentss assigned to the extension columns would be compressed into the primary column. If this placed two segments of the same process element into the same column, the program would abnormally terminate.

I am having trouble getting the new browser-based viewer to work.

Your web browser needs access to three files in order to display a deployment flowchart:

1. The HTML file which you are about to create. The location of this file is the root for determining the paths to the other two files. Web browser security requires that all three files reside on the same web domain (such as www.teamflow.com or www.google.com). You could have all three files reside in the same directory. Or, if you will be adding several models to your web site, you might want to create a sub-directory to hold the models, and perhaps a second sub-directory to hold the teamflowviewer.jar file.
2. The TeamFlow model. This file must be a TeamFlow XML Database of type ".tml" or ".xml". This is a copy of the file TeamFlow creates when you click File > Save As File. This path must be specified relative to the location of the HTML file. If the HTML file and the TML file will reside in the same directory, specify this path as "./imf.tml". If the TML file will reside in a sub-directory of the HTML file's directory named 'models', this path will have the form "./models/imf.tml".
3. The "teamflowviewer.jar" file. This file, which is installed in your ".../TeamFlow 9/Programs" folder, contains the browser viewer program. This program is automatically invoked by your web browser whenever it tries to display the HTML file you are about to create. You may freely copy this file to your web site or to another location on your system to make it more easily accessible. Specify the path to this file similar to the way you specified the path to the TML file.

I cannot access the Help pages in the TeamFlow Viewer.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem where under Windows XP the Viewer could not access its Help pages unless the JAR file and the HTML file were in the same directory. This fix requires that you replace the JAR file with the one provided in the Service Pack and recreate all HTML files using Service Pack 1 or later. Your TML files are OK. If you have previously installed Service Pack 1 you do not need to repeat this procedure.

TeamFlow does not save the Header and Footer scale settings.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem where the settings of Header and Footer scaling were not properly saved.

I am getting errors when I read in a TeamFlow model which was written by another copy of TeamFlow.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 contains logic to detect duplicate IDs assigned to team members and process elements. This condition can be caused by having the same TeamFlow Serial Number installed on multiple computers. This is violation of your License. Please purchase additional licenses for these computers. This service pack does not fix this problem; it only detects the problem and warns you the problem exists. Previous versions would abnormally terminate under such circumstance.

I deleted a detail-level worksheet but the summary task still has a drop shadow.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem where if you delete all process elements from a detail-level worksheet and then, without Saving the model, move up to the summary-level worksheet, the process element whose detail-level worksheet is now empty is improperly drawn with the "stack-of-cards" drop shadow.

TeamFlow crashes when I try to add a Document.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem where under unusual circumstances TeamFlow abnormally terminates when trying to attach a document using the Documents tab of the Process Element Information window.

TeamFlow crashes when I try to close the Process Element Information window.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem where under unusual circumstances TeamFlow abnormally terminates when closing the Process Element Information window.

TeamFlow crashes when I try to change a process element from a Task to a Meeting.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 fixes a problem which prohibited you from changing the Type of a process element from one of the standard types (Task, Meeting, Report, Decision, or Milestone) to another standard type. Extended types were not affected.

The Calendar window opens under the Process Element Information window and I cannot see it.

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 has changed the method of controlling placement of the Process Element Information window so it behaves more like it did in Version 8. Specifically the window, when it is open, is always on top of the TeamView worksheet, but is not on top of other windows. The Calendar window will not open under the Process Element Information window.

I assigned a color to my Team Font. When I create an HTML file, the Team is black.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes this problem.

I have two Broken Arrows which have the same link number.

This problem can occur if you repeatedly break and unbreak arrows in random sequence.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where under certain circumstances Broken Arrows would appear with duplicate numbers.

I am sharing a TeamFlow model on a relational database. Sometimes all the users of the model have their systems lock up at the same time.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where under certain circumstances, especially with with Oracle Version 9 databases, a "gridlock" situation could occur.

I assigned a URL to a Process Element, but cannot link to it from the HTML Viewer.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where URLs assigned to some process elements would not appear in the HTML Viewer.

