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Function documentationDashboard in Project Management

 

The dashboard is a configurable list that gives you a quick overview of your projects or project elements. It contains the most important data and various key performance indicators (KPIs) for your projects. The 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 971394Information published on SAP site.

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.

  • If you want to delete one or more projects directly in the dashboard, you have made a corresponding entry for area 0006 User Interface Settings, setting 0029 Delete Button in Project Dashboard in Customizing for SAP Portfolio and Project Management under Start of the navigation path Project Management Next navigation step Basic Settings Next navigation step Override Default Global Settings End of the navigation path.

Features

Dashboard Views

Depending on which 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.

  • All Projects: Displays a list of all projects for which you have, at minimum, read authorization.

    You can limit the number of projects that appear on the All Projects tab. In Customizing, define the limitation in the BAdI: Change Dashboard Attributes Business Add-In under Start of the navigation path SAP Portfolio and Project Management Next navigation step Project Management Next navigation step Evaluations Next navigation step Business Add-Ins (BAdIs) End of the navigation path. If there is no limit defined, the default maximum number of projects is 1000.

Personalization

Using the Open Settings Dialog icon, 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 project views, you can select multiple projects at a time and open them for editing.

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • The Project Management dashboards are refreshed automatically when a project or project element is saved.

  • You can delete one or more projects including the subordinate project elements.

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

Control Plans

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

No. of Obj. Links

Number of object links for a project element

No. Coll

Number of collaborations

System Status

Current system status of an object

User Stat.

Current user status of an object

Stat.Prof.

Status profile that is used

Person Responsible

Person responsible for a project element

Maximum Severity

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).

Manual Severity

Manual severity of the threshold value

Aggregated Severity

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

Project KPIs:

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 Complete

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