Contents of the Processes Tab

Schedule Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Time	Click the Time Analysis button to calculate early and late dates on one or more projects. You can use the Time Analysis dialog box to change the time analysis options before performing the calculations. Time analysis is the process of determining the overall schedule of a project by calculating start and finish dates for each activity in the project. The time analysis calculations performed by Open Plan are specifically designed to schedule large networks with speed, accuracy, and efficiency.
Time Now	Enter the date manually in the Time Now field to control the status date to be used for progress calculations. You can either use the format ddMMMyy (for example, 01Jan20) or click the Calendar button to select a data.
Calendar	By defining the days and hours during which work can be scheduled, calendars allow you to create a realistic project plan. Click the Calendar button to select a status date for your project. You may enter a status date manually by entering a date in the Time Now field.
Auto-analyze	Select this option to automatically calculate time analysis whenever you make a date-related change to the project. To automatically calculate dates for new activities, select the Calculate dates even if TA is turned off? field on the Options dialog box Project tab.
Lock Project	Use the Lock Project option to temporarily lock a project while in Shared Mode so that other users can't make any changes. Locking the project allows you to perform the following processes: Time Analysis Resource Scheduling Risk Analysis Cost Calculations Progress Calculations
Refresh	Click the Refresh button or press ALT + F5 in Shared dode to refresh the current project data.
Resources	Click the Resources button to calculate the schedule dates on one or more projects. Clicking Resources displays the Resource Scheduling dialog box, which allows you to change the resource scheduling parameters before performing the calculations. The purpose of resource scheduling is to calculate a project that takes into account the limited availabilities of resources as well as the durations, logical relationships, and the target dates of the activities. Open Plan provides sophisticated and comprehensive resource scheduling algorithms designed to produce resource solutions across a wide range of situations. Open Plan resource scheduling includes extensive modeling capabilities that allow planners to juggle schedules based on various combinations of time and resource constraints.
Risk	Click the Risk button to perform a risk analysis using the Monte Carlo Simulation Technique. The operation establishes estimates of the effects that probability distributions for duration for some or all of the activities can have on project dates. You can use the Risk Analysis dialog box to change the analysis settings.

Calculate Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Cost	Cost calculations are among the most feature-rich aspects of Open Plan. You can calculate the current values for both budget and actual costs, compare these values to a baseline budget and actual costs, and calculate the earned value. Click the Cost button to calculate costs for one or more projects. Clicking Cost displays the Cost Calculation dialog box, which sets parameters and options for cost calculations. This command aggregates the resource costs for each activity (including subprojects) and the project as a whole. These project costs are reflected on the Cost tab of the Project Properties dialog box. The Cost command rolls up budgeted, actual, and remaining labor units to the activity and subproject levels. This command also calculates the summary of the physical percent completed values based on budget and earned value of the children. Open Plan calculates the actual costs for the resources that have the Actual Cost Based on Progressed Quantity option selected in the Resource Details dialog box.
Progress	Click the Progress button to calculate progress automatically based on a new Time Now date and existing calculated dates. Clicking Progress displays the Progress Calculations dialog box, which sets parameters and options prior to running the process.

Option / Button

Description

Cost

Cost calculations are among the most feature-rich aspects of Open Plan. You can calculate the current values for both budget and actual costs, compare these values to a baseline budget and actual costs, and calculate the earned value.

Click the Cost button to calculate costs for one or more projects. Clicking Cost displays the Cost Calculation dialog box, which sets parameters and options for cost calculations. This command aggregates the resource costs for each activity (including subprojects) and the project as a whole. These project costs are reflected on the Cost tab of the Project Properties dialog box.

The Cost command rolls up budgeted, actual, and remaining labor units to the activity and subproject levels. This command also calculates the summary of the physical percent completed values based on budget and earned value of the children.

Open Plan calculates the actual costs for the resources that have the Actual Cost Based on Progressed Quantity option selected in the Resource Details dialog box.

