Shelf Knowledge Management System Organizational Units Feature Overview Guide

Document Version History

Version number	Modified by	Modifications made	Date modified	Status
1.0	Shelf	Initial release of the document.	6 February 2023	Active

Document Purpose

This guide has been developed for those customer organizations that use Shelf’s Knowledge Management System to meet their business needs. The target audience for the document are:

Account admins, that is users who have access to the Shelf Admin Panel
Users who work with the Shelf Insights feature

The purpose of this guide is to familiarize Shelf KMS users with the Organizational Units feature and with the Organizational Unit Dashboard in the Shelf Insights. The guide is also aimed at explaining the difference between the Organizational Units and User Groups features.

For further assistance, feel free to contact us at support@shelf.io or from the in-app chat support within the Shelf platform.

Organizational Unit Setup and Configuration
Organizational Units Dashboard Functionality Overview
Shelf Insights Report Filtering by Organizational Unit
- How to Filter Reports by Organizational Unit

Prerequisites

For accessing and working with the Organizational Units feature, it needs to be enabled for your account by Shelf.

Moreover, the Insights feature needs to be enabled on the Shelf side as well, in order to make it possible for you to use the Organizational Units Dashboard capabilities. However, for accessing the Insights App in Shelf users need to be granted the Insights permission via the User Groups feature.

Organizational Unit Overview and Description

An Organizational Unit is a subdivision within a company where Admins can place users. Organizational units can be configured to meet the company’s scale, type, and goals based on the following parameters:

Location
Divisions
Teams
Product Lines
Seniority
Various other reasons

Such groups of users are combined by specific criteria and can further be used for multiple target purposes including the content usage analytics (via Shelf Insights).

Note:

One Shelf account can have not more than 100 organizational units.

Difference between Organizational Units and User Groups

While Shelf’s Organizational Units and User Groups features may serve similar purposes, these are completely different functionalities. As mentioned above, organizational units are your company’s subdivisions that can be configured based on location of the company, subdivisions, or customers, on product lines, on teams, or anything else. At the same time, user groups are implemented to provide users with permissions needed to access Shelf’s apps and libraries. The main idea of the User Groups feature is granting access permissions to users in bulk instead of granting such permissions to each individual user. You can create user groups that would include users from various departments of your company. For example, the Content Reviewers user group can have users from Management, from Human Resources, from Engineering, and from Agents. Meanwhile, the Management organizational unit will include only those users who represent your company’s management; the Europe organizational unit will contain only those users who represent your company’s European staff, and so on.

The figure below provides a visual representation of the mentioned differences between organizational units and user groups.

Figure 1. Differences between Organizational Units and User Groups

Organizational Unit Setup and Configuration

To access the Organizational Units feature, you need to log into your Shelf account, open the Admin Panel, and then select the Organizational Units option in the left sidebar panel.

Figure 2. Accessing the Organizational Units feature in Shelf

On the page that opens, you can see the Organizational Units table grid listing all the available organizational units created on your account. Each item of this table grid shows the name and description of the organizational unit, and the number of members added to it.

Figure 3. Viewing the Organizational Lists table grid

Adding Organizational Units

To add an organizational unit, please perform the following procedure:

Once logged into your Shelf account and directed to the Organizational Units page, find and click the ADD ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT button above the table grid.
Figure 4. Initiating the organizational unit addition procedure
On the Add new Organizational Unit page that appears, in the Info tab that opens by default, you need to add a name (mandatory) for your new organizational unit and, if needed, some description to better identify it.
Figure 5. Adding the organizational unit’s name and description
Following that, click the ADD button to finish adding the new organizational unit.

Adding Members to Organizational Units

Once you have clicked the ADD button in Step 3 of the above procedure, you are redirected to the Members tab, where you need to add members to your new organizational unit.

Note:

One organizational unit on Shelf can have not more than 100 000 (one hundred thousands) members.

To add members to the needed organizational unit, perform the following:

In the needed organizational unit page, in the Members tab, click the MANAGE MEMBERS button.
Figure 6. Adding the organizational unit’s members
In the next window, find and select the users you want to add to your organizational unit, by checking the respective boxes. Following that, click the arrow icon to move them to the Members part of the window. Once the success notification is displayed, click the DONE button to finish the procedure.
Figure 7. Moving users to the organizational unit’s members - start
Figure 8. Moving users to the organizational unit’s members - finish

Once done, you are directed to the Organizational Units page with the Members tab open. Here you can view, search, and filter members of your new organizational unit. You can see the full name of a user, their status (Active, Inactive, Unconfirmed), and email address. You can also filter the displayed members by their status using the respective User status filter box.

