Project Definition

Before you create a project by using either a template or the Projects session, you must define the parameters. Use the project data management session to create your project.

In project-driven companies, regardless of the role, all users access projects to complete their tasks. Typically, different users must perform tasks in different phases of the project. For example, an estimator will estimate a project, a sales engineer will prepare the quotation, the project manager will perform project definition, and the design engineer will set up the budget.

You can set up general default values and parameters that define how Project works. Where necessary, you can override these values when you are running a project.

A tax or levy that is payable to a local or municipal authority to compensate for a disruption caused by a project. For example, compensation for removing a sidewalk or part of a street to install the water pipes or sewer while constructing a high-rise apartment building.

A person or organization with an indirect or non-contractual interest in a project, for example, a government body or regulatory agency.

Use labor codes to control the costs of a labor code or of a group of labor codes. The labor rate determines what cost and sales rates are used in budget lines and in hours registration.

Sundry cost objects can be standard or project-specific . The cost object is related to a control code for cost-controlling purposes.

Cost object mapping is based on project activities only. Materials must either be included in the project budget itself, and handled in Project, or treated as part of the reference activity, and then handled in Service.

If a supplier can provide a file with item prices and discounts, you can import this information. You can then define the relationship between supplier codes and your own codes and the relationship between items and the supplier discount groups.

Revenue codes are codes that you can use to categorize amounts you invoice to your customer. As with cost objects, you can define both standard and project-specific revenue codes.

You can define a library of standard elements and activities. You can copy these project structures or template projects.

You can maintain a library of standard elements that you can copy when you maintain a project.

Various additional structures used in projects, either for reporting purposes or for responsibility assignment and subsequent performance measurement, are maintained in user-defined structures.

You can define standard surcharges. Each line in this list refers to a unique combination of company, cost type, sundry cost code, and sequence number.

You can define standard overhead costs. Each line in this list refers to a unique combination of company, cost type, overhead cost code, and sequence number.

If You can specify the currency to use for a particular project. This currency can be different from the currencies specified for your company or you must specify a currency that is defined for your company.

Surcharges are a means of defining indirect project costs. Typically, surcharges are used to cover general overhead costs, such as storage, handling, maintenance costs, and management overhead

Templates provide a user-friendly way to define a project. Use a project template to predefine a set of project types for a company.

For projects involving production or service of an item (such as depot repair service), the user is required to monitor costs at various levels. Costing breaks provide a flexible method to view the breakup of costs at various levels in a project WBS. You can use costing breaks to move the costs from the top demand project pegs to other project WBS levels. You can also identify other specific cost types such as labor, material, subcontracting, and so on to redirect the costs to the other WBS levels.

To enable fees and penalties, you can define the revenue code in the project parameters.

To enable progress payment, you can define the revenue code in the project parameters.

The Revenue Code for Advance Payment field in the Project Parameters (tppdm0100s000) session, is used to default the revenue code that is used for creating advance payments in Project.

The Fee Revenue Threshold option is provided to include the minimum percentage of fee revenue, while generating the interim results.

The Percentage of Completion option in the COGS method is used to recognize the revenues and expenses periodically, during the contract period, prior to the completion of the project/contract. When calculating the COGS, Infor LN also considers the loss component.

You can define the Start Percentage, End Percentage, and Milestone Percentage for the Standard Activities, to calculate the Earned value of the project.

The Project Master Data (tppdm0600m000) session allows the user to access and set up the project master data from a single dashboard or 360 session. The master data that is available and can be used is also listed. You can also view the master data by company.

For consistency with other domains in ERP LN, the labor cost object is renamed to task.

Intercompany Rate and Intercompany Rate Transaction Date fields can be defined at the cost object level, in these sessions:

Now, skills can be specified to the tasks for the estimate lines and labor activity budget lines. The use of skills is optional. This helps to find out the most suitable resource capable of doing a specific job.

The Log Project History field is used to enable the history session in projects. The data that is modified in Project, can be viewed in the history session.

An option is provided to view the project schedule or multiple project schedules based on the activity selection in a Gantt chart. The chart displays the activity planning that includes the scheduled start and finish dates, the relationships between activities (including milestones), and the progress of the activity. The cost type options can be used to select whether to display the corresponding budget lines. The activity and milestone sessions can be started from the project schedule and the project schedule can be started from key project and activity sessions. A tooltip displays some key information of the selected bar.

Activity budget information can be accessed from the Gantt view. An activity and budget can be deleted from the Gantt view using the keyboard options.

• Activity Relationships
• Show Codes

• Show/Hide overdue activities
• Show/Hide critical activities
• Show/Hide free float
• Show/Hide total float
• Show/Hide markers
• Show Constraints
• Show (un)availability of resources

Network planning can be used to calculate the critical path, earliest and latest start and finish dates, and float time for the project based on the planning method:

Project network planning can be performed for activities of type Planning Package.

When you set the New Status to Closed, and select the Update Mode, and click the Update option in the Update of Project Status (tppdm6202m000) session, Infor LN generates a list of issues that must be resolved. For example, orders that are yet to be processed or if the status of a project must be set to Finished.

The Level wagerate hours accounting list in the Project (tppdm6600m400) session, is extended with the Department option. So that, the wage rate associated with the department as specified in the Project Management Offices (tppdm0110m000) session, must be considered as one of the options (priority) to default the labor rates in the labor lines. By default, Infor LN considers the search path in this order:

The Project Master Data (tppdm0600m000) is set to expired.

The user can specify additional equipment related information such as Product Type, Product Class, Manufacturer, and Planner.

The code length is extended to 47 characters long for the equipment and subcontracting cost types.

You can also access the Items (tcibd0501m000) session, to define the service data for subcontracting, from the Subcontracting (tppdm0513m000) and Equipment (tppdm0512m000) sessions.

The options for project pegging is extended to include field service.