It is where an owner of an entity or a member of the SYSADMIN group defines access rights that individual users or groups have to Deltek PM Compass features. Access Control is available in many places or securable features in PM Compass, and displays either as a tab or as a dialog box. For each feature, such as report, item, and dashboard, an Access Control List (ACL) exists.
An ACL contains a list of users or groups that can access a Deltek PM Compass feature. Each securable feature has its own ACL.
Access Control List - contains a list of users or groups that can access an entity.
This is an item that allows you to inform someone that that they have been assigned something to do.
Action on CAR is a child item to the Corrective Action Request (CAR) item and is used to assign tasks to individuals to correct the discrepancies described in the Process Area Tab of Corrective Action Request Item Form. These items are used to track the progress of the corrective actions described in the narrative.
The smallest self-contained unit of work used to define the logic of a project. In general, activities share the following characteristics: a definite duration, logic relationships to other activities in a project, use resources such as people, materials or facilities, and have an associated cost.
The state of completion of an activity. A planned activity has not yet started. A started activity is in progress. A finished activity is complete.
The activity type defines how the activity is treated during time analysis. The possible activity types are As Late As Possible (ALAP) and As Soon As Possible (ASAP).
This is the activity ID for progress items.
The sum of costs actually incurred in accomplishing the work performed. Sometimes referred to as actual cost of work performed (ACWP).
The sum of costs actually incurred in accomplishing the work performed.
Actual dates are entered as the project progresses. These are the dates that activities really started and finished as opposed to planned or projected dates.
The date on which an activity was completed.
The date on which an activity was started.
This is a condition, event, query, trigger or function. You can create it by selecting tables, fields, arguments, and others. You can specify a name for it, and you can select it when the workflow is not sufficient. An example is when a threshold is exceeded. An alert is created to define when a threshold is exceeded, but it is the item that defines who gets the notification and the details that display in the notification. An item can have one or more alerts. The alert defines an event and the response to the event. An item can have a startup alert that notifies the CAM (Control Account Manager) when the item is created. A change in the status or an elapsed time can trigger an alert. An alert can also be silent and only create an item.
This role refers to a super user of Cobra with access to all areas of the application.
These are the non-core project files such as codes, calendars, resource definitions, and rates.
This toolbar provides access to the system-wide menu options.
The person responsible for approving an action item or progress before the source is updated.
Arrow buttons appear when more than one info center record is selected at the same time. Use them to scroll through the multiple open records. They are located to the left of the Find field.The far-left arrow button brings you to the first selected record, and the far-right arrow button brings you to the last record. Use the left and right arrow buttons to search the open records (record by record) in the order they were selected.
An activity for which the scheduling software sets the early dates as late as possible without delaying the early dates of any successor.
An activity for which the scheduling software sets the early dates to be as soon as possible. This is the default activity type.
This field indicates the user and/or group to whom an item is assigned.
This indicates the currently assigned user.
The person responsible for completing an action item or entering progress.
When you start the workflow for an item, an assignment is created for each user assigned to the first step in the workflow. The assignment is closed when the action required of the assignee is completed or when the workflow step changes. Each step in the workflow has a number of days allotted for it, and this is used to calculate the assignment due date. This helps ensure that all of the steps in the workflow are completed before the item due date is reached.
This date is calculated by PM Compass by using the days allotted for each step in the workflow. The system uses it to ensure that all of the steps of the workflow are completed before the item due date.
It is a relationship of a link to an area (or vice-versa).
A copy of the project schedule for a particular time (usually before the project is started) that can be used for comparison with the current schedule.
This is a type of Change Management item.The Baseline Change Request form is used to document the proposed cost and/or schedule change, budget request, justification and other explanative details about the baseline change.
The original planned start and finished dates for an activity. Used to compare with current planned dates to determine any delays. Also used to calculate budgeted cost of work scheduled for earned-valued analysis.
Description of how the cost estimate was developed for each control account (or WBS) item.
Stands for \"blind carbon copy.\" This is similar to the Cc, except that anyone listed here is invisible to all the other recipients of the message.
This stands for Baseline Change Request. The Baseline Change Request form is used to document the proposed cost and/or schedule change, budget request, justification and other explanative details about the baseline change.
Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) is a measure used in earned value management system that allows you to quantify the overall progress of the project in monetary terms. BCWP is calculated by applying a performance measurement factor to the planned cost. (By comparing BCWP with ACWP, it is possible to determine if the project is under or over budget.) Another term for BCWP is \"Earned Value.\"
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled - The sum of the budgets for all planned work scheduled to be accomplished within a given time period. This term is often used to designate the cumulative to-date budget.
The planned cost for an activity or project.
The total planned value or BCWS at the end of the project.
The budget unit is the base unit for the calculation. For example, the Engineer budget element might have a budget unit of hours. Since budget units are user defined, they can be any appropriate unit of measure. For example, a budget unit might be hours, dollars, linear feet, or tons.
A measure used in earned value management system that allows you to quantify the overall progress of the project in monetary terms. BCWP is calculated by applying a performance measurement factor to the planned cost. (By comparing BCWP with ACWP, it is possible to determine if the project is under or over budget.) Another term for BCWP is \"Earned Value.\"
The sum of the budgets for all planned work scheduled to be accomplished within a given time period. This term is often used to designate the cumulative to-date budget.
Control Account Manager — refers to the individual designated as directly responsible for the management of a Control Account (CA). The CAM is responsible for scope, cost, and technical requirements of a control account. He or she is also responsible for planning and managing the resources assigned to accomplish the work defined in the scope. The CAM’s role is a subject matter expert in an area of a program and is required to status activities.
This workflow action allows PM Compass to cancel the workflow for the items you select.
This stands for Corrective Action Request. Corrective Action Requests (CAR) are issued because a contractor did not meet one (or more) of the 32 criteria discussed in the standard for Earned Value Management Systems guidelines. For example, a CAR may be issued if one of the monthly reports, such as CPR Format 1 through 5 or the IMS, did not meet the requirements.
This field displays the category of the item.
Control Account and Work Package
\"Control Account/Work Package ID. This field displays all of the control account fields concatenated into one field. \"
Means \"carbon copy.\" Anyone listed on this field of a message receives a copy of the message.
The Change Class is a term used to describe a class in the temporary Cobra project that is modified as part of the change request.
This is a list of all changes relating to a project that provides you with a single source of information relating to all project changes.
It is a formal mechanism for proposing and assessing a change to a control account or project. A change request can be technical or non-technical in nature and can be related to changes in cost, schedule, scope, or administrative.
A field in which you click inside a box to select it, producing a checkmark. Or, you can click again to deselect it and remove the checkmark.
A lower-level element in a hierarchical structure.
This is an item that is linked subordinately to a parent item. it is an item from an item type that can have a relationship with parent items.
Classes provide the mechanisms for allowing users to set up multiple budgets for a project, to track different types of actual costs, and to maintain information on such items as commitments, funding, and change orders over the life of the project.
A firm for which you complete a project.
This field indicates when the item was closed.
A file used in reporting that contains information associated with codes entered on an activity record.
A single legal business entity. It is the highest level of the organization structure within the enterprise. Individual companies might also be divided further into organizations or profit centers (for example, branch offices, regions, or disciplines), whose revenue and expense-and therefore, performance-is tracked separately.
Used to select records based on a numeric or character value. For example, >, <, =.
This workflow action allows PM Compass to update the last modified user, populate the Closed Date field with today's date, and mark the item as closed.
It allows technical users to create and save import or export settings, which allows non-technical users to run the import or export process themselves.
Constraint dates act as user-defined constraints on the calculations performed by time analysis and resource scheduling. You can enter start and finish constraints and define how they should be interpreted.
The CPR presents the cost and schedule data for the current period as well as in a cumulative format. The report consists of five formats.
When nonconformity associated with the Supplier’s Quality Management System (QMS), processes or product characteristics are independently discovered, the supplier shall be notified and requested to initiate corrective actions in accordance with contractual requirements. Product or Process nonconformity may be evidence of a breakdown in the Supplier's QMS or inspections system. The principles of the corrective action process should be applied to all types of nonconformity.
It is also known as a Cost Account (CA). A management control point at which actual costs can be accumulated and compared to budgeted cost of work performed. A CA is a natural control point for cost/schedule planning and control since it represents the work assigned to one responsible organizational element on one contract work breakdown structure (WBS) element. From here work effort is further broken down into Work Packages (WPs) and detailed work is planned. Note that a CA may have hundreds of WPs.
