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Lesson 4. Additional operations with a document

In this Lesson we will finish getting acquainted with the program functionalities and will learn to perform such tasks as customizing of interface and document properties, and work with several projects in the Workspace.

Most of what is going to be described below has already been discussed. Here we will generalize this information and add something new. In this Lesson we will consider 3 topics: work with Workspace, setting of document properties and customizing of interface.

• Workspace
• Document Properties
• Interface settings

Workspace

ConceptDraw Project allows to work with voluntary number of projects. In order to correctly arrange them, allocate resources and fix the budget, a common Workspace is created for them. Workspace is a set of projects and resources, which are allocated between the projects.

The following work order is assumed: first, a Workspace document is created and projects are added and designed in it. A resource sheet is created for this Workspace and then these resources are allocated between the projects.

• Add new project to Workspace
• Insert project from MS Project
• Consider sharing of resources
  • Inserting project into a project
  • Links between tasks of different projects

Add new project to Workspace

To add a new project to the Workspace, switch to Workspace view (menu View / Projects) and use Insert Project to Workspace in:

1. Menu Workspace
2. Toolbar Workspace (button Insert Project to Workspace ).
3. The context menu of the Workspace view.

Task: Add two more projects to our Workspace - "Holding a picnic" and "Corporative party".

Then add to the project "Holding a picnic" three tasks: "Day 1", "Day 2", and "Departure".

Insert project from MS Project

In Workspace you can not only create new projects but also insert already existing ones from MS Project. To do this:

1. Use Import MS Project XML to Workspase in menu Workspace.
2. In the opened dialog Save As select the needed document.

The project will be added to the Workspace resource sheet. Project can be imported from any view both that of Workspace and Gantt Chart and Resource Sheet.

So information from MS Project can be used not only as a separate Workspace (as it was described in Lesson 3, Chapter Import) but it can also imported to the needed Workspace.

Consider sharing of resources

In ConceptDraw Project resources are created for the whole Workspace and allocated between tasks in different projects.

In dialog Resource (called in menu Workspace / Add (Edit) Resource) the cost of resource per unit is specified. For workers units are specified as well.

On assigning resources to tasks (tab Resources in dialog Task Information, which is called from menu Tasks / Assign Resources to Task) in graph Units, the degree of occupancy of the given resource (worker) is specified in the given task of the project or the number of units used (material). You can track all resources so that workload for 1 person does not exceed 100%. For this you need to sum up his/her occupancy percent on different projects during the period of time we are interested in.

Then, basing on this data the program will calculate the cost of resources for each project in the Workspace. See Lesson 2, Chapter Managing Resources for details.

Inserting project into a project

ConceptDraw Project allows to work not only with several projects simultaneously but also combine projects by inserting into a project another already existing project of the given Workspace. This can be very convenient when one big project is being completed by several worker groups (or enterprises or companies). Then, each of the groups is creating its own project (or somebody creates such projects for the groups), and then they are all combined into one common project. For instance, one may need it for planning design of some product, when tasks are developed separately for programmers, quality assurance engineers and technical writers who may be working in different companies or even in different countries.

To insert a project into a project use Insert Project to Project in menu Workspace. Dialog Select Project will open, where the project to be inserted into the open one is selected. Task sheet of the project will be inserted to substitute the selected task which will move down. If there is no selected task in the project, a new project will be appended to the end of list of current project. If choose option Insert Sub Task in dialog Select Project, then project will be inserted as a subtask of the selected task.

Task: Open the project "Picnic" and insert "Holding a picnic" before the task "Resume".

Links between tasks of different projects

Links can be set between tasks of different projects. To do this, insert one project into another first, and then set links between the tasks similarly to how it is done between tasks in single project (For the directions see Lesson 2, Chapter Links between tasks).

At shifting times for task completion in the inserted project they will be automatically changed in the original one as well.

It is due to a possibility of setting links between tasks of different projects that connection between tasks is a concept of a Workspace level, and not that of the project and related commands are in menu Workspace.

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