MOPPS Dashboard

Contents

Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 Dashboard User Manual 1 ©Copyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 Dashboard User Manual

Copyright

This document is covered by the terms and conditions of the license agreement and/or the non-disclosure agreement, and may

not be reproduced according to the terms of that agreement, or without the written consent of Microsoft Corporation.

Trademarks

Because of the nature of the material, numerous hardware and software products are mentioned by their trade names in this

publication. Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other products

and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer

This document may not reflect the most recent enhancements to the Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 Dashboard

application.

Publication Reference Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 Dashboard User Manual

© 2006 Microsoft Corporation.

All rights reserved.

Contents


Contents

Contents 2

Overview 5

Project Portfolio Management 5 Project Portfolio Management Methodology Error! Bookmark not defined. The Create Phase Error! Bookmark not defined. The Select Phase Error! Bookmark not defined. The Planning Phase Error! Bookmark not defined. The Manage Phase Error! Bookmark not defined. Hierarchy 8

Getting Started 11 Access and Login Error! Bookmark not defined. Navigation Principles 12

Acessing the Portifolio Selector 14

The Role of the Dashboard Module 15

The Dashboard Scorecard 17

Dashboard View 17

Preferences 19 Creating a Custom Scorecard View 19 Configuring a Scorecard View 19 Selecting a Scorecard View 21 Creating a Scorecard View 22 Visualizing a Scorecard View 22 Modifying a Scorecard view 22 Deleting a Scorecard view 23

Snapshot Reviewing 24

Snapshots 24

Creating a Snapshot 26 Managing Snapshots in Batch 26 Creating and Deleting Individual Snapshots 27

Reviewing Previous Snapshots 29

Reporting Framework 30

Using Existing Reports Error! Bookmark not defined.

Adding New Reports Error! Bookmark not defined. Report Templates Error! Bookmark not defined. Organizations and Portfolios Templates Error! Bookmark not defined. Projects Templates Error! Bookmark not defined.

Contents


Creating a Report from a Template 30

Information for Monitoring 38

Attribute Definition 38 Creating New Attributes 38 Associating Attributes 39 Complex Attributes 40 Modifying Attributes 43 Deleting Attributes 43

Indicator Management 44 Creating New Indicators 44 Associating Indicators 45 Modifying Indicators 45 Deleting Indicators 45

Filter Management 46 Define Filters 46 Manage Filters 50

Appendices 52

A. Sample Reports 52

Detail Project Report 52 Detail Project Report Template 53 Detail Project Report Sample (1 of 3) 54 Detail Project Report Sample (2 of 3) 54 Detail Project Report Sample (2 of 3) 55 Detail Project Report Sample (3 of 3) 56

Business Case Financials Report 56

Business Case Financials Report 57 Business Case Financials Report Template 57 Business Case Financials Report Sample 58

Issues and Risks 59 Issues and Risks Template 59 Issues and Risks Sample 60

Cost Tracking 61 Cost Tracking Template 61 Cost Trackting Sample 62

Detailed Cost Tracking 63 Detail Cost Tracking Template 63 Detail Cost Tracking Sample 64 Project List/Grouping 65 Project List/Grouping Template 65 Project List/Grouping Sample 65 Project List/Grouping Sample 66

Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute 67 Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Template 67 Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Sample 67 Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Sample 68

Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center 68

Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center 69 Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Template 69

Contents


Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Sample 69

Project Approvals Summary Report 71 Project Approvals Summary Report Template 71 Project Approvals Summary Report Sample 72

Projects by Status 73 Projects by Status Template 73 Projects by Status Sample 74

Workflow Management 75 Workflow Management Template 75 Workflow Management Sample 76

Organization Portfolio Financials Report 76

Organization Portfolio Financials Report 77 Organization Portfolio Financials Report Template 77 Organization Portfolio Financials Report Sample 78

Resource Competency Report 78

Resource Competency Report 79 Resource Competency Report Template 79 Resource Competency Report Sample 80

Overview, Project Portfolio Management


CHAPTER

1

Overview

Project Portfolio Management Microsoft® Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 is based on a project portfolio management (PPM) methodology that has been developing over the past fifteen years. Before describing the different modules of the application in depth, it is essential to understand the methodology and the underlying theory that are the foundations of the software.

Practice has shown that improper management of a portfolio leads to financial losses and the inability to maximize overall value. The causes are quite simple. Projects do not always fulfill the strategic objectives of the company, they are not prioritized, and their benefits and constraints are not properly assessed.

The PPM methodology described in the following sections is designed to align a company’s portfolios of projects and IT applications with its business strategy. This methodology is also designed to optimize these portfolios against multiple constraints, such as cost and resources, to derive the optimal value from the investments.

Project Portfolio Server 2007 and PPM use the concept of the portfolio to define the collection of investments (Projects or Programs) or assets (Applications) that share the same strategic mission. A portfolio represents a pool of limited resources (financial or human) invested in a shared purpose, defined by a strategy. In practical terms, the scope of portfolios often aligns with strategic business units in an organization (another collection of resources), but it can be any combination of a budget and a strategy.

Project Portfolio Management Methodology

The lifecycle of a project portfolio can be organized into four basic phases: Create, Select, Plan, and Manage.

Create: Define project ideas in complete and standardized ways. Use quantitative metrics where possible. This will become the baseline for project funding approval.

Select: Identify the optimal set of projects for portfolio funding approval based on prioritized business drivers and constraints.

Plan: Create a thorough project plan and identify resources.

Manage: Track project success against its baseline. Leverage portfolio expertise to preserve the business value of the investment.

Figure 1-1 PPM Methodology



Important: The configuration of project governance phases is done by your administrator, and may vary depending on your organization structure. The phases described in the following sections represent the suggested setup based on the PPM methodology described earlier in this guide.

The Create Phase

In the Create phase, also known as Initiation, a business idea is defined in project terms (costs, resources, schedule, benefits, and risk). The Builder module organizes the project definition in a tab format. The system administrator defines attributes that control data quality. The Workflow feature controls data completeness and approvals. Each workflow step can have specific data requirements, and can only be approved by named, authorized Project Portfolio Server 2007 users.

During the Create phase, a project portfolio manager monitors the progress of project ideas through their development by reviewing the Builder Scorecard; which is the first screen seen after logging on to Project Portfolio Server 2007.

The Strategic Impact tab in the Builder module provides an assessment of each project’s contribution to the portfolio’s strategy. That strategy is defined in terms of statements called business drivers. These assessments are used in the Optimizer module to calculate the strategic value of the project. Learn more about the Optimizer module in the Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007

Optimizer User Manual.

The Select Phase

The Select phase introduces a key concept to PPM: a structured approach to funding approval. The Optimizer module, which supports this phase, provides analytical tools that can facilitate the alignment of financial decisions with the organization’s strategic goals. It can also enable a project’s evolution to a rigorous portfolio optimization framework, represented in Error! Reference source not

found.. The Select phase is executed for a portfolio of projects, not for individual projects. Selecting the optimal bundle of projects to fund requires candidates to be compared to one another in terms of value, resulting in reccomendations for the optimal allocation of limited resources. For example, from a portfolio of 40 project proposals, the optimizer may recommend only 30 projects for funding.

Figure 1-2 Optimization Route Map

The portfolio optimization process requires project descriptions and business driver definitions to be collected in the Builder module. The project data collected must include strategic impact assessments and total project cost. Moreover, any other quantitative metric, like estimated human resources, that



might be an additional constraint on the portfolio selection process must also be collected in the Builder module.

The portfolio optimization process uses special mathematic algorithms to select the optimal combination of projects to fund. This “selected” combination of projects will maximize the amount of strategic benefit from the portfolio, subject to constraints (limits) of resources, finances, or any other quantitative value chosen.

The Planning Phase

Once a project is approved for funding, it reaches the resource allocation phase, where it starts requesting the skill set or compentencies it will need over time. Three features of the Builder module support the Planning phase: the Resource Pool, the Schedule tab, and the Microsoft Office Project Gateway.

