Project Planning with PS 

Purpose

You can use this business process to plan and structure a project. Using project management methods gives you a better overview of the activities to be carried out and the effect they have on the schedule. Moreover, project planning helps you to estimate the amount of work required to carry out the project.

Prerequisites

A project can be initiated independently by the project lead. However, a number of business processes exist that result in a project. Possible business processes that trigger a project are:

·        Sales order (SD)

·        Quotation (SD)

·        Appropriation request (IM)

·        Proposal (SAP xRPM)

Process Flow

The following business process runs in SAP ERP:

...

       1.      Create project from project template

For future projects with the same structure, you can rely on a standardized work breakdown structure (WBS) and use this as a template when creating operational work breakdown structures or other standard work breakdown structures.

A standard work breakdown structure contains the individual structure elements (WBS elements) according to which the standard project is structured, as well as universally applicable organization data.

You can link standard networks to standard work breakdown structures to create project templates for specifying the organization and activities in the project.

       2.      Define project structure

You create both the work breakdown structure and the network and create links between the individual elements:

¡        The work breakdown structure is a model of the project that structures the targets to be met in the project as a hierarchy. This provides clarity in the project and simplifies project coordination and execution. The work breakdown structure also contains the workload required by the project.

The work breakdown structure is the operational basis for the other planning steps in the project, for example:

§         Process flow planning

§         Cost planning

§         Time scheduling

§         Capacity planning

§         Costing

§         Project accounting

You can structure the work breakdown structure according to different points of view:

§         By phases (logic-oriented or process-oriented)

§         By functions (function-oriented)

§         By objects (object-oriented)

¡        A network maps the process flow of a project or of an activity from the project. Graph theory methods display the different structure elements of a project and how they are dependent on each other. Networks for a project can include activities.

In project execution, networks are the starting point for planning, analyzing, describing, controlling, and monitoring dates, costs, and resources or documents and drawings. You can assign networks to a project or a sales document.

       3.      Set up project schedule

You use time scheduling to determine the duration of project phases and to determine important times, floats, and critical paths. You can enter dates for both work breakdown structures and for individual networks. You can check and revise them in all phases of project processing.

You store the outline dates (start date and finish date) for your whole project in the project definition.

Once the WBS elements have been created, you can plan dates in the work breakdown structure. For rough planning, you can specify dates at WBS element level and these are binding for further planning. You can use this rough planning as the starting point for more detailed planning at network level. The different functions in time scheduling enable you, for example, to compare, reconcile, and project dates later on.

The dates in the network are determined by the system using time scheduling in the network. You can enter the dates of the activities and activity elements in a table or change them in the graphs in the Gantt chart or project planning board. Network scheduling determines the earliest and latest start and finish dates for executing activities in the network and calculates the capacity requirement and floats.

Project scheduling allows you to schedule the project with all assigned activities, the same as in WBS scheduling. You can also decide whether only networks are to be scheduled or whether maintenance orders and service orders are to be scheduled too.

       4.      Create and assign documents (optional)

Complex projects require comprehensive documentation and technical documents to be available. For example, the project system uses the high-performance ERP document management to enable you to access numerous project-related documents that were not created in the ERP system, for example, CAD drawings, pixel graphics, contracts, and so on.

You can enter extensive texts for the project (PS texts) in the actual project system; you can also create specifications, descriptions of work packages, protocols, and so on directly when processing the relevant activities and WBS elements.

       5.      Export project (optional)

During project planning, it may be necessary to export the project plan. Possible reasons for this are:

¡        You want to send the project to an external partner to discuss planning.

¡        You want to be able to process the project when traveling, without a connection to the company network.

You can export the project plan to Microsoft Project for this purpose. After processing, you can import the project plan back to the system and reconcile it with the plan there.

       6.      Create initial project version (optional)

Once you have completed the planning, you create a snapshot to document the original planning status.

Result

The result of Project Planning is a project structure with dates, planned work, and responsibles. You can staff the project with suitable employees from your enterprise in the Resource and Time Management with PS process. Furthermore, you can plan costs in the Project Accounting with PS process, to assess the economic and financial consequences of the project.