Timeline Events - Complete Guide

Upshot allows you to track anything that has happened or changed with your attendees using Timeline Events. This can help you to record the work you complete with participants outside of sessional data and can help to record their progress/journey while using your services. These can be positive or negative and can be used to help build case studies.

Examples of this could include tracking accreditations or qualifications gained by individuals or recording if attendees have been referred or signposted to other organisations/services. Other organisations might use this to record if attendees have gone back into employment/education or use this feature as a place to store narrative from 1:1 conversations with attendees with the ability to restrict access.

Adding Timeline Events to an Attendee
Restricted Access to Timeline Events
- Changing user access to Restricted Timeline Events
Adding Timeline Events from a Session Register
Attendees Timeline
Reporting on Timeline Events
Customising your Timeline Event Options
Webinar
Key Terms

Adding Timeline Events to an Attendee

To view an attendee’s profile, simply type their name in the search bar at the top right of the page and click on their name when it appears. Alternatively click on the attendee’s name within a register.

When viewing an attendee’s profile, you can see their timeline by clicking on Timeline.

To choose a new event to add to their timeline, select an option from the drop-down menu that best reflects what has happened or changed for an attendee. This could be anything from achieving a new qualification to passing a criminal record check. A full list containing all the Upshot default events is provided in the Key Terms.

If there isn’t an event that describes what has happened to your attendee, you can select Other, Note or ask your System Admin User/Upshot Support to add a Custom timeline event to accurately record what has happened to the attendee. For more instructions around this process please click here.

Once you have chosen which event you want to add, you will have the option to add a few more details, this could be text or numbers.

There may be a second subset of options that allows you to be more specific about this event. For example for Referred to you would get the option to select who they were referred to in a second list.

The timeline event example on the next page shows that for Accreditations, you can specify the accreditation they have achieved, the day they achieved it and the expiry date (if necessary). You can also add notes to the event. These additional notes can give context and detail and are really helpful when building up this case study for an individual. There are a variety of formatting options allowing you to highlight different parts of the text.

You can also choose to associate the timeline events with a specific project, activity and/or outcome if relevant for reporting purposes.

Restricted Access to Timeline Events

Access to individual timeline events can be restricted if required. This may be useful if the timeline event contains potentially sensitive data such as Case Notes that are taken from a 1:1 counselling session for example.

When restricting access, the Timeline Event Value and Notes will be hidden for users not granted access. In the screenshot example above this would hide the Value – ‘In care’ and any additional Notes around this event.

To restrict access simply select the names of the users that do need to access the timeline event. All users not selected will not have access to this event. If no one is selected the timeline event will not be restricted.

Make sure to include yourself if needed when restricting access to an event, otherwise after the event has been saved you will lose access to the timeline event.

All users that are given restricted access to an event can update who else has restricted access to that event. System Admins can also perform this function even if they are not in the restricted access set.

When on an individual's timeline, users will see the following if events have been restricted:

For restricted events users will only see the type of timeline event who initially posted the event and who last changed the Access Restrictions

Note I: When restricting access to timeline events it is important to consider which users may need access to this timeline event for reporting purposes in your organisation. If unsure do not choose to restrict access to the timeline event and contact your System Admin.

Note II: System Admin’s can update their own and other users access to restricted timeline events in bulk if required for reporting purposes, please click here to find out more.

Adding Timeline Events from a Session Register

You can also add timeline events from a session for individuals or multiple attendees. This can be done from a session register.

On the Session Register at the top of the screen click Timeline event.

You will be presented with the list of Timeline Events. Once selected the following pop up screen will appear:

Once you have finished click Save.

You can Edit or Delete specific timeline events from attendees’ profiles if necessary.

Editing can include editing the detail of the event itself, or any of the relevant associations (Project, Activity, Outcomes) and restrictions.

Note: When adding Timeline Events directly from a session register, the Outcomes available will only be those associated to the Activity the session belongs to.

