March 2024 Release Notes

The Kahua 2024.1 release will be deployed to our Production environments on March 9, 2024.  A preview of this functionality can be accessed at https://earlyaccesslaunch.kahua.com beginning on February 24, 2024.  Please click here for more information on the Early Access program. 

The release notes below are subject to change. For any changes to these notes, please see the change log at the bottom of the article.

In addition to various performance improvements, user interface updates and error corrections, this release will also include the updates described below in the following functional areas:

Administration

User Interface

File Manager

Design Review

Cost Management

Bid Management

Scheduling/rSchedule (Runding)

Kahua Provided Extensions

Administration

Multi-Factor Authentication Support

We have implemented a Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) solution to enhance the security of our platform. This advanced security measure adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users to provide two forms of identification – a password and a second factor like a Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP).  This update underscores our commitment to safeguarding user data and providing a secure environment for all our customers. For instructions, please visit Managing Multifactor Authentication in your domain. 

IMPORTANT:   This option will be disabled by default in this release.  In our May release, MFA will be enabled by default for all users, which can optionally be disabled for your domain.  

Note:  Users who authenticate via a Single Sign-On (SSO) provider will not be required to use MFA. 

Restrict Sending External Emails 

We have introduced additional settings to prevent sending content out of Kahua. These controls can help reduce the potential for your data being sent outside of the system.  One group of settings has been added to the Users app where it can be enabled for individual users.  The second has been added to Project Settings in the Configuration app, to be enabled at the project level. 

In the Users app, two new settings have been added to the user page.  They are: 

• Disable Adhoc Emails
• Disable Outbound Emails

Kahua typically permits messages to be sent to any manually typed email address to facilitate quick communication with external parties, whether they have a contact record in Kahua or not. When Disable Adhoc Emails is selected, the user must select a contact in the To/CC/BCC fields of a message. The user will not be permitted to manually type an email address. Note: The selected contact does not need to be a Kahua user to be selected.

When Disable Outbound Emails is selected, the user will only be permitted to send content to other Kahua users as Message recipients.  No external emails will be sent.  This means if the recipient doesn't have a Kahua account, the recipient will not receive the message. The sender is provided with a warning banner at the top of every message to let them know their message may not be delivered due to this setting.

On the Settings tab of the Configuration app for the desired project, you can now select an option to Disable Adhoc Emails for all Users.  (The Disable Outbound Emails for all Users was already available at this level).  When this feature is enabled, using the Send action will require selection of an existing Kahua contact and prevent manually entering an email address for any of the recipients.  This setting is inherited throughout your project structure based on the partition it is enabled.  Note: users may still enter an email address to help find existing contacts.

Microsoft Word-based portable views now support subtotals in multiple columns

Microsoft Word-based portable views can now support subtotals in multiple columns. 

Sample - sub-totaling on a MS Word Portable View:

User Interface

Added empty log view landing page

Throughout Kahua, we have added a new landing page when users open a default log view and there are no records present.  

Project edit icon changed to an information icon

The pencil icon  in the Header and in Project Finder has been changed to an information icon to better symbolize the function of viewing project information. This allows the user to view and select Edit as an action more accurately.

CUI/Sensitive Status- If present in a log view, the AccessLevel column is Included in a Log View Print

If the AccessLevel column (sometimes labeled as Sensitivity) is in a log view, it will now also be displayed in any associated print output of that log view.

File Manager

New File Manager Permissions for QA Accept/Reject and Release/Supersede

Three new roles for File Manager have been added to the Groups app.  The three new roles are:

• Controlled - QA Manager (QA Accept/Reject)

• Controlled - Release

• Controlled - Supersede

To match existing behavior, groups that currently include either the Administrator, Moderator, or Contributor roles for File Manager will have the Controlled - QA Manager (QA Accept/Reject) role selected by default as well. 

Groups that currently include the Administrator or Moderator roles for File Manager will have both the Controlled - Release and the Controlled - Supersede roles selected by default.

The intent of this change is to provide greater control and granularity around who can do what.  Some organizations want only certain individuals to be able to be in the QA Role and Accept/Reject documents, and only other individuals to Release or Supersede documents.

NOTE: The Release and Supersede roles do not come into play when documents are processed into a Design Review and then released by virtue of completing that Design Review.  

