Explore the sample project and administration data

Follow the steps in this topic to explore and work with the sample data for IBM® Rational® Project Conductor. You can create the sample administration and project data by using a download package provided on the Jazz™.net Web site.
Complete the following steps to work through an end-to-end management scenario:

1. Managing user attributes

2. Creating calendars and profiles

3. Exploring the sample project and creating work items

4. Assigning profiles and resources

5. Entering and approving timesheets

6. Tracking project progress

40 minutes

Creating the sample data

Important: Create the sample data in a test environment, not in a production environment.

The sample data package contains an executable script to create the sample administration data. It also contains .xml files with sample project data that you can import into your project environment. (The .xml files are written in conformance with Microsoft® Office Project 2007 XML data interchange schema). You can create the sample data in a new database or an existing database. If you create the sample data in an existing database, you might experience artifact name conflicts with existing data.

Before you begin:

Ensure that the installation is complete, and the project management environment is set up. For more information, see Setting up the project management environment.

To create the sample data:
  1. Download the sample data .zip package from https://jazz.net/downloads/rational-project-conductor/.
  2. Extract the contents of the package to the Rational Project Conductor installation directory JazzInstallDir/server.
  3. You can create the sample administration data by using the batch file (for Windows®) supplied in the download package or by using a repotools command (for Windows or Linux®).
    • To create the sample data using the batch file (Windows only):
      • Stop the Jazz Team Server.
      • In the directory where you extracted the download package, double-click the file CreateSampleData.bat.
      • When prompted, enter '1' to create new database tables, or '2' to use the existing database tables.
    • To create the sample data by using repotools:
      • Stop the Jazz Team Server.
      • At the command prompt, enter the path to the Rational Project Conductor installation directory, JazzInstallDir/server.
      • To create new database tables, type the following command (you can skip this step if you want to create the sample data in an existing database):
        repotools -createTables -noPrompt
      • To create the sample administrative data, type the command:
        repotools -createRPCData fromFile=<download package directory>\SampleData.xml

Prerequisites

To work with the sample data, log in either as the default admin user (user name: ADMIN; password: ADMIN), or as a user that has JazzAdmins permission.

Getting started: Creating users

Create and configure users based on your chosen user authentication method, and assign the appropriate licenses to them.

To create users:
  1. Log in to Rational Project Conductor as a user who has administrator privileges (ADMIN/ADMIN on a new server installation).
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Administration to go to the Jazz Team Server administration area. Click User Management.
  3. Select the Active Users page, and then click Create User.
  4. Complete the following fields:
    • In the User Name field, type the user name as 'Gail'.
    • In the User Id field, type the user identifier as 'Gail'.
    • In the E-mail Address field, type an e-mail address.
  5. In the Repository Permissions pane, select the user permissions as JazzAdmins and JazzProjectAdmins.
  6. In the Client Access Licenses pane, select the license type as Rational Project Conductor - Project Manager.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Follow steps 3 to 7 to create additional users with the following details:
    Table 1.
    User name/User ID Repository permission Client access license
    Neil/Peter JazzUsers Rational Project Conductor - Project Team
    Peter/Peter JazzUsers Rational Project Conductor - Project Team
    Kathy/Kathy JazzUsers Rational Project Conductor - Project Team
After you create these users, you can log in as these users. The default passwords for these users is the same as the user ID.

1. Managing user attributes

Assign project management attributes, such as rates, skills, and competencies to the users, so that they can be assigned to work items in a project.

Log in to the Jazz Team Server Administration area as the default admin user.

  1. On the User Management page, click Gail. Click the Project Management tab. You can assign a calendar, rates, skills, competency, and pools to the sample users.
    User attributes
  2. In the Calendar area, click Calendar, select a calendar, and click OK.
  3. Next to the Rate Name field, click Rates, select a rate, and click OK.
  4. In the Pool area, click the Add icon Add icon, select a pool, and click OK.
  5. In the Skills area, click the Add icon Add icon, select a skill, and click OK.
  6. In the Competencies area, click the Add icon Add icon, select a competency, and click OK.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Follow the same steps to configure the other sample users.

