Microsoft Project

Acumen links to Microsoft Project (MSP) files using your installed copy of MS Project or by directly reading an .MPP file (without needing MS Project installed on your computer).

MS Project linking supports:
  • Cost, schedule, risk, and earned value integration by default.
  • Custom field mapping (normal, code, and user-defined fields).

When you import a project from Microsoft Project, Acumen also imports the Estimated and Manual fields.

Importing Master Projects that Include External Subprojects

In Microsoft Project, you can have an activity in one project (the master) point to an entirely separate project file (external subproject). When Acumen loads the master project, the system tries to load any external subprojects as well. If Acumen cannot locate a subproject file, then it is not imported with the master project.

Importing External Activities

In Microsoft Project, you can link an activity in another project as a predecessor or successor to an activity in your current project. These external activities display in gray in your current Microsoft project.

You can import these external activities as part of an MS Project import by setting the Import external activities option on the Platforms tab on the Deltek Acumen Options dialog box. The external activities display in gray in the Activities view of the S1 // Projects tab. If you select one, you can see the predecessor/successor information on the Activity Relationships sub-tab.

These external activities are excluded from analysis by default; however, you can include them by deselecting the option in the Excluded column next to the activity in the Activity browser pane of the S2 // Diagnostics tab.

Exporting an Acumen Project as a Microsoft Project XML File

When you export an Acumen project as a Microsoft Project XML file, any existing user-defined fields are included in the export and are available for use in MSP.

Microsoft Project Platform Options

Use the Deltek Acumen Options dialog box to set specific options for Microsoft Project.