CAM refers to the individual designated as directly responsible for the management of a Control Account (CA). The CAM is responsible for scope, cost, and technical requirements of a control account. He or she is also responsible for planning and managing the resources assigned to accomplish the work defined in the scope. The CAM’s role is a subject matter expert in an area of a program and is required to status activities.
Corrective Action Requests (CAR) are issued because a contractor did not meet one (or more) of the 32 criteria discussed in the standard for Earned Value Management Systems guidelines. For example, a CAR may be issued if one of the monthly reports, such as CPR Format 1 through 5 or the IMS, did not meet the requirements.
This is a record containing the settings and options for creating an export file that you save and re-use.
Cost Performance Index (CPI) is the ratio of earned value to actual cost which is used to estimate the projected cost of completing the project. Formula is Earned Value / Actual Cost.
CPI = Earned / Actual. The ratio of work accomplished versus work cost incurred for a specified time period. The CPI is an efficiency rating for work accomplished for resources expended.
CPI = Earned hours / Actual hours
Another name for Project Control Analyst (PCA)
Classes are grouped together into cost sets for report. A new project contains cost sets such as Budget (BCWS), Earned Value (BCWP), Actual Cost (ACWP), and Forecast (EAC). These cost sets allow you to group related classes together for reporting, and can include user-defined reporting sets for special purposes. Since the labels of these cost sets are user-defined, it is possible to produce reports that use the cost terminology most familiar to the intended audience.
CV = Earned – Actual. The difference between the earned value and the actual cost.
CV hours = Earned hours – Actual hours
CV % = (Cost Variance / Earned) * 100
CV % hours = (CV hours / Earned hours) * 100
CPI stands for Cost Performance Index. This is the ratio of earned value to actual cost which is used to estimate the projected cost of completing the project. Formula is Earned Value / Actual Cost.
This refers to the user ID of the item creator.
This is the date when the item was created.
Cost Schedule Analyst - Another name for Project Control Analyst (PCA)
It refers to a newly created PM Compass field. It is used in items and other areas of the application. An example is a Work Package manager field on the work package record that is displayed on the item form and used in the roles in the workflow.
Your \"portal\" into Deltek PM Compass, allowing you to create a personalized view of your business world. By combining information drawn from different areas of Deltek PM Compass, you can design a single Web page that brings together all of the information and tools that you rely on most. Because dashboard content is delivered based on role-based security, administrators can easily manage the content for individuals or groups of users.
The individual sections -- or blocks -- on your dashboard. Dashparts provide access to specific records, Web links, reports, activities, and applications. There are sixteen dashpart types, as well as individual Web dashparts and a PM Compass Tip of the Day.
The process by which authority and responsibility is distributed from Project Manager to subordinates.
This is the long description displayed on an item such as the action item.
It is a secondary window that displays when you click a button or menu option on the form. It allows you to perform an action, view information, enter information, or answer a question.
Those costs that are identified with a specific cost objective such as a task to be performed. These are differentiated from Indirect Costs which by definition are not able to be associated or attributed to a specific task or project and are thus usually allocated by means of cost pools, service centers or similar mechanisms.
It is when you remove the link from a document to the selected info center record. The document is not deleted, just the link from the document to the info center record.
To click on a piece of data to obtain more detailed data. This option is only available where noted.
A documentation convention used in the PM Compass Help system. Drop-down hotspot text, when clicked, displays additional text on the screen. When clicked again, this additional text disappears. Hotspot text appears teal blue and underlined.
It is denoted by an arrow located either to the left or right of a field. It is used in most of the PM Compass applications. It displays valid choices when completing a text field.
It is used in the online Help system to display form or dialog box locations or links relevant to the Help topic you selected. Drop-down information displays below the current text.
This field provides the end date for the completion of an item.
The duration is the length of time needed to complete an activity.
Calculated in the forward pass of time analysis, early dates are the earliest dates on which an activity can start and finish.
The Early Finish date is defined as the earliest calculated date on which an activity can end. It is based on the activity's Early Start which depends on the finish of predecessor activities and the activity's duration.
The Early Start date is defined as the earliest calculated date on which an activity can begin. It is dependent on when all predecessor activities finish.
