Remove information from file properties on save Tools -> Options -> Remove information from file properties removed the author’s, manager’s and company name and last save information. This option is not selected by default and only applies to the project open when this option is selected.
Tracking resources overtime work
Adding the actual overtime work field to the resource usage view allows tracking of the amount of overtime worked by resources in project.
Tracking actual progress
Actual progress is tracked by indicating the percent of completed task (% complete) field. When this field is updated the values for actual duration and remaining duration are automatically updated.
Changing the timescale in current view
Clearing the use fiscal year settings in the timescale box only changes the settings for the current view. To change the settings for all views configure the settings via Options -> Calendar.
The View Table: Schedule
Shows start, finish, late start, late finish, free slack and total slack.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
A few Project 2007 Key Terms
...from the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (70-632) Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007
Decomposition
Referred to as the process of breaking down the WBS into small work packages. This is considered to be the first step in creating a project, to create work packages. These are considered to be the smallest sets of work a project can be broken down into.
Bottom-up Planning
One way to plan a project, in this method you define all the tasks you want to include in the work breakdown structure first and later group them into larger summary tasks.
Ghost task
A task which act acts as a placeholder in your project plan file and links to tasks outside the project in which it is held.
Import/export map
A group of settings and rules which tell project how to import or export data from or to another application. These rules help map data from on application to another by letting you define what field in one application will map to another field in a second application.
Network diagram
A graphical representation of a project which focuses on task relationships. Each box in the network diagram view displays details about a task, and lines show tasks’ relationships to one another. The Network Diagram most closely represents the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) view.
Organisational Breakdown structure (OBS)
A project organisation framework for identification of accountability, responsibility, management and approvals of all authorised work scope.
Organizer
Available from the tools menu, a tool which offers tabs including views, groups, fields, reports, and more. You can use organiser to copy custom filters and groups to the global template.
PERT formula
A formula used to calculate the estimated duration of a task based on an optimistic duration, a pessimistic duration and an expected duration. The PERT furmula is:
Top down planning
One way to plan a project. In this method you define all of the larger, summary tasks you want to include in the work breakdown structure first and later break down the tasks into subtasks.
Free slack
The amount of time a task can fall behind, be delayed, or slip and not affect other tasks in the schedule.
Total slack
The amount of time a task can slip without affecting the project schedule.
Work Breakdown structure (WBS)
An outline of the project using summary tasks and subtasks to help you plan a project. The WBS is organised using the entry table and is a basic project outline that describes all the tasks that must be completed for the project to finish.
Work package
An accountable unit of work listed inside the WBS.
Decomposition
Referred to as the process of breaking down the WBS into small work packages. This is considered to be the first step in creating a project, to create work packages. These are considered to be the smallest sets of work a project can be broken down into.
Bottom-up Planning
One way to plan a project, in this method you define all the tasks you want to include in the work breakdown structure first and later group them into larger summary tasks.
Ghost task
A task which act acts as a placeholder in your project plan file and links to tasks outside the project in which it is held.
Import/export map
A group of settings and rules which tell project how to import or export data from or to another application. These rules help map data from on application to another by letting you define what field in one application will map to another field in a second application.
Network diagram
A graphical representation of a project which focuses on task relationships. Each box in the network diagram view displays details about a task, and lines show tasks’ relationships to one another. The Network Diagram most closely represents the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) view.
Organisational Breakdown structure (OBS)
A project organisation framework for identification of accountability, responsibility, management and approvals of all authorised work scope.
Organizer
Available from the tools menu, a tool which offers tabs including views, groups, fields, reports, and more. You can use organiser to copy custom filters and groups to the global template.
PERT formula
A formula used to calculate the estimated duration of a task based on an optimistic duration, a pessimistic duration and an expected duration. The PERT furmula is:
- Estimated Duration = ((Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4*Expected))/6
Top down planning
One way to plan a project. In this method you define all of the larger, summary tasks you want to include in the work breakdown structure first and later break down the tasks into subtasks.
Free slack
The amount of time a task can fall behind, be delayed, or slip and not affect other tasks in the schedule.
Total slack
The amount of time a task can slip without affecting the project schedule.
