Source fields are some of the most powerful fields in Deltek's PM Compass because they allow you to display and update information found in a source system, such as Cobra, Open Plan, or Microsoft Project.
The source fields on the Fields on Form tab of the Workflow Type Configuration form are the ones that you can post back and forth between PM Compass and the source system. You can update the data directly depending on the setting used in the update method on the Workflow Type Configuration form. You do not need to use the Import/Export features of PM Compass.
If you are using systems that PM Compass does not directly support, (that is, the source systems use different databases, for example, Primavera), use the Import/Export features to get data to and from PM Compass. In this case, you cannot post the information right away unless you perform an export to reflect the update back to the source system.
All of the default workflow forms display the project description after you select a project. The Project field is a standard field and has a search to allow you to select from the list of projects for which you have access. The project description is a source field that retrieves the information from the source system and displayed on the workflow form.
In addition to descriptions, codes, dates, and even notes found in the source system can also display on the workflow form. You can add project level codes, control account level codes, and work package level codes. If the source field is editable, you can update the information on the workflow form. Using the Update Source step action in the last step of the workflow instructs PM Compass to copy the information from the workflow form to the source system.
If the Open Plan database is integrated with the PM Compass database, Update Source should post the data back to the Open Plan source tables.
For Microsoft Project, you should perform the export process before the information reflects in the source systems.
A source field can be made editable in the workflow form if the field contains manually entered data without any validation and is located on the control account or work package table.
For example, a User-Text field or a Control Account Description field can be made editable. A code field with a lookup, the Baseline Start, or Budget at Complete, cannot be made editable in the workflow form in order to maintain the integrity of the data in the source system.
If a source field on the workflow form is editable, you can update the information on the Workflow form. The Update Source step action in the final step of the workflow instructs PM Compass to copy the information from the workflow form to the source system.
Adding a source field to a form is a multi-step process. See Process for Adding Fields to a Form for detailed information.
If there are editable source fields on the workflow form and you click the Refresh button, a message displays asking you whether or not to update the editable source fields. If you make any changes to the editable source field in PM Compass, clicking Yes eliminates the changes made to PM Compass and updates all source fields (both editable and non-editable)
The non-editable source fields and the current budget columns of the Change Details grid are updated from the live project. In addition, project level editable source fields are always updated from the live project.
The editable source fields and the proposed budget columns on the Change Details grid are updated from the sandbox if the sandbox project exists.
Clicking No, X, or the Close button does not update the values in the fields.
If the workflow is set to use the Automatic Update method, source fields are non-editable and the data always come from the live project when loading the form.
When a workflow supports multiple control accounts, two different workflow forms are used for the parent and child workflow. The parent workflow should only contain project level source fields. Any source field specific to a control account should be on the child workflow so that you can see which control account the editable source field is referencing. Similarly, editable project level source fields on a child workflow are not written back to the project.
The work package source fields can only be added to the workflow form if you modify the form to include a work package lookup. The editing of work package source fields is not currently supported.
There are two ways that the Budget Details grid is updated. You can click the Refresh button on the form to update the grid. It is also updated when the Update Source workflow step action occurs on the final step of the workflow.
Source fields that are identified as user fields on the User-Field Mapping form can be used in the workflow.
The Control Account Manager and Work Package Manager do not need to be listed as a source because they are an integral parts of the product. They are displayed on the User Field Mapping form so you can provide a label for these fields. If you have defined other user fields in the source system on the project, control account, or an activity, you need to add those fields as a source field on the User-Defined Data form. You then identify them as user fields in User Field Mapping. As a result, you see these fields in the Assigned To field in the Workflow grid of Workflow Type Configuration.
When you add fields to User Defined Data (Area = Schedule), they are moved to the activity table in Open Plan in a process called unrotating the fields. Open Plan stores all of the codes and user characters in a separate table from the activity table. When these fields are populated on the majority of activities, this causes performance problems.
To improve performance, PM Compass unrotates the codes when you click Save in User-Defined Data. If there are a 1000 or less activities in the database, PM Compass unrotates the fields automatically. If there are more than 1000 activities, PM Compass creates and emails you a script to be run by your database administrator. Although you can save the fields in User Defined Data, you will not be able to use these fields until the script has been run.
Adding and removing fields on a form
Add a source field to a workflow form
Add a source field to a workflow table
Identify a source field as a user field in User Field Mapping
Customize form elements using the Form Designer