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 Qorus Content Hub.

Why do you need to do this? Well, you can think of a Pursuit Type as a 'template' or 'preset' Qorus will use whenever you create a new Pursuit.

For example, you could have a Pursuit Type called 'Strategic Proposals' that is intended to be used by teams collaborating on key proposals, and you could have another called 'SOWs' intended to be used by teams delivering professional services. 

For each of these Pursuit Types, you can specify things like where documents related to the Pursuit should be stored, who is allowed to create Pursuits using this type, and how you want to keep track and report on Pursuits of this type. 

This saves end users creating new Pursuits a lot of time while ensuring that Pursuits adhere to your internal business processes. 

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

In this article, we'll explain: 

• Where to go to add a Pursuit Type
• Pursuit Type options

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:

Pursuit Type options explained

After clicking on 'Add', you'll be presented with the following screen:

Below you'll find an explanation for each of the tabs in the above screenshot:

1. Standard fields

• Title, Icon, and Description
• Connector
• Permitted Users
• Outcome Based and Deadline Based
• Answer Tracking
• Advanced options

2. Smart Fields

3. Customize

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1. Standard fields

Title, Icon and Description

When users navigates into a Pursuit Type (1) they'll be presented with a list view of Pursuits. We'll use the 'Icon' and 'Title' you provide here in the list view, while the 'Description' is more for your own information. 

Here's an example of what this could look like: 

If you elect to not upload a custom icon for your Pursuit Type, Qorus will use the default icon, an example of which you can see in the above screenshot next to the 'Collaboration Platform' Pursuit (the orange target icon with a dollar sign).

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Connector

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

• If you select 'None', you won't be able to save files in the Pursuit content location. Consequently, in the Pursuit workspace users won't see the Pursuit content tab. You should choose this option for the projects that don't require personalized files and where linked file templates would suffice.   
• If you select 'SharePoint Online Library', you'll have the option to restrict the saving of Pursuit content to a specific SharePoint Library URL. 

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. 

When users create a new Pursuit, Qorus Content Hub will automatically create a new folder in the SharePoint Library you've specified here, or in the 'save location' users have selected (if you leave the 'SharePoint Library URL' field blank). 

For example, if a user makes use of this Pursuit Type to create a new Pursuit called 'MegaCorp Proposal', then Qorus will add a folder to the SharePoint library you specify called 'MegaCorp Proposal', and all documents related to that Pursuit will be added to this folder.

• If you select 'Microsoft Teams', you'll have the option to restrict the saving of Pursuit content to a specific team: 

When users create a new Pursuit, Qorus Content Hub will automatically create a new channel in the team you specify here for that pursuit.

Alternatively, you could leave the 'Microsoft Team' field blank and allow users to pick any team they belong to in Microsoft Teams when they create a new pursuit from this type. 

For example, if a user makes use of this pursuit type to create a new pursuit called 'MegaCorp Proposal', then Qorus will add a channel in the specified team called 'MegaCorp Proposal', and allow users to save directly to the 'Files' tab in that Teams channel.

• If you select 'OneDrive for Business', Pursuit content will be saved to the owner of the Pursuit's OneDrive:
  
  Support for OneDrive for Business as a 'Connector' is currently in Preview and will be made Generally Available soon.
  
  When users create a Pursuit, Qorus Content Hub will automatically create a new folder in the owner of the Pursuit's OneDrive, within a folder named QorusDocs.
  
  
  
  Please be aware of the current limitations, when creating Pursuits using the OneDrive Connector.
  
  • • Once the Pursuit has been created, the owner cannot be changed.
    • Only the owner can add or remove Members from the Pursuit.
      • The addition of a new Member will grant access to the Pursuit Folder in the Owner's OneDrive.
      • The removal of an existing Member will revoke access to the Pursuit Folder in the Owner's OneDrive.

 

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Permitted Users

These are the Standard Users on your Qorus Content Hub that you would like to authorize to create new Pursuits using this Pursuit Type.

• Users belonging to the Qorus Admin role are permitted to create new Pursuits from any Pursuit Type, so there's no need to list any Qorus Admin Users here. 
• This setting applies to the creation of new Pursuits only and does not restrict collaboration in any way. For example, if you had a Standard User on your hub named Maggie, and you added Maggie here as a permitted user: this gives Maggie the ability to create a new pursuit using this Pursuit Type. Once she's created the new Pursuit, she'll be able to invite any coworker she wants to collaborate with her. These coworkers do not have to be in the 'permitted users' list in the Pursuit Type. 

