To Override Project Coding Mask

Question

Dear All,
At present, we have coding mask in system where the Project ID= Company code
For example For ABCD Project ID , coding mask is -XXX-XX-0000-XXXXXXX, and ABCD is also a  company code.
The new requirement is to have Project Def such as ABCDP0001234, without any special characters, where ABCD is company code.
How can I override the existing coding mask for creating new Project Def, for say, a new Project profile.
Is there any user exit available for this?
Regards,
Manmay Mallick

Answer 1

hello
What you can do:
1. You can delete all projects and change mask and import them again to system. Of course it means that you need to do a huge project for this with CO/MM/FI/SD consultants. That's a very cost consumable event but ... you will have data as you wish. I am not sure if that is worth it.
2. Simples way but a little longer but low costs.
You need to check 1 checkbox, in transaction OPSK check if you have Edit checkbox checked. If not that means you can create project outside the range of project number defined according to your project mask.
Eg. if you have only 1 mask
ABCD-XXX-XX-0000-XXXXXXX, you create project ABCD-EFG-KK-1234-ASD1234
if Edit checkbox is not checked you can create project eg WD12123332/2233-112-1212 but what is important you mustn't have any validation that check a project number and your new project number range doesn't start with ABCD chars. Check it yourself.
So if you stop using ABCD project mask and start using new coding project range as you almost want
ABCDP0001234 - but one char in ABCD must be change for a period of time you will use
0BCDP0001234 number. In other way the system will check it according to your ABCD mask.
When the time will come and projects with old number will go out and you will have only few of them activelu maintain you will make a decision to migrate the few old projects to new number 0ABC.
After that move you will need to archive old projects and remove them from your database then you can delete a mask ABCD. If you delete this old mask all your projects can be renumerate to your number expectation from 0BCDP0001234 to ABCDP0001234. And you got it
What are the costs of this solution:
1. Organizational decision to use new codings of projects 0BCD for period of time.
2. Prepare a few validation to check the project number if you don't use mask you need to have any mechanizm to verify correctness of your project numbers.
3. Small migration of few old projects to new ones.
4. Archive of old projects.
5. Small LSMW to renumerate 0BCD projects to ABCD projects.
When to do it?
It depends of your organization and the lifecycle of your projects.
Additional info
For a period of time in your old projects you can use Mask ID field in project definition and put there + sign in the place which char schould be used to find WBS element in the system as an alternative way.
Eg.
You have a WBS element ABCD-EFG-KK-1234-ASD1234
on the definition of this project in Mask ID put ++++_+++_++_++++_+++++++ where _ means space. In such a way on you WBS element in the field Short ID you will get ABCDEFGKK1234ASD1234 and this number can be used in reports etc.
Hope this help