Start Guide | Projects

Overview

Responsive is a cloud-based software that automates and streamlines the process of responding to proposals. In this article you will learn how to use in-app features to complete a project from start to finish.

Creating Projects

1. Login to Responsive with valid credentials. The My Work page will be displayed as shown below:

 

2. You can begin by inviting team members. Click Invite Team Members.

The Add New Members pop-up screen will be displayed.

3. Enter the required details and click INVITE.
4. Adding users will display a success message.

Note: If a previously added user is added, system will display an error message. You can add only one user per line.

5. Click Create Projects. Alternatively, click Projects icon from the left navigation pane.

6. The Create Project page will be displayed.

7. Enter the details and click CREATE. The SECTIONS page of project will be displayed.

 

Adding Sections and Importing Files

You can add contents to the project by one of the following methods:

• Add a Section
• Add Multiple Sections
• Add from Template
• Import Files

Adding Sections

To add sections, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click ADD displayed under Add a Section section.

2. The Add a Section page will be displayed as shown below:

3. Enter a name for the section.
4. Enter name of the author.

Tip: The names will be auto-suggested with the names added as Team Members.

5. Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. The Select Authors screen will be displayed.

6. You can search for users from the Search Users text box. Click the down arrow to display search options including Dictionary Name, Category, Keyword, Tags, Exclude Tags, Business Unit, Role and Status. (You must have enabled the SME Dictionary to use this feature.)

 

6. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them. Click SUBMIT.

The authors added will be displayed as shown below:

  

8. Next, click ADD REVIEWER to add reviewers.

The section will be expanded as shown below:

  

9. Select the Review Process.
10. Select Help me choose reviewers to search for reviewers.
11. To queue email notification, select the associated checkbox.
12. Click SAVE.

Adding Multiple Sections

To add multiple sections, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click ADD from Add Multiple Sections section.

The Add Multiple Sections page will be displayed.

2. Specify the name of sections. Each section name can be entered in a new line.
3. Enter name of the author.

Tip: The names will be auto-suggested with the names added as Team Members.

4. Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. The Select Authors screen will be displayed.

You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them.

5. Click SUBMIT.

The authors added will be displayed as shown below:

  

7. Next, click ADD REVIEWER to add reviewers.

The section will be expanded as shown below:

  

8. Select the Review Process.
9. Add reviewers
10. To queue email notification, select the associated check-box.
11. Click SAVE.

 

Adding from Templates

If you have added any section templates in the Responsive app, you can browse and select the required template.

To add template, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click BROWSE TEMPLATE from Add from Template section.

The Import Sections from Template page will be displayed. 

2. Select the required templates and click NEXT.

A screen as shown below will be displayed:

3. Make the required selections and click IMPORT.

The selected sections will be imported into the project. 

Importing Files

The Import Files option enables directly uploading files to the Responsive application. You can upload files in the formats .docx, .xlsx, .xls, and PDF from your computer drive, Google drive, Dropbox, or Box.

To import files, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click IMPORT FILES from Import Files section.

The Import page will be displayed as shown below:

  

2. You can either import the standard template or can browse and upload RFP file. 

Standard Template

3. You can upload your questionnaire using Responsive ’s standard template. You can download the Responsive's default template and modify the file with your questions. 

Advanced Configuration

4. To upload any file (MS Word, Excel, or PDF) , click CHOOSE FILE from Advanced Configuration

The Import File screen will be displayed as shown below:

5. Click ADD FILES.
6. Browse and select the file. The MS word file will be imported and displayed as shown below:

 

Configuring Files

Configuring an MS Word File

To configure a DOCX file, you can follow the steps below:

1. After import, click on the file content.

The More Options pane will be enabled.

2. Mark the contents as SECTION, SUB-SECTION, etc.

3. If there are any tables, you can mark the table properties.
   • Select the table.
   • TABLE PROPERTIES will be displayed in the Mark Options pane. Click TABLE PROPERTIES.
   • The Table Properties pop-up will be displayed. You can configure the sections, sub-sections (up to level 5), questions, sub-questions (up to level 5), answer, question number, answer, split text, merge, etc.

3. • Click Save.

