project advanced_ax2012.pdf

COURSE: 80317

PROJECT ADVANCED IN MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX 2012

Microsoft Official Training Materials for Microsoft Dynamics

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Last Revision: August 2011 This courseware is provided as-is. Information and views expressed in this courseware, including URL and other Internet Web site references, may change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the examples depicted herein are provided for illustration only and are fictitious. No real association or connection is intended or should be inferred. This courseware does not provide you with any legal rights to any intellectual property in any Microsoft product. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this courseware may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation. Copyright 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft SQL Server data management software and Microsoft Dynamics AX are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. This course content is designed for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.



Table of Contents

i

Introduction 0-1Welcome ............................................................................................................ 0-1Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents ........................................................ 0-2Documentation Conventions .............................................................................. 0-3Student Objectives ............................................................................................. 0-4

Chapter 1: Project Validation 1-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 1-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1-1Concepts ............................................................................................................ 1-2Project Validation Parameters ............................................................................ 1-3Enable Validation for Workers ............................................................................ 1-5Validation Groups ............................................................................................... 1-6Lab 1.1 - Create a New Validation Group........................................................... 1-8Enabling Project Assignments .......................................................................... 1-10Summary .......................................................................................................... 1-15Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 1-16Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 1-17Solutions ........................................................................................................... 1-18

Chapter 2: Project Forecasting 2-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 2-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 2-1Concepts ............................................................................................................ 2-2Forecast Models ................................................................................................. 2-3Enter Forecasts .................................................................................................. 2-4Lab 2.1 - Edit a Forecast .................................................................................. 2-14Forecast Scheduling ......................................................................................... 2-15Lab 2.2 - Add a New Resource ........................................................................ 2-22Forecasting Hours ............................................................................................ 2-23Summary .......................................................................................................... 2-34Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 2-35Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 2-37Solutions ........................................................................................................... 2-38

Chapter 3: Advanced Project Invoicing 3-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 3-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3-1Project Invoicing Parameters ............................................................................. 3-2Funding Sources ................................................................................................ 3-3Funding Limits .................................................................................................... 3-5Funding Rules .................................................................................................... 3-7Lab 3.1 - Manage Contract Funding Sources and Limits ................................... 3-9Fixed-Rate Agreements ................................................................................... 3-13Grant Management .......................................................................................... 3-15Lab 3.2 - Manage Grants ................................................................................. 3-18Invoice Approval ............................................................................................... 3-20Summary .......................................................................................................... 3-21Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 3-23



Project Advanced in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

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Solutions ........................................................................................................... 3-24

Chapter 4: Advanced Internal Projects 4-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 4-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 4-1Internal Projects with WIP .................................................................................. 4-2Internal Project with WIP Example ..................................................................... 4-6Lab 4.1 - Run an Internal Project with WIP ...................................................... 4-13Investment Projects .......................................................................................... 4-14Investment Project Example ............................................................................. 4-16Lab 4.2 - Run an Investment Project ................................................................ 4-20Summary .......................................................................................................... 4-22Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 4-23Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 4-24Solutions ........................................................................................................... 4-25

Chapter 5: Advanced Time and Material Projects 5-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 5-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5-1Time and Material Project with WIP ................................................................... 5-2Example: Time and Material Project with WIP ................................................... 5-5Lab 5.1 - Run a Time and Material Project with WIP. ....................................... 5-11gfPost Costs Form ............................................................................................ 5-13Lab 5.2 - Using Post Costs ............................................................................... 5-14Time and Material Project with Accruals .......................................................... 5-15Example: Time and Material Project with Accruals .......................................... 5-20Lab 5.3 - Run a Time and Material Project with Accruals ................................. 5-28Reversing Accrued Revenue ............................................................................ 5-30Lab 5.4 - Using the Accrue Revenue Form ...................................................... 5-33Summary .......................................................................................................... 5-34Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 5-37Solutions ........................................................................................................... 5-38

Chapter 6: Advanced Fixed-Price Projects 6-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 6-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 6-1Concepts ............................................................................................................ 6-2Completed Contract Assessment Principle ........................................................ 6-2Completed Percentage Principle ........................................................................ 6-4The Estimate Process ........................................................................................ 6-6Period Types ...................................................................................................... 6-8Cost Templates ................................................................................................ 6-10Lab 6.1 - Create a Cost Template .................................................................... 6-16Estimate Projects ............................................................................................. 6-18Creating Estimates ........................................................................................... 6-20Lab 6.2 - Create and Post an Estimate ............................................................ 6-31Summary .......................................................................................................... 6-32Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 6-33Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 6-34Solutions ........................................................................................................... 6-35



Table of Contents

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Chapter 7: Fixed-Price Project with Completed Contract 7-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 7-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 7-1Fixed-Price Project with Completed Contract Example ...................................... 7-2Lab 7.1 - Run a Fixed-Price Project with Completed Contract ........................... 7-9Summary .......................................................................................................... 7-14Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 7-16Solutions ........................................................................................................... 7-17

Chapter 8: Fixed-Price Project with Completed Percentage 8-1Objectives ........................................................................................................... 8-1Introduction ......................................................................................................... 8-1Fixed-Price Project with Completed Percentage and Sales Value ..................... 8-3Fixed-Price Project with Completed Percentage and Sales Value Example ...... 8-4Fixed-Price Project with Completed Percentage and Production Plus (+) Profit8-14Fixed-Price Project with Completed Percentage and Production Plus (+) Profit Example ........................................................................................................... 8-16Lab 8.1 - Create and Run a Fixed-Price Project Using Completed Percentage8-24Summary .......................................................................................................... 8-28Test Your Knowledge ....................................................................................... 8-29Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned ................................................................. 8-30Solutions ........................................................................................................... 8-31




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Introduction

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INTRODUCTION Welcome

We know training is a vital component of retaining the value of your Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. investment. Our quality training from industry experts keeps you up-to-date on your solution and helps you develop the skills necessary for fully maximizing the value of your solution. Whether you choose Online Training, Classroom Training, or Training Materials; there is a type of training to meet everyone's needs. Choose the training type that best suits you so you can stay ahead of the competition.

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Microsoft Dynamics Courseware The Microsoft Dynamics Courseware consists of detailed training manuals, designed from a training perspective. These manuals include advanced topics as well as training objectives, exercises, interactions and quizzes. Look for a complete list of manuals available for purchase on the Microsoft Dynamics website: www.microsoft.com/Dynamics.