The Resource Pool feature compares the total human resources required by all projects in the portfolio (defined in the Create phase) to the total resources available to the portfolio. This comparison is done in Original Availability, Resource Requirement, and Actual Availability views. Each view lists FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) resource quantities by month and by resource type.

The Schedule tab is where a project manager records phase-level start and end dates, milestones, and dependencies. When the project completes the Planning phase and moves to the Manage phase, the “planned” dates are locked as a baseline, leaving the forecast and actual dates for tracking.

The Microsoft Office Project Gateway enables users to share project data with Microsoft Office

Project Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007. These other systems provide robust planning and critical path management features, including resource pool management at the named resource (person) level. Data can be uploaded from these planning tools into Project Portfolio Server 2007at a summary level, or exported, to create or update an existing Microsoft Office Project Professional project plan. The extent of the data exchange is defined by the mapping template and the other import settings.

The Manage Phase

The Manage phase involves the ongoing monitoring of the selected projects and programs. The Dashboard module supports this process by providing a customizable Scorecard view of portfolio health. Tracking data and status reports are entered in the Builder module and reviewed by stakeholders and portfolio managers in the Dashboard module.

During the Manage phase, project managers update their project plans (Project Schedule tab) with new forecast and actual dates, and with phase-level percentage completion. Project managers can also enter actual cost and resource quantities for the current period (on the Cost Tracking and Resource Tracking tabs, respectively).

Portfolio managers and other authorized users will use the Snapshot Reporting feature in the Dashboard module to compare the current versions of the status, cost, and resource tracking data to evaluate the progress of projects, programs, and custom portfolios from month to month.



Hierarchy

To organize information and facilitate the roll-up of certain cost and resource data, entities are organized in a hierarchical structure in Project Portfolio Server 2007. There are five types of entities in Project Portfolio Server 2007: organizations, programs, projects, applications, and custom portfolios. Information from projects can be rolled up to the program or application level, while information from programs and applications can be aggregated at the custom portfolio or organization level.

Organizations generally correspond to business units within a company. Project Portfolio Server 2007 enables the configuration of multiple levels of organizations. Organizations are the most complex and least flexible of all Project Portfolio Server 2007 entities, and can only be created or deleted by an administrator. Each additional organizational level will increase the configuration complexity substantially, and a multi-level configuration could become cumbersome (depending on user rights). For best performance, design the organization with a minimum number of levels.

Every organization needs to have pre-set start and end dates. There are no official limits, and the dates can be adjusted later. However, these dates will affect the size and usage of the system database, so it is best to avoid unnecessary long periods. Generally, a 7-10 year window is adequate and recommended. It is also beneficial to have standardized start and end dates for all levels of the organization structure, unless there is a specific need for varied dates.

A custom portfolio is a collection of several projects, programs, and/or applications from possibly different organizations. Projects can belong to multiple portfolios. There is no workflow associated with this entity. Each organization has a default portfolio that includes all of the projects in the organization. When you create an organization hierarchy level, a portfolio is created by default for that level. This portfolio has the same name as the organization level, and will contain, by default, all projects defined in that organization level. This portfolio is referred to as the default portfolio for that organization level. Learn more about default portfolios later in this guide.

As illustrated in Figure 1-3, special “sub” portfolios, called custom portfolios, can be defined to organize projects if needed. Ultimately, a custom portfolio is a group of projects or programs that share a common organizing element, often the project manager, sponsor, or an oversight body.

Figure 1-3 Custom Portfolio Hierarchy

Programs and applications may consist of one or more projects. Every project can only belong to one program. There is no separate workflow associated with these entities. When programs or applications are added to or associated with a custom portfolio, all projects comprised by them, or subsequently added to them, are automatically associated with that portfolio.



Note: While you can aggregate program data from different organizations into a custom portfolio, you cannot move programs from one organization to another.

Following are a few basic examples of hierarchical setups in the Project Portfolio Server 2007:

• The Organizations, Programs, and Projects hierarchy enables viewing programs under an organization structure, and then projects within each program.

Figure 1-4 Organization, Program and Project Hierarchy

• The Organization, Application, and Projects hierarchy enables viewing applications under an organization structure, and then projects within each application.

Figure 1-5 Organization, Application and Projects Hierarchy

• The Custom Portfolios, Programs, Projects hierarchy enables viewing programs under a custom portfolio structure, and then projects and applications within each program.



Figure 1-6 Custom Portfolios, Programs and Projects Hierarchy

Overview, Getting Started


Getting Started The following section of this guide provides basic information about the Project Portfolio Server 2007 interface, its navigation principles, and its terminology.

Access and Login

1. Open Internet Explorer and use the link provided by your administrator to access Project Portfolio Server 2007.

TIP: If your environment uses Microsoft Active Directory, your administrator can integrate your network sign-on (authentication) with Project Portfolio Server 2007 authentication. That way, if you have already logged onto the network, Project Portfolio Server 2007 will skip the User Login steps and go directly to the My Scorecard screen.

The Account Login screen is displayed, as shown in Error! Reference source not found..

2. Type the account name and password and click Login.

The User Login screen is displayed, as shown in Error! Reference source not found..

3. Type your user name and password, and then click Login. A list with all of the entities in your portfolio, within the Project Portfolio Server 2007 Builder module will appear in the My Scorecard view.

Figure 1-7 Account Login Screen

Figure 1-8 User Login Screen



The My Scorecard view has two different layouts: one for the Builder module and one for the Dashboard module. Users can create a library of views using the Preferences page from within the Builder module.

Figure 1-9 Builder Scorecard

Navigation Principles

After logging in to Project Portfolio Server 2007, the “home screen” is the My Scorecard view (Error!

Reference source not found.) of the Builder module. This view is customizable through the Preferencespage. The scorecard can portray all five hierarchical entities, each represented by a different icon, shown in Error! Reference source not found..

Table 1-1 Icon Legend

All of the above entities can be sorted ascendingly / descendingly by their name. Click the appropriate arrow ( / ) at the top of the name column.

Icon Name Description

Organization Click this icon to open or close the organization.

Project Click this icon to open the Project Information tab, where you can see the project details. You can also click the project’s name.

Program Click this icon to open a program.

Portfolio Click this icon to open the Portfolio Information tab, where you can see the portfolio details. You can also click the portfolio’s name.

Application Click this icon to open an application.



Use the dark blue toolbar located at the top of the screen to navigate among the modules (Builder, Optimizer, and Dashboard).

Figure1-10 Navigation Toolbar

The dark blue toolbar also provides access to the About screen. The About screen displays information about the user currently logged in.

Table 1-2 About Screen

The features listed in the light blue menu located on the upper right corner of the screen provide the navigation within different sections of each module.

Option Description

Settings Opens the section where you can configure Project Portfolio Server 2007 settings.

My Scorecard Opens the default section of the Builder module.

Resource Pool Opens the section where resources available at each organization level are accounted for and stored.

Preferences Opens the Preferences page where you can set Microsoft Office Project preferences, configure the scorecard, and change user information.

Reports Opens the Reports section where you can generate and view report files.

Table 1-11 Module Sections on Navigation Toolbar



Accessing the Portfolio Selector

1. Click from the upper-right portion of the screen to open the Portfolio Selector. The Portfolio Selector contains three lists and a Quick Search field.

Figure1-12 Portfolio Selector

2. Choose how you want to display your portfolio:

o Select a grouping method from the Group by Hierarchy list. You can group by Organizations, Custom Portfolios, Programs, Applications, Organizations and Programs, Organizations and Applications, Custom Portfolios and Programs, or Custom Portfolios and Applications.

o Select the type of entity you want to display from the Display Entities list.

o Select the filter you want to use from the Filter list.

3. Click Apply beside your selection.

Remember to reset the Group by Hierarchy and Display Entities lists after changing other Portfolio Selector choices.

TIP: If you click different Apply buttons, you may have different results. For example, if you select a filter and click Apply next to the filter combo, the Group by Hierarchy list is changed to group by None, and the Display Entities list is changed to Projects. Clicking Apply next to the Group by Hierarchy list leaves the grouping unchanged and applies the filter.

