7 Working with Microsoft Project

The Agile PPM-Microsoft Project integration enables you to schedule projects using Microsoft® Project (MSP) and publish the results back to PPM. The integration uses Microsoft® Project data stored in XML format to facilitate import and export.

You can choose to do the following:

Create a project in PPM from a legacy MSP file.
Use a PPM project template to create a project in MSP.
Edit the project in MSP and import changes to PPM.
Create a PPM project on one server and replicate it on other servers.

As a best practice, create your project in PPM, then export to MSP and publish it back to PPM.

Agile PLM imports and exports MSP files using the following features:

Create Project from XML - Imports an MSP file in XML format to create a new PPM project.
Load Microsoft® Project XML - Updates the current PPM project with changes made in MSP.

The import date and time is tracked on the project's General Info tab as well as the Gantt Chart.

7.1 What's Supported

Data that is synchronized includes:

Generic resource pools.
Extended attributes mapped to Page Two attributes.
Constraints defined in MSP.

Note:

Constraints are retained during export provided all scheduling and resource management operations for the project are done in MSP, and all execution-related operations are done in PPM. Scheduling and resource management operations include any operation that affects the project structure, dates, or resources. Execution-related operations include managing deliverables, updating task progress, and so on.

Data validation is performed for:

Duplicate Text30 values
Invalid Dependencies
- Self dependencies
- Parent-Child dependencies
Finish-to-Finish and Start-to-Finish type predecessor on parent task
Inactive users or user groups
Inactive roles
Name, Description, and Page Two text attributes

Exceptions are noted under What's Not Supported.

7.2 What's Not Supported

The import operation does not support the following data:

Split-task resource assignments. Split tasks are converted as normal tasks.
Manually-edited rollup data on parent tasks.
Work Contour values - all assignments from MSP are converted as Flat values.
SmartURLs.
Customized calendars and working days.
Microsoft® Project outline numbers.
Actual Date values - are neither exported nor imported.

In addition, the Agile menu in MSP, installed with earlier versions of Agile, is no longer required or supported. See "Notes on the Agile Menu in Microsoft Project."

Importing of multiple project XML files is not supported through the Web Client interface. You can use the Agile SDK to handle bulk loading requirements.

7.3 Before You Begin

Before you begin synchronizing projects between PPM and MSP, make sure the integration requirements are met.

Make sure all your Microsoft® Project team members exist in the Agile database.
Make sure you have the Microsoft Project Privilege assigned to you by your Agile administrator.
Make sure the necessary attribute mapping has been configured on the MSP/Agile PPM mapping file (MSPSyncMapping.properties). See "Setting Up Microsoft Project Synchronization." for details.
If your work site has previously used PPM 8.5 or 9.0, uninstall the 8.5 or 9.0 macros.

To do this:
1. Open Microsoft® Project.
2. Select Tools > Organizer > Modules.
3. Open Global.mpt and delete the Get File and XML macros.

Understand what could create integration challenges; see "Transferring Microsoft Project Work Values to PPM."
Understand the impact of choosing a scheduling engine. See"Choosing the Scheduling Engine."

7.3.1 Setting Up Microsoft Project Synchronization

To ensure that data synchronization works successfully, MSP project elements must be mapped to the correct PLM object attributes. Agile provides a mapping file, MSPSyncMapping.properties, where these values can be mapped appropriately.

You can find this file in the Agile installation directory under ..\agileDomain\applications\application.ear\APP-INF\classes. Follow the instructions provided within the file to map attributes as required.

7.3.2 Choosing the Scheduling Engine

The scheduling engines used by PPM and MSP follow different rules for rescheduling and default settings. You cannot schedule projects using MSP and PPM at the same time.

PPM has a Schedule Editor switch that can be set for each project to indicate which scheduling engine (PPM or MSP) needs to control scheduling. By default, the Schedule Editor is set to PPM, but you can control the setting at a template level and thus retain that setting for all projects created from a particular template.

The first time you import an MSP file into PPM to create a PPM project, you are provided the option to select the preferred scheduling engine. After the PPM project is created, if you want to update it with further changes made in MSP, the schedule editor must be set to MSP.

The Schedule Editor attribute can also be edited on the project's General Info page. To see what actions change the Schedule Editor setting automatically, see "Read Only and Edit Modes."

7.3.3 Transferring Microsoft Project Work Values to PPM

To ensure the accurate mapping of work values from Microsoft® Project to a PPM project, you must understand the way each solution handles data, and configure your data accordingly.

