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CA Clarity PPM User Tasks

This section contains the following topics:

View Your Task List

Converting CA Clarity PPM Incidents to Projects

Converting CA Clarity PPM Ideas to Projects

Create Harvest Projects in CA Clarity PPM

About CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

About CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

Complete CA Clarity PPM Tasks and Projects

View Your Task List

You can view a list of your CA Clarity PPM tasks-standard, feature, and change order-from the Project Tasks: Task List page. To view this page, open the project and select the Tasks tab.

Project Task Types

With the Connector: Unicenter Service Desk/Harvest add-in installed, the following three new project task sub-pages are available that provide the reference to their counterparts in Service Desk and in Harvest:

Converting CA Clarity PPM Incidents to Projects

CA Clarity PPM incidents that originate as Service Desk change orders represent the request for maintenance work and contain the details from that change order. To view a list of the fields that are mapped from Service Desk change orders to CA Clarity PPM incidents, see the appendix "Field Mappings."

If the CA Clarity PPM change manager has considered the scope of the new incident and has determined that the incident should be managed as a project, the change manager can convert the incident to a project.

Each time a CA Clarity PPM incident that originated as a Service Desk change order is converted to a project, CA Clarity PPM sends an update to Service Desk. The Log Comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List. The conversion process also triggers CA Clarity PPM to set the Service Desk change order Monitor Clarity Work Request workflow task status from "Pending" to "In Progress".

Note: See the Demand Management User Guide for more information.

Converting CA Clarity PPM Ideas to Projects

The CA Clarity PPM change manager is responsible for reviewing CA Clarity PPM ideas originating in Service Desk. After the CA Clarity PPM demand manager has considered the scope of the new idea and has determined that the idea should be managed as a CA Clarity PPM project, the change manager can convert the CA Clarity PPM idea to a project.

Each time a CA Clarity PPM idea that originated as a Service Desk change order is converted to a project, an update is sent to Service Desk. The Log Comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List. The conversion process also triggers CA Clarity PPM to set the Service Desk change order Monitor Clarity Project workflow task status from "Pending" to "In Progress".

Converting CA Clarity PPM ideas to projects is basic demand management functionality.

Note: See the Demand Management User Guide for more information.

Create Harvest Projects in CA Clarity PPM

The Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM provides the mapping between CA Clarity PPM and Harvest, and is used to identify the project in Harvest in CA Clarity PPM feature and change order tasks. You must establish the association between the Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM and the Harvest project in Harvest so that:

Note: You must have the appropriate access rights before you can create Harvest projects in CA Clarity PPM.

Note: Contact your CA Clarity PPM administrator or see the Administration Guide for more information.

To create a Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM

  1. Log in to CA Clarity PPM.
  2. Select Harvest Project List from the Custom Objects menu.

    The Harvest Project List page appears.

    Note: To see the Custom Objects section, it may be necessary for you to use the scroll bar to navigate to this area of the main menu.

  3. Click New.

    The Create Harvest Project page appears.

  4. Complete the following fields:
  5. Click Submit.

About CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

CA Clarity PPM feature tasks are summary tasks on CA Clarity PPM projects that represent work managed in a Harvest package. Feature tasks do not have resource assignments, and therefore they do not get scheduled. Feature tasks have many Harvest packages associated with the task work.

Harvest packages are the separate units of a project where change items are stored, and the associated forms are the formatted electronic screens which function like paper forms.

Note: For more information about using Harvest projects and packages, see the AllFusion Harvest Change Manager User Guide and the online help for the Harvest CM Workbench.

Accessing CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

You can view and edit the CA Clarity PPM feature task properties from the Task Properties: Feature Details page. Use this page to view a summary of the feature task, such as the Harvest states, to associate the feature task to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM, to enter the Harvest ID, and to create a Harvest package.

To view this page, click Feature Details from the content menu.

You can also view CA Clarity PPM feature task information from the project Integration Dashboard.

