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Viewing the Project Center Dashboard (PPM Essentials Accelerator)

This section contains the following topics:

About the Project Center

Define Project Alignment and Tracking Factors

Create Project Status Reports

My Alerts

My Team

My Controls

Deliverables

Timesheet Review

About the Project Center

Project managers review issues, risks, and change requests related to their projects. They also monitor the project schedule and tasks.

The Project Center dashboard includes the following pages:

How to Set up the Project Center

To view project information about the Project Center dashboard, complete the following:

Define Project Alignment and Tracking Factors

Each business alignment value that you define for a project is associated with a number. All the numbers together are used to determine an average which is then considered the Business Alignment score for the project.

For more information, see the Project Management User Guide.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open Home, and from Portfolio Management, and click Projects.

    The projects page appears.

  2. Click the project to define business alignment and tracking factors.

    The project properties page appears.

  3. Open the Properties menu, and click Alignment and Tracking.

    The alignment and tracking properties page appears.

  4. Specify the following business alignment values:
    Business Value

    Displays the amount of business value (high, medium, low) associated with the project. Click the drop-down menu to select an option. After you save, the stoplight color changes as follows:

    • Red. Low Business Value
    • Yellow. Medium Business Value
    • Green. High Business Value
    Sponsorship

    Displays the amount of sponsorship (high, medium, low) available for the project. Click the drop-down menu to select an option. After you save, the stoplight color changes as follows:

    • Red. Low Sponsorship
    • Yellow. Medium Sponsorship
    • Green. High Sponsorship
    Technology Compliance

    Displays the technology compliance status of the project. Click the drop-down menu to select an option. After you click Save, the stoplight color changes as follows:

    • Red. Not in Compliance
    • Medium. Compliance with Architecture Standards
    • Low. Not in Compliance - but Stable
  5. Specify the following project tracking values:
    Scheduler Format

    Specifies the scheduler format used for the project. Click the drop-down menu and select a scheduler format (Microsoft Project or Open Workbench).

    Dashboard View

    Specifies the dashboard view selected for the project. Click the drop-down menu to select a view option.

    Default: PPM Essential Project Dashboard

    Set Budget Dates

    Indicates if the budget dates synchronizes with project dates. Select the check box to synchronize budget date with project dates.

  6. Submit your changes.

Create Project Status Reports

You can enter weekly, monthly, or quarterly project status reports. These status reports indicate how a project is doing in terms of schedule, cost, and scope where compared to the baseline. If a project is not baselined, then the original project plan is used as a snapshot.

These reports are referenced in portlets on the Project Center dashboard.

Follow these steps:

  1. Open Home, and from Portfolio Management, and click Projects.

    The projects page appears.

  2. Select the project to create a status report.

    The properties page appears.

  3. Open the Properties menu and click Status Report List.

    The list page appears.

  4. Click New.

    The create page appears.

  5. Complete the following:
    Status Report Update

    Provides a status update summary on the project. Enter the summary in the text box.

    Report Date

    Displays the date when the report was created. Enter or select a date.

    Schedule Status

    Displays a stoplight indicating the current project schedule status. Click the drop-down menu to select a schedule status.

    Current Phase

    Displays the current phase of the project. Click the drop-down menu to select a phase.

    Next Milestone on Track?

    Indicates if the next milestone is on track. Select the check box to indicate that the next milestone is on track.

    Variance Explanation

    Provides an explanation for a variance in the project schedule. Enter an explanation in the text box.

    Scope Status

    Displays a stoplight indicating the status of the project scope. Click the drop-down menu to select a scope status.

    Scope Change Required?

    Indicates if a change in the project scope is required. Select the check box to indicate if a change in the scope is required.

    Deliverable Scope Changed?

    Indicates if the scope of the project deliverable has changed. Select the check box to indicate that project deliverable scope has changed.

    Project Objective Changed?

    Indicates if the project objective has changed. Select the check box to indicate that the project objective has changed.

    Change Explanation

    Provides an explanation for a change in the project objective. Enter an explanation in the text box.

    Cost and Effort Status

    Displays a stoplight indicating the cost and effort status of the project. Click the drop-down menu to select a cost and effort status.

