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Projects

The Project Management module is the central workbench for managing the lifecycle of engineering, development, and service projects in AceCBM. It integrates labor planning, task scheduling, materials allocation, and team assignments into a single visual workbench, providing real-time visibility into project health and budget vs. actual variances.

This documentation section is written for project managers, administrators, and operations personnel who need to set up, track, and close out projects.

Project Types Supported​

AceCBM supports a variety of project engagement structures:

  • Roofing / Customer Projects: Focused on physical delivery, requiring detailed material estimates, tracking actual stock issuances (Material Issue Notes), task milestones, and labor tracking.
  • IT Development Projects: Centered on software/digital delivery, utilizing direct timesheets, role-based estimates, and task tracking (often without material estimates/issuances).
  • Internal Generic Projects: Used for administrative or non-billable corporate initiatives.
  • Never-Ending Support Projects: Ongoing service agreements that track continuous labor burns against recurring monthly/weekly allocations.

Core Planning & Costing Model​

The core logic of the Project Management module relies on a comparison between planned targets and actual execution data:

  • Planned Data: Constructed from the project setup details, labor estimates (planned role hours), and material estimates (bill-of-materials).
  • Actual Data: Aggregated from approved employee timesheet entries and posted Project Material Issue Notes (MIN) vouchers.

Project Lifecycle & Status Progression​

Projects in AceCBM advance through six distinct statuses. The system enforces strict business checklists before a project can be promoted to the next status.

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> PLAN: Create Project
    PLAN --> ACTIVE: Activation Checklist
    ACTIVE --> HOLD: Temporarily Suspend
    HOLD --> ACTIVE: Resume Project
    ACTIVE --> DONE: Closeout Checklist
    ACTIVE --> CANCEL: Terminate Project
    PLAN --> CANCEL: Terminate Project
    DONE --> [*]
    CANCEL --> [*]

Project Statuses​

StatusCodeDescriptionEditability
PlanningPLANInitial draft phase. Use this to build your tasks, assign a team, and define labor/material budgets.Full Edit
ActiveACTIVEExecution phase. Timesheet entries can be recorded, and actual material issuances are tracked.Full Edit
HoldHOLDExecution is temporarily suspended. Actuals tracking is paused.Read-Only
DoneDONESuccessfully completed. All actual hours and costs are locked.Read-Only
CancelCANCELTerminated or aborted. All planning and actual values are locked.Read-Only
TemplateTMPLTBlueprint used to duplicate standard tasks and structures for new projects.Full Edit

Project Activation (Planning ➔ Active)​

Before a project can go Active, you must pass the Activation Readiness Checklist by clicking Activate Project in the workspace header:

[!IMPORTANT] Required Activation Checks (Blocking)

  1. Active Project Manager: An employee must be assigned to the role of PM with an active effective date.
  2. Planned Start Date: The project must have a start date defined.
  3. Tasks Configured: At least one task must be created in the schedule.
  • Optional Checks (Warning only): Entering labor estimates, entering material estimates, completing customer approval milestones.
  • Lifecycle Note: Activating the project inserts a lifecycle note into the audit history prefixed with "Activation Comments:".

If any required check is missing, the Activate Project confirmation button remains disabled.

Project Closeout & Reopening​

Project Closeout (Active ➔ Done)​

When project deliverables are complete, click Closeout Project in the workspace header:

[!WARNING] Closeout Constraints

  • All project tasks must be marked as Done (DONE) or Cancelled (CANCEL). You cannot close out a project with active or open tasks.
  • Closeout is permanent. Once a project is marked DONE or CANCEL, it enters a secure read-only state. No further timesheets, rate changes, or material issuances can be recorded.
  • Date Recording: The actual completion date (end_dt) is recorded on closeout, and a note is generated prefixed with "Closeout Comments:".

Reopening Projects (Done ➔ Active)​

  • Reopen Action: Reopening is only permitted for projects in the DONE status. It is blocked for CANCEL or PLAN projects.
  • Date & Status Adjustments: Reopening clears the actual completion date (end_dt), resets status to ACTIVE, and generates a note prefixed with "Reopen Comments:".

Testing Checklist​

Verify the following behaviors when testing project lifecycle management:

  1. Initial Status: Ensure newly created projects default to the PLAN status.
  2. Review & Activate: Verify projects can transition to ACTIVE only when meeting the activation checklist criteria.
  3. Execution Guards: Confirm that timesheets and material issuances are permitted only for ACTIVE projects.
  4. Read-Only Constraints: Confirm that DONE and CANCEL projects block edits to tasks, teams, rates, estimates, and material logs.
  5. Reopening Flow: Verify that only DONE projects can be reopened, and that reopening correctly clears the end_dt field and updates status to ACTIVE.