How to create a Pursuit Type

Before you can create a Pursuit, you'll need to have at least one Pursuit Type configured in your QorusDocs Hub. 

Why is this important? Think of a Pursuit Type as a 'template' or 'preset' that QorusDocs relies on whenever you create a new Pursuit.

For instance, you might create a Pursuit Type called 'Strategic Proposals' designed specifically for teams working together on high-priority proposals. In addition, you could have another Pursuit Type named 'SOWs,' tailored for teams focused on delivering professional services.

For each Pursuit Type, you can define key details such as the designated storage location for related documents, the permissions for who can create Pursuits of this type, and the preferred methods for tracking and reporting on these Pursuits.     

This streamlines the process for end users, saving them valuable time when creating new Pursuits while ensuring alignment with your internal business processes. 

Please note that you'll need to belong to the QorusDocs Admin role in order to define a Pursuit Type. 

In this article, we'll explain:  

• Where to go to add a Pursuit Type
• The 'Standard Fields' tab
  • Create Upload Folder
  • Set custom statuses
  • Outcome Based
  • Deadline Based
  • Track Answers
  • Advanced Options
• The 'Smart Fields' tab
• The 'Tabs' tab
• Tip: Copy the Pursuit Create link

Where to go to add a Pursuit Type

Go to Hub Central, and then using the left navigation bar, click on 'Manage', then on 'Pursuit Types', and then on 'Add' to add a new Pursuit Type:

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Pursuit Type options explained

After clicking on 'Add', you'll be presented with the following 'Pursuit Type Create' screen, with the 'Standard Fields' tab open:

Below you'll find an explanation for each of the tabs and options in the above screenshot.

The 'Standard Fields' tab

Title

When users go to the 'Pursuits' menu, they will see a list of different Pursuit Types they can create or view. The 'Title' you provide will appear in the 'Pursuits' menu. For example, in this demo instance of QorusDocs illustrated in the screenshot, we have two Pursuit Types defined, and these are their 'titles':

Connector

The 'Connector' determines where Pursuit documents associated with a Pursuit created from this Pursuit Type will get saved and managed. You can set the 'Connector' to either 'SharePoint Online Library', 'Microsoft Teams', or 'None'.

• If you select 'None', you won't be able to save files to a Pursuit content location. As a result, users won't see the Pursuit content tab in the Pursuit workspace. Choose this option for projects that don't need personalized files and where linked file templates are enough.
• If you select 'Microsoft Teams', you have two options.
  • Option 1 - Select a Team: You can use the new drop-down menu that appears on your screen and that lists all the Microsoft Teams you have access. If you select one of these Teams, this will restrict the saving of Pursuit content to the particular Team. Every time users create a new Pursuit using this Pursuit Type, QorusDocs will automatically create a new channel in the MS Team you specify for the new Pursuit.
  • Option 2 - 'Choose on Pursuit Create': This allows users to select any MS Team they wish when they create a new Pursuit. They are not restricted to a particular Team. This also means that each Pursuit created from this Pursuit Type can be linked to a different Team. 

• If you select 'SharePoint Online Library', a new 'Pursuit Location' field will appear on your screen.

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  • If you would like to restrict where Pursuit content for this Pursuit Type to a specific library, then copy and paste the SharePoint Library URL of that library. Every time users create a new Pursuit using this Pursuit Type, QorusDocs will automatically create a new folder in the SharePoint Online library you specify for the new Pursuit.
  • If you leave this field blank and do not specify a SharePoint Library URL, users creating new Pursuits from this Pursuit Type will be able to pick a SharePoint Online 'save location' instead. 
  • Assuming you'd like to restrict this type of Pursuit to a specific library, the easiest way to get the URL is to open a new tab in your browser, navigate to the SharePoint library and then copy the URL from your browser address bar and simply paste it right here. 

Can Create Pursuits

These are the users or the QorusDocs user groups belonging to the 'Standard User' role on your QorusDocs Hub that you would like to authorize to create new Pursuits using this Pursuit Type. You can either select 'All Users' to leave this open and available to everyone, or you can restrict who can create new Pursuits of this type by selecting 'Custom' and then searching for and adding them in the text below.

Please note that all users belonging to the QorusDocs Admin role can create new Pursuits from any Pursuit Type, so there's no need to list any QorusDocs Admin Users here. You can learn more about user roles and permissions here.

Create upload folder

When creating a Pursuit, users can upload relevant documents, such as RFPs, directly from their local machine to the Pursuits Workspace. This makes it easier to centralize Pursuit-related content for collaboration and reference.