Attendees Timeline

An attendee's timeline will show all Timeline events in date descending order with the most recent events shown first.

An attendee’s timeline will also show any Media they are associated with and Surveys they have completed.

If you only want to see their Timeline events use the Filters at the top of the page to narrow down the selection to either Event, Media or Survey. For Timeline Events, users can filter further to display only Timeline Events of a specific type.

Alternatively, users may only be interested in anything added to the attendees timeline within a specific date range.

A Printable Version of this page is also available that could be used internally, or shared with the attendee, whilst there is also a quick link to the Timeline Events Report if the user would like to report on details of the events across several attendees.

Reporting on Timeline Events

Reporting on Timeline Events can be done in four ways.

1. Use the People Report to find the names of individuals that have specific timeline events recorded.

2. Using the Timeline Events Report - this has two elements:

a. The ability to see on screen the number of times a certain Timeline Event has been recorded or the number of attendees who have this Timeline Event recorded against their profile.

b. The option to then download this information around your Timeline Events. Allowing the user to see more around the detail of the Timeline Events, such as the associated 'Projects, Activities, Outcomes and the Recording user', as well as enabling users to carry out more complex reporting if required.

3. Use the Attendee Report to see all Timeline Events on a particular individual’s profile, as well as their session record and demographic details. This can be used as the basis of a case study.

4. Global Timeline Event fields such as Accreditations and Referrals can be tracked using Measured Indicators within a project.

People Report

To report on Timeline Events on mass to find a group of people who have/do not have a certain event use the People Report.

Select the filter called Timeline Events.

Here you can specify which event you would like to report on.

Then click Go.

Note I: If relevant, Timeline Events you have not been granted restricted access to will not be shown in the results. System Admins can update their own and other users access to restricted timeline events in bulk if required for reporting purposes, please click here to find out more.

Note II: If a Project has been selected when adding timeline events you can further narrow down your search criteria by looking for Timeline Events linked to a particular activity within a project.

If you choose to download the results these will be download into a CSV file. Your timeline events will be presented in columns to the right of your attendee’s details. This will list the event and any notes attached. The default timeline event 'note' will not export in this report.

In general, if you want to download all the Timeline Event information the Timeline Events Report listed below is a better way to do this.

Timeline Events Report

This has two elements, viewing the report on screen and downloading the information around your Timeline Events.

Viewing the Report 'on Screen'

Use the Timeline Events Report to find either the number of times a certain Timeline Event has been recorded or the number of attendees who have this Timeline Event recorded against their profile.

Go to Reports > Timeline Events

The report is broken down into sections.

• Total – the total values across all Timeline Events

• Your event types – any values for any Custom Timeline Events you have created

• Global event types – any values for any Global event types you have used such as Accreditation

• Delivery Organisation Custom event types – only Facilitating Organisations will see this option. This will be a total for any custom event types created by Delivery Organisations linked to their account.

Note: Only timeline events which have been used and have values recorded against them will be shown in the report.

For each Timeline Event type shown a figure will be represented for both Events and Attendees.

• Events - show the total number of times this timeline event has been recorded (e.g. there are 28 Accreditations recorded).

• Attendees - show the number of unique attendees who have this timeline event recorded on their profile. One attendee may have multiple events recorded (e.g. 20 unique attendees have Accreditations.)

For event types that are Single-choice drop down, Multiple-choice field, A number or Yes/No you will have the option to expand this by clicking on the + on the right-hand side to see a breakdown for relevant values underneath.

Use the filters on the right-hand side to narrow down your report to Timeline Events recorded within a certain time period, associated to certain Projects/Activities or your Outcomes.

Downloading the Report

Users also have the option to export their Timeline Event information using this report. They can either select to Download or Download via Email.

This allows the user to see the detail of the Timeline Events, such as the associated 'Projects, Activities, Outcomes and the Recording user', as well as enabling users to carry out more complex reporting if desired.

Note:

(i) Users can choose to ‘include attendee personal details’ when using the ‘Download via email’ option.

