February 2025 Release Notes

The Kahua 2025.1 release will be deployed to our Production environments on February 8, 2025. A preview of this functionality can be accessed at https://earlyaccesslaunch.kahua.com beginning on January 25, 2025. 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 bug fixes, performance improvements, and minor UI updates, this release includes the updates described below in the following functional areas:

• General
• Administration
• Reporting
• File Manager
• Document Management
• Cost Management
• Asset Management
• Analytics
• Scheduling/rSchedule (Runding)

General

Multi Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has been enabled for all domains that do not have a Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication solution in place. This advanced security measure requires users to provide two forms of identification – a password and a second factor like a Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) or an Email-Based verification code. 

Designed with user experience in mind, our MFA implementation is not only robust and reliable but also straightforward and user-friendly. This update underscores our commitment to safeguarding user data and providing a secure environment for all our customers. This enhancement will greatly contribute to the overall security of our platform, aligning with the latest industry standards in cybersecurity.

For more information, please refer to Kahua Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for All Customers in February 2025 Release.

Support Alternate MFA Options per User

Kahua's MFA solution supports multiple MFA methods and allows the end user to choose which MFA method they want to use each time they login to Kahua. 

The supported MFA methods are email and TOTP (time-based one-time password). The email method does not require any additional steps or enrollment by the user. An MFA code will be emailed to the user's Kahua email account. The TOTP method requires enrolling the user's mobile device with Kahua and using an authenticator app, such as the Microsoft Authenticator app or Google Authenticator app, on the mobile device in order to attain the MFA code at each login.

After successful email address and password authentication, the user will choose an MFA method (either email or TOTP), retrieve the MFA code, and enter it in Kahua in order to complete the authentication process.

Home Page updates

The Kahua Home Page has been updated and improved to make it easier to access the projects you are working on. 

Users who work in multiple domains will be able to switch domains from the home page by clicking on the domain name. The Projects section will be filtered by the selected domain. A Search bar has been added to the Projects section, allowing you to search for any project within the current domain.

A new view has been added to the Projects section. From the More menu, you can select your preferred view, the traditional Card View or the new Table View. 

From the same menu you can choose to view either My Projects or Recent Projects. Your selections will be retained when you return to the Home Page.

References - Added Void action and ability to disable removal of reference files

A new feature has been added to the References section for all Kahua apps that, when enabled, will prevent non-admin users from removing references and provide an option to mark the reference as voided instead.

To enable this feature, ensure that you are in the correct project or partition and navigate to the Configuration app > Applications tab > Projects or Portfolio Manager (the available option depends on your domain setup) > References tab.  Select Override and "Disable Removal (Deletion) of Reference Files". The setting will be inherited down through the project hierarchy and can be overridden.

Once the setting is selected and saved, the Remove action on the References section in all apps becomes available only to application Administrators and Moderators and a new Void action is available to all.

To void one or more references, select the documents and click Void. You must enter a reason for voiding the documents. 

Click OK on the Void Reason. The Voided Reason, Voided By, and Voided Date values are recorded. These values are available in the data store. These values appear with the voided reference when you select Show Voided.

Administrators and moderators can undo a void by editing the record and selecting Restore for the appropriate references. The Void flag is removed and the Voided By, Voided Date, and Voided Reason fields are cleared.

PDF Viewer - Added the ability to navigate directly to a specific page number

We have added the ability to navigate directly to a specific page within the Kahua PDF file viewer. Simply click on the "# of #" page button in the top left of the file viewer or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+G while viewing a file. These actions will open the Enter Page Number dialog. Enter the appropriate page number and click Ok. The selected page will open in the viewer.

My Settings - "Show project number" enabled for new users by default

The Show project number setting in the My Settings > General tab will now default as enabled for new users. When enabled, the Project Number appears with the Project Name throughout Kahua.

