INDUCTIVE AUTOMATION DESIGN SERIES

Design Like a Pro

Boost Your Skills in HMI / SCADA Project Development

Part 1: Laying the Foundation for

Successful HMI / SCADA Projects

How important is a solid foundation Design Like a Pro Series

to the success of your project? A good At Inductive Automation we hear from professionals
all the time about how they are using Ignition to
foundation is priceless; without it create great HMI / SCADA projects. In addition to
your project will be on shaky ground. offering software solutions for the manufacturing
industry we are constantly striving to support the
This paper covers the planning you will need to do in Ignition community with the training, consulting,
order to lay a solid foundation for your HMI / SCADA and knowledge they need for success. As part of that
project. The four things you need know to properly ongoing effort we are offering this Design Like a Pro
plan for your projects success are: the three major series of white papers and webinars to give you
project phases, what questions to ask to define your information that will help you design a successful
project, how to build a solid project architecture, and HMI / SCADA project every time.
how to create a successful plan of action.

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 THE 3 MAJOR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Creating a new project is like a road trip. It starts with 4. Setup: Establish all necessary connections
choosing a destination, then picking a route to get to prepare for design work.
there. There are many potential roads you can take
5. Layout: Design a navigation strategy and screen
to reach your goal. Some could be very quick but
layout for your project.
rife with peril; others could be long and scenic but
costly in terms of time and money. To avoid potential 6. Templates: Create consistent templates
pitfalls and keep on task you need a good road map: to expedite project development.
one that outlines a clear path marked by those who
7. Development: Assemble and link together all
have traveled the road before.
screens and components.
Here is an outline of the development process of a
typical project; it is broken into three major project Project Phase 3: Start Up
phases. Think of this outline as a road map you can
Test and secure your project in preparation for
use to help lead you to your projects success.
its launch.
Project Phase 1: Planning 8. Testing: Troubleshoot your project through a
series of tests.
Proper planning will lay a solid foundation for your
projects success. 9. Security: Define user roles and lock down screens.
1. Define Project: Define the problems your project 10. Launch: Resolve remaining issues so your project
is solving and its size. can go live.
2. Project Architecture: Establish an overarching This paper will focus on the planning phase. This in-
structure for your project. formation is intended to help you make sure you start
your project off on the right path. To aid you, Appen-
3. Plan of Action: Formulate a plan to complete your
dix A of this paper is a checklist for the planning phase.
project on time.
There are two more white papers in the series that
Project Phase 2: Design cover the remaining phases. To get these papers and
view webinars with more tips to design great HMI /
Establish consistent templates for your project and
SCADA projects, visit the Inductive Automation web-
develop each screen.
site at: www.inductiveautomation.com

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 DEFINING A PROJECT

Before you can start on the path to a successful project nail; everything about its design is based around
you have to figure out where you are going. Thats performing that function. Similarly, a well-designed
what defining a project is all about. If you dont know HMI / SCADA project must be focused on performing
exactly what goals you are setting out to accom- certain functions.
plish, there will be no way of knowing if your project
achieves them. Another major requirement of defining Usage
your project is to see how large in scale your project
3. How does the project need to be used?
will be, that way you can plan for how to complete it.
A hack saw and a chainsaw are both used to cut, but
Here are some questions that you must answer to they are designed differently because they are both
define a project. Remember that people often wont used in distinctly different ways. Knowing how
know exactly what they want their project to be; its people will use your project is important in determin-
your job to ask questions of them and yourself to ing how you should design it. Will they interface with
determine that information. your project on a computer screen, a panel view, a
mobile phone or on all of these devices?
Questions to Ask When
4. Who will be using the project?
Defining Your Project
There are many different types of people that could
See Appendix B for a worksheet with these questions be using your project, all of them in a different way.
to help you define your project. An operator on a production line will probably use
your project differently than someone who is work-
Function ing in an administrative role. If you know who is
going to use the project, then you can tailor it to fit
1. What needs does the project have to satisfy?
their individual needs.
A project is always an answer to a problem. It could
be a communication issue, an inefficient process or 5. What information do users need from the
a variety of other problems. Identify the pain points project to do their jobs better?
that your project will be easing, and use them to With many different people using your project in
establish the goals for your project to accomplish. different ways it is important that their needs are
met. Understanding what information users need
2. What do you need the project to do?
will inform you on what to include in the project.
A good project should be built around its func-
This will ensure that your project serves as a useful
tions. Ultimately your project is a tool to accomplish
tool to those who use it.
a certain task. A hammer was designed to drive a