4. Click SAVE and then IMPORT.

The configured sections will be displayed as shown:

Tip: Before saving and importing, you can preview the configuration by clicking PREVIEW.    The imported sections will be displayed as shown below:

  

Configuring an MS Excel File

To configure a XLSX or XLS file, you can follow the steps below:

1. After import, click on the file content. The More Options pane will be enabled.

If the sheet has no questionnaire, you can ignore the sheet by selecting Ignore this Worksheet. 

2. Mark the contents as HEADER ROW, SECTION, SUB SECTION, and more. 

Configuring Header Rows

3. You can ignore the rows which will not be helpful in responding to the RFP by marking the row as the HEADER ROWS. The rows above the header row will be excluded.

  

Configure Sections

4. Click the section title and map with SECTION from the left pane. The title will be displayed with an S indicator.

If the Section title is not present in the worksheet cells, worksheet name will be taken as the section title. 

Auto-Identify Sections

5. You can also use AUTO IDENTIFY SECTIONS option, such that the system automatically maps the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sections only when the section has a unique style.

 

6. Select the sections and click APPLY.

7. In a similar way, you can configure Sub Sections. 

Configure Questions

8. Select a question and map with QUESTION. An indicator Q will be displayed.

 

Auto-Identify Questions

9. AUTO IDENTIFY QUESTIONS option can be used such that the system will automatically map titles with questions. The system will auto-identify questions only when the question has a unique style.

10. Select the questions and click APPLY.

 

11. In a similar way, you can configure Sub questions.  

Configure Question Number

12. Click the column which has a question number and map it to QUESTION NUMBER. The indicator will be shown as N.

   

Configure Tags

If there are several categories/departments that have questions, the category/department can be considered as tags, which will help you to filter questions.

13. Click the category/department and map it as tags. The whole column will be considered as tags.

 

Configure Answers

14. Click the response column and then select ANSWER from the left pane. The column will be selected for Response with an indicator You can also edit the answer header.  

Radio/Drop Down Answer Type

15. To respond to a question with multiple options in a column (for example, if a question has answer choices YES, NO, or NA, etc.), you can select radio/drop-down as an answer type.

  

16. Choose the answer type from the drop-down, add answer options and then click SAVE.

 

Click ADD OPTIONS to add options.

Provide the values.

Save the Answer Type.

In a similar way, you can configure other answer types.

Note: Questions and Answers can be mapped into the same cell while importing. For example, in the below screenshot both Question and Answer are mapped in the column B: Read How to Import Excel Questionnaire to a Project for more details.

17. If the sheet has similar sections and questions as in other worksheets, apply the same configuration by clicking APPLY TO OTHER SHEETS.

 

18. Select the sheets and then click APPLY.

 

19. Once the configuration is complete, click SAVE and then IMPORT.

Tip: Before saving and importing, you can preview the configuration by clicking PREVIEW.

 

Adding Questions to a Section

Once the sections are created, you can add more questions to a section.

1. Click on a Section.

 

2. Click Question tab and select Add Question.
3. The Add Questions pop-up will be displayed. Enter the question and select the Answer Type.

4. Click ADD.

Tip: You can assign authors by entering the author names or can search and add authors.

 

Assigning Authors and Reviewers

Once the sections are created, you can assign authors and reviewers to the section.

Assigning Authors

1. From the SECTIONS tab of the project, select sections.
2. Click EDIT and select Assign Authors.

The Assign Authors pop-up will be displayed.  

3. Enter name of the author. The names will be auto-suggested with the names added as Team Members.

4. Alternatively, click Help me choose authors. The Select Authors screen will be displayed.

5. You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them.
6. Click SUBMIT. The authors will be added.

Tip: Existing authors can be removed and section can be reassigned to other team members.

7. You can add a due date for the author to respond to the section. Click DUE DATE.

 

8. Select the due date.

You can remove the due date by clicking REMOVE DUE DATE.

9. Enter a message for the author.
10. To track this message in section comments, select the associated check-box.
11. Click ASSIGN AND SEND NOTIFICATION to assign authors and sent instant notification.
12. Click ASSIGN AND QUEUE NOTIFICATION to assign authors and queue notification. You can send the queued notification at a later point in time. While queuing notification, you can add a message to be sent to the user.

Assigning Reviewers

1. From the SECTIONS tab of the project, select sections.
2. Click EDIT and select Assign Reviewers.

The Assign Reviewers pop-up will be displayed.

