Guidelines for Creating a Plan from a Project

You can create a new plan from one or more existing projects that are similar in purpose and scope.

• The defaults on the Create Plan from Project dialog box are set on the General tab of Planning Configuration.

• To copy the project's work breakdown structure (WBS), use the Copy down to option on the Create Plan from Project dialog box to specify the level(s) of the project's WBS that will be copied to the plan. If the original project's WBS includes wildcards, you must select the When Retrieving a Plan Use Wildcards to Match Project option on the General Tab of Planning Configuration to include the wildcards in your plan.

• To copy the project's schedule, use the Copy Actual Hours into Planned Hours option to have Vision copy the start and end dates for more each WBS element into the new plan. If you use the Plan Start Date field to specify a new start date for your plan, Vision shifts the start and end dates of all WBS elements accordingly. If you base your plan on multiple projects, the plan's Start Date is the earliest start date within the selected projects, and the plan's End Date is the latest end date within the selected projects.

• If you select the Compensation Values by Row and Period option on the Configuration > Planning > Plan Settings form, the Compensation Fee, Consultant Fee, and Reimbursable Allowance fields are copied from the Project level to the corresponding Task level.

• If you select the Include in Utilization and Project Reports option on the Configuration > Planning > Plan Settings form, Vision automatically includes the new plan in Utilization and Project Reports. You can map plan elements to existing Info Center records. This allows you to see actual hours and amounts in plans.

• Select one or more of the following options to map plan elements to Info Center records:

  • Map existing project numbers into the structure of the plan — This option maps plan elements to Info Center project, phase, and task records.

  • Copy Employees into the Plan — This option maintains mapping between the plan elements and employee records for all resource assignments.

  • Copy Generic Resources into the Plan — This option maintains mapping between the plan elements and a generic resource record. The generic resources available in Planning are taken from the labor category and labor code billing rate tables specified in the Billing application. This option is available only if at least one labor category rate table record is marked Available for Planning.

  • Copy Actual Hours into Planned Hours — This option has Vision copy the start and end dates for each WBS element into the new plan, which is useful to have actuals (historical data) serve as the basis for realistic estimates in your new plan. If you use this option and also specify a new start date for the plan in the Plan Start Date field, Vision changes all start and end dates for all WBS elements throughout the plan accordingly.

  • Copy Accounts into Plan — This option maintains mapping between the plan elements (specified on the Teams tab) and account records for all expenses and consultant assignments. When you select this option, the Copy Vendors into Plan option is enabled.

  • Copy Vendors into Plan — This option is available when Copy Accounts into Plan is selected. Select this option to copy vendors from the project into the plan.

  • Copy Other Team Members into the Plan — This option copies team members from the project to the plan.

• Copy user defined fields from the existing project into the new plan. These values are defined on the User Defined Tabs option in Vision Configuration.