Overview, The Role of the Dashboard Module


The Role of the Dashboard Module The Dashboard module is the center for progress and status tracking. Its main view is the Scorecard view, which displays of all the projects that have had their business cases locked because they have been approved for funding (possibly through the portfolio optimization process). Projects whose business cases are not locked, as well as applications that are not in Production status are filtered out of this view. All organizations, programs, and custom portfolios are visible, even if they show no projects within them.

In many respects, the Dashboard module is the read-only version of the Builder module (where data is entered). It is ideally suited for users who are stakeholders in the portfolio’s progress or status, but have no reason to change data. It is an output module. These users may only have rights to the Dashboard module. The principle features of the Dashboard module are the Dashboard Scorecard, Snapshot Reviewing, and the Reporting Framework.

The Scorecard view in the Dashboard module is typically populated with tracking attributes and indicators, as opposed to the governance and business case attributes that might comprise the My Scorecard view in the Builder module. Many of the attributes, and sometimes the indicators, show values that are computed based on other attributes. This Scorecard view, and the navigational access to detailed data, can replace some paper-based reporting.

As mentioned above, the role of the Dashboard module is to support project management through the “executing and close-out” phases, and to monitor the status of production applications. A portfolio manager or other stakeholder will start at the Scorecard view and review the items in his or her portfolio. This review could be prompted by the receipt of an e-mail alert (subscribed to in the Builder module) or part of a normal periodic review.

The user will be able to see, at a glance, the overall portfolio health, based on indicator colors and status metrics. Projects, applications, and programs that are under-performing will have yellow or red indicators, or progress metrics with substandard values. These are the investments that require managerial attention. This exception-based management technique saves the time normally spent on reviewing the progress and status of all investments in order to find items that need attention.

A user can add a filter to their personal Scorecard view that will focus on projects or applications that of primary concern. Filters that are used for scorecards and reports, which are usually defined in the Builder module, can include specific projects, programs, or applications, or they can be based on the values of attributes (or combinations of attribute value criteria).

The Dashboard module supports both routine and ad hoc reporting needs. The primary scenario supported by its functionality is as follows:

1. A project portfolio manager logs onto Project Portfolio Server 2007 and clicks Dashboard.

Her default Scorecard view lists project manager, total project cost, and several status indicators.

2. She does not have enough time to view all 152 projects in her portfolio, so she uses the Portfolio Selector tool to apply a filter that omits projects having a total project cost under $100,000. Only 48 projects meet that criterion.

3. She scans the Overall Health indicator column for yellow and red indicators. There are six.

4. She starts with the second red Overall Health indicator, noting that the project manager is relatively inexperienced, and that the Resources and Schedule indicators are also red. She clicks on the project name to view the Project Information tab.

5. She notices that the project is approved, but is still in a detailed planning step in the workflow. She clicks the Snapshot Reports list and sees that three monthly snapshots have been stored. On the Status tab, she reads the project manager’s explanation for the red indicators; a key resource for the project will not be available for another six months.

Overview, The Role of the Dashboard Module


There is an open issue on the Issues and Risks tab that describes the resource problem in detail; it is not yet escalated to the portfolio level, where she would have seen it.

6. She reviews the Issue Description tab to identify the resource type needed to start the project. She calls the resource manager and arranges that an alternative team member having the same qualifications be committed to the project.

7. She sends an email to the project manager explaining how the problem was resolved and goes on to the next red indicator.

The Dashboard Scorecard, Dashboard View


CHAPTER

2

The Dashboard Scorecard

Dashboard View The Dashboard module supports the Manage phase of the portfolio management process. It enables portfolio tracking by providing an inventory of projects, programs, and applications being managed.

Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 opens in the Builder module (Figure 2-1).

To access the Dashboard module, click Dashboard on the toolbar.

TIP: Always click Dashboard to return to the Scorecard view in the Dashboard module. Clicking My

Scorecard will bring you to the My Scorecard view in the Builder module.

The Scorecard view (Figure 2-3) displays only the projects that have had their business cases locked (by their workflow steps), as well as applications that are in Production status.

Figure 2-1, Builder Scorecard view

Figure 2-3 Dashboard Scorecard

Figure 2-2 Dashboard Menu



The attributes and indicators displayed are either the default configuration, or were selected by customizing preferences. Learn more about preferences in the



Preferences section of this guide.

The name of each project is shown by default, along with any indicators and attributes the user chooses for their default Scorecard view (such as Project ID, Financial, etc.).

The indicators’ statuses are shown in green, yellow, or red, based on the color of the indicator on the latest status tab of the project (set in the Builder module). If an indicator is gray, then a value has not been entered for it.

Select the desired organization from the Organization Hierarchy list. Portfolios, programs, and filters can also be selected from the existing lists.

The left column contains the following items:

Item Description

Organization: Click + or - to open or close the folder.

Portfolio: Click the folder to open or close the portfolio.

Program: Click the icon to open or close the program.

Project: Click the icon to display detailed project information. You can also click the project’s name.

Application: Click the icon to open or close the application.

The projects can be sorted ascendingly or descendingly by their names. Simply click the corresponding arrow ( / ).

The Dashboard Scorecard, Preferences


Preferences In Project Portfolio Server 2007, the Settings page is typically restricted to administrative users.

To specify individual options, users can access the Preferences page. In this section, you can specify individual settings for Microsoft Office Project, the My Scorecard view, and user information.

The views created on the Preferences page are only visible to the specific user creating them. The views that the administrator creates on the Settings page are available to all users.

Creating a Custom Scorecard View

Project Portfolio Server 2007 enables the custom configuration of user views for both the My Scorecard view in the Builder module and the Scorecard view in the Dashboard module. This section will focus solely on the Dashboard module configuration.

To create a custom Scorecard view for the Dashboard module, click Preferences in the upper-right portion of the screen. The Preferences page appears.

Figure 2-4 Preferences Screen

Configuring a Scorecard View

To select a Dashboard module view, a scorecard attribute window view must first be configured.

1. To create a new view or edit an existing view, click Configure Scorecard Attribute Window. The Configuration List tab appears (Figure 2-5).



Figure 2-5 Dashboard Configuration List

2. Select from the following options:

• Add Configuration enables you define a new scorecard attribute window configuration for either the Builder or the Dashboard module.

• View enables you to view the selected configuration.

• Edit enables you to edit a selected configuration.

• Delete enables you to delete an existing configuration.

3. Click the Add Configuration tab to bring up the scorecard attribute window configuration definition screen.

This screen enables you to customize the fields and their corresponding positions from left to right, as seen in the Dashboard module.

4. First, in the upper-right corner of the window, click Dashboard in the Select Module list.

The fields are displayed on the Dashboard module in the same order displayed in this configuration screen.

The options for configuration are:

• Add Column enables you to add a new column of data. The column will appear to the right of any existing columns.

• Insert New Column enables you to insert a new column of data to the left of the selected column.

• Delete Column enables you to delete a selected column of data.

Figure 2-6, View Configuration Screen



5. Click Add Column or Insert New Column and a new column of data will be added to the Scorecard view.

6. For each column, type the title of the data column as you want it displayed in the Scorecard view.

7. Use the lists in the box below Description to select the data element type you want displayed. (Figure 4-4).

Figure 2-7 Data Element Type List

8. In selecting the data element type, the entity lists will be populated accordingly. For each entity (organization, portfolio, program, project, or application) select the data element that you want displayed for that column.

Note: Any custom attributes (see Attribute Definition) that were created and flagged will be available as an option when the appropriate data type is selected.

9. Once all of the desired columns have been added, click Add in the lower-right corner to add this configuration to the Configuration List tab.

Selecting a Scorecard View

To select an existing Dashboard module scorecard attribute window configuration as your view:

1. On the Preferences page, click Configure Scorecard Views.

Figure 2-8 Preferences - Configure Scorecard Views

2. Select from the following options:

• Add Scorecard enables you define a new view and associate it with an existing configuration for the Builder or Dashboard module.

• View enables you to view the selected view.

• Edit enables you to edit a selected view.

• Delete enables you to delete an existing view.



