Platform configuration audit checklist

Platform areas to consider:

Search the Knowledge Base

Related Help Guide Pages

Archive Course Templates

Merge duplicate Users together into one User

Anonymise the personal details of Users

Keeping your platform configuration tidy, consistent, and up to date makes it easier for your team to work efficiently, reduces confusion, and helps maintain a better experience for your customers!

This checklist will help you identify areas of platform data debt! These are areas that may have grown messy over time, become inconsistent, or no longer support your current processes. You don’t need to tackle everything at once, but regularly reviewing these areas can make a huge difference to the usability and maintainability of your platform.

Create clarity with consistent Email Template & Workflow labels

One of the most common things we see is naming conventions becoming inconsistent over time. This often happens naturally as different team members create items in different ways, but it can make finding the item you need difficult, and make getting an overview of your items difficult.

Ovewtime you may start to notice notice:

• Email Templates with inconsistent wording

• Workflow labels using different structures

• Labels containing abbreviations only some team members understand

• Items labelled as “New”, “Current”, “Latest”, or “Test” without a clear standard

Open

There’s nothing wrong with using labels such as:

• Critical

• Test

• Current

• Archive

However, the important thing is consistency.

Questions to ask yourself

• Can your team easily search for the correct Workflow or Email Template?

• Would a new starter understand your naming conventions?

• Are similar items grouped together logically i.e. with prefixes?

Good practice ideas

• Agree a standard naming format across your team

• Include useful identifiers such as:

  • Department

  • Process

  • Audience/recipient
    (Then decide if these will be used as a prefix or a suffix)

• Keep your labels concise but descriptive

• Clearly label or remove unused items

Open

Where to go

Email Templates Overview

Workflows Overview

Add company branding to Email Templates

Make Files & eLearning Packages easier to manage

Over time, it’s common to end up with:

• Multiple versions of the same file

• Files uploaded with unclear names

• Inconsistent abbreviations

• Old eLearning Packages that are no longer used

This can make searching difficult and increase the risk of using outdated content.

Open

Questions to ask yourself

• Can your team quickly identify the correct file?

• Do you have any duplicate files?

• Can your team find the most recent version of an eLearning package?

• Are your naming conventions consistent?

• Could someone unfamiliar with the platform understand the labels?

Good practice ideas

• Include version numbers where appropriate

• Use consistent wording and formatting

• Clearly label or remove outdated files and packages

• Avoid vague labels such as “Latest file” or “Jane’s version”

Where to go

Files Overview

eLearning Packages Overview

Keeping your platform organised

Keep your drop-down lists relevant and easy to use

A really common source of data debt is holding onto old options “just in case” they’re needed again later!

Over time, this can lead to:

• Overcrowded drop-down lists

• Duplicate options

• Outdated terminology

• Team members selecting inconsistent values

When your options no longer reflect how your business operates, it becomes harder to maintain clean, accurate reporting.

Open

Questions to ask yourself

• Are there options no one uses anymore?

• Are there duplicate or very similar values?

• Do the options still reflect your current processes?

• Are users selecting inconsistent values because there are too many choices?

Good practice ideas

• Remove or deactivate outdated options

• Merge duplicate values where possible

• Standardise terminology

• Review lists regularly as your processes evolve

Where to go

Custom List Items Overview

Improve usability by reviewing your forms

The number one issue we often see is forms containing:

• Fields no longer used

• Duplicate fields

• Unclear fields ('what is this field for?')

• Fields not flagged as mandatory, which leads to data gaps

A well-configured form makes it easier for your team to complete tasks accurately and helps new starters understand the platform more quickly.

Open

Questions to ask yourself

• Are there fields no one uses anymore?

• Are there duplicate fields collecting similar information?

• Are there important fields that should be mandatory?

• Are users regularly leaving gaps in key data?