Progress

Click the Progress button to calculate progress automatically based on a new Time Now date and existing calculated dates. Clicking Progress displays the Progress Calculations dialog box, which sets parameters and options prior to running the process.

Dialogs Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Properties	Click the Properties button to display the Project Properties dialog box where you can set your project preferences. You do not need to open the project in order to edit most settings in the Project Properties dialog box.
Baselines	Baselines provide a "snapshot" of a project status by storing a complete set of project data for a specific point in time. Open Plan allows you to store multiple project baselines so that you can maintain a historical record of changes over the life of a project. Click the Baselines button to display the Baseline dialog box where you can select a baseline from a list of baselines already included in the project file. You can also add, update existing, or delete baselines from the Baseline dialog box.
Change Mode	Click the Change Mode button to display the Change Access Mode dialog box where you can change the access mode of the current file or project.

Option / Button

Description

Properties

Click the Properties button to display the Project Properties dialog box where you can set your project preferences.

You do not need to open the project in order to edit most settings in the Project Properties dialog box.

Baselines

Baselines provide a "snapshot" of a project status by storing a complete set of project data for a specific point in time.

Open Plan allows you to store multiple project baselines so that you can maintain a historical record of changes over the life of a project.

Click the Baselines button to display the Baseline dialog box where you can select a baseline from a list of baselines already included in the project file. You can also add, update existing, or delete baselines from the Baseline dialog box.

Change Mode

Click the Change Mode button to display the Change Access Mode dialog box where you can change the access mode of the current file or project.

Ancillary Data Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Calendars	By defining the days and hours during which work can be scheduled, calendars allow you to create a realistic project plan. Click the Calendar button to view the available calendars for the current project.
Resources	Resources are people, facilities, or anything else that is needed to perform the work of a project. Although entering resources is not required in Open Plan, many project managers have found that successful planning, management, and control of project resources is crucial to the overall success of a project. Click the Resources drop-down list to select a resources view for the current project.
Codes	In Open Plan, information about a coding structure is stored in a code file. Code files can be project, a resource file-specific, or they can be shared by multiple projects or resource files. You can assign up to 90 code files to the same project.

Tools Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Trace Logic	Click the Trace Logic button to display the Open Plan Logic Trace Facility dialog box where you can work through project relationships to find the activities that are related to a starting activity. Trace Logic outlines the path of activities leading to a selected activity. It helps you trace the logic easily starting from selected activities.
DCMA Analysis	Click the DCMA Analysis button to display the DCMA Constraint Method Critical Path Analysis dialog box where you can set the parameters for the path analysis. DCMA Analysis determines the critical path using the constraint method.
Driver Analysis	Click the Driver Analysis button to display the Schedule Driver Analysis dialog box where you can set the parameters for the path analysis. Driver Analysis determines the most critical paths into an activity. It identifies activities that are driving the dates for a target activity, as well as other potential controlling chains.
Redundancy Analysis	A redundant link occurs when, in addition to the link in question, there is a more detailed logic link between the same two activities. For example, a link from Activity A to Activity C is made redundant by an existing link from Activity A to Activity B and another one from Activity B to Activity C. Click the Redundancy Analysis button to have Open Plan analyze the entire schedule and set a flag on relationships that are redundant. After you run the process, Open Plan displays the Relationship Spreadsheet view where the Redundant Flag column indicates the redundant relationships. If needed, you can filter on this flag. You can right-click in the view and select Redundant Logic to display the Redundant Logic dialog box. The top grid includes the redundant relationship that was identified by the analysis and the bottom grid includes the relationships that make that relationship redundant. You can click Delete to delete the relationship. You cannot edit or change relationships in this grid.

Log Viewer Menu Group

Option / Button	Description
Open Log	Click the Open Log button to display the Log Viewer to view the log files that have been created in previous or current Open Plan sessions. Open Plan creates a log file each time you run a procedure such as Time Analysis or Resource Scheduling. These log files provide information about the functions that have been performed.

Deltek Open Plan Help