Figure 9. Viewing and managing the organizational unit’s members

Deleting Members from Organizational Units

If some user no longer needs to be a member of your organizational unit (due to the resignation, relocation, promotion etc.), you can remove them from the unit. To do so, perform the following:

Open the Organizational Unit feature in your Shelf account’s Admin Panel. Find and select the needed organizational unit to open its dedicated page. Switch to the Members tab of the page and click the MANAGE MEMBERS button.
In the [Organizational Unit_Name] form that appears, in the Members part, find and select a person you no longer want to be on the members list, by checking the respective box. Click the left arrow icon to move the selected member from the list. Finally, when the success message is displayed, click the DONE button.

Figure 10. Removing members from the organizational unit

Once done, the member becomes removed from the organizational unit and is not displayed in the list under the Members tab.

Figure 11. Verifying the organizational unit member removal

Editing Organizational Units

If needed, you can edit your organizational units. For example, you can change their name or description, as well as add or remove their members.

To open an organizational unit for editing, double click on it in the Organizational Units table grid. You can also open it from the More Actions menu accessible by the click on the respective icon (...) next to it.

Figure 12. Opening the organizational unit from the More Actions menu

Once on the respective organizational unit page, you can change the unit’s name or description. Remember to click the SAVE button to save your changes.

Figure 13. Editing the organizational unit

For editing the composition of the organizational unit - that is, adding or removing its members - please refer to the respective Adding Members to Organizational Units and Deleting Members from Organizational Units sections above.

Deleting Organizational Units

You can also delete no longer needed organizational units.

You can delete organizational units in two ways:

Go to the Organizational Units table grid, find the required organizational unit and double click it to open. Then, in the window that opens, find and click the DELETE button. In the popup window that appears, confirm that you want to delete the organizational unit. Once the success notification is displayed, the needed organizational unit becomes deleted and removed from the table grid.
Figure 14. Deleting the organizational unit
Go to the Organizational Units table grid, find the required organizational unit, and open its More Actions menu by clicking the (...) icon next to it. In the dropdown list that appears, select the Delete option. In the popup window that opens, confirm your choice by clicking the DELETE button. After the success notification is displayed, the organizational unit is deleted and removed from the Organizational Units table grid.

Figure 15. Alternatively deleting the organizational unit

Organizational Units Dashboard Functionality Overview

For providing users with statistics on the specific organizational units, such as departments, subdepartments, country or project teams), the Organizational Units Dashboard has been implemented. This dashboard contains multiple charts, widgets, and reports that provide users with all the needed graphic and text information. Users can further reuse this data for their organization’s business needs.

Note that the data displayed in the Organizational Units Dashboard are collected not retrospectively but starting from the date when the respective user has been added to the organizational unit.

To access the Organizational Units Dashboard, you need to open the Insights App in your Shelf account. You can do it from the App Drawer or from the Admin Panel.

Figure 16. Accessing Insights from App Drawer

Figure 17. Accessing Insights from Admin Panel

Once you have opened the Insights App, find and select the Organizational Units option in the sidebar panel. Then, in the main window, click the SELECT ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT button to open the popup window and select the unit for which you need to view the dashboard and statistics. Confirm your choice by clicking the SELECT button.

Figure 18. Opening the Organizational Unit Dashboard

What you see next is the Dashboard for the specific—selected—organizational unit and its members.

Figure 19. Viewing the Organizational Unit Dashboard

Overview Tab

The Dashboard is organized in tabs. When you access the Dashboard, you get to the Overview tab by default. It contains the general information on the selected organizational unit - its name, description, and the number of members.

You can also see the breakdown of Gem updates performed by this organizational unit:

Most Viewed Gems - their names, types, libraries, viewers, and number of views
Recently Changed Gems - their names, types, libraries, and change times
Recently Created Gems - their names, types, libraries, creator, and creation times
Recently Favorited Gems - their names, types, libraries, and times when added to favorites
Recently Rated Gems - their names, types, libraries, ratings given, and rating times.

