Create a communication

Communications are created based on communication templates. You can only create communications with the Contractor to Company routing path.

Only users with the following contract roles can create communications:

• Contractor Representative

• Contractor Administrator

• Contractor Information Management - only communications which do not have financial values or confidential custom fields

To create a contract communication:

1. Navigate to the Contract page for the contract you want work on.

2. Click the Communications tab.

   The communication register is displayed.

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

   Note Contractor Information Management users cannot select communication templates which contain financial values or confidential custom fields.

   Warning If a communication template has errors, it is listed but cannot be selected. Contact AVEVA Contract Risk Management Support.

   The Create a Communication page is displayed.

4. Enter information as required in the relevant fields.

   Field	Description
   Title	The title of the communication.
   Description	A description for the communication, e.g. a message to the recipient. 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.
   From	The recipient of the communication. Set by default according to the communication template. Click the link to see the details of the user.
   To	The sender of the communication. Set by default according to the communication template. Click the link to see the details of the user.
   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.
   Originated On	The date on which the communication was created. The default is the current date.

5. Enter values for any custom fields.

6. 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.

7. Depending on the communication template, you can add financial and schedule values if you are a Contractor Representative or Contractor Administrator user.

   The following tables detail where progress and financial values can be added, based on the communication template configuration, when the communication is created or when it has been saved as Draft.

   Contract Has Line Items

   Communication records progress	Communication template properties	How financial values are entered
   No	Does not support financial values	No progress or financial values are recorded.
   Yes	Does not support financial values	Progress can be recorded on the Progress tab against line items which have progress measures, after the communication has been saved as Draft. See Progress communications.
   No	Configured as Expenditure	Expenditure values and line items are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved as Draft. The communication cannot be linked to progress communications. See Expenditure communications.
   Yes	Configured as Expenditure	Expenditure values and line items are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved as Draft. The communication can be linked to progress communications. See Expenditure communications.
   No	Configured as Change	Commitment change values which apply to line items are added on the Change tab, after the communication has been saved as Draft. See Commitment change line items.
   No	Supports financial values but is not explicitly configured as Expenditure or Change	A single value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication.

   Contract Does Not Have Line Items

   Communiction records progress	Communication template properties	How financial values are entered
   Not applicable	Does not support financial values	No progress or financial values are recorded. Note Progress can only be recorded against line items.
   No	Configured as Expenditure	Expenditure values are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved as Draft. The communication cannot be linked to progress communications. See Expenditure values.
   Yes	Configured as Expenditure	Expenditure values are managed on the Expenditure tab, after the communication has been saved as Draft. The communication can be linked to progress communications but the progress communications cannot have progress values because they can only be recorded against line items. See Expenditure values.
   No	Configured as Change	A single commitment change value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication. See Commitment change values.
   No	Supports financial values but is not explicitly configured as Expenditure or Change	A single value can be added as the Financial Impact of the communication on the Create a Communication page or when editing a communication.

   To add financial and schedule values:

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

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

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

8. You can add a document to the communication:

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

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

   6. Enter the Name of the document.

   7. Select whether the document Is Confidential.

      Note This option is automatically set to No for Contractor Information Management users, and cannot be changed.

      Tip Click Add Attachment to add more documents.

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

9. 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, an obligation is automatically created and associated with the communication. See Contract obligations for more information.

   Requires a response	Click Save as Draft to save the communication as Draft (e.g. so that progress/expenditure/commitment change values can be added). OR Click Send to immediately publish the communication as Awaiting Agreement from Company.
   Does not require a response	Click Save as Draft to save the communication as Draft (e.g. so that progress/expenditure/commitment change values can be added). OR Click Send to immediately publish the communication as Approved.

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

10. If you clicked Send and the communication template is configured as Expenditure, 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.

11. Once the communication is published, the Communications tab of the Contract home page is displayed.

    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.