1 Overview
Functionality of DP Manager requires that it be run on a Windows computer and with macros enabled. While it is possible your settings allow macros automatically, this often is not the case, at least the first time you open the file. You enable macros when, upon opening the DP Manager file, the top of the window shows a yellow bar with the message “SECURITY WARNING Some active content has been disabled. Click for more details.” and a button labeled “Enable Content”. You SHOULD click the Enable Content button.
If you are trying to work with the file on the M-Drive, you cannot run macros due to university IT security settings that cannot be worked around (you get a red/pink bar waring when opening the file). You just need to work with the file on your computer, whoever is working on it. If you still get the noted pink/red bar, it probably thinks it is downloaded from the internet and thus Windows is applying its default of protecting you from potential viruses. Close the DP Manager file, right-click on the file and select Properties from the drop-down menu. Then check the Unblock checkbox and then Save. Now open the DP Manager file and it should be fine. If not, please contact the program director.
1.1 Sheet Protection
Each worksheet is protected. The Start Here! sheet has a password and there is no need to unprotect it. All other worksheets are protected with no password. The protection is set to minimize the risk of inadvertent corruption of formulas and/or formatting. Any cells where you must or may enter something are unlocked. Any sheets where sorting is appropriate have been provided with a “Sort” button (up-and-right from the table, set on a light-blue background) that will correctly sort the correct region. If you find you need to unprotect a sheet, go ahead, but you are encouraged to re-protect it (and with no password) after you are done doing whatever it is you think you need to do with the protection turned off. Again, I cannot think of a need to unprotect it.
1.2 Important
Further, in order to maintain integrity of references in formulas (many you do not see), it is really important to NOT
- delete any cells or rows or columns; and
- “cut” and paste — instead, copy, then use Paste:Paste Special (right click, Paste Special) and use “Formulas” (fx icon). You can go to the original entry/cell(s) you wanted to move and then delete what is in those cells (Delete or Backspace key).
“Cutting” in Excel makes Excel think the cell actually moved, not just its contents… that there is now nothing in the old location for some other formula to reference. The formulas behind the scenes have been developed to be robust to this issue, but nothing is perfect. So, take care and with “design for robustness” combined with your “care-in-cutting” you will reduce the risk of experiencing issues. This is especially important in regard to deleting rows; it is not robust to that and cannot be practically made such. The smart borders (see next subsection) will handle table sizing, so there is never a need to delete rows.
A second really important consideration is citing sources. Any graphical images you use from sources (e.g., in the morphological chart (the Functional-Level Concepts sheet)) should be referenced by citation number (e.g., [FML##] or [TEAM##]) in your TAD reference list.
1.3 Smart Borders
To reduce your workload in formatting and managing sheet protections for hiding and showing unused rows or columns, the “Conditional Formatting” capability in Excel has been used to provide table borders that will size dynamically to encompass only the amount of entries in the respective table.
1.4 Copy and Paste to Other Docs/Destinations
Every sheet has a pair of buttons (up-and-right from the table) that will copy the table to the clipboard for pasting in another destination (e.g., Google Docs or Slides). Using these buttons is not only EASIER than manually selecting, but also:
- assures that smart shading (see below) is turned off for the copy;
- original master formatting is restored, correcting formatting corruptions that sometimes happen as you move data around; and
- assures that you get the table as a good-resolution picture format that does not clip any edge borders (which can happen with selecting a range and copying it).
There is a button that grabs just the table, and another that includes also the title above it; the latter is useful in cases where a table caption is not typical (like in a presentation slide).
2 Start Here! Inputs
The Start Here! Sheet is where you are always taken upon opening (if macros are enabled). It has two inputs (the light-yellow cells).
The first input is the number of end-user use cases. There can be up to three (3). Choose the appropriate number from the drop-down list. Some sheets are not needed if you have only one or two use cases. Other sheets have multiple versions that are sized/configured for the number of use cases. Having the correct number of end-user use cases entered will allow the sheets to provide guidance on whether it is a sheet to be using or not. More is stated on this subject below (Section 4, Other Color-Coded Guidance).
The second input is the starting number for system-level concepts. When you get to a second round of concept generation and assessment, you will make a copy of your original DP Manager file and begin working with that. If you had, for instance, four system-level concepts in the first round, by setting this input to 5 will number (in sheet titles, etc.) starting at 5, not 1. Correctly continuing this in subsequent rounds will assure system-level concepts are uniquely numbered across all rounds, not simply within each round. As a final note on second rounds, after making a copy of the previous round DP Manager file, all upfront information (e.g., engineering requirements, functions, function-level concepts) are already there. All you need to do is go and clear out the information from the previous round in the System-Level Concept Data and Assessment (SLC#D and SLC#A#) sheets. Hint: If you do this house cleaning (clear-out) at the end of your first round, then make a “master” copy of that file for use in future rounds, you save yourself the work of clearing out all the System-Level Concept Data and Assessment sheets in subsequent rounds.
3 Input Cell Smart Shading
Smart shading is employed by way of “Conditional Formatting.” It is intended to give guidance on entry of data toward assuring that inputs are entered into the correct locations and in a correct sequence.
Input cell shading is for guidance during information/data input. It is NOT intended to show when you present your tables. As such, the copy buttons will automatically turn it off and back on. The “Toggle Shading” button can be used to manually turn it on and off, for instance for a quick look at what the table looks like without the shading turned on.
3.1 Errors
Errors in entry cells are indicated by changing the background (cell fill color) to red and the text to bold white. One case happens (as a result of not implementing more involved VBA/macros to more elegantly handle the situation) where changes in data entered on earlier sheets affects data already entered in these subject cells on later sheets. The two cases are:
- for a drop-down list field that is not blank, this “red w/ white text” format indicates the existing entry needs to be updated (from the drop-down list) due to a change in a previous sheet that makes the current text in that cell no longer a valid entry.
- for a non–drop-down list field, this format indicates that the field should be blank but is not.
Note that error formatting does not get turned off when toggling smart shading to off.
3.2 Optional Inputs
Light yellow is used for cells where inputting information is optional. It is optional either because more data/entries in the list re not needed, but allowable, or the cell can be left blank as a valid condition/entry.
3.3 Required Inputs
Cells that require input of information are pink (light red). Sometimes this is because there is a minimum amount of required information (e.g., you must have at least one engineering constraint, one engineering objective, and one main system function), or that once an optional piece of information is added additional information is then required (e.g., for each engineering constraint/objective or main system function name that is added, the rest of the information on that row is then required).
4 Other Color-Coded Guidance
Additional guidance is provided in orange-shaded cells in the top row on most sheets to indicate if the sheet is to be used or not, and if it is to be used it may indicate how much (more) data a table can accept.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Google Docs and Google Slides are trademarks of Google LLC.
| © 2017, William J. Endres | Updated October 26, 2022 |