Administration

Project Snapshot tool - Additional output format

We have created an updated output format for the Project Snapshot tool with improved naming conventions, easier file folder navigation, and a replacement of the JSON file format. To use the updated output format, ensure that you are in the correct project or partition and navigate to the Configuration app > Applications tab > Project Snapshot > Settings tab. Select Override, then select the "Exclude JSON" setting to apply the updated format. Like other configuration settings, this selection inherits down through the hierarchy. You must select this setting to use the updated output formatting.

The updated output format includes the following changes:

• The default name is now the project name concatenated with the datetime stamp. For example, a snapshot run at 3:00PM on March 5th, 2025 will be named PROJECTNAME 20250305 1500 where PROJECTNAME is the project name.
• Domain partition folders are no longer included in the output.
• App records are no longer created as separate file folders with files. Instead, all log records, except for lists, are located in the root of the app. If an app has a list, there is a folder for that containing all the files for the respective List.
• The file name format for the exported record is the Entity ID + App Name + Shortlabel. Corresponding reference and media attachments are included with the record name prefixed to them. 
• JSON file formats are no longer included.
• The JSON manifest file is replaced with an Excel file format.

Locations - Added ability to record Geocode Boundaries for custom location types

Previously, the Geocode Boundaries section was only available for default location types. It is now also available for custom location types. 

Reporting

Retired Legacy Kahua standard reports

Kahua-authored standard (out-of-the-box) reports which are currently labeled as [Legacy] reports and which have a replacement DevExpress report available, have been removed from the Kahua base applications and extensions. Scheduled reports established on these legacy reports will also be discontinued. You will need to recreate scheduled instances using the new report versions.

Added support for custom field labels in the Ad Hoc Report wizard

When custom field labels are applied in the Configuration app, those custom labels will now also be reflected in the column list when creating an ad hoc report, eliminating confusion over field names when creating reports.

File Manager

Search and filter markups

This feature provides you with the ability to search and filter markups within the Kahua markup tool. A new filter button has been added to the header row of the markup tool that provides you with the ability to define different search and filter parameters for the markups on the drawing. Note that this filter will be disabled if there is nothing to filter, i.e. there are no markups or only one markup in the drawing or file.

When you click on the Filter icon , a new row with a search bar and filter icon appears.

The Search bar allows you to perform a search on any attribute within the markup panel as well as the text contained within specific markup types (callout, text-box, sticky notes). After typing in the search bar and pressing Enter, the system will filter the markups and markup panel based on the input.  For example, to filter for all the callouts on a drawing, enter "Callout" as the search term.  All the callout markups will appear in the markup panel.

Example A - Using Search Bar to show only Callout Type markups

To filter for text within a markup, enter that text as a search term.  Only markups that contain the text will appear in the markup panel.

Example B - Using Search bar to find specific text in Callout

When you click the filter icon in the search bar, a list of filter categories based on the attributes of the markups contained in the drawing or file appears.

You can then select which filters to apply to the drawing or file and only those markups will appear. The applied filter(s) will be shown on the search and filter bar for easy visibility.

Example C - Show Markups by Specific Contributor

Assign Markup Color to Company and/or User

We have added the ability to assign a color to specific company’s users or individual users in the Markup tool.

Important: This feature does not affect existing markups.  Color assignments will only affect new markups going forward upon assignment. 

To assign colors to a Company or a user, ensure that you are in the correct project or partition and navigate to Configuration app > Markups tab > Assigned Colors tab.  Like other configuration settings, this selection inherits down through the hierarchy.

Note that the existing Stamps tab in the Configuration app has been moved to the new Markups tab.  The existing functionality of our Stamps features has not been modified.

From the Assigned Colors tab, colors can be assigned to Companies or Contacts. Under Assigned Colors select the Companies or Contacts tab.

Select Override and click Add. A color assignment dialog box appears. Select the desired markup color and company or contact as appropriate.   Once both color and company/contact are selected click Add.

The new color assignment is added to the color assignment table.