File Manager, Controlled Folders - Consolidate Notifications for multiple drawings in a QA Check

When a set of documents are submitted for a QA Check from a controlled folder in the File Manager app, a single notification will be sent to the reviewer, listing all the documents that were submitted.  Previously the reviewer would have received one message per drawing.   

Title Block Template improvements

Users no longer have to select a Title Block Template when adding files to a controlled folder.  Instead, they can complete the upload and the files will be moved to a working folder, pending the selection of a Title Block Template.  From the working folder, a new Title Block Template can be created.

File Manager, Controlled Folders - Ability to move a drawing to a different folder

Prior to this release, when an attempt was made to move one or more drawings from one controlled folder to another, the system would present a message that said: "The destination folder is not compatible".

Now when you attempt to move one or more documents to a different Controlled folder, the system will present the following prompt:

After clicking Ok, the selected drawings and their associated revisions will be moved to the destination folder.

Design Review

Design Review app - Added ability to view comments and plans together

In the Design Review app, we added the ability to view the plans and comments together on the same screen to facilitate logging and reviewing comments. 

Design Review:  Track Recommended Review Status for all reviewers in the design review workflow

Previously, when Primary/Lead Reviewers or Interim Reviewers would enter their value in the Review Status field, it would be overwritten by the subsequent Primary/Lead Reviewer, Interim Reviewer or Final Reviewer.  We have added a new field called Recommended Review Status that will record the review status assigned by each reviewer in the design review workflow.  These values will appear in a table and can be reported on. Once the design review moves on to the next review step in the workflow, the reviewer will no longer be able to modify the field.  Only the Final Reviewer will be able to update the Review Status field.

Design Review: Additional options for File Review Status, and ability to set Default Value

Previous to this change, as files in a Design Review Set were given a Review Status, the only available options were:

• A - Approved
• B - Approved as Noted
• C - Revise and Resubmit

With this release, there are two new values available for Review Status:

• No Comment
• Not Applicable

Additionally, it's now possible to set a default value, such that it's no longer necessary to manually enter a status for every-single-file in the Design Review Set (which in some cases involves hundreds of documents).  

These change improve the usability for reviewers who only need to review a subset of the design package that pertains to their area of expertise; no longer requiring them to ‘touch’ every file unnecessarily.

 NOTE: By default, the Recommended Review Status will remain ‘blank', which mimics current behavior.

Design Review: Configuration options to hide References section

Three new configuration settings have been added to control the display of the various Reference Sections associated with the Design Review Set:

• Configuration | Applications | Design Review Sets | Fields | References (Design Review Set)

• Configuration | Applications | Design Review Sets | Fields | References (Files for Review)

• Configuration | Applications | Design Review Comments | Fields | References

Though all three References sections will be visible by default, any combination of them can be configured to not appear.  Also, any or all can be relabeled as desired.

Cost Management

Expense Contracts and Pay Requests - Contract Overbilling Options

The following applies to Kahua-provided Expense Contracts and Pay Requests in the Kahua for Owners, K12, GC and Subcontractor packages. 

Kahua now supports optional item-level overbilling rules for Expense Contracts and related pay requests. 

• This can be enabled/disabled to accommodate various business processes via configuration.

• The rule is set per contract. 

• A default value can be configured for new contracts.

• Existing contracts may be updated one at a time or via multi-edit in the Expense Contract log. 

• If a value is not set on a contract, it reverts to the current behaviour of Overbilling Allowed. 

• The related SOV Breakdown document, if used on the contract, also respects the Overbilling Rules.

When enabled, Kahua will prevent a given item on a pay request from being overbilled when the pay request is saved. This will apply to positive and negative line items in all currencies.

Message on Save when an item is overbilled:

Under Configuration > Expense Contracts > Fields, make Overbilling Limits visible:

Contract Overbilling Limits options:

• Overbilling Allowed: No item-level billing rules are enforced.
• Item Overbilling Not Allowed: On save, an item's total work completed to date must be between 0 and the Scheduled Amount of the item.
• Item Overbilling Not Allowed in Paid: Overbilling limits are applied when the Pay Request is saved with a status of Paid.  This allows business processes to adjust the item's scheduled amount or the total work completed to date (i.e., progress) prior to final approval.

Issues App - Added Users Company Named on Record permission filter

We have added a User's Company Named on Record permission filter to the Issues application. 

