Understanding WorkPlan Templates

A WorkPlan Template is a set of Tasks with schedule logic that can be used repetitively to create WorkPlans. A WorkPlan Template is assigned to a Trackor® to provide a task-based schedule for meeting business objectives for that unique Trackor.

The creation of WorkPlan Templates is a multi-step process that requires careful planning in order to obtain the desired scheduling and reporting benefits. Considerations include:

1. Milestone activities to normalize point-in-time progress.

2. Determining task granularity - too many tasks that get in the way of job progress versus too few tasks that can not provide predictive project progress.

3. Coordination with other WorkPlans to ensure Tasks can roll-up across projects for Executive reporting and many, many other factors.

WorkPlans

A WorkPlan is a set of tasks that have comprehensive Project Management capabilities as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The OneVizion® WorkPlan is a task-oriented schedule tracking and forecasting solution that measures progress toward the completion of standard business objectives called Target Goals.

The WorkPlan capabilities include:

• Assignment of unlimited WorkPlans to a single Target Goal (including repetitive use of the same WorkPlan).

• Unlimited tasks in the WorkPlan that are applied to the Target Goal.

• Configured Applet that is a user-defined data container to support data collection for a WorkPlan.

• Automatically calculated Baseline and Projected (Planned) Dates using either a Start Date to calculate dates forward or Finish Dates to calculate dates backward.

Tasks

A Task is the basic element of the WorkPlan and has a number of standard capabilities:

• Baseline Dates (Start and Finish)

• Projected Dates. Projected Dates are calculated using:

  • Predecessor relationship to other Tasks including Finish to Start, Start to Start, Start to Finish, Finish to Finish and Lag dates both positive and negative for each of the relationships.

  • Successor relationship to other Tasks.

  • Durations.

• Actual Dates.

• Unlimited Program-defined dates (i.e. Contractor Actual Start/Finish, etc).

• Calendar to support calculating Projected dates.

• Responsible Person assigned to complete the Task.

• Discipline Security.

• Configured Applet that is a user-defined data container to support data collection for a Task.

Also, a OneVizion Task supports a number of capabilities to tailor the use of a WorkPlan to represent local conditions of Program-wide use including:

• N/A- Designating a Task N/A removes the Task from the active set of Tasks to be accomplished for the specific Target Goal.

• Block Calc- Designating a Task as a Block Calc freezes the Projected Date and forces all downstream Projected Dates to be calculated from that date.

For a list of Task Data Functions please refer to Get Task Data Functions.

WorkPlans and Program Management

The use of WorkPlans changes Program Management from a task-centric scheduling tool (focused on planning) to a Target Goal-centric focus. Being Target Goal-centric means the focus is on managing large numbers of similar scopes of work with an emphasis on tracking and forecasting to identify exceptions that might prevent a Program from being completed.

For example, building a national cell tower project can be modeled by managing each tower as the Target Goal. Each Tower has assigned WorkPlans (UMTS, New Build, Rooftop Construction, etc) that represents the completion measurement capability.

Prerequisites to Creating WorkPlan Templates

OneVizion makes certain assumptions about the SuperUser who will be creating the WorkPlan Templates and the work station environment itself. Before you begin creating WorkPlan Templates, you must make sure the prerequisites outlined in this section have been met.

Administrator Prerequisites

The Administrator responsible for administering WorkPlans should have the following skills:

• Industry experience including:

  • Solid industry program management experience with the subject being managed.

  • In-depth knowledge of creating scheduled work processes.

• Computer technology experience including expertise in the following:

  • Microsoft Project 2000 (or higher)

  • Microsoft Excel

Work Station Requirements

Before creating WorkPlan Templates, the proper desktop computer environment must be implemented. The following software is required for a properly configured work station on which to create WorkPlan Templates:

• Microsoft Project 2000 (or higher)

• Administrator rights to the WorkPlan Editor Page. Security Tokens for WorkPlan Template Work Station.

Security Requirements

Security Groups for WorkPlan Template lists the security requirements for the user who is responsible for creating the WorkPlan Templates.

Security Groups for WorkPlan Template 

Workplans: Security privileges for individual Task date pairs

We now allow more granular restriction for date pairs – at the individual task level. There is a new security tab (Special Task Privs) in Security Role where Admins can add specific restrictions to date-pairs. Admins can select the individual Task’s date pairs and set privileges based on role.

If ‘Special Task Privs’ for the task/date is not set then the general task security model will be used.

General Security model:

The task is editable when the TASKS sec group is set to "RE" and Discipline of the Task in question is assigned to the User. Then "TASK_*_MOD" is checked for a specific date pair (TASK_PROJECTED_MOD or TASK_ACTUAL_MOD etc).

Special Task Privs Mode:

The task is editable when the TASKS sec group is set to "RE" and then privs of the specific Task/DatePair is being checked.

In the screenshot example below,  this role has read-only access to actual date pairs of Tasks ‘135 – Design Review’ and ‘150 – Training’. However, Actual date pairs for ‘100 – New Site Checklist’ and ‘160 – UAT’ can be read and edited

Note that if Task is added to Spec Task Priv Tab but privs are not set then this Task (screenshot below – ‘(A180) 180 – Transition to Support’ and ‘(A 130) 130 – Project Kickoff’ will become inaccessible. When you need to get back to the General task security model just remove Task/DatePair from the Special Task Privs grid.