Creating a Scorecard View

1. To add a new view, click the Add View tab. The data input form for the view settings will appear.

Figure 2-9 Preferences - Add scorecard

2. Type the view Name and Description in the corresponding boxes.

3. Select the Group By Hierarchy level and Display Entities from the corresponding lists.

4. Select a pre-defined filter from the Filter list, if appropriate.

5. Select the Dashboard or Builder module from the Select Module list.

6. Select an attribute configuration from the Select Attribute Configuration list.

7. Select the Default Scorecard check box to set this view as default for the current user only. At least one configuration must exist prior to creating a view.

8. Click Add and the new view will be added to the Views list.

Visualizing a Scorecard View

You can see an existing view in one of the two following ways:

• Select the view from the My Scorecard List tab and click View.

• Click the Scorecard view name from the My Scorecard List tab.

Modifying a Scorecard view

To modify a view, use the following steps:

1. On the My Scorecard List tab, select the check box that corresponds with the Scorecard view you are modifying.

2. Click Edit.

3. Modify the view information on the Edit Scorecard tab.

4. Click Update to save the changes.

The view details will be saved in the database and an updated My Scorecard List will appear.



Deleting a Scorecard view

To delete an existing view:

1. On the My Scorecard List tab, select the check box that corresponds with the Scorecard view you are deleting.

2. Click Delete.

3. Click OK on the confirmation message box.

The view will be deleted from the database and a revised My Scorecard List tab appears.

Note: If you click Cancel on the confirmation message box, the system will not save any modifications and will display the old list.

Snapshot Reviewing, Snapshots


CHAPTER

3

Snapshot Reviewing

Snapshots A snapshot is a point-in-time set of four tabs (Status, Reports, Cost Tracking, and Resource Tracking) for a project, program, or application (no Resource Tracking for applications).

A new snapshot can be stored for each portfolio period (usually a month for project and program portfolios).

The data for the Cost Tracking, Resource Tracking, and Status tabs is input using the Builder module of Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007. The Builder module is also where new snapshots are created, locked, unlocked, or deleted. Only the latest snapshot can be viewed or edited in the Builder module. If a snapshot is deleted, the previous snapshot, if any, becomes the current snapshot.

A well-designed Status tab, along with the other snapshot contents, can replace periodic status reports to the portfolio manager. Each snapshot consists of four tabs (three for applications):

• Status – Status tabs consist of three sections (indicators, progress, and overall health), followed by a configurable section of attributes.

The indicator colors can be automatically or manually set. These settings are defined by your administrator. The only pre-defined indicator is the overall status of the project. All the other indicators are customized based on your business needs. Indicators with a manual setting other than green require the Comment field to be completed. Indicators based on other project status information, such as cost budget to actual variance, resource usage variance, and so on, are automatically calculated, and their color is derived automatically depending on the thresholds defined for that indicator.

Snapshot Reviewing, Snapshots


The values for all “planned” percentages for the Work Complete and Cost Complete bars in the progress section are based on the start date of the current snapshot period and the revised budgets for costs and resources, respectively. The actual values are based on the entries made for the current and prior snapshots, on the Resource Tracking and Cost Tracking tabs, respectively. The formulas for the Project Progress bar chart are as follows:

Schedule

• Actual Complete %: % Value from Schedule tab • Planned Complete %: (Current Report End Date or Current Snapshot

End Date - Planned Start Date) / (Planned End Date - Planned Start Date) * 100

Work • Actual Complete %: (Actual: Resources) / (Revised Budget:

Resources) * 100 • Planned Complete %: Revised Budget: Project to Date / (Revised

Budget: Total Resource) * 100

Cost

• Actual Complete %: (Actual: Total Cost) / (Revised Budget: Total Cost) * 100

• Planned Complete %: (Revised Budget: Project to Date) / (Revised Budget: Total Cost) * 100

• Cost Tracking – For projects or applications, managers can enter actual cost and actual adjusted cost for the current snapshot period, and then can enter forecast costs for all future periods of the project. The choices of calculated columns that are viewable on the Cost Tracking tab can be set by the system administrator, from the Settings tab in the Builder module. The Cost Tracking tabs for portfolios and programs are not editable; they portray the aggregated information from associated projects and (for portfolios) applications.

• Resource Tracking – This tab operates the same way as the Cost Tracking tab, except that there are no resources for applications and therefore no tab.

• Reports – The Reports tab lists two periodic reports for projects, plus any custom reports for projects or portfolios. There are no standard reports for programs or applications and no custom report templates for programs. Applications have no Reports tab. A separate report version is accessible for each snapshot. Report

Figure 3-1 Status tab

Snapshot Reviewing, Creating a Snapshot


contents that are based on the information in the three tabs listed above will match the current information for the snapshot.

Creating a Snapshot Snapshots are added, edited, locked, unlocked, and deleted in the Builder module. You must use the Dashboard module to read snapshots from any other period other than the current one. Adding snapshots only applies to projects and applications. The tracking tab information for programs, portfolios, and organizations is always a summary of the latest tracking information from their associated projects and applications.

Snapshot reports can only be added for portfolio periods between the start date (or forecast date, whichever is lower) and the end of the recurring cost period. Note that snapshots created after the project end date, during the capitalization period, allow only cost and status updating, not resources.

A portfolio period is either one month or one quarter, depending on the portfolio granularity defined when the portfolio or organization is created on the Settings tab. Each snapshot has an associated calendar date (the first day of the reporting period). The snapshot list is ordered by this date, not by name.

Adding a new snapshot sets planned metrics for a project or application ahead to the next portfolio period. Those metrics are:

• Project Cost Planned Completed

• Project Schedule Planned Completed

• Project Work Planned Completed

• Application Cost Planned Completed

• Application Schedule Planned Completed

Snapshots can be managed in two places, by clicking Project Snapshot Report Management or Application Snapshot Report Management on the Other Settings menu, or by using the Snapshot

Reports feature while editing a project or application.

Managing Snapshots in Batch

Snapshots can be created, locked and unlocked in batches from the Settings tab by clicking Project

Snapshot Report Management or Application Snapshot Report Management on the Other

Settings menu.

This is a good way to ensure that all the snapshots for a given portfolio represent the same time period. When snapshot creation is done at the project or application level, an omitted snapshot will lead to obsolete current snapshot values being aggregated on the tracking tabs for programs and portfolios.

Notice that in Figure 3-2, only projects whose business cases are locked (because the Deliver Project workflow step locks business cases) are eligible for new snapshots. For applications, only those with a Production status are eligible for snapshot reports.

Snapshot report management enables a central administrator to lock or unlock a selection of snapshot reports for the portfolio. When the right to unlock snapshots is limited to a central administrator, project and application managers can be forbidden from editing historic data. This provides a high-quality audit trail of reports.



Figure 3-2 Project Snapshot Report Management

To create snapshots in batch:

1. Click Settings on the toolbar, and then click Other Settings.

2. On the left side of the screen, click Project Snapshot Report Management.

3. Click the organization hierarchy and portfolio in the Organization Hierarchy and Existing portfolios lists.

4. Select the check box next to the individual project you would like to snapshot, or select all eligible projects by clicking Select All.

5. Click New Snapshot. The following field appears on the bottom portion of the screen:

Figure 3-3 New Project Snapshot - Batch

6. Type the name of the report you want to archive, and the name for the new report, and then click OK.

If snapshots are run monthly, the archive report contains the information for the last month, while the new report refers to the current month.

Note: Each snapshot is associated with and stored by date, not name. Therefore, changing the name of a snapshot report will not change its data.

Creating and Deleting Individual Snapshots

When an application has Production status, and when the Snapshot Reports feature is made visible by the workflow, a New Snapshot link is visible to the upper-right corner of any tab for the application or project. It enables you to create a new snapshot report.

To create an individual snapshot report:

1. Access the project in Edit mode from the My Scorecard view

2. From the Project Info tab, click New Snapshot to create a new snapshot report.



Figure 3-4 Snapshot Report

3. Type the name for the current snapshot report that will be archived in the Archive Report box, and then type the name for the next snapshot report to be created in the New Report box.

