Workflow and document projects enable you to organize and manage items by the projects in your organization; however, these projects do not capture in-depth metadata or metrics. By creating a Project item type then creating a Project item and linking it to a specific project, the power and workflow of projects as items becomes available. Important metadata and metrics can be recorded in the Project item, for example, the assigned project manager, estimated and actual budgets (using computed fields), and important milestone dates. Linking a Project item to a project also reduces possible confusion about the details of projects in your database.

David, a project manager, manages several projects; however, the current workflow and document projects in Windchill RV&S only allow him to organize and manage related items, such as Features and Defects, by project. David needs a way to capture important information about each project, such as milestone dates, and measure project success, for example, calculating whether his actual budget is higher or lower than his estimated budget.

David creates a Project type and defines relevant fields that will allow him to capture relevant data and metrics. Next, David creates Project items for the projects he is managing and links them to the relevant projects in the Project field.

David can now more effectively manage his assigned projects. The Project items he created allow him to capture project metadata in the available fields and calculate project metrics using computed fields. Using queries, charts, reports, and dashboards, David can communicate project status to his superiors and teams working under him.