About Project Concepts

A project concept is a "preliminary" process before a "real" project is created. Project concepts have many of the same components as a project, such as WBS tasks, folders, members, and risks. Project concepts can be included in routes and discussions can be created for them. Unlike projects, project concepts don't have deadlines or financials so there are no dashboards, assessments, business goals, financials, or quality metrics for them.

Uses for Project Concepts

Some uses for a concept project are:


  • Engineering has a place in the collaboration environment to share new ideas.
  • The concept project can be used as an engineers "sandbox" until the project owner decides to take the project to the "Approval" Process.
  • Once the project concept is approved, a new, standard project is created (a copy or clone of the concept project).

Project Concept WBS

Project concepts include a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The WBS for a project concept is very similar to the WBS for an actual project. The following is a list of the differences between the WBS for a concept and a project. Aside from these differences, you manage the WBS for a concept in the same way you manage a project WBS. See About the Work Breakdown Structure.

The only differences between the WBS for a project and a project concept are:


  • The project concept WBS has no baseline view.
  • The lifecycle for a concept is different than the lifecycle for a project (see Project Concept Lifecycle). There is less interaction between the status of the tasks in a concept's WBS and the status of tasks in a project's WBS. For example, when a task in a project is promoted to Active, the project is also promoted to Active, if it's not already in that state. But when a task is promoted to Active for a project concept WBS, the concept is not promoted.

However, many of the automatic processes for a project WBS are in place for a concept WBS. For example, the % complete for a concept's WBS tasks roll up to the concept's % complete.

Working with Microsoft Project

If your system has the MS Project - Program Central integration installed and configured, you can view, modify and synchronize Program Central projects from MS Project. For instructions, see the user guide that accompanies the integration.

From Concepts to Projects

When a project concept has been prototyped and reviewed and is ready to become an actual project, a Project Lead must promote the concept to Approved. To be promoted to Approved, signature requirements may have to be fulfilled and one or more routes may have to be completed. When Program Central promotes a project concept to approved, it changes the object type to Project Space and functions like any other project.