    Review Approval Problems?

    Indicates if the project is encountering any review approval problems. Select the check box to indicate that the project is encountering review approval problems.

    Staffing/Availability Issues?

    Indicates if the project is encountering staffing availability issues. Select the check box to indicate that the project is encountering staffing availability issues.

    Project Affected by External Factors?

    Indicates if the project is affected by external factors. Select the check box to indicate that the project is affected by external factors.

    Cost and Effort Explanation

    Provides an explanation for the cost and effort status. Enter an explanation in the text box.

  6. Submit your changes.

My Alerts

Use My Alerts to get a high-level exception-based view of your activities and closely monitor potential problem areas.

The page includes the following portlets:

Schedule Performance Portlet

A task is considered late if it is past the baseline due date, or the finish date for the task (if the project was not baselined). A task is considered scheduled late when baseline due date is before the finish date for the task. This implies that the project was baselined and then the task date was moved out.

The Schedule Performance portlet displays the number of late tasks in a column graph format. Late tasks are categorized as follows:

If no columns appear on the graph, it means that all tasks are finishing as scheduled.

From the Schedule Performance portlet, click a column in the graph to open the Schedule Performance Details portlet for a list of the critical late, past due, or scheduled late tasks. This portlet displays the following details for that task group:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Status

Indicates the status of the task.

Values: Started, Not Started, and Completed

Classification

Displays the task grouping.

Values: Critical Late, Past Due, and Scheduled Late

Due Date

Displays the date when the task is scheduled to be completed.

Days Late

Displays the number of days past the due date of the task, based on the current date.

Total Effort

Displays the total effort or ETC to complete the task.

Staffing Outlook Portlet

The Staffing Outlook portlet lets you identify project tasks where resources are not assigned. The portlet displays in a bar chart format the unstaffed hours or estimate-to-complete (ETC). Unstaffed hours are the hours assigned to a role for tasks that are not completed. The Y-axis of the chart displays project names. The X-axis displays the number of unassigned hours for each project.

You can replace a role with resources that can complete the work. Click a bar on the chart to go to the Staffing Drill Down page and search for resources. This page includes the Staffing Outlook Details portlet. This portlet provides a graphical view of all the unstaffed tasks and includes the following fields:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Unstaffed Role

Displays the role name that is unstaffed. Click the role link to open the team staff page and assign resources to the role.

Assignment Start Date

Displays the date of starting the associated task.

Assignment Finish Date

Displays the date of completing the associated task.

ETC

Displays the total hours of unstaffed ETC.

Milestones Portlet

The Milestones portlet lists the incomplete project milestones, or tasks and how they affect the project schedule.

This portlet includes the following fields:

Schedule

Displays a stoplight indicating the project schedule based on the value in the Days Late column.

Stoplight Colors:
Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Milestone

Displays the name of the milestone. Click the milestone link to open the task properties page and edit the milestone.

Due Date

Displays the due date for the milestone to be complete. The due date is the baseline finish date for the milestone. If no baseline exists, is the finish date of the milestone.

Days Late

Displays the number of days past the baseline due date for the milestone. If the milestone is not late, a negative number displays indicating the number of days until the due date. For example, a negative five implies that five days are left before the task becomes due.

Prioritized Issues Portlet

The Prioritized Issues portlet gives you a high-level view of the current issues in a project and alerts you for large number of issues. The data appears in a pie chart format with each pie slice representing the number of open issues, grouped by priority, across all projects.

The number displayed next to each pie slice indicates the percentage of open issues for a particular type of priority (high, medium, or low). Open issues have statuses other than “Closed”.

From the Prioritized Issues portlet, click a pie slice to go to the Prioritized Issues Drill Down page and view the Prioritized Issues Listing portlet.

To display information in this portlet, issues must be defined for your projects.

This portlet displays the following details for a specific group of issues:

Schedule

Displays a stoplight indicating if the resolution of the issue is on schedule.

Stoplight Colors:
Priority

Displays a stoplight indicating the priority status of the issue.

Stoplight Colors:
Issue ID

Displays the issue ID. Click the issue link to open the issue properties page and edit the issue.