EV quantifies the amount or volume of work completed to date, and is commonly known as the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP). When compared to the planned value (budgeted cost of work scheduled) and its actual cost (actual cost of work performed), EV provides an objective measure of schedule and cost performance.
Analysis of project progress where the actual money budgeted and spent is compared to the value of the work achieved.
Another name for Project Control Analyst (PCA)
Another name for Project Control Analyst (PCA)
EVMS is the integrated set of processes, applications, and practices that follow the guidelines in the ANSI/EIA Standard 748. The guidelines describe the attributes of an effectively integrated cost, schedule, and technical performance management system.
Techniques used to record performance for work accomplished within a work package and must be consistent with those utilized in the planning of the work.
Earning Rules allow you to define the steps and weight used in calculating the percent complete of the work package. When you add a step, the work package earns a percentage of the work package's budget. This method is similar to milestones except that dates are not entered.
Data categories such as Labor, Material, Subcontract, ODC (other direct costs), Travel, Subcontractor, etc used as a summarization and categorization of resources. For instance, a control account could have 50 types of labor resources assigned. At the element of cost level these 50 resources can be summarized up a level to a single category called Labor. Typically the element of cost categories are defined in the RBS (resource breakdown structure) or as a code file connected to the RBS.
EAC is an independent forecast for what it will cost to complete any given level of work of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It is a value expressed in either dollars and/or hours, to represent the projected final costs of work when completed. The EAC is calculated as ACWP + ETC.
The value expressed in either dollars or hours developed to represent the cost of the work required to complete a task.
Another name for Project Control Analyst (PCA)
Forecast Change Request. The (FCR) form is used to document the proposed cost and/or schedule change, justification and other explanative details about the forecast change.
This is a record containing a series of “WHERE\" clauses that PM Compass uses to identify the records that an export file contains.
The actual or estimated time associated with an activity’s completion.
If one of your activities can't finish until another one finishes, you can use a finish-to-finish (FF) relationship. Finish-to-finish doesn't require that both activities be completed simultaneously. It simply requires that the first activity be finished in order for the second activity to finish. The second activity can finish any time after the first activity finishes.
This is the most common type of relationship. In a finish-to-start relationship, the second activity can't begin until the first activity finishes.
The first result is the base unit for the resource calculation. For example, the Engineer resource might have a first result of hours. The first result can be any unit of measurement. For example, hours, dollars, linear feet, or tons. If you are integrating Cobra with a resource-loaded schedule, the first result uses the same units as the resources in the schedule (typically hours).
Float is the amount of time that an activity can slip past its duration without delaying the rest of the project. The calculation depends on the float type. All float is calculated when a project has its schedule computed.
The Forecast Change Request (FCR) form is used to document the proposed cost and/or schedule change, justification and other explanative details about the forecast change.
It displays groupings of data for each type of record.
This toolbar displays the Search field and the menu options that are specific to the form that PM Compass currently displays.
A form-level topic provides descriptions of PM Compass forms and explains the data entry requirements for each field on a form or dialog box.
Free float is the maximum amount by which an activity can be delayed beyond its early dates without delaying any successor activity beyond its early dates. If target finish dates have not been set, free float is always less than or equal to total float. Free float can never be negative.
It is the rectangular block found on certain tabs (such as the Items List View and the Project Info Center). It displays data but it can also have buttons for adding records. Fields within the grid can be reduced in size or hidden completely if they are not needed.
It allows you to perform functions within the grid. This is located above the column headers of the grid.
A group of fields with a box around it on a PM Compass form. This box often has a label as well. For example, you may have a group box labeled Address, which surrounds Street Address, City, State, and Zip fields.
This term usually represents major programs or projects within an organization, or functional groups, such as the project management office. You assign users to groups, which are used to provide access to data, such as projects within Cobra or Open Plan. Users can have different roles within a group. Only Open Plan uses the Default role on the group.
Globally Unique Identifier. This is a special type of identifier that software applications use as a unique reference number. A 32-character hexadecimal string represents the value. An example is {21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}, which the system usually stores as a 128-bit integer.
A coding system that can be represented as a multi-level tree structure in which every code except those at the top of the tree has a parent code.
This provides a unique key field for each record.
Severe, Moderate, Low. This provides an assessment of the impact that the risk's occurrence will have on the project.