2. Creating calendars and profiles

You can use calendars to determine the working hours and days for resources and projects. Create and maintain calendars in the administration area. Calendars are assigned to resources as resource calendars, and to projects as project calendars. During resource search and assignment, resource calendars are used to determine the availability of resources. Project calendars are used to calculate the schedule duration and effort for the project and its work items.

Profiles serve as placeholders for resources during project planning. A profile consists of skills, competency, proficiency, and rate information. You assign profiles to projects and work items during project planning; when resources are identified, you replace the profiles with resources.

To create a calendar:
Note: Make sure that you are logged in to the Jazz Team Server Administration area as an admin user.
  1. In the Project Management Administration page, in the left menu bar, click Calendars.
    Note: The Default calendar has the hours per day specified as 8. This means that projects to which the Default calendar is assigned have a working day of 8 hours. A task with a duration of 3 days will have the effort calculated as 8*3, or 24 hours.
  2. Click the Add icon Add icon.
  3. For the calendar name, enter MyCalendar.
  4. For the work hours per day, enter 9, and click Save.
  5. Click Exceptions. In the From and To fields, click the calendar control, and select a Sunday.
  6. Select Repeat Exception and select Weekly.
  7. In the Comments field, type Weekly holiday. Click OK.

To create a profile:

  1. On the Project Management Administration page, in the left menu bar, click Profiles.
  2. Click the Add icon Add icon.
  3. Double-click the Name field and enter MyProfile.
  4. Double-click the Experience field and enter 3.
  5. Double-click the Skills field, and add a skill and proficiency to the profile.
  6. Double-click the Competency and Rate fields, and add those to the profile.
  7. Click Save.

3. Exploring the sample project and creating work items

You can now log in as a sample user, explore the sample project, WBS, and schedule, and add new work items to the sample project.

  1. Log into Rational Project Conductor as Gail (Gail/Gail on Apache Tomcat), the sample user with a Project Manager license.
  2. In the top navigation bar, make sure that the Work view is selected. In this view, you manage the project work, schedules, and risks.
  3. Begin by creating a program. Click Create Program, and enter the program name as Sample Applications. Click Save. Now import a sample project to this program.
  4. Click the down arrow next to the program, and click Import project. Click Browse, and from the directory where you extracted the downloaded package, select the file SimpleProject.xml. Click Next. The Default calendar is selected as the project calendar. Calendars are assigned during project creation, and cannot be changed after a project is saved. Click Next.
  5. On the Map Resources page, map the users in the .xml project file to the users you created (Peter, Gail, Kathy, Neil). Select the Resource Type as User, and from the Available Resources list, select the user with the same name. Click Finish. For more information on mapping resources during project import, see Importing a project from Microsoft Project
  6. After the import is complete, click OK.
  7. Expand the imported project, 'SampleProject' to view the project WBS.
  8. On the Create Program button, click the down arrow, and select Task. For the task name, enter document and test, and click Save.
  9. Create another task called deploy.
    WBS
  10. Click the Schedule tab to see the schedule dates, duration, and effort for the elements. The Plan schedule is the same as the Expected schedule because there are no planned resource assignments, and the Actual schedule fields are empty because none of the work items are started. The tasks that you created have a duration of one day and a default start and finish date that corresponds to the current date.
  11. In the WBS tree, select document and test. Double-click the Duration (Exp) field and enter the task duration as 3 days. Click Save. The Finish (Exp) date for the task changes to accommodate the changed duration, and the Effort (Exp) for the task changes to 24 hours. The Finish date and Effort are calculated based on the working days and hours that are specified in the project calendar. The expected schedule is also copied to the Start (Plan), Finish (Plan), and Duration (Plan) fields.
    Schedule
  12. Click the arrow in the splitter bar to expand the Gantt chart. Hover the mouse over an element in the Gantt chart to view the element details.
    Gantt chart
  13. Click the Details tab. You can view the task details in the viewlet.
    Details viewlet
You have now explored the Work view. You can also complete the following tasks in the Work view:

In the next section, you will learn how to search for and assign profiles and resources to work items.

