Using project data management

The Project Definition module of Project maintains project master data. The project master data is the comprehensive and base data you use to control the efficient delivery of your project objectives. Much of the master data is reusable from project to project. For example, wage rates, employee responsibilities and trade groupings are likely to remain relatively stable from one project to the next.

The data maintained in Project Definition falls into two broad categories:

  • Data that is generic across all projects.
  • Data that is project-specific.

In most cases, you can define data defaults at a generic level and then refine them to suit individual projects. For example, you can define wage rates generically across all projects and subsequently amend them for individual projects. The Project Definition module contains a number of sessions with which you can maintain general table data that can be applied to all of your organization's projects.

General table data consists of a library of data that can be applied to specific projects as required. For example, you can set up a library of standard elements, from which you can draw information when you are creating a project definition.

Project information maintains comprehensive information on every project that you set up. A number of sessions are used to hold this information.

  • Use the Projects (tppdm6100m000) session as the central focus for project-specific data. For effective project management, you need to store and maintain information on all aspects of a project. Project uses many different sessions to hold project-specific information. The Projects (tppdm6100m000) session is at the center of these and acts as a central information focus.
  • Use the Project Status (tppdm6107s000) session to maintain project status.
  • Use the Project - Cost Control Levels (tppdm6102m000) session to indicate the levels on which cost control must be performed for a project.
  • Use the Project - Appointments (tppdm6132m000) session to maintain details of appointments that relate to a particular project.
  • Use the Project - Third Parties (tppdm6130m000) session to maintain details of third parties associated with a project.
  • Use the Responsibility by Employees (tppdm6149m000) session to assign project-specific responsibilities to employees.
  • Use the Project - Documents (tppdm6134m000) session to maintain details of documents that relate to a project.
  • Use the Project - Locations (tppdm6136m000) session to maintain details of locations that relate to a project.

In Project Definition, you can maintain details of the relationships between purchase contracts and projects. Use the Contracts (tpctm1100m000) session to maintain these details.

The Projects (tppdm6100m000) session holds information in a number of categories:

  • General information used to classify the project. Among other details, this information includes the main invoice-to business partner), the organization breakdown structure used, and the financial company and enterprise unit that are responsible for the project.
  • Financial information and contractual information that relate to the project. This information includes details of the contract type, the invoicing method, the guarantee details, and so on.
  • Budget information, such as the cost and sales rates for the project.
  • Planning information and information on the terms of payment that apply to the project.
  • Miscellaneous information, which can include details of how interim results are recorded against cost objects for the duration of the project.

The Projects (tppdm6100m000) session draws upon information held in other sessions. For example, the organization breakdown structure you specify must already have been defined using the User Defined Structures (tppdm0595m000) session. The Projects (tppdm6100m000) session also takes default values drawn from the Project Parameters (tppdm0100s000) session, and you can modify these values to suit the requirements of individual projects.