A title I gave to a process element which uses a Shape I defined does not print.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where in certain situations titles would not print with user-defined (extended) process element shapes.

Some arrows on my HTML Deployment Flowchart seem to have extra lines.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where an extra line was drawn on some arrows in the HTML version of the deployment flowchart.

TeamFlow Version 8 hangs when I try to schedule a project which contains a Broken Arrow.

TeamFlow Version 8 Service Pack 4 fixes a problem where loops involving "Broken Arrows" were not properly detected. This could, in some limited circumstances, cause the process scheduler to go into an endless loop.

My IS Group just installed TeamFlow on my machine. They can run it, but I can't.

This is most probably an issue of Access Privileges. TeamFlow must have write access to files in the C:/Program Files/TeamFlow 9/Programs directory. If TeamFlow was installed using Administrator privileges, it is likely that other Users will not have Write Access Privilege to that directory.

The solution is to set the access privilege to the C:/Program Files/TeamFlow 9/Programs directory so non-Administrator users have Write access to it.

When I copy the Deployment Flowchart image to the clipboard, the right-most several columns in the Team Field are blank.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

I am using a Microsoft Access^®, Microsoft SQL Server^® or Oracle 8i^® database. When I read in a model, the Process Element Index and Create HTML File commands only show the top-level worksheet until I manually drill down to sub-level worksheets.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

I am using a Microsoft Access^®, Microsoft SQL Server^® or Oracle 8i^® database. My Summary process elements are not correctly drawn.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

I get an error message about running a 16-bit program when trying to Install TeamFlow under Windows XP Professional.

This is an erroneous message by Windows XP. The window is titled "Can't run 16-bit Windows program", but the message inside says something like "Can't find C:\TEMP\WXYZ0.TMP\SETUP.EXE or one of its components."

The real problem is the "C:\TEMP" directory does not exist and Windows is not allowing the installer to create it. To eliminate the problem, manually create the "C:\TEMP" directory and then re-run the Installer.

I just installed Internet Explorer 6 and now TeamFlow crashes!

There seems to be a fixable bug in the version of Internet Explorer 6 you download from the Microsoft web site, especially Version "6,0,2600,0" for Windows 98. If you incur this error, you will get an error message similar to this:

TEAMFLOW caused an invalid page fault in module TEAMFLOW.EXE at 015f:00471115.

We believe this problem is caused by an incompatibility in one of the IE6 support libraries, probably WinInet.dll versus the older versions of that library. TeamFlow uses this library for much of its Internet access.

To repair the problem in Windows 98, go to the Windows Start menu and select Start > Program > Accessories > System tools > System Information > Tools > Internet Explorer Repair tool. Select the "Repair Internet Explorer" radio button. Finally, reboot your system.

I changed both the Title and the Actual Start date on a process element. The start date got changed, but not the Title.

If you open the Process Element Information window, change the Title field, and, without clicking the Apply button, change either the Actual Start or Actual Finish dates and then click the Apply button, the Title field reverts to its prior value.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

When I try to view a Deployment Flowchart in my web browser, I get the message "TeamFlowAppletViewer not found."

When you create the HTML files in TeamFlow you must specify where the browser should look for the TeamFlow Java Applet Viewer files.

• If you select the Sub-directory "applets" option, the browser will look for a directory named "applets" in the same directory as the HTML files.

  If you want to view the file at http://www.mywebsite.com/teamflow/myproject.html which was created with this option, the browser will expect to find the viewer applet files in http://www.mywebsite.com/teamflow/applets/.

  If you want to view the file C:\My\Full\Path\MyTeamFlowProject.html which was created with this option, the browser will expect to find the viewer applet files in C:\My\Full\Path\applets\.

• If you select the http://www.teamflow.com/applets option, the browser will look for the applet files on the TeamFlow web site. This means anytime you want to view an HTML file created with this option, you must be actively connected to the Internet, and your browser must fetch the applet files from teamflow.com. This will be slower than fetching the files from your local network or Intranet.

• If you select the Other URL option, the browser will look for the applet files at the URL you specify. This is the option you should use if you place a copy of the "applets" sub-directory on a server on your Intranet or local-area network but put the TeamFlow-generated HTML files in another location or locations.