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Microsoft Dynamics Courseware Contents Test Your Skills Within the Microsoft Dynamics Training Materials you find a variety of different exercises. These exercises are offered in three levels to accommodate the variety of knowledge and expertise of each student. We suggest you try the level three exercises first, if you need help completing the task look to the information in the level two exercises. If you need further assistance each step of the task is outlined in the level one exercise.

Challenge Yourself! Level 3 exercises are the most challenging. These exercises are designed for the experienced student who requires little instruction to complete the required task.

Need a Little Help? Level 2 exercises are designed to challenge students, while providing some assistance. These exercises do not provide step by step instructions, however, do provide you with helpful hints and more information to complete the exercise.

Step by Step Level 1 exercises are geared towards new users who require detailed instructions and explanations to complete the exercise. Level 1 exercises guide you through the task, step by step, including navigation.

Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned At the end of each chapter within the Microsoft Dynamics Training Material, you find a Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned page. This interaction is designed to provide the student with a moment to reflect on the material they have learned. By outlining three key points from the chapter, the student is maximizing knowledge retention, and providing themselves with an excellent resource for reviewing key points after class.



Introduction

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Documentation Conventions The following conventions and icons are used throughout this documentation to help you quickly and effectively navigate through the information. CAUTION: Cautions are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word CAUTION in bold. Cautions are used to remind you of a specific result of a specific action which may be undesirable.

HINT: Hints are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word HINT in bold. Hints are used to suggest time-saving features or alternative methods for accomplishing a specific task.

NOTE: Notes are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word NOTE in bold. Notes are used to provide information which, while not critical, may be valuable to an end user.

BEYOND THE BASICS: Advanced information found throughout the training manual is preceded by the words BEYOND THE BASICS in bold. Beyond the Basics provides additional detail, outside of standard functionality, that may help you to more optimally use the application.

EXAMPLE: Examples are found throughout the training manual and are preceded by the word EXAMPLE in bold. Examples bring to light business scenarios that may better explain how an application can be used to address a business problem.




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Student Objectives What do you hope to learn by participating in this course? List three main objectives below. 1.

2.

3.



Chapter 1: Project Validation

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CHAPTER 1: PROJECT VALIDATION Objectives

The objectives are

Explain project validation. Set up project validation parameters. Enable validation for workers. Set up validation groups. Set up project validation category assignments.

Introduction This chapter discusses the project validation system.




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Concepts Project validation is an optional feature of the Project management and accounting module that is used to control the recording of project transactions.

You can use project validation to control lists of workers, projects, and categories that are available in the hour, expense, fee, and item journals, item tasks, and timesheets. You can also use project validation to set up detailed restrictions to control the costs allowed on a project. The rules limit the values presented in the forms and prevent the posting of records that violate the validation setup.

To make setting up validation easier you can establish validation groups. You can use:

Worker/project groups to determine one or more projects and a limited set of workers that can register their time against these projects.

Project/category groups to determine one or more projects and a limited set of cost categories that can be registered against the projects.

Category/worker groups to combine a set of one or more workers and a set of one or more cost categories used for the validation setup.




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The following diagram displays how the combinations can be set up.

FIGURE 1.1 VALIDATION DIAGRAM

Project validation is controlled by setting up:

Parameters in the Project parameters form. Validation groups. Assignments for individual workers and projects. Assignments for employees, categories, and projects.

Project Validation Parameters Open Project management and accounting > Setup> Project management and accounting parameters to open the Project parameters form. Validation is set up on the General tab for one or more of the following validation combinations:

Project/category Worker/project Category/worker




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A field must be set to Lookup or Mandatory for validation to be activated for the specific combination.

FIGURE 1.2 PROJECT PARAMETERS FORM VALIDATION

There are three options available that control the validation in the journals:

None Lookup Mandatory

The following table provides the option name and description.

Option Description None Overrules the definitions set in the validation system. No

limitations are applied and the validation system is turned off.

Lookup The choices displayed at lookup are limited to what is defined in validation groups. However, other options are accepted upon entry even though they do not display on the lookup list in the journals.

Mandatory Only available choices upon entry in journals are the combinations specified in the validation system.




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Enable Validation for Workers By default, workers are not constrained by the project validation system. You must enable this for the workers you select. To do this, follow these steps.

1. Open Human resources > Common > Workers > Workers. 2. Select a worker. 3. On the Action Pane, on the Project management tab, in the Setup

group, click Project setup. 4. In the Project setup form, select the Category check box, the Project

check box, or both. o A selected Category option enables the Employee/category

validation for this employee. o A selected Project option enables the Employee/project

validation for this employee. o If the check boxes are selected, the project parameters apply; if

they are cleared, the project parameter settings are ignored.

FIGURE 1.3 WORKER VALIDATION

Any project validation can now be applied to the selected worker.




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Validation Groups Microsoft Dynamics AX provides three validation groups to make the project validation system easier to use. When you create validation groups, give each group a group name and description, and select available options from two lists as indicated in the following table.

Group types List of List of Project/category Projects Categories

Worker/project Workers Projects

Worker/category Workers Categories

Procedure: Create Worker/Project Validation Group

To create the worker/project validate group, follow these steps.

1. Open Project management and accounting > Setup> Validation > Worker/project validation groups.

2. Click New and specify a group name in the Name field and an ID in the Worker/project field.

3. Under the Worker tab, locate and select workers in the Remaining workers table and then click the < sign to move the workers to the Selected workers table.

4. Under the Projects tab, locate and select projects in the Remaining projects table and then click the < sign to move the projects to the Selected projects table.

5. Click Close.

FIGURE 1.4 WORKER/PROJECT VALIDATION GROUPS




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NOTE: Use the standard windows functions for selecting multiple rows. To highlight a range, select the first row then press and hold the shift key while at the same time selecting the last row in the range. Press and hold the CTRL key while at the same time selecting a row to toggle a record between selected and unselected.

The setup for worker/category and project/category validation groups and individual assignments works the same. Combine the validation groups to achieve a strict limitation of what workers can enter in project transactions.




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Lab 1.1 - Create a New Validation Group In this lab, you will validate marketing team activities.

