Costpoint Online Help

Using Ask Dela

Explore guidelines for optimal usage of Ask Dela in Costpoint, including tips for clear communication, leveraging conversational context, and understanding current limitations for effective interaction.

How Conversational Context Works

Ask Dela is designed to understand the flow of your conversation and remember the subject of your questions.

Benefits:

  • Reduced Repetition: Conversation context enables the digital assistant to remember the subject of your initial question. This means you do not need to repeat the same subject (such as project names or people's names) in every subsequent question. Because Ask Dela eliminates the need for repetitive input, you can streamline your interactions with the assistant, saving you time and effort.
  • Smoother Interactions: With conversational context, interactions with the digital assistant feel more natural and fluid. You can engage in back-and-forth conversation, similar to how you would communicate with a colleague. Instead of having to provide all the details for each question, you can build upon previous queries seamlessly. This smoother flow of conversation enhances your experience and makes interactions with the assistant more intuitive and user-friendly.

How it works:

  1. Ask your initial question about a specific subject, like a project or a person.
  2. The assistant will answer your question and remember the subject for your follow-up questions.
  3. In your next questions, you can refer back to the subject using pronouns or simply ask related questions without needing to repeat the entire name.

For example:

  • You ask: "Who is the project manager for the Endpoint Integrity project?"
  • The assistant answers: "Sarah Jones is the project manager for the Endpoint Integrity project."
  • You can then ask: "What is their contact information?" because the assistant remembers the context from your previous question.

Guidelines for Using Ask Dela

To ensure the best experience, follow these guidelines:
  • Be Specific with Questions: Ask clear, detailed questions about individual records for accurate responses.
  • Provide Context: Give record names, IDs, or other identifiers for precise information retrieval.
  • Structure Prompts Logically: Organize prompts logically for easy comprehension and keep prompts relative and to the point.
  • Use Proper Terminology: Speak Costpoint's language and refer to data points by their actual field names.
  • Verify Responses: Double-check responses, especially for crucial decisions or data, as occasional inaccuracies may occur.
  • Understand Limitation: Recognize that complex calculations or queries beyond its scope may not be handled.
  • Check Data Access: Ensure that your permissions align with requested data.
  • Use for Intended Purpose: Stick to record and project inquiries and avoid unrelated questions.
  • Maintain Clear Context: Reset conversation context if needed to receive relevant responses.
  • Adapt Prompts: Learn from past interactions and adjust prompts accordingly.
  • Test and Learn: Experiment with different prompt styles for optimal results.
  • Report Issues: Report persistent inaccuracies to Deltek Support Services for improvements.

  • Clear Conversation History: If Ask Dela loses context or provides an unrelated response, consider clearing the conversation history or rephrasing your question to reset the context. Ask Dela remembers the context of the last two questions. It remembers the questions and answers, and it remembers the specific record for the last answer.

Current Limitations of Ask Dela

While Ask Dela brings significant advancements to your Costpoint experience, it is important to be aware of the following limitations:
  • No Support for Aggregate Data Queries: You cannot query Ask Dela for aggregate data, such as information about the top projects by revenue. However, some activity data can support aggregate-type questions, like querying activities within a specific time frame.
  • Restrictions on Project Summary and Hub Data: Ask Dela can provide information only for WBS1 (work breakdown structure level 1) in project summaries and hub data. You cannot specifically query WBS2/3 data or inquire about financials for specific phases or tasks.
  • Limitation on Conversation Scope: Ask Dela currently supports conversations only about a single record. When you are not on the record in question, you are expected to identify the record explicitly.
  • Limitation of Full Conversation History Retention: Although Ask Dela retains the conversation history within the dialog, it is important to note that it remembers the context of only the last two questions. While this allows for continuity within recent interactions, you should be aware that Ask Dela may not retain all prior questions and responses.
  • No Multilingual Support: US English is currently the only supported language. Asking questions in other languages may work but is not explicitly supported.
  • Limitations on Supported Data Tables and Fields: Certain data tables and fields are not supported, including file grids, link grids, user-defined hubs, user-defined grids, and user-defined fields.
  • Inability to Answer 'How To' Inquiries: Ask Dela does not currently support 'how-to' inquiries. When you ask such questions, the standard response will inform you that digital assistant does not have access to the Costpoint Help to answer those queries.