The Cost/Schedule data in my HTML output is wrong.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

To avoid this problem, make sure you have Tags assigned to every team member and process element in your model. Team members and process elements which do not have a Tag are handled incorrectly by the in-browser Java viewer.

To assign tags to all team members and process elements, use the Assign Team Tags item on the Team menu and the Assign Process Tags item on the Process menu.

If I turn on the Print in Color switch in the Page Setup window it keeps getting reset whenever I restart TeamFlow.

A problem in the original release of TeamFlow 7 prevented the Print in Color switch, if set from the Page Setup window, from being recorded in the list of user preferences. If you change the state of the Print in Color switch from the Preferences window, its new state is properly recorded.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

TeamFlow 7 supports Microsoft Access and SQL Server 7 databases. My company uses Oracle 8. Can we use TeamFlow with Oracle?

TeamFlow 7 provides support for Oracle 8i^® on an undocumented test basis. This feature has not been tested as well as the other database support products. We strongly recommend you either do not use Oracle for production TeamFlow work or thoroughly test the system prior to committing valuable production work to it.

My web browser reports a Java error when I try to look at a deployment flowchart created by TeamFlow 7.

There are two known problems which might cause this error. First, it will occur if the Title of your deployment flowchart contains one or more blank lines. The problem may be averted by removing all such blank lines from worksheet titles.

The second cause is if you are using a font whose name ("Arial", "Times", "Helvetica") contains less than five (5) characters. A work-around is to change your font usage – Team, Process, Header, and Footer – to use fonts which have five or more characters in their names.

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

I have a model with several hundred sub-level worksheets. When I moved it to a SQL database it takes a very long time to print all the worksheets. What is wrong?

This problem in TeamFlow 7 is fixed in TeamFlow Version 8.

I built a TeamFlow model with attached documents. I sent it to a colleague, but his copy can't find the documents. Why?

When you attach a document to a process step, TeamFlow remembers the full path to the document. For example, C:\My Documents\AttachMe.txt. If you package the TeamFlow model and the attached documents and send it to a colleague, the model still points to the original document, even though the document has been moved to wherever your colleague put it on his system.

To avoid this problem, do two things:

1. When you ship your model to a colleague, be sure all the attached documents are in the same directory as the .TML file, or in a sub-directory of that directory.

2. From the TeamFlow Preferences window, make sure the LOOK FOR MISSING DOCUMENTS WITH .TML switch is checked.

This feature is useful if you wish to ship a TeamFlow model and its associated documentation to a colleague, perhaps via E-mail. If all the files end up in the same directory, TeamFlow will be able to correctly re-associate documents with their process elements if this switch is set. With it on, TeamFlow looks in the main directory and in all subdirectories of that directory.

When I paste process elements into a new model, it doesn't recognize the team members I already have there. How can I get it to do this?

TeamFlow does not identify team members by their name or title. It uses the tag field, which it assumes is unique for every team member. When pasting process elements from one model to another, it scans the tags of the org chart members to see if it finds a match. Pasted team members for whom no matching tag can be found are added to the org chart under the heading "Pasted Team Member".

To prevent this, identify all team members by assigning each one a unique tag string using one of the options in the Assign Team Tags window which is available from the Team menu. Now when you integrate two models, TeamFlow can accurately identify the team members in the receiving model and assign the work accordingly.

Is it possible to specify the path to an Associated Document relative to the TML file?

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 2 introduces a previously-undocumented feature which allows you to specify relative paths for documents attached to process elements. Using the Documents tab on the Process Element Information window, click the Edit button. You may manually enter the relative path in the File: field. The path will be considered relative to the TML file.

Can I specify the color of individual process flow arrows?

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 2 introduces a previously-undocumented feature which allows you to specify the color of arrows on the critical path, defined as the path of zero total float. This feature is available by clicking the Color button on the Schedule tab of the Preferences window.

Can I zoom the image drawn by the TeamFlow Viewer?

