Secure Baseline Dates

Cobra includes a security option that enables specific roles to restrict modifications to time-phased spread values for particular budget classes.

This security option also prevents you from modifying the baseline dates of control accounts or work packages, if you do not have rights to update budget classes included in the budget totals as this may affect the time-phased spread values.

If you have rights to update budget classes included in the budget totals, you can update the baseline dates of control accounts or work packages even if you do not have rights to update budget classes that are not part of the budget totals.

To secure update rights to a budget class, click Project Data > Update Budget item in the EPM Security Administrator (EPMSA) tool.

This table describes the security permissions that you can apply to the Update Budget option in the EPMSA tool.

Update Budget Option	Visible?	Enabled?	Access in Cobra	Definition
Included in Budget	Yes	Yes	With update rights	Cobra allows you to update the time-phased spread values for budget classes included in the budget totals, which means that the Included in Budget option on the General tab of the Classes tab is selected. You can update the baseline start and finish dates of control accounts and work packages.
	Yes	No	Without update rights	Cobra does not allow you update the time-phased spread values for budget classes included in the budget totals. You cannot update the baseline start and finish dates of control accounts and work packages.
	No	No
Not included in Budget	Yes	Yes	With update rights	Cobra allows you to update the time-phased spread values for budget classes included in the budget totals, which means that the Not Included in Budget option on the General tab of the Classes tab is selected. You can update the baseline start and finish dates of control accounts and work packages.
	Yes	No	Without update rights	Cobra does not allow you update the time-phased spread values for budget classes not included in the budget totals. You can update baseline start and finish dates for control accounts and work packages.
	No	No	Without update rights	Cobra does not allow you update the time-phased spread values for budget classes not included in the budget totals. You cannot update baseline start and finish dates for control accounts and work packages.

The following rules apply when you update the baseline dates in different areas of Cobra.

Project View

If you do not have update rights to an Included in Budget class:

• The Baseline Start and Baseline Finish columns in the Spreadsheet pane are disabled.
• The Baseline Start and Baseline Finish date fields on the General tab of the selected control account or work package are disabled.
• Cobra will not allow you to edit the Baseline Start and Baseline Finish date fields for both included in budget totals classes and not included in budget totals classes.
  Note: If you wish to edit the dates and spread for certain budget classes not included in the budget totals, you may choose to create a Pending Budget class that uses Pending Start and Pending Finish dates which are not affected by this secure baseline feature.
• If you add a new control account or a work package and you do not have update rights to edit budget classes included in the budget totals, Cobra will allow you to enter the Baseline Start and Baseline Finish dates. After saving the new control account of work package, you cannot change the baseline dates.

Integration using Scheduling Tools (File, Open Plan, Primavera, and MS Project)

Cobra uses the following rules when using the scheduling tools during the Integration process.

• If you do not have update rights to budget classes included in the budget totals, Cobra will not change the baseline start and finish dates of control accounts and work packages during integration.

• If you load time-phased data to budget classes not included in the budget totals, and there are time-phased spread values that fall outside of the work package baseline dates, Cobra will display a warning message, exclude these time-phased spread values, and load only the valid time-phased period values during integration.

Assignment Import

Cobra uses the following rules during the Assignment Import process.

• If you do not have update rights to budget classes included in the budget totals, and you try to load a budget class included in the budget totals, Cobra will display a validation error message in the process log and will not proceed with the Assignment Import process.
• If you do not have update rights to budget classes included in the budget totals, and you try to load a budget class that is not included in the budget totals, Cobra will check if the baseline dates are outside of the existing baseline dates and will display a warning message in the process log.

Reclass

If you do not have update rights to budget classes, the following rules apply to the Reclass process:

• You can select a budget class as the source class. However, the Copy and Delete option on the Source Class page is disabled.
• You cannot select a budget class as the target class.

If you do not have update rights to budget classes included in the budget totals but have rights to budget classes not included in the budget totals, the following rules apply to the Reclass process:

• You can select a budget class included in the budget totals as the source class. However, the Copy and Delete option on the Source Class page is disabled. If you select a budget class not included in the budget totals as the source class, the Copy and Delete option is enabled.
• You cannot select a budget class included in the budget totals as the target class. However, you can select a budget class not included in the budget totals.
• If you reclass from a source class to a budget class not included in the budget totals, and the baseline dates for the control accounts and work packages will change, Cobra will display a warning message in the process log and will skip the control accounts and work packages.
• Here are some scenarios when the work package will be skipped, or when it will be reclassed, if you do not have rights to update the baseline dates or included in budget totals class:
  • If the source class (for example, Forecast, Early, Late, Pending) start date is earlier than the target baseline start date, or the source finish date is later than the target baseline finish date, it will be skipped during the Reclass process. The skipped work packages will be included in the warning log.
  • If a date range is selected, the target dates are not updated and the time-phased values will be copied from the source to the target without a warning message in the process log.
  • If the source class is a progress class, the time-phased values are copied for all work packages because the target dates are not updated.
  • If the source class is an actual class, the target class cannot be a budget class. This means the security settings do not apply.
  • If the Allow reclass of completed Control Accounts/Work Packages option on the Options page is selected, the time-phased values are copied for the completed control accounts and work packages because the baseline dates are not updated.