Analyzing Projects with the Structure Information System

James is a project planner at Hybrid Machinery. Linda works there as a controller. They are discussing the reporting options in SAP S/4HANA EPPM Project System.

You can use the following to evaluate important key figures for your projects:

• Structure information system.

• Financial information system (cost, revenue, and payment) with hierarchy reports, cost element reports, and SAP List Viewer for line items.

• Capacity analysis.

• Order report, lists of reservations, purchase requisitions, purchase orders pertaining to projects, and Project-Oriented Procurement (ProMan).

• Stock and requirements overview.

• Progress analysis and progress tracking.

• SAP S/4HANA analytics.

The following reports and systems are available for cross-project evaluations:

• Profit center accounting reports.

• Profitability analysis reports.

In profitability analysis, reporting is performed at the profitability segment level. Reporting is based on key figures and characteristics. The reporting tools are called drilldown reports. The reports allow you to evaluate project data and production data together.

In profit center accounting, reporting is based on profit centers and their hierarchy. You can execute reports that enable you to monitor the success of your organizational structure.

The following types of reports are available for financial reporting:

• Hierarchy reports:

  These are drilldown reports. This reporting is based on value categories. Hierarchy reports allow you to drilldown based on various characteristics, and to call line items and documents.

• Cost element reports:

  These enable you to evaluate costs and revenues based on cost elements.

• Line item reports:

  These enable you to evaluate line items and documents.

  The structure information system enables you to evaluate objects and logistical and accounting key figures. You can also edit (change and create) objects from the information system. 

  With SAP Business Warehouse, you can evaluate business data across systems and applications. SAP Business Warehouse allows you to display data interactively with high-performance and easy-to-use evaluations.

• Use other views for your evaluations. For example, you can evaluate your objects in accordance with your cost center or profit center hierarchy.
• Display your project data graphically, send it through SAP office, and export it in different formats.
• Store the settings that you have made in the structure information system using profiles and display variants.
• Create and change project structures (for example, project definitions, WBS elements, networks, and activities) from the reports.
• Display and change assigned orders, for example, production orders assigned to WBS elements.
• Confirm activities and initiate pools of confirmations or confirmation workflows from the information system.
• Go to the mass change transaction if you want to change fields in many objects.
• Refresh the data (in other words, read it from the database again) to evaluate the changes straight away.
• Use the right-hand mouse button (context sensitive) to choose functions that are valid for the current cursor position.

You can call the following graphics from the structure information system:

• Hierarchy graphic:

  Displays WBS elements and activities.

• Network graphic:

  Displays activities.

• Structure graphic:

  Displays other objects such as SD documents, project orders, or investment programs (except WBS elements and activities).

• Gantt chart:

  Displays the hierarchical structure of your project and also the corresponding situation with regard to dates. Unlike the Project Planning Board, this can be called for several projects.

• Portfolio:

  Provides an X-Y representation of two columns.

• SAP Business Graphics:

  Displays graphs such as totals curves and histograms.

You can export data from the structure information system in a range of formats such as HTML, TXT, Rich Text Format, or various spreadsheet formats.