Markup color assignment functions as follows:

• When a color is assigned to a company or contact, the company users or individual contact user are unable to alter their color selection when marking up a file in Kahua.
• A company or contact cannot be assigned more than one color.  An error will occur if you try to save a second color assignment for a particular company or contact. 
• The color assignment applies to the line and text color only.
• Fill color automatically defaults to "none" for users with color assignments, unless the user has selected 'Remember Prior Setting' for the Fill Color.
  • Users with assigned colors can modify their fill color from the color palette when in markup mode.
• When a color is assigned to a company in a project or partition, the color is assigned to all users with that company for markups in all relevant apps in that project or partition in Kahua (i.e. File Manager, Reference section files, and anywhere you can mark up a document).
• When a color is assigned to a contact in a project or partition, that user will use that color for the markups feature throughout Kahua. (i.e. File Manager, Reference section files, anywhere you can mark up a document)
  • Note that a contact color assignment will override the company color assignment, when an individual contact of a company also has a color selection (i.e. The user with color assignment will use their assigned color over their companies assigned color)
• When a company or contact is assigned a color for markups, the color assignment will override the ‘Remember User Prior Settings’ when utilizing markups, except for fill color.
• Color assignments work through shares when a user has an assignment and is marking up a document through a share or a workflow task.

Assigned Colors Permissions: 

Permissions to allow users to manage the Assigned Colors and Stamps tab can be assigned to Groups, so individuals who are not domain administrators can manage color and stamp assignments.  

To assign this permission to a group, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to Groups app.  Select the desired group to assign the configuration permissions.
2. Select Edit and click on the Permissions tab.
3. From the list of apps, select Configuration. Select Override.
   • To allow members of the group to assign colors on the Markups tab > Assigned Colors tab, select the Markup Colors Configuration Administrator (edit markup colors Configuration, open app) role.
   • To allow members of the group to manage stamps on the Markups tab > Stamps tab, select the Stamps Configuration Administrator (edit stamp Configuration, open app) role.
4. Click Save when you are done.

Controlled Folders - Added ability to view sub-folders within the log view

When accessing a controlled folder, subfolders will now be visible in the log view screen. This aligns with how File folders display sub-folders in Kahua. This will provide mobile users with the ability to access files within subfolders that are part of controlled folders. 

Document Management

RFIs - Added ability to select multiple Primary Responders

The Primary Responder field of Kahua's RFI's app has been updated to support the selection of multiple contacts, similar to current Submittals functionality.

• Selected contacts must be Kahua users to submit the RFI for review.
• On Submit, all Primary Responders will receive tasks and notifications.
• The first Primary Responder to respond will clear the tasks for all other Primary Responders.

Submittals - Enhanced Submittal Package and Submittal Items Workflow Forms 

Kahua's Submittal Package and Submittal Items workflow forms have been updated to deliver a more seamless and efficient user experience for all participants.

Highlights of the updates include the following:

• Streamlined Layout: Improved organization reduces scrolling and enhances usability, making it easier for responsible parties to access necessary information and complete data entry fields.
• Enhanced Consistency: Key sections such as Previous Revisions and Comments are now standardized across all workflow forms. 
• Workbench-Like Task Recipient Area: The Reviewers, Consultant Reviewers, and Submitting Vendor (New) sections have been updated to create a dedicated workspace for task recipients, featuring:
  • Recipient’s name  
  • Special instructions  
  • Task due date  
  • Response entry and notes entry 
• Quick Access to Critical Information: References section has been moved up and after Details and Consultant Responses and Previous Revisions sections have been repositioned directly below the task recipient's section for easier reference.
• Optimized Data Grids: Improved field visibility, especially on smaller screens or split-screen mode, by moving Response and Response Notes columns closer to the left.

These updates are designed to enhance efficiency, reduce friction, and provide a more intuitive workflow experience.