Scenario

The Project team in the Contoso Entertainment Company organization is not the only team to use the Project module regularly to keep track of costs, expenses and revenue. To calculate the return of investment (ROI) on larger marketing activities such as campaigns, the Marketing Department runs internal cost projects associated with the campaigns. All Marketing employees are only able to post costs on these internal costs projects.

Challenge Yourself!

Create a new worker/project validation group named Marketing that includes these employees:

Jodi Christiansen (000065) Shannon Dascher (000080) Ted Howard (000098) Tricia Summers (000116) Benjamin Martin (000132) David Hamilton (000144)

These Sales and Marketing employees are only able to post costs to the following projects:

60001 Marketing Campaign 60002 Entry to Consumer Market Research'

Activate the validation for the worker/project in the journals.

Need a Little Help?

Create a new worker/project validation group and add the selected employees.

Step by Step

To create a new worker/project validation group and add the selected employees, follow these steps.

1. Open Project management and accounting > Setup> Project management and accounting parameters.

2. On the General tab, under the Validation group, select "Mandatory" from the drop- down box for the Worker/project field.

3. Click Close.




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4. Open Project management and accounting > Setup> Validation > Worker/project validation groups.

5. Click New and use Marketing in the Name field and in the Worker/project field.

6. Under the Worker tab, in the Remaining workers pane on the right side, single-click while holding the CTRL button each of the following workers: o Jodi Christiansen (000065) o Shannon Dascher (000080) o Ted Howard (000098) o Tricia Summers (000116) o Benjamin Martin (000132) o David Hamilton (000144)

7. Click the < sign on the center of the form, to move the workers to the

left pane Selected workers. 8. Under the Projects tab, locate and select project 60001 Marketing

Campaign and 60002 Entry to Consumer Market Research in the Remaining projects table and click the < sign to move the projects to the Selected projects table.

9. Click Close.




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Enabling Project Assignments Once you have defined worker/project and project/category validation groups, you can define validation assignments for a selected project.

To assign categories for the project, follow these steps.

1. Open Project management and accounting > Common > Projects >All projects.

2. On the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Validation group, click Assign categories.

FIGURE 1.5 CATEGORY ASSIGNMENTS VALIDATION LIST

The first tab in the form displays a summary of the categories assigned to the project. Categories that are the result of a group assignment will have a value in the Project/category group column. Individual category assignments will have no value in this column.




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Also visible is a summary of the ledger posting setup for the selected category.

FIGURE 1.6 GROUP ASSIGNMENTS TAB

You can use the Group assignments tab to assign a project/category group to the project.

FIGURE 1.7 CATEGORY ASSIGNMENTS TAB




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You can use the Category assignments tab to assign specific categories for the project.

Once you are finished assigning groups and categories, return to the Validation list tab to view the summary of any changes that you made.

Assigning individual workers and project/worker validation groups to the select project individual assignments work the same. On the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Validation group, click Assign workers.




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Lab 1.2: Enable an Employee for a Single Project In this lab, you will enable an employee for a single project.

Scenario

John Emory, the Team Leader of the Sales team targeting large customers, is asked to help in the annual negotiation of the service contract running with customer 10002 Colorado Airport. The costs for having John Emory spend time on the renewing of the service contract must be recorded on the project.

Challenge Yourself!

Make sure that John Emory (000090) can post hours on project 10002. If not, set up a one-to-one validation for John Emory on the project.

On the 10002 project, for John Emory, record 12 Sale non-chargeable hours. Verify the 12 hours are recorded on the project, and that they are not chargeable to the customer.

Need a Little Help?

Select John Emory from the Worker table and add validation for the project.

Create an Hours journal to charge the hours to the project.

Step by Step

To create an Hours journal and charge hours to the project, follow these steps.

1. Open Project management and accounting > Common > Projects > All projects.

2. Click project 10002. On the Action Pane on the Plan tab in the Validation group, click Assign workers.

3. Click the Worker tab. Select employee 000090 and click the < button. Click Close.

4. On the Action Pane on the Project tab in the Journals group, click Hour.

5. Click New. 6. Enter a line for 12 Hours for Worker 000090 and click the Post

button. 7. Click OK.




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8. Click Close to close the Infolog. 9. Click Close to close the Jounral lines for hours form.

FIGURE 1.8 CREATE HOUR JOURNAL LINES




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Summary The Project Validation chapter discussed the optional setup needed to run advanced features in the Project Management and Accounting module. The chapter focused on the project journal validation feature. This feature controls which workers and transactions can be posted to specific projects.

The next chapter will cover the advanced project control.




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Test Your Knowledge Test your knowlege with the following questions.

1. What are validation rules used for?

2. Which of the following journals can you not set up validation for?

( ) Budget ( ) Hour ( ) Expense ( ) Fee

3. What are the types of validation groups? (Select all that apply)

( ) Project/category ( ) Worker/project ( ) Worker/journal ( ) Category/worker




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Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned Take a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter

1.

2.

3.




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Solutions Test Your Knowledge

1. What are validation rules used for?

MODEL ANSWER:

Use the validation rules to limit the values presented in the lookup forms and prevent the posting of records that violate the validation setup.

2. Which of the following journals can you not set up validation for?

() Budget ( ) Hour ( ) Expense ( ) Fee

3. What are the types of validation groups? (Select all that apply)

() Project/category () Worker/project ( ) Worker/journal () Category/worker



Chapter 2: Project Forecasting

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CHAPTER 2: PROJECT FORECASTING Objectives

The objectives are:

Review concepts of project budgeting and forecasting. Use forecast models. Enter forecasts for hours, expenses, fees, items, and on-account

payments. Set up forecast scheduling. Define forecasting on hours.

Introduction This chapter discusses forecasting within the Project management and accounting module. It describes how the concepts are closely linked within this module and how they can be used in all types of projects.




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Concepts Project forecasting is a process used to forecast expected labor, machines, expenses, and cash flow that is needed to run projects. Project forecasting is expected to help optimize the running of a project by using resources effectively, and by controlling expenses so that a reasonable profit margin can be earned.

In the Project management and accounting module project forecasts can be entered against the following transaction types:

Expenses Fees Items Hours

NOTE: Entering revenue forecasts does not equal the handling of cash flow forecasts. It is just a listing of expected revenue outside the ordinary invoicing or revenue recognition process. This is revenue in the sense of direct income, not the sales value of activities and material consumed.

