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Glossary

access right

An access right determines the object instances that users can access and the actions they can take on them. Action examples include viewing, editing, and approving. You can grant access rights to the following objects:

action item

An action item is a nonproject unit of work (personal action item). You can generate an action item from a project.

activity

An activity represents a use case, user story, or series of related tasks. A typical work breakdown structure (WBS) includes the following hierarchy:

Project

Phase

Activity

Task

actuals

The term actuals refers to the true reported time spent, cost incurred, or revenue that is generated on an investment. In contrast, before teams can record actuals, their times, costs, and revenues are estimated, budgeted, planned, or forecast.

adjustment

An adjustment is a correction that you can make in financial management through the WIP adjustment process. You can adjust transactions that were inadvertently charged to the incorrect project. When a user selects an incorrect cost code for a transaction, you can apply an adjustment. Apply this type of corrective action before the billing cycle procedures begin. After it has been approved, an adjustment becomes available for billing.

allocation

An allocation is the time period a resource is booked to a project.

as-of date

An as-of date is a reference date that separates actual data from future data and is the key date for Earned Value Analysis (EVA).

assignment

When a resource is assigned to a task, the task becomes an assignment. A task can contain multiple assignments.

attribute (field)

An attribute is information that is associated with an object. The attribute information often appears on one or more pages for an object.

autoschedule

The autoschedule feature is an Open Workbench capability that allows you to schedule a project automatically. Automatic scheduling is subject to dependency relationships, task priorities, and optional resource availability constraints. Autoscheduling with resource constraints is similar to Resource Leveling in Microsoft Project.

availability

Availability is the total amount of time a resource is available for booking. The Availability field defines the number of hours that a resource is available for work or is expected to work in one business day.

Default: Eight (8) hours

Weekly Availability = (Availability) x (Number of business days per week in the assigned resource calendar)

For example, the Availability value for a resource is set to 8. The number of business days per week in the assigned resource calendar is set to 5. The following calculation shows the Weekly Availability for the resource:

Weekly Availability = 8 x 5 = 40 hours per week

back loading pattern

Back loading pattern is an assignment loading pattern by which a resource is scheduled as late as possible in the process of completing a task.

base calendar

A base calendar is the calendar from which another calendar receives its default values.

baseline

A baseline is a snapshot of the total effort of a project and the total costs at the moment of capture.

booking

A booking occurs when a manager assigns a resource to a project for a specified duration. The status values of all resource bookings are hard (committed), soft (tentative), or mixed (a variation of soft). Bookings do not include metrics for roles.

business day

A business day is also named a workday. The opposite of a business day is a holiday.

calendar

A calendar is a set of dates that stores your specified working days and nonworking days. CA Clarity™ PPM comes with default calendar values. You can create a repository calendar from a system base calendar and a resource calendar from a repository base calendar.

capacity

The capacity for a resource is the total amount of time that the resource is available to the organization. The total capacity for all resources is also known as aggregated availability. The capacity for an organizational unit is the total amount of collective time for all resources in that unit. Capacity also measures the total number of resources that are available to accommodate the demand for resources in an investment or portfolio.

You can define resource OBS hierarchies to model staffing needs and to represent reporting relationships, geographies, or business units. Resource OBS hierarchies filter capacity results in portlets. Capacity includes named resources that belong to an OBS or descendant OBS and does not include roles.

For example, a resource with a contract to work 40 hours each week, has 40 hours of capacity. A team of three similar resources has 120 hours of capacity for any given week. Typically, resource capacity does not include the resource manager. Total capacity for a manager or OBS unit includes the capacity of all directs and their staff in the hierarchy.

Remaining Capacity is the total amount of time that an organization has available to work on projects. Any remaining capacity has not already been booked or requested of that OBS unit. Remaining capacity is the difference between capacity and demand as follows:

Remaining Capacity = Capacity - Demand

For example, the total demand for three full-time resources in an organization for next week is 105 hours:

The organization has 15 hours of available capacity for next week.