Issue Description

Displays the issue description. Click the description link to open the issue properties page and edit the issue.

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Category

Displays the issue category.

Owner

Displays the name of the person who owns the issue. Click the Send Mail icon next to an owner to send an email to the owner.

Target Resolution Date

Displays the target date for resolving the issue.

My Team

Use My Team to do the following:

The page includes the following portlets:

Resource Work Queue Portlet

The Resource Work Queue portlet provides team resource information for each task and displays daily ETCs in a chart format.

To display information about the portlet, assign resources to tasks with ETCs.

The portlet provides the following information about the team:

Resource

Displays the associated resource name. Click the resource name link to open the resource properties page and edit the resource.

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Status

Indicates the status of the task.

Values: Started, Not Started, and Completed. Click the status link to open the assignment properties page and edit ETC or assignment dates.

Priority

Displays a stoplight indicating the priority status of the task.

Stoplight Colors:
Schedule

Displays a stoplight indicating the schedule status of the task.

Stoplight Colors:
ETC

Displays the amount of ETC in hours for each day.

Resource Assignments Portlet

The Resource Assignments portlet displays the availability and assignments information for resources in a histogram format. The yellow and red bars in the histogram represent the assignments for a resource. The grey lines in between represent the availability threshold based on the daily available hours for the resource. The colors of the bars indicate the following:

A mouseover on the histogram displays the exact hours assigned and the daily availability for a resource. The total at the bottom shows the total ETC for all resources for each day.

The portlet includes the following fields:

Resource

Displays the first and last name of the resource. Click a resource name to drill to the resource properties page and edit the resource information.

Availability/Assignments ETC

Displays the availability and assignments for the resource using a histogram format.

My Controls

Use the My Controls page to get a high-level view of tasks, change requests, issues, and risks associated with projects. This information allows you to evaluate and control the performance of your projects more effectively.

The page includes the following portlets:

Note: For information to display on the My Controls portlets, select the "Include in Status Reporting?" check box for the following on their respective properties pages:

Tasks Portlet

The Tasks portlet displays the total amount of effort required to complete selected tasks. Tasks flagged for status reporting from the task properties page appears in the portlet. The portlet provides the following details:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Status

Indicates the status of the task.

Values: Started, Not Started, and Completed

Due Date

Displays the date for completing the task.

Days Late

Displays the number of days the task is late.

Total Effort

Displays the total ETC plus actuals for the task.

Schedule

Displays Gantt bars for a six-month period starting with the current month.

Gantt Bar Color Indicators:

Change Requests Portlet

The Change Requests portlet shows the status of selected change requests. Change requests, flagged for status reporting from the properties page, appear in the portlet. The portlet provides the following details:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Change Request Description

Displays the change request description. Click the description link to open the change request properties page and edit the change request.

Status

Displays the status for the change request.

Values: Open, Work in Progress, Closed, and Resolved

Effective Date

Displays the date when the change request becomes effective.

Priority

Displays a stoplight indicating the priority status of the change request.

Stoplights:
Impact Severity

Displays the severity of impact the change request on the project.

Values: Critical Schedule, Critical Cost, Critical Cost & Schedule, Moderate, Negligible

Category

Displays the change request category.

Closed Date

Displays the date of closing the change request.

Owner

Displays the name of the owner of the change request. Click the Send Mail icon next to an owner to send an email the owner.

Issues Portlet

The Issues portlet shows selected project issues. Issues flagged for status reporting from the issues properties page appear in the portlet. The portlet displays the following details:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Issue Description

Displays the issue description. Click the description link to open the issue properties page and edit the issue.

Status

Displays the status of the issue.

Values: Open, Work in Progress, Closed, and Resolved

Target Resolution Date

Displays the target date for resolving the issue.

Schedule

Displays a stoplight indicating the schedule status of the issue resolution:

Stoplights:
Priority

Displays a stoplight indicating the priority status of the issue.

Stoplights:
Category

Displays the issue category.

Owner

Displays the name of the owner of the issue. Click the Send Mail icon next to an owner to email the owner.

