Change Control Page of the Integration Wizard

Use this page to specify the actions that will be performed when the import process updates existing Cobra data.

This page displays when the Control Accounts and Work Packages option is selected on the Action Selection page and a new project is not being created.

Some of the options on this page are controlled using the project-level options on the Integration tab of the Project Preferences dialog box.

Contents

Field	Description
Get the Control Account description from	Use this field to determine where to get the control account description when a new control account is created. Select one of the following options: Schedule Activities then Key Field 1 Structure: When this option is selected, a new control account will obtain the description from an activity linked to that control account, for example, an activity that has the control account mapping fields populated but not the work package mapping field. If there is no activity linked to a control account or if the activity description of the control account-linked activity is blank, the control account description will come from the code file validating the first control account field. If the code file description is blank, Cobra uses the description from the first work package in the schedule for that control account. Key Field 1 Structure then Schedule Activities: When this option is selected, a new control account will obtain the description from the code file validating the first control account field, if it is defined. If the code file description is blank, the control account description will be blank. If the validating code file is not defined, the control account description will be obtained from the description of the activity linked to the control account. If there is not an activity linked to the control account, the description will come from the first activity linked to a work package in that control account.
Apply historical budget changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period	This option is useful when importing data into in-progress work packages, and you do not want to change the budget before the current period. If this option is selected, any budget changes before the beginning of the current period are applied as an adjustment to the current period. This results in the cumulative to-date budgeted amount for the activity and the work package to match. If this option is not selected, the resource assignments are imported before the status date, even if you have the project preference option Prevent editing of historical time-phased values selected.
Apply historical forecast changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period	This option is enabled if you select Resource Assignments on the Action Selection page and Forecast Start Date on the Import File Field Mapper page. This option is enabled if you are importing forecast data. If you select this option, Cobra sums up all schedule forecast data prior to status date and puts the data in the current period. If you clear this option, Cobra does not load any schedule forecast data prior to the status period.
Force existing Work Package dates to match the schedule for	If you clear this option, the work package dates will only change if the activity is outside the work package date, for example, if you increase the duration of an activity. Select this option if you want your work package dates to contract or exactly span the activities linked to the work package. Based on the options selected on the Integration Wizard pages, the date selection options change. Select the date set you want changed based on the activity information being imported. Your options are as follows: Baseline: This option displays if you are loading Baseline dates and not Pending dates. Pending: This option displays if you are loading Pending dates and not Baseline dates. Baseline and Pending: This option displays if you are loading Baseline and Pending dates. Forecast: This option displays if you are loading Forecast dates. If you select this option, only dates after the status date will be updated. Baseline and Forecast: This option displays if you are loading Baseline and Forecast dates. Pending and Forecast: This option displays if you are loading Pending and Forecast dates. Baseline, Pending and Forecast: This option displays if you are loading Baseline, Pending, and Forecast dates. Note: This option was previously labeled Force existing Work Package baseline dates to match the schedule. If you are loading an existing configuration with this option previously cleared, this option will be cleared. If you are loading an existing configuration with this option previously selected, this option will be selected and set to Baseline, Pending, or Baseline and Pending, depending on the dates being loaded from the existing configuration.
	If you are updating Baseline Dates or Pending Dates When a new work package is created by loading data from the schedule, Cobra updates the control account and work package baseline dates to exactly match the dates loaded from the schedule. In other words, the work package start date will equal the earliest start date of the activities linked to the work package. The work package finish date will equal the latest finish date of the activities linked to the work package. The control account will then be updated with the earliest and latest dates of the work package. If you select this option and a work package already exists, Cobra forces the control account and work package baseline dates to match the dates loaded from the schedule. After loading the data, if there is time-phased data outside the work package dates, the time-phased data is respread within the new work package dates. The control account is then updated with the min and