Title: Update Anomalies: How to get yourself into and out of trouble with resources in a Project Server World
1Update Anomalies How to get yourself into and
out of trouble with resources in a Project Server
World
2Agenda
- The Second Law of Thermodynamics
- Project and Process Management
- Examples of Data Challenges in Project Server
- Introduction to Sequence Advisors
- Questions
3The Second Law of Thermodynamics
- states that all work processes tend towards a
greater entropy (disorder/lower energy density)
over time.
4Project Management Order out of Chaos
Order
Chaos
5Process Development Order out of Chaos
Solution
Problem
6Project Server Order out of Chaos
Project Manager
Users
7Common Resource Naming Issues
- Same Resource, Different Resource Names
- Hand Typing Resources
- Project Managers not used to a resource pool
8Duration with Multiple Assignments
- The Gantt chart view wont help you understand
what part of a task with multiple assignments is
causing your duration to be longer than
anticipated. - The task usage view, when coupled with the
Assignment Units column, can help sort out which
assignment is pushing the duration.
9Smart Tags
- When editing tasks, they help remember the
rubberband (duration/work/units relationship) - They are only effective during the editing of a
task. If you edit another task, they are gone - Can help you wrestle with the scheduling engine.
10Resource Usage Summaries
- Include work for all plans, not just the plan
youre looking at. - Use the Project Team Members filter, but remember
that the summary task still includes everyones
time for all tasks.
11Complex Rollups
- Used to be there were regular calculation errors
on multiple group bys, but Microsoft has fixed
some of these in SP1. - Needless to say, they are hard to read.
12Multi Value Fields
- Great for skills, not for costs
- Two Different Groupings with Outline Code 20 and
MV 20 - Flat or Hierarchical with OK rollups
- Group takes first data instance only, filter for
others
13Data Levels
Enterprise
- Resources are the only level have multi-value
fields - Any multi-value data that needs to be rolled up
or down should be stored at the assignment level - Assignment level fields are hard to get
compliance on because there are so many of them
Project
Resource
Task or Assignment
14Maximum work per day
- The PWA timesheet will warn about a single cell
being over the predefined limit, but it wont
warn about someone working more than 24 hours a
day over a group of tasks.
15Published Fields in PWA
- You can add fields to your plan and to the PWA
timesheet - You must set them to be Published fields
(ToolsgtCustomizegtPublished Fields) - You can make them user settable, or NOT
- May need VBA on client or SQL on the server to
populate formula based fields
16Portfolio Analyzer
- Great multiple filter capability.
- The largest challenge is readability
17Permissions
- Resources inherit rights from their (multiple)
group membership(s) and selectively use the RBS - This comes in handy with complex permission
requirements - Use View Effective Rights to diagnose issues
18Summary
- There is a whole lot of functionality in the base
product. - With great power comes great responsibility
- The key is to focus on getting the users trained
to get the numbers right - Dont Panic
- there is help out there
19Introduction to Sequence Advisors
- Focus on Microsoft Project Management and
Knowledge Management Solutions - Expertise in MS Project, Project Server and
Office Products including Sharepoint products and
MapPoint - Background in Financial Services, Information
Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing,
Professional Services, Consulting, Startups,
Telecommunications, Construction - Microsoft Certified Partner with Information
Worker Competency
20Team Members Skill Matrix
- Mark Read Principal
- Pablo Aguilar - Director of Technology, MCSE
- Jean Thompson - Senior Consultant
- David Luper - Senior Consultant
- Lisa Leung - Senior Consultant
- Angel Lance Consultant, PMP
- Dyelan Grace - Senior Software Engineer, MCSE
21What do we do?
- Project and portfolio management consulting
- Installation and configuration services (Server
products including Project Server, Sharepoint) - Custom development and integration services
(.net, c, VB) - Infrastructure assistance (Exchange, domain
admin, backups, SUS, etc) - Training, Training, Training
- Long-term support
22What dont we do?
- We dont provide or license MS software
- We dont sell hardware
23Quantitative Evaluation 30 Plans
24SQL Reporting Services
25Recent Projects
- Utilities
- Project Server 2003 for major reengineering
effort (25 PMs and 500 users) at large utility.
15 SQL Reporting Services reports covering
issue, risk, variance and milestone reports. - Insurance
- Project Server 2003 and Project Professional 2003
for 400 people at insurance provider in San
Francisco. Financial integration, posting, audit
and specialized permissions. - Financial
- Project Server and Project Professional 2002 for
220 people at a large financial company in
southern California. Integration with Project
Request system. Upgrade to 2003 this week. - Medical Products
- Project Server 2003 and Project Professional 2003
for 80 person Research Development division for
company in Sunnyvale. - Government
- Conversion of legacy data in eLabor system to
Project Server 2003 for 80 users in state agency,
including conversion of Crystal Reports to
Microsoft Reporting Services. - Manufacturing
- Project Server 2003 for a waste water control
system manufacturer field service in the North
Bay. - Network Services
- Project Server 2003 and Sharepoint Services for
150 people at a leading broadband services
provider. - Consulting
- Project Server, Sharepoint Services for a sales
program company in the North Bay for 5 Project
Managers and 40 Team Members at different IT
vendors. We manage their network, servers and
desktops as well.
26Last but not least
- We are part of the Project 12 Technology Adoption
Program and will be involved in the beta process
for the next version. - We think Project 12 rocks, and will have some
major functionality enhancements that you will
get excited about.
27Contact Information
Contact us at Sequence Advisors 1512 La Loma
Ave Berkeley CA 94708 510 406-4645
mark_at_sequenceadvisors.com