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 2 introduces a previously-undocumented feature which allows you to Zoom the image in the Viewer. To access this feature, click the View button at the top of the Viewer window in your web browser and select the desired scale from the pop-up window. The scale selected here has no effect on the scale chosen when printing the deployment flowchart.

Are TeamFlow Version 9 files readable by TeamFlow MP?

TeamFlow 9 Service Pack 1 brings TeamFlow 9 to a level of compatability with TeamFlow MP 9.1. TML files written by TeamFlow 9 SP 1 or later will be readable by TeamFlow MP 9.1. Minor incompatabilities in how the two underlying systems treat Fonts will influence the precise compatability. TML files written by TeamFlow MP 9.1 will not contain features unsupported in that program, most notably Cost/Schedule information. While we expect future releases of both products to be more and more compatable, no guarantee of such compatability is assured, nor is any schedule of such compatability implied.

How do I add TeamFlow Deployment Flowcharts to my Web Page?

TeamFlow has the ability to create HTML files of TeamFlow deployment flowcharts, including all detail levels and documents, that can be viewed by anyone using a modern web browser. This is not just a static image that you cut and paste into a word processor, but a live TeamFlow chart that can be explored. And best of all, since it is a Java viewer, it is not machine specific: Macintosh, Windows and even UNIX machines can use the Java viewer to explore a TeamFlow deployment flowchart.

Here is how you use the new Java Viewer for TeamFlow:

1. Create a deployment flowchart using TeamFlow.

2. From the File menu, select Create HTML File. TeamFlow will save the deployment flowchart as an HTML file in any location you choose -- on the local hard drive or directly to an FTP Server.

3. Anyone with a web browser views the HTML file. They will see the actual deployment flowchart. If they click on a Team Member or a process element the information window will open for viewing. The person viewing the chart will be able to move around and view all aspects of the chart, including all detail levels. If they click on a document icon, they will see a list of all the documents attached to the model. If these documents are stored as a URL it will show up as a hyperlink that can be clicked on. The web browser will open a new window and display the document.

How do I paste the deployment flowchart or Gantt chart into other applications?

TeamFlow lets you copy the deployment flowchart or Gantt bar chart image to the system clipboard and from there you can paste it into any application which can receive graphic information. Most desktop publishing applications provide a Paste function that will copy an image from the clipboard into the document being edited. This allows you to include TeamFlow worksheets in reports, mail files, or compound documents.

You should always use TrueType^™ fonts in TeamFlow models. Non-TrueType fonts do not scale well enough to be useful in TeamFlow models which are going to be printed at a reduced scale or copied into other applications. All default fonts in TeamFlow – Team, Process, Header, and Footer – default to TrueType fonts.

Copy the deployment flowchart or Gantt chart image to the clipboard using the Copy Image command on the Edit menu. You may copy the entire image or break it up into multiple images if the entire image is too large to fit in your target document. For example, if you select a frame size of 7.5” by 10” for a deployment flowchart which is 12” wide by 15” tall, the image will be divided into four frames. You will copy each frame to its target individually.

If the application into which you Paste the image copied by this command supports Frames, you should create a frame in the receiving document, and then paste the TeamFlow image into the frame. This will allow you much more control over resizing and positioning the image than if you paste it directly into a document. Most text-and-graphics processing applications such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint support Frames.

How do I Print the Team Field on each page?

In the PRINT options window turn the TILE OUTPUT switch off. This will print the Team Field at the top of each page. When printing a large flowchart in this manner, TeamFlow will always print across and then down. It does not affect the printing of whatever HEADER or FOOTER you have chosen.

How do I print page numbers in the form "Page x of y"?

In the Page Setup window select Print Footer. Select Page Number and enter the number of the First Page. Then select Page ... of [auto] Pages. This will print page numbers in the footer on each pages in the form "Page 1 of 10." TeamFlow will automatically calculate the total number of pages for you or you may manually enter the number to be used.

How do I print a Gantt chart with all the process elements in my model?

From the Print options window select Print Gantt Chart and select Show Detail Work. TeamFlow will expand the Gantt chart to show all the detail under any summary task on the Gantt Chart. If you are on the top level worksheet you will get a printout of every process element in your model. This can be helpful in the planning stages when you need to see the entire schedule of events.

