Importing, exporting, and reimporting project plans in the web client

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You can import and export project plans between IBM® Engineering Workflow Management (EWM) and Microsoft Project by using the web client.

Before you begin

Microsoft Project version 2007, 2010, or 2013 is required for this task.

The options for importing, exporting, and reimporting a plan are available only in the web client.

Only the functions and attributes of Microsoft Project that are supported by your plan are imported or exported.

Importing project plans

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You can import a plan from Microsoft Project to your existing plan. To import a plan, save the Microsoft Project file as an XML file and import the XML file.

Procedure

  1. In the web client, open the plan that you want to import the XML file into.
    Note: You must associate a work item category with the team or project area of the plan before you import the project XML file into the plan.
  2. Click the Import Microsoft Project XML file icon (Import Microsoft Project XML file icon) to open the import wizard.
  3. In the Select import file page:
    1. Browse for the XML file to import, and then click Open. If you select an invalid file, an error message is displayed and you cannot proceed with the import process.
    2. Select the date range to apply in the plan, and then click Next.
  4. In the Choose work item types page, map the summary tasks and tasks from the Microsoft Project file to the available work item type list in your project area, and then click Next.
    Note: Mapping replaces the attributes of a task type in Microsoft Project with the attributes of a supported task type in your target project. For example, you might map the Summary task type from Microsoft Project to a Task work item type in your project.
  5. On the Update work items page, complete the following steps.
    1. Select Create only new tasks to create work items for new tasks and ignore updates to existing work items.
    2. Select Resolve completed tasks to map a closed state to a work item type.
    3. In the Mapped closed state column, select the mapped closed state that is assigned to each work item type after import.
  6. On the Assign user page, map the resources from the Microsoft Project file to the resources in your repository, and then click Next.
    For example, you might map the resource Amy Smith from Microsoft Project file to the resource Tom Frank in your repository. If a resource in your repository and a resource in the Microsoft Project file have an exact name match, the name mapping is automatically suggested. You can modify the suggested mapping and select a different resource.

    The Import page displays the progress of the import. Confirmation is displayed after the plan is imported. If the import process fails, the reasons for failure are also displayed.

  7. Click Finish.

What to do next

On the Planned Items page, explore the details of the imported plan, and edit the plan as needed. Click the Resources tab to view the resource allocations in the plan. View the details and assignments of the resource allocation, and update the information as needed.

Exporting project plans

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You can export and open a plan as an XML file in Microsoft Project.

Procedure

  1. In the web client, open the plan to export.
  2. Click the Export Plan to XML file icon (Export Plan to XML file).
  3. In the export confirmation window, click OK and type a name.
  4. Save the file.

Reimporting project plans

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If you exported a plan from EWM and changed the plan in Microsoft Project, you can import the updated plan back to EWM.

About this task

If you change your original Microsoft Project XML, you can reimport the XML file into EWM to update changes to the name, duration (if the work value is set to 0), task hierarchy, and predecessor links, and to import new tasks. You can also export the previously imported XML project back to Microsoft Project, updating the information in Microsoft Project, and then reimport those changes to EWM. You can reimport in two ways: import-to-import or import-to-export-to-import.

Procedure

Perform one of the following reimport tasks:
  • Import-to-import: To reimport the original Microsoft Project XML that includes new tasks or changes to the hierarchy, import the project XML by following the steps in Importing project plans.
  • Import-to-export-to-import: To modify the project XML in Microsoft Project by exporting from EWM, updating the information in Microsoft Project, and then reimporting the project XML back to EWM a second time, complete the following steps:
    1. Export the Microsoft Project XML by following the steps in Exporting project plans.
    2. Update the information in the XML in Microsoft Project.
    3. Reimport the project XML in EWM by following the steps in Importing project plans
    Important: When you export the project XML from EWM to Microsoft Project, a new project is created. Only changes to the hierarchy, new tasks, estimates (duration), and due dates (deadline) are updated through multiple imports or exports. Any execution tasks, such as changes in work item states, reporting time on a work item, updating the owners, and estimating work items, occur in EWM only. Previously imported work items are not recreated.