WBS, EPS & Types
OBS
OBS is Responsible Manager; not WBS, not MSP RBS; access not inherited down OBS
What a planner means
The organizational breakdown structure (OBS) is a global hierarchy of managers responsible for projects. Oracle: “a hierarchical way to represent the managers responsible for the projects in your enterprise.” You assign an OBS element as Responsible Manager on an EPS node, a project, or a WBS. That assignment is who owns the work and who may see it. It is not the WBS, not a resource, and not a calendar.
To access a project, a user must have access permissions for an OBS element within the project. Users are assigned to OBS elements with a project security profile. Oracle: those access privileges are not passed down to child OBS elements. If a user needs more than one OBS, you assign them to each.
When you associate a responsible manager with an EPS node, projects added under that branch get that manager by default. When you create a new project, a default responsible manager is assigned so each new WBS row has an OBS element. You must specify a responsible manager for each EPS node.
XER: OBS
| Column | Oracle label |
|---|---|
obs_id | Unique ID |
obs_name | OBS Name |
obs_descr | OBS Description |
parent_obs_id | Parent OBS |
seq_num | Sort Order |
guid | Global Unique ID |
PROJWBS.obs_id is Responsible Manager (same FK on issues and thresholds). Do not treat obs_id as a WBS id.
User-to-OBS assignments live in the database / EPPM Users detail window. They are not listed as a table in the project XER data map I have. Do not invent a USERS/OBSASSIGN table name.
What OBS is not
- Not WBS. WBS is deliverable tree (
PROJWBS). OBS is who is responsible. - Not EPS. EPS is the enterprise project tree. OBS is assigned to EPS nodes.
- Not
RSRC. A resource can do work; an OBS element is a manager slot for security and ownership. - Not Microsoft Project RBS. Project’s RBS field is an enterprise resource outline code (“also known as the User Breakdown Structure”) used to group resources and, in Project Online/Server, for dynamic security. Desktop Project has no OBS table and no Responsible Manager FK on WBS.
Don't
- Treat
OBSasPROJWBSor draw OBS as the outline. - Map P6 OBS to MSP RBS (or to a resource outline code) and call them the same object.
- Assume a user on a parent OBS can see child OBS projects. Oracle says privileges are not inherited down the OBS.
- Invent XER tokens for security profiles or user-OBS rows not in the project data map.