Budgeting versus Forecasting

Project forecasting is closely related to project budgeting. You can build project budgets from forecast models. Additionally, the project budget amounts are maintained as two specified forecast models for control and reporting purposes and Microsoft Dynamics AX supports a cost control mechanism called forecast reductions.

Project budgeting is described in the Project management and accounting Essentials course.




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Forecast Models Open Inventory and warehouse management > Setup > Forecast > Forecast models.

FIGURE 2.1 FORECAST MODELS FORM

When you set up forecasts you can create a new record for each forecast model to use, and create submodels if a model hierarchy must be built. The model hierarchy can only contain two levels.

You can use the Stopped check box to block the forecast model for any additional changes or editing of the forecast lines. This applies only if there is a plan to have a forecast model for each project. If so, when the model is stopped, you can work with estimating on fixed-price projects by using the initial forecast model as a baseline for comparison.

NOTE: To use a default forecast model, specify the model ID in the Project management and accounting parameters form on the Forecast tab. The model specified in the parameters is then suggested when entering project forecasts.




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Enter Forecasts After you have defined forecast models, you can enter forecasts for hours, expenses, fees, items and on-account payments.

Open Project management and accounting > Common > Projects > All projects. Select a project. On the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Forecast group, you can click a specific type of forecast.

FIGURE 2.2 FORECAST OPTIONS




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Hour Forecasts

You can use the hour forecasts to forecast expected hour consumption and to schedule time allocation for workers.

FIGURE 2.3 HOUR FORECASTS

To forecast hours, you can enter a worker (although this is not a required field, it must be entered), a category, and the number of hours. You cannot enter a total currency amount. Be as precise on the hours forecast as needed by entering individual workers, activities and categories. Forecast at a less detailed level, if it is necessary.

Although worker is not a required field, to use the hours forecast functionality, you must have a cost price to use to calculate the dollars for the forecast. So you might have to set up generic workers with a blended cost price if there is insufficient information to forecast each worker.

For example, you can set up a generic worker called Consultant with a cost price of 50.00 United States dollars (USD) to use as the forecasting worker. By doing this you do not have to know who the person is working on each project forecasting the hours.




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Expense Forecasts

With expense forecasts the expenses can be in the company currency or in a foreign sales currency.

FIGURE 2.4 EXPENSE FORECAST FOR PROJECT 20002

When you forecast expenses, you will enter the forecast model, category and the cost price.

You will need to enter a quantity to have the forecast picked up in the estimate process. This quantity relates to the number of transactions for this category. For example, if there are three transactions for airfare, enter three as the quantity. To capture markup information, enter a sales price.

Open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Forecasts > Expense.




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Fee Forecasts

You can use fee forecasts to forecast expected fees on time and material projects. Fee forecasts cannot be entered on fixed-price projects because the on-account payments serve the purpose of recording expected installments or revenues for these types of projects. You can forecast fees with sales prices and a break-down of the fees for a specific time.

Open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Forecasts > Fee.

FIGURE 2.5 FEE FORECASTS FORM

To forecast fees, you will enter the forecast model, category, and sales price.

The fee forecast shown in the previous figure is revenue that is outside the regular billing and revenue recognition process. These are additional revenue items such as bonuses or fees.

Item Forecasts

Unlike hour, expense and fee forecasts, item forecasts are part of the inventory forecasts and also part of the forecast scheduling from the Master planning module.

When you enter item forecasts on a project, you must make sure that the system considers these forecasts when forecast scheduling is run, and that planned purchase or production orders are effectively achieved and suggested for the forecasted items.




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If you forecast sales on projects they can then be included as part of item coverage.

Open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Forecasts > Item forecast.

FIGURE 2.6 ITEM FORECASTS FORM

To forecast items, you will enter the forecast model, quantity, and cost price.

You can also forecast by individual item if that level of detail is known. Otherwise, leave the item number blank and forecast by currency amount. Enter a quantity of at least one to have the item forecast included in the estimating process.




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On-Account Forecasts

You can use on-account forecasts to forecast expected on-account payments for both fixed-price and time and material projects.

FIGURE 2.7 ON-ACCOUNT FORECASTS FORM

For on-account forecasts, you will enter the project date, forecast model, and the sales price.

The description entered is optional. However, including a description will provide a more detailed identification of the transaction that is in the forecast. If the on-account payment is in a time and materials project, enter the offsetting line.




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Edit Forecasts

You can use the edit forecasts to edit current forecasts if the forecast model has not been stopped. You can copy, update or delete the forecasts lines. You can also use the edit forecasts to create new forecast models that are based on previous forecast models, or to adjust an already existing forecast by updating it with new values.

FIGURE 2.8 EDIT FORECAST TRANSACTIONS FORM

To use the Edit functionality, follow these steps.

1. Select the forecast line and then click Edit from the specific forecast form.

2. Select those elements to include in the change by clicking the check box and what their new value is in the field next to it.

3. Manipulate the quantity and amount fields by using a multiplication factor and, or an addition constant in the Changes in amount group.




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NOTE: Edit forecast transactions A forecast for January is made for 100 hours at a sales price of 20.00 USD for each hour. The forecast must shift to May and it is now for 150 hours, with a sales price increase of ten percent. By specifying an update of the forecast model and applying a date factor of four months and a quantity of plus 50 (the 50 hour increase) with an additional amount factor of .10 (ten percent increase), the result wanted is achieved. You can edit forecasted transactions to easily adjust and update estimates when you work with fixed-price projects. This makes it easier to evaluate the estimates against actual consumption.

Copy Forecasts

You can copy individual forecast lines by using the edit button, and you can also copy entire forecasts by using the Copy functionality. This function will copy an entire forecast model and move the transactions to a new forecast model.

The copy function can be run for an individual project or group of projects if the include subprojects box is checked.

Open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Forecasts > Item forecast. Click Copy.

FIGURE 2.9 COPY FORECAST FORM

Allocate Forecasts

The period allocation keys available in the Item forecasts resemble those that are available in the General ledger for budgeting. You can use the allocation keys to duplicate data.




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To simulate financial information within a specific period, you can use a repetitive frequency known as the allocation method.