max dates of the work package. If you have more than one class on the work package, and only load one class from the schedule, the other classes will remain outside the work package dates. For example, you have a LABOR resource that uses the class Budget and another LABOR resource that uses the class B1. You import data from the schedule and change the dates of the wok package, but only load the LABOR resource in the class Budget; LABOR in class B1 will not be spread over the new dates. Cobra displays a message asking you to respread the resource and the class If you clear this option, Cobra updates the baseline dates as follows: If the data being loaded from the schedule contains all budget resource assignments already in Cobra, the work package start and finish dates are updated to match the schedule dates. If there are budget resource assignments in Cobra that are not in the schedule, the work package start date is only updated if the schedule start date is earlier than the work package start date. The work package finish date is only updated if the schedule finish date is later than the work package finish date.
	If you are updating the Forecast Start Date and the Control Account or Work Package is Planned When replacing existing forecasts If the control account dates are being updated with a work package level forecast from the schedule, only the Cobra forecast start date is moved if the schedule forecast start date is earlier than the current date. If the dates being updated match the forecast level from the schedule, the Cobra forecast start date is replaced with the schedule forecast start date. When adding to existing forecast If the schedule forecast start is earlier than the Cobra forecast start date and the schedule forecast start is later than the status date, the Cobra forecast start date is updated with the schedule forecast start date. If the schedule forecast start date is earlier than the status date and the Cobra forecast start date is later than the status date, the Cobra forecast start date is updated with the status date + 1 day. If the scenarios above are not true and the Force existing Work Package dates to match the schedule for option is selected and set to Forecast, the Cobra forecast start date is set to match the schedule forecast start date.
	If you are updating the Forecast Finish Date and the Control Account or Work Package is Planned or In-Progress When replacing existing forecasts If the control account dates are being updated with a work package level forecast from the schedule, only the Cobra forecast finish date is moved if the schedule forecast finish date is later than the current date. If the dates being updated match the forecast level from the schedule, the Cobra forecast finish date is replaced with the schedule forecast finish date. When adding to existing forecast: If the schedule forecast finish date and the Cobra forecast finish date are both earlier than the status date, the Cobra forecast finish date is updated with the status date + 1 day. If the schedule forecast finish date is later than the Cobra forecast finish date, the Cobra forecast finish date is updated with the schedule forecast finish date. If the scenarios above are not true and the Force existing Work Package dates to match the schedule for option is selected and set to Forecast, the Cobra forecast finish date is set to match the schedule forecast finish.
	If you are updating the Forecast Start and Finish and Control Account or Work Package is Complete If the control account or work package is in-progress or complete, the forecast start date will not be updated. If the control account or work package is complete, the forecast finish date will not be updated. Note: The start and finish dates are determined by the forecast dates. Cobra will update the early or late dates using the same rules if the forecast class uses early or late dates.
Update the Control Account dates to span Work Package dates exactly	This option is enabled only if you select the Update baseline dates option. Select this option to: Make control account dates exactly span the work package. Make control account start and finish dates for all date sets exactly match the earliest start and latest finish of all work package date sets.
Update the description for existing Control Accounts and Work Packages	Select this option to update the description of the Cobra accounts to match the description of the corresponding schedule activity. If the description in Cobra is blank, Cobra still updates it, whether you select this option or not.
Recalculate existing milestone weights	Select this option to recalculate the weight of each milestone. This option applies only if Cobra calculates milestone weights during the import process and does not import them from a schedule field. This option is enabled only if the Load budget resource assignments option on the Date Selection page is selected. Attention: For more information on how milestone weights are calculated, see Milestones/Steps.
Delete items from Cobra that are no longer in the schedule	This option is enabled if at least the Control Account and Work Package option on the Action Selection page is selected. Select this option to enable the other options that define how Cobra deletes the items not in the schedule that are being imported. The Delete options below only apply when loading budget resource assignments or baseline dates. Cobra runs the Update Totals process only against the budget of the control account/work package where an item is deleted.