Remaining Capacity = 120 - 105 = 15

capacity planning

Capacity Planning is the practice of evaluating resources, demand, and performance to improve utilization for maximum productivity. Capacity planning includes the following processes:

category (notes)

A category helps you organize a note. When writing a note, you can classify the note by a category.

charge code

A charge code is used to classify planned or actual costs. For example, charge code values are typically capital and expense, to indicate whether the costs are capitalized, or expensed as incurred.

contour loading pattern

A contour loading pattern is an assignment loading pattern where a resource completes a task at a rate that varies with resource availability. For example, a developer is available three hours on Monday and four hours on Tuesday. The developer is assigned to the task for three hours on Monday and four hours on Tuesday. The autoscheduling process of the project scheduling tool can apply this loading pattern.

cost code

A cost code represents the services that are provided, tasks, activities, or third-party costs or expenses that are incurred during a project.

critical path

A critical path is a set of important tasks in the project. The delay or expansion of a critical path lengthens the project or causes the project deadlines to slip. The critical path determines the earliest finish date of the project and does not take resource constraints into account.

critical path method

The critical path method (CPM) is an option that the project scheduling tool uses to calculate the duration of the project. The critical path of a project is the longest path or duration for the completion of a set of tasks. The project scheduling tool uses the critical path value to determine the tasks that drive the project deadlines and constraints.

data provider

A data provider is the source of data for a portlet as defined in Studio. Data providers can be objects, queries, or system providers. If you use queries to provide data, use NSQL to define them. The data model supports most of the business objects you need and you can create constructs to meet unique business goals.

date range

A date range is a span of time between start and finish dates.

default

A default value is the value that is entered in a field by the system when you create a record. Typically, you can change this value. In some cases, you can reset the field to restore the default value.

deliverable

A deliverable is a measurable result or work product of a task. Examples include reports, documents, units of code, and prototypes.

demand

Demand is the total amount of time that is requested and planned for resources or roles in the organization to complete tasks. Demand is based on the planned allocation values for team members who are allocated to an investment. Demand includes allocations for both named staff and requested roles from an organizational unit. Role allocations for investments address what is known as unfilled demand.

Demand is made up of hard-booked time and soft-booked time. You can use the Team Staff OBS unit to qualify demand when filtering by OBS. If the Team Staff OBS is blank, demand calculations refer to the Resource OBS.

For example, John, Susan, and Bill are on a team.

The total demand for the resources on that team for the next week is 105 hours:

This example also illustrates that the organization has 15 hours of available or remaining capacity for next week. That available capacity can be used to address more demand.

dependency type

A dependency type is a type of constraint that is placed on the start or finish date of the detail task or milestone. The product supports the following dependency types:

dimension

A dimension is a related data element in a query. For example, project-related data such as project ID, name, and start date is considered a single dimension. If a query contains project and resource data, it contains two dimensions.

duration

A duration is the length of time, in business days, that a task requires from conception to completion, including the start and finish dates.

edit mode

The term edit mode applies to the state in which user keystrokes, such as entering or deleting text, affect the contents of cells. Edit mode is different from navigation mode.

entity

An entity is a company with a set of books on its own general ledger or one of many books in a general ledger.

equipment

Equipment represents a type of resource or role that is associated with physical assets such as machinery, delivery trucks, printers, and computers.

estimate at completion (EAC)

Estimate at completion (EAC) is the expected total cost of a task and is based on the performance to date. EAC is calculated as (Actual Cost + Estimate to Complete) x Billing Rate.

estimate to complete (ETC)

Estimate to complete (ETC) is the estimated time that is required for a resource to complete a task assignment. ETC is used for project planning and revenue recognition.

expense

An expense is a type of resource or role that represents a required cost for completing a project. Examples of expenses include permits, training, or travel to a customer site.

financial attribute

A financial attribute is a property that is used for grouping cost plan data, or to drive costs and revenues using the rate matrix. Examples of financial attributes include department, location, charge code, WIP class, resource, role, input type code, and transaction class.

financial organization structure (FOS)

The financial organization structure (FOS) is the segment of the OBS that relates to project accounting. FOS creates the relationship between entities, locations, and departments.

financially-enabled

The term financially-enabled indicates that a resource or role has financial properties. These properties enable financial activities such as cost plans, transactions, and the application of costs and rates from the rate matrix.

finish date

A finish date is the current planned, budgeted, or actual date when a task or project ends.

fixed duration

A fixed duration task is constant. Resource assignments do not determine its length. A fixed duration task is also named a time-constrained task.

float

The term float represents the time when the initiation or completion of a task can be delayed without adversely affecting the project finish date. The calculation for the float in a scheduled task is Late Start - Early Start and is expressed in days or hours.

front loading pattern

A front loading pattern is the rate at which a resource is used to complete a task. In this case, the resource is scheduled to work on the task as soon as possible.

full-time equivalent (FTE)

Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a method for normalizing data for full and part-time resources and is calculated based on the standard calendar. For example, the capacity of a part-time resource is counted as 0.5 FTE.