(ii) Users will be restricted to the ‘Download via email’ if their file contains more than 10,000 'items' (Timeline events x unique attendees)

Users are encouraged to use the filters available on the right-hand side before downloading, to make the exported information as relevant as possible. For instance, selecting filters related to a ‘Date Range, Event Type(s), Project(s) or Strategies/Outcomes.’

Users can also report on Timeline Events via the People and Attendee Reports, to find out more click here.

The export will contain five tabs:

Info
Raw - Attendee and event type
By attendee and event type
Raw - Outcomes
By outcome

Info

This will detail key criteria of the report, such as the date generated and any filters selected. It will also highlight key rules around how the Timeline Event data is presented across the export, in relation to things such as Restricted Timeline Events and Restricted Attendee Profiles.

Raw – Attendee and event type

This lists each individual instance of a Timeline Event on a separate row and contains all associated information about this apart from outcomes. For Multiple-choice field type events, if used, the 'Event value' will show multiple selections separated by a vertical bar.

Using the filters at the top of this tab can allow users to focus on Timeline Events added to a certain attendee or by a certain user as well as other areas that may be of interest.

By attendee and event type

This groups the Timeline Event information for each of the attendees in the download, presenting a succinct format that lists their name, the 'Event type', 'Event value' and 'Total timeline' events for that attendee.

Raw - Outcomes

This provides the same information for each outcome as the 'Raw – Attendee and event type' tab, with the addition of the associated outcomes. A Timeline Event is repeated on multiple rows if it is associated to more than one outcome and/or is a multiple-choice field type of event.

E.g. if a Timeline Event is connected to three outcomes, the event will be repeated on three rows. The rows will be identical apart from the three different outcomes associated to the event.

Again, using the filters at the top of this tab of the report can allow users to focus on particular areas that may be of interest.

By outcome

This tab groups the Timeline Event information in relation to each outcome. This allows users to see the instances of Timeline Events that relate to specific outcomes and some key information around them, as well as the Total amount of Timeline Events linked to that outcome.

For any instances of Timeline Events that were not connected to any outcomes, they will be grouped under 'No outcomes associated.'

Facilitating Organisation (FO) - Additional Rules

Facilitating Organisation users will only have this option to download the report if they have ‘full access’ to associated Delivery Organisations connected to their account.

If they do, there is also additional criteria presented on screen and below that they need to be aware of detailing what information is presented in their download:

The download will only contain Timeline Event information of those attendees that have attended programmes which the user has access to, and are connected to your Facilitating Organisation.
Only attendees from Delivery Organisations that your Facilitating Organisation has full access to will show in the download. E.g. if some connected Delivery Organisations are ‘exempt’ from sharing full information, they will not be included in the download.
The download will contain both Global and Facilitating Organisation custom Timeline Event information. It will not contain information on any Delivery Organisation custom Timeline Events. It will also not contain any Timeline Events associated with ‘private projects’ at the Delivery Organisation level.

Reporting Template - Reporting by 'Recording User'

Finally, organisation's can also use a pre-built Reporting Template to report by user in relation to Timeline Events. By copying data from a Timeline Event Report export into the pre-built Reporting Template organisations can quickly see key stats around the amount and type of Timeline Events recorded by each Upshot user, as well as the link between the user and attendees in terms of Timeline Events.

To access and find out more around the reporting template, please click here.

Attendee Report

You can also see a specific Attendee’s Timeline events by downloading an Attendee Report.

The Attendee Report can be seen as the basis of a Case Study, presenting an individual’s demographic details, attendance record and timeline events in a downloaded word document.

To run this report you can either:

1. Go to an attendee’s profile:

a. On Personal details on the right-hand side under Summary there is the option to Download attendee report.

2. Go to Reports > Written Reports

a. Type in the Attendee’s name.

b. Click Generate Report.

Measured Indicators

When creating a Measured Indicator users have the option under Indicator type to select either Number of accreditations gained, Number of referrals from/to body and Number of referrals from/to programme, these are tracking the Upshot Global Timeline Event fields.

