When performing project integrations it is necessary to have a good knowledge of both applications that are involved and, from the very start, create projects that follow the requirements of the integration and the business logic of both applications. To facilitate the work process, IFS Applications offers a solution that gives you feed-back regarding the integration through integration messages. The messages are presented in the Integration Messages window and are of two types; data analysis messages and data exception messages.
The data analysis functionality and integration messages are a part of the integration to external planning tools functionality. Presently this functionality is available for the integration to Primavera Project Management module. Read more about the data analysis and exception messages in the following sections.
The Project Management module of Primavera
is referred to as Primavera and IFS Applications is referred to as IFS in this document.
With IFS Applications Integration Messages functionality, it is possible to run an analysis of the project data before the integration starts. Data analysis messages are the result of running the data analysis functionality. The data analysis can be run as a separate function or as the first step of the integration. The analysis will check for the most fundamental differences in business logic between IFS Applications and the external planning tool. When running the data analysis, no data is actually integrated. Executing the data analysis functionality is a recommended part of the process of integrating data, it will give information about data that may need to be rectified before performing the integration, in order for the integration to be successful.
The integration of data can result in exception messages. The data exception message indicates that an object was not successfully inserted or updated which is often due to that a business rule have been violated. All data, which did not result in exception messages, is integrated. Read more about the integration messages in the sections below.
Integration options:
Critical scenarios:
There are some critical scenarios where data analysis is carried out even if data analysis has not been selected as part of the integration. This means that even if you have selected the option Run Integration, the integration will stop, with integration messages of type Error;
The data analysis can be run as a separate function or as the first step of
the integration. The analysis will check for the most fundamental differences in
business logic between IFS Applications and the external planning tool. The
analysis can result in any number of integration messages, each containing
information about a specific situation where data may need to be rectified in
order to have a successful integration. During the data analysis process, no
data is actually integrated.
The integration messages can be of type Error, Warning or
Information.
Error: The message describes a situation that would result in the data
not being successfully integrated. Project data must be rectified before running
the integration.
Warning: The message describes a situation that may result in loss or
change of data.
Information: This type is for your information only.
The integration message gives a suggestion of where to rectify the problem, specifically in which project, sub project or activity where this correction could take place.
Exception messages are information about exceptions that occurred during an
integration. The data exception message indicates that an object was not
successfully inserted or updated which is often due to that a business rule have
been violated. If exceptions occur during an integration, a message will be
displayed when the integration is completed.
The exception messages can be viewed in the Integration Messages
window. One message will be shown for each object that fails. The columns in
this client will display information about this message and locate the failed
object.
The Application field indicates the application from which the message is
derived. This information is useful when analyzing the reason for the object was
not inserted or updated. The description of the exception message as well as the
value in the Object Type field points out the type of object that was not
inserted or updated. An example of object types are activity or dependencies.
Besides this information, there are columns in the Integration Messages
window that help to specifically locate the object that failed in the project
structure or basic data, when ever this is possible. The fields are; Project
ID, Sub project ID, Activity ID, Activity Sequence Number,
Resource ID and Calendar ID.
Observe that the content and description of the data exception messages is
exactly as it is given from the IFS or the Primavera database and exactly as it
will be displayed in the Integration Messages window. The
information given in a data exception message about a failed object can differ
according to the exception message and the situation. More than one attempt to
insert or update an object that is fails, may result in more than one exception
message.
The following section is a description of situations and requirements where
project data needs to be set up in a certain manner to achieve a successful
integration. For example, if there is a limitation for a certain data type in
Primavera, it may be helpful to consider this limitation when working with the
project in IFS Applications, if the intention is that this project is to be
integrated with Primavera. If the project contains data that does not take some
of the following situations into consideration, executing the project data
analysis functionality will result in integration messages.
The section is divided in two sections; the Integration Requirements and
Recommendations and Integration Quick Reference Guide.
The following tables contain information about the requirements and
recommendations that exist for working with projects in IFS and Primavera, in
order to
achieve a successful integration. When working with one application, it is
important to consider the requirements and limitations of both the integration
and the business logic in the other application.
There are some things to consider when creating a project work breakdown structure (WBS).
Data Type | Comment |
IFS: Sub Project structure Primavera: WBS |
To avoid integration messages, do not
connect activities directly under the project node in Primavera. In Primavera it is allowed to connect activities directly to the project node, whereas IFS requires that activities are connected to a subproject. |
WBS levels | To avoid integration messages, do not
create a sub project structure in IFS where the number of levels exceeds the
maximum allowed in Primavera. In Primavera, It is possible to define the allowed WBS levels to be used in a project to a number between 1-50 levels. There is no limitation in IFS. |
Both IFS and Primavera have requirements that some object IDs must be unique. The following must be considered when creating new objects:
Data Type | Comment |
IFS: Sub Project ID Primavera: WBS code |
To avoid integration messages, create WBS
elements with unique WBS codes in Primavera. In IFS it is required that all sub project identities must be unique for the project, whereas duplicate occurrences are allowed in Primavera. It is not possible to either export to or import from a project that contains duplicate occurrences. |
IFS: Sub Project Description Primavera: WBS Name |
To avoid integration messages,
give sub projects in IFS with the same parent sub project unique sub project
descriptions. Primavera requires that all the WBS elements under one parent WBS element have unique WBS names, whereas duplicated sub project descriptions are allowed in IFS. |
Activity ID | To avoid integration messages, create
activities with unique identities in IFS. Primavera requires that activity ID must be unique for the whole project, whereas in IFS the activity ID is only required to be unique for the specific sub project to which the activity belongs. |
Resource ID | To avoid integration messages,
verify that existing resources and resource nodes in the Primavera resource
structure does not conflict with the identities of the resources that are
exported to Primavera. In Primavera resources are organized in a resource structure that is common for all projects.
