Assigning Actions and following changes

Assignees vs watchers

Two related but different ideas sit on every Action:

• Assignees — the people who should actually do the work. If an Action is assigned to you, you're on the hook for getting it resolved
• Watchers — the people who want to be kept informed of changes without being responsible for the work itself. Think of them as interested observers

Both are managed from the Team tab on the Action detail sidebar. You can also add yourself as a watcher with a single click using the star button in the header — more on that below.

When to assign vs when to watch

Common scenarios:

• Assign the foreman responsible for fixing a snag
• Watch the Action as the project QS so you see progress without being asked to do the work
• Assign the design team member who needs to answer an RFI
• Watch the Action as the contracts manager who needs visibility but isn't answering the RFI themselves
• Assign and watch yourself if you're both doing the work and want to be notified

Assigning employees

The Team tab shows the current assignees as avatar chips.

1. 1

   Open the Action and click the Team tab in the sidebar.

2. 2

   Click the Assignees field to open the employee picker.

3. 3

   Tick the employees who should work on the Action. You can pick as many as you need.

4. 4

   Your selection saves straight away and the avatar chips update.

The table view on the Actions list shows up to three assignee avatars per row with a "+N" badge if there are more. Hover any avatar to see the employee's name.

Adding watchers

Below the assignees, the Team tab has a Watchers section showing the current watcher list.

1. 1

   Click Manage next to the Watchers heading.

2. 2

   The user picker opens. This list pulls from everyone in your company with login access — not just employees — so anyone who uses Project Commander can be added as a watcher.

3. 3

   Tick the people you want to follow the Action.

4. 4

   Your selection saves straight away.

Watchers receive notifications whenever the Action is updated, commented on, or changes status. They don't need to open it themselves to stay across it.

The star button in the header

The Action detail header has a star icon that toggles your own watcher status with a single click. It's the quickest way to follow an Action without going to the Team tab.

• An outline star means you're not currently watching the Action
• A filled yellow star means you are

Next to the star is a small badge showing the total number of watchers on the Action, so you can see at a glance how many people are keeping an eye on it.

Click the star to toggle yourself in or out. It only affects your own watcher status — if you need to add or remove other people, use the Manage button on the Team tab instead.

Getting notified

Whenever someone changes an Action you're assigned to or watching, you'll get a notification. This includes:

• New comments
• Status changes
• New attachments
• Reassignments
• Closure or reopening

The notifications use the same feed as the live updates on the detail page, so nothing slips through.

Real-world examples

• Handing out snagging work — assign each snag to the relevant subcontractor's lead and add yourself as a watcher so you're notified when they close it
• RFI chasing — assign the Action to the design team member responsible and add the contract administrator as a watcher
• Week-off cover — before heading on holiday, assign your open Actions to a colleague but keep yourself as a watcher so you can catch up on the plane home

Next steps

• Tracking what's happened on an Action — for the full list of changes that watchers are notified about.
• Status workflow and closing — for the status changes that trigger notifications.
• Commenting on an Action — for posting updates that notify watchers.