trahan stuart

A Solution for Schedule Integration on NASA Programs

NASA PM ChallengeFebruary 7, 2007

Stuart TrahanFounder and Chief Technology Officer

Founded in 2000Specializing in Microsoft Office Project EVMS Solutions

EVM Systems as per requirements of OMB 300 and ANSI 748.Support effective systems integration

Financial Accounting SystemsScheduling SystemsEarned Value Management SystemsExamples: SAP, Primavera, wInsight, MPM, Cobra, and other internal legacy systems

Experience in multiple industries includingAerospace DefenseTreasuryNational Research FoundationTelecommunications & Technology

Offices in Lake Charles, LouisianaDallas, Texas

Our Customers

Solutions for EVMS compliance and project data integration with Microsoft Project.

A Solution for Schedule Integration on NASA Programs

What are your schedule integration issues?

#1 Reported Issue is Data Integration

Pinnacle Management Systems, Inc.

Manassas , Virginiawww.pinnaclemanagement.com

Our Partner in Integration

Pinnacle Background

Founded in 1993Specializing in Enterprise Management Solutions

Earned Value ManagementProject Portfolio Management Enterprise Project/Resource Management

Experience in multiple industries includingAerospace & DefenseDOE & Public SectorFinance & InsuranceHealthcareEngineering & ConstructionTelecommunications & Technology

Offices in Northern Virginia and United KingdomPrimavera Premier Service Partner

Sample Pinnacle Clients

Schedule Integration - Definition

In general, integration refers to importing, exporting or updating data from one system to another

Schedule integration can be performed a number of ways for different business reasons

Primavera has tools to satisfy some schedule integration needs

Import/Export .MSP formatRead/write/update MS ExcelProjectLink

The Primavera API allows for development of more robust integration solutions

Enterprise Database

The most simple form of schedule integration requires importing multiple schedules to a single database – such as Primavera

Generally done for review only – although Primavera ProjectLink can be used for updates if users have access

Import multiple schedules into an Enterprise Project Structure (EPS) to look at summary schedule information

Enterprise Database - Challenges

Schedule data may come from a variety of sources (MS Project, Open Plan, MS Excel) in a myriad of file formats (.xls, .mpp, .xer)

Projects must be replaced with each update

Inconsistent coding of activities and WBS

Different levels of detail in each sub-schedule

ProgramMajor Milestones

IPT/Control Account/

Work PackagePlans

Detailed FunctionalWork Plans

Program Summary Schedules

Intermediate (Control Account) Schedules

Detail (Work Package/ Task) Schedules

Functional Working Plans/Schedules

Tiered Scheduling

P o w e r D i s t r i b u t i o nU n i t

C a m e r aT u r r e t H o u s i n g

G im b a l

R e c o r d e r A s s e m b l y

P a y l o a d S y s t e m E l e m e n t s A s s e m b l y

A ir b o r n e D a t a P r o c e s s o r

C a m e r a S e n s o r S y s t e m C o n t r o ll e r

D a t a P r o c e s s i n g U n i tG r o u n d C o n t r o l

S t a t i o n S u b s y s t e m

D a t a S t o r a g e U n i t

S y s t e m D is p la y U n i t

A i r b o r n e P a y l o a d S u b s y s t e m

S e n s o r C o n t r o l a n d C o m m S o f t w a r e

T u r r e t / G im b a lC o n t r o l le r S o f t w a r e

D a t a P r o c e s s i n g S o f t w a r e

S y s t e m D is p l a y U n i t

D a t a P r o c e s s in g U n i t


O & C S o f t w a r e

P a y l o a d I n t e g r a t i o ni n t o

A / V S e g m e n t

C o n t r a c t o r G r o u n d

a n d F l ig h t T e s t

D T / O TS u p p o r t

A ir V e h ic l eE le m e n t ( G F E )

G r o u n d C o n t r o l S t a t io n E l e m e n t s

( G F E )

C O B R A G r o u n d S t a t i o n S u b s y s t e m


C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k

P a y l o a d C o n t r o l le r

N a v S u i t e ( G P S /I N S )