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 Software
9. What operating system are you using?
Knowing the type of operating system you are work-
ing with will help you avoid compatibility issues. Note:
If you are using Ignition by Inductive Automation, you
can easily overcome this problem since the software
is cross-platform compatible.
10. What HMI / SCADA software are you going
to be using?
To meet the needs of any project you should use an
HMI / SCADA application that is both powerful and
flexible. You dont want to put yourself in a position
where constrictive software limits the potential of
your project and negatively influences its design.
Consider a software package that offers unlimited
licensing for tags and clients at one flat rate; its
amazing how fast tags and clients add up (and the
associated costs) when you set about creating a
project. Use the list of SCADA software related ques-
tions at the end of this paper in Appendix C to help
Deadline evaluate your software choice.
6. When does the project need to be launched? 11. What vertical software must be integrated
In order to create a plan to get your project done, you with your project?
need to set a deadline for it to be completed. Having a In some cases your project will need to interface with
date to aim for will allow you to prioritize and schedule vertical software. This may affect how the project is
project tasks so you can keep the project on track. designed so you need to know this information. Find-
ing this information out early in the process will help
Hardware you sidestep headaches later on.
7. What kind of hardware do you have to work with?
Security
You need to know what kind of hardware you have
to work with to ensure that you meet project require- 12. How are you going to authenticate
ments. A very data-heavy project may require larger to the system?
storage space and a faster CPU than a smaller project Its never too early to think about security. Since it
may need. At the bare minimum you need to know can take time to set up, security needs to be kept in
the server, CPU, RAM, and hard drive requirements mind when defining your project. Using Microsoft
for your project. Active Directory or a database solution are two
commonly used authentication methods.
8. What peripherals need to be connected
to the project? If you ask these questions when defining your project,
A typical control system is going to have several you will start off on solid footing. Of course there
peripheral units connected to it. Knowing what they are more questions you can ask at this stage, and
are and sorting out any connection issues early on because each project is different you may have to dig
will ensure that you dont have these types of prob- deeper into certain aspects of your project. Always
lems later in the process. PLCs (programmable logic err to the side of finding out more information. The
controllers) and third-party OPC servers are some of greater your depth of knowledge at the beginning
the more common peripherals you may have to take of the project, the less chance there will be of being
into account. blindsided with a problem later in the process.

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 BUILDING A PROJECT ARCHITECTURE

So now that youve asked the necessary questions depending on the size of your project. Sketch out the
about your project, its time to start envisioning it. screens and make note of what each one will be used
For every great piece of architecture there was a solid for and how they will all be connected.
blueprint and your project is no different. Before
Always consider the people who will be using a spe-
you can build your project, you need to begin to
cific screen and what they will want to accomplish on
visualize how it will all work.
that screen. Keep in mind that you can place multiple
To get started, do an inventory of the functions and functions on a single screen. Start thinking about
screens your project will consist of, then identify the all the information that a specific operator will need
data points and database structure you will need. If and how to display that information as efficiently as
you follow these steps you will be well on your way possible. At the end of this step you should have a
to creating a solid blueprint for your project. detailed outline of your project, along with the num-
ber of screens and what information and functions
each screen will need to contain.

