Thresholds Tab of the Projects Form

Use the Thresholds tab to:

• Define the threshold properties for the Explanation of Variances (EoV):

• Indicate where the thresholds are stored.

• Indicate if and when the Explanation of Variances are created automatically.

• Set up criteria for color coding the cost analysis and Project List views:

• Identify the control accounts and work packages that are not performing as planned.

For more information, refer to the "Thresholds Explained" topic.

Toolbar

All tabs in the Projects Form View share a common toolbar.

Explain Variance Workflow Configuration

Use this group box to configure thresholds for Explain Variance workflow types.

After you have set thresholds, use the Scheduling tab in Workflow Type Configuration to schedule the automatic creation of Explanation of Variances. See Automatically Create Explanation of Variances for more information.

Location of Threshold Criteria

Select the code file containing the thresholds used to compare against variances on the project to determine if variance narratives are required for a particular control account. 

This field is only enabled for PM Compass projects that exist in Cobra. You can select one of the three control account key fields (CA1 - CA3) or one of the nine control account codes (C1 - C9).

Generate an Explain Variance Workflow When Variances Exceed Thresholds

If you are using a version of Cobra prior to 8.5, this option is visible. Otherwise, the And/Or field in Cobra, located on the Thresholds tab of the code file, is used.  

If you are using an older version of Cobra, select an option to indicate if the value and/or percentage for a metric have been exceeded or not in determining if a variance narrative is required.

The following options are available:

• OR - Value or Percentage: Select this option to require a variance narrative if either the number value or the percentage value has exceeded the threshold. This is the default value.

• AND - Value and Percentage: Select this option to require a variance narrative if both the number value and the percentage value have exceeded the threshold.

For example, is the current period cost variance highlighted when only the value thresholds are exceeded, or is it highlighted when both the value AND percentage variance threshold are exceeded?

When creating Explain Variance workflows automatically or manually, PM Compass uses the value stored at the code to determine if an And or Or is used to evaluate a threshold exception.

For more information on threshold logic, refer to the "Thresholds Tab of the Code View" and "Using Threshold Logic" topics in the Cobra Help System.

Create Explain Variance Workflows in Hours for Control Accounts with Budgeted Hours

EoV items are only created when they exceed the threshold. When you select this option, and the EoV exceeds a threshold, the EoV items are created in hours (and not in dollars) for control accounts with budgeted hours. This is determined by the contents of the BAC_HOURS control account field.

When you select this option, the values stored in the thresholds must also be in hours.

• If the BAC_Hours field is zero: The Number of Days After the Status Date When Workflows are Created field is used to determine if today is the correct day to create the Explanation of Variance for this control account.

• If the BAC_Hours field is greater than zero: The Number of Days After the Status Date When Workflows in Hours are Created field is used to determine if today is the correct day to create the Explanation of Variance for this control account. This allows you more time to enter an explanation for labor workflows.

Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows

Select this option to automatically schedule EoV's for this project. This setting is used in conjunction with the Scheduling tab in Workflow Type Configuration. This field is not selected by default.

See Automatically Create Explanation of Variances for more information.

• Run Now: When you click this button, PM Compass sends a request to the process server to create Explanation of Variance workflows for the selected project. The workflow type created depends on your selection in the Create Workflow Type field. When you click Run Now, PM Compass automatically performs a save so that the correct workflow type is in the database.

Typically, you auto-create Explanation of Variance workflows by accessing Workflow Type Configuration, selecting the Scheduling tab, and creating a recurring scheduled process that runs every night. If you want to create workflows for a single project right away, click Run Now.

This button is only enabled when you select Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows and you select a workflow type in the Create Workflow Type field. This button is not visible when you select a master project.

• View Status: Click to display the Process Queue dialog box where you can view the status of all processes and check the termination message.  

This button is only enabled when you select Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows, and you select a workflow type in the Create Workflow Type field. This button is not visible when you select a master project.