FIGURE 2.10 ALLOCATE FORECASTS

You can apply any of the three different allocation methods.

None: Indicates nothing is allocated, because the specified amount or quantity is considered as a total.

Period: Used to specify a desired length to divide the allocations into. The Quantity, Unit, and the End fields determine the total length of the period, and the frequency.

Key: Requires a predefined key definition be applied. You can view the allocation by pressing Forecast balances or Inventory forecast.




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Procedure: Convert Forecasts to a Ledger Budget

To convert a forecast to a ledger budget, follow these steps.

1. Open Project management and accounting > Periodic > Forecast > Copy forecasts to ledger.

FIGURE 2.11 COPY FORECASTS TO A LEDGER

2. In the Copy forecasts to ledger form, on the General tab, under Include statement, select the statement types Profit and loss and WIP from which to transfer the forecast transactions.

3. Under Project date, select the date range of 1/1/2008 to 4/1/2010 for the project forecast transactions you want to copy.

4. Under Ledger date, select the date range of 1/1/2008 to 4/1/2010 in the General ledger to include the transferred updates.

5. In the From forecast model, select the Annual budget you want to copy.

6. In the To ledger budget model, select a Total you want to copy the forecast to.

7. Click OK.

Transferring Project Quotation Lines to a Forecast

Once a quotation is accepted, you can use it to create a new project or add to the forecast of an existing project. The advantages of doing this are that the quotation transfer function brings the quotation lines into the project as forecast lines. Also, the list of transactions that consist of both the quotation and the forecast must be created one time only.




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Lab 2.1 - Edit a Forecast In this lab, you will edit a forecast.

Scenario

The project manager for project 10005 Service Valley Hotel is forecasting the hours that he or she will be spending on project management for the month of July. The project manager expects the month of July to be twice the hours that have been forecasted for March. The project manager wants to use the forecast from the "Annual" forecast model for March to create the Hour forecasts for July.

Challenge Yourself!

Create the new budget using the Edit functionality.

Need a Little Help?

When you edit transactions make sure that the functions are set to copy and the date is marked to change by four months.

Step by Step

To create the new budget using the Edit functionality, follow these steps.


2. Select project 10005. 3. On the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Forecast group, click

Hour forecasts. 4. Click a line that occurs in March and has the Forecast model

"Annual" and a Category "PM." 5. Click Edit. 6. Under Change of period check the Quantity box. Change the

Period to "Months." 7. Enter "2" in the Quantity field. 8. Click OK.




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Forecast Scheduling Project managers can use the Microsoft Dynamics AX Project management and accounting module to group forecasted hour consumption by worker. To plan and schedule hours, this module uses work center groups and work centers. You can use the hour scheduling function to perform job scheduling and operations scheduling.

Because the scheduling function resembles the production scheduling function, a complete setup is not required to perform the scheduling routine from the Project management and accounting module.

Scheduling Workflow

To perform the scheduling process, follow these steps.

1. Create working times and calendars. 2. Set up work center groups and attach individual work centers to do

operations or job scheduling. 3. Define which basic parameters to consider when you perform the

scheduling routine. 4. Create forecast models and enter forecasted hours on projects

alongside work centers. 5. Perform an operations or job scheduling run. 6. Review capacity load and display this in a Gantt chart. 7. Perform rescheduling.

Working Times and Calendars

Planning involves a timeframe, so you will need to create a calendar for scheduling. When setting up calendars:

Both the Production control and Project management and accounting modules share the same calendars.

Attach all workers subject to scheduling to a calendar. There is no limit to the number of calendars to create.

o Use multiple calendars to differentiate between different types of hours on a project. For example, different calendars could be set up for project consultants and production workers.




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This New Calendar Flowchart shows how to create a new calendar including working times.

FIGURE 2.12 NEW CALENDAR FLOWCHART

This sequence is necessary to complete the final calendar set up. The set up includes basic To and From time fields, and includes the insertion of breaks by specifying new From and To times.

You can use the efficiency percentage to specify how the set up and processing time is determined. For example, a specification of 200 percent doubles the scheduled available time.

You can use a property linked to a working time only when you are running scheduling relative to productions. This is a sharing principle that is used to schedule productions at the same time.

Procedure: Create a Working Time Template

To create a working time template, follow these steps.

1. Open Organization administration > Common > Calendars > Working time templates.

2. Press CTRL+N to create a new line. 3. In the Working time template field, enter an alphanumeric

identifier of up to ten characters in length. 4. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the template. 5. Select the tab that corresponds to the day of the week for which

working hours are to be set. 6. Press CTRL+N to create a new line to input operation hours. 7. In the From field, enter the starting time for the day or period. 8. In the To field, enter the ending time for the period. This can be

defined as a day, a shift, or a temporary cease in operation such as a lunch period.




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9. In the Efficiency field, type the efficiency percent. 10. In the Property field, select the property for the selected day's

working time template. 11. Repeat steps 7 through 10 for each period to be included in the

template for a particular day and for each day of the week.

Procedure: Create a Working Calendar

To create a working calendar, follow these steps.

1. Select Basic > Calendar. 2. Press CTRL+N to create a new line in the Calendar form. 3. In the Calendar field, type an alphanumeric identifier of up to ten

characters in length. 4. In the Name field, type a descriptive name. 5. In the Base calendar field, select the base calendar that the current

calendar is based on. 6. Click Working times to create or update working times for the

current calendar. 7. From the Working times calendar form, click Compose working

times to set up automatic creation of working times. 8. In the Compose working times dialog box, under Calendar, select

the new calendar name that you just created. (If relevant, you can also select a different calendar.)

9. In the From date field, enter the date that you want to begin using the calendar. The field contains the current date as the default date.

10. In the To date field, enter the date you want the calendar to end. The field contains a default date of one year from the current date.

11. Select the Use base calendar check box if you want to create this calendar from a base calendar.

12. In the Working time template field, select the appropriate template. 13. Click OK. 14. From the Working times calendar form, click Copy calendar to set

up automatic creation of working times. 15. In the Copy calendar dialog box, select the calendar you want to

copy in the From calendar field. 16. In the To calendar field, select the calendar to which the original

calendar is being copied. 17. Select the check box Copy property if you want to include

properties when you copy the calendar. 18. Click OK to save the calendar and close the form.