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a common scheduling tool graph with a timeline on the horizontal or x-axis. This chart displays the status of multiple tasks. The duration of each task appears as a horizontal bar in the Gantt chart. The ends of the bar correspond to the start and finish dates of the tasks.

group

A group is a collection of resources that require the same set of access rights. A group can also refer to a logical grouping of steps in a process.

grouping attribute

A grouping attribute is any one of several financial attributes that can be used to organize cost plan detail records.

guideline

A guideline refers to any instructions that advise a resource and explain how to perform a project task. Guidelines include general statements about a policy.

holiday

A holiday is a nonbusiness day when a resource is unavailable. You set days as business days or holidays in a calendar.

idea

An idea is the initial stage for creating new opportunities for investment.

incident

An incident is an unscheduled event that is not part of the standard operation of a service. An incident can interrupt or reduce the quality of service.

indirect entry

An indirect entry is a time entry on a timesheet that is not directly related to a project. Examples of indirect entries include taking vacation time or participating in a mandatory training class.

investment

An investment is a project, program, asset, or product that corporations fund to help achieve their business goals. A portfolio inventory is made up of investments.

key task

A key task indicates an important task in the work breakdown structure (WBS).

labor

Labor represents a type of resource or role that is associated with human capital. Labor includes people with different titles, experience, and skills who work on projects.

lag

The term lag represents the amount of time between two dependent tasks. For example, you want Task B to start three days after Task A ends. Make the relationship Finish-Start and enter 3 as the lag. Alternatively, you can enter a negative number to indicate a negative lag. If you want Task B to start two days before Task A ends, enter -2 as the lag. You can also specify a lag or a negative lag as a percentage of the task duration.

late finish date

The late finish date is the latest date on which a task can be completed without adversely affecting the critical path of a project.

level of analysis

A level of analysis controls the level of consolidation of project data in a view before applying filtering and sorting criteria.

loading pattern

A loading pattern is the utilization model that arranges resources to complete project tasks. The product supports the following loading patterns:

lookup

A lookup is a data relationship often visible to users as a drop-down list or a browse list that filters portlet data. A lookup uses a key value in one table to show related information from a second table.

For example, you have a list of investments. Each record in the investments table includes a sponsor ID that indicates who owns the investment. When presenting a list of investments, you want to display the sponsor by name and not ID. The sponsor name is in the sponsors table. You are presenting data from the investments table. You create a lookup. The lookup takes the sponsor ID value in the investment record and returns the sponsor name.

master project

A master project is the top-level or parent project of one or more child subprojects in a hierarchy.

material

Material represents a type of resource or role that is associated with inventory or parts such as training guides, fabrics, chemicals, or fuel.

menu

A menu is a navigational element of the user interface that provides links to other product pages.

message area

A message area is a bar at the bottom of the user interface that shows messages describing selected objects or commands and available keys.

metric

A metric is a value in a data set, such as booked hours, capacity, or number of tasks that can be measured.

milestone

A milestone is a reference point for measuring the progress of a project. A milestone is a task that has no duration; its start date and finish date are the same.

module

A module is any component in the product that can be accessed using the main menu.

navigation mode

Navigation mode is a state in which keystrokes affect table cells, columns, and rows rather than their contents. For example, you select multiple cells in navigation mode. You edit the value for a cell in edit mode.

net present value (NPV)

Net present value (NPV) is a measure of the current value of an investment given its future revenues and costs.

NSQL

NSQL is an extension of the SQL language that is used by Studio developers to define and execute queries in the CA Clarity PPM database.

object

An object defines the fields (attributes), links, and page layout that make up the product pages. Resources, projects, documents, companies, and ideas are all examples of objects.

object action

An object action is an action for an object that you can perform by clicking a link in a menu. System object actions are provided with CA Clarity PPM. You can create custom object actions and place them on a menu where they are needed. Examples of system object actions include New Project, Create Baseline, and Add Subproject.

object instance

An object instance is a unique item of an object. For example, the Wireless Network project is an instance of the Project object, and Inga Swenson is an instance of the Resource object.

OBS (organizational breakdown structure)

An OBS (organizational breakdown structure) is a hierarchical structure that controls security, drives reporting, and organizes resources and other objects. OBS often models the organization structure of an enterprise.

OBS level

An OBS level is the basic building block of an OBS. This level represents the depth of the OBS hierarchy.

