PPM Express provides a Project Management Power BI pack.
In this article, we will give you a general overview and some tips on how to get the most out of it.
The report pack covers the following aspects of working with Projects / Projects Unlimited plans:
- Project details
- Project statuses. Status history log
- PPM Express tasks
- Project Key dates
- Project Risks
- Issues
- Project Action Items
- Change Requests
The report pack functionality is presented in three main sections accessible from the Home page:
Overview report
The Overview report provides a general view of the project statuses.
At the top of the screen, charts display the distribution of projects by Overall Status, Stage, and Priority.
The projects represented in the charts are listed below in a table:
The charts are interactive. Clicking on a specific data point in a chart filters the table to display only the projects matching the chosen criteria.
To keep the table concise and simplify PDF export, the project timeline column is available in a separate view. The button to switch to the Timeline view is located above the table on the left.
The button to return to the previous view is also located above the table on the left.
The filter panel defines the data scope of the report. By default, the report includes projects with a Project Progress status of “Not Started” or “In Progress.”
To redefine the report scope, use either the filter panel or the slicers located at the top of the report.
Project Summary report
The Project Summary report is presented in four different views:
The report's filter panel is shared across all four views.
Status Summary View: Here, unlike in the Overview report, you can assess not only the Overall Status but also the Risks Status, Issues Status, and Schedule Status.
As in the Overview report, clicking on a specific data point in the top charts will filter the table below to display the projects accordingly.
Key Dates Summary View: By default, the report displays only incomplete Key Dates (The corresponding filter is applied when the view is selected).
Key Dates are grouped by project and sorted by date.
Dates highlighted in red indicate Late Key Dates. A Key Date is considered Slipped if it has a baseline date that is earlier than the actual date.
Upcoming Key Dates are incomplete Key Dates with dates greater than or equal to today’s date.
In the Timeline column, a horizontal line represents the Baseline Date.
Risks Summary View: By default, the "Is Active" filter is applied to this report view.
Risks are grouped by project and sorted in the same order as they appear in the PPM Express UI. If the original sort order is changed while working with the report and needs to be restored, clicking on the relevant column header will revert to the default order.
The Risk Matrix includes a contextual tooltip for additional guidance.
As an alternative to the tooltip, clicking on a cell in the Risk Matrix filters the table below to display relevant risks.
The Score metric is calculated by multiplying the Impact and Probability values.
Issues Summary View: The functionality of this view is similar to the Risks Summary view. The Issues Summary view also has its own default filter applied.
Project Details report
The Project Details report includes the following views:
- Project Summary
- Tasks
- Assignments
- Key Dates
- Risks
- Issues
- Action Items
- Change Requests
Project Summary View: The Project Summary view consists of two sections.
The first section functions as a dashboard, displaying key project metrics.
Click the 'View Status History' button to switch to the second section.
The second section of the Project Summary view is dedicated to the project's status change history.
The history table is available in two configurations:
- Unpivoted
- Pivoted
You can switch between them using the specific button.
By default, the data in the tables is fully expanded. To adjust the level of detail, use the control buttons in the table header.
Slicers located above the table are available to limit the scope of data displayed in the table.
To return to the initial section, click the Back to Project summary button.
Key Dates, Risks, Issues, Action Items, Change Requests View: These views are similar to each other and align with the descriptions provided earlier in the Project Summary report.
Tasks and Assignments Views: The Tasks and Assignments views require special attention. These views complement each other, focusing on a common theme: PPM Express tasks.
The order of tasks in the table matches the hierarchical task structure as presented in the PPM Express UI.
When filters are applied, the table displays both tasks that meet the filter conditions and those that are higher up in the hierarchy, allowing for a coherent hierarchical structure.
If a task meets the filter conditions, all fields for that task are displayed. However, if a task does not meet the filter criteria but appears as part of the hierarchy above the filtered tasks, only the task name is shown, with other fields left blank.
For example, if you click on a chart and apply the filter Status = Critical, the table below will display all tasks where Status = Critical.
However, if a task with Status = Critical is located below the first level in the task hierarchy, the tasks preceding it in the hierarchy will also be displayed above it in the table.
The table includes a dropdown menu that allows users to select from predefined column sets. The default field set aligns with the fields used for tasks in PPM Express.
The "All" field set allows additional fields to be displayed, similar to using the “More fields” button in the PPM Express UI.
The "Baseline" field set is useful for analyzing data within related field groups.
The Timeline checkbox expands the selected column set by adding the Timeline column.
A vertical green dashed line represents Today’s date.
A horizontal colored bar shows the task duration, with the progress indicated as a percentage of the bar from the right side.
Horizontal lines below the bar indicate the task duration as defined by the specified baseline.
Arrowed lines represent task dependencies.
The Timeline column includes a tooltip for additional context.
The Assignments view extends the Tasks view with additional charts.
