Combining Projects, Phases, or Tasks that have Mapped Plans

When a plan is associated with a project, the key conversion is more complex because the data conversion may also impact the plan data, work breakdown structure, and mapping.

The types of plans that may be mapped to a project, phase, or task include:

• Vision plans (if you are using the Vision Resource Planning module)
• iAccess for Vision plans (if you are using the iAccess for Vision application)
• A combination of both Vision and iAccess for Vision plans

There are some basic requirements that you must take into consideration when combining projects, phases, and/or tasks with associated plans. For purposes of explanation, the records will be referred to as follows:

• From record: This is the record that will be combined into the To record.
• To record: This is the record that the From record is combined into.

Prerequisites Before You Can Combine Projects, Phases, or Tasks

The following prerequisites must be met before you can combine projects, phases, or tasks using the Key Conversions utility. The WBS elements must:

• Belong to the same company and have the same charge types.
• Be of "like" kind. For example, you can only combine phases into phases or tasks into tasks, or a project with a two-level WBS into another project with a two-level WBS.
• Have their plans checked in. All of the plans for the projects that are being combined must be checked in before you can proceed with a key conversion. Plans are automatically checked out to you when you run a key conversion.
• Have their plan changes published. If the project, phase, or task has an iAccess for Vision plan, all changes for that plan must be published.
• Have matching currencies. If you are using the Multicurrency feature, the project currency on the two projects must match, and the billing currency on the two projects must match.

If any of these prerequisites are not met, Vision will provide an error message to alert you of the issue.

Combining Projects, Phases, and/or Tasks

The way that the projects, phases, and/or tasks are combined depends on how the From and To projects are configured and the types of plans that are in use. Refer to the following scenarios for general examples.

Phases and Tasks When the Project(s) Has a Vision Plan

• Combine phases and/or tasks from the same project when the project has a Vision plan: The From record's plan information merges into the To record's plan information.
• Combine phases and/or tasks from different projects with a Vision plan: The phase or task in the From project is removed from the project's record in the Project Info Center and is unmapped from the original plan. If the To record also has a Vision plan, the records are not automatically added to the plan. You must manually add the phase or task to the To record.

Phases and Tasks When the Project(s) Has an iAccess for Vision Plan

• Combine phases and/or tasks from the same project when the project has an iAccess for Vision plan: The From record's plan information is merged into the To record's plan information.
• Combine phases and/or tasks from different projects with an iAccess for Vision plan: Because iAccess for Vision plans display the current WBS IDs that are assigned to the project's record in the Project Info Center, the iAccess for Vision plans will automatically reflect any updates that are made to the record.

Combining Projects, Phases, and Tasks Where the Plan Types are Different

• From project has an iAccess for Vision plan and the To project has a Vision plan: Vision displays a message asking you to confirm the conversion of the From project's iAccess for Vision plan to a Vision plan. Click Yes to convert the iAccess for Vision plan to a Vision plan. This will also remap the plan to the To project but will not merge the Vision plans. To merge the plans, you must convert the To project's Vision plan to an iAccess for Vision plan. Use the Convert button on the Planning tab in the iAccess for Vision Project Management workspace to convert the project's Vision plan to an iAccess for Vision plan. Then use the Key Convert utility in Vision to combine the projects.
• From project has a Vision plan and the To project has an iAccess for Vision plan: Vision displays an error message that indicates that you must use the Convert button on the Planning tab in the iAccess for Vision Project Management workspace to convert the project's Vision plan to an iAccess for Vision plan. Then use the Key Convert utility in Vision to combine the projects and plans.

What Happens After You Combine Data?

When you combine project numbers, Vision:

• Combines budgets and data in the project financials tables.
• Deletes the From project's billing terms and invoice detail (you cannot reprint old invoices).
• Updates the accounts receivable paid period to the most recent period.

When you combine phase or task numbers, Vision:

• Combines budgets and data in the project financials tables.
• Deletes the From project's billing terms and invoice data (if this is the last phase or task for a project).

For more information, see the appropriate procedural topics in the online help.