Figure 3-5, Add Snapshot Report

4. Click OK to validate your entry.

Deleting Snapshots

It is also possible to delete past snapshot reports.

1. Click the Delete Snapshot link.

A message box appears, asking you to confirm that you want to delete the current snapshot. See Figure 3-6.

2. Click OK to delete the current snaphot report and make the previous snapshot report the new current snaphot report.

Figure 3-6 Delete Snapshot Report Confirmation

Snapshot Reviewing, Reviewing Previous Snapshots


Locking a Snapshot

Project Portfolio Server 2007 also enables you to limit the ability of other users to edit the current snapshot report, while still giving them the opportunity to view the report information. To lock the current report from editing, click Lock on the Snapshot Report menu.

Figure 3-7 Snapshot Lock icons

The link will then change to Unlock to enable you to revert back to the unlock status. Locking icons appear on the Status, Cost Tracking, and Resource Tracking tabs to indicate the lock status of a snapshot. Snapshots can also be locked in batches by a central administrator.

Reviewing Previous Snapshots Portfolio managers will want to review past status reports to better understand how problems emerge and to audit the accuracy of status reporting with the benefit of hindsight. The Dashboard module maintains an archive of all snapshots for projects and applications. The archive is accessible through the Snapshot Reports feature.

The Snapshot Reports feature is made visible, editable, or given read-only status in each step of a project workflow, just like most tabs. For applications, the feature is invisible unless the application status is Production (then it is editable). A user must have appropriate rights to edit (create, delete, or lock) a snapshot.

Figure 3-8 Snapshot Reports feature

A user can review previous snapshots by using the Snapshot Reports feature from the Dashboard module.

To access previous snapshots:

1. Select the project from the Dashboard view, and then click View.

2. Select a report from the Snapshot Reports list.

For projects, the Status, Cost Tracking, Resource Tracking, and Reports tabs will display data (and reports) for the selected snapshot period.

For applications, only the Status and Cost Tracking tabs are kept in snapshots; there are no Resource Tracking or Reports tabs.

All tabs in previous snapshots are in read-only mode, regardless of workflow settings.

Important: To edit a previous snapshot, you must delete all snapshots that came afterward so that the desired snapshot comes to the top of the list. This is not recommended. It will delete actual cost, actual resource, and status data for all deleted snapshots, and it will corrupt the audit trail benefits of the snapshot archive.

Reporting Framework, Reviewing Previous Snapshots


CHAPTER

4

Reporting Framework

In addition to the Scorecard view, the Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 Dashboard module and Builder module link to a reporting framework that supports repeatable and ad-hoc reporting.

To access the reporting engine, click Reports on the main menu in the upper-right corner of the Builder module. The Existing Reports tab appears (Figure 4-1).

The Reports section of the Builder module is organized in two tabs. The Existing Reports tab contains a list of published reports. The Add Report tab enables you to create and publish custom reports.

Figure 4-1 Existing Reports Tab

Reports can be generated in three different formats: Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Microsoft Office Excel (.xls), and Web format (.html).

There are two different levels at which reports can be written: organizations and portfolios, or projects. There are fourteen report templates for organizations and portfolios, and two for projects. The organizations and portfolios templates list all of the projects or applications (depending on the template) in the selected organization(s) or portfolio(s). The project templates provide data for one project at a time. Selecting a level or entity filters the contents of the tab to match the chosen level.

Reports can also be organized into report categories that reflect the primary topic of the reports. The available categories are:

• General Information • Cost • Resource • Benefit • Issues and Risks • Change Requests • Schedule • Status Reports • Workflow

Reporting Framework, Using Existing Reports


Using Existing Reports The Existing Reports tab displays any private, user-specific, or public reports that are available. Project Portfolio Server 2007 displays user-specific reports under My Reports, while public reports are displayed under Public Reports.

The Other Reports section of the Existing Reports tab displays links to the following three non-formattable reports. These three reports do not change when the entity or level choice is changed.

• Application Redundancy Heat Map Displays a table that compares applications against business processes or functions, highlighting coinciding applications that support the same business processes and functions, and thus facilitating investment and application retirement decisions.

• Application Functional Overlap Report Displays the percent functional overlap of each application. The repost facilitates investment allocation decisions and bring about obsolete and unnecessary applications.

• Projects Summary Report Displays a summary report for a configurable list of projects within an organization or portfolio.

To Run an Existing Report

1. On the Existing Reports tab, click a level or entity in the Select Level or Entity list.

2. Click the report category in the Report Category list.

3. Select a report from the list.

4. Do one of the following:

• To run the report in PDF format, select the report and then click Generate.

• To run the report in another format, click the appropriate icon next to the report name.

Reports can also be edited and deleted by selecting the report and the respective option in the lower-right corner. Editing a report is the same process as creating a new report.

Adding New Reports The reporting framework includes a set of 16 report templates. You can tailor these templates to specific information needs by selecting the scope (portfolio or project) and filtering, and by selecting the attributes to be included in some report sections.

Report Templates The report templates are described in the following sections.

Reporting Framework, Adding New Reports


Figure 4-2 Add Report tab

Organizations and Portfolios Templates

The default choice in the Select Entity Type list is Organizations and Portfolios. There are 14 report templates of this type available.

• Issues and Risks Creates a detailed report of the issues and risks within a certain date range affecting projects within the selected portfolio(s).

• Cost Tracking Creates a user-selected cost information (both estimated and tracked) report using the workflow gates or lifecycle steps as constraints. Also allows for indicator outputs.

• Detailed Cost Tracking Allows for the same reporting as the Cost Tracking report, but enables the user to select the cost structure level and timeframe of the cost data.

• Project List/Grouping Creates a dashboard-like report that enables you to export projects and user-defined information, such as attributes and indicators, in a list format. Also allows for complex grouping and sorting by attribute.

• Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Creates a table of budgeted costs correlated with user-selected attributes. Allows a variety of cost outputs including estimated costs, forecast cost, and revised budget, with the option to display values in full, or in thousands or millions. There are also options to show totals, project count, and totals as percentages.

• Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Creates a table with portfolio cost data grouped and summarized by cost center. Under each cost center, the data is broken down into time units according to the specified granularity (yearly, quarterly, or monthly)

• Application Functional Overlap Creates a list of applications by portfolio, with user-defined attributes. Identifies projects with shared functions or functional overlap.

• Application Process Integration Creates a list of applications by portfolio, with user-defined attributes. Identifies projects with shared functions for possible integration.

• Application List/Grouping Creates a list of applications by portfolio, with user-defined attributes and indicators for a detailed application inventory. Allows for complex sorting and grouping by attributes and indicators.



• Project Approvals Summary Report Enables a user to create a project list with user-defined attributes and cost data based on the workflow phase. In addition, displays how long each project has been in the user-defined workflow stage.

• Projects by Status Enables the user to create a project list with user-defined cost and attribute data by workflow lifecycle steps. It displays the number of projects in each workflow lifecycle step as a pie chart.

• Workflow Management Enables the user to create a set of statistics about projects in a given lifecycle step over a period. Examples of the statistics are the total number of projects that moved to adjacent lifecycle steps, total number of projects that entered the selected step, and the average time each project spent in the lifecycle step.

• Organization Portfolio Financials Report Enables the user to create a summary project list with cost, benefit, and calculated financial data for a selected portfolio for a user-defined date range.

• Resource Competency Report Enables the user to create a competency report for the projects in a portfolio. The user can define the competencies and the corresponding competency information (such as requirements and availability), as well as other project attributes.

Projects Templates

When you select Projects from the Select Entity Type list, two project report templates are available:

• Detail Project Report Enables the user to create the information from the various tabs for a selected project. Available options include project information, budget, forecast and actual cost and resources, financial and non-financial benefits, strategic impact, risk survey, issues and risks, schedule, and status attributes and indicators.

• Business Case Financials Report Enables the user to create detailed cost and benefit data, including calculated financials, as well as project information for a user-defined project over a specific period.

