Falcon for users

Get to know the basics of Falcon and the need-to-know stuff any user should know

Moritz Mußmann avatar
Written by Moritz Mußmann
Updated over a week ago

We will explain the most important functions of Falcon here, so that the first steps will be as smooth as can be.


Join your Falcon Hub

Falcon invites you simply by e-mail and you can also register directly from the e-mail. Just follow these simple steps:

  • Look for an email from Falcon. Modern mail providers like Gmail classify the email as "notification".

  • Login to Falcon with your confirmed email address and your assigned password.

  • Then change your password in your user profile.

  • If you want to log in comfortably and without re-entering your password, tick the box "Stay logged in" in the login window.

Of course, it sometimes happens that you forget your password after all. But that is not a problem. If you want to login via www.nordan.tech and you have forgotten your password you just need to click on the link "Forgot your password? (at the bottom right of the log-in window) to reset your password at any time.


Create your user profile

Of course you can also manage your personal user profile. The settings icon in the bottom left corner of the window will take you to your user account, where you can enter your personal details, change your password and choose between English and German languages. You can also choose whether you want to receive a short weekly summary of your projects and activities by e-mail. To do this, simply click on the "Email reports" button.

You can find more information about the user account here


The whole project at a glance

With Falcon we want to give you a simple overview of your projects. Your personal dashboard serves this purpose first and foremost. From this dashboard you can see how your projects are doing and what activities you have planned. You can read more about this in the category "Your Dashboard" and further down in this text.

With a click on "projects" at the top left of your sidebar, you get to the actual project. At first you will surely notice the project tree. There are four levels in the project tree:

  • Level 1: Program.

  • Level 2: Project.

  • Level 3: Measure package.

  • Level 4: Measure.

Projects are aggregated to so called "Programs". In Falcon, you primarily "work" at the level of measures. Projects and measure packages serve the purpose of aggregation. The small plus and minus symbols in the tree allow you to open and close the project as you wish. Select a desired level by clicking on it with the mouse. 

For measures marked with an star symbol, you bear holistic responsibility. Folder symbols assign you responsibilities for individual activities within a measure.

You can find more information about the Project Structure here


Understand the traffic light system: Green, Yellow & Red

The traffic light system provides information about the progress of the project. The left traffic light stands for the effects and the right traffic light for the activity progress.

  • "Red" means strongly delayed. 

  • "Yellow" means slightly delayed.

  • "Green" means that the elements are on schedule. 

When something in your project changes color depends on the selected settings. Ask your project manager and/or project administrator. Only users with admin permission can set the traffic light limits.

You can find more information about the Traffic Lights here


Your Dashboard

After you login to Falcon, your personal dashboard appears with ...

  • your personal effects history: Here a distinction is made between planned and actual effects. Effects are aggregated from measures in which you are involved and/or for which you are responsible.

  • A bar chart with information about your activities: You can display how many of your activities are delayed and how many are scheduled to start and end in the next 30 days.

  • Your personal effects and activities achievement: These show the results and degree of achievement of the effects or activities for all measures for which you are holistically responsible and also for all measures in which you are involved.

If you keep your mouse over an element longer, Falcon will display additional information and hints in many places, including at the traffic lights. You can also customize your dashboard widgets using drag and drop.


Your Schedule

Perhaps the most important element in Falcon is your personal schedule. This provides an overview of your activities. You can easily see when you have planned which activity. You will find your schedule in the "Your schedule" section of the dashboard and work here according to your needs:

  • You can sort it as you wish by clicking on a desired column. 

  • Filter the Status column according to pending activities (Open).

  • Edit your activities and tick off completed ones!

  • Jump to the activity via a click on the measure (hyperlink) at the end of the line!

You can find more information about Schedule here


Start the project work

Manage Activities

Each measure has its own schedule. The schedule shows you who is doing which activity at what time. Falcon distinguishes between the planned schedule (the columns "Start (Plan)" and "End (Plan)") and the actual schedule (the columns "Start" and "End"). Only project managers and administrators manage the plan.

On the measure level, however, you can specify in the so-called Actual columns (right) when you will probably carry out the activities assigned to you and whether you have already completed an activity. To complete an activity, you can also simply tick the box. Falcon will take care of the rest - especially entering the data.

If you have write permission, you can suggest a new activity: Simply click on the plus symbol above the schedule of an measure and describe an activity in the new line. Before you save it, you need to specify the start and end dates in the Actual columns on the right. In the next step, the project administrator can accept the activity by transferring it to the plan.


Manage Effects

In Falcon you have the possibility to track budgets in addition to the schedule. To do this, you can use the "Effects" area on each tree element. However, you can only make entries at measure level. 

Your project managers and administrators determine what your respective table looks like. The table shown here in the Effects area is divided into the areas:

  • P&L.

  • Balance Sheet/Cash

  • KPIs.

In addition, there is the total column, an aggregation of all temporally entered effects, and the time columns. The effects grid is divided into plan values, actual values and the delta. If you want to enter something, do so in the desired cell under "Actual". Confirm with "Enter" and save. Falcon will immediately automatically calculate a delta and your traffic light will be green (...of course!).

You can find more information about Effects here


Status

In regular intervals, the persons responsible for measures in particular are requested to create a new status report for their measures. In 1,200 characters, progress, problems, and decision needs are reported.

  • In a measure, navigate to the Status tab and familiarize yourself with the overview.

  • Now create your own status report. To do this, click on the plus symbol above the first status report. Here you can use the additional fields to specifically address risks and record decisions.

You have the option of marking particularly important or critical reports. To do this, check the box flag status report. The status is now indicated by a red flag, which is reflected throughout the project tree. If the status is solved, the flag disappears again.

You can find more information about the Status here


Change Hubs

If you are a member of more than one Falcon environment (so-called "Hub"), you can easily change your Hub & associated project landscape by clicking on the planet icon in the left sidebar.

Click on the icon and select the desired Hub or have a look around in the "Manage Hubs" Area. From there you can also create new hubs directly!

You can find more information about the Hub Manager here


Support

For FALCON there are several support ways through which you can get help quickly and easily. Choose the way that suits you best:

  • At the bottom left is a question mark that can be used to open a support chat . This way you can get direct, personal help.

  • Our Help Center link is automatically displayed here as a standard message. This will take you to an online portal with short, clear explanations and videos on all questions: support.nordantech.com

  • We are also happy to receive email enquiries at support@nordantech.com

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