An activity that has been started, but not yet completed.
iEAC hours = [(Budget at Complete hours – Earned hours) / CPI hours] + Actuals hours
iEAC = [(Budget at Complete – Earned) / CPI] + Actuals
A person who is responsible for a WBS element or a leg of the WBS. The WBS element(s) usually encompass many control accounts/CAMs.
It is a customizable form used to assign someone to do something that is not an activity in the schedule, a work package, or others. For example, an action item assigns a user to do something that is documented on the item form. Since the item can contain vital project information such as an explanation of a variance or an authorization of a detailed statement of work, it is a useful addition to the data stored in a schedule or cost system. An item contains a title, due date, and the user who is currently assigned to the item or who has taken an action on the item during the workflow. It also usually contains a project and control account identifier. An item can be manually created by using the Items feature of Deltek PM Compass or it can be generated by the system based on the day of a week or a complex condition such as when a threshold is exceeded.
It is used to group items on the Navigation menu. They are helpful in grouping similar item types such as Project Risks and Mitigation Steps, and Explanation of Variance and Corrective Action items. The category is assigned to the item type. The online help for an item is based on the item category. This allows you to create custom item types and still access help about the item category in a holistic manner that describes the entire process. You can create your own custom item categories.
This date is manually entered on the item form by the user who creates the item.
It is a record of the changes in an item’s status as the item progresses through the workflow. For example, who approved an item and when it was approved. The history also contains notes for rejection or other comments, which can be used to audit the workflow process.
Each item type contains the definition or configuration for the individual items that will be created. The item type defines how the item form displays and identifies the fields and tabs on the form. It also defines the steps in the workflow, such as the user who must approve or complete a workflow step in order for the item to move to the next step. For each step in the workflow, there are actions that are preformed such as notifications, reminders, and management escalations. The access control or security for an item is defined by the access control on the item type and the project selected within the item.
This is the item ID of the original corrective action from which PM Compass creates a corrective action item by coping forward from the previous period’s Explanation of Variance item.
This is the date when the item was updated.
This is the user ID of the last person to update the item.
Calculated in the backward pass of time analysis, late dates are the latest dates on which an activity can start and finish.
Late Finish dates are defined as the latest dates by which an activity can finish to avoid causing delays in the project. Many PM software packages calculate late dates with a backward pass from the end of the project to the beginning.
Late Start dates are defined as the latest dates by which an activity can start to avoid causing delays in the project. Many PM software packages calculate late dates with a backward pass from the end of the project to the beginning.
It is a pointer to a document, Web page, location, or any other files. It contains the exact path and file name.
It is where you associate links to project documents, Web pages, and other files with areas, such as Projects, Control Accounts, Activities, and Items.
This field refers to an item that is related to the current item.
Management Reserve (MR) is the amount of the total budget withheld for management control purposes, rather than designated for the accomplishment of a specific task or set of tasks. It is held and applied through a disciplined process to any additional work that is to be accomplished within the authorized work scope of the contract or applied to accommodate rate changes for future work. It may not be used to offset or minimize existing cost variances. (Source: Earned Value Management Implementation Guide - October 2006)
It is used to add notes or miscellaneous information when working on a form. It is indicated by the pencil icon.
Metadata is used to describe the structure of computer systems such as tables, columns and indexes. What is listed on the metadata are the things that you need to manually setup or should be present in the target database, before you perform the import.
A milestone weight is a numerical factor assigned to a milestone for a portion of an activity to express its relative budget value to the total budget value for the activity.
A milestone is an activity with zero duration (usually marking the end of a period).
This is the action that must be performed to prevent, reduce, or transfer the risk.
This item is used to document the steps for mitigating the risk that reduces its likelihood or severity. It is an action item that is also a child item of the Risk items. It can be used to assign someone to perform a task to mitigate the risk. It is different from the standard action item 0because it is connected to the Risk item.
Microsoft Project
\"This field indicates the positive workflow action for the current step. This is useful when you select multiple items on the Items List View and perform a workflow action, such as approve, at one time. \"
This relates to the condition of your particular assignment. It is helpful when a step has many assignees. It indicates the status that you have provided for the step. It is always the same as the workflow status except when the step has more than one assignee; all of the assignees must complete the step; and you have performed the action required but the other assignees have not. In this case, this field displays the specific action you have performed.
This is the panel on the left side of the Deltek PM Compass screen where users can navigate through the product by selecting the feature that they want to access.