Identify Data Points

Once you know how your project will function and
what data it will have to display, you then need to fig-
ure out what data points to capture to make it work.
Data points are most commonly captured by PLCs
where the data is associated with a tag. Each func-
tion could require different amounts of data from
different tags.
Inventory Functions
Use the project functionality list you previously cre-
To start mapping out the architecture of your project, ated and go through each function and identify what
you first need to make an ordered list of all the func- PLC tag data you will need to make each function
tions that your project will be required to perform. work. This will help you see if the current SCADA
Organize them in order of importance to help you system is already capturing all the data you need, or
see the top uses of the project. Prioritizing your list what you need to start capturing in order to develop
will aid you when it comes time to create your plan of your project. This step will also give you an idea of
action. You can determine a functions importance by how much data your project will need.
how much it will be used and by how crucial it is to
resolving the issues the project is intended to address. Define Database Structure
Some of the more common functionalities that With so much data driving the functionality of your
an HMI / SCADA project can include are: real-time project, you have to start thinking about how to han-
status and control, historical data logging, charts and dle it in a database. In some cases you may already
graphs, PDF reporting, alerting, auditing, batching, have a database to work with, and in other cases you
recipe management. Your project may need to per- may need to create one or more to be a repository for
form some or all of these functions, depending on the data your project will contain.
the projects scope.
If you need to build a new database then you need to
start thinking of a schema for it. A database schema is
Inventory Screens
the organization and structure of a database system;
After you know what functions your project must its a blueprint of the tables that will construct the
perform, you can create an inventory of all the database. Creating a structure for your database will
screens you will need to build. You will need at least give you an idea of the complexity of your projects
one or more overview screens and potentially many information architecture. If you use Ignition software,
more HMI and real-time status-and-control screens, it will handle much of this structuring for you.

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 DEVELOPING A PLAN OF ACTION

Now that you know where you want your project to If you are working by yourself you need to go
go and what you need to do to get there, its time to through your task list and see if there are some tasks
figure out when to do things and how long it will take. that you are not equipped to handle. If you need to
acquire more help, a tool, or training to get the job
The key to creating a plan of action is that you have
done, now is the time to account for that.
a project deadline in mind. This will allow you to pri-
oritize what tasks get done and when. By creating an
ordered task list, matching tasks to your assets and
putting tasks on a timeline, you can create a solid plan
of action that will lead to the successful completion of
your project.

Create Ordered Task List

To create a plan of action you have to start break-
ing down each aspect of your project into a list of
actionable items. Start by looking at the inventory of
functions and screens you created and then list out
each step you will have to take in order to complete
each one of them.
Its okay to start with generalizations here, but you
dont want to end with them. The more specific you
are able to get, the better.
For example, if one of your tasks is to create an over-
view screen, it is helpful to break that task down into
Put Tasks on a Timeline
the actual actions you will need to take. An action-
able task list for creating an overview screen would Now its time to get everything together on a time-
be similar to this: 1) sketch out overview screen lay- line. Start by prioritizing your tasks. When doing so,
out, 2) create navigation strategy, and 3) assemble take into consideration how long tasks will take to
screen framework in the design environment. An complete, and how important certain tasks are to the
actionable item is one you can put a time frame on; timely completion of your project. Some tasks may
this will come in very handy when setting a timeline need to be completed before progress on the rest
for your project. of the project can move forward. You dont want the
whole project hung up by one thing, so make sure to
Match Tasks with Assets give yourself ample time to complete complex tasks.
Once youve broken down your project into a list of In addition to allotting an appropriate amount of time
actionable tasks you have to start thinking about for each task, you should establish some major mile-
how to get all of it done. List out all your assets, which stones on your project timeline. Milestones are big
include the hardware, software, data, and personnel turning points for your project and usually consist
you have available. Next, match your task list up to of the completion of multiple tasks that need to be
these resources. done before the rest of the project can move forward.
If you are working on a team you want to match up Putting the tasks of your project on a timeline will
the expertise of your teammates with the tasks to do two very important things for you. First it will give
which they are best suited. This is all about efficiency; you a prioritized list of what needs to be done and
identify who will get the job done the fastest and how long it will take, and second it will keep every-
with the best quality possible. one accountable for moving the project forward.