Use the Integration Feature Dashboard

In CA Clarity PPM, you can view a list of your New System Development project feature tasks from the Feature Tasks portlet on the Integration Dashboard. This portlet displays a list of the feature tasks added to the project. The Integration Dashboard also contains three default views-General, Labor Effort, and Team Utilization-that summarize project data such as project labor and team utilization. These views are also available on the default project Dashboard.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

The data on the Integration Dashboard page is read-only. Dashboard data is drawn from the information you enter in the task and resource assignment fields, and from data submitted in staff member timesheets. This dashboard is automatically updated when new information is added or posted to the project.

To set up the Integration Dashboard for a project

You need to repeat this procedure for each of your New System Development projects.

  1. Open the CA Clarity PPM project.

    The Project Properties: Main - General page appears.

  2. In the General section of the page, select Integration Feature Dashboard as the page layout.
  3. Click Save.

    The default Dashboard tab of the projects changes to the Integration Dashboard.

To view the project Integration Dashboard

Note: Before you can view the project Integration Dashboard, make sure you set up the page layout of your New System Development project to display the Integration Dashboard. Also, to view the dashboard, you must have Portlet Viewer - All or Portlet - View instance rights.

To view the dashboard, open the CA Clarity PPM project, and select the Integration Dashboard tab.

Create CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

To create a CA Clarity PPM feature task

  1. Open CA Clarity PPM.
  2. Open the project.
  3. Define the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for your project. Identify which summary tasks will be linked to the Harvest package for tracking purposes.

    Note: Creating CA Clarity PPM project tasks is basic project management functionality.

    Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information..

  4. Click the name of the new project task on the Project Tasks: Task List page.

    The Task Properties page appears.

  5. Click Task Type on the content menu.

    The Task Properties: Task Type page appears.

  6. Identify the task as a feature task by choosing Feature from the Task Type drop-down.
  7. Click Submit.

    The task closes and the Project Tasks: Task List page appears.

  8. Click the name of the new project task.

    The Task Properties page appears.

  9. Do the following on the Task Properties: Feature Details page:
  10. Click Submit.

Feature Task Details

The following table describes the fields in the Details and Feature Information sections of the Task Properties: Feature Details page.

Field

Description

Details

Harvest Project

The name of the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM. Select the name of the project from the pull-down.

Integration Status

Displays the integration status between this CA Clarity PPM feature task and the Harvest package. When a valid status is received from Harvest, the status reflects a green checkmark. If the associated Harvest package is deleted, the status reflects a red checkmark.

Task Type

Displays the task type. Use the pull-down to select the task type. Choices are Feature, Change Order, and Standard.

Component

Identifies the task for reporting on areas of an application. Choices are User Interface, Infrastructure, Integration, and Data.

Priority

The priority of this task.

Feature Information

Total Package Count

The total number of Harvest packages. This field is read-only.

Overall % Complete

Displays the overall percent complete status of the CA Clarity PPM feature task. This field is calculated based on the number of Harvest packages in each Harvest lifecycle state, and based on the weights assigned to each state.

Feature Status

The status of the CA Clarity PPM feature task. This field must be set to Approved before you can create a Harvest package.

Manager

Click the Browse icon to select the name of the feature task manager. In the Browse window, filter the list to find the name of resource managing this CA Clarity PPM feature task.

Description

The description of the CA Clarity PPM feature task.

Create Harvest Package

Select this box to indicate you want a Harvest package created.

Associate CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks to CA Clarity PPM Harvest Projects

Use the Harvest Project field on the CA Clarity PPM feature task Task Properties: Feature Details page to associate the task to the Harvest Project. This field uniquely identifies the association between the CA Clarity PPM feature task and the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

To associate the CA Clarity PPM feature task to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM

  1. Select Projects from the Portfolio Management menu.

    The Projects page appears.

  2. Click the name of the project.

    The Project Properties: Main - General page appears.