Daily Reports - Added ability to manually override the weather postal code

By default, the weather information on daily reports is based on the postal code set up in the Configuration app > Weather tab. To accommodate projects that span large areas and have a need to capture daily reports and weather information across different postal codes, we have added the ability to select a different postal code on each daily report. This selection will override the setting from the Configuration app and the weather information on the daily report will be generated from the selected postal code.

To enable this feature, ensure that you are in the appropriate project or partition and navigate to the Configuration app > Weather tab.  Select Override, then select Allow Overriding Postal Code and click Save.

Cost Management

Updates to Funding Contract, Change Order, SOV Breakdown and Pay Apps

This update applies to Kahua for Owner, Education, General Contractor and Subcontractors. 

We've made changes affecting the Kahua supplied Funding Contracts, Change Orders, SOV Breakdown and Pay Apps. Some custom extensions, if installed on top of the Kahua Extensions, may also be affected.

Kahua has coordinated funding contract functionality with expense contract functionality, aligning most common features between the two sets of apps. 

NOTE: We've shared code between the applications, leveraging Kahua HubPart capabilities within the Kahua technology stack.

Entry Type added to Funding Contract Apps

Prior to this release, Funding Contract and related apps used an older approach for determining if a document's items include quantity and unit price, or a total value. For each document, the user selected Items Include Quantity, or left it blank to use a total value.

Items Include Quantity checkbox

Starting in 2025.1, Funding Contracts, Change Orders and SOV Breakdown will use the Entry Type field, which is a dropdown menu that controls the entry type at the document level, or optionally, at the item level. This is the same functionality that currently exists on Expense Contract apps. 

Existing documents will automatically be migrated from the Items Include Quantity check box to the new Entry Type field. If Items Include Quantity is selected on the existing document, the Entry Type will be "Unit Price". If Items Include Quantity is not selected, the Entry Type will be "Total Value".

Entry Type selector

This update, along with the following changes, brings Funding Contract and related apps in line with other funding and expense documents: 

• Added "Lump Sum" as an option for Entry Type on Funding Contracts and Change Orders.
• Enabled Item-Level Entry Types for Funding Contracts and Change Orders. 
• Enabled quantities on Funding SOV Breakdown, including for the above-mentioned "Lump Sum" and Item-Level Entry Types.

NOTE: these capabilities are opt-in via Configuration for each Kahua cost app.

For more information about how Entry Type works, search "Quantity Centric Upgrades" here: https://support.kahua.com/support/solutions/articles/24000078939-july-2022-release-notes .

Quantity Based Progress on Pay Apps

Funding contracts and the corresponding Pay App now support progressing work by Quantity, in the same way it is handled on Expense Contracts and Pay Requests. 

Enable Quantity Based Progress on Pay Requests on Funding Contract (opt-in configuration required)

Use Quantity to progress items on Pay App (Qty Completed to Date, Qty This Period)

For more information on how quantity-based progress on pay apps works, search "Quantity-Centric Enhancements" here: https://support.kahua.com/support/solutions/articles/24000081086-october-2022-release-notes.

Funding Contracts now include Overbilling Limits

You can now select the desired overbilling rules for the contract. These are enforced during progressing of the Pay App. 

Select Overbilling Limits on the contract (Opt-in configuration required)

Overbilling enforced during Pay App progressing

For more information on overbilling rules, you can review how they function on the Expense Contract here: https://support.kahua.com/support/solutions/articles/24000089662-march-2024-release-notes#Cost-Management

Expense Change Orders and Issues - Default Description setting respected for Associated Contract Line selection 

This update applies to Kahua for Owner, Education, General Contractor and Subcontractors.

When the Default Description to Activity Code Description setting in Configuration > Settings for the Expense Change Orders app or Issues app is disabled, that selection is now respected when choosing an Associated Contract Line for Change Order Items or Issue Items. The item's description will no longer be overwritten by the associated contract item's description.

SOV Breakdown - Updated Refresh to remove redundant Commitment Items relate to Change Order Items

This update applies to Kahua for Owner, Education, General Contractor and Subcontractors using the Kahua supplied SOV Breakdown application. 

