Create a communication

Communications are created based on communication templates.

Users with the following contract roles can create a communication:

• Contract Owner

• Contract Administrator

• Company Representative

To create a contract communication:

1. Create the communication in the contract and add general details, including tags.

2. Optionally, link it to other communications.

3. Depending on the template used, select progress communications you want to claim for.

4. Depending on the template used, add progress values or financial and schedule values.

5. Optionally, depending on the template used, attach documents to the communication.

6. Save the new communication as Draft, or send it to the recipient.

Step 1: Create the communication

7. Navigate to the home page of the contract.

8. Click Create a Communication and select the communication template you want to use from the menu.

   Warning If a communication template is listed but cannot be selected, it has workflow errors. Contact the Administrator.

   The Create a Communication page is displayed, with the communication template you are using shown in the page heading.

9. Enter information as required in the relevant fields.

   Note Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

Field	Description
Specify Recipients (Company to Company communications only)	Select whether you want to send an email to specific recipients, notifying them about this internal communication. If you select Yes, the From field is completed automatically with your name. Select the notification recipient by clicking the icon for the To field. You can select contract roles, business process roles in the contract, and company users who have a contract role for the contract. If you select No, the From field is also set to your name but the To field is left blank.
From	The sender of the communication. Set by default according to the communication template. Click the link to see the details of the user.
To	The recipient of the communication. Set by default according to the communication template. Click the link to see the details of the user.
Reference	If a manual reference is required, enter the reference number of the communication. This will be prefixed with the communication template abbreviation.
Title	The title (subject) of the communication.
Description	The message text of the communication. Note This is a Rich Text field; use the buttons on the field toolbar to add formatting to the text.
Communication Owner	The owner of the communication. Set by default according to the communication template. Click the link to see the details of the user.
Originated On	The date on which the communication was created. The default is the current date.
Communication Preparation Guidelines	The guidelines for creating and sending the communication. Set by default according to the communication template.
Next Steps After Issuing	The guidelines for what should happen once the communication has been sent. Set by default according to the communication template.

10. Click the Click here to apply Tags link to add tags to the communication.(See Communication tags for more information about tags.)

11. Enter values for any custom fields.

Step 2: Add linked communications (optional)

Communications can be linked in AVEVA Contract Risk Management for two primary purposes:

• To signify that they are somehow related; a group of related communications comprise a story that can be used to track historical information about a particular issue.

  A communication related to another in a story can be marked as its formal reply, to satisfy a response required obligation. See Respond to a communication for more information.

  Note Although contractor users with appropriate permissions can add communications to stories when they create reply communications, they cannot see the story and its communications once the communication has been saved or sent.

• To create a financial association that signifies they belong to the same financial business process; this ensures that financial commitment and expenditure is correctly reported in contract financial health and Project/Dept financial forecasts. A financial association is also known as a process chain link.

See Linked communications for more detailed information.

Note This functionality is not available for any communication which records progress. See Step 7 for details of how to link progress communications to expenditure communications.

12. In the Add Linked Communications section, click Add Link.

    The Add a Link to Another Communication page is opened.

13. Complete the pages of the wizard as required. Depending on the types of communication being linked, not all pages are displayed.

    Click Next and Previous to move between pages.

    Page	Displayed if	Options
    Search for a Communication to Link To	Always	Type the text you want to search on in the Search for field. You can click to display further criteria on which to search: Enter the date you want to search from in the From this date field. Note that this date defaults to the Start Date of the contract. Select the fields by which you want to refine your search. Tip Select Latest Revision from the Communication Revisions drop-down list to view only the latest revisions of communications. Click Search. You can also click List All to display all communications in the contract. From the Results list, select the communication you want to link to.
    Choose Type of Link	Both communications have financial values of the same type, defined by the communication template (commitment change or expenditure)	Select the type of link you want to create: Create a Financial Association - Add the new communication to a story AND create a financial association with the communication you are linking to. Create a General Association - Add the new communication to a story.
    Choose Direction of Link	Create a Financial Association was selected on the Choose Type of Link page	Select the direction of the process chain link. The predecessor is displayed on the left and the successor on the right. The information displayed for each communication shows any changes to the financial and schedule impact values and reporting categories which will occur when the link is made. Click the Change Direction button to swap the predecessor and successor.
    Choose a Story Group	Always	Select the story you want to add the new communication to. Story options are: Add both communications to a new story. If the communication you are linking to already belongs to one or more stories, add the new communication to one of these stories.

14. Click Finish.

    The story and any process chain links are displayed in the Add Linked Communications section.

    You can remove any of the process chain or story links by clicking the icon for the link.

    If you remove a process chain link for communications which are not configured as Expenditure, you are asked to confirm whether you want to:

    • Remove the link and the associated financial values.

    • Remove just the link.