  3. Select the Tasks tab.

    The Project Tasks: Task List page appears.

  4. Click the name of the CA Clarity PPM feature task to which you want to associate to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

    The Task Properties page appears.

  5. Select Feature Details from the content menu.

    The Task Properties: Feature Details page appears.

  6. At Harvest Project, select the name of the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

Submit CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks for Approval

Before you create a Harvest package from a CA Clarity PPM feature task, the CA Clarity PPM feature task Feature Status field must be first set to Approved. This field appears on the CA Clarity PPM feature task Task Properties: Feature Details page. You can either set the status manually or you can set up an automated business approval process to set the status. Provided with the connector are several statuses to facilitate the approval process; only the Approved feature status activates the Create Harvest Package check box and allows you to select it.

If an automated approval process is not used, the CA Clarity PPM project manager can submit the CA Clarity PPM feature task for approval. To do this, on the Task Properties: Feature Details page, select Approved from the Feature Status drop-down of the task, and click Submit.

Note: Contact your CA Clarity PPM administrator or see the Administration Guide for more information.

By default, you can select from the following feature statuses in the listed order:

Create Harvest Packages from CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

After you have determined that your application needs to be developed and managed in Harvest, you can create a Harvest package from the CA Clarity PPM feature task.

Important! Before creating a Harvest package from CA Clarity PPM, make sure you have created and defined the Harvest project and forms in Harvest, the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM, and associated the CA Clarity PPM feature task to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

To create a Harvest package from a CA Clarity PPM feature task, go to the CA Clarity PPM feature task Task Properties: Feature Details page, select the Create Harvest Package box, and click Submit. Once created, this field is locked and you cannot create another Harvest package. In Harvest, the new Harvest package name is the CA Clarity PPM feature task Harvest ID and task ID with a dash (-) between.

More information:

Create Harvest Package and Associate to CA Clarity PPM Feature Task

How Harvest Package Activity is Monitored from CA Clarity PPM Feature Tasks

The CA Clarity PPM project manager can monitor task progress and activity-including new application or change order maintenance costs-from the project pages, views, and portlets. This is basic project management functionality.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

The initial state of a Harvest package is plan (PLAN). You can view this state in the Harvest States section of the Task Properties: Feature Details page.

View the CA Clarity PPM Feature Task Overall Percent Complete

You can view the CA Clarity PPM feature task overall percent complete from the Harvest States section of the CA Clarity PPM feature task Task Properties: Feature Details page.

Each CA Clarity PPM feature task on a project can be associated to one or more Harvest packages, and each package can be in a different Harvest lifecycle state. The CA Clarity PPM feature task overall percent complete value is automatically calculated based on the weights that were assigned to the CAI Harvest Status process by your CA Clarity PPM administrator. No information is communicated to Service Desk at the task level.

Note: The CAI Harvest Status process collects information from Harvest about the Harvest packages and updates the associated CA Clarity PPM feature task with status information, such as a package state and the package count for each of the four states. Depending on how frequently this process is set up to run, it updates all CA Clarity PPM tasks with links to Harvest packages.

Note: Contact your CA Clarity PPM administrator or see the Administration Guide for more information.

The formula used to calculate the overall percent complete status of the CA Clarity PPM feature task is as follows:

In a CA Clarity PPM feature task, six packages exist for a feature. Two are in the planning lifecycle state, two are in the development lifecycle state, and two are in the test lifecycle state. The overall percent complete for the CA Clarity PPM feature task is: (2 * 25 + 2 * 50 + 2 * 75)/6 = 50 percent Complete.

Viewing Harvest Package States from CA Clarity PPM

When Harvest packages are linked to CA Clarity PPM feature tasks, data is sent back to CA Clarity PPM and includes:

You can view a package lifecycle state and the package count for each of the four states from CA Clarity PPM change order and feature tasks. Use the Harvest States section of the CA Clarity PPM feature task Task Properties: Feature Details page.

