Posted @ 11/08/2012 10:20 AM
For your convenience, please find below a copy of the Q&A sessions for your review:
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| Which versions of CA Clarity does this work with? | Any version > 8 as long as it has XOG – including On-Demand. |
| What is the IB3 admin logo I keep seeing? Is it a different component of the Interface? | The Integration Bridge or IB3 is the background engine that allows the Excel Interface to operate. It also is a stand-alone connector builder application that allows users to create and execute integrations via a GUI interface. |
| What is the cost of this tool? And, who do we send emails to? | We can send a package/pricing sheet upon request. GUC@itroisolutions.com |
| So, how much would the standard package (with the 27 objects) cost? | Typically a client will not use all 27 attributes so we like to offer clients different option packages tailored to each client’s requirements. No sense in paying for something you’re not going to use when that money could be directed towards custom objects or attributes that would bring a greater IT-ROI. |
| Is every object available through the Excel add-on for Clarity? | We offer 27 of the most Common Out Of the Box Objects with the most common attributes. Adding new objects, sub-objects, custom attributes is handled as customer specific work but is very straight forward. If it can be XOG’d – in it can be added. |
| Is it more suitable as an admin tool or pm tool? | The PPM Excel Interface is designed more as a PM tool to help increase their productivity and performance, although there is an Admin component to the tool that allows complete customization of the Interface that the Admin can configure. |
| Is the PPM Excel Interface a CA product? | It is not, the PPM Excel Interface was developed by It-ROI Solutions. |
| What is ‘-1’ in ‘order’ column of ‘Integration’ Sheet? | To hide columns in the sheet. |
| How many projects can I create at once? | As many as you like, make sure to keep an eye out for any attached process. |
| What does the ‘Export Config/Import Config’ button(s) in ribbon do? | Allows an Admin to configure an Interface, Export the Configuration…send to an End User who will then Import that configuration…the configuration is also password protected from an End User. |
| What will happen if the connection is reset when the load is happening? Will it roll back or will it leave the records loaded? | The data that was already sent is in. The ones that are in-flight will fail (although there is a connection time out retry so if the connection comes back in a couple of seconds it will attempt to resend). |
| How do you handle special characters? I have many users who insist on using special characters / $ % < > | The special characters that invalidate XML are handled Out of the Box. Language specific special characters need to be wrapped in CDATA handled via XSLT. |
| Can you extract from one environment and upload to another? | Yes but it’s not recommended since the lookups vary between environments so you really can’t validate. Our Migration Bridge (MB3) was built to address Clarity migrations specifically. |
| Do you have to start with a Clarity extract? | No. You can also configure any Interface to load a “template” file. In this mode when you Get Data you will be prompted to select the source CSV. In this scenario all loaded data is treated as modified and loaded in Clarity |
| Are the elements in the Spreadsheet locked in Clarity while they are being modified in Excel? | No, since only modified + required data is sent, then updates made by users in the GUI are not replaced. |
| If I do not have access to update a project through the UI, do I have access to update the project via this interface? | No – you only can see what you have access to in Clarity, and can only write what you would have access to write via the Clarity GUI. |
| Can we create our own Interfaces? | Yes, the tool is completely customizable and flexible. |
| Would all users of this Interface have to have XOG access rights as well? | Yes, they would have to have XOG access.. |
We appreciate your time and interest in the PPM Excel Interface. If there is anything else I can help you with, please feel free to contact us.