Project Management Overview
Every project in Darwin is more than an estimation container — it is a centralized workspace where documents, suppliers, clients, files, and collaboration tools come together.
This makes it easy to keep all project-related information organized, accessible, and traceable as your estimate evolves.
This section introduces how Darwin manages:
- project documents and folders
- Darwin Drive and entity-centered file access
- clients and suppliers
- file uploads and organization
- work requests, tasks, and approvals
- activity history
These features help you maintain a clean, auditable, and collaborative project environment.
Find the Project That Needs You
Section titled “Find the Project That Needs You”Open Operations → Projects. The list offers My work, All, Created by me, Awaiting my review, Awaiting my approval, and Following. It opens on My work when you have something waiting on you, otherwise All; a view explicitly selected in a link takes precedence.
Each row shows status and who acts next, the active baseline value in the project’s currency, owner, and last activity. The waiting-on line links to the pending request when there is one. Search and filter by status, client, or owner; filters and sorting remain in the URL so shared links and Back restore your view.
- A pending price-review request waits on the price reviewer.
- A project awaiting approval waits on the approver.
- Rejected work waits on its creator for rework. Sending a new approval request after rejection puts it back in the approval queue; an older request or unsent draft does not.
- Following includes watched projects plus projects where you are the creator, price reviewer, or approver. Use the watch star to follow other projects.
Use the row menu to open/edit a project, enter cost tracking when it has a baseline, or start a work request prefilled with the project’s context. Review and approval requests are Work Requests; receiving one is not itself approval.
Find Your Way Around Project Summary
Section titled “Find Your Way Around Project Summary”Check client, currency, location, Price List, reviewer, approver, and active baseline before choosing an estimate. The client’s commercial response is separate from internal approval.
| Tab | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Estimations | Create, open Details or Summary, duplicate, import another Darwin estimate, or select several for comparison/merge |
| Bidding | Inspect packages across the project and create one against a selected estimate |
| QTO Sessions | Continue measurement, upload sources, or attach a private Quantos draft; linking alone does not approve or generate an estimate |
| Files | Search, organize, and open project documents and linked request evidence |
| Requests | Filter open, completed, blocked, change, and approval work; open a request to act |
| Decisions | Inspect who decided, when, on which revision, with reasons and previous-baseline context |
| Exchange Rates | Inspect rates, inverses, and capture date; edit or refresh in Price Review, not this tab |
Continue with Edit Estimate Scope and Margins, Read an Estimate Summary, and Revisions.
Opening packages from project Bidding has a current navigation limitation. If it does not open the selected package, use Operations → Bidding or the workspace’s Bid Leveling tab.
1. Documents & File Management
Section titled “1. Documents & File Management”Each project includes its own file repository, allowing you to store:
- drawings and plans
- specifications
- RFQs or quotes from suppliers
- photos, notes, and site references
- supporting documents for estimations
Files can be organized into a simple folder structure, making it easier to keep everything clean and accessible.
Example Uses
Section titled “Example Uses”- Store architectural drawings next to IFC imports
- Keep supplier quotes attached to the relevant modules
- Upload RFIs or clarifications for team reference
Inspect the storage indicator and keep revision-specific filenames when files must explain earlier decisions. Replacing contents does not preserve recoverable versions.
2. Clients & Suppliers
Section titled “2. Clients & Suppliers”Darwin allows projects to reference your organization’s clients and suppliers.
A project may include:
- one associated client
- multiple linked suppliers (for materials, logistics, subcontracting)
Each client or supplier has:
- basic contact information
- a file repository
- internal notes
- optional documentation (contracts, quotes, etc.)
This keeps all project relationships localized and easy to track.
3. Project Folders
Section titled “3. Project Folders”Projects may include predefined folders such as:
- Drawings
- Specifications
- Contracts
- Quotes
- Exports
- IFC Files
You can add additional folders to adapt to your internal workflow.
These folders help teams maintain a clean project structure and reduce the amount of information stored outside the system.
4. Tasks, Requests & Approvals
Section titled “4. Tasks, Requests & Approvals”Darwin now supports more structured collaboration than simple task assignment alone.
Teams can work through:
- work requests for revisions, blocked work, and coordinated changes
- tasks and notifications for ownership and follow-up
- approvals for controlled decision points
- comments, attachments, and activity history for traceability
Keep the request, files, comments, and decisions with the project so the team can review them together.
5. Activity History
Section titled “5. Activity History”Use Decisions for approvals, an estimate workspace’s Audit for its merged change timeline, and Organization Activity for recent company-wide work. Recorded Activity contains commitments and actual costs. These views have different scopes; see Approvals & Activity History.
6. Best Practices
Section titled “6. Best Practices”- Keep drawings and specifications organized in folders
- Upload all supplier quotes directly to the project
- Use work requests to coordinate review and approval cycles; tasks point people to the next action
- Use clear naming conventions for files and exports
- Periodically review the activity history for traceability
7. Next Steps
Section titled “7. Next Steps”Continue learning about project-level tools:
Or return to the catalog:
- ➡️ Modules