How do I show the Tag Number with the Process Titles?

From the Preferences window select PREPEND TAGS TO PROCESS ELEMENT TITLES. With this option selected the tag numbers will show both on screen and will be printed on the flowchart.

TeamFlow can assign tags to all process titles in your model (or only to those which have no tag already assigned) in one of four schemes: sequential (1, 2, 3, ...), indexed (1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, ...), random, or based on the title of the process element or team member. From the Process menu choose ASSIGN PROCESS TAGS. Optional "Force Tags to be Unique" switches will guarantee that all process elements or all team members in your model are assigned unique tags. (It is possible to do this manually if you choose to do so.)

How do I highlight the Critical Path on my schedule?

Identify critical activities easily by turning on the switch in the Preferences window. Select HIGHLIGHT CRITICAL PATH to cause the process flow arrows that indicate the critical path to be displayed as blue lines. The critical path is defined as the chain of process elements running from the start date of the project to the finish date of the project which have a calculated Total Float of zero (0). The critical path is redetermined every time the Scheduler reschedules the project.

How do I create a TeamFlow schedule in elapsed days or hours?

TeamFlow has the ability to schedule your project with actual dates or in elapsed time in any unit you select from seconds to years.

From the TeamFlow Preferences window, check the Use Elapsed Scheduling switch. Then select Calendar on the Schedule menu and select the unit of time in which you want to schedule your project. You can enter a conversion factor to convert from one unit to another.

How do I link, attach, or associate more information with a work step?

TeamFlow displays a document list icon for a process element (or workstep) to which you have linked a file or document. You may link any number of documents or files to any work step that you choose. When you do so, a document list icon appears to the right of the process element possessing linked documents. Clicking on the document icon and selecting an item in the linked list will start the application associated with the linked file and make the information available to the user. Open a sample worksheet and note how the document icon is present indicating additional information about the process element is available.

How do I add a detail-level flowchart for a meeting?

The ability to assign a detail-level TeamFlow worksheet to any Task on your deployment flowchart has been extended to all five basic process element types. Now you can detail the process of reaching a decision, drafting a report, or determining if the phase-exit criteria have been met for a Milestone.

How do I print a separate Schedule for each member of my Team?

TeamFlow lets you view your project's Gantt Chart organized by Team member. Simply select the "Team Schedule" option from the Schedule menu.

To print this summary team schedule showing each member's involvement together on a single Gantt Chart, select the "Print Team Schedule" option on the Print Options window. Be sure the "Eject on every Team member" option is not selected.

To print a separate Gantt Chart for each member of your Team, showing that member's involvement throughout the project, select the "Print Team Schedule" option on the Print Options window. Select the "Eject on every Team member" option.

How do I print Summary Cost Curves for my project?

Print out a time-based graphic which shows the total Budget and Actual costs for every day in your project schedule by selecting the "Print Cost Curves" option on the Print Options window. These curves show at a glance if your project is on track or falling behind. You may also copy this data to the clipboard and paste it into your favorite spreadsheet for further analysis.

We just had a team member leave the team. How do I automatically reassign all that person's project responsibilities to another team member?

When one team member takes over the responsibilities of another team member, you no longer have to find every instance of the previous member and manually reassign each piece to the new member. TeamFlow will automatically do the searching and reassigning for you. Just perform one simple shift-drag mouse operation:

1. Open the org chart so you can see both the team member who has the responsibilities you want to move and the team member who will receive the responsibilities.

2. Press and hold the shift key on your keyboard. Do not release the shift key until you have released the mouse button.

3. Using the mouse, drag the first team member onto the second team member. You may release the shift key after you have released the mouse button.

The previous team member is free of all responsibilities and may be deleted from the organization chart.

How do I have TeamFlow automatically assign unique tags to each Process Element or Team Member?

TeamFlow can assign tags to all process elements or all team members in your model (or only to those which have no tag already assigned) in one of four schemes:

• sequential (1, 2, 3, ...),
• indexed (1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, ...),
• random, or
• based on the title of the process element or team member.