Note: After a lifecycle state becomes active, its status cannot be set to Completed until a lesser lifecycle state has zero packages.

The following table describes the fields in this section:

Field

Description

Plan

The status of the Harvest package lifecycle state. If this Harvest package has not started, the status displays Not Started with a blue status indicator icon. Other possible states are In Progress (yellow status indicator icon), and Completed (green status indicator icon).

Planning Pkg Count

Displays the package count for the planning state.

Development

The status of the Harvest package lifecycle state. If the Harvest package is still in the plan lifecycle state, the status displays Not Started with a blue status indicator icon. Other possible states are In Progress (yellow status indicator icon), and Completed (green status indicator icon).

Development Pkg Count

Displays the package count for the development lifecycle state.

Test

The status of the Harvest package lifecycle state. If the Harvest package is still in the development lifecycle state, the status displays Not Started with a blue status indicator icon. Other possible states are In Progress (yellow status indicator icon), and Completed (green status indicator icon).

Test Pkg Count

Displays the package count for the test lifecycle state.

Production

The status of the Harvest package lifecycle state. If the Harvest package is still in the test lifecycle state, the status displays Not Started with a blue status indicator icon. Other possible statuses are In Progress (yellow status indicator icon), and Completed (green status indicator icon).

Production Pkg Count

Displays the package count for the production lifecycle state.

Update CA Clarity PPM Feature Task Completion

As Harvest packages progress through the lifecycle, the Harvest manager is responsible for their review and promotion from one lifecycle state to the next. The CA Clarity PPM project manager is responsible for using CA Clarity PPM to track the package progress. As packages progress, the CA Clarity PPM project manager updates the feature task completion.

About CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

CA Clarity PPM change order tasks originate as Service Desk change orders. As the Service Desk analyst transitions the Service Desk change order to CA Clarity PPM, it is converted into a CA Clarity PPM change order task on an existing CA Clarity PPM project. CA Clarity PPM tasks that originate in Service Desk are known as CA Clarity PPM change order tasks. Unlike CA Clarity PPM feature tasks, CA Clarity PPM change order tasks represent a one-to-one relationship between a CA Clarity PPM project task and a Harvest package.

When managing CA Clarity PPM change order tasks, the initial point at which you see the connector is when you view the change order task on an existing CA Clarity PPM project. The project is identified by the project ID specified as a component of the Service Desk project CI.

Note: For more information about Service Desk change orders, see the Unicenter Service Desk documentation.

Accessing CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

You can view and edit CA Clarity PPM change order task details from the Task Properties: Change Order Details page. Use this page to view a summary of the change order task, such as the Harvest lifecycle states, to create a Harvest package, and to cancel change order tasks.

To view this page, click Change Order Details from the content menu.

The following table describes the remaining fields in the Details and Change Order Information sections of this page.

Field

Description

Details

Harvest Project

The name of the Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM. Select the name of the project from the pull-down.

Note: If this task was created from Service Desk, this field is read-only.

Integration Status

Displays the integration status between this CA Clarity PPM change order task and the Harvest package. When a valid status is received from Harvest, the status reflects a green checkmark. If the associated Harvest package is deleted, the status reflects a red checkmark.

Task Type

Displays the task type. Use the pull-down to select the task type. Choices are Feature, Change Order, and Standard.

See Project Task Types.

Priority

The priority of this task.

Change Order Information

Harvest ID

The unique identifier for the Harvest package.

Note: If this task was created from Service Desk, this field is read-only and contains the Service Desk change order number.

Total Package Count

The total number of Harvest packages. This field is read-only.

Overall % Complete

Displays the CA Clarity PPM change order task overall percent complete, based on the number of Harvest packages in each lifecycle state and based on the weights assigned to each lifecycle state.

Change Order Status

The status of the Service Desk change order. Choices are Evaluate, Scheduled, Cancel, Send to Harvest, In Development, Create Error, Status Error.