OBS unit

An OBS unit is the basic building block of an OBS. This unit represents a unit in the OBS hierarchy.

overallocation

Overallocation occurs when a resource is assigned more project hours than the hours the resource is available to work.

participant

A participant is a member of the project team who can access the calendar, documents, processes, action items, and the discussions of the project. This participant may not necessarily be assigned any project tasks.

partition

A partition is a local configuration of CA Clarity PPM that can have its own forms, attributes, processes, branding, and security rules. Partitions are often used in a hierarchical structure or partition model to control how objects are managed and appear. Partitions enable enterprise deployment of standards, processes, and policies. These standards and policies can apply at the local, regional, business, or industry levels.

percent of completion

Percent of completion is a method of revenue recognition. Revenue on certain types of projects, primarily long-term and retainer contracts is calculated on a percent of completion basis.

personal calendar

A personal calendar is a calendar for specific a user. The calendar is a consolidation of the project events of all the users and any additional personal events.

phase

A phase is the top-level default value for Project-Phase-Activity-Task. Levels can be changed and added as required to match WBS conventions.

portfolio

A portfolio is an inventory of investments that determines where to invest funds or when to delay or cancel investments. Scorecards and scenarios are used to evaluate the financial health of investments in portfolios and their alignment to corporate goals.

portlet

A portlet is a snapshot into the product data and is a window pane of information. A portlet can be a chart, table, or a web page snippet.

portlet page

A portlet page is an application page with content comprised of portlets or views. A portlet page can be configured to have a one or more tabs.

posting

Posting is the process of committing actual time data (actuals) on approved timesheets from a specified time period.

power filter

A power filter is advanced filtering based on the user-define criteria.

predecessor

A predecessor is a task that precedes another (successor) task. A predecessor is related to a successor by a dependency type link.

primary role

A primary role is the role that a resource performs most often. Primary roles are used in project planning.

process

A process is a series of steps that are used to automate a workflow. Each step in a process performs a single action that is intended to move the process towards its completion. Processes can route actions items and notifications to users when it is their turn to complete a request.

program

A program (initiative) is a top-level project that is the parent project to child projects. Unlike a master project, a program shows actuals and effort for all of the projects it contains.

project

A project is a set of related tasks that is designed to achieve a specific objective. A project is composed of tasks, staff who complete the tasks, financials, collaboration, document sharing, and so forth.

project calendar

A project calendar is a calendar for members of a project group. A project calendar is accessible to all project members to create and collaborate on events.

project management

Project management is a body of knowledge dealing with the planning and the control of projects. A set of principles, techniques, and tools are used to manage projects.

project plan

A project plan contains basic information about projects, such as start and finish dates. Third-party scheduler products (for example, Microsoft Project and Open Workbench) can be used to create tasks and assignments in a project plan.

query

A query is a set of conditions to retrieve specific information from a database.

rate matrix

A rate matrix is a user-configurable engine that uses financial attributes to return the planned and actual costs and rates for a given period.

remaining work

Remaining work is the future work for a resource on an investment. This term is also known as estimate to complete (ETC).

requisition

A requisition is a formal request for one or more resources.

resource

A resource is a person or an object, such as equipment, that is used to fill a project role or perform a work task. Resources and roles are categorized into labor and non-labor types. Non-labor resources and roles include equipment, material, and expense. Labor resources have assigned skills, a primary role, and belong to one or more OBS units or an optional resource pool. Resource profiles include the following properties:

resource calendar

A resource calendar is a calendar that defines the availability of a resource, including non-working days, holidays, weekends, and resource shifts. A resource calendar drives resource allocation and availability for resource staffing.

resource management

Resource Management is the practice of assigning the appropriate resources to projects and tasks. Resource Management includes the following processes:

resource usage

Resource usage is the amount of one or more resources that were used, are used, or will be used. Resource usage is represented by the following examples:

return on investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI) is the profit or loss that results from an investment transaction.

risk

A risk is a measurement of an investment’s likelihood of meeting expectations. For example, finishing on time, within the budget, and with the expected quality level.

role

A role describes the work function or job responsibilities of a resource.

schedule

A schedule is a timetable for performing tasks, utilizing resources, or allocating facilities.

schedule variance (SV)

A schedule variance (SV) is the value of what you have accomplished to date versus what you planned to have accomplished on that date.

Schedule variance is calculated as BCWP - BCWS.

scheduler tool

A scheduler tool is a third-party product, such as Open Workbench or Microsoft Project, that can be used with the product for project scheduling and planning.