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 MOVING INTO THE DESIGN PHASE

After you have defined your project, put together

a solid project architecture, and assembled a plan Design Like a Pro Series
of action, you will have completed the planning
Inductive Automation is committed to delivering
phase of your project. The next leg of your journey
meaningful knowledge, training and products that
is Phase 2: Design. This phase will be covered in part
support the manufacturing and process control in-
2 of this series: Developing Dynamic HMI / SCADA
dustry in HMI / SCADA development. For more design
Projects with Speed and Precision.
tips, check out the entire Design Like a Pro Series for
Following these steps will help you establish a solid a collection of white papers and webinars focused on
foundation for the success of your HMI / SCADA proj- development topics: www.inductiveautomation.com/
ect. By taking the time to properly plan out your proj- resources
ect you will set yourself up for success in the design
phase, when you start putting all the pieces together.

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Appendix
Design Like a Pro

PART 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESSFUL HMI / SCADA PROJECTS

Tools to assist you in developing future SCADA projects are located in the
appendix of this paper.

Appendix A: Planning Phase Checklist

Appendix B: Project Definition Questions

Appendix C: SCADA Software Evaluation Questions

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Planning Phase Checklist
Appendix A

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE: PLANNING

Success isnt something that just happens, it has to be planned. Before

successfully designing your HMI / SCADA project you need to plan it out.
Here is a checklist to help you through the planning phase of HMI / SCADA
project development.

1. Define Project

a. Answer Questions to Define Project | due by: | assigned to:

Function | due by: | assigned to:
Usage | due by: | assigned to:
Deadline | due by: | assigned to:
Hardware | due by: | assigned to:
Software | due by: | assigned to:
Security | due by: | assigned to:

2. Project Architecture

a. Inventory Functions | due by: | assigned to:

b. Inventory Screens | due by: | assigned to:
c. Identify Data Points | due by: | assigned to:
d. Define Database Structure | due by: | assigned to:

3. Plan of Action

a. Create Ordered Task List | due by: | assigned to:

b. Match Tasks with Assets | due by: | assigned to:
c. Put Tasks on a Timeline | due by: | assigned to:

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Project Definition Questions
Appendix B

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE: PLANNING

Before you can successfully design your project you have to define what its
going to be. Here are some questions that you need to answer in order to
define your HMI / SCADA project.

Function
1. What needs does the project have to satisfy? _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you need the project to do? ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Usage
3. How does the project need to be used? __________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Who will be using the project? _________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What information do users need from the project to do their jobs better? ______________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Deadline
6. When does the project need to be launched? _____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Project Definition Questions
Appendix B

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE: PLANNING

Hardware
7. What kind of hardware do you have to work with? _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What peripherals need to be connected to the project? _____________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Software
9. What operating system are you using? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What HMI / SCADA software are you going to be using? ___________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

11. What vertical software must be integrated with your project? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Security
12. How are you going to authenticate to the system? ________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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SCADA Software
Evaluation Questions
Appendix C

Modern IT technology, when utilized by SCADA software, can transform control systems. IT has developed and
is using concepts that make data management very fast and efficient: a database-centric, web-based architec-
ture that leverages relational data to its full potential.
Gaining a competitive advantage requires investigating any SCADA software vendor to ensure that they can
install the software in one place, manage it in one place, add on to it in one place, and have the freedom to use
an unlimited amount of tags and clients.
When choosing a SCADA software vendor, ask these qualifying questions to evaluate how they have integrated
IT concepts with their software:

Database Connectivity
What brands of database servers can the software integrate with? ______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Are multiple simultaneous database connections supported?__________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

How easy it is to connect to databases? ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Does the software provide first-class support for integration with relational databases? ____________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Implementation Difficulty
Can the software be installed in under ten minutes?__________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Is it web-based? _______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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Appendix C

Can you launch unlimited clients?_________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Can you launch unlimited development clients?_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Can changes be deployed to all clients instantly and simultaneously with a single click?_____________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you manage all projects from a central location?__________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Can you deploy clients without installing any software on the host PC? __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Is the software cross platform? ___________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Licensing Costs
Is the software licensed by the server? _____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Will I have to buy more tags, client licenses, or screens as I expand the system? ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________

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