Importing RAID items creates RAID items, such as risks, assumptions, and issues, or updates ones already in Amplify, from an Excel spreadsheet. The import is set up on an initiative's Tools > Integrations page: click New Integration, then set the Adapter to Excel and the Import Data Type to RAID.

This article covers both the Advanced and Simple Models, and needs the Integrations permission on the initiative. This is different from Administration > Integrations, which connects third-party applications. See Connecting a Third-Party Application.

Before you start

Turning on integrations and permissions

Importing needs integrations to be turned on, and permission to run them:

• Integrations turned on — on the Advanced Model, Enable Integrations is on for the classification of the initiative the integration is set up on. See Configuring Initiative Classifications (Advanced Model). On the Simple Model, Integrations is turned on under the program's Configuration > Features. See Program Features.
• Permission to run them — your team role on that initiative has the Integrations permission set to Full. See Team Roles. Full Admins, and users with an admin role that has Hierarchy set to Full, can also import. See Admin Roles.

What must exist first

Nothing is created for you. A value that doesn't match something already in Amplify stops its row, unless the column has a fallback.

• RAID classifications — each classification named in the file exists. The classification of the initiative the item is created on must allow it. See Configuring RAID Item Classifications (Advanced Model) or Configuring RAID Item Classifications (Simple Model). Dependency classifications can't be imported.
• Owners — each owner is a user in Amplify. Support users and guest users can't be owners. On the Simple Model, the owner must also be on the program team.
• Initiatives and benefits — those the items are created on and assigned to.
• Ratings — the likelihoods, impacts, and ratings the file uses. See Configuring Ratings.
• Tasks — any task a RAID item is linked to.
• Custom fields — mapped to the item's classification. Where a custom field isn't mapped to it, the row shows a warning and the value isn't set.

Where to set up the integration

Set the integration up on the highest initiative that holds every initiative and benefit the file refers to. Rows can only refer to initiatives and benefits on that initiative or beneath it. Anything outside is refused, not moved.

On the Simple Model, set the integration up on the program. A project has no Integrations menu.

File limits

• An Excel file (.xlsx) of 5 MB or less. Other file types, such as .xls or .csv, can't be uploaded.
• Up to 2,000 rows. The header row isn't counted, and blank rows are ignored.
• One sheet per run. Only the sheet you select is read.

Preparing the spreadsheet

Put one row per RAID item, with a column for each field. A row of column headings at the top makes mapping easier. Mapping is by column position, so keep the columns in the same order each time the integration is run.

Columns required to create an item

• Classification — the RAID classification, such as Risk, Assumption, or Issue. It sets the item's type.
• Name — the item's name. Names over 120 characters are cut to 120.
• Owner — the user who manages the item.
• Parent Initiative — the initiative the item is created on.
• Assign To Type — whether the item is assigned to an initiative or a benefit.
• Assign To — the initiative or benefit the item is assigned to.

The mapping doesn't allow create until every one of these is mapped.

Column required to update an item

An ID column holding each item's Amplify ID, mapped as an Identifier Lookup. See Updating RAID items later.

Optional columns

• Description, Mitigation/Action Plan, Financial Impact, and Closing Comments — the item's text and number fields.
• Review Date — a date. A value that can't be read as a date shows the message "Not a valid date", and isn't applied.
• Status — Open or Closed. Any other value isn't applied, and the cell shows "Status must be 'Open' or 'Closed'".
• Likelihood, Impact, and Rating — see Likelihood, Impact, and Rating.
• Linked Task — see Assign To and Assign To Type.
• Custom fields — one column for each custom field.

Assign To and Assign To Type

A RAID item with the Risk item type is assigned to an initiative or to a benefit. See Managing RAID and Action Items. Two columns carry this:

• Assign To Type — Initiative or Benefit. Use Benefit even where your instance calls benefits Impacts, and even though the error message for any other value names Impact. Any other value, such as a cost or a task, stops the row.
• Assign To — the initiative or benefit itself, matched on its Name, ID, or External ID.

This is separate from Parent Initiative, which is the initiative the item is created on. A RAID item can't be assigned to a cost. Where it is assigned to an initiative, Linked Task links it to a task, matched on its Name or ID.

Enter Assign To Type as Initiative or Benefit, with a capital first letter. Where Assign To is matched on Name, a lowercase value isn't found. Linked Task searches every task in Amplify, not only the tasks on the item's initiative, so a task name used elsewhere can link the wrong task. Match Linked Task on ID.

Likelihood, Impact, and Rating

How an item is rated depends on the rating type of its classification. See Configuring Ratings.

• Likelihood and Impact — the two levels of a calculated rating. Map both, and Amplify works out the rating from the pair. Where only one has a value, no rating is set. Impact here is the risk impact level, not a benefit.
• Rating — a named rating, for classifications that use a simple rating.

Each is matched on its Name or ID.

Creating the integration

To create the integration:

1. Open the initiative to set the integration up on.
2. Navigate to Tools > Integrations. The initiative's integrations are listed.
3. Click New Integration. The new integration form opens.
4. Enter a Name for the integration.
5. Select RAID as the Import Data Type.
6. Click Create.

The Adapter is always Excel.

