Project System (PS) Fundamentals

Project System Fundamentals

Contents: Introduction Project Project Structure Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Components of WBS SAP Project Builder

Project System Fundamentals

Introduction: Project System provides tools to track project milestone, costs and resources. SAP's Project System module contains tight integration to the Controlling, Human Resources, and Accounting modules. Integration with other applications. There is a high degree of integration between the Project System (PS) and other components within the SAP system; It utilizes personnel

records from HR, rolls costs into Controlling and links to materials or
customers in the Logistics modules. It is this which enables the Project System to present data clearly and in many different ways. SAP Project System has constant access to data in all the departments involved in the project.

11/26/2012

Project System Fundamentals

What is a Project? A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables),undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives. Projects are tasks with special characteristics; They are generally complex, unique, and involve a high degree of

risk.
They have precise goals which are agreed on by you and the ordering (Sold-to) party. They are limited in duration and are cost and capacity intensive. They are subject to certain quality requirements.

Project System Fundamentals

To be able to carry out a project in its entirety, the project goals must be precisely described and the project activities to be carried out must be

structured.
Project Structure: The main function of the project structure is to define standards to use in

arranging the deliverables of a project for proper project execution.

A project can be structured; According to how it is organized According to the processes involved

Project System Fundamentals

Project Structure according to Organization.
One of the first steps in project planning is to break down the work involved in the project into tasks and set up a hierarchy, this is called work breakdown structure (WBS).

Project Structure according to Processes involved.

A project can also be structured or planned by determining the sequence in which the tasks will be performed, which tasks are dependent on each other and which tasks require additional work or must be broken down further. In the SAP project system, you can plan the processes and sequence of task with networks.

Project System Fundamentals

In the SAP Project System, you can plan the organization of the work and people in your project with the work breakdown structure (WBS).

What is a Work Breakdown Structure? A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a model of the work to be performed in a project, organized in a hierarchical form. Simply put, it is the breaking down of a project into simple realizable components.

Project System Fundamentals

A Simple Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Project System Fundamentals

Typical SAP Project Structure

Project System Fundamentals

The WBS is an important tool which helps you keep an overview of the project; That is, it shows the amount of work, the time required, and the costs involved in the project.

Components of the WBS

WBS Elements The individual elements represent activities within the work breakdown structure. The elements are called work breakdown structure elements (WBS elements) in the Project System. WBS elements can be; A Tasks (Activities), B Partial tasks which are subdivided further (Work elements), or C Work packages

Project System Fundamentals

Work Package: A work package is a group of related tasks that are defined at the same level within a work breakdown structure. In the Project System, You can create a work package according to your needs using a WBS element or an activity. Work packages can be on any level in the work breakdown structure and are characterized by: Start and finish dates Texts describing the work to be performed Responsible cost centers Cost centers carrying out the project

Project System Fundamentals

Network :
A network can be thought of as a list of tasks organized into a process flow with specific timing. It is used to graphically display various structural elements of a project and their interdependencies in the Project System. The essential components of a network are: Activities Relationships between the activities

Project System Fundamentals

Activities : An activity is a task that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time within the project. In SAP PS Activities are mapped into internal activities and external activities. The most important data describing an activity in the Project System is: Duration of the activity Start and Finish dates for the activity Activity mapping and Float Resources required to carry out the activity Texts and documents describing the activity

Project System Fundamentals

Milestone : A milestone is an event that receives special attention in a project; it signifies key stages in a project. It is often falsely put at the end of a stage to mark the completion of a work package or phase. In SAP PS there two types of milestone; Start Milestone Finish Milestone

Project System Fundamentals

Relationships There is usually a reason for a specific sequence of activities in a network. It may be due to technical dependencies between individual activities. These dependencies are represented by relationships in which one activity is the predecessor or the successor of another activity. The relationship type specifies how the individual activities are linked with each other: Finish - Start (FS) Relationship Relationship between the finish of one activity and the start of its successor. Start - Start (SS) Relationship Relationship between the start of one activity and the start of its successor. Finish - Finish (FF) Relationship Relationship between the finish of one activity and the finish of its successor. Start - Finish (SF) Relationship Relationship between the start of one activity and the finish of its successor.

Project System Fundamentals

Activity Element: These are the resources utilized to execute an activity also referred to as activity type. Activity element is also mapped into two; Internal processing and External processing. General cost activities: These is used to represent those expenses the are incurred at the point of executing a task within the project that can not be tied to a particular activity. Materials components: Material components are used to assign material resource to an activity within the project such that the concerned storage location (Ware house) will make a reservation for such material if it is a stock item or place a request (requisition) for procurement if it is a non-stock item.

PROJECT SYSTEM: Project Builder window

Project System Fundamentals

Project System Fundamentals

END