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Admin or Owner permissions
With Falcon's import feature, you can create new project tree structures (programs, projects, packages and measures) for the first setup and fill in the respective profile data.
Note: You cannot import into an existing tree structure. Falcon always creates at least one new program after a successful import.
You can download the template here:
How to import tree and profile information
Click on the main menu at the bottom left (1) and select Import... (2). Now select to upload profiles (3) and pick the file you want to import (4).
Now select "Import" (5). The data will then be imported in the background. Once the import is complete, Falcon will prompt you to refresh and the import is complete.
File structure and format
The import function loads a file, searches for specific column headers and imports the information stored in the rows. It is important that a tree structure is executed within one worksheet and that the information is not distributed across several workheets. The base is an XLSX, XLS or CSV file with at least the following columns:
Column heading | Information passed | Format |
Program | Program name | Text |
Project | Project name | Text |
Package | Package name | Text |
Measure | Measure name | Text |
Email of the responsible user | ||
Description | Description of program/ project/ package/ Measure | Text
|
Targets | Targets of of program/ project/ package/ Measure | Text
|
Assumptions | Assumptions of of program/ project/ package/ Measure | Text
|
Miscellaneous | Miscellaneous of program/ project/ package/ Measure | Text |
Tags | Tags for Measure | Text (several tags can be inserted if they are separated by commas) |
Position ID | Desired budgeting position for the traffic light in the project tree
If you'd like to add an effect position, the position must be already available within the budgeting setting chosen. | Number |
Paused | Indication of whether the level (program/ project/ package or measure) should be paused | 1=Yes; 0=No |
Locked | Indication of whether the level (program/ project/ package or measure) should be locked | 1=Yes; 0=No
|
Guarded | Indication of whether the level (program/ project /package or measure) should be private and therefore not publicly visible | 1=Yes; 0=No
|
Example for creating a tree structure
You can easily create the desired tree structure by using the import. The columns Program, Project, Package and Measure specify the structure. When assigning tree elements during import, Falcon always uses the name of the element at a higher level - and therefore always the column to the left of the respective element. This sounds much more complicated than it is. An example: the following import structure results in the following tree:
Program | Project | Package | Measure |
Program-A | Project-1 | Package-A | Measure-1 |
Program-A | Project-1 | Package-A | Measure-2 |
Program-A | Project-2 | Package-B | Measure-3 |
Program-B | Project-3 | Package-C | Measure-4 |
The respective path created results in the placement of a measure in the tree. For example, Measure-3, Program-A, can be found in Project-2 and Package-B.
Note: It is not mandatory to use all columns. The minimum is the name of a program.
Inheriting settings from other tree elements
As per usual, settings applied to higher tree elements, are inherited to lower levels, too. This extends to the import settings here, too. This means that if a program is paused, all underlying projects, packages and measures are also paused. The pausing of projects and packages is also paused on the level below.
The "Guarded" and "Locked" settings can be defined individually for each level in the project tree and they are not going to transfer to the levels below.
Column and worksheets
Falcon searches import files dynamically. You can therefore create multiple worksheets with multiple profiles. The columns can also be stored in any order. Falcon skips everything that is not part of the import.
Errors & limits
Falcon allows you to import up to 5000 profiles in one go. If errors are detected during the import (in the file structure) Falcon automatically sends an error report to show you why the import could not be carried out.
Common errors
Attempting to import into an existing tree structure: You cannot import into an existing tree structure. Falcon always creates at least one new program if the import is successful.
Empty rows and lack of assignment: Falcon does not allow empty rows in the most important columns (program/project/package and/or measure name)
References to other files and worksheets: although the import allows Excel calculations (e.g. B1=A1+A2), Falcon excludes references to other files for security reasons. References to other worksheets (e.g. B1=Table1!A1) also lead to the import being aborted.
E-mail not stored in Falcon: in order to assign responsibilities via the import, the user in question must already be created in Falcon. If the user is not known in Falcon, the import is not aborted - but the responsibility is not stored.
Incorrect ID is used: To determine the position in the profile, the correct position ID must be taken from the budgeting. If the ID is incorrect, the tree element (program, project, package or measure) is imported, but the item ID is not stored in the profile.