NOTE: This update only applies to SOV based contracts using Associated Contract Lines (ACL) on change order items.

Previously, if a change order item was incorrectly added to the SOV breakdown without an associated contract line and later correctly associated with a contract line, when the SOV was refreshed, the now redundant change order item line would remain.

For the 2025.1 release, we have updated the SOV Refresh functionality to remove redundant SOV commitment items for any Change Order item that is linked to an associated contract line, as long as all the child SOV items are manually removed by the user first. 

Capital Planning - Added attributes to the Kahua Data Store

The following fields have been added to the kahua_CapitalPlanManager_CapitalPlanProject table in the Data Store:

SourceProject, TargetProject, CapitalPlan, CapitalPlanPriority, PartitionItemType, PartitionItemState, ReleaseDateTime, ReleasedBy, Released, and CreatedBy.

Asset Management

Asset Manager - Added ability to promote selected Systems to the domain level

Systems created on a project in the Asset Manager > Systems sub-app can be promoted to the domain level for use in other projects.

To promote a system to the domain level, select it and click on Promote to Domain in the action bar. Click Continue on the confirmation dialog to promote the system to the domain. Project level assets, asset types and locations related to the system are also promoted to the domain level. Promoted systems appear at the project level with a globe icon, indicating that they reside at the domain level.

Analytics

Improved Hyperlink Capabilities

Certain Kahua Analytics dashboards now support the ability to initiate application actions through hyperlinks and carry over contextual information from Analytics into the respective target app. The use case is to be able to generate log views and create documents in Kahua from filtered views inside of Analytics. This is currently available in the Asset-Centric Analytics offering and works with the Scenario Planning application to be able to navigate from a filtered view in Analytics directly to creating a scenario of assets.

Using Analytics, the user is able to filter their dashboard using the slicer visuals at the top (red highlight) and create a tailored view for their specific needs. All Analytics dashboards contain a log view table that highlights the subset of data that the user has filtered (yellow highlight).

Hovering over the Send to Scenario Planning button informs the user that their filtered view of assets and the contextual filter information is ready to export into a new draft document in the Scenario Planning application.

Clicking the button sends the user to the domain-scoped Scenario Planning application and opens a draft document carrying over the contextual information (entities and filter criteria) from Analytics, allowing the user to modify the selections and to fill in other fields prior to saving the new document.

Scheduling/rSchedule (Runding)

Note that these changes will not go out immediately with the 2025.1 release. They will instead be part of a subsequent maintenance release.

rSCHEDULE: Revisions Updates

rSchedule Revisions workflow is being updated to account for the different ways users update their schedules and how they interact with Kahua.

• The Revisions field in Schedules has been renamed Kahua Revision.
• The Revision Form Label for Current Schedule File has been renamed Current Version.
• Added a comment section to the revision form.
• The Revision Effective Date will be the date from the Schedule record it is replicating to ensure accurate historical data.
• Added a new workflow step for the Revisions process including a status update for "Unprocessed Revision".

rQUEUE LOGS: QUALITY OF LIFE ENHANCEMENTS

The application rQueue Logs has been updated with the following enhancements:

• rQueue logs will now have a default value assigned to allow for sorting.
• The NEW button has been removed. Logs can no longer be manually created and will only be created from the system. 

rSCHEDULE: QUALITY OF LIFE ENHANCEMENTS

• Portable view tokens have been turned on to allow users to create their own custom reports. The guidebook has been updated to include basic reports for schedule tasks.
• Added Status and Effective date to the log view.
• Created By and Modified By are now populated by Kahua and not the schedule file.

rSCHEDULE: Added "Set to Ready" option

Note: This feature is available for customers in Commercial environments. It is not yet available for customers using the Kahua Government Network.

A Set to Ready button has been added to the start step.  Selecting Set to Ready will allow records stuck in the Start step to move to the correct workflow.

For further information, please refer to the Appendix section of the Schedules Guidebook.

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