This can be a helpful visual way of tracking performance of a project against the accreditations gained for example.

Note: For the Measured Indicator performance to include Timeline Events added to attendee profiles, the Timeline Event, when added, must be associated back to the relevant project the indicator is created in. Timeline Events not linked back to the project will not show in your indicator results.

Customising your Timeline Event Options

Users with System Admin access can add new Timeline Event options.

To do this:

• Go to Admin > Timeline Events.

• On the right-hand side under Tools there is the option to Add a new timeline event.

• Here you can specify the name of the event and the options presented when it has been selected.

• Then click Add.

To find out more about this process please read the System Admin - Managing your organisation's Timeline Event options guide.

If you would like to change the submenu of options that come up for any of the existing Global timeline events, such as ‘ Referred to’ or 'Accreditations', please get in touch with Upshot Support.

The existing, Upshot Global Timeline Event options can also be hidden altogether by going to Admin > Data Display options and choosing whether relevant timeline event types are Displayed/or not displayed.

Webinar

As part of the Upshot Community Webinar series in 2020 a thirty minute webinar was delivered called Participant Journeys with Upshot's Timeline Events feature and this can be seen below:

Chapters

05:50 - Adding Timeline Events to attendees

19:02 - Adding a new Type of Timeline Event

21:05 - Hiding Timeline Event types

22:30 - Managing user access to existing restricted Timeline Events

24:25 - Reporting on Timeline Events

Since the recording of this webinar there have been further improvements to the Timeline Events Report, allowing users to export the data on multiple timeline events at once and view all associated data. The export will contain information such as the associated 'Projects, Activities, Outcomes and the Recording user' for each Timeline Event entry, which can be used for custom reporting as well as having inbuilt 'filters' and 'groupings' on the different tabs to aid users.

Key Terms

Timeline Event:

Each attendee on the system has a timeline and you can track points of interest on their journey as "timeline events". These record what has happened or changed with a participant outside of regular session data and can often be viewed as individual outcomes from participating in the project. These events can be customised.

You also have the option for Restricted Timeline Events, this means that only certain users can view and report on these timeline events. This may be useful if the timeline events contain potentially sensitive information.

Types of Timeline Events: (Upshot Default List)

• Accommodation status: This refers to where the attendee is currently living.

• Accreditation: If the attendee has gained any accredited qualifications whilst attending your project then there is the option of choosing from a wide range of pre-set qualifications. The list of accreditations can be added to or reduced.

• Blood pressure measurement: Record of blood pressure of the attendee.

• BMI measurement: Body Mass Index measurement.

• Criminal records check: If the attendee has passed a criminal record check, you state which check it was that they passed and when it expires.

• Education status: This refers to the level of formal qualifications that the attendee has received to date.

• EET status: This refers to the attendees’ current education, employment or training status. This also includes if they are currently volunteering on your project or any other.

• Intended progression: This refers to the aims of the attendee and what they would like to do once they have left your project. There are a number of options including education and employment. If you wish you may also specify your own.

• Note: Space for a more general comment on an individual if no other event is a good fit. If it is a clearly defined entry, then think about creating a custom Timeline Event. This can then be reported on in future as well.

• Other: Other attribute refers to other possible information you would like to add about this person. This could include low income status, at risk of exclusion from school/college, ex offender, refugee, asylum seeker, lone parent or any other attribute you wish to add.

• Physically inactive: If the attendee is or becomes physically inactive at any point this can be selected.

• Post-project status: This refers to what the attendee is known to be doing once they have left your project.

• Referred from: If the attendee has been referred to your project from another body, for example a school or a local sports club. This list can be added to.

• Referred from programme: If the attendee has been referred from another programme associated with your organisation.

• Referred to: If your attendee is referred to another organisation then it can be selected here. This list can also be added to.

• Referred to programme: If the attendee has been referred to another programme associated with your organisation.