|
IFS: Company ID Program ID Primavera: EPS ID |
To avoid integration messages, verify that
existing EPS nodes in the Primavera project enterprise structure does not
conflict with the identity of the IFS project company ID and/or the IFS
program ID. Primavera has a project enterprise structure (EPS) that is used to organize projects in hierarchical structures. The integration requires that a project is located under an EPS node. This structure is common for all projects in Primavera.
|
Data Type | Comment |
Lowercase letters | To avoid integration messages, create new
object identities in Primavera using uppercase letters. In Primavera object identities may contain both upper and lowercase letters whereas IFS requires that identities are uppercase. The recommendation is to always use uppercase letters for object identities. The integration can however handle lowercase letters for sub project ID, activity ID, and resource ID. On import, the ID will be converted to uppercase letters in IFS. The ID in Primavera will remain lowercase when the object is exported. |
The allowed ID length for a certain object can differ between IFS and Primavera.
Data Type | Comment |
ID lengths | To avoid getting integration messages, it is
recommended to keep ID lengths to maximum 10 characters in Primavera. In Primavera it is possible to configure ID lengths to contain between 1-20 characters whereas IFS requires that most ID lengths are maximum 10 characters. (Refer to the Admin Preferences in Primavera view or reconfigure ID lengths). The following is a table containing the allowed ID lengths in IFS and Primavera. |
IFS ID Length | Primavera ID Length | ||
Company ID | 10 | EPS ID | 20 (1-20) |
Program ID | 10 | EPS ID | 20 (1-20) |
Project ID | 10 | Project ID (Parent WBS code) | 20 (1-20) |
Sub Project ID | 10 | WBS Code | 20 (1-20) |
Activity ID | 10 | Activity ID | 20 (1-20) |
Activity Class ID | 45 | Activity Code | 20 (1-40) |
Activity Class Value | 20 | Activity Code Value | 20 (1-60) |
Activity Responsible (Person ID) | 20 | IFS Activity Responsible (UDF) | 255 |
Resource ID | 10 | Resource ID | 20 (1-20) |
Manager (Person ID) | 20 | OBS Name (Person responsible) | 100 |
The allowed description length for a certain object can differ between IFS and Primavera.
Data Type | Comment |
Description lengths | To avoid integration messages, keep
description lengths within the maximum characters allowed in both Primavera and
IFS. Sub project descriptions in IFS must be kept within maximum 100
characters. If a description length exceeds the maximum allowed characters, it will get truncated. There are one exception to this rule:
|
IFS Description Length | Primavera Description Length | ||
Company Name | 100 | EPS Name | 100 |
Program Description | 2000 | EPS Name | 100 |
Project Description | 2000 | IFS Project Description (UDF) | 255 |
Sub Project | 255 | WBS Name | 100 |
Activity Description | 200 | Activity Name | 120 |
Activity Class Description | 100 | Activity Code Description | 255 |
Resource Description | 35 | Resource Name | 100 |
It is possible to configure the maximum allowed characters for Resource ID and Activity Description in IFS system definition. (IFS Attribute definition fields are found in: Application Base Setup/System Setup/System LU Values or Application Services/Manager/System Definition)
Data Type | Comment |
IFS Attribute Definition fields | To avoid integration messages, keep Resource ID length and Activity description length in Primavera within the allowed number of characters that are defined in IFS attribute field. |
IFS Object | IFS Length | IFS Attribute Definition Length |
Resource ID | 10 | 1-10 |
Activity Description | 200 | 1-200 |
IFS and Primavera have different requirements when it comes to progress for activities with actual start dates.