Clicking the VIEW MORE link under the respective list of Gems - Most Viewed, Recently Changed, Recently Favorited, etc. - directs you to the respective report of the Insights app.

Figure 20. Accessing the Favorited Gems Report from the Overview tab

Activity Tab

The second tab is the Activity tab that shows the most active members of the selected organizational unit. For example, the activity score displayed in the Most Active Users Report is based on the following criteria:

Gem searches
Gem views
Gem updates
Gem creations
Gem deletions
Gem ratings
Gem unratings
Gem pinnings
Gem unpinnings
Answer Assist: opened announcement
Answer Assist: clicked answer
Answer Assist: expanded answer
Answer Assist: gave feedback on answer
Answer Assist: viewed Gem
Answer Assist: searched for Gems
Answer Assist: clicked on tab.

As regards the activity score calculation, it is based on the following approach:

One event performed adds one point to the activity score

In this light, if a user has viewed 1 (one) Gem and also performed 1 (one) search for some Gem, their activity score totals 2.

Figure 21. Viewing the Activity Tab in the Organizational Unit Dashboard

This tab provides detailed statistics of the activity performed by the selected organizational unit’s members on Gems. This statistics covers the number of searches and views broken down by dates.

You can also select the period for which you want to see the statistics, by selecting the appropriate option on top of the page: Day, Week, Month, and Year. You can also use the date picker tool to select one of the predefined time periods or set your own custom period.

Figure 22. Selecting the Dashboard statistics period

You can also navigate to one of the Insights reports - Users Content Activity Report - directly from the Activity tab. To do so, click the VIEW MORE link under the list of the most active users.

Figure 23. Accessing the Users Content Activity Report from the Activity tab

Search Analytics Tab

The third tab of the Organizational Unit Dashboard is Search Analytics. It shows search-specific statistics of the selected organizational unit members. The data displayed include the search query, number of searches, and their visual representation on the graph. You can also select the period for which you need to view data, via the date picker tool shown in Figure 22.

Figure 24. Viewing analytics on searches performed by the organizational unit members

You may also navigate to one of the Insights reports - Search Queries and Empty Searches - directly from the Search Analytics tab. To do so, click the VIEW MORE link under the respective widget - Frequent Searches or Empty Searches.

Figure 25. Accessing the Empty Searches Report from the Organizational Unit Dashboard

Live View Tab

The last tab of the Organizational Unit Dashboard is Live View. This tab shows the recent activities performed by the selected organizational unit members. These activities can be Gem views, Gem creations, Gem searches etc.

Figure 26. Viewing the recent activities of the organizational unit members

Shelf Insights Report Filtering by Organizational Unit

As mentioned above, you can access certain Shelf Insights reports directly from the Organizational Unit Dashboard. At the same time, you can also use filtering by organizational unit for the following Shelf Insights Reports:

Gem Views
Search Queries
Empty Searches
Gem Ratings
Favorited Gems
Users List

In each of these reports the respective filtering option has been implemented.

Figure 27. Viewing the Filter by Organizational Unit option in the Insights Report(s)

How to Filter Reports by Organizational Unit

To filter the needed report by organizational unit, follow the below steps.

Select the report in the Reports section of the Insights sidebar panel.
Find and click the SELECT ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT button in the upper part of the report window.
Figure 28. Filtering the Gem Ratings Report by organizational unit
In the popup window that appears, indicate the needed organizational unit by selecting the respective checkbox and clicking the SELECT button.
Figure 29. Selecting the organizational unit to filter the report
Once done, the popup window is closed and the Gem Ratings Report becomes filtered by the selected organizational unit.
Figure 30. Viewing the Gem Ratings Report filtered by organizational unit

The Gem Views, Search Queries, Empty Searches, and Favorited Gems Reports are filtered in accordance with the above procedure, while the Users List Report has a different approach.

To filter the Users List Report, open in by selecting its name in the Insights sidebar panel. Once the report is displayed, find and click in the Organizational Unit entry field. Finally, pickup the needed organizational unit by selecting the respective checkbox in the dropdown options list.

Figure 31. Filtering the Users List Report by organizational unit

The report becomes filtered by the selected organizational unit.

Figure 32. Viewing the filtered Users List Report

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it possible to create hierarchical Organizational Units?

