Value for Selected in Optimizer Decision

Question

Hi,

I have created workflows for both Project Server 2013 and Project Online using the SharePoint Designer 2013. In the on prem PWA the workflow works fine. In the Online PWA it does not.

This is what the workflow is supposed to do:

When a project is Selected in a Portfolio Analysis the workflow sends the project to the Selected stage. If not, the project must go to the Not Selected stage (= End of Workflow).

In our on prem PWA I configured the workflow like this:

Now I'm trying to do the same in a Project Online PWA, but whatever value I fill in for the Optimizer Decision (I've tried -1, 0, 1 and 2), the workflow keeps sending the project to the Not selected stage.

What am I missing...? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi Hester, thanks for your post. I tried to create the same workflow as yours. but my Portfolio is very simple with one project because I just want to commit the project, and the drivers are 1 and 2, and 1 is extremely important than 2. After I commit the project, workflow put the project to "Selected" stage. So it might be something different from yours and my farm. if you don't change the "Optimizer Decision" value in the SPD2013, but just to commit and to uncommit a project, will they all goes to "Not Selected". Otherwise, if you create another very simple branching workflow on the Project, like the workflow in this article, will it works correctly? http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/jj163494(v=office.15).aspx#pj15_CreateWorkflowSPD_Detailed 

Keith

Answer 2

Hi Keith,

Thank you for trying to help me find the answer to this. I hope I understood you correctly: I removed the condition from the "Transition to stage" step in the Portfolio selection stage. The workflow is now configured to wait until the project is committed and then move the project to the Selected stage. 

Then I made a portfolio analysis with four projects in it and I adjusted the total budget so that one of the projects was Not selected. After I clicked Commit and went back to Project Center all projects had been moved to the Selected stage.

This is not what I want the workflow to do, so let's keep trying!

Kind regards,

Hester

Answer 3

Hi Hester

I had to revise the original mail (I had failed to publish my workflow), but using the following workflow behaviour was consistent online and on premise:

Available Optimiser Decision values on premise are:

OptimizerDecisionID LCID OptimizerDecisionName
0 1033 Forced-In
1 1033 Forced-Out
2 1033 Unselected Projects
3 1033 Selected Projects

Not sure what -1 equates to

rgds

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Mike Mahoney

Answer 4

Thanks very much, Mike! This is exactly what I was looking for.

The -1 was a wild guess. No clue why that worked in one PWA and didn't work in another...

Answer 5

Hi Sleekstone,
which one of the following two fields matches the “Optimizer Decision” with???
- Committed portfolio selection decision (Cost)
or
- Committed portfolio selection decision (Schedule)?
Due to this, about the workflow, what happen if i commit projects after Cost Analysis but before Resource Analysis?

Thanks
Best regards
Daniele

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Daniele

Answer 6

Either - the project commitment fields are updated as you would expect when you hit the commit button and the optimiser decision reflects whichever scenario you are committing.

Workflow will be triggered when the project is in the "Selection" phase and you commit. It is a separate activity from setting committed field data.

Though Cost Analysis and Resource Analysis in practical terms have a relationship project server is not that sophisticated with the Optimiser Decision being that of the last committed scenario.

rgds

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Mike Mahoney

Answer 7

Hi Mike,

i've answered myself in an other post and doing some tests.

I'found that:

Cost Analysis commit action populates "Optimizer Decision"

and

Resource Analysis commit action populates "Planner Decision" (found just looking for ProjectData in the SharePoint designer picker... xD).

Here the other post: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/projectserver/en-US/1a1c2d97-eb58-44ac-b826-2f6d8ab32726/which-between-cost-and-resource-analysis-commit-action-during-portfolio-analysis-triggers-the?forum=project2010custprog

I'll wait for your feedback

Regard

Daniele

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Daniele

Answer 8

P.S. the Resource Analysis decision commit populates both them.

Regards

Daniele

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Daniele

Answer 9

Hi Daniele

You are right there are separate commitment field sets for the cost analysis and resource analysis but I think you need to be careful with an overly complicated selection stage workflow.

My view is to treat the resource scenarios as informational. You may end up with selected \ not selected conflict between the cost\resource analyses. One of them needs primacy and in practical terms this is the cost analysis, but perhaps your end users have this more complicated requirement.

rgds

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Mike Mahoney

Answer 10

Thanks Mike for your feedback,

no one explained these concepts during PC2014 or MPUG webcasts, or in books like those of MSProjectExperts, and i wanted to explain myself the complete process.

Therefore i created these steps of workflow.

I agree with your thought and my customer will accept this view, but just to understand.... the Resource Analysis work on the selected output of the Cost Analysis so i'm not seeing possible conflicts.

Best regards

Daniele

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Daniele

Answer 11

Hi Daniele

I agree the ResAnalysis works on the selected projects from the cost analysis but with default (baseline) of unselected.

When you commit Cost Analysis system sets OptimiserCommitDate (Committed Portfolio Selection Decision Date (Cost))and captures Committed Portfolio Selection Decision (Cost).

When you commit Resource Analysis system sets PlannerCommitDate (Committed Portfolio Selection Decision Date (Schedule))and captures Committed Portfolio Selection Decision (Schedule). It also resets OptimiserCommitDate - I think this is a bug (minor).

However it does allow a project to be selected on cost basis but not on resource basis so might make reporting a little confusing.

Note - if you revise cost scenario and recommit you lose the previous resource analysis scenario details and have to rerun another version.

This seems to me a bit of a messy process to tie into workflow.

rgds

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Mike Mahoney