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Resource Groups

Scheduling involves work centers, not workers. With the Project management and accounting module you can use the type of resource and the capacity-related options to determine the project schedule. When you use work centers, you can schedule all resource types, and schedule whole processes, since it is not limited to only human resources.

Both the Production Control and Project management and accounting modules share resource groups and resources.

The General Setup Process Flow Diagram shows the relation to resources.

FIGURE 2.13 GENERAL SETUP PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

You can group resource groups to bundle resources. An individual resource group can only be for one type of resource. However, four types of resources are available:

Vendor Human resource Machine Tool

Only the Vendor and Human resource types require links to a record in the tables. For example, the resource group that has the type Vendor could contain all the different resource roles related to a specific vendor invoice account. Resource groups are set up in the Basic module.




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Open Organization administration > Common > Resources > Resource groups.

FIGURE 2.14 RESOURCE GROUPS FORM

When you set up resource groups, you must specify the:

Resource group ID and description. Main type of resources the resource group collects. Default calendar used to create related resources. Default vendor account that is used for the resources, if the type is

Vendor.

Resource Assignments

You can use this form to view a list of workers who are assigned to a project or an activity. You can display worker assignments for a specified time period, for a project, for a specific worker, or for a commitment type (a tentative or a firm commitment).

Open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Assign resources > Resource assignments.

Working Time Variances

A calendar controls the actual working times available for the different resources/work center groups or work centers, and the system automatically reserves capacity based on the time defined. However, you might need to block the system from reserving capacity on a whole group of resources or on a specific resource.




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The working time for the related calendar can be recomposed, although it might be difficult especially if most of the resources are using the calendar and the results should not affect everyone. Rather than recompose working times, use the working time variances. Define variances for the whole resource group or for a specific resource.

To set up variances, from the resource group or the individual resource, follow these steps.

1. Click Calendar deviations on the Resource groups form.

FIGURE 2.15 GROUP CALENDAR DEVIATIONS FORM

2. Create and manage calendar deviations by date for the current resource or resource group.

3. In the From date, specify the starting date in the window. 4. The default calendar appears for each resource and day. However, it

can be overruled. To change the calendar for a particular resource and day, make the change from the default calendar.

Scheduling Parameters

Different parameters can control the outcome of scheduling. These parameters are set up in different modules.

The following table provides an overview of the parameters that affect the hour scheduling when it is performed from the Project management and accounting module.




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Parameter Module Purpose Efficiency percentage

Basic/Work center Groups and work centers

Reduces or increases the time reserved for completing the job. Formula: Required working time * 100 / efficiency percentage

Operations scheduling percentage


When you perform operations scheduling, the maximum percentage of the daily capacity of the work center.

Finite capacity


Marked: Reserve capacity and do not allow to reserve more than available. Unmarked: Reserve capacity and exceed reserved capacity limits.

Exclusive Basic/Work centers Marked: Reserve work center capacity exclusively for a job. Unmarked: If capacity is not used 100 percent, reserve the work center for other jobs, if it is necessary.

Capacity planning production

Project/Parameters Consider derived capacity reservations from productions when calculating the available capacity.

Capacity planning planned orders

Project/Parameters Consider derived capacity reservation from planned orders when calculating the available capacity.




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Lab 2.2 - Add a New Resource In this lab, you will create a new resource in an existing resource group.

Scenario

The project manager for a company has just completed purchasing and installing a new drilling machine. He or she wants to make the new machine available for use in the production schedule.

Challenge Yourself!

Create a new resource in an existing resource group.

Need a Little Help?

Select a resource group, and then click the Resource tab.

Step by Step

To select a resource group, follow these steps.

1. Open Organization administration > Common > Resources > Resource groups.

2. Click the Drilling Work Center Group, Resource group 006. 3. Click the Resource tab. 4. Click Add. 5. Select a Resource and Calendar. 6. Verify the Ledger accounts have been copied from the resource

group. 7. Click Close.




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Forecasting Hours Once you have entered all the base data, you can forecast hours on the project; forecasting on hours does not require scheduling.

Open Project management and accounting > Common > Projects > All projects. Select or open a project. On the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Forecast group, click Hour forecasts.

FIGURE 2.16 HOUR FORECASTS FORM

When you forecast hours to schedule project resources, you should be aware of whether to use activities. This forecast model to use, what category should be scheduled and the number of hours, and the scheduling parameters.

Activities

Activities facilitate the grouping of different types of categories and provide an additional method to segment project tasks.

When using activities for hour scheduling, specify the activity number and description, default category to use, percentage of completion and the order of the activities. It is optional to use activities for scheduling.

Budget Model

When you forecast in the Project management and accounting module, it is mandatory to use the budget model. The project manager uses the budget model to gather forecasted transactions to compare the forecasted transactions against realized transactions later in the process. However, as for scheduling, it does not serve any real purpose. The system schedules the forecasted hours without any direct reference to the budget model.




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Category

When scheduling on hours, you must specify an hour category, and use this category as a reference only.

Scheduling Options

Some of the important capacity parameters that relate to work center groups and work centers are located in the Required Base Data section. However, there are additional important options regarding the tasks to consider when forecasting hours.

These options are located on the General tab in the Hour Forecast form.

FIGURE 2.17 GENERAL TAB OF HOUR FORECASTS FORM

The following table describes the parameter and purpose located in the General tab of the Hour Forecasts form.

Parameter Purpose Link The interdependency of the tasks, when will the next task

start.

Link Type The acceptance of the interdependency of the tasks; if overlaps are allowed.

Working Time

Selected: Defined working time on the work center calendar is used. Unselected: An error message occurs that indicates the parameter set up is incorrect, because project scheduling only can reserve capacity for working hours. Note: The parameter is always selected to use the working time.




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Parameter Purpose Capacity Selected:

Reserve work center capacity. Unselected. No capacity is reserved. Notice: Select the parameter default even if the work center finite capacity option is not selected.

Interdependency of Tasks

If more tasks/hours are scheduled, the system uses the two parameters to reserve capacity in the specified order of link first and then link type.

You can use one of the following methods to link the tasks:

None StartStart EndEnd EndStart StartEnd (default link method displayed by the system)

The link type can be Soft (the default link type that is displayed by the system) or Hard.