Work Breakdown structure (WBS)
An outline of the project using summary tasks and subtasks to help you plan a project. The WBS is organised using the entry table and is a basic project outline that describes all the tasks that must be completed for the project to finish.
Work package
An accountable unit of work listed inside the WBS.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Project Server 2007 & Project 2007 – Some Technical ‘Need to Knows’
- Project Standard 2007 can’t connect to Project Server.
- Only Project Professional 2007 can connect to Project Server 2007.
- Project Professional 2007 is not compatible with Project Professional 2003 or earlier versions.
- Project Server 2007 approval workflows require MOSS to function.
- Windows Server
- SQL Server
- SQL Analysis Server
- WSS (Windows SharePoint Services)
- IIS (Internet Information Services)
- .NET Framework.
There are 2 primary installation types for Project Server 2007:
- Stand alone – This installation type provides limited functionality and scalability, however it installs onto a single server using default settings and SQL Server express 2005. It does not activate all enterprise capabilities and it does not support analysis services.
- Server Farm – This installation type requires full version of SQL Server 2005, specifically dependant on Microsoft database technologies.
Microsoft does not recommend a single-box deployment. In fact, aim for separation between the application and database environments for better stability and maintenance. 4 servers, load balanced with failover capability will result in a high-availability environment, this is the recommended setup.
Project Server 2007 has 4 databases used to represent and manage project data (instead of 1 previously), these are:- Draft – where all plans and change to plans are saved until the PM explicitly publishes the project. Information here is not viewable in PWA.
- Published – viewable in PWA contains enterprise resources, global records, global templates, security and timesheet information.
- Archive – Backup plans and other backed up objects.
- Reporting – written to on publish of project data. De-normalised for ease of data mining. Near-real time information provided for reports.
- WSS Configuration – this is required for Project Server 2007 and defines the WSS Farm.
- WSS Content – Holds all SharePoint content for Project Server 2007.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Project Server 2007 – What happens when a Project Plan is saved?
Here’s a brief overview of what happens at various stages through a project plans’ lifecycle on Project Server 2007:
- When a project manager saves a draft plan, the draft plan is saved to the draft Project Server database.
- When the project plan is published it is saved to the publishing Project Server database and is also written to Project Server’s reporting database.
- Members of the project team make updates to the plan and save their changes, these changes are saved in Project Server’s draft database (pending approval from the PM before being published)
- The PM accepts the team’s updates and changes and publishes the plan, the approved changes only are written to the publishing and reporting databases
- The plan is available for view to others via Project Server’s Project Centre.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Summary of Project Server 2007’s ‘out of the box’ Collaboration and Management Tools
Status Reports
Provide the ability to automatically compile team reports from individual responses.
Automated Alerts and Reminders
All users can set their own alerts and reminders and managers can set reminders for their resources. (Resources can opt out of alerts set by managers, but they can’t opt out of reminders!)
Outlook Integration provides integration to the calendar and task list.
Delegation can be enabled for a team to delegate work to each other (with project manager approval).
Ad hoc Reporting from data grids in PWA or export to Excel.
Issues
Project Server 2007 can generate flags which link and highlight issues, risks, tasks documents and other items, in the project centre or in project views.
Risks can be tracked in the Issues list.
Documents
Each project has it’s own document library within the project workspace. Documents can also be linked to tasks, issues, risks and other documents.
Proposals which (via MOSS 2007) can be submitted for approval. This functionality enables demand management of future projects.
Resource Plans for estimating future resourcing requirements.
Activity Plans to track ongoing work
Timesheets are powerful new feature in Project Server 2007. Timesheets can have a full audit trail and can be used to drive task progress.
Deliverables can be cross linked to be consumed by other projects. A workflow can be applied to the deliverables in MOSS 2007.
Provide the ability to automatically compile team reports from individual responses.
Automated Alerts and Reminders
All users can set their own alerts and reminders and managers can set reminders for their resources. (Resources can opt out of alerts set by managers, but they can’t opt out of reminders!)
Outlook Integration provides integration to the calendar and task list.
Delegation can be enabled for a team to delegate work to each other (with project manager approval).
