9. Plug in Installation From Utilities, click MS Project Plug-in to download and install. You can run the file directly or execute it after saving it on your local system.
10. The version is mentioned on the setup wizard. Click Next. Plug in Installation (Continued)
17. Authentication to log on to the Digité server. Icon to display a list of projects that can be checked out. Icon to display a list of checked out projects that can be checked in. Icon to undo checkout for checked out projects. The Get operation Icon to fetch a read-only copy of the MPP file. Icon to import the project MPP file into CSV file. Icon to export the project MPP file into CSV file. Icon to set options to operate the plug-in. Icon to log out from the current session. Plug in Toolbar - Details
34. Toolbar icons under Tasks module for Checkout, Checkin, Undo Checkout and Download using CSV . Features Available for CSV
35. Project is checked out using the checkout CSV icon. CSV Checkout Zip file of the project in CSV format is created for download. Select a location on your system to store the zip file. Confirmation of successful file download.
36. Import from CSV icon to open the CSV zip file. CSV Checkout (Continued) Dialog box to select the downloaded CSV zip file. Confirmation of successful import of the CSV project file.
37. CSV checkout gets disabled and CSV check in and Undo checkout get enabled. CSV Checkout (Continued) Checked out status of project updated in Digité .
38. Export to CSV icon to export MPP file to CSV format. CSV Check in Dialog box to select the MPP file to export. Confirmation of successful export of the MPP file.
39. Project is checked in using the check in CSV icon. CSV Check in (Continued) Select the CSV zip file on your system to check in.
40. CSV Check in (Continued) Checked in status of project updated in Digité .
41. CSV checkout gets disabled and CSV check in and Undo checkout get enabled. CSV Undo Checkout Undo checkout icon to cancel the checkout of the project. Confirmation of successful undo checkout operation.
42. Read only copy is downloaded using download CSV icon. CSV Download Zip file of the project in CSV format is created for download. Select a location on your system to store the zip file. Confirmation of successful file download.
43. Import from CSV icon to open the CSV zip file. CSV Download (Continued) Dialog box to select the downloaded CSV zip file. Confirmation of successful import of the CSV project file.
46. Work Package Check Out Enter your credentials to log into the Digité server. Project list to select a project. and then its work packages.
47. Informatory message before the work package is checked out. Work Package Check Out (Continued) Checked out work package plan.
48. Work packages list for check in. Work Package Check in Confirmation message of the file upload.
49. Baseline Approval Request Instance (Based on Preference) The Details tab displays the details for the baselined work package alongwith the status of the approval request. After the assigned members route the Baseline Approval instance, the Checkin/CheckOut Status of the work package is displayed as 'Checked In'. A Baseline Approval Instance is created when you set a baseline for a work package.
Welcome to MSP Interface Training. In this presentation, you will learn how to use Digit é MSP Plug-in to create and manage a project schedule in MSP using Digité and MSP interface.
This is the sequence of topics in which our training session will flow.
This training module is intended for the Project Managers who will be responsible for creation of the project, scheduling and tracking the project tasks. This training can also be used by team leads who can assist project managers in project schedule maintenance.
The recommended pre-requisites for this training are: You should have undergone Digité UI, Project Management and Common System Operations Training modules. You should have the URL and an account on the Digité Sandbox environment for hands-on sessions.
This training module will assist the Project Managers and Team Leads to understand the MSP interface with Digité. This will enable them to create and manage their task schedules in MSP.
Let’s get started with the training.
Digité integrates with MSP client to provide the user with an opportunity to harness the capabilities of both the tools jointly. Most project managers are familiar with MSP and can continue to use it for project plan scheduling once they are onboard with Digité. The features made available through this integration are: Check out the project created in Digité through MSP. Add or Update the project plan with tasks, their relationships, resource allocations, baselining the plan and other MSP operations. Save and check in the project, to update Digité server with the modified plan. Let us now look at the plug in that makes this integration possible.
Lets now see how the plug in is installed on your desktop.