15. If a financial association is created, the financial impact value from the predecessor in the process chain is added to the Financial Impact field (if this is displayed for this communication type). This field shows the sum of any financial value already specified for the communication, plus the financial values copied from the linked communications:

    • If the communication has commitment change values which apply to line items, these are copied from the predecessor and can be viewed and updated once the new communication has been saved in an editable state.

      For communications that have a single commitment change Financial Impact value, this can be edited before the communication is saved as Draft or sent.

      See Edit the core details of a communication for details of when a communication is in an editable state.

    • If both communications are configured as Expenditure, the expenditure values and any line items are copied from the predecessor and can be viewed and updated once the new communication has been saved in an editable state. The Financial Impact cannot be edited.

      Warning If a Milestone Payments line item already exists in the successor communication, it is not copied to the successor because only one instance of a Milestone Payment value can be claimed in a contract. This may lead to an incorrect financial value being shown for the successor on the Choose Direction of Link page of the linking wizard.

    Note If the communications have different currencies, the financial impact value copied from the predecessor is converted to the base currency of the successor, using the currency rates specified in the Contract Configuration.

    Both the original and converted values are shown in the Add Linked Communications section.

    If the currency of the successor communication is later changed, only the financial impact values due to line items are recalculated.

    If the predecessor had a schedule impact value, this is added to the Schedule Impact field (if this is displayed for this communication type).

Step 3: Select progress communications you want to claim for (depending on communication template)

If the communication has been created from an expenditure communication template which also records progress, any progress communications which can be claimed for in this communication are listed in the Associated Progress Communications section, provided they meet the following criteria:

• The progress communication is in a state of Approved or Agreed.

• The progress communications has not already been claimed in another expenditure communication which is in a state of Draft, Awaiting Agreement from Recipient, Agreed or Approved.

Select the progress communications you want to claim for in this communication.

Warning If you do not select any progress communications, you will be asked to confirm this when you save or send the communication. You will not be able to link any progress communications to the communication once it has been created.

Step 4: Add progress or financial and schedule values (depending on communication template)

Depending on the communication template, you can add progress or financial and schedule values.

The following tables detail where progress and financial values can be added, based on the communication template configuration. See Editing Communication Details for details of when a communication is in an editable state.

Note For a communication that is configured to record both expenditure and progress, the values from any progress communications that you have linked to this communication are used to calculate the financial impact values for all relevant line items. These financial impact values can be seen on the Expenditure tab once the communication has been saved or sent. See Expenditure line items.

Contract has line items

Contract does not have line items

To add financial and schedule values:

16. If the contract has more than one currency, you can select a Currency.

17. If the field is displayed, enter the value of the Financial Impact in the communication currency.

18. If the field is displayed, enter the value of the Schedule Impact in days.

Step 5: Attach documents (optional, depending on communication template)

19. In the Add Attachment section, click Add Attachment.

20. Click Browse to select the document you want to add.

21. Enter the Name of the document.

22. Select whether the document Is Confidential.

23. Select whether the document is Visible in Contractor Portal.(This option is not displayed for a Contractor to Company communication.)

24. Select Enable Version Tracking if new versions of the document should be saved to AVEVA Contract Risk Management when it is edited online or replaced. If version tracking is enabled, a (V*) suffix is appended to the document name. If the document has only one version, it will be displayed as (V1). As new versions are added, the version number is incremented by one (V2, V3, ...).

    See Version tracking for more information.

    Tip Click Add Attachment to add more documents.

    See Communication attachments for more information about documents added to a communication.

Step 6: Save or send the communication

The options for saving the new communication depend on its communication template and routing type. Click the appropriate button (as listed in the table below) to create the communication.

If the communication requires a response (agreement and/or reply), an obligation is automatically initiated and associated with the communication. See Contract obligations for more information.

Note Contractor to Company communications are being created on behalf of the contractor.

• If the communication is saved as Draft, the Communication Details page is displayed.

• If you click Send and the communication template is configured as Expenditure and does not record progress, a warning message is displayed to inform you that you must save the communication as Draft if you want to add expenditure values. Click Confirm to send the communication, or Cancel to return to the Create Communication page.

  Note If expenditure values were copied to the communication by linking to another communication, this message is still displayed. Click Confirm if you do not need to edit the expenditure.

  Once the communication is published, the Contract home page is displayed.

• If you click Send and the communication can be marked as a formal reply to one or more of its linked communications, the Mark as Obligated Reply window is displayed.

  Select the communication for which this is a formal reply, and click OK.

  Note The communication can be marked as a formal reply if it is in a story group with communications which:

  • have the opposite routing path (e.g. when creating a Company to Contractor communication, it can be marked as a reply to a Contractor to Company communication)

  • have a required response of Reply or Agreement and Reply

  • have not already been replied to

    These are the only communications listed for selection. Multiple communications can be selected.

    See Respond to a communication for more information.

Once the communication is published, the Contract home page is displayed.