| # Projects For planning purposes, a Microsoft Project can be considered as part of an LN project or as a work breakdown structure. You can either link a Microsoft Project to a LN Project or link multiple Microsoft Projects to the LN project. This, for example, enables various organizational elements to handle various project parts. You can make use of resource pools. A resource pool enables you to share resources among multiple projects. You can use any other existing project file as a resource pool. However, Microsoft recommends that you create a new project file. You must begin with a normal Microsoft Project file in which you enter only the resource information, and save the file with a name to denote the file as the resource pool file. To use a resource pool, on the Tools menu > Resources > Use Resources, Now select the resources from the pool. If you use a resource pool, do not transfer resources from LN after you create that resource pool. In case you transfer resources, your resource pool will not contain a selection, but all the resources from LN. To connect Microsoft Project to LN Project, link a Microsoft Project project to an activity in the activity structure. This connection information is stored in Microsoft Project, as well as in LN Project. In case, Microsoft Project is disconnected from an LN project, the information is cleared. You can establish the connection in one of the following ways: Scenario 1 The complete activity structure, including the budget and activity relationships is maintained on the LN and Microsoft Project is used only for planning and simulation purposes. When you connect the project, the ownership is set to LN, as shown in the following figure: Connection to the LN project plan with one of the selected activities as the connection node is made. To make this connection, click Select Node. Choose the node from which you want to download the activity structure for scheduling purposes in Microsoft Project. The following figure provides an example of this type of selection screen. The connection node becomes the top summary task in Microsoft Project and the activity structure in LN. The activities below this node appear as child tasks in Microsoft Project. During synchronization of the activity structure, the latest structure from LN is sent to Microsoft Project. Activities that are no longer found in LN are either relocated or removed in Microsoft Project, based on the Connection Details option. Scenario 2 The complete activity structure, including the budget and activity relationship, is maintained on the Microsoft Project client to use the graphic functionality provided by Microsoft Project. The standard activities are transferred to Microsoft Project and are used to define tasks. If you connect the project, the ownership is set to Microsoft Project. The LN Project plan with no activities is chosen. The top summary task in Microsoft Project becomes the top activity in LN, and also becomes the connection node. The structure below the top summary task in Microsoft Project is built up as the activity structure in LN. At the time of the activity structure synchronization, the latest structure from Microsoft Project is sent to LN. Activities that are no longer found in Microsoft Project are deleted on the LN side. Scenario 3 On the LN, the project structure is created up to the Project Cost Account level. The lower-level structure, which consists of work packages and planning packages, is worked on the client side. This detailing can follow either of the previous scenarios. As a cost account manager, you can assign an organization breakdown structure (OBS) element to each of the project cost accounts (CAs) on the LN. You can now connect the same LN project at multiple levels, to various Microsoft Projects. Individual cost account managers can track or monitor only that part of the project's activity structure for which they are accountable, irrespective of the progress of the other activities. In LN, you can see the updated progress of all the cost account managers’ domains. Here, you can manage the complete project. When you connect the project, the ownership is set to Microsoft Project. A connection is made to the LN Project plan with activities. One of the activities, usually a cost account, is chosen as the connection node. The activity code and type must be the same as that of the top summary task in Microsoft Project. The structure below the top summary task in Microsoft Project is built up as the activity structure in LN. During the structure synchronization, the latest structure from Microsoft Project is sent to LN. Activities, which no longer exist in Microsoft Project, are deleted from the LN. When you click Synchronize Structure > Budget > Schedule, the schedule information is placed at the top of the project structure in LN. Scenario 4 (Workaround to retain activity relationships) Define a template in Microsoft Project that contains an activity structure, budget, activity relationships, cost object, and so on. You can use this to create project structure and budget lines for the new project in ERP. A completed project’ s schedule which includes an activity structure, the budget, and activity relationships, is saved as a Microsoft Project Template (.mpt). A new Microsoft Project (.mpp) is created from the saved template. Click Reset Connection. This enables the Connect Project button, which allows you to connect the derived Microsoft Project to a new project in ERP. When you connect the project, the ownership is set to Microsoft Project. A connection is made to the new LN Project plan, which is without activities. The top summary task in Microsoft Project becomes the top activity in ERP. It also becomes the connection node. The structure below the top summary task in Microsoft Project is made the activity structure in ERP. Along with the activity structure, the schedule information, which includes subtasks and resource assignments, is transferred as budget lines to ERP. The major advantage of this approach to schedule development is the reuse of the activity relationships. To modify the derived Microsoft Project project, you can add, delete, and modify activity and budget information before you connect to a new project. Note The original Microsoft Project Template file can still retain the connection to the corresponding LN Project. Any changes made in the ERP can be transferred to the template file, and vice versa, depending on the ownership. You can handle the file as any other file specified in Scenarios 1, 2, and 3 Activity Relationship: Previously the activity relationship between activities and budget lines were only maintained in Microsoft Project, but now the activity relationship can also be defined in LN and the relationship data can be transferred to Microsoft Project as task dependencies. The status of the ownership for the project’ s activity and budget line relationships can be set to either Microsoft Project or LN. The ownership of activity relationships depends on the ownership of activity structure/budget lines. Following scenarios are possible: Activity Structure and Budget Line owned by LN and Activity Relationship owned by LN The complete activity structure and the budget lines, including the activity relationships, are maintained in LN and Microsoft Project is used for resource planning. This option is useful when the activity structure and the budget lines, which include the relationships, are part of the LN template project. The option is used to create projects from templates. Activity Structure and Budget Line owned by LN and Activity Relationship owned by Microsoft Project The complete activity structure, and the budget lines are maintained in LN and the activity/budget lines relationship (task dependencies) is maintained in Microsoft Project client to use the graphical functionality provided in Microsoft Project. Helps in checking the circular relationship (Circular relationship is not checked in LN). While establishing the connection, the default activity relationships, if present, in the LN, are transferred as default dependencies and Microsoft Project owns the task dependencies. This option is useful to create project templates. Activity Structure and Budget Line owned by Microsoft Project and Activity Relationship owned by Microsoft Project The complete activity structure, the budget lines and task dependencies are maintained in the Microsoft Project client in order to use the planning functionality provided by Microsoft Project. While establishing the connection, the ownership is set to Microsoft Project and a connection is made to an LN Project plan with no activities. The top summary task in Microsoft Project becomes the top activity in LN and the connection node. The structure under the top summary task in Microsoft Project is transferred as the activity structure in LN. All the budget lines are transferred to LN with the External Schedule Link field set to Linked. After the activity structure and the activity budget lines are created, the activity/budget line relationship is created, in LN from Microsoft Project. You must select the Create Activities Based on Activity Structure and Budget Lines check box on the Budget tab of the Connect Microsoft Project to LN Projects screen, to transfer the activity structure and the budget lines to Microsoft Project as tasks. You must select the Transfer Activity and Budget Line Relationships check box on the Budget tab in the Connect Microsoft Project to LN Projects screen, to transfer the relationship data as task dependencies. |