This article gives an overview about the project section of the Portfolio Designer view in Meisterplan.

• Overview of the Project Section
• Selecting Projects and Programs
• List Options
• List Context Menu
• Gantt Chart Features
• Project Context Menu
• Milestone Context Menu
• Project End Context Menu

Overview of the Project Section

The projects section is divided into a list of projects and the Gantt chart:

• In the List of Projects, you prioritize projects, group them with programs and add or remove allocations.
• The Gantt Chart is where you can adjust project schedules, edit allocations and add milestones and dependencies.

Selecting Projects and Programs

• Click a project or a program in the list or Gantt chart to select it. You may also select multiple projects and/or programs via [Shift] or [Ctrl]. Please note that only the projects in your current date range will be displayed.
• Selected projects and programs will be highlighted in the project list and Gantt chart.
• The Gantt chart will display any milestones and dependencies of selected projects and of projects included in the selected programs.
• The resource section will be filtered to display only roles and resources allocated to the selected projects or to projects included in the selected programs.

List Options

The following options are available in the list:

• Reprioritize Projects: At any time, you can reprioritize projects by dragging & dropping the respective project up or down.
• Open and Edit Project Details: To do this, move your cursor over a project’s name and click the pencil icon. See the Adding, Editing or Viewing a Project article for details.
• Show Allocations: Click the arrow icon on the left of a project name to expand the list of allocated roles and resources.
• Allocate Roles and Resources: Move your cursor over a project’s name and click the plus icon. See the Adding and Editing Allocations article for details.
• Remove Roles and Resources from Project: Move your cursor over a resource and click the three dots to open the list context menu. Next, select Remove from Project.
• Move the Must-Have Line and Cut-Off Line: To restructure your project portfolio, drag and drop the Must-Have and/or Cut-Off lines up or down. Projects above the Must-Have Line are the highest priority projects. Projects below the Cut-Off Line are not considered in workload calculations (resource section) and budget utilization (financials section). Detailed information is available in the Must-Have Line and Cut-Off Line article.

List Context Menu

Move your cursor over a project’s name and click the three dots to access the list context menu. It contains the following options :

• Move Above Must-Have Line: changes the rank of the project and puts it directly above the Must-Have Line. See the Must-Have Line and Cut-Off Line article for details.
• Move Below Cut-Off Line: changes the rank of the project and puts it directly under the Cut-Off Line. See the Must-Have Line and Cut-Off Line article for details.
• Rank by Project ScorePro Premium: this moves the project to its rank according to its project score. If the project already has that rank, this option will have no effect. Please note that this feature is also available in the Project Score section in the project details, where you can also view and edit the individual single-select fields that compose the project score. See the Rank and Project Score article for details.
• Show Only Dependent Projects: this hides all projects that are not connected to the selected project via inbound or outbound dependencies. Remove the selection or select Show All Projects to show all projects again. See the Milestones, Project Phases and Dependencies article for details.
• Show All Milestone Names: this displays all milestone names for the selected project. Remove the selection or select Hide All Milestone Names to hide milestone names again.
• Apply Project from Plan of Record or Apply Project from Compared Scenario: this overwrites the selected project in the active scenario with its counterpart from the Plan of Record or compared scenario.
• This is only available for projects that exist both in the source and target scenario (or Plan of Record). See the Scenario Comparison article for details.
• Submit Project to Plan of Record or Submit Project to Compared Scenario: this overwrites the selected project in the Plan of Record or compared scenario with its counterpart from the active scenario.
• This is only available for projects that exist both in the source and target scenario (or Plan of Record). See the Scenario Comparison article for details.
• Delete: the project and all associated data such as financial events, milestones, dependencies, role and resource allocations will be deleted.
• Duplicate: this duplicates a project with all associated data. The new project will be ranked directly below the original project.

Gantt Chart Options

The following options are available in the Gantt chart:

• Edit Allocations: Click the respective allocation segment in the Gantt chart. See the Adding and Editing Allocations article for details.
• Reschedule Projects and Programs: Move the project bar using drag and drop as described in the Moving a Project or a Program article.

Project Context Menu

Move your cursor over a selected project bar and click the button with the three dots. This opens the project context menu with the following options :

• Extend with Allocations: this extends the project with all allocations for the time period specified, and the project finish date and following milestones will be moved to a later date in the current scenario. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Insert Project Break: this inserts a specified break in the project with zero-allocations, displayed by a thin project line. All allocations and milestones after the break as well as the project finish date will be moved to a later date in the current scenario. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Remove Project Section: this deletes a specified section of the project. All allocations and milestones within this section will be deleted. All allocations and milestones after the removed section and the project finish date will be moved to an earlier date. See the Shortening and Stopping Projects article for details.
• Add Milestone: this adds a milestone on the selected date. You will be prompted to enter a name and/or select a project phase. See the Milestones, Project Phases and Dependencies article for details.
• Show/Hide All Milestone Names: this displays or hides all milestones of the selected project. See List Context Menu.
• Auto-SchedulePro Premium: will try to find the best project position within the portfolio. See the Auto-Schedule article for details.

Milestone Context Menu

Move your cursor over a milestone of a selected project and click the button with the three dots. This opens a milestone context menu with the following options:

• Edit Milestone: this lets you edit the milestone name, the project phase and the milestone date.
• Show All Milestone Names: this displays or hides all milestones of the selected project. See List Context Menu.
• Delete Milestone: this deletes the milestone in the current scenario or Plan of Record.
• Extend with Allocations Before Milestone: this extends the project for the specified period with all allocations before the selected milestone. The project finish date and the subsequent milestones will be moved to a later date in the current scenario. See the Extending Projects and Allocations for details.
• Insert Project Break After Milestone: this adds a specified project break with zero allocations, starting at the selected milestone. All allocations and milestones after the break as well as the finish date of the project will be moved to a later date in the current scenario. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Remove Project Section Before Milestone: this deletes a specified section from the project before the milestone. All allocations and milestones within this section will be deleted. All allocations and milestones after the removed section and the project finish date will be moved to an earlier date. See the Shortening and Stopping Projects article for details.
• Shorten Project at Milestone: this shortens the project duration by stopping the project at the selected milestone. All allocations, milestones or financial events after the new project finish date will be deleted. See the Shortening and Stopping Projects article for details.
• Split Allocations at Milestone: this splits all allocations of a project on the date of the milestone. See the Milestones, Project Phases and Dependencies article for details.

Project End Context Menu

Select a project and click the arrow at the end of the project bar. This opens the project end context menu with the following options:

• Extend without Allocations: this extends the project at the end with Zero Allocations, displayed by a thin project line. The project finish date will be moved to a later date in the current scenario. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article  for details.
• Extend with Allocations: this extends the project at its end with allocations. The project finish date will be moved back to a later date in the current scenario. The project duration will be extended with the allocation value of the last allocation segment. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Stretch or Shrink: this lets you stretch or shorten the project duration:
• Stretch: Stretching a project extends the project duration, but not the allocations. Allocations remain the same but are distributed over the increased project length. Milestones and associated financial events will remain and shifted proportionally to the new duration. See the Extending Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Shrink: Shrinking a project decreases the project duration. The sum of allocations remains the same and will be distributed over the decreased project length. Milestones and associated financial events will be kept and shifted proportionally to the new duration. See the Shortening Projects and Allocations article for details.
• Shorten: this lets you shorten the project duration by stopping the project after the selected date. All allocations, milestones, and financial events after the new finish date will be deleted. See the Shortening and Stopping Projects article for details.