Uploading the spreadsheet

To upload the spreadsheet:

1. On the initiative's integrations, click Run... next to the integration. A window opens.
2. Where the integration has been run before, select Upload New, or Use Previous to use the last file again.
3. Choose the file.
4. Check Header? where the sheet's first row holds column headings.
5. Select the Sheet that holds the RAID items.
6. Click Continue. The import session opens and shows the rows from the sheet. A preview runs automatically, and nothing is saved.

Upload New replaces the stored file, so only the last file is kept. A file over 5 MB, or one that isn't an .xlsx file, is refused. Where the sheet is over the row limit, a message says so and Continue stays disabled.

Mapping the columns

Each column is mapped to a field. The mapping is saved on the integration as you go, by column position, and is used again the next time the integration is run. A file with its columns in a different order needs the mapping changed.

To map the columns:

1. Click Edit Mapping. Mapping fields appear for each column.
2. Select the Type for each column.
3. Where Match on Attribute appears, select what the cells hold, such as Name or ID.
4. Where Attribute appears, select the field the cells go into.

Until the mapping includes every column needed to create or update, a message says the minimum requirement hasn't been met, and Import... can't be used. A tooltip on the row's create icon lists the columns still missing. Identifier Lookup, Classification, Owner, Parent Initiative, Assign To, Likelihood, Impact, Rating, and Linked Task can each be used on one column only.

Type options

• No Action — the column is ignored.
• Attribute Assignment — the column goes into one field, chosen in Attribute: Name, Description, Mitigation/Action Plan, Financial Impact, Review Date, Status, Closing Comments, or Assign to Type. Fields marked Required: with a plus icon are needed to create an item.
• Identifier Lookup — finds an existing item to update. ID is the only option RAID items accept.
• Classification — the item's classification, matched on Name or ID.
• Owner — the item's owner, matched on Name, Email, or ID.
• Parent Initiative — the initiative the item is created on, matched on Name, ID, or External ID.
• Assign To — the initiative or benefit the item is assigned to, matched on Name, ID, or External ID.
• Likelihood, Impact, and Rating — the item's rating, each matched on Name or ID.
• Linked Task — the task the item is linked to, matched on Name or ID.
• Custom Field — a custom field, chosen in Custom Field. Match on Attribute says whether the cell holds the option's value or its label.

Matching on Name in Parent Initiative and Assign To searches only the initiative the integration is set up on, and the initiatives and benefits beneath it. Matching on ID or External ID still refuses anything outside it.

Fallbacks

Where a value isn't found, a fallback applies a default instead and shows a warning on the cell. Fallbacks are available for:

• Fallback to Default Classification — uses the Default Classification.
• Fallback to Default User — uses the Default User as the owner.
• Fallback to Default Initiative — creates the item on the Default Initiative. The default must be within the initiative the integration is set up on.

Assign To has no fallback.

Previewing and importing

Preview checks the mapping against every row without saving anything. The preview runs when the session opens. Changing the mapping doesn't run it again, so click Preview after each change.

Reading the preview

• Each row shows a plus icon where it will create an item, or a pen icon where it will update one. Hover over the row number for the action, the row's status, and any errors and warnings.
• A red icon on a cell means the cell couldn't be applied. Hover over it for the reason.
• An amber icon means a warning. The row can still import.

Where rows fail, a banner such as "3 rows were unsuccessful." appears. Click View these rows only. to show just those rows, and Show all rows. to show them all again. Fix the mapping, or fix the file and upload it again, then preview again.

Importing the items

Import... is disabled while a preview or import is running, while the mapping is invalid, and until the mapping includes the columns needed to create or update. Rows with errors don't stop it. To import:

1. Click Import.... A confirmation opens.
2. Click Confirm.
3. Click End Session once the import has finished.

Rows with errors aren't imported, but every other row is. To import the failed rows, fix them, and import a file that holds only those rows. Otherwise, the rows already imported are created a second time.

Until the session is ended, the integration shows Terminate in place of Run.... Click Terminate to end a session left in progress.

Updating RAID items later

An integration can update RAID items already in Amplify. Include a column holding each item's Amplify ID, and map it as an Identifier Lookup matched on ID.

Match on Attribute also offers External ID for RAID items, but RAID items can only be matched on ID. With External ID selected, every row fails.

• A row whose ID matches an item updates it.
• A row whose ID doesn't match an item creates a new item, where the mapping has every column needed to create one. Otherwise the row fails.
• A row with no ID always creates a new item. Items aren't matched on their names.
• An item outside the initiative the integration is set up on, or beneath it, fails with a message that it doesn't belong to the hierarchy.
• Archived items aren't matched.

Only the mapped columns are updated. Set every other column to No Action, so its values are left as they are.

These can't be changed by an update, and each shows a warning that it was skipped: Classification, Parent Initiative, Assign To, and Assign To Type.

Things to know

• Dependencies — Dependency classifications can't be imported. Dependency items are created in Amplify, not imported. See Managing RAID and Action Items.

There is no undo for an import. Preview before importing, and test the import with a few rows first. Corrections are made by importing again with an Identifier Lookup, or by editing or archiving the items by hand.

For an overview of all the imports, see Importing Data.