Figure 1: The 4339-DR Training Calendar Visual displaying both events and the tooltip popup with additional customizable information

Project Management is the practice of initiating, planning, executing, coordinating and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals within a specified timeframe. The Puerto Rico Joint Recovery Office (JRO) needed a calendar tool that allowed for project management interactivity that extended beyond Microsoft Outlook’s basic calendar capabilities. The PR JRO leveraged the “Calendar Application” developed by MAQ software within Power BI to create a training schedule. The interactive application allows users to aggregate information from Microsoft Outlook calendar to various levels of fidelity, track meetings by category, record task hours and accomplishments, highlight deadlines, and offer other tooltips as a collaborative calendar visual. The tooltip function makes the visuals easier to view and are key to why this software was a better option than Outlook and SharePoint calendars to meet the training needs of the JRO.

The Puerto Rico JRO is using the Power BI Calendar application to track all relevant trainings that are offered locally. The Deployment Tracking System (DTS) records trainings for Position Task Books (PTBs), however, there are also elements of training progress that DTS does not track, such as non-FQS trainings and Supervisory trainings that are held locally. The Puerto Rico JRO used the MAQ Calendar Application within Power BI to develop a one stop shop for all trainings that are offered at local facilities, whether they are in DTS or not. MAQ’s Calendar Application can be adjusted and formatted for font, color, legend, etc. depending on the type and time of the training being offered. Additionally, the Calendar Application records historical information on training events that may have already taken place, along with event details such as rooms booked, student attendance, class capacity, type of training, etc. This level of record keeping is extremely useful, especially from a logistics and planning perspective. Between the user-friendly tooltip options and detailed formatting features, the Power BI Calendar Application by MAQ software can be customized to meet the needs of a project team.

[For step-by-step instructions on how to use the Power BI Calendar application by MAQ Software, continue to the Analytics Hub]