Description

The description of the Service Desk change order. This field is read-only.

Note: If this task was created from Service Desk, this field is read-only.

Create Harvest Package

Select this box to indicate you want a Harvest package created.

Use the Integration Change Order Dashboard

In CA Clarity PPM, you can view a list of your maintenance project change order tasks from the Change Order Tasks portlet on the Integration Dashboard. This portlet displays a list of the change order tasks added to the project. The Integration Dashboard also contains three default views-General, Labor Effort, and Team Utilization-that summarize project data such as project labor and team utilization. These views are also available on the default project Dashboard.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

The data on the Integration Dashboard page is read-only. Dashboard data is drawn from the information you enter in the task and resource assignment fields, and from data submitted in staff member timesheets. This dashboard is automatically updated when new information is added or posted to the project.

To set up the Integration Dashboard for a project

You will need to repeat this procedure for each of your maintenance projects.

  1. Open the CA Clarity PPM project.

    The Project Properties: Main - General page appears.

  2. Select Integration Change Order Dashboard as the page layout in the General section of the page.
  3. Click Save.

    The default Dashboard tab of the project changes to the Integration Dashboard.

To view the project Integration Dashboard

Note: Before you can view the project Integration Dashboard, make sure you set up the page layout of your maintenance project to display the Integration Dashboard. Also, to view the dashboard, you must have Portlet Viewer - All or Portlet - View instance rights.

To view the dashboard, open the CA Clarity PPM project, and select the Integration Dashboard tab.

Associate CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks to Harvest Projects in CA Clarity PPM

After creating your Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM, associate your CA Clarity PPM change order task to the Harvest project in CA Clarity PPM. Use the Harvest Project field on the CA Clarity PPM change order task Task Properties: Change Order Details page to associate the task to the Harvest Project. This field uniquely identifies the association between the CA Clarity PPM change order task and the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

To associate the CA Clarity PPM change order task to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM

  1. Select Projects from the Portfolio Management menu.

    The Projects page appears.

  2. Click the name of the project.

    The Project Properties: Main - General page appears.

  3. Select the Tasks tab.

    The Project Tasks: Task List page appears.

  4. Click the name of the change order task to which you want to associate to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

    The Task Properties page appears.

  5. Select Change Order Details from the content menu.

    The Task Properties: Change Order Details page appears.

  6. Select the name of the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM at Harvest Project.

    Note: When integrated with Service Desk, this field is preset based on the Service Desk project CI settings, and is read-only.

Evaluating and Scheduling CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

The initial status of CA Clarity PPM change order tasks originating from Service Desk is Evaluate. You can view this status on the Task Properties: Change Order Details page.

During the evaluation period, the CA Clarity PPM project manager can begin to scope the task and evaluate resource capacity by assigning staff, ETC, start and finish dates to the task. Evaluating and scheduling tasks is basic project management functionality.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

After the task is evaluated, the CA Clarity PPM project manager can change the CA Clarity PPM change order task status from Evaluate to Scheduled. To do this, from the Task Properties: Change Order Details page, at Change Order Status, select Scheduled, and click Submit.

When you mark a CA Clarity PPM change order task as Scheduled, CA Clarity PPM sends an update to Service Desk. The Log Comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List and details the name of the task assigned resource, the ETC, the start and finish dates. The scheduling process also triggers CA Clarity PPM to set the Service Desk change order Evaluate Clarity Task workflow task status from "Evaluate" to "Complete".

Note: If you have only Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM connected, setting the change order task status to Scheduled triggers CA Clarity PPM to also update the Service Desk change order Notify Assignee workflow task status from Wait to Pending.

If Harvest is integrated with Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM and is being used to manage the change order development, setting the change order task status to Scheduled triggers CA Clarity PPM to also update the Service Desk change order Monitor Harvest Package workflow task status from Wait to Pending.

