Deltek just released Acumen 8.6 Cumulative Update 08 and presented it, along with a look at what’s to come in version 8.7 at Virtual Deltek Insight 2020. Acumen 8.6 Cumulative Update 08 was released on September 4 and includes the following enhancements.
IMPDAR Schedule Export Enhancements – Task ID
When you export .mpp or Project Server schedule data to an IPMDAR, you can now select the field to be used for the task ID on the Configure Activity Fields dialog box. If you are exporting any other type of schedule data, this field is disabled and displays {Default}.
In this case, Acumen uses the data in the ID column (activity ID) as the task ID. When you perform the export, any duplicate records are not exported. Acumen will log these in the export log.
It is worth noting that Acumen matches activities in Forensics using the ID. So, if you are using an alternate field for the activity ID during the export, Forensics will not be able to compare the source and exported activities. All activities will be seen as different and nothing will match.
Figure 1
DECM Metrics
Acumen 8.6 Cumulative Update 08 uses the latest DECM metrics version is 3.5.1. If you are working with existing workbooks with older metrics and want to update to the latest metric version, you can merge the latest metrics into your workbook. To do this, simply click Open on the Metrics tab Import menu. Merging in the latest metrics will not delete metrics that the DCMA has deleted.
For new workbooks, you will want to make sure you configure Acumen to point to the latest metric template on the Deltek Acumen Options dialog box General page. The latest DECM metric template is dcma_decm_metrics_86_DECM_V3_5_1.aft.
It’s important to note that DECM 3.5 and higher metrics are dependent on changes in Acumen 8.6 CU2 and will not produce correct results in earlier versions of Acumen.
DECM Metrics Spreadsheet
For detailed information about each DECM metric, you can look at the DeltekDECMMetricsMar2020.xlsx spreadsheet in the Acumen Documentation folder. The spreadsheet includes information about any changed and updated metrics.
Department of Energy (DOE) EVMS Metrics
As a bonus, Acumen 8.6 includes the schedule metrics that are part of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Project Management metrics used to evaluate project Integrated Master Schedules (IMSs).
You can review the instructions in the DOE_EVMS_BasicFuseInstructions_V5.pdf document which is located in the Acumen Fuse\Documentation folder. In addition, there is a sample workbook that includes the metrics, and the metric template, in the Acumen Fuse\Templates folder.
To make the DOE metrics your default metrics for new workbooks, you need to make sure you configure Acumen to point to the latest metric template on the Deltek Acumen Options dialog box General page. The latest DOE metric template is DOE_EVMS_MetricTemplate_V5.aft.
Compatibility and Documentation
A few changes have been made to the Deltek Acumen 8.6 documentation to reflect the following versions of Primavera P6. These have now been added to the Software Requirements table.
- Primavera P6 19.12 (XER and Web)
- Primavera P6 17.12 (XML only)
- Primavera P6 18.8 (XML only)
- Primavera P6 19.12 (XML only)
Also, there have been some additions to the “Upgrading Powerproject” section.
Acumen 8.7
It’s also worth mentioning that we expect to see Acumen 8.7 in Q1 of 2021 with more goodies and improvements. These include improved usability and compliance updates with regard to the IPMDAR and DECM Metrics. We can also expect performance improvements to Acumen Risk as well as more distribution types including BetaPert and TriGen distributions for risk and uncertainty. In addition, both Risk and Fuse will see updated reports.
Summary
This is a solid release that not only has some useful enhancements, including additional metrics, but also squashes some bugs. With this release and Acumen 8.7 on the horizon, there’s a lot to look forward too!