4. Assigning profiles and resources

You can now search for and assign profiles and resources to the sample project and the work items. You can also replace profiles with resources and unassign resources.

  1. Ensure you are logged in as the user 'Gail'. In the top navigation bar, click Resources. This is the area in which you manage resource assignments for the project.
  2. In the WBS tree, click SimpleProject. In the Search and Assign tab, the users that are assigned to the project are displayed.
    Assignment details
  3. For each user, double-click the Start date, and enter the current date. This action extends the resource assignments at the project level, so that you can assign resources to the tasks you created.
  4. Navigate through the project tasks, and view the users assigned to the tasks. Each assignment contains details about the start and end dates, duration, effort, and contour. You can modify the dates, duration, and effort for the assignments.
  5. In the WBS tree, select the document and test task. Assign the MyProfile profile to the task. In the Search and Assign tab, click the Add one or more profiles icon Add one or more profiles icon.
    Add profiles
  6. Select MyProfile, click the right arrow, and click Add. Click Save. The profile is also assigned at the project level.
  7. In the WBS tree, select the deploy task.
  8. Click the Find and Assign users by Name icon Find and assign users by name. In the Select Users window, click Show All. From the search results, select Neil -Neil, and click OK.
    Assign resources
  9. Double-click the End date, and enter the date that is two days later than the displayed date. Double-click Effort and enter 24 hours; then click Save. Neil is now assigned to the Run performance tests task.
  10. Click the document and test task and replace the profile with a resource. In the Search and Assign tab, click the Open Search/Assign results table icon Open Search/Assign results table icon.
  11. In the Show list, make sure that All is selected. From the list of resources, select Peter. In the Actions column, click the Replace icon replace icon
  12. Click Save.
You have now explored the resource and profile search and assignments area. You can also complete the following additional tasks:

5. Entering and approving timesheets

After the resource assignments are created, you can explore the Timesheets area. You can log in as a resource that is assigned to a task, and enter and submit timesheets. You can then log in as the project manager and approve timesheets.

  1. Log in to Rational Project Conductor as Neil (Neil/Neil on Apache Tomcat). When you log in as Neil, in the Work view, you will see the Test project, which is the only project that Neil is assigned to.
  2. In the top navigation bar, click Timesheets. This is the area in which team members enter timesheets and project managers approve timesheets.
  3. Click the My Timesheet tab. View the tasks that Neil is assigned to.
    My timesheet view
  4. Select the week to enter the timesheet for. For the task 'implement DB', enter 8 hours for each day of the week. For the %C, enter 10; this indicates to the timesheet approver that in your estimation, the task is 10% complete. Click Submit. The timesheet for the week is submitted for approval.
  5. Log in as Peter (Peter/Peter on Apache Tomcat), and enter and submit the timesheet for his tasks.
  6. Log in as Gail, who has project manager rights, to review and approve the timesheets. In the Timesheets view, click the Timesheet Approval tab.
  7. From the user list, select Neil. Click the Approve Timesheet icon Approve Timesheet. The status of the timesheet is displayed as Approved.
    Timesheet Approval view
  8. Click the Approve Timesheet icon Approve Timesheet. The status of the timesheet is displayed as Approved.
  9. Click Peter, and select a task. In the Actions column, click the Approve task icon Approve task icon. Click Save.
    Timesheet Approval view
  10. Click another task and reject the timesheet entry. In the Actions column, click the Timesheet Notes icon Timesheet Notes icon, and enter notes to describe why you are rejecting the timesheet.
  11. In the Actions column, click the Reject task icon Reject task icon. Click Save.

Based on the timesheet approval, the project status is updated with the progress information. Next, you can track the project status update in the Work view.

6. Tracking project progress

In the Work view, you can view the completion status of the project and project tasks based on the timesheet submission and approval.

  1. From the top navigation bar, click Work, and then click the Schedule tab.
  2. In the WBS tree, expand Test. The %EC is displayed for the project and for the tasks for which the timesheets were approved, and the %C is displayed for the task for which it was entered in the timesheet.
    Project status

Summary

You have now seen the basic project management activities and task flow. Continue to explore the sample data to gain a deeper understanding of the functions and features of the product.

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