If a method is not specified that equals the value None in the previous list, the system returns an error message "Unrecognized attachment between jobs" regardless of the link type you select. Do not use this value.

You can use the Soft methods for necessary time lags between the tasks, thereby optimizing capacity usage and decreasing lead-time.

You can use the Hard methods for a now delay, because the relation between tasks is strict. This causes increased lead-time and the optimization of capacity can be poor.

The Scheduling Routine

You can run the scheduling routine after you set up the required base data and specify the scheduling parameters. To do this, follow these steps.


2. Open a project from the project list.




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3. On the Projects page, on the Action Pane, on the Plan tab, in the Forecast group, click Hour forecasts.

4. Click the Scheduling tab.

FIGURE 2.18 SCHEDULING TAB ON HOUR FORECASTS FORM

The routine consists of four parts:

Identification Date and time aspects Scheduling methods and capacity parameters Update of references

The system automatically transfers default information from the hour forecasts to the Project and Model fields.

The Scheduling Routine Continued

You can overrule the project if it is necessary, and you can also change the project reference so that the hierarchy level specified is considered when you are scheduling.

Additionally, you can change the budget model, if it is necessary. When scheduling on a new budget model the system removes the reference to the old budget model and attaches the new one.

You can use the date and time entered for the project date and start time of the first task to be scheduled. Even though they are applied, the actual scheduled date and time can vary for the next tasks according to the link and link type parameter settings that are specified for the tasks.




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This method uses the capacity available for the whole resource group. The example illustrates how to schedule a task for completion from today's date.

FIGURE 2.19 RESOURCE GROUP CAPACITY AVAILABILITY

The system reserves the first work center in the group that has available capacity. If this work center cannot finish the task, the system reserves the next work center in line with free capacity, continuing until the task is completed.

This method uses the available capacity of the individual work center. This example illustrates how the system schedules a task to be completed from today's date.

FIGURE 2.20 RESOURCE CAPACITY AVAILABILITY

Since the resource in question is not available for the task until the end of the third period and the beginning of the fourth period, you cannot reserve the capacity. As a result, the task is completed at a later point than first expected.

A final option is to specify whether the scheduling routine should consider limited capacity reservation.

The parameter in the scheduling routine is set to recognize capacity limitations by default. By deselecting the option, the system ignores all previously selected, finite capacity parameters.

Tasks are not ordinarily scheduled individually they are combined in an overall plan. To make sure that there is the interdependency of the tasks in the project hierarchy and the task order, two methods are available:

Schedule references Synchronizing of references




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Use Schedule references to consider the forecasted hours in the whole project structure. The system searches for the project ID, and related subproject IDs.

Enter all the hours to forecast for the whole project hierarchy on the parent project. After scheduling, the system moves the forecasted hours to their respective subprojects, leaving the parent project with the forecasted hours for the project itself.

EXAMPLE: Schedule references On a project, forecast 10 service hours. At the same time, forecast five installation hours for a subproject of the project. When you run the scheduling routine and selecting to schedule references, the system takes all hours forecast into consideration. This gives a capacity reservation for 10 service hours and five installation hours. If references are not scheduled, only the 10 service hours for the main project are reserved. The five installation hours transfer to the subproject 9013-1 and there is no capacity reservation.

When you decide to synchronize references, the scheduling takes the order of the forecasted hours into consideration.

When rescheduling in a project hierarchy, either by changing the order of the individual tasks/forecasted hours or by adding/deleting the hour forecasts, the system automatically recognizes the change and takes appropriate action. The action could be to change the reservation of capacity for a task that moves forward in time.

EXAMPLE: Synchronize references On the subproject from the previous example, forecast six project management hours. However, complete the project management hours before you do the actual installation hours, as stated in the previous example. Prioritize the newly added forecasted hours higher than the installation hours when the scheduling routine is run again and the synchronize references option is selected. The system changes the capacity reservation for the installation hours to start after the project management hours are completed.

Display Reserved Capacity

Microsoft Dynamics AX offers a basic overview of the reserved project resources. Two main overviews exist:

Capacity Load: This is a detailed overview and does not offer a graphical visualization.

Gantt Chart: The Gantt chart offers a general graphical overview and the ability to reschedule by dragging and dropping information.




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Open Organization administration > Common > Resources > Resource groups. Select a resource group, and on the Action Pane, click Capacity load.

FIGURE 2.21 CAPACITY LOAD FORM

The capacity load overview consists of three main parts:

Work center related information. A general overview of capacity. Specific reference to the scheduled task.

The resource related information includes:

Which resource group or resource is scheduled. The ID and the name displayed in the form. Which calendar the system applied to calculate capacity. The

calendar is set up on the resource group/resource. The name of the current plan that is used.

NOTE: The Plan field depends on the License code Master planning. If the license code is not available, the field itself and the references on the References tab page do not display.

In Microsoft Dynamics AX, both the Production control and Project management and accounting modules share the Capacity Load and that is why the Plan field is displayed.




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Resource Related Information

The following table describes the field and purpose for the columns located on Capacity load form.

Field Purpose Day The date.

Week The calendar week number.

Capacity Total available capacity for the work center group/ work center.

Oper. reserved

Reserved capacity in hours from operation scheduling.

Job reserved Reserved capacity in hours from job scheduling.

Reserved Reserved capacity in hours. Note: This field is always populated with a value regardless whether operations or a jobs scheduling is performed.

Job remaining

Remaining capacity in hours, because of job scheduling, and before the task is completed. It is the total capacity minus the reserved capacity.

Remainder Remaining capacity in hours. Note: The value is calculated when an operation scheduling is performed. It is the total capacity minus the reserved capacity. For job scheduling, the value is the same as in the job remaining field.

The Reference tab contains a reference for each individually detailed capacity reservation. The reference consists of:

Date and time: The date and time are indicators of the exact date, start, and end time for the reserved capacity.

Plan and type: The plan contains the name of the dynamic master plan that is used by the scheduling tool. The type indicates whether it is the operations scheduling or the job scheduling method performed.

Reference type and number: The reference type refers to the module where the scheduling originated. The number indicates the main record related to the scheduling. When scheduling in the Project management and accounting module, this number equals the project ID.




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Hours: The number of hours scheduled on the specific date is finally displayed.

