Activity Connections

Different types of objects can be connected to an activity, for example Tasks, Work Orders, Purchase Requisition Lines, Purchase Order Lines, Shop Orders, DOP Headers etc. The connected objects report cost, hours, revenue and progress information to the activity. The type of information reported depends on the connected object as described in About Cost, Hours and Revenue Reported to Activity.

Project Navigator/Connections tab displays the connection between the selected activity and other objects in IFS Applications. The same information is also displayed in Activity/Connections tab. The information about the connected object could include for example, object type, description, status, progress, earned value as well as estimated, planned, baseline, planned committed, committed, used and actual values for both cost and hours. Revenue information for planned, preliminary, posted and actual can also be included for the connected object. Select a connected object from the table, and click on the Object Details menu option to go to the main window of the object.

The cost and revenue values will always be reported from the connected objects in base and transaction currency. If multi-currency and/or project currency have been enabled for Budgeting and Forecasting purposes for the project, then cost and revenue will also be reported in base currency using the fixed Budgeting and Forecasting rate and/or the project currency. The values are displayed in base currency in all windows where cost and revenue are available, while the other currencies are displayed only in the Connections tabs.

Types of Connections

There are two types of activity connections: manual connections and system connections. Manual connections are created by using the Connect/Disconnect Object menu option in Project Navigator/Connections, or by manually connecting the object to the activity using the Project Connection/Connect to Activity menu option on the object itself.

System connections will occur in following situations:

• When objects are created and connected directly from the project, such as a Project Miscellaneous Demand or Task created on the activity.
• When objects already connected to the activity create new objects, such as a miscellaneous demand creating a Purchase Requisition line, a Work Order creating a Purchase Order, or a Purchase Requisition line creating a Purchase Order.
• When transactions are posted with the project ID and activity sequence number, such as the transaction when registering time IFS/Project Reporting or the manual voucher row when creating a manual voucher posted with the project.

The System Connection check box indicates the type of connection for an object. Some object types can be connected both manually and by the system. Only manual connections are removable in the Connect/Disconnect Object dialog or from the object itself.

IFS Business Analytics can be used to create and analyze information based on the activity connection data available in IFS Applications. For more information refer About Information Sources in IFS Business Analytics.

Objects that can be connected to Activities

The object types that can be connected to an activity are as follows:

Workflow

Creating: You can create an object connection either in Project Navigator/Connections or in the window for the object you want to connect. i.e., to connect an activity to a document package in IFS/Document Management, you can do so in the Project Navigator/Connections tab or in the Document Package window by the Connect to Activity menu option and selecting the required activity. Although it is recommended that you connect the object to an activity from the main window of the object, this can only be done if the particular object type is allowed for manual connections in the Project/Manual Connections tab. An object can have only one activity connected.

The Connect/Disconnect Object dialog box with the objects that are allowed for manual connections will open when you create an object connection in the Project Navigator/Connections tab. After selecting the required object from the available tabs click OK to save the changes and close the dialog box. The objects are from components that are allowed for manual connection with the project. When an object is selected the Description, Progress, and Status fields are updated with the next save. The values of these fields are retrieved from the object itself.

Modifying: Activity connections cannot be modified.

Removing: Only manual connections are removable. This can be done in the Project Navigator/Connections tab by using the Connect/Disconnect Object menu option or by using the Project Connection/Disconnect from Activity menu option from the object itself.

Refresh Project Connections: In case there is a need to update the cost/revenue element on a project connection (e.g. if it has an incorrect cost/revenue element due to incorrect posting control), it is possible to run the Refresh Project Connections menu option found in the Project Connections window. This will allow you to refresh the connections for a given company, project and or object type and will update the cost/revenue element on the relevant connections based on the current basic data. This function is also used to update cost/revenue elements in case the code part used as Base for cost/revenue Elements has been changed (for more information on the process for changing the Base, please see the Release Notes).

NOTE: Refreshing connections can be a heavy process (depending on data volumes) and should typically be scheduled to be run outside normal working hours, e.g. over a weekend.