If you would like the uploaded files to go to a specific folder, you can switch on the Create upload folder option (turning the switch orange) and then give the folder a name.

Every time a new Pursuit is created using this Pursuit Type, QorusDocs will create a new folder with that name and save any documents the user chooses to upload upon Pursuit creation to that folder.

Set custom statuses

For each Pursuit Type, you can create a custom set of up to 9 statuses, alongside QorusDocs' default 'Closed' status. This allows you to effectively track the various stages a Pursuit progresses through as part of your business processes.

• Renaming a status (including the 'Open' status)

You can rename any status, except the 'Closed' status which is not editable. To rename a status, click on the name of the status:

In the pop-up window that opens, update the status name using the 'Status name' field. Once you're done, click 'Save status' to confirm your changes:

• Adding a status

• Re-ordering custom statuses

• Delete a status

Outcome Based

While statuses are generally used to keep track of the various 'in-flight' stages of a Pursuit, outcomes are used to keep track of the overall end-result. Keeping track of outcomes is entirely optional. If enabled, users can specify the outcome of a Pursuit once the Pursuit status is 'Closed'.

For example, in business development, after working through the various stages of Proposal Pursuit, you may want to keep track of whether the deal was won, lost, or abandoned. These are all possible outcomes.

In a similar way that you can create custom statuses, you can also define custom outcomes for each Pursuit Type. The first step is to determine whether you would like to track outcomes at all, since this is optional. If the answer is 'yes', then choose 'yes' in the drop-down menu:

After selecting 'yes', you will see a 'Set custom outcomes' field appear on your screen:

This works in exactly the same way as the 'Set custom statuses' field above, in that you can re-order, and delete outcomes here. The only exceptions are the 'Won' and 'Lost' outcomes which are part of the system and are not editable. These are always on top of the list.

The total number of custom outcomes you may define are 8 per Pursuit Type.

Deadline Based

Set this to 'Yes' if Pursuits created from this Pursuit Type should have a 'Due Date' field, which can be used to track progress towards due dates. 

Pursuits that are deadline based have their due dates prominently displayed in QorusDocs and as they become overdue, due dates are displayed in red, making it easy for users to see what they need to handle urgently. 

• If you select 'No', the due date field will not be visible to users. 

• If you select 'Yes, required', users must enter a due date when creating a Pursuit. This helps ensure deadlines are always captured for reporting.

• If you select 'Yes, not required', users will have the option to enter a due date when creating a Pursuit but it will not be mandatory. This allows for some flexibility, especially in situations where users might not have this information when creating the Pursuit but will have it later. They can edit the due date field at any time after creating the Pursuit. 

Track Answers

'Track Answers' works with QorusDocs' AI-enabled Auto Answer. Auto Answer is an AI-based capability used to bulk answer RFP questions, IT Security Questionnaires, or any other vendor questionnaire in Q&A format in Word or Excel. If users will be making use of the Auto Answer feature while working on the Pursuit Type you are defining, it is probably a good idea to turn on 'Track Answers' by choosing 'yes' from the drop-down menu.

When 'Track Answers' is turned on, QorusDocs will add a tab to the Pursuit area, where team members can see the overall completeness of all the questions they have used Auto Answer for across the Pursuit. This will give them an idea of how many answers are in draft, how many have been marked as completed, and how many have not been answered at all. 

Advanced Options

Pursuit Types offer several advanced options to streamline your workflow. While these fields are optional, they can significantly enhance efficiency.

To access these, click on 'Show advanced options':

This will bring up the following options:

• Icon: If you'd like users to see a custom icon for this Pursuit Type in the QorusDocs UI, you can upload your custom icon here. Otherwise, users will see the default QorusDocs orange bullseye icon for this Pursuit Type.
• Description: Here you can provide a description for the type of Pursuit you're creating, as well as other details that might be useful for information purposes later.
• Clone folder structure: If you would like QorusDocs to automatically provision a repeatable folder structure within the Pursuit Contents for each Pursuit created from the Pursuit Type you're configuring, then follow the step by step instructions here on how to set this up. Here is an article to guide you with Pursuit Folder Cloning.
• Hide Pursuit Type: Enable this setting if you do not want the Pursuit Type to be visible in the left navigation. This is useful for Pursuit Types that are still being setup and you do not want other users to access them just yet. 
• Hide links to external content: Earlier, you selected where Pursuit Contents should be saved when you configured the 'Connector' setting in the Pursuit. This setting determines whether QorusDocs displays the underlying MS Teams or SharePoint Online document links in the QorusDocs UI or not. By default, this is set to 'Hide from all users, including Admins', but you could choose to not hide links at all or to only display links for Admins.
• Default Pursuit Members: QorusDocs can automatically add Team Members to new Pursuits. If you select 'All Users', then all Standard and Admin users will be able to see the Pursuit in the QorusDocs UI. If you select 'Custom', you can select individual team members by searching for them using their username, surname, or email - or you could add the name of one or more user groups. Pursuit owners and admins are free to modify the list of Pursuit members after the Pursuit has been created.
• Notify Members: By default, QorusDocs will notify Pursuit members that they have been added to a Pursuit with a standard notification. Here, you can turn this notification off entirely, or you can customize it by clicking on 'Edit Email':