Used in Reporting to locate a record and simultaneously change the report display to the page containing data from that record.
The amount of time by which the early date of an activity exceeds its late date.
The non-significant format in itself does not provide information on the level that the code or resource represents.
It is an alert on the dashboard or in an email. It is generated by the workflow of an item. For example, if something must be approved, the workflow sends an email or an alert through the dashboard to the user who needs to do the approving. The notification includes information such as the associated project, control account, due date, and others. It also supports links to take you directly to the item or view that issued the notification.
This field specifies the alert type.
Open Plan Professional
A selection or choice which appears on a menu or form. Options usually appear in drop-down list form. Options allow the user to select the item or response desired.
An OBS is a hierarchical structure that describes the different levels of responsibility within the organization.
This is the due date of the item at the time when the workflow started.
A baseline which results from formal reprogramming of an overrun, used only with the approval of the customer.
An overview topic provides general information about an application area or a business process or function. It contains links to related procedural and form-level help topics.
This is the item ID where the child item is an assignment.
This is an item from an item type that can have a relationship with child items.
This is the workflow step of the item where the child item is an assignment.
Project Controls Analyst. Other titles for this position include Earned Value Focal Point, EV Financial Analyst, EV Management Specialist, Cost Schedule Analyst (CSA).
One measure of completion used to determine the remaining duration of a partially completed activity.
This is the project status date when the item was created. Use this field in Explanation of Variance item types.
A phase is an explicitly defined and independently managed segment of a project.
The Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) is an Open Plan baseline that is used for cost calculations.
It is a description or explanation displayed when you click a How? link. The text displays in a box overlayed onto the current topic.
This contains budget data under the control account whose details you have yet to plan into work packages.
An activity that must be completed (or be partially completed) before a specified activity can begin is called a predecessor. The combination of all predecessors and successors relationships among the project activities forms a network. This network can be analyzed to determine the critical path and other project scheduling implications.
This refers specifically to the work schedule activity that determines or establishes when the logical successor activity can begin or end. The predecessor activity is part of the project and is determined by the project management team or the project management team leader.
This pertains to the level of urgency for an item.
This provides an assessment of the likelihood of a risk's occurrence. Examples of the classifications are: Low (<30%), Medium (31-70%), and High (>70%).
A procedure topic provides step-by-step instructions for completing a process or function.
This is a task that you can submit to the Process Server. Processes that are scheduled to run are considered to be in a waiting status until their run date and time.
This is a named waiting list where you can submit processes or profiles. For example, you can create a queue named Report Queue that is dedicated for reports or a queue called First half 2010 where processes that are created within a certain period of time are submitted.
This refers to a Windows service that runs on the server. It allows you to schedule and run processes, which run in the background.
It is a group of processes that you can organize and submit as a single process to a process queue.
Allows you to create a group of jobs that can be organized and submitted as a single job to a process queue. These jobs are likely to be jobs that you run repeatedly or on a regular basis, such as month-end closings and weekly report distributions. Profiles save time and allow you to quickly submit a series of tasks without having to manually select each separate process.
A group of projects. It is managed in the same way as a project, but the output it seeks is derivedfrom the completion of multiple projects.
The partial completion of a project, or a measure of same. Also, the act of entering progress information for a project.
The act of collecting information on work done and revised estimates, updating the plan and reporting the new revised plan.
A temporary endeavor that aims at creating a product or service. It has a definite start and end.
The events, from beginning to end, necessary to complete a project.
This role refers to a user that has read access to all data, but has limited rights to modify the data.
This item documents the risk.
A subset of project management that includes risk identification, risk quantification, risk response development and risk response control in an effort to identify, analyze and respond to project risks.
This workflow action allows you to move existing assignments from one user to another and add assignments for additional assignees for one or more items.
This workflow action allows PM Compass to reject any assignment rows assigned to you for the items you select.
A logical connection between two activities.
Relationship free float is the amount by which the lag on that relationship would have to be increased in order to delay the successor activity. Relationship total float is the amount by which it would have to be increased in order to cause a delay in the completion of the project as a whole (or the violation of a late target).
The time needed to complete the remainder of an activity or project.
This is the day when PM Compass sent the last notification and used it to determine when to deliver the next reminder notice.