Hierarchical Organizational Units is a functionality anticipated for future releases. Currently you can create only one tier of Organizational Units.

What is the main difference between Organizational Units and User Groups?

The main difference between Organizational Units and User Groups is in their purpose: Organizational Units serve as business units of your organization while User Groups are used to provide certain users with access to certain Shelf libraries and apps. Additionally, the Organizational Units feature enables you to access various statistics and analytics via the Shelf Insights App.

Who are the main users of the Organizational Units feature?

The main users of this feature are Content Managers and Team Managers/Leads who need to track the status of the organization’s content and activities of the organization’s content authors/users.

Who can access the Organizational Units Dashboard?

This Dashboard can be accessed by the following 2 (two) group of users:

Shelf KMS users having the Admin user role
Shelf KMS users granted the Insights permissions via the User Groups functionality.

What data can I see in the Organizational Units Dashboard?

The Organizational Units Dashboard contains several tabs each of which is dedicated to a certain set of data. For instance, the Overview tab shows the general information about the Organizational Unit such as its name, description, and number of its members, as well as the details (name, type, and library) of those Gems that have the largest number of views, that have been recently created, changed, rated or favorited. The Activity tab shows which Organizational Unit members most actively work with Gems and how their activity is distributed in time. The Search Analytics tab provides a useful insight in what Organizational Unit members look for most frequently and allows to see if such searches are successful. Finally, the Live View tab shows the most recent actions taken by the Organizational Unit members on Gems.

How does the Organizational Units Dashboard collect data for a specific user?

It should be mentioned that the data you see in the Dashboard is collected not retrospectively since the enablement of the Organizational Units feature. The data is collected since the date and time when this specific user has been added to that specific organizational unit.

Why do Content Managers need Gem analytics offered by the Organizational Units Dashboard feature?

Content Managers can use Gems analytics (such as Most Viewed Gems, Recently Created Gems, Recently Viewed Gems, Recently Changed Gems, Recently Favorited Gems) per specific Organizational Units in order to keep those Gems uptodate.

Why do Content Managers need the search analytics offered by the Organizational Units Dashboard feature?

Search analytics, such as Frequent Searches and Empty Searches by the specific Organizational Unit members, makes it possible for Content Managers to take actions on improving the content for that specific Organizational Unit and, therefore, increase the productivity of its members.

Sometimes, in the Search Analytics tab, in the Empty Searches section, I see queries that I know should not be there because the content I search for does exist. Why is it so?

Presence in the Empty Searches section of queries that are expected to return the content can be a result of some filter application (for example, Library) during the search. Therefore, the content that you look for, though certainly existing, is not returned because it is stored in a library that has not been selected during the filtering procedure.

Why do the numbers (counts) I see in the Search Queries Report and in the Search + View Activity section of the Activity tab differ from each other?

It needs to be specified that search counts you see in the Search + View Activity section of the Activity tab are designed to show not only user searches (that is, queries entered by the user in the search field) but also user navigations to libraries, folders or subfolders, as well as user usages of various filters. Frankly speaking, sometimes it may happen that all or virtually all counts you see in the Search + View Activity section in this tab relate to users’ interactions with libraries or folders or with the usage of various filters.

At the same time, the Search Queries Report shows only pure searches performed by users via the search field.

Why do Team Managers/Leads need to have statistics on the Organizational Unit activities?

Statistics on the Organizational Unit members’ activities allows Team Managers/Leads to know which members of the respective Organizational Unit most actively work with Gems, what they search, and what their activity time distribution is. This enables them to understand the level of efforts taken by the Organizational Unit and its members to keep the content fresh and understand how the content is used by them.

How the Organizational Unit’s Live View can help Team Managers/Leads?

The Live View tab of the Organizational Unit feature makes it possible to see the latest searches and Gems updates made by the Organizational Unit members. In its turn, this will enable Managers to understand how the content is used by this unit’s members and whether it needs to be improved.

What are the benefits of report filtering by the Organizational Unit for Content Managers and Team Managers/Leads?

Filtering the following Shelf Insights reports - User Content Activity, Gem Views, Search Queries, Empty Searches, Gem Ratings, Favorited Gems, Users List - by Organizational Units enables to access data that relates to the specific Organizational Unit and its members. This further helps improve both the content and the work efficiency of the Organizational Unit members.