RSView32 Project Planning and Implementation

This may sound absurd, but i would like to know the basics of how to start a project and go thru regular steps to complete it.
When my Manager gives me a set a autocad drawings and asks me to design the RSView Graphics for it how should i start and what should be the end product iam supposed to give him?
This is my first serious project. What i did till now is create the graphics without any controls, just the images alone and finished the full screen navigation and stuff.
I thought that my end product should be tag placeholders for all the controls provided on the screens. So right now iam working on an excel sheet specifying each tag ,its range, its type and its purpose etc.is this a good enough approach or is there any better professional way of doing this?
Recently i downloaded the RSView Documentor tool. It is quite helpful to have a look at everything created till now.I would like to know ur approach towards designing a RSView32 HMI and what tools or spreadsheet u use to help u better streamline ur project.

Thanks a lot
Nirmal

nirmal,

When I design an RSView project, the end product is always a tested working copy of the RSView program.

A beginning step is certainly to try to figure out all the Tags that will be required. I also have used Excel spreadsheets to make preliminary lists of the Tags. I say preliminary, because when I start doing the graphic screens, I find that I have to add additional Tags for things that I overlooked, or for splitting functions up between two or more screens. I then go back and add these to the spreadsheet, so that I can include the Tag list in the project documentation.

Additionaly, if your customer wants an instruction manual, then you need to just write a step-by-step word description of what each screen does, and how the operator can use each control.

For general project documentation, I find that it helps to put a "Print Screen" (there is a system Tag in RSView for this) button on most of the graphic screens. Then you can print a snapshot of each one, and include it in an operator's instruction manual. For screens that are used more than once (motor start/stop controls), I just print out a typical example.

Another neat thing is that you can re-use your ACAD documentation inside RS-View. The ACAD drawings can be imported as RS-View graphics.

Regardless, I highly recommend getting some SCADA training. The time you spend learning will more than pay for itself when it comes to implementing your package.

One more thing, and this may be a matter of preference, but I recommend using a database engine (ie. Access) as opposed to a spread-sheet program to keep track of your tags (and other) list(s). You can do some really neat documentation tricks with little effort if you are familiar with a tool such as Access.

Good Luck,

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