To assign Process Element tags, choose ASSIGN PROCESS TAGS from the Process menu.

To assign Team Member tags, choose ASSIGN TEAM TAGS from the Team menu.

Optional "Force Tags to be Unique" switches will guarantee that all process elements or all team members in your model are assigned unique tags. (It is possible to do this manually if you choose to do so.)

How do I get information into TeamFlow?

You drag and drop symbols on the worksheet. You enter information about team members or work process symbols in information dialog boxes. Flow arrows are routed by pointing to the start location and dropping on the end location. Associated documents which let you further describe a process step are selected from a list of available documents in your system and added to the linked list for a process step.

You may also cut-and-paste text from word processors or other management tools. You may even cut-and-paste entire deployment flowchart sections from other TeamFlow models.

TeamFlow provides a comprehensive data Import facility which allows you to import cost, schedule, or descriptive text information from other software tools such as spreadsheets.

How do I represent concurrent work steps?

Concurrent work steps may be visually represented by placing the concurrent process elements on the same row in the worksheet.

How do I route the flow arrows?

Point to the start process element segment, click, hold, drag, then drop on the end process element segment. When the mouse pointer passes over a process element segment to which a flow arrow may be routed, a red dashed line appears indicating that a flow arrow may be routed to this point. When you drop on the end process element, the flow arrow is automatically routed.

How do I change the route of the flow arrows?

TeamFlow routes the flow arrows automatically so as to minimize cluttering on the worksheet. The user never has to be bothered with arrow routing as in some flowchart programs.

Is TeamFlow Compatible with Windows Vista?

Who uses TeamFlow?

TeamFlow is used by managers, project leaders, team facilitators, business process engineering practitioners, meeting planners, teachers, and consultants. They use it to chart, visualize, document, manage, direct, and communicate team-based work activities. Many users find TeamFlow is an excellent "front-end" process definition tool for an ever growing number of business process engineering applications.

What are some application areas where TeamFlow is used?

Work Process Management

TeamFlow's most prevalent use is in busines process reengineering.

Work Flow Process Definition

TeamFlow provides a front end people and process view for work flow applications.

Work Group Application Integration

Team-based projects requiring various groupware applications use TeamFlow document management for functional application integration.

Team-Based Project Management

TeamFlow's organization, deployment, and Gantt charts can be used as an overview of project management or coupled with project managers for resource views.

Document Management

Team-based project-oriented document management can be accomplished using the TeamFlow document manager.

TQM and ISO 9000 Certification Projects

You can use TeamFlow to chart work processes, document work procedures, and identifu areas for improvement.

Meeting Facilitation

Teamflow's deployment flowchart shows roles, responsibilities and action items. Electronic meetings have a particular need for structured presentation of roles and responsibilities.

Consulting Deliverable Manager

Team-based consulting projects indicating deliverables with roles and responsibilities clearly delineated.

Work Process Definition for Simulation

Front end people and process view for simulating work flow.

Team-based Application Development

Roles, responsibilities, and document management for Joint, Rapid, and Prototype application development (JAD, RAD, PAD).

Does TeamFlow support Virtual Teams?

Working in teams requires new processes and new management skills. This is particularly true for virtual teams - teams that cross organizational and geographical boundaries. TeamFlow has features to help those teams working at a distance. It will support communication and work process by allowing teams to read and write TeamFlow flowcharts across the Internet or your own intranet. Databases can be read from an HTTP Server or read and written from an FTP Server, with or without password control. Manage your Virtual Team around the world with full access control, or just post your favorite model to your Web Site using the TeamFlow Java viewer so prospects can look at it using only their web browser. You can also attach Internet-resident documents to your model by URL. The viewer will display the documents in your Web browser.

How does TeamFlow compare to other flowchart programs?

Other flowchart programs only allow you to represent your process as a series of shapes connected by lines. The only information such a simplistic view shows is a sequence of events - the "what" of the project. They cannot readily convey information about who is working on each step, how information flows between team members, budget and schedule information, or what reference documentation is associated with each step.