WorkPlan Template Creation Process

The creation of a WorkPlan Template is a multi-step process. Below is a chart describing each of the steps involved in the process.

Process Overview

To create a WorkPlan Template requires the following general steps:

Planning and Analysis

Before you begin creating a WorkPlan Template, you must analyze your work processes and carefully plan the template. The process that you are trying to standardize uses a project management model where the smallest unit of measured work is a Task. Tasks have logical relationships with other Tasks including predecessors and successors (that is, steps which must be completed before or after a particular Task). A WorkPlan is a collection of Tasks.

Planning the WorkPlan Template

In planning an efficient WorkPlan, it is important to decide how much information you want OneVizion to collect. You should aim to strike a balance between collecting all possible information and not enough information. The ideal amount of information associated with a standard WorkPlan Template is one that provides actionable information to meet program objectives (pay milestones, etc).

One good method for planning a WorkPlan is to create a 3 X 5 card for each Task and organize them on a flat surface (such as table or wall) and physically arrange the cards to show the completion relationships.

The work process should contain Tasks that adequately describe the progress toward completion of the work process but not overly burden the schedule with collection detail.

Planning Notes

The following are some additional notes on planning a WorkPlan Template:

• Standard - A standard WorkPlan is an organization-centric planning tool. The information collected should reflect organizational needs for a roll-up of actionable information.

• Task Data - If data about the Task is required for collection, this information is best contained in a configured applet that is associated with the Task.

Capturing Data in Microsoft Project

The planning and analysis of the WorkPlan must be captured in a computer format that can be used by OneVizion. Two methods are available:

• Modeling the WorkPlan using Microsoft Project and importing it into OneVizion – this is the recommended process.

• Direct entry using the OneVizion WorkPlan Template Administration Application Page.

Creating a WorkPlan in Microsoft Project

Creating the WorkPlan in Microsoft Project is a practical alternative to entering WorkPlan data manually through OneVizion. Once created, the schedule is exported from MS Project in a CSV (comma-separated value) file format. This CSV file is then imported into OneVizion to populate the WorkPlan Template.

A compatible OneVizion Microsoft Project schedule uses two objects within the MPP file:

• Export View

• Export Map

Export View Requirements

The Export View has the following additional fields to be added in the order and the spelling shown below:

• STATUS_LEVEL

• DISCIPLINE

• SITE_RELATED

• WBS

Adding Fields in Microsoft Project

To add fields in Microsoft Project:

1. Right-click on the grid header.

2. Select Insert Column.

3. Add the Text 1 column and give it a column title STATUS_LEVEL.

4. Click OK.

5. Repeat this for the four additional columns (listed above) selecting Text 2 the second time, etc.

Adding Tasks to the Microsoft Project Schedule

After the Fields have been added, then add Tasks to model the WorkPlan using standard Microsoft conventions.

Creating an Export Map

After Tasks have been added to the MS Project schedule, create an MPP export map named Export Map. This Export Map is stored in the MPP file.

To create the Export Map in Microsoft Project:

1. Open the MS Project file filename.mpp.

2. Edit the file as needed.

3. From the File menu select Save As.

4. Select CSV in the Save As Type list box, enter a file name and click Save.

1. Open the Export Map dialog and click New Map.

2. Name the export OneVizion Export Map.

3. Under Data to Import/Export, select Tasks.

4. Under Text File Options, select the Export Header Row checkbox.

5. Click the Task Mapping tab.

6. Click the Clear all button.

7. Go to the Grid, select the following fields in the first column, and add rows: ID, Task_Name, Duration, Predecessors, Successors, Text 1, Text 2, Text 3, Text 4, and WBS.

8. Click OK to close the Define Import/Export Map dialog box.

9. Click Save to close the Export Mapping dialog and save the file.

10. Check the file in Notepad for accuracy. It should not have any headers in it.

Format of the CSV File

The Microsoft Project file must be saved in CSV (comma separated variable) format in order to be imported into OneVizion. The CSV file must be generated using the Export function in MS Project to ensure the correct format.

The CSV file must have the following information in the exact order, delineated by commas, and without any header information:

TASK_ID 
TASK_NAME 
DURATION 
PREDECESSORS 
SUCCESSORS 
DISCP_NAME 
IS_SAR_RELATED 
SAR_STATUS_LEVEL 
WBS 

WorkPlan Template Required Fields

In order to create a OneVizion WorkPlan Template, the following fields will have to be populated:

Editing or Deleting Tasks

If necessary, you can modify the parameters within a Task or delete a Task from a WorkPlan. While OneVizion does allow you to edit an “in-use” WorkPlan Template, this should be done with caution. This capability allows changing the values in the WorkPlan Template and then applying these changes through all active WorkPlans.

The following table lists the Task properties of a WorkPlan Template that can be changed and the associated consequences.

WorkPlan Task Due

A new automated configuration was created in DEV APPS called P:Worklan Task Due.  This was inspired by customers who frequently ask, “How do I know which tasks are forecast to be finished within X-Days?”

Using the task definition tracker, we select which tasks on the workplan we want to inspect.  On the grid, the user can select the number of days and OneVizion will tell the user which tasks are forecast to be finished within that timeframe.