Deliverable based project planning and control for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Deliverable based project planning and control for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Deliverable based project planning and control Harvest the full potential of Microsoft Dynamics AX (DAX) and Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) combined Benefit from the EPM planning capabilities for all or a selected set of projects, while staying in control of each project budget by using the DAX deliverable based project approach

Concept Each DAX project can be marked as a deliverable based project Each deliverable is a SMART project component: S M A R T specific, significant, stretching measurable, meaningful, motivational agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented time-based, timely, tangible, trackable Project planning is performed in EPM, where DAX provides budget boundary indicators based on the project s deliverable configuration Hour registration is performed in DAX Realized hours are separated from project invoicing components Invoicing is performed based on deliverable completion Project forecast is created by projecting EPM planned hours on the remaining deliverable quantities

Process overview Standard DAX In2Scope deliverable based project control EPM Deliverable setup DAX project Proposal Add and configure deliverables EPM project Proposal document Add or expand project team Deliverable content AX to EPM Create or update WBS Deliverable adjustments Compare AX- EPM Enrich EPM with AX data and KPI s Project fee journal Deliverable progress counting Import EPM planned hours Modify project planning and resources Time registration Project invoice Create forecast

Deliverable A deliverable is a SMART project component Configure a deliverable by specifying required activities by department Configure a deliverable line (task) by applying a formula Maintain an extended deliverable description in Microsoft Word format through proposal document components Maintain deliverable versions A version is active from a specified date A version differs in configured deliverable lines and attached proposal document components Figure: Deliverable versions Figure: Deliverable lines. Specify activities per department

Project proposal A project proposal is used to select and configure required deliverables The proposal document is generated from several Microsoft Word component documents, where each component can be merged with specific data from DAX. The proposal document can serve as: Project quotation Project Initiation Document (PID) Contract Figure: Deliverable selection

Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Standard DAX functionality provides the creation of a project in EPM Standard DAX functionality provides the creation of DAX workers as specific resources in EPM In2Scope functionality provides project department and a connection to generic resources in EPM In2Scope functionality provides a WBS structure based on project phases, milestones and deliverable allocation per project phase In2Scope functionality provides the initial creation and updates of the WBS in EPM In2Scope functionality provides a comparison between EPM data and DAX data, and shows this in both EPM as DAX Figure: A project s WBS in the Project Web App. All x-fields and icons are managed from the AX-EPM comparison

Time registration Time registration is entered in the DAX timesheet Timesheet functionality is available within the DAX client environment, and in the web based Enterprise Portal Time registration can be submitted to workflow based approval Invoicing Invoicing is based on completed deliverable quantities An invoice can contain several projects, which allows a combination of deliverable based projects and regular DAX projects

Forecast A project s forecast is created by dividing the remaining sales value of the project according to how remaining hours are allocated in EPM Figure: The project s forecast as part of the proposal document. Figure: The project s running forecast. A deliverable percentage is delivered compared to the proposal s forecast, and the planning in EPM has changed.

Deliverable based project planning and control for Microsoft Dynamics AX