Techniques for organizing spaces

You can organize your spaces hierarchically to provide structure to your Blueworks Live projects and make it easier for team members to navigate. Use the following guidelines to set up your space hierarchy.

Choose one of the following methods to organize your spaces. These methods can also be used in combination with each other at different levels of the space hierarchy.

By Project
Set up your space hierarchy by project. Create a top-level space called Projects, then create a child space for each project. In each project space, create two lower-level spaces, one for current state and the other for future state processes. The current state space provides contributors and viewers a place to see and reference the current state of the process and work within current guidelines. The future state space provides an active place for editors and contributors to work together to create process to represent the future state of the company.
By Organizational Function
Set up your space hierarchy by functional group within your organization. Because many companies are internally structured into functional groups, process discovery is best done using this same structure. One advantage to this method is the ability to structure space participant groups to mirror functional groups in the organization. You can then use space access permissions to restrict access to the artifacts in the space to users who are part of a particular department or function in your company.
By Value Chain
Set up your hierarchy by value chain. Your spaces can be set up to reflect important business functions of your company and shared across the business. Users in different functional groups can see processes and changes across the business by business function. Often the business function can be broken down to lower functions in lower-level spaces.
By APQC Process Classification Framework
Set up your hierarchy to use the taxonomy in this framework. This method organizes the spaces to relate your processes to your specific industry. In addition, if your company chooses to create multiple accounts, this method establishes a common structure across all accounts. Use the APQC numbering and name in the space name. For more information, see the APQC External link opens a new window or tab website.

The following guidelines apply regardless of the method that you use to organize your spaces:
  • Create a sandbox space for users to discover and play with Blueworks Live. Here they can create artifacts and learn about different features without cluttering up other project spaces.
  • Ensure that each new space is given a description and space-level goals. This practice helps new users navigate and understand the type of work that is being done in the space.
  • Designate a space owner and include the owner's contact information in the space description.
  • Use tags. Tagging spaces is an easy way to improve navigation and search in your Blueworks Live account.
  • Set the appropriate space-level user permissions for each space. Child spaces inherit parent level user permissions by default, so be sure to check the user permissions of the child space if you do not want to inherit the parent permissions.