Similar to the behavior in other applications, when a user is a member of a group that has this permission filter set, the user will only be able to access records where their Company or any person with their company is selected as value on an attribute of that record.

Cashflow - Add Year-end Summary (total) Columns to help set yearly values

Kahua Cashflow allows users to control the display of history and forecast by months, quarters and years.  The month and quarter display options can be followed by a year total.  This helps users manage the balance between detailed forecasting and bigger-picture annual breakdowns. 

NOTE:  We've added Show All Totals to both Other Configuration and Cashflow/Forecasting Types.

• Other: defaults the value for new forecasting. See screenshot below.

• Cashflow/Forecasting Types: is a setting affecting all Cashflow documents using that Forecasting Type.  No screenshot shown. 

Enable in Configuration/ Cashflow Forecasting/ Other - Show Year Totals:

Cashflow/ Manage screen - Display Year Totals After Months/ Quarters:

Change Order - Added Associated Contract Line to DataStore

We added the Associated Contract Line to the Datastore. 

Work Breakdown  (WBS) - Reinstate the Expand All option on the Work Breakdown app

Due to performance issues, the Expand All option in the Work Breakdown (WBS) app was disabled last year.  It is now available again.

WBS Collapsed:

WBS Expanded:

Work Breakdown (WBS) - Kahua Viewer for Cost Worksheets available in the Windows Host

Native viewing of Cost Worksheets is again available in the Windows Host.  It is not available in the Web Host.  Links to Kahua documents are not yet supported.

Added Cost Item Category Tokens

Portable View tokens for the Item Category field for Cost Items are now available in Kahua-supplied cost applications.

Reinstated Import File Previews in the Windows Host

For apps that support previews of import files, those previews have been reinstated in the Windows host. Previews are not available on the web host. 

General Invoices - Additional Custom Contact, Date, Lookup, Text and Unlimited Text Fields

We have added a set of custom fields to the General Invoices application.  There are five fields (e.g., Custom Text 1, Custom Text 2, Custom Text 3, Custom Text 4, and Custom Text 5) for each of the following type:

• Custom Contact
• Custom Date
• Custom Lookup
• Custom Text
• Custom Unlimited Text

These fields can be repurposed to meet the specific needs of your business. These fields can be relabeled in the Configuration app and will appear in the General Invoices app.  

Bid Management

Public Bidding Updates

To support public bidding, there is a new section on the Details tab of the Bid Solicitation, called PUBLIC BID DETAILS.  This new section enables additional information specific to public bids to be captured.

A unique domain-specific URL will be displayed that points to a Kahua generate-webpage which will list out all public bids. This link can then be referenced by any client website or even shared in an email.

Any Bid Solicitation that has the Publish to 'Public Bids' webpage setting enabled will appear on this 'Public Bids' webpage and will be grouped by Status (e.g., Active Bids, Coming Soon, Completed Bids, etc.).

A potential bidder may view the associated Bid Announcement (if provided), or may submit their contact information to request additional information and instructions:

The Bidder will receive an email confirmation, and the Bid Manager will receive a notification/message informing them of the new potential bidder, so that they can send them a formal Bid Invitation.

Bid Management - Process Bid Solicitation Proposals into Purchase Orders

We now have the option to convert awarded Bid Solicitation Proposals directly into Purchase Orders, in addition to Expense Contracts and Funding Budgets. This feature streamlines the creation of Purchase Orders by eliminating the need for manual data entry and the risk of errors. Key information such as Description, Requisitioning Contact, Vendor Contact and Company details, as well as Item Details including descriptions, Activity Codes, Quantities, Units of Measure, Unit Prices, and Item Totals, will be automatically populated from the awarded proposal. This advancement ensures a more efficient and error-free procurement process.

Bid Management - New configuration option to hide the 'Submit Proposal' action

For Bid Management, a new configuration option has been added that allows the Submit Proposal action to be hidden in the Bid Room.  To make the Hide Submit Proposal Action in Bid Room field available on the Bid Solicitation, navigate to the Configuration app > Applications > Bid Solicitation > Fields > Hide 'Submit Proposal' Action in Bid Room and select the Is Visible check box.

When this option is selected on a Bid Solicitation, the Submit Proposal action is disabled on the Bid Room.  This option can be used in cases where there is a desire to have all proposals submitted as hard-copy submissions.  