Creating a Report from a Template

Each of the templates listed above is a starting point for a new report. In Project Portfolio Server 2007, a report is a reusable format that always extracts the latest data (with the exception of snapshot reports) from the repository. Users with appropriate rights can create new reports by customizing one of the report templates and either running it or saving it as a new report to be run later. The options for customizing a report template vary by template (reflecting the report topic) but there a few general option types:

• Report Scope – Select the portfolio(s) (or project) to be covered by the report. This is similar to the Portfolio Selector, except that there is no quick search. When children exist,you can choose to select them. This option determines how the projects are organized in your report. If the Select Children check box is cleared, then all the entities within the selected organization are selected (including the ones created in child organizations that are by default linked to the parents). If you select the Select Children check box, then all the entities created directly under the parent organization are selected and presented with that organization as a parent plus all the entities from any child organization that is selected (can be all, some, or none) and presented with their respected parents.



• Filters – Most Organizations and Portfolios report templates enable you to apply a pre-defined filter that limits the projects or applications included in the report.

• Topic Parameters – Each report template has a general topic (like workflow), which may be organized by parameters (like phases or steps). Often a template will enable the user to focus on a specific subset of projects for the topic by enabling you to choose parameters for the report. For example, Figure 4-4 Report Parameter example shows an option to select workflow states for the Workflow Management report template.

• Attributes and Indicators – Many report templates enable you to add columns of attributes or indicators for the projects or applications in the report. This is sometimes an extension of pre-defined columns, and sometimes a new section of the report.

• Choose Report Sections – Several reports have multiple sections and the user may choose to include or omit each section. In most cases, these sections are also configurable within themselves.

Figure 4-3, Select Children Option

Figure 4-4 Report Parameter example



• Financial Detail Level and Scope – report templates that include financial sections allow the user to select the level of detail from the relevant cost or benefit tree, the cost centers to be included, the time period to be covered, and which calculated attributes (like YTD Actual Cost) should be included.

To create a new report from an existing template:

1. Click the Manage Reports tab

2. Click Define New next to one of the report templates.

A new browser window appears with a template configuration Web page.

3. Complete the parameters for the report.

Note: Set your browser to always allow pop-up windows from the Project Portfolio Server 2007 Web site. Several functions in the Optimizer module and the reporting framework use pop-up browser windows.

Figure 4-5 Financial Details Option



Below is an example of the Project List/Grouping page (Figure 4-6). While all report generators are different, many of the report options work in a similar way and these will be discussed below.

• Report Title: Defines the title that will appear in the report when generated. • Organization Hierarchy/Existing Portfolios: Enables user selection of the

organization and/or portfolio(s) from which the projects/applications will be created. • Existing Filters: Allows user selection of existing filters. • Select Children: When selected, all portfolios under the organization are displayed

with check boxes. This enables the user to select the exact portfolios from which he or she wants to view projects and the associated data.

• Quick Filter: Filters the list directly below with user entered data in real time. This enables the user to find attributes or indicators in large lists very quickly.

Figure 4-6 Project List/Grouping report parameters



• Options: Enables users to create custom headers for the selected attributes, aggregate attribute data in various methods and sort that data. The following can be used:

� Custom Label: Enables the user to define the title of the attribute, as it would appear in the report.

� Aggregation Option: Enables the user to create aggregate rows for the attribute. The options for this include sum, average, min, max, count, and unique count for the columns. Certain attribute types may only allow for certain aggregation types.

� Sorting Option: Enables the user to sort an attribute column in ascending or descending order.

� Grouping: Allows the report to group the data by attribute data where the attributes are of type multi-select. This option also allows the grouped cells to be output with colored cells or text.

• Report Name: The name of the report as it appears in the tool. • Select Report Category: Defines the category of the report. This determines

under which heading it will be placed in the application. • Generic: This option is only available on the Detailed Project report, and enables

the user to make the report generic by removing the Organizational Hierarchy and Existing Portfolio lists. When attempting to run the report, the user will be asked to select an organizational hierarchy and an existing portfolio.

• Public: Enables the user to select if the report will be available to other users or will be specific only to the user.

4. After selecting the information you want to see in the report, click Save New Report or Run Report.

• Save New Report: Enables the user to save the report as a template to be accessed under the Existing Reports area. Once saved, the report can be edited.

• Run Report: Runs the report. This option only produces reports in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf).

5. Click Close to close the window and return to the Existing Reports tab.

Information for Monitoring, Attribute Definition


CHAPTER

5

Information for Monitoring

Attribute Definition Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 enables you to create custom attributes to collect and display data that is specific to an organization. Custom attributes complement the basic set of default attributes, which are pre-defined with each installation.

In the Dashboard module, custom attributes are often useful to summarize portfolio health in scorecards and reports. Custom attributes can be created using Attribute and Indicator Management on the Settings tab, and then displayed in the Dashboard module. These attributes can be customized for each portfolio and number-type attributes can be calculated based on other existing attributes or special functions for the following data types:

• Project Cost

• Financial Benefit

• Non-financial Benefit

• Resource

• Application Cost

Creating New Attributes 1. As the system administrator, click Attribute and Indicator Management on the Settings

tab to create a new attribute.

2. Complete all of the requested fields on the Add Attribute tab (Figure 5-1), and then click Add.

Figure 5-1 Attributes Definition Screen



To define attributes that appear on the Status tab, click the monthly status attribute type from the Attribute Type list, and click the corresponding entity (project, program, application, or portfolio) from the Attribute category list.

There are several attribute data types that can be defined for projects, programs, portfolios, and applications, and used in the Dashboard module.

• List – Text attribute limited to a pre-defined list of possible values.

• Number – Numeric attribute that can have any value in a pre-defined range.

• Date – Date attribute that can have any value in a pre-defined range.

• String – Text attribute that will hold any text value under the defined limit (maximum 3,950 characters).

• Multiple Text – Text attribute with a pre-defined list of possible values. Multiple choices are allowed. All choices are separated by a comma and a space, and they always follow their order in the selection list.

The Attribute flags section at the bottom of the the Add Attribute tab (Figure 5-1) is where an attribute is classified. Multiple choices are allowed. With the exception of the Constraint flag, the flags are used only to group attributes in meaningful categories for selection in configuring a scorecard view.

The Constraint flag makes the attribute a candidate for being a portfolio constraint in the portfolio optimization process. A constraint is a value that has scarcity (like a total project budget or the number of Developer FTE). Portfolio optimization selects the best combination of investments without exceeding the limits of any constraint value for the portfolio.

Associating Attributes After creating an attribute, the administrator must associate it with the portfolio of projects you use in the Dashboard module. Otherwise you will not be able to see the attribute in the Dashboard module sections.

1. To associate an attribute, click Attribute and Indicator on the Settings tab.

2. Select Attribute association from the right side menu. The following screen appears.



Figure 5-2 Attribute Association

3. From the lists on the upper portion of the screen, select the Organization Hierarchy and/or Existing portfolios with which you are associating the attribute.

4. You can refine the list of attributes by selecting the Attribute type, Attribute category, or by applying a Filter. Click Apply.

5. Select the check box corresponding with the attribute you want to associate.

6. If you want the association to be applied to all of the child organizations, select the corresponding check box.

7. Click Update Associations.

TIP: There are many attribute types for custom attributes and their uses are specialized. It is best practice to have only a trained system administrator have the rights to create, edit, and delete custom or default attributes.

Complex Attributes

Complex attributes are number-type attributes that are calculated based on the value of other attributes or on the aggregate value of the following data:

• Project Cost (Revised Budget, Actual or Forecast)

• Financial Benefit

• Non-financial Benefit

• Resource (Budget, Actual or Forecast)

• Application Cost (Revised Budget, Actual or Forecast)

Complex attributes for an organization (use the portfolio attribute entity choice) aggregate all of the project data (or, alternatively, application data) in current the organization and all levels below. Complex attributes for custom portfolios behave the same way, except that there are no levels below.



Complex attributes for programs aggregate all project data for those projects associated to the program.

Project or Application Cost

Complex attributes based on project cost can be calculated based on a combination of several options:

• Time Period – How many portfolio periods should be included?