Risks Portlet

The Risks portlet shows the project risks flagged to be included in status reporting on the risk properties page. The portlet displays the following details:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Risk Description

Displays the risk description as defined on the risk. Click the description link to open the risk properties page and edit the risk.

Status

Displays the status for the risk.

Values: Open, Work in Progress, Closed, and Resolved

Target Resolution Date

Displays the target date for resolving the risk.

Above Threshold

Displays a yellow check mark to indicate that the risk threshold is greater than 1. The value is based on Risk Threshold on the risk settings page.

Probability

Displays a stoplight indicating the probability of the risk happening.

Stoplights:
Impact

Displays a stoplight indicating the impact of the risk on the project.

Stoplights:
Category

Displays the risk category.

Owner

Displays the name of the owner of the risk. Click the Send Mail icon next to an owner to send an email to the owner.

Deliverables

Use the Deliverables page to review project documentation, such as architectural designs, planning documents, scope of work, and quality assurance plans.

The Deliverables page includes the Project Deliverables Review portlet.

Note: For information to appear on the portlet, upload all documentation to the Document Manager folders in a project. Also, attach the documents to the relevant tasks using the Document/Deliverables field on the task properties page.

Project Deliverables Review Portlet

The Project Deliverables Review portlet provides the following for all project documents:

Document/Deliverable

Displays a link to the document or deliverable. Click the document link to open the document or save it to your local desktop. Click the Document Manager icon next to a document to go to the Project Document Manager page and view all the uploaded documents.

Status

Displays a stoplight indicating the approval status of the document.

Stoplights:
Schedule

Displays a stoplight indicating the approval schedule of the document:

Stoplights:
Due Date

Displays the due date for the document: The date for completing the associated task.

Owner

Displays the name of the owner of the document.

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Timesheet Review

Use the Timesheet Review page to review your project team timesheets and any modified estimates that the team members enter.

The page includes the following portlets:

Timesheet Review Portlet

The Timesheet Review portlet lets you review open timesheets. You can also compare the estimated time of completion (ETC) for a task with the submitted actuals.

The portlet displays the following information about timesheets:

Notes Attached

Displays a yellow check mark to indicate that notes are attached to the timesheet.

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Timesheet

Displays the timesheet (clock) icon. Click the icon next to a resource to open the Timesheet page for that resource.

Resource

Displays the associated resource name. Click the resource link to open the assignment properties page to edit the resource assignment information.

Resource Type

Displays the resource type (Employee, Contractor).

Timesheet Status

Displays the latest timesheet status (Open, Submitted, Approved, Returned, Posted, Adjusted).

Period Start

Displays the start date for a specific time reporting period.

Period End

Displays the end date for a specific time reporting period.

Pending Actuals

Displays the unposted actuals for a specific time reporting period.

Posted Actuals

Displays the posted actuals for a specific time reporting period.

Total Actuals

Displays the total actuals (pending and posted) for a specific time reporting period.

Pending Estimates Portlet

Depending on whether less or more time is required for a task, a team member can increase or reduce the ETC on a task. They can do this using Timesheets. However, the project manager approves the modifications before the change is reflected in CA Clarity PPM. The Pending Estimates portlet lets you view all the variables associated with a task. Based on the variables, you can accept or deny any modified ETCs.

This portlet displays the following details:

Stoplight

Displays a stoplight indicating how the ETC was modified.

Stoplights:

Project

Displays the name of the associated project. Click the project name link to open the project properties page and edit the project.

Task

Displays the name of the associated task. Click the task name link to open the task properties page and edit the task.

Resource

Displays the name of the associated resource. Click the resource link to open the assignment properties page for the resource.

Start

Displays the date of starting the associated task.

Finish

Displays the date of completing the associated task.

Pending ETC

Displays the amount of ETC added to the timesheet.

Plan ETC

Displays the amount of ETC initially assigned to the task.

Pending Actuals

Displays the amount of unposted actuals for the task.

Adjusted Plan ETC

Displays the adjusted planned ETC amount (Planned ETC - Pending Actuals).

Recommended Change in ETC

Displays the amount of ETC used based on the modified ETC entered in the timesheet.