• Create Workflow Type: Select the workflow type that you want PM Compass to create when the scheduled process to auto-create EoV's runs, and the threshold is exceeded. This is useful when you want to use a different workflow for a project. For example, some projects may need PCA and PM approval whereas others do not need any approval and are only used to document issues. This field is enabled and required when you select the Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows option. The default is Explanation of Variance.

• You use the Number of days after... fields to allow time to confirm that all the data is in the system (that is, actual costs and status are loaded, and earned value and forecast is calculated) before the evaluation of thresholds is performed. After these tasks have been accomplished in the cost system, PM Compass is ready to determine if an Explanation of Variance needs to be created. Use these fields to specify the number of calendar days after the status date.

• Number of Days After the Status Date When Workflows are Created: This number indicates the number of days after the status date that the system will generate the schedule EoV's. Enter a number from 0 to 31 to add to the period end date. This field is enabled when you select the Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows option.

• Number of Days After the Status Date When Workflows in Hours are Created: This number indicates the number of days after the status date that the system will generate the hours EoV's. Enter a number from 1 to 31 to add to the period end date. This field is enabled when you select both the Automatically Create Explain Variance Workflows and Create Explain Variance Workflows in Hours for Control Accounts with Budgeted Hours options.

Note: This option indicates the number of days after the status date, not the period end date.

Example: If the Status Date is December 31, 2017, and you enter 10 in the field, PM Compass creates EoVs on January 10, 2018 for control accounts that have metrics that exceeded the thresholds. If January 10 is a non-working day, it moves to the next working day. Typically, you schedule this process to run every evening.  When the process executes, it checks to see if today is after Jan 10,2018. If it is, the process checks to see if the threshold has been exceeded. If it has, the process checks to see if there is already a workflow for the particular control account in this status period that is not canceled. If there is not already a workflow, it creates a new workflow. Using this daily scheduled alert, a CAM can cancel a workflow that was generated incorrectly (for example, the actual costs were not yet posted). The next evening, if the threshold has still been exceeded, the process generates a new workflow for that control account in that period. This is different than progress entries that are only created that one day that the criteria are met.

For more information, refer to the "Rolling Wave Calendars and Monthly EoV's" topic if you use a rolling wave calendar.

Use Color Banding

Select this field to enable the cost analysis Color Banding Ranges group box options.

For more information, refer to the "Thresholds and Color Banding Explained" topic.

Cost Analysis Color Banding Ranges Group Box

This group box allows you to set the color banding scheme to indicate how metrics in cost analysis, cost progress, and the project list views should be colored to ascertain whether a project or control account is doing well or having a problem.

The Cost Analysis and Enter Cost Progress views highlight variances using the following color codes:

• Red: Unsatisfactory

• Yellow: Marginal

• Green: Good

• Blue: Excellent

The following fields listed in the Cost Analysis Color Banding Ranges group box indicate the metric values for those and related fields will correspond to colors when the metrics are displayed:

• SV: Color band ranges set for Schedule Variance, Schedule Variance Percent (SV %), Schedule Variance Hours (SV Hours), and Schedule Variance Hours Percent (SV Hours %)  

• CV: Color band ranges set for Cost Variance, Cost Variance Percent (CV %), Cost Variance Hours (CV Hours), and Cost Variance Hours Percent (CV Hours %)

• CPI: Color band ranges set for Cost Performance Index

• SPI: Color band ranges set for Schedule Performance Index

• VAC: Color band ranges set for Variance at Completion, Variance at Completion Percent (VAC %), Variance at Completion Hours (VAC Hours), and Variance at Completion Hours Percent (VAC Hours %)  

Color Band Range Labels

Percent (%) will automatically be added to values entered for SV, CV, and VAC. All values entered for these elements will also be formatted to two decimal places. For example, when you enter -10, the value will automatically be changed to -10.00%.  

For more information, refer to the "Variance Formulas" topic.

What do you want to do?

Set up project-level thresholds

Find control accounts or work packages that are not progressing according to plan

Set up a project for explain variance

Schedule the creation of Explanation of Variances

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