• Total Cost – All periods for the life of the project.

• Remaining Forecast (Forecast - Actuals) – All future periods.

• Remaining Revised Budget (Revised Budget - Actuals) – All future periods.

• Year to Date – Current calendar year to date (date is based on snapshots).

• Project to Date (or Application to Date) – All prior years, plus current calendar year to date (date is based on snapshots).

• Full Year – Current calendar year.

• Current Period – Current open snapshot period.

• Granularity and Select Time Frames – User can select specific years, quarters, or months, but only when using the Total Cost time period.

• Select Levels – Select all specific nodes of the project (or application) cost tree to be included. You must select the parent node to select any of its children.

• Select Cost Centers – Select all specific cost centers to be included.

• Cross-business attributes (applications only) – This option allows the selection of application costs attributable only to a specific organization and to all of its children. The default choice is the top of the organization structure (all organizations).

Project Resources

Complex attributes based on project resources can be calculated based on a combination of several options. The units of resource-based complex attributes are work-months. The following options are calculated the same way as project cost-based options:

• Time Period

• Total Resource

• Remaining Forecast (Forecast - Actuals)

• Remaining Revised Budget (Revised Budget - Actuals)

• Year to Date

• Project to Date

• Full Year

• Current Period

• Select Granularity and Select Time Frames

• Select Resource Types – Select the specific resource types to be included.

Project Financial Benefits

Complex attributes based on project financial benefits can be calculated based on a combination of several options. The following options are calculated the same way as project cost-based options:

• Granularity and Select Time Frames – User can select specific years, quarters, or months, but only when using the Total Cost time period.




• Select Cost Centers – Select all specific cost centers to be included.

Project Non-financial Benefits

Complex attributes based on project non-financial benefits can be based on two options. It is not always appropriate to aggregate non-financial benefits because the units are not always consistent.

• Granularity and Select Time Frames – User can select specific years, quarters, or months.


Number Attributes

Complex attributes can also be calculated based on an algebraic function of other number-type attributes for the same entity type. You can not combine attributes of different entity types. The relevant entity types are:

Primary Entities Specialized Entities

• Project

• Application

• Program

• Portfolio

• Driver

• Architecture Driver

• Monthly Status Attribute

• Entry Item (Risk or Issue)

• Process

• Skill

• Change Request

• Relation Attribute

Number attributes (including other complex attributes) can be combined in an algebraic formula using the following framework:

Figure 5-3 Complex Attribute Calculation Framework



Modifying Attributes

To modify an existing attribute:

1. On the Settings tab, click Attribute and Indicator Management, and then click Attribute Definition.

2. Select the attribute from the list, and then click Edit.

The same screen as used for creating attributes will be displayed, but now the Entity and Type selection lists will be disabled since you cannot modify them once the attribute has been defined.

Deleting Attributes 1. On the Settings tab, click Attribute and Indicator Management, and then click Attribute

Definition.

2. Select the attribute from the list and click Delete.

A dialog box appears, where you can confirm or cancel the deletion.

Information for Monitoring, Indicator Management


Indicator Management Project Portfolio Server 2007 allows for the creation of color-coded indicators that can be used to track the status of a project while it is in implementation or an application.

These status indicators used in the Dashboard module can also be created using the settings in the Builder module. The indicator values are either entered manually or calculated automatically based on other attributes on the Status tab in the Builder module). The indicators chosen to define the Dashboard view are displayed in the Dashboard module. Indicators are unique in the sense that they utilize traffic light (red, yellow, and green) colors to provide an easy to read status. The following section shows how to create indicators that can be displayed in the Dashboard module.

Define indicators at the project and applications level. They are displayed at the program and portfolio level, by default. If you automate an indicator at the project level, the same rules are applied at the program and portfolio level.

Creating New Indicators

To create a new indicator:

1. On the Settings tab, click Attribute and Indicator Management, and then click Indicator Management.

2. To create a new indicator, enter data in all the requested fields in Error! Reference

source not found.. Figure 5-4 Indicator Definition Screen

3. Select the entity type (Projects or Applications), and click Add:

Indicators can be manual, in which case the user will enter the status (red, yellow, or green) on the Status tab, or automatic, in which case the status is calculated based on other attributes. For example, actual cost-to-date versus budget-to-date entered in the Builder module.

Information for Monitoring, Indicator Management


Associating Indicators After creating an indicator, the administrator will have to associate it with the portfolio of projects you use in the Dashboard module. Otherwise, you will not be able to see the indicator in the Dashboard module sections.

1. To associate an indicator, click Attribute and Indicator on the Settings tab.

2. Select Indicator association from the right side menu. The following page appears.

Figure 5-5 Indicator Association Screen

3. Select the organization hierarchy and/or portfolio to which you would like to associate the indicator from the Organization Hierarchy and Existing portfolios lists.

4. To see application indicators, click Show Applications Indicators.

5. Select the check box that corresponds with the indicator you want to associate.

6. If you want the association to be applied to all of the child organizations, select the corresponding check box.

7. Click Update Associations.

Modifying Indicators

To modify an existing indicator:


2. Select the indicator from the list and click Edit. A screen similar to that used to create indicators is displayed.

3. Modify the information as needed, and then click Update.

Deleting Indicators

To delete an existing indicator:


2. Select the indicator from the list and click Delete.

A dialog box appears, where you can confirm or cancel the deletion.

Information for Monitoring, Filter Management


Filter Management Filter management, accessed from the Other Settings menu on the Settings tab, provides flexible filtering options. Filters are used to select subsets of structures, such as projects, applications, business processes, programs, business drivers, architecture drivers, resource types, or portfolios, for analysis during portfolio optimization sessions.

While each of these eight structures can be filtered, a filter can only be defined for a single structure – for example, a filter that applies to both projects and business drivers cannot be defined. For the Dashboard module, only filters for projects and applications are relevant.

Filters can be applied, but cannot be defined or managed in the initial Analyzer view (in the Optimizer module) that is used for analysis purposes.

The steps detailed in the following sections are for filters based on projects. The same steps apply to create and manage filters based on applications.

Defining Filters

To create a new project filter:

1. On the Settings tab, click Filter Management in the Other Settings menu.

The Filters List tab appears (Error! Reference source not found.), which shows the public filters and any private filters created by the user. The Select filter type list changes the content of the list based on the entity selected. This enables the user to avoid creating redundant filters.

Figure 5-6 Filters List tab

2. To add a new filter, click the Add Filter tab.

The Add Filter tab enables the user to select the entity type for which the filter will be defined. Figure 5-7 shows the entity choices, with the projects filter type already pre-selected.

Figure 5-7 Add Filters tab

3. Click Next to proceed, or click Cancel to exit the filter management dialog box without saving any changes.



The Filter functional type list (top of Figure 5-8) provides the ability to choose the functional type of filter that will be created:

• Projects, e.g. Structure name – If you select this option, you can manually select the structure entries that the filter will select. This is a static filter based on the structure entry IDs.

• Structural Attribute – The structural attribute values will be the criteria used to select the entries. This is a dynamic filter based on the value of each structure entry attribute.

Filters based on Projects (or other entity types)

1. After you click Next on first screen of the Add Filter tab (Error! Reference source not found.), a new window appears (Figure 5-8).

Figure 5-8 Filters Setup - Projects

The Available Projects box shows all projects in the organization or existing custom portfolio selected through the Organization Hierarchy and Existing portfolios lists.

2. Select project entries to include in the filter by clicking the project name in the Available Projects box, and then clicking the single right arrow button to add it to the Projects in Filter box.

• To add a project to the Project in Filter box, click the arrow pointing to the right.

• To add all of the projects to the Project in Filter box, click the double arrow pointing to the right.

The same logic applies for removing entries from the filter:

• To remove an entry from the Project in Filter box, click its name and then click the arrow pointing to the left.

• To remove all entries from the Project in Filter box, click the double arrow pointing to the left.



