Using Calculated Fields in Cobra
Cobra allows the user to create a custom field in the project view that may provide the user information that isn’t available otherwise in Cobra. The flexibility and ease in creating these makes this accessible to all users. The Cobra Guy uses this function often, mostly to impress friends and neighbors of his Cobra prowess.
The Project View in Cobra is more a quick reference for information than a reporting utility. Often, we want to do a quick analysis of some pertinent information and if one is able to obtain this information quickly and accurately by viewing the open project, all the better.
What follows, is a few examples of how to create calculated fields in Cobra that I frequently use.
To select Calculated Fields in Cobra, simply navigate to the “Tools” menu.
This will open the window that allows for creating a new field. Select the ”New” button.
This will allow the user to name the new calculated field. Note: Cobra will not allow using the Space Bar when entering the Name, thus the underscore character is typically used.
In this example, a factor increasing the EAC by a percentage is being created. While rather arbitrary, this type of calculation might be helpful when calculating forecasted inflation on material, etc.
After providing the title, click OK.
This will provide a screen where the calculation can be entered. A few hints here: Cobra is a rather persnickety tool at times and may sometimes jump around in what it will be calling something. In this case, I typed in “EAC” and Cobra accepted my typed entry. That said, it is recommended the user use the “Fields” button to select the field desired. This will be apparent in the next sample.
In this example, 5% is being added to the cost set EAC.
Once the expression is entered, select OK.
The new field is now available for adding to the project view. By “Right-Clicking” on any column on the Spreadsheet portion of the project, other fields can be selected for viewing.
Select “Insert Column”
In the “Field Name” selection box, click the down arrow.
Navigate to the newly added calculated field, BAD EAC.
For comparison’s sake, also select the EAC field. Just for fun, one can add 5% to the EAC numbers and test the calculation.
Let’s add one more calculated field. Again, launch Calculated Fields from the Tools menu, then select the New button.
Here, we are creating a calculation to determine the remaining budget not yet earned, commonly called “Budgeted Cost of Work Remaining”, or BCWR.
Use the “Fields” button to select the calculation elements. This particular calculation demonstrates one of the idiosyncrasies of Cobra.
In order to select BCWP, I needed to choose the field “Progress” (see below), which returned the field “Earned”. How intuitive is that? For this reason, use the “Fields” option to make sure Cobra will recognize your selection.
This simple calculation subtracts EV from the Budget at Completion to provide the budgeted value of work not yet completed.
This can be added to the view as we did for the “BAD EAC”. I also added “Progress” to the view to allow for validation of the calculation.
The user can select a myriad of fields out of the box in the Project View. When certain data isn’t available from the list, consider using the Calculated Fields tool and create your own. Remember that views can be saved.
Figure 15
The Cobra Guy has several saved views that can be quickly accessed depending on the operation under way. Have fun using calculated fields in Cobra!