COME HOME
PROJECT WORKSPACE GUIDE
A practical guide to working inside the Come Home project. See what needs doing, understand what is ready to move, keep the team updated and leave a clear record for the people working alongside you.
One shared place. One shared picture.
The CNTS Workspace gives the project team one place to see what is happening, what is ready to work on, who is responsible, what is waiting on something else and what has already been completed.
You do not need to understand every part of the system. Most Partners only need to know how to find their work, read the task properly, add useful updates and keep the task status accurate.
If it affects the work, record it in the workspace. The next person should not need to chase you to find out what happened.
Know where to begin.
Start From Partner Hub
Sign in to CNTS and open your Partner Hub.
From there, select the Come Home Project Workspace to open the project.
Open Partner Hub āCheck What Can Move
When you return to the project, start by checking the current progress and the work that is available to move forward.
The workspace uses task dependencies to help show whether work is ready, waiting on another task or currently blocked.
This gives the team a much clearer picture than simply working through tasks from top to bottom.
The seven working areas.
Come Home is divided into seven major working areas. You may only be involved in one or two of them. That is completely fine.
Project Foundation
Purpose, goals, audience, resources, budget and project structure.
Research & Safety
Research, permissions, risks, safety planning and contingency arrangements.
Story & Script
Story development, script writing, revisions and preparation for filming.
People & Partnerships
Partners, roles, availability, responsibilities and communication.
Production
Locations, equipment, filming, audio, photos, backups and re-shoots.
Post Production
Editing, audio, music, graphics, captions, colour, exports and final versions.
Launch & Promotion
Publishing, social media, promotion, audience response and final project review.
Your task is your working record.
Check Your Assigned Tasks
Your assigned tasks are the work connected directly to your CNTS account.
Open the task and read the description before starting. Check what needs to be done, its current status, due date, dependencies and any previous updates.
The task description is there to make the expected outcome clear before work begins.
Check Dependencies
Some tasks rely on other work being completed first.
The workspace can show when a task is Ready to Start, Waiting On another task or Blocked.
Starting A Task
When you begin working on something, update the task so the rest of the team can see that work has started.
Updates do not need to be long. They simply need to leave a useful record.
Updating A Task
Use Updates & Notes inside the task whenever information relates specifically to that piece of work.
The workspace allows different kinds of updates so the purpose of the message is clear.
When You Are Blocked
If you cannot continue, record the blocker inside the task.
Explain what is stopping the work, what needs to happen next and who you are waiting on if that is known.
A visible blocker is useful information. A task sitting quietly with no explanation is not.
Completing A Task
Only mark a task complete when the required work is genuinely finished.
Sending an email, starting the work, handing it to somebody else or waiting for approval does not make the task complete.
If approval is part of the task, leave it open until that approval has actually happened.
Put information where the team can find it.
Updates & Notes
Information relating to one task should stay with that task.
Progress, blockers, questions, decisions and handovers should be recorded there so the history stays connected to the work.
Assignment & Ownership
The assigned Partner should be the person currently responsible for moving the task forward.
If ownership changes, update the task and leave a handover note explaining what has already happened.
Important Decisions
Important decisions should be recorded against the work they affect.
Someone returning to the project later should be able to understand what was decided and why without searching through private conversations.
The workspace should remain the shared record of the project ā even when conversations happen somewhere else.
Keep useful material connected to the work.
Files & Documents
Scripts, research, reference material, release forms, graphics, run sheets and other project files should be stored where the project team can access them.
Where material relates directly to a task, include the relevant file or link with the task update so the connection is clear.
Don’t Lose The Context
Messenger, email, phone calls and private messages are fine for conversation.
But important project information should not exist only inside somebody’s private inbox.
How we know a stage is complete.
Partners generally do not need to manage project milestones themselves. The focus is completing the work that allows the project to reach them.
Foundation Approved
The basic project direction has been agreed.
Research Complete
Research and major safety requirements are sufficiently complete.
Script Locked
The story and script are approved for production.
Ready To Film
People, planning and production requirements are ready.
Filming Complete
Required production work has been captured.
Rough Cut Complete
The first complete edit exists.
Final Approval
The final project has been approved for release.
Final Project / Launch
The project has been released and formally completed.
Communication without losing the record.
Communication Outside CNTS
Phones, Messenger, email, group chats and face-to-face conversations are all fine.
If something important is decided outside the workspace, bring the outcome back into the relevant task.
If three people agree in Messenger to change a filming location, somebody should record that decision in the project.
Don’t Restructure The Project
Partners should work within the project structure that has been provided.
If you believe a task, phase or piece of work is missing, raise it with the Project Lead rather than changing the overall structure yourself.
You Don’t Have To Wait For Everything
The project is structured in stages, but some work can happen at the same time.
The dependency system helps show which tasks are genuinely waiting on something else and which work can safely move forward now.
If you are unsure, check the task dependencies or leave an update for the Project Lead.
Keep the next person informed.
How Much Updating?
We do not want project administration to become another full-time job.
A useful update can be one sentence.
Leave enough information that somebody else can understand the situation without needing to call you.
Handing Work Over
If somebody else needs to take over your task, leave a handover update before responsibility changes.
That gives the next person context and preserves the project’s history.
When You Need A Decision
If work cannot continue without a decision, make that obvious in the task.
Record the outcome as well as the question. Future team members should be able to see what was decided.
The workspace should answer the questions for us.
Come Home is working properly when anybody involved in the project can open the workspace and quickly understand where things stand.
If those questions can be answered without chasing people through messages and phone calls, the system is doing its job.
The short version.
Open your Partner Hub.
Open the Come Home Workspace.
Check what work is ready to move.
Check your assigned tasks.
Read the task and dependencies before starting.
Keep task-specific information in Updates & Notes.
Record blockers clearly.
Leave a handover when responsibility changes.
Mark work complete only when it is genuinely finished.
Keep important project information inside the shared workspace.
Keep the work, the update and the decision connected.