Clicking on 'Edit Email' brings up this screen, where you can edit the subject line and use a simple rich text editor to update the body of the email - as well as variables (between curly braces) to dynamically merge Pursuit information into the email:

• Can Delete Pursuit: By default, any member of a Pursuit can delete a Pursuit, but you can restrict to Admins only if required.

View New Pursuit Types

The unified grid view withing the Hub Central allows you to see all standard Pursuit columns and filters as well as any new Pursuit Type column and filter. From the Hub Central, click on Pursuits where you will see all Pursuits, with their Pursuit Types, their locations, also their Statuses and Due dates.

You can also filter the Pursuits by Pursuit Type, click on the drop down, choose the Pursuit Type and Apply.

Here you are, a list of Pursuits filtered by the Pursuit Type specified:

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The 'Smart Fields' tab

Smart Fields enable you to personalize content with ease and efficiency. If you're new to Smart Fields, we recommend reading this article first to get familiar with the basics before moving forward. Smart Fields in a Pursuit Type allow you to capture essential details about new Pursuits right from the start or as they evolve, such as the customer’s company name or their product or service of interest.

This feature saves valuable time by automatically pre-filling Smart Field personalization forms with information already captured at the Pursuit level. Whether users are creating new Pursuit documents or adding smart-enabled content, there’s no need to re-enter the same details. This seamless process ensures efficiency and eliminates repetitive data entry.

To navigate from Details tab to Smart Fields tab, click on the 'Next: Smart Fields' button or on the Smart Fields tab.

If you have a long list of Smart Fields available in your QorusDocs, you can use the search box (1) to narrow things down a bit. Select the Smart Fields you want to add to the Pursuit Type (2) and click on 'Add to pursuit type' (3):

Smart Fields will appear to users on each Pursuit in the exact order you specify here. To change the order, simply click on the 'drag handle' icon and drag the Smart Fields into the desired order. To remove a Smart Field from the Pursuit Type, click the x icon next to the Smart Field you wish to remove.

If you need to create a new Smart Field, you can do so from this screen by clicking on the 'New Smart Field' button. If you are new to creating Smart Fields, you can read this article to learn about steps on how to add a new Smart Field.

4. The 'Tabs' tab

To navigate from the Smart Field tab to the ‘Tabs’ tab, click on the 'Next: Customize' button or on the ‘Tabs’ tab.

Here, you can configure the tabs visible to users while they work on Pursuits associated with this Pursuit Type. Before we go into the options for Tabs, you should know that there are two categories of tabs in the Pursuit workspace: Content tabs and Project tabs. Here's how the tabs appear to users in the Pursuit workspace on the web:

To include additional tabs, click on 'Add Tab' (1). In the modal that comes up next, give the custom tab a name and paste the URL of the site or resource that you would like to display inside the custom tab.

Custom tabs support sites that can be displayed in an iFrame. For example, you can publish a Power BI report link that connects to your QorusDocs data and display it in a tab in each Pursuit's workspace for custom reporting. Then, check the 'Session Data' checkbox if you would like to allow the external site or resource you link in the custom tab to interact with QorusDocs and click 'Save':

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Tip: Copy the 'Pursuit create link'

Each Pursuit Type you configure has a unique 'create' link, which can be used by both licensed and non-licensed users to create new Pursuits. This is especially useful when you wish to enlist the help of the broader team to assist with intake requests, or to link a 'Create Pursuit' link in your own collateral directly to the Pursuit creation page.

To retrieve the create link for the Pursuit you've just configured, go to the Pursuit Types menu in the left nav (under Manage), and then click on the cog icon and then finally on 'Copy Pursuit create link':