Digité provides the user the MSP plug-in as a utility which can be downloaded and installed on your desktop. It is a pre-requisite to have MSP2002, 2003 2007 or2010 installed on the desktop before installing the plug in. To download and install the plug-in, navigate to Utilities, and click MS Project Plug-in. The Download window appears. You can run the executable file directly or save it to the local drive and then execute it.
The installation procedure remains the same, whether a user runs the executable file directly or saves it to the local drive and then executes it. The Welcome page displays the version of the plug-in. Ensure that you close all the applications before starting the installation.
Enter your personal information in the next page.
Under usage mode, you can select the usage for plug-in. The options are: Import and Export only: In this mode, the you will be only using for import and export of the project file. Checkout and Checkin only: In this mode, the you will be using MSP to extract and upload the file project file. Both: You can use both the modes as explained above. This is the default selection and recommended not to be changed.
Then select the location to install the plug-in . It selects a location by default which you can change. Note that there has to be at least 10 megabytes of free disk space on the drive you select.
If you want to change any selection in the previous pages, you can click Back or click Install to continue with the installation.
Once you click Install, the setup installs the plug-in. The confirmation page is displayed after the installation is complete. Now we will see how to work using the MSP Plug-in.
Once the plug in has been installed successfully, the user can invoke MSP and see that a new toolbar is added to MSP view. This toolbar will allow the user to extract or checkout the project file, make updates to it and then upload or check in the file. Lets see in the next slide what is the function of each icon in the toolbar.
Let us now look at the function of each icon in the toolbar. Logon: This allows the user to authenticate and log onto the Digité server. Check out: This provides the user with the list of projects which the user can checkout. Check in: This gives the list of checked out projects that can be checked in by the user. Undo Check out: This allows the user to undo checkout or reverse the last check out of the project. Get: This icon allows the user to fetch a read only copy of the project schedule, which cannot be checked in. Import from CSV: This is the option to import the project file in CSV format. Export from CSV: This is the option to export the project file in CSV format. Options: This is the function to set the options for the plug in to work with Digité server and user desktop. Log off: This allows the user to log off from the current session. Now lets see the Option settings and log on to work o the MPP file using the plug-in.
Before we see the logon process, let us see the settings in the Options. These need to be in place before the user proceeds to log on and check out a project. Click the Options icon to display the window. Proxy Settings: For these settings, it is recommended that you consult the IT or Networking department to determine the mandated way of accessing URLs and servers. This would decide how you access the Digité server to check out a project. User Environment, Server List, Usage Mode and Backup Folder: It is recommended to keep the default settings for these sections. Now we can see how you can log on to the Digité server.
The Logon window is invoked by clicking the Logon icon in the toolbar. Enter the user name, password and server URL which you will use to log in to Digité from the Internet browser. There are options available regarding the logon settings. These can be viewed by clicking the Options link on the window. The options are with respect to retaining the username and password information.
On successful verification of username and password, a list of projects that the user has access to in Digité, is shown for check out. You can select any project to check out, one at a time. Before checking out, you need to create a folder as the location for the project files to be downloaded. This is the location where the project will be checked out physically. At the bottom of the window, information is provided for taking care when using plug-in for checkout and checkin. Let us now check out SAP HR Module Implementation project by selecting the project name in the list and clicking OK.
Before the project is checked out, a note informs the user that the Planned Schedule of the project plan may get altered upon check out. Similarly, if project is checked out using higher version, for e.g.. MSP2010 then it will not allow check in using lower versions like MSP2007, MSP2003,etc. Avoid using the ' Manually Scheduled ' Task mode as Digité only supports tasks added with Task Mode "Auto Scheduled". The checked out project is then displayed in Microsoft Project. Project plan is now available exclusively to user for editing, and other team members have only read-only access to project plan in Digité.
As soon as the project is successfully checked out in MSP, its status gets updated in the project profile in Digité. Checking out a project then restricts certain operations in the checked out project in Digité. For instance, no team members can be edited or added while the project is checked out, as the checked out project file inherits the team member information at the time of check out .Lets go back to MSP and see how we can check in our project.