FIGURE 2.22 REFERENCE TAB OF CAPACITY LOAD FORM

When you work with the Gantt chart, consider the following:

The Gantt chart provides graphical information whereas the capacity load provides detailed information about the reserved capacity.

The only difference between the Gantt chart and the capacity load is the Gantt chart's lack of information about remaining hours. This occurs because the Gantt chart displays tasks as fully scheduled it does not show any remaining unscheduled hours for each day.

To view a Gantt chart open Project management and accounting > Inquiries > Forecasts > Hour. In the menu bar, click Scheduling > Gantt chart.

The middle of the form displays the actual tasks/hours scheduled. If some of the bars split, this is caused by non-working days displaying with a white color. This behavior is caused by a parameter set up.

When you set up the Gantt chart, consider the following:

Modify certain aspects of the Gantt chart set up when you view it for projects. From the Gantt chart, click Setup > Setup.

Make sure that you select the parameter Load hour forecasts when you use the Gantt chart for the first time. By not selecting this parameter, Project information does not show in the Gantt chart.

By selecting the parameter Load calendar, select whether the Gantt chart should display non-working time, for example, weekends.

Use the color option of the Setup button to change the default coloring setup.




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Several different color codes can change, but only some have an effect when you work with project scheduling. This list provides the name and visual display of color codes to change effectively: o Background o Table, Passive o Table, Active o Passive Node

Some additional features that you should be familiar with when you work with the Gantt chart include the following:

It offers a variety of interaction options that you can use to change the visual appearance of the chart and also drill-down on the scheduled tasks/hours. Use the right-click with the mouse on various parts of the chart to aid navigating in the Gantt chart.

The date overview displays in days and follows the calendar year by default. Selecting another year is possible by right-clicking the time bar on top of the Gantt chart.

In the timescale at the top of the diagram, right-click, and then select the Timescale interval dialog box. Enter from and to dates to define the time interval that is displayed in the grid.

In the timescale at the top of the diagram, right-click, and then select Timescale unit. Click to select the unit of time that you want to display in the diagram.

In the timescale at the top of the diagram, right-click, and then select Grid to display a demarcation of time in the diagram. The grid markings are aligned with the Timescale unit that you select. o Minutes are demarcated by hours. o Hours are demarcated by days. o Days are demarcated by weeks. o Weeks are demarcated by months. o Months are demarcated by years.

In the timescale at the top of the diagram, you can select and drag the

timescale grid to resize the scale that is displayed. If you drag to the right side, you increase the size of the scale. If you drag to the left, you decrease the size of the scale. This feature facilitates scheduling with accuracy.

In the timescale at the top of the diagram, right-click, and then select 3D layout to display the time scale in three-dimensional format.




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There are two ways to display the available jobs data. o You can use the order view to display the jobs that are scheduled

for a particular production order, or you can use the resource view to display the jobs that are scheduled for a particular operations resource.

o When you use the chart, you can switch between the different views. For example, you can group all operations by order, regardless of the operations resource, and then sort the operations by start time. This might be useful if you want to see how a set of orders flows through various resources before rescheduling the orders because of a delivery date change from a customer.

The detailed criteria for the different views can be set up in the Views form.

The following scheduling activities can be performed by using the Gantt chart: o Reschedule an operations resource. o Reschedule a job or operation. o Reschedule an order. o Cancel scheduling changes.

Click Print to print the Gantt chart. Before printing, preview and

adjust the layout.

Rescheduling

You might need to reschedule a resource because the sequence of operations for a particular item might no longer be practical or optimal if the orders are scheduled over a period of time. Also, if a particular resource is becoming a constraint, you might want to move some of the scheduled jobs or operations to a different resource.

To Reschedule a Resource

To reschedule a resource, follow these steps.

1. Open Organization administration > Common > Resources > Resource groups. Select a resource group, and then click the Resources tab. Select a resource, and then click Gantt chart.

2. In the Gantt chart dialog box, enter a start date and an end date to define the time period that you want to view in the Gantt chart. Click OK.

3. In the Gantt chart, select a job and right-click, and then click Open job scheduling form.

4. The Job scheduling form opens, and you can reschedule the resource. After rescheduling, you can make additional manual changes in the Gantt chart.




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Summary This chapter discussed the use of project forecasts. The use of these functions is important in the tracking of the profitability of a project. The chapter also discussed hour forecasts scheduling.




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Test Your Knowledge Test your knowledge with the following questions.

1. In which module(s) do you find the Forecast model form? (Select all that apply)

( ) Project management and accounting ( ) Inventory and warehouse management ( ) Human resources ( ) Master planning

2. On-account forecasts are used to forecast expected on-account payments for which of the type of projects? (Select all that apply)

( ) Variable cost ( ) Time and material ( ) Fixed-price ( ) Variable cost with WIP

3. Describe why someone might decide to reschedule a resource.

4. Scheduling involves work centers.

( ) True ( ) False ( ) Only sometimes




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5. Which types require links to a record in the tables when you work with resource groups? (Select all that apply)

( ) Vendor ( ) Project ( ) Production control ( ) Human resource

6. What are the methods to link tasks to forecasting hours? (Select all that apply)

( ) StartStart ( ) EndEnd ( ) EndStart ( ) StartEnd




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Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned Take a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this chapter

1.

2.

3.




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Solutions Test Your Knowledge

1. In which module(s) do you find the Forecast model form? (Select all that apply)

() Project management and accounting () Inventory and warehouse management ( ) Human resources ( ) Master planning

2. On-account forecasts are used to forecast expected on-account payments for which of the type of projects? (Select all that apply)

( ) Variable cost () Time and material () Fixed-price ( ) Variable cost with WIP

3. Describe why someone might decide to reschedule a resource.

MODEL ANSWER:

Someone might decide to reschedule a resource if orders are scheduled over a period of time, or if the sequence of operations for a particular item is no longer practical or optimal. Another reason someone might decide to reschedule a resource is if a particular resource is becoming a constraint, you might want to move some of the scheduled jobs or operations to a different resource.

4. Scheduling involves work centers.

() True ( ) False ( ) Only sometimes




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5. Which types require links to a record in the tables when you work with resource groups? (Select all that apply)

() Vendor ( ) Project ( ) Production control () Human resource

6. What are the methods

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