Bid Management - New configuration option to hide the Bid Form tab on the Bid Solicitation and in the Bid Room

For Bid Management, a new configuration option has been added that allows the Bid Form tab to be hidden in both the Bid Solicitation and in the Bid Room.  To make the Hide 'Bid Form' tab on the Bid Solicitation and in the Bid Room field available on the Bid Solicitation, navigate to the Configuration app > Applications > Bid Solicitation > Fields > Hide 'Bid Form' tab on the Bid Solicitation and in the Bid Room field and select the Is Visible check box.

When this option is selected on a Bid Solicitation, the Bid Form tab will be hidden on both the Bid Solicitation and in the Bid Room.  This option can be used in cases where there's a desire to use the Bid Documents themselves (instead of what's available in the Kahua Bidding App) to define the scope of the Bid and for the Bidders to enter their Proposal Details.

Bid Management - Added ability to manage Bid Q&A by Discipline

The Discipline attribute, which is a lookup field, has been added to the Bid Q&A.  This way, as questions are created or received, they may be optionally tagged to a discipline.   Tagging the Q&A to a discipline code will help better manage the Q&A, ensuring that it's directed to the most appropriate SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) for a response.

Scheduling/rSchedule (Runding)

Note: These features are available for customers in Commercial environments. They are not yet available for customers using the Kahua Government Network.

Scheduling - Enabled Asset Tagging

Asset Tagging has been enabled for use within the Schedule suite of apps. Users can now link assets from within Tasks to locations and Assets as needed. In addition, a log view has been added to Schedule Task to allow users to view just tasks with assets tagged to them.

Scheduling - Added Company and Customer Fields to MS Project records

Users can now select from the Company and Customer fields within the edit view of Schedules and view them within the Preview Screen. 

Scheduling - Added New View

A new view has been added to the Multi-edit for Schedule Tasks that displays commonly used user fields.

Scheduling - Milestone Mapping

Clarified an issue where Schedule Tasks could not save when the base Milestone Application is installed. Milestone extension must be installed for Milestone Mapping to work as intended.

Kahua Provided Extensions

Portfolio Manager (For Owner) Extension - Add Review and Approval Workflows

Submit for Review and Submit for Approval workflows have been added to the Portfolio Manager (Owner) extension. To setup these workflows, use the Configuration Approvals app. These workflows provide the same options as the other applications in the Approvals app. However, instead of the label Submit Signatures as in other Kahua applications, Portfolio Manager has Submit for Approval labels.

To use the workflows, like other applications, enable one or both using the Settings tab in the Configuration app > Portfolio Manager.

NOTE: Users with the proper permissions can still use other Kahua applications when the Project record is out for Review or Approval.

This feature is optional and disabled by default.

Configuration > Approvals

Configuration > Application > Portfolio Manager > Settings

Portfolio Manager (For Owner) Extension - Locations

A Locations section has been added that allows you to tag one or many of the domain locations to a project. The section is hidden by default. To mark the Section as visible, use the Configuration app > Portfolio Manager. Mark the Section – Locations attribute as visible. All associated attributes will display once the section displays.

Configuration > Application > Portfolio Manager > Fields

NOTE:

• You can insert one or many domain locations and tag the location(s) to the project.
• You can start typing the location you are looking for, and the list is filtered down (like other Kahua lists).
• The parent path(s) of a location is displayed in the edit and preview views.
• If multiple locations are inserted, you can mark one as primary (for any reporting purposes). The Primary designation does not have any logic or other functions. This field is optional.
• The Status field is read only and is the status of the domain location selected.
• At this time, any domain location selected on the project record is NOT added to the Locations app at the project level. That is a separate step for the user.

Known issues: For locations with longer parent paths, the full text will not appear in the Location column.

Portfolio Manager (For Owner) Extension - Ability to add MS Word Portable Views 

You can now add a Microsoft Word Portable View to the Portfolio Manager (for Owner) extension.

Kahua Host Updates

All Kahua hosts have been updated with various enhancements and bug fixes.  The Windows host will automatically update upon first launch after the release. 

Download the appropriate app for your device: 

• Kahua Mobile for iOS on iTunes
  

• Kahua Mobile for Android on Google Play

Release Note Changes