Dashboard in Project Management

This function gives you an overview of various key performance indicators (KPIs) for your projects. For more information, see key performance indicators. The dashboard (see dashboard) is available in a number of views, such as the Last Used Projects view.

Note Note

You can display additional or customer-specific fields in the dashboard. For more information, see SAP Note 971394.

End of the note.

Integration

The KPIs are partly read straight from the project data and partly calculated in the evaluations (see Evaluations).

Note Note

If you change data in the project that affects the KPIs that were calculated, the dashboard is only updated after a new evaluation has taken place.

End of the note.

Prerequisites

You made the following settings in Customizing for Project Management:

You activated the dashboard function for the appropriate project type and specified when evaluations are to be performed by choosing Evaluations and Dashboard in the Define Project Types Customizing activity. If you do not do this, you only see the project name and the level of severity, for example, and no KPIs for the project.
You assigned the extract layout for the dashboard evaluations to the relevant project types in the Assign Extract Layouts to Project Types Customizing activity. SAP supplies the 0_DASHBOARD layout with the standard system. You can display additional information in the dashboard by including new attributes in the layout for the dashboard evaluations.
You assigned icons to the attributes for the evaluations in the Define Attributes and Object Types for Evaluations Customizing activity.

Features

Dashboard Views

Depending on view you are in, you can choose from a number of different dashboard views, for example:

My Projects: Displays a project list (see Project List).
The Projects and Versions views for the version type simulation always display aggregated values of the project element. The other screens display non-aggregated values of the project element.
Favorites: Displays the objects that you added to your favorites. For more information, see Adding Objects to the Favorites List.
Last Used Tasks, Projects, or Checklist Items: Displays all objects that you have edited. You can delete entries from the list.
Substitutes: Displays all objects for which you are acting as a substitute.

Personalization

Under Settings you have the following options for personalizing the dashboard:

You can show or hide columns.
You can save your selection of columns as a view.
You can specify the order of the columns.
You can use filter functions.
You can adjust the table design, for example, you can change the number of rows that are displayed.

General Functions

In the task and checklist views you can also select multiple project elements at a time and open them for editing. This is even possible if the project elements belong to different projects.
The data for a project is displayed in the dashboard once an evaluation exists. If you change any data, the information in the dashboard is updated accordingly when the next evaluation is performed. The Customizing settings for the project type dictate when evaluations are created. However, they are only created in connection with the Projects entry object.

Note

If you change project elements in the Tasks or Checklist Items views, the system does not update the dashboard when you save. The system only updates the dashboard if the whole project is loaded in change mode but this is not the case for these two views.

End of the note.
You can print the table or export it to Microsoft Excel.
You can select multiple projects, tasks, and checklist items and display them in the multi-project monitor (see Multi-Project Monitor).
If you have created or changed a project and choose Refresh, the changes are visible in the dashboard.

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

You use SAP BusinessObjects Explorer to search and explore data for instant insight into your business. You can get quick, easy answers to on-the-fly questions without training or IT involvement, by simply entering a few keywords to search for relevant information and then intuitively exploring large volumes of data – without prior knowledge about what data exists or where to find it. You can start the search in the dashboard by choosing SAP BusinessObjects Explorer.

Information in the Dashboard

The following table is an overview of all the columns you can display in the dashboard:

Column Title	Meaning
Severity	Severity When the threshold value of a project is violated, this is the severity of the violation.
Last Evaluation	Date and time of the last evaluation The data in the dashboard originates from this time. If no evaluation has taken place yet, the system displays the comment No data available. If the project type of a project does not support the dashboard function, the system displays the comment No evaluation planned.
Project/Task/Checklist Number	Unique project number The language-dependent name is visible in the corresponding column or by displaying the quick info text over the project number.
Project/Phase/Task/Checklist	Description of the project element
Project Type	Project type of object
Project Type Description	Description of the project type
Phase Type	Object attribute phase type
Task Type	Object attribute task type
Checklist Type	Object attribute checklist type
Grouping	Object attribute group
Search Field	Object attribute search field
Process	Object attribute process
Milestone	Object attribute that is only relevant to tasks
Relevant for Approval	Object attribute that is only relevant to tasks
Mandatory	Object attribute that is only relevant to tasks
Ctrl Plan	Number of control plans The number of control plans always refers to a project because you can only create and edit control plans at project level.
Actual Finish	Actual finish of an object
Actual Start	Actual start of an object
Documents	Number of documents for a project element
ObjectLink	Number of object links for a project element
Collabs	Number of collaborations
Sys.Status	Current system status of an object
User Stat.	Current user status of an object
Stat.Prof.	Status profile that is used
Pers.Resp.	Person responsible for a project element
Max.Sever.	Maximum severity of a project element If a manual severity exists, this is the maximum severity. If no manual severity exists, the highest severity of a project element is the highest degree of severity out of all your own severities, both automatic and aggregated (see also Evaluations).
ManualSev.	Manual severity of the threshold value
Agg.Sever.	Aggregated severity of a threshold value Maximum severity of the actual project element and its lower-level project elements. See also Evaluations.
Result	Result of a checklist item; this is only relevant for checklist items
Note that the following KPIs always refer to the project even if you are in the Tasks screen, for example.
Priority	Project’s priority You specify the priority for the project definition. You define the possible values in Customizing.
Work Cmpl.	Percentage of work completed This is calculated from the total work confirmed for all tasks and the remaining work.
Start Met	Start date of project was met Checks whether the actual start date is after the planned latest start date.
Finish Met	Finish date of project was met Checks whether the actual finish date is after the planned latest finish date.
Scope Met	Scope of project was met Checks whether the amount of project work has exceeded the amount planned.
Deadl. Met	Tasks that met the deadline Shows what percentage of tasks that should have been completed by the current date, have actually been completed.
Proj.Delay	Project delay Based on the average amount of work confirmed each day, the system calculates the number of days by which the project is delayed.
Staff.Stat	Staffing status Shows whether a project is under- or overstaffed.
Planned Costs	Planned costs
Actual Costs	Actual costs
Budget	Budget
Currency	Currency of the costs and of the budget