TeamFlow is based on a management model developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming in the 1960s and 1970s. His goal was to create a way of documenting a process in which the people who were doing the actual work were highlighted. He is reported to have told a colleague, "Work does not do itself." A flowchart which does not prominently display the Team and how they each fit into the overall process flow is only half a picture. TeamFlow shows the entire picture.

TeamFlow is a multi-dimensional deployment flowchart application whose information-rich TeamView worksheet conveys information about who is working on the process, how the team members work together both concurrently and serially, what they are doing, when the various steps should happen, and how the work is to be done. TeamFlow keeps the focus on the team doing the work. No process step can be represented without at least one team member being involved.

It is almost impossible for a general purpose flowcharting application to deal with the multi-dimensional aspects of work managed by TeamFlow. Such flowchart applications simply were not designed to do so. TeamFlow has a unique three-pane TeamView worksheet which allows the user to view and manipulate the org chart, the team-based deployment flowchart, and the Gantt chart for each step of the work process.

TeamFlow has been used by thousands of companies world-wide since 1989.

How does TeamFlow compare to other project managers?

In the context of project management application, TeamFlow is a work process management tool. It gives an excellent team-centered overview of a project. It lets you easily see who is involved in which work steps of a process. TeamFlow does not schedule resources, produce PERT charts, perform load leveling or identify critical paths ... functions expected of project management software. TeamFlow information which is relevant to other applications such as project management software may be exported through dynamic data exchange and made ready for input to another applications. TeamFlow Import/Export capability is implemented through the row-column interface common to most spreadsheets.

Can I have the team going down the side of the worksheet?

No. TeamFlow is designed to have the team at the top. A team which runs vertically would have an implied top-to-bottom order and would convey a sense of hierarchy. A team in which all members are at the same level conveys a sense of collaboration, not hierarchy.

How many TeamFlow worksheet layers can I have?

The number of layers is limited only by the amount of memory in your computer. While it may be theoretically possible to construct a model with thousands of layers, practically speaking, 5 or 6 layers are sufficient to provide minute detail for most practical processes.

What is a deployment flowchart?

A deployment flowchart is a structured row/column means of depicting which members of an organization work together for each work step of a process. The concept was developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming and later refined by Myron Tribus, who gave it the name "deployment flowchart" because it shows how team members are deployed (used) throughout a process.

What do I use TeamFlow for?

TeamFlow is often referred to as a team-based work processor. It is a groupware software application used to document roles and responsibilities for the work process. The resulting worksheet is used to convey to others the specifics about who is involved in which steps of a work process. Each step may be linked to all documentation associated with describing the step...information such as detail work procedures, agendas for a meeting, project management information, etc.

Where does TeamFlow fit into workflow?

TeamFlow serves as the work process definition tool within a larger workflow environment.

Does TeamFlow run on a network?

Yes. TeamFlow users may access documents over a network in such a way that many users may have read-only access to a document concurrently. Only one user may have read-write access to a document at any time.

TeamFlow is also available in a Network version which is licensed by the maximum allowed number of concurrent users.

What will it cost me to upgrade to the next version of TeamFlow?

Registered users of prior TeamFlow desktop versions are charged $89 (US) to upgrade to the latest TeamFlow version.

Network version upgrades cost $85 per-concurrent-user. Please contact CFM Inc. for an exact quote for specific quantities.

What does the TeamFlow License Agreement look like?

Does TeamFlow run under Unix?

No. User demand for a Unix-based TeamFlow implementation has not materialized.

Why should I buy TeamFlow?

Because it can help you and the people you work with or for improve how you work together. TeamFlow can help you see innovative ways of changing how you work together. TeamFlow can help your entire organization become more effective and productive.

How does TeamFlow work with other applications like project managers?

If the other application can interface with a database such as Microsoft Access^®, SQL Server 7^®, or Oracle 8i^®, you may elect to keep your TeamFlow model data in that database.

TeamFlow also can use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for importing and exporting cost, schedule, and text information to and from the row/column format used by many applications such as spreadsheets.

Where does TeamFlow fit into BPR?

TeamFlow serves the entire area of BPR as a process definition tool. Whatever the business process, TeamFlow can be used to describe it and convey information to others.