Create a New Plan from Multiple Projects

When you create a new plan from multiple projects, cost amounts and fees in the new plan are the sum of the costs and fees for all selected projects. The plan's start date is the earliest start date of the start dates for the selected projects and the end date for the plan is the latest project end date.

Prerequisites: If the project's WBS includes wildcards, you must select the When Retrieving a Plan Use Wildcards to Match Project option on the General Tab of Planning Configuration to include the wildcards.

To use multiple projects as the basis for a new plan, complete the following steps:

1. From the Vision Navigation menu, click Planning > Project Planning.
2. Click New > New Plan from Existing Project.
3. On the Create Plan from Project dialog box, click to Select Specific Project and use the Project lookup select the projects that will serve as the basis of the new plan.

   When you select more than one project, the term Selected Projects displays in the Project field. Click again to view the list of these projects.

4. In the Plan Name field, enter a name for the new plan.
5. Enter a number in the Plan Number field.
6. From the drop-down list for the Plan Start Date field, select one of these options:

   Option	Description
   Retain Original Start Date	The start date of the project that you are copying becomes this plan's start date.
   Specify Start Date	Enter a date in the corresponding field or click and select a date.

   The Planning Calendar is created based on the start date specified in the Project Info Center or on the Plan Start Date - Specify Start Date dialog box. If the project started prior to today, the yearly calendar columns are created for every year prior to today.

7. From the drop-down list for the Plan Calendar Scale field, select the major/minor time scale for the accordion calendar of the new plan.

   The time scale applies for one year, starting from the current date.

8. From the drop-down list for the Copy down to field, select the option that determines how much of the project's work breakdown structure (WBS) and corresponding detail will be copied to the new plan. Select one of the following options:

   Option	Description
   Copy project only	Select this option to copy the project structure only.
   Copy down to phase	Select this option to copy project structure, including phases.
   Copy down to task	Select this option to copy project structure, including phases and tasks.
   Copy down to labor code	Select this option to copy project structure, including phases, tasks, and labor codes.

9. To control mapping between the plan elements and Info Center records, select one of the following options:

   Option	Description
   Map existing project numbers into the structure of the plan	Select this option to map plan elements to Info Center project, phase, and task records.
   Copy Employees into the Plan	Select this option to maintain mapping between the plan elements and employee records for all resource assignments.
   Copy Generic Resources into the Plan	Select this option to maintain mapping between the plan elements and a generic resource record. When you select this option, you must also select a category table on the Rates tab of Project Planning to set up the mapping for the generic resource. (Rate information is configured on the Rates tab of Planning Configuration.) The generic resources available in Planning are taken from the labor category billing rate tables or the labor code billing rate tables specified in the Billing application. This option is available only if at least one billing rate table record is marked Available for Planning. Vision automatically disables this option if the Generic Method option in Configuration > Planning > Rates is set to Labor Code.
   Copy Actual Hours into Planned Hours	Select this option to have Vision copy the start and end dates for each WBS element into the new plan. You might want to use this option to have actuals serve as the basis for realistic estimates in your new plan. If you use this option and also specify a new start date for the plan in the Plan Start Date field, Vision changes all start and end dates for all WBS elements throughout the plan accordingly.
   Copy Accounts into the Plan	Select this option to maintain mapping between the plan elements as specified on the Teams tab, and account records for all expenses and consultant assignments.
   Copy Other Team Members into the Plan	Select this option to copy team members from the project to the plan.

10. Select options to merge an existing plan with the selected project. This is useful when you have projects that are "in progress" and need to incorporate year-to-date information with an already existing plan structure.

    Option	Description
    Plan Lookup	Click and use the Plan Lookup to select the plan to merge with the project.
    Copy Plan Budget	Select this option to copy the existing plan's budget information into the new plan.

11. Click OK on the Create Plan from Project dialog box.

    Vision creates the new plan based on your settings.

12. Complete the tabs of the Project Planning form.
13. Click Save.