MSP New Driver: Tasks Can't be Linked Error or SchedLink MFC Error

Products

• Clarity PPM SaaS
• Clarity PPM On Premise

Issue/Introduction

When opening a project in Microsoft Project (MSP)/MS Project Interface get a couple of different errors:

• 'SchedLink MFC Application has stopped working' error.
• At times, this error is preceded with other errors such as:
  • "The last time you opened 'PRJ00088.xml', it caused a serious error. Do you still want to open it? " 
  • "These tasks can't be linked because they're already linked through another task chain." 

Steps to Reproduce:

0. Make sure that the on the fly Rate Matrix Extraction job is turned off: 

The below query should return 0. 

select value from cmn_option_values

where option_id = (select id from cmn_options where option_code='PRJ_RT_RATES_EXTRACTION');

1. Create a rate matrix including the dates between 1/1/1990 - 12/31/2017 for all resources

2. Create a project and associated it to a rate matrix. 

3. Staff 1 team member to the project

4. Export the project to MSP

5. Open the project XML in notepad and note that the rate dates go from the years 1984-1990 and 1990-2079. 

<Rates>

     <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1984-01-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>1990-02-01T00:00:00</RatesTo>

 ...

    </Rate>

    <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1990-02-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>2079-02-01T00:00:00</RatesTo>

          ...

     </Rate>

</Rates>

6. Run the Rate Matrix Extraction job with the first 3 options checked

7. Export the project to MSP. The project opens.

Notice how the dates on the rates for this first role are as expected:

<Rates>

        <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1984-01-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>1990-01-01T00:00:00</RatesTo>

          ... 

        </Rate>

        <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1990-01-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>2018-01-01T00:00:00</RatesTo>

          ...

        </Rate>

      </Rates>

8. Close the project in MSP

9. In PPM, add one more resource/role to the team

10. Export the project to MSP

Expected Results: The project opens successfully in MSP and the newly added resource (from Step 8) has rate dates for the years between 1984-1990 and 1990-2079 as the initial role had after Step 5. 

Actual Results: The project attempts to open, but then throws a 'SchedLink MFC Application has stopped working' error.

Notice how the dates on the rates are 1984-1900 and 1900-2079 for the second resource/role:

      <Rates>

        <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1984-01-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>1900-01-01T00:00:00</RatesTo>

          ...

        </Rate>

        <Rate>

          <RatesFrom>1900-01-01T00:00:00</RatesFrom>

          <RatesTo>2079-06-03T00:00:00</RatesTo>

          ...

        </Rate>

      </Rates>

Cause

Caused by DE34986.

• These errors occurs when another resource/role has been staffed on the project Team after the Rate Matrix Extraction job has already run and there are already records in the nbi_proj_res_rates_and_costs for other resources/roles on that project. 

Environment

CA PPM 15.1 and 15.2 MSP New Driver

Resolution

DE34986 is fixed in CA PPM 15.3 and 15.2 Patch 5 and higher. 

Workaround: Run the Rate Matrix Extraction (RME) job with the first 3 options checked after adding the second resource. 

Note: In order to see this fix in the new driver, (and any other CA PPM MSP Interface fixes) after upgrading Clarity PPM, the latest MSP New Driver version will also need to be installed.

• Before installing, first uninstall the existing MSP New Driver components from the workstation which include:
  • CAClarityAddin, CA PPM Schedule Connect, CA PPM Microsoft Project Interface
• The latest MSP New Driver can be installed from PPM in Home->Account Settings->Software Downloads.  (Ensure the bit level installed matches that of Microsoft Project.)

Additional Information

MSP Related Articles:

• 13976 - What are the various types of logging available in the MSP New Driver?
• KB000071385 - CA Clarity PPM and MSP integration - List of Knowledge Documents
• KB000015956 - CA Clarity PPM and MSP integration known defects - Support Technical Document Index
• List of Clarity PPM KB articles related to issues opening projects in MSP (Article: 138671)

Rate Matrix articles:

• 25696 -  What does the Rate Matrix Extraction job do and how is it used?
• 27005 - On the 'Rate Matrix Extraction' job page, what do the parameters 'Prepare Rate Matrix Data' and 'Update Rate Matrix Data' do?
• 27082 - On the 'Rate Matrix Extraction' job page, what does the parameter 'Extract Cost and Rate Information for the Scheduler' do ?

Release Notes: 

• CA PPM 15.2 and Jaspersoft Cumulative Patch README Files for OnDemand and OnPremise

Self Service Tips:

• See 141061 - How to search for known Clarity PPM Issues using Self Service