Though for some setting up a project can be straight-forward for many it can also be one of the more challenging stages of project management with a vast array of information becoming known and refined during the course of multiple meetings and conversations. As a result we have designed HORIZON PPM to be as flexible as possible providing project managers with the flexibility to incrementally define the project in an order that suits them.


There are only two foundation steps to get a project set-up - and one of these is optional.


1. Add/Update an Organisation (Optional Step)

Note: This step can be skipped if the client organisation has already been set-up.


Every project needs to be associated with a client organisation. The client organisation is often the same as the supplier when projects are being delivered as part of an internal initiative. In our example Oracle Financials Cloud Migration project the client organisation is the fictional Northwich Insurance organisation. A number of the project team are also members of this organisation.


Tip: An organisation does not have to be a set as a company, but can be at any level you desire, so for example it could be The Marketing Department or some other smaller unit that makes sense for your scenario.


See the Adding an Organisation section for more details.


2. Add a New Project (Mandatory Step)

The option to create a New Project is in the left hand navigation page and accessible from any page.


The Add Project form has 5 mandatory fields and 2 further optional fields.

Tip: All of these fields can be changed later if required.



These form fields are...

  • Name. Every project needs a name. 

Note: This name is visible to all participants in the project - including any external clients or partners you provide access to. 

  • Client. This client's organisation. It may be the name of your own organisation if this is an internal project. The drop down list includes any organisations you have created yourself or any organisations accessible to you through other projects you are a member of. 
  • Project Start. Every project needs a start date. The system defaults this to the current day, but it can be any date in the past or the future and can include any weekend or public holiday.

Note: The Project Start is used in calculations in % Working Time Remaining dashboard widget on the Project Home  and Scheduled & Events pages. 

  • Project Operational Target. An optional field to indicate the target date the project should be operational. This is not the project closure date which typically follows later.

Note: The Project Operational Target is used in calculations in all of the dashboard widget on the Project Home  and Scheduled & Events pages.

  • Project Phase. HORIZON PPM provides the following options to track the phases projects within a portfolio...
    • Pipeline
    • Definition
    • Delivery
    • Transition
    • Closure
    • Complete
    • Cancelled

The system defaults new projects to the Delivery phase.

  • Project Status. HORIZON PPM provides the following options to track the overall status of projects within a portfolio...
    • Queued
    • Active
    • Paused
    • Complete
    • Cancelled

The system defaults new projects to the Active status.

  • Tags. The second optional field to add tags to a project. To add a tag type the word or words and press the return key (this may be a go button or similar in the virtual keyboard on a mobile device). The system then highlights the new tag in blue but doesn't submit the form allowing additional tags to be added.

Note: Tags are a powerful feature allowing easy identification and access to common items across the projects and portfolios. See the Tag Search page for more details.




On creation the system will redirect to Project Home of the new project and you can start to use it straight away.


A few additional fixed fields and some more optional fields are also added to the project at this stage. Details on these can be found on the Update Project page.

3. Next Steps (Optional)


As mentioned above, the ways projects are started can vary widely so as HORIZON PPM doesn't mandate what you have to do we have provider some pointers to common elements you will probably need...