Your working area within the Reporting application. It is from this grid that you select reports, set options, select data, create favorites, preview reports, and print reports.
Report settings that determine how information is displayed on a report, which columns are included, and how the data is sorted and grouped.
This field pertains to information on how an item is completed.
The work on an activity related to a specific resource.
The RAM correlates the work required by a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) element to the functional organization responsible for accomplishing the assigned tasks. The responsibility assignment matrix is created by intersecting the CWBS with the program Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS). This intersection identifies the cost account.
This workflow action allows PM Compass to resume the workflow for the suspended items you select.
The probability of an undesirable outcome.
The art and science of identifying and assessing the risk factors during a project and responding to them in the best interests of the project objectives.
This is the individual responsible for ensuring that the risk is appropriately managed and that the mitigation steps are undertaken.
This indicates whether the risk is a current one; if it can no longer arise and affect the project; or if the mitigation steps have significantly reduced the likelihood of the risk.
Cost, Schedule, Technical. This is the classification of the risk and what the risk affects.
This is the estimated quantity for the risk, which can be obtained by multiplying the probability of the occurrence of the negative event by its likely impact on cost.
It defines the type of operations that a user can perform, such as access to certain menu items, tabs within a dialog box, or even elements of a view, such as actual costs.
A schedule is the timetable for a project. It shows how project tasks and milestones are planned out over a period of time.
The start and finish dates calculated by the resource scheduling program, having regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.
This is a record containing settings and options for creating an export file saved by a user for reuse.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is the ratio of earned value to planned value which is used to estimate the projected time to complete the project. Formula is Earned Value / Planned Value.
SPI = Earned / Budget to date. The ratio of work accomplished versus work planned, for a specified time period. The SPI is an efficiency rating for work accomplishment, comparing work accomplished to what should have been accomplished.
SPI hours = Earned hours / Budget to date hours
SV = Earned – Budget to date. The difference between the budgeted cost of work performed and the budgeted cost of work scheduled at any point in time.
SV hours = Earned hours – Budget to date hours
This type of alert does not occur when you start a workflow. It occurs on a scheduled interval based on fields such as the reminder date on the item, which the system compares with the current date.
The date calculated by the resource scheduling program as the earliest date on which an activity can finish, with regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.
The date calculated by the resource scheduling program as the earliest date on which an activity can start, with regard to resource constraints as well as project logic.
This role refers to a super user of Open Plan with limited access to baseline and cost information.
It allows you to maneuver among the fields within the table grids when there are too many fields to fit on the screen. It allows you to view data that may not be initially displayed.
It is a reference field that gathers data from a project, control account, work package, or an activity table and place it in an item. Data from any of these tables can be added to the item form.
SPI = Earned/ Budget to date. SPI stands for Schedule Performance Index. This is the ratio of earned value to planned value which is used to estimate the projected time to complete the project.
SPI hours = Earned hours/ Budget to date hours. SPI hours stands for Schedule Performance Index hours. This is the ratio of earned value hours to planned value hours which is used to estimate the projected time to complete the project.
This field displays the stage or condition of an item type.
When you use start-to-finish, you are saying that the second activity in the relationship can't finish until the first activity starts. However, the second activity can finish any time after the first activity starts
Start-to-start relationships are used when the second activity in the relationship can't begin until after the first activity in the relationship begins. Start-to-start doesn't require that both activities start at the same time. It simply requires that the first activity has begun in order for the second activity to begin.
Detailed description of the tasks needed to accomplish the work in the contract. The SOW will describe the deliverables (products and services) needed to satisfy the completion of the control account (WBS) by the control account manager (or work package manager if at the lower level). The SOW can further be refined to include the deliverables on a particular work package. In Cobra, the SOW is defined in a note on the control account.
This is the date when the progress was changed.
This is the workflow step where the item is currently in.
This is the day when the current step started.
PM Compass uses the terms predecessor and successor to define tasks. The predecessor is the task the successor depends on, and the successor's dates are based on the predecessor's dates.
This defines a task that occurs after a predecessor activity.
This is the item ID where a dash link will go.
This workflow action allows PM Compass to suspend the workflow for the items you select.
The individual assigned access to the Security Roles menu and responsible for establishing security rights for all PM Compass users.
It is a user-defined label for system-wide entities in Deltek PM Compass.
The date planned to finish work on an activity.