3. Enter name of the reviewer. The names will be auto-suggested with the names added as Team Members.

4. Alternatively, click Help me choose reviewers. The Select Reviewers screen will be displayed.

5. You can search for users from the Search Users text box. To add users, select the checkbox associated with them.
6. Click SUBMIT. The reviewers will be added.

Tip: Existing reviewers can be removed and sections can be reassigned to other team members.

7. You can add a due date for the reviewer to review the section. Click DUE DATE.

8. Select the due date.

You can remove the due date by clicking REMOVE DUE DATE.

9. Enter a message for the reviewer.
10. To track this message in section comments, select the associated check-box.
11. Click ASSIGN AND SEND NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and send instant notification.
12. Click ASSIGN AND QUEUE NOTIFICATION to assign reviewers and queue notification. You can send the queued notification at a later point in time.

Responding to Questions

Once authors are assigned and notification sent, the users assigned as authors will receive notification mail in their registered email address.

To respond to questions, you can follow the steps below:

1. From the email, click RESPOND TO QUESTION.

 

2. You will be navigated to the Responsive application login page. Login with your valid credentials.

The assigned section will be displayed as shown below:

3. Click on a question to respond to it. Recommendations would be displayed on the right-side pane as shown below:

4. To apply a recommended answer, click Apply Answer  icon.
5. You can also search for recommendation from the search text-box.

6. Alternatively, you can type in the answer and respond to questions.
7. Click SAVE AND NEXT to navigate to the next question. 
8. Once all questions are answered and there are no reviewers, click COMPLETE SECTION.

Alert! When there are multiple authors assigned for a section, if any of the authors tries to complete the section while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions. If you attempt to complete the section, an alert message with the count of unanswered questions will be displayed.

Once the section is completed, the status of the section changes from in progress to completed and will be displayed as shown below:

You can also view the green tick icon near the user avatar, indicating which user completed the section.

9. If reviewers are assigned for the section, instead of COMPLETE SECTION, the option SUBMIT FOR REVIEW will be displayed.

10. Click SUBMIT FOR REVIEW. A success message will be displayed on successfully submitting for review.

  

Once the section is submitted for review, the status of the section changes from In Progress to Pending Review and will be displayed as shown below: 

 

A green tick icon is displayed near the user avatar, indicating which user submitted the section for review. 

11. Successfully submitting for review will trigger an email notification to the reviewers.

  

12. Click REVIEW SECTION. You will be navigated to the application.
13. Click on a question.

  

14. Once the answer is reviewed, click MARK AS REVIEWED.
15. Once all questions have been reviewed, click COMPLETE REVIEW. A success message will be displayed on successfully completing the review.
16. When the section is marked as complete after review, the status of the section changes from Pending Review to Completed and will be displayed as shown below:

 

17. You can also view the green tick icon near the user avatar, indicating which user completed the section. 

Alert! When there are multiple reviewers assigned for a section, if any of the reviewers tries to submit the section for review while others are working on their assigned questions, an alert is displayed to inform about the unanswered questions. If you attempt to submit the section for review, an alert message with the count of unanswered questions will be displayed.

 

More Actions at Question Level

• Clarification: You can add clarification on questions by clicking the Clarifications icon associated with the question and then adding the post in the Clarifications pane.

• Comments: You can add comments on questions by clicking the Comments icon associated with the question and then adding the comment in the Comments You can send message to a specific user by entering @username or to the entire team by entering @team.

• Flag for Follow-up: To enable flag, click the flag icon. For details on flag color coding, you can refer to Color Code for Flags.

• Viewing Authors: If there are multiple authors for a section, to view the other authors click the  icon. The assigned authors for the section will be displayed.

If the section has only one author, the author’s initials will be displayed.

• Activities: To view the activities associated with a question, click More Options icon > Activities. The activities will be displayed as shown:

• Tasks: To view the tasks associated with a question, click More Options icon > Tasks. The tasks will be displayed as shown:

• Project Notes: To view or add project notes with a question, click More Options icon > Project Notes. The Project Notes will be displayed as shown:

• Merge Tags: To view or add merge tags with a question, click More Options icon > Merge Tags. The Merge Tags section will be displayed as shown:

You can add the required tags by clicking on the respective tabs. Copy the tag name from the right-side pane and paste in the response area. Values for merge tags can be specified from View > Merge Tags. 

