SSI Toolbox

Overview

The SSI Toolbox is a collection of useful utilities that allow you to do complex tasks such as creating a Time Scaled Value Report, Schedule Risk Assessment, or UN/CEFACT XML Report, but will also help with the simple nuances of working in Microsoft Project by allowing you to quickly do things like add common predecessors/successors, prefixes/suffixes, etc. Click on some of the toolbox buttons to learn more!

SSI Toolbox
Get External Links Export UN/CEFACT XML Clear All Cost Rates Slack Evaporator Get Custom Fields Add Common Predecessor Add Common Successor Add a Common Prefix Add a Common Suffix Make Name Proper Case Replace Selected Text Increment WBS, CWBS, OBS

Get External Links

Generate a report of dependencies that are outside the range of task row numbers you select in a project. Results are given in a Microsoft Excel workbook with one worksheet showing external predecessors and another showing external successors.

Export UN/CEFACT XML

Make XML data from your project in the format required by the Integrated Program Management Report (IPMR). SSI Tools allows you to map most date, text, number, flag and information fields for your UN/CEFACT XML output file.

Clear All Cost Rates

Clears all cost rates from the active project without removing the resources from the Resource Table or the resources assigned to tasks.

Slack Evaporator

The Slack Evaporator is useful when you have certain tasks that are scheduled earlier than desired simply because they have few or no predecessors that constrain their start and finish date. This tool schedules a task based on when its successor starts rather than when its predecessor finishes. Microsoft Project includes a task dependency type named "As Late as Possible" (ALAP), but the Slack Evaporator does not use that method to reschedule tasks. An ALAP task constraint will often move a task beyond the start date of its successor since it uses Total Slack in its calculation whereas the SSI Slack Evaporator uses Free Slack.

Get Custom Fields

Get a table and make a report of all the custom field names used in all open projects.

Add Common Predecessor

Add a common task to the predecessor list of one or more tasks you select in a project.

Add Common Successor

Add a common task to the successor list of one or more tasks you select in a project.

Add a Common Prefix

Enter common text that will prefix selected task's names.

Add a Common Suffix

Enter common text that will append selected task's names.

Make Name Proper Case

Select a task or group of tasks and quickly capitalize the first word and any proper noun in the selected task's names. For example: a task named "deliver draft of the ICD" becomes "Deliver Draft of the ICD".

Replace Selected Text

Select a single task or group of tasks then find and replace text. This tool does not change any calculated and non-text fields in a project.

Increment WBS, CWBS, OBS

Add a value to a parent level in a project and click this button to increment the child task’s value using a numeric scheme.  For example, enter “1.1” in Text1 of a Summary with three lower levels.  Text1 for each direct child of the selected task becomes “1.1.1”, “1.1.2” and “1.1.3”.  If each summary has three child tasks of its own, they become “1.1.1.1”, “1.1.1.2” and “1.1.1.3” and so on.