You can learn more about user roles and permissions here.

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Outcome Based and Deadline Based

Regardless of the Pursuit Type options you select, all pursuits by default have one field called 'Status', that allows Pursuit members collaborating on the Pursuit to indicate whether the Pursuit is 'open' or 'closed'  (the default is 'open'):

Additionally, if it makes sense for the way your organization works, you can also track and report on Pursuits using Outcomes and Deadlines - this is where the 'Outcomes Based' and 'Deadline Based' options come in: 

• Outcome Based: Set this to 'Yes' if pursuits created from this Pursuit Type should have a field that users can manually update to specify whether the pursuit was 'won' or 'lost'. This can be useful for reporting on Pursuits related to sales deals. Those working on Pursuits would generally update the outcome right at the end, once all the work is done and the team is ready to move onto the next deal. 

Here's an example of what the experience is like for end users working on pursuits where the Pursuit Type has the option 'Outcome Based' set to 'Yes': 

In the Pursuit management screen, the Outcome will be available once Pursuit status is set to 'Closed.' They can click on the 'Outcome' drop-down menu and select the appropriate Outcome value. 

• Deadline Based: Set this to 'Yes' if Pursuits created from this Pursuit Type should have a 'Due Date' field, that can be used to monitor performance towards due dates. 

Pursuits that are deadline based have their due dates displayed in the My Hub > Pursuits screen and as they approach or become past due, the due date will be displayed in red, making it easy for users to see what they need to handle urgently: 

You may set both of these options to 'yes' if you'd like to track outcomes and deadlines, or you could turn them both off by selecting 'no' - whichever makes the most sense for the way you and your team prefer to work. 

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Answer Tracking

'Track Answers' works with Qorus' AI-enabled Auto Answer. If your Hub has Auto Answer activated (Enterprise License and select previews only) your user community will be using Auto Answer to get to draft very quickly on RFPs in Word format or on vendor questionnaires in Excel format. When they are working with this Pursuit Type, its probably a good idea to turn on 'Track Answers' by choosing 'yes' from the drop-down menu.

When 'Track Answers' is turned on, Qorus will add a tab to the Pursuit area, where the 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. 

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Advanced Options

There are a few additional advance options for Pursuit Types which are all non-required fields. These include: 

• Clone folder structure. Find more information here. 
• Hide Pursuit Type from navigation. 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 as yet. 
• Display links to external content. This is disabled by default. Enabling the setting will display links to the underlying content specified in your Pursuits connector. 

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2. Smart Fields

Smart Fields make it possible to very quickly personalize content. If you're unfamiliar with Smart Fields, you may want to check out this article first before proceeding. 

Adding Smart Fields to a Pursuit Type makes it possible to capture key information about new Pursuits upfront, and/or as they progress - like the Customer's Company Name, or which Product or Service they are interested in. 

This can save loads of time, as any Smart Field personalization forms that come up for users creating new Pursuit documents, or when inserting smart-enabled content into a Pursuit document, will automatically be pre-filled with the information already captured at the Pursuit level, so users don't have to capture the same information again. 

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 Qorus Content Hub, 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 are added in alphabetic order and will be displayed to the user on each Pursuit in the order that you set here. To change the order, simply click on the 'drag and drop' icon (4) 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 click the 'New Smart Field' (5) 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.

 

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 3. Customize

To navigate from the Smart Field tab to Customize tab, click on the 'Next: Customize' button or on the Customize tab (1).

Here you can customize tabs the users will be able to see when they are working on the Pursuits created under this Pursuit Type. By default, users will see Details, Assignments, To-dos, and Shares tabs displayed in the order specified here. To change the order, click on the drag and drop icon (2) and drag the tabs into the desired order. To hide tabs from the users, click on the eye icon (3).

To include additional tabs, click on 'Add Tab' (4). In the modal that comes up, give the new tab a preferred name and copy in the URL location you would like to display under the new tab.

Back to Pursuit Type options 

Create a Pursuit Type

To finalize the process, you need to click on the 'Create' button at the bottom right. Now you should be able to see your newly created Pursuit Type on the Pursuit Type list page.