• Save in Answer Library: To save the responses in answer library, turn on the toggle switch associated with Save in Answer Library.
• Attachments: To add any attachment to the response, click Attach Files  icon.

 

You can browse and attach files from PROJECT DOCS, DOCUMENT LIBRARY, and LOCAL COMPUTER. 

• Answer Library Settings: To view/modify Answer Library Settings, click on the icon.

The Update Answer Library Setting pop-up will be displayed. Make the required selections and click SAVE.

 

• Answer Library Used: If the response is applied from the Answer Library the  icon will be displayed along with the question.

More Actions from Sections

For each section, the section author can view/modify the following:

• Properties: Clicking View Properties, will display the section properties:

• Section Comments: By clicking Section Comments you can view any section comments as well as can add new comments.

 

Alert! While adding new comments, if an attempt is made to send message to a non-team member, an alert message will be displayed seeking permission to add the user to the project team.

• All Questions: Clicking Expand All Questions will allow you to view all questions along with its answers in an expanded form.

• Merge Tags: Clicking Merge Tags allows you to view any tags added. Tags added while responding to questions will be displayed here. Using merge tags, you can fill in values that you want to appear in RFP for the tags. You can also add new tags if required.

• Source File: You can view the source file by clicking View Source File. 

• Editing Section: Section authors can attach files to the questions in the section, by clicking Edit > Attach files. The Attach Files section will be displayed.

  

You can browse and attach files from PROJECT DOCUMENTS, DOCUMENT LIBRARY, and your computer. 

• Question: You can view/answer questions by clicking Question > Answer Questions.

You can select the question to be modified. Click NEXT after selecting a question. You can modify the Response and Answer Flag, and save the modifications.

  

• Filtering Questions: You can filter and view questions from Filtered tab. You can perform an advanced filter and view questions.

 

Exporting Responses (By Project Creator)

Once the responses are complete and sections are reviewed, the responses can be exported to a template or the source file.

Permission: Only the Project Creator can export the responses.

 

Tip: Export can be done only in DOCX and XLSX formats.

To export responses, you can follow the steps below:

1. From your project’s page, click MENU from the top right corner.
2. Select Export Responses.

3. The Export Responses page will be displayed. Click GENERATE NEW.

The Generate New Export Responses pop-up will be displayed.

You can export the responses to the source file as well as to a template. 

Tips: View the file by its section or by imported file. Select sections to be imported by selecting the associated check-box. To export any section to table, select the checkbox associated with Export in Table. Select if to include/exclude attachments. Select if to include/exclude project report.

 

Exporting in Source

After making the required selections, to export the responses to the source file, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click EXPORT IN SOURCE.

2. Select All Answers or Selected Answers.
3. You can export in Application Font, Source Font (Normal Style) or can Select Font (supported by the application). Select the required options.
4. If Select Font is selected, specify the font family, size, and background, foreground color.

Note: You can select the foreground and background color by:

• Specifying the Hex code

 

• Specifying the RGB (R, G, B) values

• Clicking on the desired color

5. Click EXPORT. A success message will be displayed as shown:

  

6. The exported package will be displayed as shown. To download the file, click DOWNLOAD.

  

7. The exported file will be downloaded to your computer.

Tip: You can change the export package name by clicking edit icon near the package name. You can view the export configuration by clicking View Export Configuration  icon.

 

Exporting to Template

After making the required selections, to export the responses to a template, you can follow the steps below:

1. Click EXPORT IN TEMPLATE. A page as shown below will be displayed:

2. Select the default template.
3. Alternatively, add a new template by clicking Create New Template icon. A page as shown below will be displayed.

4. Enter a name for the template.
5. Click CHOOSE FILE and upload the template. The page will be elaborated as shown below:

6. Define styles for Section and click SAVE. The newly added template will be selected.

7. Click NEXT. A page as shown below will be displayed:

8. Select All Answers or Selected Answers.
9. You can export in Application Font, or in Template Font.
10. Click EXPORT.
11. A success message will be displayed as shown:

 

  

12. The exported package will be displayed as shown. To download the file, click DOWNLOAD.

13. The exported file will be downloaded to your computer.

Tip: You can change the export package name by clicking edit icon near the package name. You can view the export configuration by clicking View Export Configuration  icon.