Ad hoc Reporting from data grids in PWA or export to Excel.
Issues
Project Server 2007 can generate flags which link and highlight issues, risks, tasks documents and other items, in the project centre or in project views.
Risks can be tracked in the Issues list.
Documents
Each project has it’s own document library within the project workspace. Documents can also be linked to tasks, issues, risks and other documents.
Proposals which (via MOSS 2007) can be submitted for approval. This functionality enables demand management of future projects.
Resource Plans for estimating future resourcing requirements.
Activity Plans to track ongoing work
Timesheets are powerful new feature in Project Server 2007. Timesheets can have a full audit trail and can be used to drive task progress.
Deliverables can be cross linked to be consumed by other projects. A workflow can be applied to the deliverables in MOSS 2007.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Project Server 2007 Terminology – more study notes
Project Web Access (Now renamed to Project Web App) allows for easy and powerful cross project reporting.
An ‘Enterprise Project’ means it is a project stored in the Project Server database by one of the following methods:
Project Server 2007 can enforce document management via check in and check out.
Resource attributes are defined using custom enterprise fields via PWA administration. After these customer fields are defined the Project Server administrator assigns values to these fields for each resource in the enterprise resource pool.
A manual method to locate resources by skill and availability are via the “Build Team from Enterprise” and “Assign Resources” dialog boxes.
Locating appropriate resources automatically can be done through the “Resource Substitution Wizard” this tool analyses the enterprise resource pool enabling you to produce ‘recommended’ staffing for a project plan.
The Enterprise Global file contains a library of Enterprise Objects including views, reports, filters, groups and tables.
An ‘Enterprise Project’ means it is a project stored in the Project Server database by one of the following methods:
- Create project using Project Professional 2007 client while connected to Project Server 2007 and save the project in the Project Server Database.
- Import the project to the enterprise using the Import Project Wizard in Project Professional 2007.
Project Server 2007 can enforce document management via check in and check out.
Resource attributes are defined using custom enterprise fields via PWA administration. After these customer fields are defined the Project Server administrator assigns values to these fields for each resource in the enterprise resource pool.
A manual method to locate resources by skill and availability are via the “Build Team from Enterprise” and “Assign Resources” dialog boxes.
Locating appropriate resources automatically can be done through the “Resource Substitution Wizard” this tool analyses the enterprise resource pool enabling you to produce ‘recommended’ staffing for a project plan.
The Enterprise Global file contains a library of Enterprise Objects including views, reports, filters, groups and tables.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Study notes on EPM implementation
Here are my study notes jotted down while reading an awesome reference book. The book is called Implementing and Administering Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, and was written by two leading experts in the MS Project Server realm Gary Chefetz and Dale Howard who head up the company MSProject Experts located in New York. Great book, recommended buy/read for anyone involved in implementation of MS Project Server as an EPM solution.
Organisations and people have different levels of resistance to change, but they’ll also desire improvement on current processes and practices, how can improvement be achieved without change?
EPM is not a self-fulfilling solution it requires full support and cooperation of the organisation. People make it work, technology enable it.
Some tips to succeed with bringing on change:
Cross departmental deployments are harder, more mindsets to convert. Do not overlook people’s personalities and their tolerances in consideration of an EPM deployment.
Succeed at getting people to consistently track project process and EPM will be a success.
Identify and evaluate organisational culture. Defining the culture shift required highlights the gap to close in managing the change proactively.
Changes an EPM implementation brings to an organisation can be likened to a maturation process.
There are different organisational cultures, a task oriented culture who’s focus is on the job, product or task are the ones who will have the best chance at adopting the changes required for a successful implementation.
Other cultures outlined are;
Person – do own thing no structured.
Power – Single power sources rules/makes decisions.
Role – Bureaucracy characterised by procedures, rules and authorities.
Tailor EPM implementation to fit organisations reality where possible.
Understand the organisation’s process, completely.
Present the workflow at a granular level (resource allocation of tasks) so people can still see and understand they will still do the work, they own it and are responsible for it. Will help to soften the blow their process is changing.