D a t a li n k S u i t e

A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE

C 4 I I n f r a s t r u c t u r e

D a t a l i n k S u i t e




G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

On l

y - Di sk




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

On l

y - Di sk




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

Onl

y - Di s

k




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE






G im b a l


















A / V S e g m e n t






( G F E )



C a b l e / C 4 I

Tes t

On l

y - Di sk




A /C P o w e r

WES

CAM

SE

A

ARE

TE




Vertical Integration &

Traceability

Horizontal Integration

Tiered Scheduling - Challenges

Each schedule update routine requires different steps to be taken with a variety of software applications – there is no consistency

Determining which activities to summarize into each tier can be difficult – especially if the data comes from different sources

Manual import routines are laborious, time consuming and can compromise data integrity

Integrated Scheduling – IMP/IMS

An Integrated Master Plan (IMP) is used to define major deliverables

Each IMP event is represented by one or more activities in an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)

Sub-contractors are required to report impacts to the IMP events from their own sub-contractor schedules

Changes to dates for the IMP events may be sent back to sub-contractors to adjust their own schedules and assess impacts

IMP/IMS - Challenges

Consistent coding activities across multiple schedules

Timing of updates

Critical path analysis

Incremental or selective updates can be challenging

Change Control

Primavera MSP Import Issues

Primavera imports from MSP, but not without challenges

These challenges can create a lot of manual work to ensure the correct schedule dates in Primavera

Schedule Date DifferencesHandling of ConstraintsData Date vs. Status Date ConceptsCalendarsDuration and Float CalculationsBaselinesMilestonesSummary Activities vs. WBSNo import for MSP 2007

Other Primavera Integration Challenges

Even if we can import from MSP, how do we handle schedules from other systems (Artemis, OpenPlan, Dekker Tracker, etc.)?

Change ControlHow do you selectively import data?Review the impacts of a schedule update before applying?Ensure consistency in WBS and activity coding?

Validation – How can you be sure that the destination data matches the source after import?

There is currently no commercial software that updates(vs replaces) a Primavera schedule from an external source

So What Is The Solution?

There are several approaches to better integrationMassage the dataLimit what data is importedUse the Excel import/export feature for incremental updatesUse the Primavera Integration API

The Primavera Integration API can be used to read/write XML data – but this requires some development effort

The CSTI-Pinnacle Solution

Immediate Solution: Use existing tools and processes to solve the problem

Use the current CSTI import/export mapping toolsAllows diverse inputs from various sources (MSP, CSV, XML) to be mapped to a common data model (MSP)Can export to format compatible with Primavera (CSV, XML)Provide some validations/comparisons during import/export

CSTI / Pinnacle develops import modules using the Primavera API in order to selectively update the Primavera schedule. This was initially developed for the ISS program. Can be applied to other programs as well.

Near Term Solution: CSTI / Pinnacle developing a full XML-based solution (code name “Tango”)

CSTI (TANGO)

Tango Preliminary Process Flow to Primavera

Source SetMS

Project

Other EVMS Tools

Other Scheduling

Tools

Other Sources

(CSV, XLS, XML)

Financial Tools

EVMS forProject

CSTI / PINNACLE (TANGO PPM)Step 1 - Tango produces PRELIMINARY Primavera compliant XML Input File from Source Set Data applying Primavera Business Rules Primavera

Project Management

Data Base

Step 2 - Tango PPM uses API to produce Primavera compliant XML File from destination project for comparison to the PRELIMINARY Input file created from Tango in Step 1Step 3 – Tango produces

comparison report for user to accept or reject changes.

Step 5 - Tango PPM reads the FINAL Primavera compliant XML File delivered from Tango and imports the source set data into the destination project through the API

Step 4 – Tango produces FINAL Primavera compliant XML File from accepted changes

Integration Issues Open Discussion

Do you have a Primavera integration challenge we could help solve right now?

Thank You!

For Further Information:

Gary Smith [email protected]

(337) 477-3724 Ext. 102

trahan stuart

Technology

n d s e n

g s y s t e

r e c o n t r o

r d e r

s e n sorc

s e n sorwescamc

c o n t r o ll e r s

s e n sor t u r r e