Data Type | Comment |
IFS Activity Actual Finish Date with 0% Progress | To avoid integration messages of type
Warning, make sure that IFS activities with actual finish dates have at
least 1% progress. In IFS an activity can manually be given actual finish dates or automatically when the activity status is changed to Complete. The activity’s progress can range from 0-100%. Primavera requires that an activity with an actual finish date, have 1-100% progress. When exporting an IFS activity with actual finish dates and 0% progress, the integration will send 100% progress to Primavera. |
Data Type | Comment |
Resource ID | To avoid integration messages, when
importing new resources to IFS, make sure that resource details such as cost
element and calendar for the resource company have been defined in
Integrations Basic Data/Resource Setup tab. In IFS, a value for Cost Element and Resource Calendar is required when creating a new resource. |
Resource Assignment | To avoid integration
messages, do not assign a resource more than once to an activity in
Primavera. Primavera supports assigning the same resource to an activity multiple times whereas it is not allowed in IFS. |
Resource Assignment - Milestone Activity | To avoid integration messages, do not assign a
resource to a milestone activity in IFS. In IFS it is allowed to assign a resource to a milestone activity whereas it is not allowed in Primavera. |
IFS and Primavera have different requirements when it comes to creating an activity network with dependencies and constraints.
Data Type | Comment |
Creating activity network with activity
milestones and dependencies. IFS: Dependencies Primavera: Relationships |
To avoid errors, when creating an
activity network in IFS that includes activity milestones, consider the
requirements regarding activity milestones and
dependencies, based on the business logic in Primavera. It is important to
understand both what milestone type the exported IFS milestone activity will
receive in Primavera, as well as the constraint and dependency types that
are allowed for that milestone type in Primavera. MilestonesIn IFS, there is only one type of milestone activity whereas in Primavera, there are two types of milestone activities – Start milestones and Finish milestones.If the IFS activity is an activity milestone, and it is exported:
Creating Dependencies with Milestone Activities
In IFS, a milestone activity is possible to link to any type of dependency
whereas in Primavera only certain dependency types are allowed depending on the
milestone type (start or finish milestone). Example: If the activity is a Start Milestone, and if it is a successor, the only valid dependency types that can link to its predecessors are FS and SS. Constraints and Milestone ActivitiesFor a milestone activity, the milestone type will determine the constraint type allowed to impose on that milestone activity in Primavera. For example, the constraint Start on Or After is allowed to be imposed on a Start Milestone but not on a Finish Milestone in Primavera.Note: Be aware of the milestone type in Primavera when deciding the constraint and the dependencies linked to the milestone. Please refer to guidelines and documentation provided by Primavera for information about Primavera specific functionality. |
The following tables contain information about the requirements and recommendations that exist for working with projects in IFS and Primavera, to achieve a successful integration. This is a quick reference guide that could be used as a check list when working with your projects. To get more detailed information, go to Integration Requirements and Recommendations. For specific information about the field mapping in IFS and Primavera, go to Integration to Primavera Project Management.
Working in IFS - Exporting Project Data to Primavera | |
Company | Verify that existing EPS nodes in the Primavera project enterprise structure does not conflict with the identity of the IFS Project Company ID. The EPS node must be unique. |
Program | Verify that existing EPS nodes in the Primavera project enterprise structure does not conflict with the identity of the IFS Program ID. The EPS node must be unique. |
Project | |
Sub Project Structure | Do not create a sub project structure in IFS where the
number of levels exceeds the maximum allowed in Primavera (maximum 50). |
Sub Project | Give sub projects in IFS with the same parent sub
project, unique sub project descriptions. |
Keep sub project description lengths to maximum 100
characters. |
|
Activity | Create activities with unique identities for the entire project. |
An activity with actual finish with 0% progress will receive 100% progress in Primavera if exported. | |
Activity Milestones | Observe that an IFS activity milestone will receive the value start milestone or finish milestone in Primavera. Depending on the activity milestone type (start milestone or finish milestone), certain constraints and dependency types are allowed for that milestone in Primavera. |
Do not assign a resource to a milestone activity | |
Resources | Verify that existing resources and resource nodes in Primavera resource structure does not conflict with the identities of the resources that is intended to be exported to Primavera. The Resource ID must be unique. |
Dependencies | Be aware of the requirements that exist for what dependency types are allowed to link an activity milestone to. |
Constraints | The constraints exported are: Start not earlier than (Primavera field: start on or after) End not later than (Primavera field: finish on or before.) |
General - ID | Create object identities with an ID length less than the maximum allowed in both applications. |
General - Description Lengths | Check allowed description lengths for each object in the Object Description length table. |
Working in Primavera - Importing Project Data to IFS | |
Company | - |
Program | - |
Project | Do not connect activities directly under the Project note, instead connect them to a WBS element. |
WBS | - |
WBS element | Create WBS elements with unique WBS codes. |
Activity | - |
Activity Milestones | - |
Resources | When importing new resources to IFS, verify that a cost element and a default calendar for the resource company, have been defined in the Integrations Basic Data/Resource Setup tab. |
Resource Assignments | Do not assign a resource more than once to an activity |
Dependencies | - |
Constraints | The Primavera constraint types that are imported to IFS are: Start on or after (IFS field: Start not earlier than). Finish on or before (IFS field: End not later than). |
General - ID | Create identities in Primavera, using upper case letters. |
Keep ID lengths to a maximum 10 characters. Check ID length for each object in the Object ID length table and also IFS Attribute definition fields. | |
General - Description Lengths | Check allowed description lengths for each object in the Object Description length table. |