Build a flawless schedule which reflects the tasks required by all. Errors in the schedule will completely undermine the hard work to build trust in the product which is not an option at a time when trying to sell it! They will be looking for the flaws to give substance to their natural resistance to change, don’t give out freebies!
Sell the solution well, incorporate selling as a serious part of the deployment strategy. Even try some quirky marketing ideas to generate interest in the product, relate to it in their terms, get marketing help if need be, people gather and listen where there is free stuff on offer, use these opportunities.
Get management support and do not underestimate the importance of the people in making the deployment a success. Don’t let it be a senior management thing…
Organisations and people have different levels of resistance to change, but they’ll also desire improvement on current processes and practices, how can improvement be achieved without change?
EPM is not a self-fulfilling solution it requires full support and cooperation of the organisation. People make it work, technology enable it.
Some tips to succeed with bringing on change:
- Don’t take on more than you can handle;
- Start with a proof of concept/pilot because EPM changes the way people work it has a serious psychological impact on an organisation. These pilot groups should contain a small number of people who are receptive to change. Then market success to promote buy-in.
- Big projects don’t justify the need for an EPM tool.
- EPM implementations are not to be driven by the desire to force adoption of a specific methodology.
Cross departmental deployments are harder, more mindsets to convert. Do not overlook people’s personalities and their tolerances in consideration of an EPM deployment.
Succeed at getting people to consistently track project process and EPM will be a success.
- EPM deployment inevitably requires implementation of management process change in order to achieve the level of progress tracking required to make EPM work.
- Get resource buy-in, make deployment useful, compelling and valuable to resources, at the end of the day, they are the ones doing the progress tracking which will make or break the success of the deployment.
Identify and evaluate organisational culture. Defining the culture shift required highlights the gap to close in managing the change proactively.
Changes an EPM implementation brings to an organisation can be likened to a maturation process.
There are different organisational cultures, a task oriented culture who’s focus is on the job, product or task are the ones who will have the best chance at adopting the changes required for a successful implementation.
Other cultures outlined are;
Person – do own thing no structured.
Power – Single power sources rules/makes decisions.
Role – Bureaucracy characterised by procedures, rules and authorities.
Tailor EPM implementation to fit organisations reality where possible.
Understand the organisation’s process, completely.
Present the workflow at a granular level (resource allocation of tasks) so people can still see and understand they will still do the work, they own it and are responsible for it. Will help to soften the blow their process is changing.
Build a flawless schedule which reflects the tasks required by all. Errors in the schedule will completely undermine the hard work to build trust in the product which is not an option at a time when trying to sell it! They will be looking for the flaws to give substance to their natural resistance to change, don’t give out freebies!
Sell the solution well, incorporate selling as a serious part of the deployment strategy. Even try some quirky marketing ideas to generate interest in the product, relate to it in their terms, get marketing help if need be, people gather and listen where there is free stuff on offer, use these opportunities.
Get management support and do not underestimate the importance of the people in making the deployment a success. Don’t let it be a senior management thing…
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Project Server 2010 & SharePoint Server 2010 – a match made in heaven
I listened to a fantastic presentation about Project Server 2010 at the last Adelaide SharePoint User Group (ASPUG) meeting. Yes it was a SharePoint user group, however I felt it was very appropriate to hear about Project Server 2010 as the two are so integrated now. The presenter, Marc Soester (General Manager i-PMO a local company specialising in Enterprise Project Management solutions based on Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server), was extremely knowledgeable and professional. Here are just a few of my notes from the presentation:
- Project Portfolio Server now fully integrated into Project Server 2010.
- SharePoint Server 2010 and a 64-bit Windows Server are key dependencies of Project Server 2010.
- “Backstage” view now available through the File menu, something new across all Office 2010 apps.
- Workflows can now be applied to SharePoint sites (not just lists) – very cool.
- Custom Project Server workflows must be developed with Visual Studio 2010, they can not be created with SharePoint Designer 2010. Custom workflows, created by others, can be deployed without having Visual Studio 2010.
- New Business Intelligence capabilities, 13 new OLAP cubes for better data access and reporting.
- Demand Management – Has the ability to capture, analyse and prioritise projects in-line with the strategic direction of business.
