Cobra Integration Wizard Configuration File Settings for a Change Request

This topic outlines the Cobra configuration file settings for a Change Request. These settings ensure that Change Request costs are correctly imported into Cobra. The configuration file is set up using the Cobra Integration Wizard.

To see the required integration file settings for an Excel spreadsheet import, see Step 3: Configure an Import File Integration Configuration in Cobra and review the other Microsoft Excel Integration topics for additional requirements.

Part of the change request process is using Cobra's Integration Wizard, called through the API and web services, to load data from the Open Plan schedule into Cobra. Some of the settings are defined in the wizard and some are overwritten based on options you select on the Change Details on Form tab in Workflow Type Configuration. This allows you to configure options such as how your project is linked to the schedule as well as your change control options. These configurations are set in Workflow Type Configuration for each change request type.

Cobra Process Logs

When a process such as the Integration Wizard is run, Cobra writes error and warning messages to a log. You can view the log from the change request Links tab.

This feature is only enabled if Cobra is configured to write process logs to a file. See Configure Cobra to Write Process Logs to a File for steps on setting this up and for information about the file name.

Warning

If you secure an option in Cobra preferences (Cobra » Project Information » Preferences tab » Integration Wizard), the setting in the Cobra Integration Wizard configuration is ignored.

• If the preference is secured, the secured preference is always used. That is, it overrides the configuration settings.

• If the preference is not secured, then the value saved in the configuration file is used. A preference sets the default value in the integration wizard, but if it is unsecured, you can change it in the wizard and save an alternative value.

To set up the integration file for the change request process using the Cobra Integration Wizard, complete the following steps:

1. In Cobra, click the Integration tab.

2. In the Import group, click the project to which you are integrating (Open Plan or MS Project).

3. On the Integration Configuration page, in the Where are you loading the data from? drop-down list, select the product to which you are integrating (Open Plan, Microsoft Project, or Microsoft Project Server.

   

4. On the Action Selection page, under the Project Data heading, select:

   • Control Account and Work Package

   • Resource Assignments

   • Code Assignments — You can select this option if your project is linked to code assignments.

   

5. On the Project Selection page, PM Compass overrides the Schedule Project and Cobra Project fields based on the project selected in the change request. You need to select a project that uses the same field mappings with the schedule as the one you intend to select in the change request. All projects with the same field configuration and schedule mapping can use a single change request type; however, if you have some projects with different configurations (for example, some have three key fields and some have two key fields), you will need to create separate integration files and change request types for each project configuration and schedule mapping.

   

6. The settings on the Date Selection page are overridden to match what is defined in Workflow Type Configuration. You should select to load both budget and forecast as well as Baseline Dates so that the remainder of the Integration Wizard pages allow you to select the proper fields.

   

7. Use the Schedule Mapping page to link your project to the schedule based on your configuration settings.

   

8. On the Earned Value page, select your preferred settings for how the earned value technique will be created.

   

9. On the Resource Assignments page, select the following settings:

• For a Budget Change request, select Budget Group Box — Load budget class from field: Cost Class (Assignment)

• For a Forecast Change Request, select Forecast Group Box — Add to existing forecast

Exception

If a Budget Change Request has the Update the Forecast with the Budget Change option on the Change Details on Form tab of Workflow Type Configuration selected, you must select the following settings:

• Forecast Group Box

• Add to existing forecast

• Load all forecast into default class

If, during your integration process, you get the following error: [Warning]Invalid Budget Class 'Forecast' for [Control Account] / [Work Package ID] / [Activity ID], you have selected Load all forecast into default class instead of Load forecast class from field:.

If the forecast or budget values are higher than expected, confirm that you have selected A Replacement of Existing Time Phased Data on the Change Details on form page, or enter adjusting budget or forecast entries.

10. On the Change Control page, select the settings that suit your setup.

    Selecting the following options will apply all changes in the Change Details view to the live Cobra project:

    • Force existing Work Package baseline dates to match the schedule

    • Update Control Account dates to span Work Package dates exactly

    • Update the description for existing Control Accounts and Work Packages

    

    If you select Apply historical <budget/forecast> changes as an adjusting entry in the current status period, an adjusting entry may be performed in the current period. See Complete a Change When the Calendar Has Been Advanced for more information.

If you are editing in-progress work packages, make sure you have the Cobra Allow changes to scope for an in-progress Control Account/Work Package option selected. You can find this option in Cobra when you select Project on the Preferences Tab of the Project Information dialog box.

11. Complete the Integration Wizard, saving your configuration.

12. In PM Compass, enter the configuration file name in the Schedule Integration Configuration field on the Change Details on Form tab of Workflow Type Configuration.

    When the scheduler approves a change request, the Cost System Process step action starts the schedule integration process. The process runs Cobra's API which calls the Integration Wizard using the file selected in the Schedule Integration Configuration.

Confirm the Configuration Setup

To confirm the configuration is setup correctly, complete the following steps:

1. Create a workflow and select your project.

2. In the Change Details view, make at least one schedule change.

3. After approving the change request in the Open Plan add-in, click Tools » Process Logs and make the following selections:

   • Project — The project selected in the change request

   • Process — Integration Project Data

   • Check Show All Users

   • Click the Start column to sort the processes so that the most recent is at the top

4. Open the process log and confirm that your change was loaded.

5. Cancel the change request you just created to delete all temporary data and not affect the live projects.

What do you want to do?

Make Cobra projects visible in PM Compass

View the Cobra Process log

Learn about the change management process

Run a Cobra report on a change request

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