Good practice ideas

• Hide unused fields and set important fields as mandatory using the Configure Form option

• Add descriptions to Custom Fields to provide guidance (if you add a description to a Custom Field, this will appear as helpful guidance text against the field within 24 hours)

• Regularly review forms with your operational teams

Where to go

Configure your Platform Forms

Custom Fields Overview

Reduce confusion by reviewing duplicate reports

Over time, it’s common for duplicate or very similar reports to build up within both:

• Report Writer

• Report Engine

This can lead to confusion around:

• Which report is the ‘correct’ version

• Which reports are still in use

• Which reporting tool should be used for each KPI/measure/export

Open

Questions to ask yourself

• Are there duplicate reports covering the same purpose?

• Is it clear which report should be used?

• Are there outdated reports no one accesses anymore?

Important to know

• Report Writer reports can be deleted by the accessplanit team

• Report Engine reports can be managed directly within your platform

Good practice ideas

• Clearly label or remove redundant reports

• Add clear naming conventions (e.g. to cover ownership, process, purpose, content)

• Use Report Engine descriptions to provide context

• Keep only actively used reports visible to your team

Where to go

Report Engine Overview

Report Writer Overview

Keep Workflows maintainable and easy to trust

A common scenario is opening the Workflow DataGrid and seeing:

• Multiple Workflows with very similar names

• Old Workflows that are still active

• Workflows that have been heavily edited over time, and the description no longer matches what the Workflow actually does

This often leads to uncertainty around making changes because no one wants to accidentally break something.

The impact of Workflow clutter can include:

• Increased risk of errors

• Duplicate communications

• Incorrect automation behaviour

• Reduced confidence in making improvements

• Potential impact on your customers’ experience

Questions to ask yourself

• Are all active Workflows still needed?

• Are there duplicate or overlapping Workflows?

• Do the labels and descriptions accurately explain the Workflow?

• Does your team know what each Workflow does, and do they feel confident maintaining them?

Good practice ideas

• Regularly review active Workflows

• Disable and clearly label retired Workflows

• Update descriptions when changes are made

• Document how your Workflows fit into your customer journeys and internal processes

• Document complex Workflow logic

• Agree ownership for Workflow maintenance

Where to go

Workflows Overview

Remove old test templates and unused items

This often includes:

• Test Email Templates

• Old Workflow tests

• Temporary files

• Unused eLearning Packages

• Test Course Templates

Open

While these items may feel harmless, they can:

• Make searching harder

• Increase confusion

• Lead to accidental usage of outdated content

Questions to ask yourself

• Are test items clearly labelled?

• Are there old test items no longer needed?

• Could someone accidentally use an outdated template?

Good practice ideas

• Regularly review and remove unused test items

• Clearly label anything still needed for testing

• Archive historic configuration where appropriate

Make your Dashboards actionable

A useful Dashboard should provide visibility, direction, and value as soon as someone logs in. It’s not there to display data for the sake of it.

Questions to ask yourself

• Do your Dashboards help you to prioritise work?

• Is the information still relevant?

• Are there gadgets you don’t use anymore?

• Does the Dashboard support you to do your job?

Good practice ideas

• Focus on actionable information

  • For example; if you have a DataGrid gadget showing you upcoming Courses, ask yourself - ‘what do I do with this data?', 'what is it telling me?’

• Remove outdated or unused gadgets

• Encourage your team members to build a Dashboard Area that caters to them

Good Dashboards help users quickly answer questions such as:

• What needs my attention today?

• What tasks are overdue?

• Which Courses need action?

• Are there any issues I should review?

Where to go

Dashboards Overview

Use consistent Duration Types where possible (optional)

Using the a standard Duration Type across your Courses means you can more easily search on this information from your DataGrids, e.g. filter on a duration that is ‘greater than 1’ to see all Courses over 1 day.

However, this is one area where flexibility may still make sense depending on your business model. It’s perfectly fine to use a wider range of Duration Types if that better reflects your Course offering.

Questions to ask yourself

• Are Duration Types being used consistently?

• Could similar Courses be grouped more clearly?

Good practice ideas

• Standardise Duration Types where practical, e.g. move as much as possible into ‘hour’ or ‘day’

Consistency is helpful here, but operational accuracy is more important.

Can accessplanit help?

Yes we absolutely can!

If you need support reviewing your platform, we offer consultancy via our professional services where our team can work with you to check through your platform and identify areas for improvement. This can be a big time saver, and give you peace of mind by supporting you through the process.