Days Effort - In Agile PPM, days effort is always calculated based on the % allocation and duration. Unlike in Microsoft® Project, Agile PPM requires an allocation to a resource or resource pool in order for days effort to be populated. To ensure that effort data values without resource or resource pool allocation are not lost while publishing tasks from Microsoft® Project, your Agile administrator can set up and define a generic resource pool to hold the work/days effort values. If your Agile administrator has defined the generic resource pool, you will notice that tasks which satisfy these conditions have a generic resource pool associated to them on the Team tab.
Custom Subclasses - While creating new tasks in MSP for a PPM project, you can override the default subclass values in the Text29 column with custom subclass values specified in the Java Client.
Page Two Attributes - To ensure the correct mapping of Page Two attributes, you must edit the appropriate values in the MSP/Agile PPM mapping file (MSPSyncMapping.properties on the Agile server) provided by Agile. Page Three attributes cannot be mapped.
Float Values - From release 9.3.1, PPM supports float values for duration and resource allocation in projects. You can add resources with fractional allocations, for example, 200.25, 100.35 and so on. After launching such projects in Microsoft® Project and publishing back to PPM, you may see minor variances in these values because Microsoft® Project does not support float values.
Project Tree Structure - The Agile PPM project name must be at outline level one in Microsoft® Project. All Agile PPM subtasks, phases, and gates must be indented under level one in Microsoft® Project.
% allocation for resources - Within Microsoft® Project, the % allocation for a resource should be a value between 0 and 400 to ensure error-free data mapping. The default maximum value for the corresponding field in PPM is 400. If you wish to assign a higher value, you can change the default configuration for the Team attributes in Java Client as appropriate. To learn how to modify attributes, see the Agile PLM Administrator Guide.

Caution Data in the Text30 column should not be tampered with, as this could interfere with the synchronization process and cause errors.

7.3.4 Notes on the Agile Menu in Microsoft Project

If you were using the MSP-PPM integration feature with an earlier version of Agile, the Agile menu may still appear in your Microsoft® Project toolbar. This feature is no longer supported or required, and can safely be removed from the list of COM add-ins in MSP.

This is an optional step; retaining the menu does not affect the integration.

To see a list of active COM add-ins for Microsoft® Project:

Go to Tools > Customize > Toolbars. The "Customize" window opens.
From the Commands tab, within the left-hand list, select Tools.
Locate "COM Add-Ins" in the right-hand list.
Drag and drop "COM Add-Ins" from the list onto the top menu bar.
Close the Customize window.
Click the newly added COM Add-Ins menu. A list of all the installed add-ins is displayed.
Select the add-in you wish to uninstall.
Click the Remove button to uninstall the selected add-in.

7.4 Creating a Project from an Existing Microsoft Project File

You can use an existing MSP plan that contains at least one Level 1 task, as the basis for an Agile PPM project object. (All tasks must be rolled up under a single project; PPM transforms that project into the root project object.)

To create a PPM project from an existing MSP file:

Open the target file in MSP.
In the MSP menu, select File > Save As and save the project file in .xml format.
Move to the Agile Toolsand Settings menu and select Create Project from XML File.
In the dialog that opens, choose the project XML file from your local directory.
If you want PPM to take care of the scheduling for the new project, select the Set scheduling engine to PPM option. If you leave this blank, scheduling engine is automatically set to the source application, MSP. For more information, see "Choosing the Scheduling Engine."
Click Load.
Choose what type of project you want to create, Active, Proposed or Template.

If your MSP file contains users or user groups that are not in the Agile system, you are prompted to map these resources to existing users. In the Map Resources dialog, the File Resource column lists the unmapped users.
1. Click in the System User cell against each resource name, and use the search palette to select and map users.
2. Assign roles in the same way. You can choose to do this later; by default the mapped users are assigned the Program Team Member role.
Click Load again.

The Load Summary page confirms whether the file has been successfully uploaded. Click Close.

The new project is displayed, showing the data imported from the MSP project.

Note:

The import date and timestamp appear in the attributes list on the General Info page. Before you work on an imported project, check this information to make sure you are working on the latest version.

7.5 Updating a Project with Changes Made in Microsoft Project

It is recommended that you import changes made in MSP back to PPM.

To update your PPM project with changes made in MSP:

Save the MSP project file in XML format.
In Agile, open the PPM project you wish to update.
From the Actions menu, select Microsoft® Project > Load Microsoft® Project XML.
Choose the MSP project XML file.
Click Load.