- New Timeline view. Select tasks to add to the timeline which can be easily modified to highlight key milestones. Can also quickly copy and paste the timeline into other Office applications, email, presentations, documents, so easily - cool.
- In Project 2010, a new project can be created from a SharePoint List. The project schedule will take updates from the SharePoint list by synchronising the two in Project’s backstage.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Microsoft Project Resource types – what they are and when to use them.
Work Resource
People or equipment required in order to complete a task in a project. An IT project may require the skills of a developer, or a construction project may require a crane to get the job done. In both of these situations the resource would be set up as a Work resource type.
Material Resource
Consumables required in order to complete a task in a project. A telecommunications project may require 300m of telephone cable, or a software development project may require 6kgs (13lbs) of coffee to get the job done!
Cost Resource
Costs associated with a task. A road trip or piece of hardware may be required in order to complete a task. These costs can be recorded against a task as a cost resource. These are separate from costs which may be incurred from a material or work resource assigned to a task. Unlike material and work resource types, cost resource types do not have a cost table rate, they are thought of as just straightforward costs incurred to complete a task.
Budget Resource
A method of recording budget expenses anticipated throughout the entire life of the project. The project may be allocated a budget of $30,000 to spend on contractors, and $2000 to spend on travel over the entire life of the project. A budget resource enables this information to be recorded at the project level against the project summary task. (see pic below) The cost to engage the contractor is recorded by resource assignment to a task and will be reflected in the costs for that task. A budget resource can be assigned only to the project summary task. Project prohibits assigning a budget resource to a non-project summary task with an error message. Might be worth while prefixing budget resources with ‘budget or b’ to minimise likelihood of hurling profanities at this error message…
Note: The project summary task is not part of the default view, to show the project summary task in:
Project 2007
Tools -> Options -> View Tab -> Tick Show project summary task option
Project 2010
File -> Options -> Advanced -> Under Display options for this project, tick Show project summary task.
Note: The resource sheet view highlights generic resources with an icon in the indicator column.
Enterprise Resource
These are ‘shared-resources’ amongst the entire organisation. If the organisation is using Project Server, these resources are available in a list for project managers to assign to their project tasks as required. The list of enterprise resources is generally managed by an administrator.
Non-enterprise Resource
These are ‘local-resources’ which are not available to share with other project managers in an organisation using Project Server.
Team Resource
Applies to Project Server, and allows teams of resources to be assigned to tasks. Team resources need to be set up by an administrator. Good to use if your projects always use the same group of resources to complete a particular task.
People or equipment required in order to complete a task in a project. An IT project may require the skills of a developer, or a construction project may require a crane to get the job done. In both of these situations the resource would be set up as a Work resource type.
Material Resource
Consumables required in order to complete a task in a project. A telecommunications project may require 300m of telephone cable, or a software development project may require 6kgs (13lbs) of coffee to get the job done!
Cost Resource
Costs associated with a task. A road trip or piece of hardware may be required in order to complete a task. These costs can be recorded against a task as a cost resource. These are separate from costs which may be incurred from a material or work resource assigned to a task. Unlike material and work resource types, cost resource types do not have a cost table rate, they are thought of as just straightforward costs incurred to complete a task.
Budget Resource
A method of recording budget expenses anticipated throughout the entire life of the project. The project may be allocated a budget of $30,000 to spend on contractors, and $2000 to spend on travel over the entire life of the project. A budget resource enables this information to be recorded at the project level against the project summary task. (see pic below) The cost to engage the contractor is recorded by resource assignment to a task and will be reflected in the costs for that task. A budget resource can be assigned only to the project summary task. Project prohibits assigning a budget resource to a non-project summary task with an error message. Might be worth while prefixing budget resources with ‘budget or b’ to minimise likelihood of hurling profanities at this error message…
Note: The project summary task is not part of the default view, to show the project summary task in:
Project 2007
Tools -> Options -> View Tab -> Tick Show project summary task option
Project 2010
File -> Options -> Advanced -> Under Display options for this project, tick Show project summary task.