Create Harvest Package from CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

After you have determined that a CA Clarity PPM change order needs to be developed and managed in Harvest, you can create a Harvest package using CA Clarity PPM.

Important! Before creating a Harvest package from CA Clarity PPM, make sure you have created and defined the Harvest project and forms in Harvest, the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM, and associated the CA Clarity PPM feature task to the Harvest Project in CA Clarity PPM.

To create a Harvest package from a CA Clarity PPM change order task, from the Task Properties: Change Order Details page, select the Create Harvest Package check box, and click Submit. Once created, this field is locked and you cannot create another Harvest package using this task. In Harvest, the new Harvest package name is the CA Clarity PPM change order task Harvest ID and task ID with a dash (-) between.

When you create a Harvest package from a CA Clarity PPM change order task, an update is sent to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List. The process also triggers CA Clarity PPM to set the Service Desk change order Monitor Harvest Package workflow task status from Pending to In Progress.

How Harvest Package Activity is Monitored from CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

The CA Clarity PPM project manager can monitor task progress and activity-including new application or change order maintenance costs-from the project pages, views, and portlets. This is basic project management functionality.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

The initial lifecycle state of a Harvest package is plan (PLAN). You can view this lifecycle state in the Harvest States section of the Task Properties: Change Order Details page.

Note: If you have Service Desk, CA Clarity PPM, and Harvest connected, and you are using Service Desk to create change orders, at each lifecycle state change, Harvest sends an update to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List.

When the packages associated to the CA Clarity PPM change order task are promoted to the production lifecycle state, the CA Clarity PPM project manager manually sets the task % Complete field to 100%. This field change sends an update to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List. The package promotion also triggers Harvest to set the Service Desk change order Monitor Harvest Package workflow task status from In Progress to Complete, and to set the change order Notify Assignee workflow task status from Wait to Pending.

Cancel CA Clarity PPM Change Order Tasks

When a CA Clarity PPM change order task is not scheduled and work is not being done, you can cancel the work using CA Clarity PPM. To do this, on the Task Properties: Change Order Details page, at Change Order Status, select Cancel, and click Submit. The change order task status remains Not Started.

When you cancel a CA Clarity PPM change order task, an update is sent to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List detailing the cancellation of the CA Clarity PPM change order task. The cancellation process also updates the Service Desk Change Order Evaluate Clarity Task workflow task status from "Evaluate" to "Skip".

Note: If you only have Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM connected, cancelling the CA Clarity PPM task also updates the Service Desk change order Notify Assignee workflow task status from "Wait" to "Pending" to "Complete".

Note: If you have Harvest, Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM connected and you are using them to manage the change order development, cancelling the CA Clarity PPM task also updates the Service Desk change order Monitor Harvest Package workflow task status from "Wait" to "Skip", and updates the change order Notify Assignee workflow task status from "Wait" to "Pending" to "Complete".

Complete CA Clarity PPM Tasks and Projects

The following sections describe how to mark CA Clarity PPM tasks and projects as complete.

Mark Tasks as Complete

When all the Harvest packages for a task have been promoted to the production lifecycle state, the CA Clarity PPM project manager can mark the CA Clarity PPM task as complete. This is basic project management functionality.

If you have Service Desk and CA Clarity PPM connected, and you are using Service Desk to create change orders, marking the CA Clarity PPM change order task as complete triggers CA Clarity PPM to send an update to Service Desk. The log comment is entered in Service Desk Change Order Activity Log List detailing the task completion.

Note: When the task is complete, the Service Desk assignee should update and close the Service Desk change order and notify the Service Desk end-user.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

How Projects are Marked as Complete

After all the project tasks are 100 percent complete, the CA Clarity PPM project manager should mark the project as complete. This is basic project management functionality.

Note: See the Project Management User Guide for more information.

When you complete a CA Clarity PPM project that originated in Service Desk, the following takes place:

Note: When the project is complete, the Service Desk assignee should update and close the Service Desk change order and notify the Service Desk end-user.