<Project Superuser> Privileges
How do you assign a P6 Professional user the privilege to import an Excel spreadsheet into an existing project without having to give the user too many rights?
In a recent P6 class that we ran, some folks noted that they could only import an Excel spreadsheet into an existing project when that respective user is granted <Project Superuser> privileges. They wanted to know another way to achieve the import without assigning <Project Superuser> privileges.
They were concerned about giving the individual user too many rights to their company database. Well, before we investigate an alternative approach let’s first take a look at what privileges come with the <Project Superuser> assignment; they may be more limited than initially thought.
This article discusses <Project Superuser> privileges and demonstrates its assignment to a user to allow the user the ability to import an Excel spreadsheet into an existing project.
The privileges of the <Project Superuser> are hidden, meaning they do not appear in the list of project security profiles in the Admin | Security Profiles dialogue, where they are available to the user to read and/or modify. However, Oracle document (Doc) ID 899562.1, lists the below <Project Superuser> User privileges:
1. Can change the Responsible Manager for any project that they have access to.
2. Import into an existing project with the following options – Update Existing Project, Add Into or Replace.
3. Select or Deselect the option to copy activities when copying a WBS node.
As stated above in number 1, the Project Superuser can modify the Responsible Manager of any project, which they have access to. This may be more rights than system administrators want this user to possess. Well, the system administrator can limit their access to a few projects. This should significantly restrict their jurisdiction (or extent of power). Another less favorable approach is to restrict their access to read only rights. This would take away their right to change the Responsible Manager, but then they won’t be able to update the project, not our intention.
Number 2, is the right to import to an existing project, which is what we want.
Number 3, is the ability to select or deselect the copy activities toggle when copying a WBS node. This is allowed any time a user has the Add/Edit/Delete WBS privilege. The Project Manager project profile that comes standard with P6 has this capability, so the system administrator giving this right is not injudicious.
Let’s show the assignment of the <Project Superuser> in a way that doesn’t “give away the storehouse” and cause the system administrator great worry that a user can harm the company database. We start by adding a new Element to the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS), an OBS Element. Choose Enterprise | OBS, Figure 1.
In the Organizational Breakdown Structure dialogue select the E&C OBS Element and click Add to add a new OBS Element directly below E&C, Figure 2.
Name the new OBS Element D&E and enter, Figure 3, then click the right arrow to make it a child of E&C.
Note that D&E is now a child of E&C, Figure 4.
Close the dialogue box. We proceed with the steps to assign D&E as a Responsible Manager to our user. (Note that Responsible Manager and OBS Element are synonymous.) Begin by choosing Admin | Users, Figure 5.
Choose the user with the Project Manager global profile, click the Assign to add a new Responsible Manager assignment to our user, Jonnie, Figure 6.
In the Assign Access to OBS dialogue box select D&E and assign, Figure 7.
Assign D&E the <Project Superuser> privilege, Figure 8.
The list of Responsible Managers for Jonnie display in Figure 9.
Now we want to assign our demonstration project, Pipe Repairs, the D&E Responsible Manager. Continue and open the Pipe Repair project, Figure 10.
After the Pipe Repairs project opens return to the Projects tab and click the ellipse for the Responsible Manager and Pipe Repairs cell, then choose D&E and assign, Figure 11.
The EPS and Responsible Manager assignment for the Pipe Repairs project appears in Figure 12.
The Responsible Manager for the Pipe Repairs project, as above, is D&E. Remember that the Pipe Repairs project alone has the D&E Responsible Manager, and, therefore, the <Project Superuser> privileges. So, now our user Jonnie only has <Project Superuser> privileges to Pipe Repairs. This significantly restricts the extent to which the user Jonnie can yield the <Power Superuser> privileges. We proceed and log out and log in as our user Jonnie, Figure 13.
Select the Pipe Repair project, Figure 14.
Open the Pipe Repairs project, Figure 15.
Our demonstration project is in Figure 16.
Return to the Projects tab, Figure 17, and select the Pipe Repairs project.
Choose File | Import, Figure 18.
In the Import dialogue choose Spreadsheet – (XLSX), Figure 19, then click next.
We click the ellipse and locate the XLXS spreadsheet ‘Pipe Repairs – Updates.xlxs’ that we want to import to our P6 project, Figure 20, then click next.
We choose all the import type options available, Figure 21, and click next.
Update Existing Project is the only Import Action available. Use the ellipse to select the target Pipe Repairs project.
Finally, we click finish, Figure 23.
Displayed below we have our Pipe Repairs project with the schedule updates in blue, Figure 24.
Summary
The <Project Superuser> sounds like it gives the corresponding user the keys to a tremendous set of privileges. But it really comes down to three rights. The one of most likely to be of concern to system administrators, is the privilege to change the Responsible Manager assignment of any project it has access to. Here we demonstrated a way to limit the jurisdiction of this privilege to one project by:
1) Creating a new element in the OBS
2) Assigning this OBS element (or Responsible Manager) to our respective user
3) Assigning this Responsible Manager to our target project, and only our target project.
In this way we provide each user with the ability to import an Excel spreadsheet into a target project. So, the <Project Superuser> is an effective way to allow a user to import an Excel spreadsheet into an existing project without having to give this user too many rights.