How to Create and Configure Groups in TrackMaster

Summary

The Groups list in TrackMaster contains configuration for groups of people served by the center, affinity groups, working groups, etc. It contains MCommunity sync settings, and definitions of "communities" (larger collections of people, typically those served by a specific team or core). Group membership can be set in the People list by selecting the specific groups to which a person belongs, or synced automatically from MCommunity. Membership in a group can also be added automatically when a person receives a specific service or attends an event under a specific program. This guide walks through the different use cases for Groups.

Details

Creating Groups

1. To create a new group, go to Settings -> Group Management -> Groups List
   
2. Click the blue "Add New Item" button
3. Enter the name of the group. This name will be displayed in the People List under the Groups field.
   
   
4. Enter any additional information as needed.
   • Description. A short description of this group and its purpose.
   • Group Leader. The primary team member who leads or facilitates this group. This team member receives notifications of group sync problems and bulk updates done to this group.
   • Program. For affiliate groups, the primary program that runs them.
   •  For a full list of field descriptions, refer to the TrackMaster Data Dictionary.
5. The Sync Settings and Auto-Add Settings can be skipped. See further documentation below.
6. Click Save.

Adding/Removing Group Members Manually

1. To add/remove a person to a group, go to the People list, search for that person, and click on their name to open the edit form.
2. In the edit form, scroll down to the Membership Details section.
3. Click the Group Membership and add/remove the group.
    
4. Click Save.

Filtering the People list by Group

Once a group has been added, the People list can be filtered to show only members of that group.

1. In the People list, click on the down arrow next to the Group Membership column header, then click Filter By.
   
    
2. Select the groups to filter by, and click Apply.
    
3. You will now see only members of the groups selected.
4. To export this list to CSV or Excel, see How to Export a Filtered List to CSV/Excel.
    

Syncing Group Members from MCommunity

TrackMaster can keep group membership in sync with MCommunity. When a person is added or removed from the group in MCommunity, TrackMaster will mirror that change in the People list, so that MCommunity remains the "source of truth" for membership.

1. In the Groups list, click on the group you want to configure to open the Edit form.
2. Scroll down to the Sync Settings section, and enter the email address for the MCommunity group and check the Sync box.
   • Note that MS Teams are not synced with TrackMaster yet, but you can enter the MS Teams group here just for informational purposes.
3. Click Save.
4. Go to MCommunity and search for the group.
5. Under Settings, make sure the list of members is viewable by anyone with a UMich email address.
   
   
6. Alternatively, centers and institutes who have an MCommunity API key can add their API group as owner. This way, group members can remain private in MCommunity but still sync to TrackMaster. Contact the Information Assurance (IA) team for more information on accessing the MCommunity API.
   
   
7. The group members will appear in TrackMaster automatically in a few hours.
   1. The sync process runs three times a day by default. Refer to the documentation about PowerAutomate for details.
8. If a member of the MCommunity group is not already in TrackMaster, a new contact record will be added automatically to the People list.
9. The person listed as the Group Leader will receive notifications of any sync failures and bulk add/removals. The Center Membership group leader will also receive email notifications when members are added or removed, whether in bulk or through MCommunity.

Configuring Communities (Advanced)

Communities are larger collections of people that can be used for reporting and bulk emails. Since these groups would be larger and unlikely to be managed via MCommunity, the members must be added/removed manually. However, after an initial load, members can also be added automatically when certain conditions are met, such as when they receive a consultation from a specific team.

At the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, there are three main communities configured, one for each Core. Members are added automatically when they attend an event or receive a service associated with a program that is managed by a Core. In addition, the Mobile Technologies Community also adds any members of MeTRIC affinity groups (MDEN, MCN, DIGIT-MI).

1. To configure a community, first add it as a group to the Groups list. It is recommended that the word "Community" is part of the group name.
2. Click on the Group to open the edit form, and scroll down to the Auto-Add Settings section.
3. By default, groups are configured to sync with MCommunity. If the fields under Auto-Add Settings are not available, uncheck the Sync box under Sync Settings first.
   • Important: MCommunity Sync and Auto-Add cannot be enabled at the same time. This is because members added due to receiving a service or attending an event cannot currently be synced back to MCommunity.
4. Enter the appropriate settings and click Save.
   • Auto-Add Program Participants and Recipients. If set, recipients of the selected programs, including services and events, will be automatically added to this group.
   • Auto-Add Service Recipients by Team. If set, it will automatically add people who have received services from the teams specified.
5. To automatically add members of other groups, add the groups' programs under Auto-Add Program Participants and Recipients first, then go to the other groups one by one and ensure they have the same program listed under the Program field.
   • For example, to automatically add members of DIGIT-MI to the Mobile Technologies Community, make sure the DIGIT-MI program is in the list under the Mobile Technologies Community first.
     
      
   • The in the DIGIT-MI group, ensure the same program is selected under the Program field.
     
6. Once configured, communities can be used to filter the People list like any other group, and for reports.
    

Deactivating Groups

• To deactivate a group, simply open the edit form for the group, uncheck the Active field and click Save.
• Once de-activated, the group can still be used for filtering, but it will no longer appear in reports and the Sync and Auto-Add settings will no longer be applied. Membership of this group will no longer sync automatically from MCommunity.
• It is recommended to deactivate rather than delete records in TrackMaster, including those in the Groups List.

Notes

• One specific group is required in TrackMaster: the Center Membership group.
  • The members of this center or institute are listed under the Center Membership group. The name of the group does not matter and can be changed.
  • However, the internal ID and the name of the group you choose must be configured in Power Automate under Environment Variables. This step is required for the proper functioning of TrackMaster.

Resources

• How to Export a Filtered List to CSV/Excel.
• How to Sync MCommunity Group Members to a SharePoint List (technical documentation).
• How to Bulk-Upload Data Into TrackMaster.

About the Author

Gabriel Mongefranco is a Mobile Data Architect at the University of Michigan's Eisenberg Family Depression Center. Gabriel has over a decade of experience with automation, data analytics, database architecture, dashboard design, software development, and technical writing. He supports U-M researchers with data cleaning, data pipelines, automation and enterprise architecture for wearables and other mobile technologies.    |     |     |