What is the difference between Parent and Child Projects?

A Parent Project is the main project that unifies multiple jobs that are associated with one another and encompasses the overall data regarding all projects involved. On the other hand, a Child-Project is one job that makes up part of the Parent Project. While a Child-Project may have its own project number, it is typically a smaller project with direct correlation (e.g., same Client and Location) to a larger project. Child-Projects may consists of Self-Perform, Phased, Preconstruction, or other smaller projects that make up or contribute to a larger Construction project.

When and why do we create associations between Parent and Child Projects?

How the projects are set up is ultimately determined by how the team wishes to market the job externally. Do you want to market multiple jobs as one entire project or program? If so, unifying the individual Child-Projects under a Parent Project will allow you to consolidate all the main details. This includes an overall project name, cost, schedule, descriptions, and all other critical categories that would be important to track. By creating a Parent Project, this keeps all the relevant Child-Projects in one place and easy to locate. Rather than manually collecting details from each Child-Project, you’ll be able to generate Parent Project Sheets via Publisher after all the details have been consolidated to the Parent Project.

What are some nuances to be aware of?

• If a Self-Perform Child-Opportunity is attached to a parent GC Opportunity, all associated Self-Perform Projects will be automatically linked to the Parent Project when the opportunities are moved to JIP. Therefore, no manual linkage is necessary unless you come across any standalone Self-Perform Opportunities that were created without the GC and needs to be connected manually. 
• IMPORTANT: For manually created Projects, the records do not integrate with CMiC. Therefore, Parent Projects must be updated on a consistent basis. For instance, if there is a new Child-Project that was just connected to the Parent, you’ll want to ensure the stats are migrated and aggregated to the Parent.

How do I associate a Child Project to a Parent Project?

1. Locate the Child-Project you wish to associate and click on Edit All.
2. Within the "Child-Project of" field, search for the Parent Project (name or number) you wish to connect. Select the Project and click on Update to save your edits.
3. When you return to the Parent Project record, you will see the Child-Project now unified with the Parent.
4. Important Note: You cannot edit the Parent and search for the Child-Project to associate It only works the other way around as mentioned above.

Parent-Child Project Use Case

Example Use Case	Annual CSU TOCA Program For TOCA projects, how the projects are set up is determined by how the team prefers to market the job. Do you want to market the project as one entire program or do you want to market the individual jobs (Task Orders) as standalone projects? Maybe there is a use case for both scenarios! If the project(s) will be marketed as one entire project, please manually create a project record and aggregate all individual project details to the parent project.  If the project(s) will be marketed as one entire project but also marketed individually, please ensure all individual child-projects are validated and that all critical project fields are updated. Then, manually create a parent project record to aggregate all child-project details.
Important Notes	If a parent project does not exist, you'll need to manually create a new project record before you begin unifying all the individual child-projects. Within the parent project, all tabs and fields will start off as a blank slate since the record is not connected to CMiC/Project number. All tabs and critical fields will need to be updated manually. All critical project fields should be updated consistently when known or when there are new child-projects that have been associated. At the time of a child-project's completion date, the record should already be assigned to its parent project and the parent project data fields should be updated to include any relevant details. All Project sections and fields as outlined below are considered "critical project fields" that should be updated or aggregated to the parent project field. This is especially important when it comes to running reports and using Publisher as all the data in these project records will be transferred over. In short, if your project record has no data, your report and project sheet will also have no data.
Manual Project Creation	To manually create a new parent Project, click on "Create" and this will jumpstart the process to create a new Project record. You can create a new Project while you are on any project record screen.
Project Summary Information	At the time of project creation, please ensure the following fields are filled in: Project Number - this can be labeled as "Parent Job" or any other similar name since a manually created project will not have a number. Project Name  Published Project Name Publishable Project Client and Owner (if applicable) Project Address Confidential Address Project Status Percent Complete Swinerton's Role Swinerton Prominent Project Region/Division Preferred Project Notes All Firm Organization/Primary Market Fields All Project Categories/Type Fields Once saved, you may begin to search for the individual child-projects and connect those jobs under the new parent project record that was just created.
Images	Upload the top 3-5 best project photos for the parent project. This may be the top photo for each individual child-project that is worth including on parent project sheet for the TOCA program.
Owner/Client	Within the Owner/Client tab, please ensure the Client is accurately captured. The Client should be the same across all child-projects. If there is an Owner, you may also add in the Owner info as well. Add the primary Owner/Client Contact(s) and indicate whether or not the Contact is a reference for the parent project. If there are multiple child-projects connected to the parent, you may have multiple Contacts. Please utilize the Comments field to reference which child-project the Contact is connected to.
Consultant Team	Add any important and relevant Companies and Contacts on the project. This could be your Architect, Consultants, Engineers, and/or Subcontractors. At minimum, if there was an Architect on the project, then they should be listed on the parent project.
Staff Team	Add all primary Staff Team members that were listed in the individual child-project(s).
Construction Costs	Aggregate all child-project costs and add the total to the Actual Cost column within the parent project. You may use the Project Cost Comments to include a breakout of all the individual projects and costs or clarify anything that would be helpful to know.
Construction Schedule	Ensure all critical dates are filled in. Most notably, the Actual Start Date and Actual Substantial Completion Date will help us understand the entire duration of all child-projects combined. For example, if there were five TOCA jobs between 2020-2021, you'll want to ensure the dates are 01/01/2020 to 12/31/2031.
Size	Aggregate the project size across all child-projects to get an overall total of the parent project.
Components	Migrate over any components from the other child-projects to the parent project.
Description	Project Sheet Description and Resume Description are mandatory. Please create an overall parent project sheet description and resume description that also incorporates a brief reference to the child-projects. Bold the project names so there is a clear delineation between the different child-projects. You may also consider aggregating any other relevant project descriptions such as Case Studies.
References	Add a primary Contact reference for the overall parent project program. This should be a Contact that has been the main point of reference across all or most individual child-projects.