Filters based on Attributes

If attributes are chosen as the filtering criteria, the dialog box in Figure 5-9 will appear:

Figure 5-9 Filters Setup – Structural Attributes

To create an attribute filter, follow these steps:

1. Select the attribute from the Attribute list. All defined attributes related to the chosen structure for the portfolio analyzed are available. For projects, the four mandatory attributes, Start Date, End Date, Fixed Start Date, and Fixed End Date, are available, at minimum.

2. Define the condition that has to be met by the attribute value in relation to the test value.

3. Enter the test value for testing the structural attribute against the defined condition.

4. Define the logical operation between that attribute condition and the attribute condition listed on the next line (if more than one attribute condition is in the list).

The selections available for creating the attribute filter are:

• Attribute: Click the name of the structural attribute to be tested by the condition.

• Condition: Click the condition that the structural attribute must meet for the project or competency entry to be included in the filter results:

Condition Description

=

Equal

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be equal to the test value set in the value cell (numeric, date, or text value).

For multiple text attribute types, all of the selected choices for the project must match all of the selected choices in the value column for this condition to be true.

<>

Different

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be different from the value set in the value cell (numeric or text value).

>

Greater than

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be greater than the value set in the value cell (numeric or date value).

<

Less than

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be less than the value set in the value cell (numeric or date value).

>=

Greater than or equal

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be greater than or equal to the value set in the value cell (numeric or date value).



Condition Description

<=

Less than or equal

The value of the structural attribute for the tested entry must be less than or equal to the value set in the value cell (numeric or date value).

Is empty The structural attribute must have no defined value.

Is not empty The structural attribute must have any defined value.

Includes value For multiple text fields only, this will be true if any of the selected choices for the project matches all of the selected choices in the value column.

Does not include value

For multiple text fields only, this will be true if none of the selected choices for the project matches any of the selected choices in the value column.

• Value: Enter the test value for testing the structural attribute against the defined condition:

Value Description

Value • For text attributes, select the values from the list that appears.

• For date attributes, select the values from the calendar that appears.

• For numeric and string attributes, type the test value.

• Operator: Specifies how the stated attribute condition should be combined with other attribute conditions within the filter:

Operator Description

And The filter will only include entries that meet both attribute conditions: the one with the And operation, and the one after it.

Or The filter will include entries that meet either this attribute condition or the next condition.

End Indicates that this is the last condition. This option is included for clarity only. The filter will automatically stop at the last condition regardless of the operation specified for it.

Note: The And operation takes precedence over the Or operation when the conditions are evaluated.

5. Select an operator and then click Add Condition to enter a new attribute and attribute condition, as necessary.

6. To delete the last condition, click Erase Condition.

Save Filters

1. When you are done defining the filter, click Next.

The Save dialog box appears, asking for a filter name, whether the filter is public or private, and a description (Figure 5-10). A private filter is only available to you, while a public filter will become available to all users.



Figure 5-10 Filters - Save Dialog

2. Click Finish to save the filter just defined.

At any time, clicking Back will return you to the previous screen of the wizard.

Clicking Cancel or Close Window in any of the Filter Wizard dialog boxes will result in the filter not being saved.

Managing Filters

Refreshing an Existing Filter

Projects that meet all criteria of filters based on structural attributes are identified on the first use of that filter. At that point the status of the structural attribute filter is cached. If project data changes so that some projects no longer meet all criteria, or some new projects now do meet all criteria, the filter must be refreshed to re-identify the projects to be included in the filter.

Structural attribute filters are automatically updated when they are edited.

Viewing an Existing Filter

The View Filter option in the Filters menu allows read-only access to the definition of the selected filter. This way, users who do not have the rights to create filters can review existing ones for their intended use.

1. Select the filter to view from the Filter list.

2. Click View Filter from the menu.

Filters on this screen (Error! Reference source not found.) cannot be modified.

Figure 5-11 Filter - View



The Preview Filter enables you to preview the results, such as. the list of the projects or competencies, that the filter will return.

3. Click Close to review another filter definition. The list of available filters is displayed. Select the one you would like to review and then click View.

4. Click Close Window when you have completed your filter review.

Editing an Existing Filter

Users with sufficient rights can edit existing filters from the Filter List tab.

1. Select the filter to be changed and then click Edit.

2. Change the definition, as appropriate.

3. Click Update to save changes, or click Cancel to quit editing.

Deleting an Existing Filter

The Filters List tab also provides the ability to delete existing filters. Select the filter in the selection box, and then click Delete filter on the Filters menu. The operation must be confirmed before the filter is deleted.

Appendices, A. Sample Reports


CHAPTER

6

Appendices

A. Sample Reports

Detail Project Report Enables the user to create the information from the various tabs for a selected project. Available options include project information, budget, forecast and actual cost and resources, financial and non-financial benefits, strategic impact, risk survey, issues and risks, schedule and status attributes, and indicators.

Appendices, Detail Project Report


Detail Project Report Template



Detail Project Report Sample (1 of 3)




Appendices, Business Case Financials Report





Business Case Financials Report Enables the user to create detailed cost and benefit data, including calculated financials, as well as project information for a user defined project over a specific time period.

Business Case Financials Report Template



Business Case Financials Report Sample

Appendices, Issues and Risks


Issues and Risks Creates a detailed report of the issues and risks within a certain date range affecting projects within the selected portfolio(s).

Issues and Risks Template

Appendices, Issues and Risks


Issues and Risks Sample

Appendices, Cost Tracking


Cost Tracking Creates a user-selected cost information report (both estimated and tracked) using the workflow gates or lifecycle steps as constraints. Also allows for indicator outputs.

Cost Tracking Template

Appendices, Cost Tracking


Cost Trackting Sample

Appendices, Detailed Cost Tracking


Detailed Cost Tracking Creates a report similar to the Cost Tracking report, but enables the user to select the cost structure level and time frame of the cost data.

Detail Cost Tracking Template



Detail Cost Tracking Sample



Project List/Grouping

Creates a dashboard-like report that allows projects and user-defined information, such as attributes and indicators, to be exported in a list format. Also allows for complex grouping and sorting by attribute.

Project List/Grouping Template



Project List/Grouping Sample

Appendices, Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute


Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Creates tables of budgeted costs correlated with user-selected attributes. Allows a variety of cost outputs including estimated costs, forecast cost, and revised budget with the option to display values in full, or in thousands or millions. There are also options to show totals, project count, and totals as percentages.

Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Template

Appendices, Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center


Project Cost Breakdown by Attribute Sample

Appendices, Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center


Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Creates a table with portfolio cost data grouped and summarized by cost center. Under each cost center, the data is broken down into time units according to the specified granularity (yearly, quarterly, or monthly).

Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Template

Appendices, Project Approvals Summary Report


Project Cost Breakdown by Cost Center Sample



Project Approvals Summary Report Enables a user to create a project list with user-defined attributes and cost data based on the workflow phase. Also displays how long each project has been in the user-defined workflow stage.

Project Approvals Summary Report Template



Project Approvals Summary Report Sample

Appendices, Projects by Status


Projects by Status Enables the user to create a project list with user-defined cost and attribute data by workflow lifecycle steps. Displays the number of projects in each workflow lifecycle step as a pie chart.

Projects by Status Template

Appendices, Projects by Status


Projects by Status Sample

Appendices, Workflow Management


Workflow Management Enables the user to create a set of statistics about projects in a given lifecycle step over a period of time. Examples of the statistics are the total number of projects that moved to adjacent lifecycle steps, total number of projects that entered the selected step, and the average time each project spent in the lifecycle step.

Workflow Management Template

Appendices, Organization Portfolio Financials Report


Workflow Management Sample

Appendices, Organization Portfolio Financials Report


Organization Portfolio Financials Report Enables the user to create a summary project list with cost, benefit, and calculated financial data for a selected portfolio for a user-defined date range.

Organization Portfolio Financials Report Template

Appendices, Resource Competency Report


Organization Portfolio Financials Report Sample



Resource Competency Report Enables the user to create a competency report for the projects in a portfolio. The user can define the competencies and the corresponding competency information (requirements, availability) as well as other project attributes.

Resource Competency Report Template



Resource Competency Report Sample

Documents

MOPPS Dashboard