Service Connect

Service Connect provides connections to integrate with BMC Remedy and to transfer incident data to CA Clarity PPM.

shortlist

A shortlist is a list of resources that resulted from searching for resources to book to projects or to attach to requisitions.

staff

Staff is a group of members of the project team who are assigned to the project tasks.

status

A status is the project results compared to the project plan. Status is determined in terms of costs, resources, deliverables, and whether the project is started, not started, or complete. In Open Workbench, a status indicator reflects the status of a project, or for a program, the status of its component projects.

subnet

A subnet is a group of tasks in a project that have dependencies among themselves. During autoschedule, a separate critical path can be calculated for each subnet.

subproject

A subproject is a child project contained in a master project or a program.

successor

A successor is a task that follows another task (predecessor) and is related to it by a dependency type link.

system partition

A system partition is the default partition that exists in each CA Clarity PPM enterprise installation. Any partitions that you create become children to this partition.

task

A task is a unit of work in a project plan that is assigned to one or more resources for a specified period. A task can have milestones to measure progress.

timesheet

A timesheet enables resources to record and submit the time spent (actuals) on the tasks that are assigned to them.

total effort

Total effort calculates the amount of effort that is required to complete a project or a task. Total effort is calculated as Actuals + Remaining ETC.

tracking

Tracking is the process of measuring the status of a project and comparing the status with the plan. Tracking is used to identify variances and to take corrective action.

transaction

A transaction is where all financial transactions for time, expense, and partial billings for projects are maintained. Only chargeable items that are in WIP can be billed. Items are removed from WIP and moved to history when the job is billed. Changes to the transactions in WIP can only occur by creating a WIP Adjustment or WIP Reversal entry.

transaction class

A transaction class defines the type of financial transaction. For example, billable or non-billable.

type code

A type code is an abbreviation, acronym, short phrase, or a number that refers to certain description of payroll time. For example, standard time, overtime, holiday pay, travel pay, straight commission, and consultant fees.

uniform loading pattern

A uniform loading pattern is an assignment loading pattern by which the time of a resource is scheduled evenly across a task. The time is scheduled only on those days when the resource is available to meet the task requirements.

unstructured project

An unstructured project (collaboration project) is a project that does not include any tasks. This project can include calendar, documents (including processes), discussions, and project roster features. No transaction processing occurs in an unstructured project.

usage

Usage is the total effort (actuals plus remaining ETC) to date for a resource.

user

A user is the labor resource who has access rights to use the product. A user can participate on a collaboration project and can also be a resource.

utilization

Utilization is the total usage per time period for a resource resulting from the summation of all tasks in the project.

versioning

Versioning refers to retaining and accessing prior iterations of a document. The term is also associated with Studio content packages to track iterative builds.

view

A view determines how information is displayed on a page, such as in properties, list columns, or list filters.

virtual attribute

A virtual attribute is an attribute to which CA Clarity PPM can make calls but that does not physically exist in the application. A virtual attribute can be a calculated attribute or an attribute with temporary values generated as needed. You cannot access a virtual attribute because it does not physically exist. Virtual columns are not stored in database tables.

virtual column

In a virtual column, the data is not computed when the query is created; the data is created in real time.

WBS activity

WBS activity is the grouping of tasks in a project plan.

WBS object

A WBS object is a step in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) used as a building block in Open Workbench and Microsoft Project. Organizations use different terms to refer to WBS objects. For example, Summary tasks or Parent tasks, Child tasks or Detail tasks. Each WBS object contains information on its dependencies, role assignments, initial estimates, and deliverables.

WIP adjustment transaction

A WIP adjustment transaction is created through the WIP Adjustment process to correct an error in a transaction that has been posted to WIP but not billed or invoiced.

WIP adjustment type

The product supports the following types of WIP adjustments:

WIP class

A WIP class is primarily used for the financial reporting of projects, but can also be used to drive planned and actual costs and revenues. WIP class is used for grouping WIP transactions for the general ledger.

WIP history

The transactions of the project can be moved from WIP to WIP history after the project has been closed.

WIP reversal transaction

A WIP reversal transaction reverses a financial transaction that has been posted to WIP, but has not been billed to a client. A WIP reversal completely removes a financial transaction from the project. If the financial transaction comes from a timesheet, the WIP reversal does not remove the transaction from the timesheet.

work breakdown structure (WBS)

A work breakdown structure (WBS) refers to the organization of tasks into a hierarchy that typically includes phases, key tasks, milestones, and subsequent tasks (child tasks that fall under a parent task).