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Desktop Analyzer: Excel Front-End to SAP's PPM Module:
The Desktop Analyzer (version 4.93) suite of tools provides an Excel front-end to SAP’s Portfolio and Project Management (PPM 5.0 and 6.0) module, allowing users to update and analyze large quantities of data quickly and easily.
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Set up your own Excel formulas to populate data.
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Navigate the data cells as you would with any spreadsheet – arrow keys, page up and down, etc.
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Cut/Copy and paste large blocks of cell values.
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Use auto-fill to quickly populate many values.
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Save your work to your desktop, work offline, then upload when you wish.
Editions of Desktop Analyzer
Ready To Use
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Staffing Edition
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Item Planning Edition (Financial & Capacity)
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Resource Planning Edition
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Master Data Edition
Work In Progress – New Editions
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DP Based Planning Edition
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Timesheet Edition
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Desktop Analyzer: Demo Overview
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Desktop Analyzer: Staffing Edition
The Desktop Analyzer – Staffing Edition allows you to download and update staffing information on your cProjects. Distributed role demand and staffing quantities are downloaded and easily updated in your Excel spreadsheet.
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Download and upload distributed Role Demand and Staffing quantities for one or many projects, directly from the Excel toolbar.
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Supported Distribution Units – Hour, Hours & FTE.
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Supported Period Type – Monthly & Weekly
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Hard-Booking & Soft-Booking Supported.
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Add/Switch/Delete Staffing feature supported from Excel UI.
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‘Resource Search’ functions available to aid Add and Switch staffing features.
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Resource Net Availability and demand values with indicators displayed to support decision making.
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Add and Switch staffing using Global ID (Business Partner ID) directly supported.
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‘Project Search’ functions available
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Role search with open demand via Role function and/or Role Type available (** New Feature)
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Staff from a functional perspective by downloading only data from the Roles you are responsible for, across projects.
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The upload is optimized for maximum performance.
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Uses SAP security and encrypted Web Services.
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Respects SAP locking – will not update the Item if another user has it open already.
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Plan project roles and resources directly via Excel.
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Desktop Analyzer: Item Planning Edition
The Desktop Analyzer – Item Planning Edition allows you to download and update financial and capacity planning information on your portfolio items.
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Download and upload financial and/or capacity category/group/views for a single item, directly from the Excel toolbar.
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Shift function allows you to move financial and capacity data by months and update item planned start and/or end date.
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Support data filtering based on Category/Group/View.
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Utility feature allows to perform simple arithmetic operations across views.
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Forecasting Engine support (** New Feature)
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Support Item Search
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Enforces update of data only for planning period set for the item
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Ability to update Decision Point dates. (Optional)
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Uses SAP security and encrypted Web Services.
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Respects SAP locking (it will not update the Item if another user has it open already).
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Desktop Analyzer: Resource Planning Edition
The Desktop Analyzer – Resource Planning Edition allows you to download and update staffing information on your cProjects based on Resource Pool(s)/Resource(s). Staffing data for all the resources under selected resource pool(s) or individual selected resource(s) are downloaded and easily updated in your Excel spreadsheet.
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Download and upload distributed Staffing quantities of all the projects for all the resources under selected resource pool(s) or for individual selected resource(s), directly from the Excel toolbar.
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Supported Distribution Units – Hour, Hours & FTE.
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Supported Period Type – Monthly & Weekly (**Newly Added)
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Hard-Booking & Soft-Booking Supported. [Display Only] (**Newly Added)
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‘Resource Search’ & ‘Resource Pool Search’ functions available
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Staff from a resource manager’s perspective by downloading only data for the Resources you are responsible for, across projects.
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Provides visual indicators for resource utilization based on customer defined rules.
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The upload is optimized for maximum performance.
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Uses SAP security and encrypted Web Services.
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Respects SAP locking – will not update the object if another user has it open already.
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Desktop Analyzer: Master Data Edition
The Desktop Analyzer – Master data Edition allows you to download and update Item and Project fields in Excel. Each Item or Project is a row in your Excel spreadsheet.
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Download and Upload up to 1000 Items at once, directly from the Excel toolbar.
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Supports What-If versions.
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Supports filtering of items to be downloaded.
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Spreadsheet formats are configurable from the SAP server – determine which fields are included and which may be updated.
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The upload is optimized for maximum performance.
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Uses SAP security and encrypted Web Services.
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Respects SAP locking – will not update the Item if another user has it open already.
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Select the fields you desire to update for 1 or 1,000 projects.
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Desktop Analyzer: DP (Decision Point) Based Planning Edition
The Desktop Analyzer – DP Planning Edition allows you to update Decision Point dates and financial/capacity data for each Decision Point.
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Desktop Analyzer: Timesheet Edition
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Desktop Analyzer: Future Releases
Support for PPM 6.0
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Staffing Edition
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Restrict role downloading based on selected role function id(s) for project(s).
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Restricting resource search based on selected role function id(s). [Assumption – 1:1 mapping between role function id & resource pool]
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Create/Change/Delete Role feature support from Excel UI
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Item Planning Edition (Financial & Capacity)
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Support for switching planning data displayed – VCG, CGV, CVG.
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Initiative Planning from Excel UI.
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Master Data Edition
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Support for Initiative Master Data Maintenance
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Desktop Analyzer: Landscape Overview
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Desktop Analyzer: Technical Overview
Technology Platforms
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SAP: ABAP, web service configuration
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Excel: .NET (C#)
Software & Versions Required
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NetWeaver 7.02 with SP06 as the minimum patch level
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SAP PPM 5.0 is SP4
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MS Excel 2007 and above
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Visual Studio 2008 and above
Target OS and Office version combinations
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Windows 7: Office/Excel 2013, Office/Excel 2010, Office/Excel 2007
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Windows XP: Office/Excel 2007
Prerequisites on Client System
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Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, or 2013
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Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or 4.0
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Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office runtime
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Microsoft Redistributable Primary Interop Assemblies
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Desktop Analyzer: Implementation Scenario
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Scenario: Customer Implements Item Planning Edition
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SAP: move a transport request to customer development environment
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Config. Web-Service directly in environment
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SAP Table Config: Map Item or cProject level fields
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Item Master Data only
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cProject Header Level Master Data only
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Client side installation: Excel Add-In
Desktop Analyzer: Questions Customers Ask
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Can we own the source code?
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SAP code is owned by customer
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Excel side of code owned by PDB. It’s delivered as an executable (.EXE)
Can we perform the enhancements?
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SAP code: YES
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Excel side of code performed by PDB
Desktop Analyzer: 3 Key Points
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Desktop Analyzer can be used for master data maintenance, planning or staffing.
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Many of SAP’s screen can be replaced with user friendly Excel interface using Desktop Analyzer.
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Already user friendly screens of DA editions can be further customized based on client requirement.