Delete Control Accounts and Work Packages no longer in the schedule	This option is enabled if at least the Control Account and Work Package option on the Action selection page is selected and the parent option Delete items from Cobra that are no longer in the schedule is selected. Select this option to delete any Cobra control account or work package no longer in the schedule that you are importing. However, the control account or work package is not deleted in any of the following scenarios: If the control account and/or work package is already in the Completed state. If the work package is in-Progress and the Allow changes to scope for an in-progress Control Account/Work Package option on the Project Preferences tab of the Project Properties dialog box is cleared. If the Apply historical budget changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period option is selected and the control accounts and/or work packages baseline start date is set prior to the status period’s start date. If you select this option, Cobra also runs the Update Totals process against any control accounts where a work package was deleted. Note that only budget totals will be updated. However, if you are loading budget and forecast resources in a single import file and this option is selected, both the EAC and budget totals will be updated. It is recommended to load the budget and forecast separately if you are maintaining a retain EAC forecast.
Delete milestones no longer in the schedule	This option is enabled only if at least the Control Account and Work Package option on the Action Selection page is selected, the parent option Delete items from Cobra that are no longer in the schedule is selected, and the Milestone field on the Import File Field Mapper page is mapped. Select this option to delete existing milestones no longer found in the schedule. If you select this option, Cobra deletes milestones with no matching value in the mapped Milestone field on the activity in the schedule. Selecting this option does not delete work packages and resource assignments. In addition, milestones are not be deleted in any of the following scenarios: If the milestone is already in the Completed state. If the work package it belongs to is in the Completed state. If the Apply historical budget changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period option is selected and the milestone baseline finish is prior the status period’s start date.
Delete resource assignments no longer in the schedule	This option is enabled if the Resource Assignment option on the Action Selection page is selected and the parent option Delete items from Cobra that are no longer in the schedule is selected. Select this option to delete all resources no longer found in the incoming schedule based on the mapping defined. Selecting this option enables the Delete only resources with the default or selected class option. However, the resource is not deleted in any of the following scenarios: If the control account or work package the resource belongs to is in the Completed state. If the control account or work package the resource belongs to is in the in-Progress state and the project preferences option Allow changes to scope for an in-progress Control Account/Work Package is cleared. If the Apply historical budget changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period option is selected and the control account or work package baseline start date is set prior to the status period’s start date. If you select this option and there are budget resources deleted, Cobra runs the Update Totals process for budget against the control account/work package to which the resource belongs.
Delete only resources with the default or selected class	This option is enabled if the parent option Delete resource assignments no longer in the schedule is selected. Select this option to filter the deleted resources to include only those that have the default class or the filtered class defined on the Resources Assignment page.
Delete only items that match the following criteria	This option is enabled if any of the Delete options for control account and work package, milestones or resource assignment is selected. Select this option to filter the accounts deleted to only those matching the defined filter. This is important when multiple schedules are imported into a single Cobra project, and when the only data from the schedule being imported should be deleted. The criteria is applied to control account and work package, milestones, or resource assignment, based on their corresponding delete option selection. If the criteria is for Control Account code only, Cobra deletes the control account, work package, control account and work package resource assignments, and milestones that belong to the control account that matches the control account code filter. If the criteria is for Work Package code only, Cobra deletes the work package, work package resource assignments, and milestones that belong to a work package that matches the work package code filter. If the criteria is both for Control Account code and Work Package code, Cobra deletes all work packages, resources assignments, and milestones that belong to the work package that matches the work package code filter.
Deletion Criteria	This button is enabled only when the Delete only items that match the following criteria option is selected. Click this button to display the Deletion Criteria dialog box.
List deleted items in the process log	Select this option to list all items that were deleted from Cobra during the import process in the integration log.
Create Work Packages that do not exist when loading forecast	Select this option to instruct Cobra to create new work package if it does not exist and you are loading forecast data. When you clear this option, Cobra ignores the forecast values if the work package does not exist.

Video

Title	Description
Integration Wizard-Getting Started	View this video to begin using the Integration Wizard: This is the first in a series of videos explaining the Integration Wizard.