Once you make required changes to the project plan, such as adding new tasks, allocating resources and baselining the plan, the project can be checked in back to Digité. Click the Checkin icon in the toolbar. The Checkin window appears which is similar to the check out window, except here the list is of the projects which the you can check in. We see that the project we checked out and updated is now available for check in.
After you select the project and click Ok, the check in process starts. The confirmation message is displayed once the file is uploaded to the Digité server. Note that this is just the message for file upload and actual check in confirmation can be seen in your email as a notification or from the status in the project profile in Digité.
As soon as the project is successfully checked in from MSP, its status gets updated in the project profile in Digité. If you have set the 'Send Project Baseline for Approval' application preference to “Yes” a request is initiated for approving the set baseline (under Project Management>Baseline Approval Request). After the assigned members route the Baseline Approval instance, the Checkin/CheckOut Status of the project is displayed as 'Checked In'. Lets us now see what is undo checkout.
In a situation where changes made to a checked out project need to be cancelled and the check out of the project needs to be reversed, you can use the Undo checkout option. Click the Undo Check out icon in the toolbar. The Check out window appears. The window is similar to the Checkin window and the list of projects is displayed which for you can undo check out. The project we checked out is available to undo checkout.
After you select the project and click Ok, the undo check out process starts. The confirmation message appears once the undo check out operation is successful. Lets now see the Get function.
The Get function can be used to download the project file for read-only purpose. On clicking the Get function icon, the list of projects is displayed for to you have access in Digité. You can select any project to get, one at a time. Before you start with the Get function, you need to create a folder as the location for the project files to be downloaded. This is the location where the project will be extracted physically. Let us now do a get project for SAP HR Module Implementation project by selecting the project from the list and clicking OK.
Unlike project check out, more that one user who has access to the project can perform the get function on the same project at a time.
Also the project CheckIn/CheckOut status in the project profile in Digité is not updated. Finally, lets see the Log off function in the toolbar.
The log off window confirms that the you have logging off from the current session.
Let us now see how import and export through CSV interface allows you to check out and check in a project.
Checkout and check in using the CSV interface is an option to directly check out and check in using the plug-in MSP. In this case, the file is first checked out from Digité into CSV format and then imported into MSP for editing. Once the changes are made, the file is exported back to CSV format to be imported from Digité. Although the import and export is done from Digité through CSV format, the file is edited and worked using the MSP client. Let us now understand the process using the example of SAP HR Implementation Module project.
The process of checking out a project using the CSV interface starts within Digité. Under the Tasks module within the project, Digité provides a set of icons to accomplish checkout and related functions. The first icon is to check out the project file in CSV. This maps to the checkout icon in the plug-in toolbar. The second icon is to check in the file back into Digité through CSV. This maps to the check in icon in the plug in toolbar. The third icon is undo checkout the project file. This maps to the undo checkout icon in the plug in toolbar. You can see that the check in and undo check out icons are disabled as the project has not been checked out yet. The fourth icon is to download the project file in CSV. This maps to the get icon in the plug in toolbar. Now lets checkout the project using CSV interface.
Check out the project using the checkout CSV icon in the toolbar. Click the icon displays the zipped project file which needs to be downloaded and saved on your system. Click Save to proceed. The zip file needs to be saved on a location on your desktop. On successful downloading of the file, the confirmation dialog box appears.
Once the project file is downloaded in CSV format, it needs to be imported and opened in MSP client for editing. Click the import from CSV icon in the toolbar to import the project file into MSP. Select the file to be downloaded and saved. A message appears indicating successful import of the project file. You can now work in the project file in MSP.
Once the project is checked out, the CSV checkout icon is unavailable. On the other hand, the CSV checkin and undo checkout icons now get enabled as the project is now in checked out state. The checked out status also gets updated on the project profile, just like it does when the project is checked out directly in MSP.