If your MSP file contains users or user groups that are not in the Agile system, you are prompted to map these resources to existing users. In the Map Resources dialog, the File Resource column lists the unmapped users.
1. Click in the System User cell against each resource name, and use the search palette to select and map users.
2. Assign roles in the same way. You can choose to do this later; by default the mapped users are assigned the Program Team Member role.
Click Load again. The Load Summary confirms successful upload of your changes. Click Close.

You can verify the import date and time on the project's General Info tab.

7.6 Using a PPM Project Template in Microsoft Project

You can export a PPM project template to MSP, edit project data in MSP, and then import the changes back to PPM. The export and import files should be in XML format.

To export a PPM project template to MSP:

Create a new project from a template in PPM.
In the Actions menu, select Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Edit.
Save the project file to your local directory.
From MSP, open the project XML file.
In the dialog that opens, choose As a new project.
Click Finish.

Once you finish editing the project in MSP, you can import the changes back to the PPM project you created. See "Updating a Project with Changes Made in Microsoft Project."

7.7 Working Offline on a PPM Project

If you do not have MSP installed on your computer, you can save your PPM project to your local drive as an XML file, and work on it offline. You can access this file from a machine on your network that has MSP installed, view or edit it offline, and then publish your changes back to PPM when you are online again.

You can use either of the following commands to save your project as an XML file:

Save as XML - Read Only
Save as XML - Edit Mode

For considerations that you should be aware of before you choose Read Only or Edit mode, see "Read Only and Edit Modes."

To save your project as an XML file:

Open the project you wish to save.
From the Actions menu, choose Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Read only or Save as XML - Edit.
Download the file to your local drive.

Note:

If you are using Windows XP with Internet Explorer 7, default security settings for file downloads may result in duplication of History records during the Save as XML - Read only operation. To prevent this: Ensure that the Web Client URL is added under Tools > Internet Options > Trusted Sites > Sites. Under Custom Level settings, select Enable for "Automatic prompting for file downloads".

7.8 Read Only and Edit Modes

You can launch or save a PPM project in Read Only or Edit mode. The mode you choose can affect project data.

Read Only Mode

When you save a PPM project using Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Read Only, you can view, print, or analyze a PPM project in MSP without altering the project data in Agile PPM. In MSP, you can perform any edit, modification, or analysis actions you choose and save the project file to any local or network directory to which you have access.

You cannot, however, publish the launched-as-read-only project back into Agile PPM. When you launch as read-only, the PPM project is not locked, the Lock User field remains empty, and the Schedule Editor field remains set to PPM. It is therefore possible for another user to modify the PPM project by using any of the available Agile PPM edit methods: Edit in PPM, edit in MSP, or edit in Gantt Chart.

The MSP file that you create when you use Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Read Only is not updated or affected by any subsequent edits made to the PPM project file.

Edit Mode

When you launch a PPM project in MSP using Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Edit, the PPM project is automatically locked so that no other user can modify it. Your name appears in the Lock User field, and the Schedule Editor field is set to MSP.

You are able to publish the launched-in-edit-mode project back into Agile PPM.

For more information about locking projects, see "Multiple Users Editing the Same Task."

7.9 Replicating a PPM Project Across Servers

You can create a project on one server and replicate it on another, following the process outlined here:

In Agile PLM, open the PPM project you want to replicate.
In the Actions menu, select Microsoft® Project > Save as XML - Edit.
Save the project XML file to your local directory.
From MSP, open the project XML file.
In the dialog that opens, choose As a new project.
Click Finish. The project opens in MSP, with updated data.
Save the project to your local drive in XML format.
Log in to Agile PLM on the server where you want the project replicated.
Import the project XML file as described in "Creating a Project from an Existing Microsoft Project File."

The project is replicated on the current server.

7.10 Deleting Objects in Microsoft Project

You can delete projects, phases or tasks in Microsoft Project by using the Microsoft Project features.

When you update Agile PPM with the changes you have made in Microsoft Project, Agile PPM checks your assigned Delete privileges to ensure that you are allowed to delete projects, programs, phases, or gates in Agile PPM. If you have deleted activities in Microsoft Project that you are not allowed to delete in Agile PPM, none of your Microsoft Project changes are written to the Agile database, and you will see an error message telling you that you do not have the appropriate privileges.

Note:

If the publish to PPM fails because you do not have the appropriate Delete privileges, you will not be able to go back to the original project tree in Microsoft Project. However, you can go back to Agile PPM and launch Microsoft Project again.

If you are not able to delete specific types of PPM objects in Agile PPM, you will also not be able to delete them in Microsoft Project and update the Agile database.