This past month we've been hard at work on features to improve the interoperability of ALICE Core, accelerate the time to value and improve the value of solutions generated. Here are the highlights: 

Major Features:

• Microsoft Project Import
  • MSP files can now be imported for simulation, optimization and optioneering in ALICE Core. With this release we have boosted our compatibility with existing scheduling tools so that more planners can benefit from ALICE, regardless of which tool you use today.
• Indirect Cost Modeling
  • When comparing schedules generated with ALICE, users can now make more informed cost-benefit decisions by incorporating direct and indirect or overhead costs.
• Print Schedules to PDF
  • One of our most popularly requested features has been released. From the analyze page, users can choose PDF format under the export menu to export the generated schedule, along with key information such as a legend, data date, date printed and solution name. 

Additional Updates:

Plan Page

• Duration Formula Enhancements
  • Create duration formulas incorporating variables from the schedule so that the task duration can be parameterized.
• Edit Data in Excel Improvements
  • In the task materials and task equipment tabs of the excel file, the required amount columns now supports formulas.
  • In the task tab of the excel file, the planned duration field now accepts numbers as well as other variables. Also, primary constraint time has been added as a column
  • Exported file name now includes the project name.
• Milestone Error Recovery 
  • When an infeasible milestone date is identified in the plan page, the interface to correct it now includes sorting, filtering and searching.
• Free Slack and Total Slack in hours or days can be added as columns on the Plan page
• Tasks can now be custom grouped by users based on any combination of crew, equipment and material
• Equipment and Materials can now be bulk-assigned to multiple tasks in the plan page. 
• Common Relationships can now be bulk-assigned to multiple tasks in the plan page.
• Improved In-Line Editing on the Plan page
  • Right click to open a menu allowing users to add, delete or copy a task. 
• ALICE-specific data fields can now be exported and imported, enabling users to repeatedly pass a project back and forth to P6 without losing data created in ALICE.
  • Included fields: duration formula, material formulas, equipment formulas, crew ranges and whether a material is required or supplied by a task.
• Gantt UI are automatically saved on the Plan and Analyze page
  • Visibility, order and column width now auto-save and appear the same way each time the page is visited. Settings can vary for each different project and for each user.
• A new shortcut has been added to scroll to the top of the page

Explore Page

• Milestone tab improvements when creating a new scenario
  • Visual indicator to show if the primary constraint is a milestone or a task
  • Display toggles to show WBS path and/or task Id for each primary constraint
  • Button to clear all dates in 1 click
  • Data date is now displayed on the milestone tab (if applicable)
• Improved milestone error resolution flow
  • If a milestone is infeasible, users are notified on the explore page and can click through to correct the underlying infeasibility in the Plan page.
• Solutions are now numbered for easier tracking and identification
  • Solution numbers appear on the explore page and the analyze page
  • They also appear in the browser tab, so users can have multiple tabs open and quickly identify each solution.
  • If a scenario run is deleted, users can renumber the solutions so that they appear in numerical order again.
• The Scheduling algorithm now generates better results for schedules that use ALAP constraints.

Analyze

• Print to PDF is now supported for schedules
  • Under the export options on the analyze page, PDF has been added. 
  • Users can select the desired page size for the PDF export.
• Analytics page UX improvements
  • New layout to improve readability
  • A legend has been added to the histogram

Platform

• Navigation Bar improvements
  • Users will see a new breadcrumb structure in the top navigation bar.
  • When opening a solution, users will see the number and color of the solution in the breadcrumb structure and on the browser tab.
  • Users can now go back to edit the Plan page from either the Explore or the Analyze page.