Generic Resource
A resource to assign to a task when resource availability is not yet known or decided. A project schedule estimate may need to reflect the resource requirements for 9 developers, and a project manager. A generic developer and a generic PM may be assigned to tasks regardless of whether not the resources are actually available. Later, when resourcing has been defined, the generic flag can be removed from the developer and PM resources to officially allocate the resource to the task.Note: The resource sheet view highlights generic resources with an icon in the indicator column.
Enterprise Resource
These are ‘shared-resources’ amongst the entire organisation. If the organisation is using Project Server, these resources are available in a list for project managers to assign to their project tasks as required. The list of enterprise resources is generally managed by an administrator.
Non-enterprise Resource
These are ‘local-resources’ which are not available to share with other project managers in an organisation using Project Server.
Team Resource
Applies to Project Server, and allows teams of resources to be assigned to tasks. Team resources need to be set up by an administrator. Good to use if your projects always use the same group of resources to complete a particular task.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Multi-level Undo in Microsoft Project 2007
Fantastic improvement to Project 2007, very happy thank you Microsoft. The default undo levels is set to 20 and can be changed up to 99. Not sure what effect 99 levels would have on performance, I wouldn't imagine too much at all, however nice to know it can be changed under Tools -> Options... -> Undo levels:
Now I can undo and redo to my heart's content while watching the changes to my schedule, very cool.
Now I can undo and redo to my heart's content while watching the changes to my schedule, very cool.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
PWA now stands for Project Web App – or does it…?
I’ve seen a post from Microsoft on January 15 announcing this, however I’ve seen a few other posts since then where PWA has been referenced as Project Web Access again… I’m a little confused, does anyone know which one is the source of the truth?
Just on this subject, someone mentioned to me technically it could be referred to as a site collection instead of an app. Not that I’m about to lobby for change, but I wonder if anyone else had any thoughts about this…?
Just on this subject, someone mentioned to me technically it could be referred to as a site collection instead of an app. Not that I’m about to lobby for change, but I wonder if anyone else had any thoughts about this…?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Baseline - staying on top of it
Another great habit to get into is to always have the current baseline set to 'Baseline'. There are a couple of good reasons for this:
1. By default, Project's Earned Value options are set to use Baseline for Earned Value calculations.
2. Let's say you have multiple projects on the go, and you are revisiting a project you haven't seen for a couple of days... "which baseline is this one at, baseline 1, 2 or was it 4??? After you've updated your actuals, and about to set a new baseline, first copy the outdated baseline into the next available baseline slot, and save your new baseline into Baseline. This way, through force of habit, you'll always know Baseline is the correct, current Baseline. To do this in Project 2007:
Tools -> Tracking -> Set Baseline...
Select Set interim plan
Change the Copy: drop down menu to Baseline
Change the Into: drop down menu to Baseline 1
Click OK
As pictured here:
Then:
Tools -> Tracking -> Set Baseline...
Select Set baseline
Click OK
The following message will appear, overwriting the old baseline is ok as it's been copied into Baseline 1.
Click Yes
1. By default, Project's Earned Value options are set to use Baseline for Earned Value calculations.
2. Let's say you have multiple projects on the go, and you are revisiting a project you haven't seen for a couple of days... "which baseline is this one at, baseline 1, 2 or was it 4??? After you've updated your actuals, and about to set a new baseline, first copy the outdated baseline into the next available baseline slot, and save your new baseline into Baseline. This way, through force of habit, you'll always know Baseline is the correct, current Baseline. To do this in Project 2007:
Tools -> Tracking -> Set Baseline...
Select Set interim plan
Change the Copy: drop down menu to Baseline
Change the Into: drop down menu to Baseline 1
Click OK
As pictured here:
Then:
Tools -> Tracking -> Set Baseline...
Select Set baseline
Click OK
The following message will appear, overwriting the old baseline is ok as it's been copied into Baseline 1.
Click Yes
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Specify an overtime rate, even if you think you won't use it.
When setting up costs for a work resource, always enter an overtime rate as well as a standard rate, even if it is at the same rate. What happens if you allocate a work resource some overtime, perhaps in order to fix a scheduling issue, and the resource's overtime rate is $0.00... ? Budget blow-out potential here, but may be avoided if you can get into this habit.
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