Project System

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Project System (PS) helps you to plan, manage, control, and track the costs of R&D projects, marketing projects, software projects, made-to-order products, and so on. The common tasks revolve around allocation of people, resources, and money within the framework of schedule and task relationships.

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Accessing Project System

You can access Project System from two different menu paths: Logistics, Project Management or Accounting, Project Management.

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Help on Project System

In the help library, PS is part of CO. For help on Project System, choose Help, Help Library, Controlling, and then scroll down to Project System.

You break your project into logical subdivisions and represent it in a work breakdown structure (WBS). You can then divide the WBS by phases, assemblies, subsystems, or whatever makes sense for your specific project (see Figure C.7).

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Work Breakdown Structure

A development step designed to assist you in working out task lists, relationships, costs, and so on. The WBS will evolve and become more detailed as your project progresses.

Figure C.7. A sample WBS for a new aircraft.

The flow chart in Figure C.8 illustrates one way you could use PS to plan, execute, and control a project.

Figure C.8. A typical sequence for executing a project.

This list summarizes some advantages of using PS:

Throughout the project phases, actual (as opposed to planned) costs and dates are fed back into the model. A Project Information System is available for tracking results to date. (You can also track project costing in various ways.)
You can use the SAP R/3 Documentation Management System to track project documentation (document owner, location, and so on).
Both capacity planning and cost planning are available in PS.
Availability can be confirmed on Materials and on Production Resources and Tools.
PS can control and track work assigned to outside resources.
You can do loop analysis on your task networks with PS.

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Loop

A sequence of tasks in which you can follow the prerequisites back and end up having a future task as a prerequisite for a past one. PS will help you exorcise these demons if they sneak into your project plan.

The main document elements involved in PS are the Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart , Network Diagram, Activities (tasks), and Bill of Materials. When you use PS, you can make postings to CO, confirm materials through MM, and verify production resources and tools with PP.

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Gantt Chart

Lists tasks down the left side, ordered by start date. The bottom of the chart lists the weeks or months. Horizontal bars represent the length of each task.

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Exchanging Project Data

You can exchange SAP R/3 project data with Microsoft Project by using the .mpx format. If you are in the middle of a project and decide to change project management tools, you can move your data into the new environment.

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