The date planned to start work on an activity.
An explicitly defined and independently managed segment of a phase.
It is a word processor that provides the tools necessary for creating and editing simple text documents with the PM Compass application. These documents can be included in various Memo, Comment, Note, Description, and Proposal fields that display throughout PM Compass. It uses many of the same features and commands found in other standard word processors.
PM Compass uses the Title you assign in Item Type Configuration as the default title only for the items that the system generates as part of a workflow or alert process. It does not become the default title for the items you manually create.
A metric computed by dividing the value of the work remaining by the value of the budget or the ETC remaining.
TCPI bac = (Budget at Complete – Earned) / ( Budget – Actual)
TCPI bac hours = (Budget at Complete hours – Earned hours) / ( Budget at Complete hours – Actual hours)
TCPI eac = (Budget at Complete – Earned) / (Earned at Complete – Actual)
TCPI eac hours = (Budget at Complete hours – Earned hours) / (Earned at Complete hours – Actual hours)
This field displays the current total value allocated for each resource over the life of the project. This value is calculated per resource.
Total Float is the difference between the early and late start dates measured in the working periods of the activity calendar. Total float can be either positive or negative. For example, assume a 7-day work week. If an activity has an early start date of July 1 and a late start date of July 10, that activity would have a total float of 9 days. On the other hand, if the activity has an early start date of July 10 and a late start date of July 1, the activity would have a total float of –9 days. If the target date is not set, no floats will be negative. If all activities in a project use the same calendar and if target dates have not been set, there is always at least one path through the project with exactly zero total float. This is known as the critical path.
Units field specify how the result is measured. For example, a unit of measurement might be dollars or hours.
This is where custom fields, custom tabs, and source fields are defined.
This term refers to individuals who are given rights to log on to the application.
VAC = Budget at Complete – Estimate at Complete. The difference between budget at complete and estimate at complete.
VAC hours = Budget at Complete hours – Estimate at Complete hours
VAC % = (VAC / Budget at Complete ) * 100
VAC % hours = (VAC hours / Budget at Complete hours) * 100
The amount of a variance which will require a formal Problem Analysis Report, as agreed to by the contractor and the customer. Variance parameters will differ depending on the function, level, and stage of the project.
It allows you to navigate through the different records in the record list.
The person or business from whom your company acquires the materials and services needed to complete your projects.
It is a utility that that a system administrator uses to connect Deltek PM Compass and report servers to a PM Compass database, and to configure additional account information, such as the account used in submitting reports to the report server.
To authorize the expenditure of effort and budget according to the scope detailed in the SOW. The work authorization communicates between the program manager and the CAM that work has been approved to start for the given control account. The WA will contain the control accounts scope, budget, and period of performance. Also see WAD definition below. In PM Compass, the work authorization is treated as an item type.
A formal document from the project manager to a control account manager identifying scope of work and budget at a control account level. It is used by the control account manager to plan work packages. The scope of work is relatable to the contract either directly or by reference to the WBS dictionary.
A system to control the flow of work to be accomplished on an item, typically a control account. The system ensures that the items contained in the WA are performed at the correct time and in the correct sequence of each other. The system ensures that no work is authorized until the control account (CAM) receives authority to proceed. The system includes work flow (routing) for approval signatures for the WA.
WBS is an inverted-tree hierarchy of the division of all the discrete or finite chunks oftasks (such as hardware, software, and services) and all the work that needs to be accomplished in order to produce an end-deliverable,which is usually a product.
EA
A document that describes each element in the WBS including a Statement of Work (SOW), describing the work content of the WBS element, and a Basis of Estimate (BOE), describing how the budget of the element was developed. Additional information about each WBS element might include the responsible organization, contract number, and so on. The WBS Dictionary will often result in the project or contract statement of work (SOW).
A WP identifies the major tasks, groups of tasks, detailed short-span jobs, and material items (that are identified by the contractor) needed to accomplish the work required to complete the contract. It has a direct connection between the scheduled activities and the related cost data.
A workflow is the relationship of the activities in a project from start to finish. The workflow takes into consideration all types of activity relationships.
This is the in-progress workflow status for the current step of the item.
Zero float is a condition where there is no excess time between activities. An activity with zero float is considered a critical activity. If the duration of any critical activity is increased (the activity slips), the project finish date will slip.