Uploading CSV or Excel Data

We’ve made some changes to our file loader to give you more customisation and control over how you load your external files into ActionableAgile.

As a Flow Metrics tool, ActionableAgile requires some formatting to be able to correctly read and visualise your files. In the past, you may feel like the external file loader accepted many formats of your file, and while the tool could read them, oftentimes, wrongly formatted files weren’t showing your data in the best way.

Our new experience allows you to upload and format your files in a few simple steps.

Locating the External Data Loader in ActionableAgile

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After you click on the item in the dropdown, a window with a drop area will appear.

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The next steps are to choose and confirm how your file is formatted in the mapping stage, which is shown in the images below.

• The first section, named File Columns, contains the names of the columns we read from your file.

• The second section, named Sample Data, contains the data we have sampled from the corresponding columns in your data.

• The third section, Column Type, contains drop-down menus for you to choose which column types the corresponding columns will be recognised and mapped as. Some may already be assigned the correct column type as the external data used the parameters to recognise them.

• The fourth section, Verify Date Format, asks you to verify the date format you used in your file. The date formats must match. If there were dates in the first two data rows of your file, it may already be correct.

After all data has been verified and all columns have been assigned, select Load Data, and your data will be loaded into ActionableAgile.

How We Identify & Map Your Data

To map your file, we check the values in the columns of the first two rows that contain data (so not the header row) to identify the column type.

• The minimum requirements for the file are two rows, a header, and a data line. There must be at least three workflow stages and a column named ID (not case-sensitive).

• If there is a valid date format in one of the columns of the first two rows that contain data, we identify that column as a Workflow Stage.

• The tool will now automatically backfill missing dates, so you do not need to manually add a date when a workflow stage is skipped.

• If there is a column name containing “Blocked” (not case sensitive) and has a value Yes/No or True/False, it will be identified as the Blocked column.

• If there is a column name containing “Blocked Days” (not case sensitive) and has a valid numerical value (a whole number), it will be identified as the Blocked column.

• If the first two data rows are empty, they’re identified as Do Not Import in Column Type; if you wish to include these rows, you’ll need to choose a Column Type for them.

• Empty columns and rows will be removed.

• Timestamps will be removed.

• Commas within a cell will cause premature cell separation as this is what is used as the cell separator.

Backward Flow Movement

The dates in the file should always increase to reflect a left-to-right movement in your flow. However, an item might have been moved prematurely and went back on your board; this is called “backward flow movement.”
If an item is moved backward in the flow, let’s say from Workflow Stage C to Workflow Stage B, it is considered never to have been in Workflow Stage C at all. All of the time in Workflow Stage C will be added to the time in Workflow Stage B. It will get a new timestamp for Workflow Stage C when it reenters that workflow stage.

Additional Tips

Remove any unnecessary columns like these:

• Long-form text fields like descriptions and comments aren’t very usable in ActionableAgile and can break your file format easily.

• Fields that you won’t use for filtering just add clutter and possibilities for breaking your file format.

If you are using Excel for your data file, there are a few things you may want to consider:

• We recommend that you use minimal formatting for your file. Things like freezing panels, hiding rows, hiding columns, etc., can occasionally cause problems with the data load process.

• If you ever do have problems loading your file, then remember that you can always save your Excel file as a CSV and upload the CSV. This approach fixes many of the formatting errors mentioned above.

File Examples

CSV

Example format:

Example download:

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Excel

Example format:

Download template file:

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JSON

Example code:

Downloadable template file:

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Errors

The following are error messages you may receive when uploading your external data into ActionableAgile:

For a more in-depth explanation of the external data loader’s requirements, please see our How We Identify & Map Your Data section.