DecisionEdge General FAQ

General – DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project – DecisionEdge Designer

This is a general FAQ. For answers to technical questions, please see the DecisionEdge Technical FAQ

General
Q: Which DecisionEdge products are available now?
A: The following products are now available:
- DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project - Charts and reports are just a few clicks away with this software embedded in Project
- DecisionEdge Professional - Flexible Windows-client that can access data from Project (via DecisionEdge Connect) and DecisionEdge Earned Value Manager
- DecisionEdge Designer - Developers' toolkit for creating new charts and reports for specific visibility requirements.
- DecisionEdge Earned Value Manager - Comprehensive cost management and earned value system

The following products will be available soon:
- DecisionEdge Portal for Microsoft Office Project - Web-browser interface to DecisionEdge charts and reports for all stakeholders
- DecisionEdge Connect for Microsoft Office Project - Transfers all of your data from all of your projects into a persistent data warehouse for further analysis, manipulation, and reporting

Q: How do DecisionEdge products for Microsoft Office Project fit together?
Here's a graphical overview:


Q: When will you have a web-based version that can also work with Project Server?
A: All DecisionEdge products work today with Project Server. If you want a web-based platform, DecisionEdge Portal for Microsoft Office Project offers a SharePoint interface for all project stakeholders. Please contact us for more details.

Q: What is the difference between DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project and DecisionEdge Designer?
A:
- DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office project is a chart and report viewer embedded in Microsoft Office Project.  Project managers can make and save some aspects of charts and reports (changing colors, moving things around, etc.), but there is no way to create completely new charts and reports.
- DecisionEdge Designer is a developer's toolkit that can be used to create entirely new charts and reports that can be shared with other DecisionEdge users.  The typical user is an IT person or consultant who is familiar with database structures and at least some basic programming concepts.  Designer is only necessary when there is a need for custom charts and reports (Alternatively, DecisionEdge also offers chart and report design services).  An organization typically has just a few Designers relative to the number of DecisionEdge for MSP licenses.

Q: Can DecisionEdge create custom charts and reports for specific needs?
A: Yes, DecisionEdge consultants are available to work with your organization to design and deliver the interactive graphics and reports you need. For more information, please visit: Custom Design Services.

Q: How much do DecisionEdge products cost?
A: Please see the individual product pages in the Products section for current pricing.

Q: Are DecisionEdge products available in languages other than English?
A: End users can modify many of the text fields in charts and reports. If they save the chart or report, the text changes will be saved. We are adding even more localization capabilities to the software.
We want to hear about your requirements. Please contact us with your request.

Q: What are the Details about DecisionEdge Support?
A: Customers with a valid support agreement (See the Technical FAQ for more information about purchasing a support agreement) will receive assistance from DecisionEdge via telephone, email, and fax about installation, implementation, licensing, software use, and the use of particular charts and reports. Support is provided during North American business hours and on an as-available basis after-hours and on weekends. DecisionEdge makes no service level agreements with customers, though we try to address critical issues quickly. Issues and suggestions found by customers are entered into our issue tracking system for review and prioritization by the DecisionEdge team. The creation of new charts and reports is not included in the standard support agreement, nor is the custom modification of existing charts and reports (see instead custom chart and report design services). While we try to help, DecisionEdge is not in a position to troubleshoot problems with charts and reports created by others.

Q: What about Product Updates and Upgrades and How Do We Receive Them?
A: DecisionEdge regularly updates its products to address technical issues and provide new features and functionality. Customers with a valid product maintenance agreement (See the Technical FAQ for more information about purchasing a support agreement) will be provided download access to product updates and upgrades during their agreement period. DecisionEdge customers with no product maintenance agreement will be provided download access to incremental product updates that may include fixes for customer-specific problems. When a new software upgrade with new features and functionality becomes available, customers with no product maintenance agreement will have an opportunity to upgrade for a special reduced license price. All software is distributed via download directly from the DecisionEdge web site.

DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project
Q: What is DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project?
A: DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project is business intelligence software accessible via a toolbar button within Microsoft Office Project. DecisionEdge includes iover 100 best-practice templates and can show new custom reports created with DecisionEdge Designer.
Follow this links for more information: - DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project

Q: Can I create S-Curves in DecisionEdge?
A: Yes, of course.
Here's an example from DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project

Q: Can DecisionEdge show both positive and negative cost data?
A: Yes. DecisionEdge can display almost anything from Microsoft Office Project.
Here is a chart sample with negative cost data:



Q: When I open a chart with multiple projects open in Microsoft Office Project, the resource limits are also multiplied. How can I fix this?
A: In a multi-project environment, if you open a chart that includes resource limits, the limit on the chart will initially show as a multiple of the number of projects open (e.g. if you have 3 projects, each with a resource limit of 40 hours, the chart will show a resource limit of 120). Many charts have an option to manually set limits to fix this issue. Click the Parameters toolbar button. Depending on the chart, you may have a parameters dialog like this:

- First, Click the Limit Calculation parameter and switch the value to "Manual Limit". This overrides the calculated limit.
- Then click the Limit Per Time Period parameter and enter a limit per time period number, such as 40, for 40 hours per week (when you open the chart, you should then open it by week).
- Click OK to apply these parameters.
- Be sure to save the chart if you want to have these parameter settings as the default.

Q: I use resource pools in Microsoft Office Project. Are there any special instructions?
A: DecisionEdge features multi-project reporting capabilities. If you open multiple projects (or subprojects), all the data is combined in a DecisionEdge chart or report. This works fine when working with independent projects with no resource pools.

However, when using resource pools, there are two issues to consider:
1) Data Duplication: When using resource pools, all projects have exactly the same resource information. In this case, the resource data is duplicated times the number of projects. To see the correct resource information, you should filter on a single project (it doesn't matter which project you select, since all projects have the same resource information).
Example (no resource pool):
If Project 1 uses 20 hours of a resource in January and Project 2 uses 30 hours, the chart or report will show 50 hours in January. If you then filter by Project 1, the chart would show 20 hours in January.
Example (resource pool):
Each project reports 50 resource hours used in January. Without any filters, the chart will show 100 resource hours used in January. To correct this, filter by a single project. The chart or report will then correctly show 50 hours used in January.

2) Reporting Timeframe: A resource pool has information gathered from all linked-in projects. However, when creating a chart or report, DecisionEdge only gathers data between the earliest project start and the latest project finish of the open projects. To see resource information across the entire portfolio timeframe, be sure to open a project (or projects) that start at the beginning of the portfolio range and finish at the end of the portfolio range.
Example:
You have a portfolio of projects that start in 2005 and end in 2010. All projects are linked into a common resource pool. If you have two open projects, one that starts in 2006 and ends in 2007 and another that starts in 2007 and ends in 2008, the chart or report will show resource information from 2006 through 2008. It will not show information from 2005, 2009 and 2010. To show resource information across the entire timeframe, open a project that starts in 2005 and one that finished in 2010. The chart or report will then show resource information from 2005 through 2010.

DecisionEdge Designer
Q: What is DecisionEdge Designer?
A: DecisionEdge Designer is a toolkit that enables developers and technical consultants to create completely new charts and reports that can be shared with other DecisionEdge users. Please click here for more information: DecisionEdge Designer.

Q: What is the difference between DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project and DecisionEdge Designer?
A: See answer above in the General section.

Q: If I buy DecisionEdge Designer, do I also need a copy of DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project?
A: No, you can view charts and reports within DecisionEdge Designer, so there's no need for the developer to have a separate license for DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project.

Q: Do I need the DecisionEdge Designer to modify existing charts and reports?
A: No, users of DecisionEdge for Microsoft Office Project can make many changes to existing charts and reports, including changing colors, filters, formatting, and more. DecisionEdge Designer is used to create entirely new charts and reports for specific visibility requirements.