Projects Connector Overview

This guide documents the Projects Connector application.

OpenAir provides Projects Connector as a tool for exchanging project plan information between the Projects module and Microsoft Project. There are two key parts to setting up this relationship: the project plan and project tracking. Each is explained as follows.

• Project plan — concerns the overall structure and scope of the project, such as what tasks need to be accomplished by whom and when. It can be set up either in OpenAir or in Microsoft Project, and basic plan data can be exchanged between the two applications using Projects Connector. Ultimately, however, you must control or modify the project plan in either OpenAir or Microsoft Project, but not both. One or the other needs to be the "primary" since changing elements of the project plan in both applications can lead to irreconcilable discrepancies, and in some instances, duplicated transactional data.

• Project tracking — relies on user-input data, such as the hours each resource works on a task and assigned time associated with the project. Using these data, you can monitor the progress of the project, calculate what percentage of a task or phase is complete, and determine whether or not the project is on schedule and within budget. These data are drawn from tools such as OpenAir's Timesheets module, in which users enter the time they spend working on one or more specified projects and from OpenAir's Invoices module, in which a project's billable hours are calculated.

Projects Connector is flexible and provides multiple uses as listed below.

Push to OpenAir — Push a Microsoft Project plan to OpenAir. Lock the project when you push it and continue to update it in Microsoft Project. Alternatively, do not lock it when you push it to maintain the project in OpenAir.

Pull from OpenAir — Pull a project from OpenAir and make modifications in Microsoft Project. Company schedules and resource schedules are maintained. If the setting for user level planned hours is enabled in OpenAir, the hours are set as work hours in Microsoft Project. Lock the project in OpenAir when you pull it so you can push it back after you make changes in Microsoft Project. Alternatively, do not lock the project in OpenAir when you pull it into Microsoft Project. (You can still push it back to OpenAir as a new project or just work with a disconnected Microsoft Project file.)

Pull OpenAir resources — Pull OpenAir resources so that they are available in Microsoft Project. Company schedules and resource schedules are maintained. Assign OpenAir users to tasks in the Microsoft Project plan. Projects Connector checks schedules and verifies that there are no schedule differences when you push a project with assigned resources to OpenAir.

Map additional Microsoft Project task fields to OpenAir task fields and task and phase custom fields — Create custom fields in Microsoft Project and map them to OpenAir Fields before you push projects to OpenAir. Update custom field data in your Microsoft Project and the information and values transfer to the project in OpenAir. You can also map any Microsoft Project task or summary task field to an OpenAir custom task or phase field.

Schedule conflict checking — Check for resource schedule conflicts between Microsoft Project and OpenAir when you push projects to OpenAir. Discrepancies are itemized and displayed so plans can be synchronized.

Update a project in OpenAir from Microsoft Project revisions — Push Microsoft Project revisions to a locked project in OpenAir to update the project in OpenAir. OpenAir continues to collect information about hours worked, approved, and billed for that project. Refer to Editing a Project in Microsoft Project.

Predecessor relationships — Push lag times and different predecessor relationships from your Microsoft Project plan to OpenAir. OpenAir supports Microsoft Project predecessors and you can create and edit them in the OpenAir Task grid. For example, use FS or Finish-to-Start, SS or Start-to-Start, FF or Finish-to-Finish, and SF or Start-to-Finish.

Time tracking — Use the OpenAir time tracking ability to log time against tasks in a project plan. OpenAir users' timesheets record time worked on tasks and assignments and time approved.

Actual hours worked — When you pull OpenAir timesheet hours to Microsoft Project, they can optionally become Actual Work hours.

Application Differences

There are fundamental differences between OpenAir and Microsoft Project in the way they each handle hours and tasks. These are reviewed in detail in a separate chapter on Application Differences, but the following are most significant.

Task type — Use Microsoft Project's fixed units task type to ensure compatibility with OpenAir. Although Microsoft Project offers other task types, OpenAir treats all tasks as fixed units. For example, if you change the percentage of time a resource is assigned to a task in OpenAir, the duration is recalculated. The same recalculation occurs when you change fixed units in Microsoft Project.

Duration of tasks to duration of tasks — If you do not have the internal setting “Input planned hours for each user assigned to the task” enabled, when you push a Microsoft Project plan to OpenAir, duration of tasks becomes planned hours. To review a project's planned hours, navigate to Projects, select the project and use one of the options available to review planned hours.

Work hours from tasks to planned hours — If you have the internal setting “Input planned hours for each user assigned to the task” enabled, when you push a Microsoft Project plan to OpenAir, task work hours become planned hours in OpenAir. To review a project's planned hours, navigate to Projects, select the project and use one of the options available to review planned hours.

Project Plan Control

It is helpful to choose to control and maintain the primary project plan in either OpenAir or Microsoft Project. Changing elements of a project plan in both OpenAir and Microsoft Project can lead to irreconcilable discrepancies, and in some instances, duplicated transactional data such as timesheet hours and billable hours. In most cases, such duplicate entries are not possible because projects can be locked for editing in OpenAir and billable hours cannot be pushed into OpenAir from your Microsoft Project plan. To control a project using Microsoft Project, refer to the guidelines for Editing a Project in Microsoft Project.

Target Audience

This document is intended for users who are authorized to exchange data between the Projects module in OpenAir and Microsoft Project using Projects Connector.

Document Contents

The following provides a brief description of what's included in this document.

• Introduction — includes introductory material and procedures for getting started. There are things to think about and do as you begin using Projects Connector. It also includes a description of the OpenAir toolbar that is added to the Microsoft Project toolbar when you install Projects Connector and tips on editing a project in Microsoft Project.

• Installation — includes steps for installing Projects Connector, installing a new version, and uninstalling the software.

• Using Projects Connector — Includes procedures for account settings, pulling project information from OpenAir into Microsoft Project, pushing Microsoft Project files to projects in OpenAir, pulling resource information from OpenAir in to Microsoft Project, and locking and unlocking projects in OpenAir.

• References — Includes frequently asked questions and answers, an explanation of resource assignment mapping, troubleshooting tips and instructions, and copyright material.

Definitions

• Pull from OpenAir — refers to a project plan or data being transferred from OpenAir to Microsoft Project.

• Push to OpenAir — refers to a project plan or data being transferred from Microsoft Project to OpenAir.

• Project — refers to all of the components that describe work to be accomplished such as what will be done, when, by whom, and at what cost. Since OpenAir terminology can be tailored by each company, your OpenAir account may use a different term in place of the word project such as case, job, or assignment.

• Tasks — refers to the jobs or work packages and activities that comprise a project. Since OpenAir terminology can be tailored by each company, your OpenAir account may use a different term in place of the word task.

Note:

It is beyond the scope of this document to provide procedures for using Microsoft Project. Refer to Microsoft Project documentation for more information.