Once all the changes have been made to the project file in MSP, the project file is first exported back to CSV format using the export to CSV icon in the toolbar. Clicking on the icon displays a dialog box to export the MPP file to CSV. Select the MPP file from the location. On successful export of the MPP file, the Confirmation window appears. Once the zipped project file in CSV format is created, it needs to be checked in back to Digité.
Check in the project using the check in CSV icon in the toolbar. Select the zipped CSV file to check in which was exported. Click Upload to proceed. On successful check in, a confirmation is mailed to you as a notification. You can also view the status in the project profile in Digité.
You can undo a project checkout which has been checked out using checkout CSV. Click the undo checkout icon, to reverse the checkout. After the project has been checked out, a confirmation message is displayed. The checkout icon would be unavailable and check in CSV and undo checkout icons get enabled.
Just like the Get function, a read only copy of the project can be downloaded. Click the download CSV icon in the toolbar which displays the zipped project file to be downloaded and saved on your system. On successful download of the file, the confirmation dialog box is displayed.
Once the project file is downloaded in CSV format, it needs to be imported which can be opened in MSP client for viewing. The project file is imported into MSP using the import from CSV icon in the toolbar. Click the icon to import the zip file to be opened in MSP. After successful import, you can view the project plan in MSP. Similar to get project operation, this does not physically checkout the project and only downloads a copy of the project plan for read-only or review purpose. Any changes made to such a project plan cannot be checked in back to Digité. We now move on the concept of work packages and the checkout and check in operations.
Let us now explore the work package concept in Digité and how a work package can be checked out and checked in using the plug-in.
The a dvantage of using Work Package feature in Digité is that it allows the user to treat the iterations within the project lifecycle as if they are new projects. Therefore it becomes very much easier to track and manage the iterations. The iteration approach entails continually improving software incrementally over a number of iterations, adding new functionality gradually over a period of time. Let us now see how a work package can be checked out and checked in using Digité MSP Plug-in.
The process of checking out a work package is similar to checking out a project. Log in to the Digité server by clicking on the Logon icon in the toolbar. After successful login, from the project checkout window, select the project whose work package needs to be checked out. Then select the item type. In our example we look at work packages which are named as Development Iterations in Digité. Selecting the item type displays the items in the list based on the item type. You can now select a particular iteration and check it out.
Note that the Planned Schedule of the work package plan may get altered upon check out. The checked out work package is displayed in Microsoft Project. The plan is now available exclusively for editing. As for the other team members, they have only read-only access to the work package plan in Digité.
Once you make required changes to the work package, such as adding new tasks, allocating resources and base lining the plan, the work package can be checked in back to Digité To check in a work package, click the Check in icon in the toolbar. In the Checkin window, select the work package within a project that can be checked in. We see that the work package we checked out and updated is now available for check in. After selecting the work package and clicking Ok, the check in process starts. The file is uploaded to the Digité server after successful checking. Note that this is just the message for file upload and actual check in confirmation will be mailed to you as a notification. If you have set the 'Send Project Baseline for Approval' application preference to “Yes” a request is initiated for approving the set baseline (under Project Management>Baseline Approval Request). After the assigned members route the Baseline Approval instance, the Checkin/CheckOut Status of the project is displayed as 'Checked In'.
If you have set the 'Send Project Baseline for Approval' application preference to “Yes” a request is initiated for approving the set baseline (under Project Management>Baseline Approval Request). After the assigned members route the Baseline Approval instance, the Checkin/CheckOut Status of the project is displayed as 'Checked In'.
As we have seen with checkout and check in operations for a work package, the undo checkout and get operations function similar to the way they do for a project.
With this, you have come to the end of this training. To summarize, you have learnt about the Digité and MSP interface done through the MSP Plug in. The plug in allows the project manager to create and manage the task schedule of the project in MSP which is a well known and familiar tool for most of the project managers. The tracking of the schedule happens in Digité. You have also learnt about the concept and operations on work packages within Digité.
Kindly proceed with the hands-on on the topics covered in this training session. Log in to the Digité application & get familiar with the features covered in various training topics.
