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Function documentationAssignment of Subobjects

 

Initiatives, items, and projects contain subobjects as follows:

Object

Subobject

Portfolio Initiative

Decision point (for example, concept)

Portfolio Item

Decision point (for example, specification)

Project Management Project

Phase

Project System Project

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) element

Project System Project

Network Activity (NWA) (if you have switched on the switch Start of the navigation path 0002 Master Switch Next navigation step 0008 Enhanced Capital and Resource Mgmt Switch (see SAP Note 1457426) End of the navigation path)

Within SAP Portfolio and Project Management, you assign subobjects of items, initiatives, and projects to each other to allow vertical synchronization. When you assign subobjects of a portfolio item to subobjects of a Project System (PS) project, that is, between applications, you enable horizontal synchronization.

For more information, see Synchronization.

Prerequisites

To use network activities and to use the assignment of multiple objects, you must have switched on the switch Start of the navigation path 0002 Master Switch Next navigation step 0008 Enhanced Capital and Resource Mgmt Switch (see SAP Note 1457426) End of the navigation path in Customizing for SAP Portfolio and Project Management under Start of the navigation path Portfolio Management Next navigation step Global Customizing Next navigation step Global Settings Next navigation step Override Default Global Settings End of the navigation path.

Features

You can assign one object or multiple objects (if you have switched on the switch Start of the navigation path 0002 Master Switch Next navigation step 0008 Enhanced Capital and Resource Mgmt Switch (see SAP Note 1457426) End of the navigation path). The possible assignments are as follows:

Object in Which You Are Working

Objects That Can Be Created or Assigned

Relationship

Relationship (Short Version)

Item Decision Point (DP)

Initiative DP

You can assign one existing item DP to one initiative DP.

1:1

Initiative DP

Item DP

You can assign one existing initiative DP to one item DP.

1:1

Item DP

Project Management Phase

You can assign one item DP to multiple Project Management phases.

1:n

Item DP

PS Project WBS Element

You can assign one item DP to multiple Project System (PS) WBS elements.

1:n

Item DP

PS Project Network Activity

You can assign one item DP to multiple PS network activities.

1:n

Project Management Phase

Item DP

You can assign multiple Project Management phases to on item DP.

n:1

For more information about the display of multiple subobjects assigned to one object in the portfolio hierarchy, see Object Header.

Note Note

  • If you have switched on the switch Start of the navigation path 0002 Master Switch Next navigation step 0008 Enhanced Capital and Resource Mgmt Switch (see SAP Note 1457426) End of the navigation path, and if you have assigned the item DP to two Project Management phases, the system displays Multiple Phases and not the link to the objects, in the Timeline Monitor in the Phase Name column.

    For more information, see Timeline Monitor.

  • If you have assigned multiple objects, the system displays multiple rows in the phase/DP dashboard.

  • If you have assigned network activities of a Project System (PS) project, the phase/DP dashboard contains additional columns for network activity attributes to display the data.

End of the note.
Order of Subobjects

The order of all objects is fixed.

Note Note

If you have switched on the switch Start of the navigation path 0002 Master Switch Next navigation step 0008 Enhanced Capital and Resource Mgmt Switch (see SAP Note 1457426) End of the navigation path, you can assign the subobjects to the objects in any order.

End of the note.

You can only assign subobjects so that the order is not breached. You do not need to assign all item subobjects.

To ensure that this order is not violated, the system responds to your selections as follows:

  • If you select an initiative or project subobject, and the item subobject currently marked cannot be assigned, the system automatically highlights the earliest permissible item subobject for your chosen initiative or project subobject.

    Example Example

    You have 4 initiative subobjects that have a fixed order (A, B, C, D) and 4 item subobjects (1, 2, 3, 4). Item subobjects must be assigned to initiative subobjects so that they follow this sequence. Assume that item subobject 3 is already assigned to initiative subobject B.

    When you call up the assignment screen, initiative subobject A and item subobject 1 are highlighted. You want to assign an item subobject to initiative subobject C. When you select initiative subobject C, the system does not allow item subobject 1 to remain highlighted, because initiative subobject C must have an item subobject assigned to it that follows item subobject 3. The system automatically highlights the next item subobject that is allowed for initiative subobject C. In this case, the next allowable item subobject is number 4.

    End of the example.
  • If you select an item subobject that cannot be assigned to the initiative or project subobject currently marked, the system automatically highlights the earliest initiative or project subobject to which your chosen item subobject can be assigned.

    Example Example

    You have 4 initiative subobjects that have a fixed order (A, B, C, D) and 4 item subobjects (1, 2, 3, 4). Item subobjects must be assigned to initiative subobjects so that they follow this sequence. Assume that item subobject 3 is already assigned to initiative subobject B.

    When you call up the assignment screen, initiative subobject A and item subobject 1 are highlighted. You want to assign item subobject 4 to an initiative subobject. When you select item subobject 4, the system does not allow initiative subobject 1 to remain highlighted, because item subobject 4 must be assigned to an initiative subobject that is after the initiative subobject that has item subobject 3 assigned to it. Instead, the system automatically highlights the next initiative subobject where item subobject 4 can be assigned. In this case the next possible initiative subobject is C.

    End of the example.
Automatic Assignment of Subobjects

You can define that if you assign an item to a particular initiative or you create an item within an initiative, the system assigns certain decision points of the item to certain decision points of the initiative. If you do this, you do not need to manually assign these item decision points to initiative decision points.

In Customizing for SAP Portfolio and Project Management, under Start of the navigation path Portfolio Management Next navigation step Global Customizing Next navigation step Portfolio-Independent Settings End of the navigation path, you map item types to initiative types, and then specify the mapping for the decision points in the following activities:

  • Define Initiative Types

  • Map Item Type to Project or PS