EPM, Microsoft Project and You

By: Tanya Foster

Last week we talked about settings and having the right person in the role of Portfolio System Administrator.  This week we are going to walk through the steps of creating a new project for an existing program or portfolio.  We’ll start from our familiar My Scorecard page in the Builder module.  At the bottom of the screen, you will notice there are five different tabs, Cross View, Add, View, Edit, and Delete.  We are going to use the Add tab, although I’m sure you’d already figured that out!

Once you click on Add, it will take you to the Add New Entity Wizard.  The Add New Entity Wizard shows an Organization Hierarchy drop down, the Existing Portfolios and Programs drop down, and a Select Entity dropdown. 

In the Organization Hierarchy, you will choose an Organization from the drop down list.  Once you pick your Organization, it will automatically show the portfolios and programs associated with that Organization.  Let’s choose the Human Resources organization.

In the Existing Portfolios and Programs drop down, it will automatically default to the Human Resources portfolio.  Underneath the portfolio, it will list all of the programs associated with the Human Resources portfolio.  I’m going to leave this one at the Portfolio level.

Under the Select Entity drop down, you can choose Program, Application or Project.  Since we’re creating a new project, that’s the entity we’re going to select.

Once you’ve made your final selection, click on Add Entity.

And now you have your new Project and are ready to go… Not so fast there, you’re just getting started! Now we get to the fun part.  But… I don’t want pack this blog posting so full of information that you spend all of your day reading it and don’t get any work done.  So you’re just going to have to wait until next week to get the next installment in this Portfolio Server series.

By: Collin Quiring

This is part two of a two part blog on using Project Management in our daily lives.  My sister challenged me the other day by saying that all the stuff I do every day doesn’t apply to her (or my) life.  While some might agree with her, I think that there are those that agree with my premise that Project Management is one of the disciplines that can easily carry over to daily life.  AND, I think that in many cases, this is an activity that is done naturally by many people (and not done at all by some others) – and they may never consider what they do or how they do it as being part of some formal field of study or specialty called Project Management.

So, here are some of the particulars of my sister’s circumstances:

                She is married

They have three kids

                The kids are homeschooled

                She runs marathons (the full, 26.2 miles)

                She has a part time job

                She volunteers

I am sure there are other details of interest, but that is enough for my point.

All of these areas require large amounts of managerial skill including scheduling, determination, communication and financial administration.  I will pick one area to concentrate on – the marathons.  The more popular/famous the marathon, the more restrictive the requirements are to register.  There are usually only certain windows within which to register, and those can be months to a year in advance of the actual marathon.

Then there is the training.  As a dedicated couch potato, I never realized that to run a marathon you have to be more than merely in shape, you have to actually train so that you build up the ability (or maintain it) to run a full marathon. 

Then there is the travel.  Marathon’s tend to start early in the day and you need to be mentally and physically ready to run.  Therefore, you want to be relatively close to the starting point without having to add lots of travel time that day (time zones might be in play, potentially requiring earlier travel time to physically adjust).  Travel requires a whole series of steps and management.  But, in this case, there are five people travelling to the marathon (or some number between two and five and a babysitter in charge of the kids that don’t go).  And, what if the marathon is during school?  Well, then, part of the travel includes taking the appropriate amount of schoolwork, or doubling up the work load prior to or after going on the trip.

And on and on goes the list of items to do.  This is a long list of tasks, and, when you include all the other things in daily life, like determining what to have for supper (cooking at home or going out), working part time jobs, volunteering time, paying the bills, and the myriad of other items that aren’t listed – you have an extensive Portfolio to Project Manage!

The amazing thing to me is that most of these tasks aren’t ever written down!  And, these are almost all long term projects – homeschooling could last until 12^th Grade, marathons could be a lifetime addiction and the other daily items (like eating) will always be around. 

To me, using the knowledge of Project Management can only be helpful in keeping everything in order!

By: Tanya Foster

In previous posts, we’ve talked a little about the Builder module and the Scorecard view, but now let’s talk about what we do next.  Next we need to create our portfolios.  This is where we define our business ideas into project terms such as cost, schedule, risks, resources, etc.  I know some of you may be saying “Now wait a minute.  My company has some specific information that we have to fill out for every new project or portfolio.”  Not a problem for Portfolio Server!  Your Portfolio Server System Administrator can create/add those new fields into Portfolio Server.  The Portfolio Server Administrator will also need to define the workflow for each of these fields.  The workflow feature in Portfolio Server controls data approval and how complete each field must be before moving on.  Each step in the workflow can have its own set of requirements.  So for example, I fill out the project cost information.  Before this can go to my manager for approval, it needs to be approved by the finance department, so it moves on to the finance department.  Once it has been approved by the finance department, then it goes to my manager for approval.  Now let’s say I’m working on filling out the information for my next project in this portfolio.  The Portfolio Administrator can set it up so that I have to at least fill in these 5 pieces of information (Project cost, schedule, resource, risk and benefits).  If I don’t fill out those 5 pieces of information, then it will not continue on and show that it’s ready for the next person in the workflow. 

All of the Portfolio Server settings have to be set up in order for Portfolio Server to work correctly.  This is one of the most important steps in the entire setup.  It is crucial to have a knowledgeable Portfolio Server System Administrator who can get all of the Portfolio Server framework set up for you before you begin.  This person needs to be able to work with the different departments and decision makers in order to gather all of the information that will be asked for each new project.  So take care in picking the person for this role!

By: Collin Quiring

This is part one of a two part blog on using Project Management in our daily lives.  My sister challenged me the other day by saying that all the stuff I do every day doesn’t apply to her (or my) life.  In the area of Project Management, I disagree.  I have worked in some jobs and career paths where what I did during the work day applied only to the work and there was no carryover to “real life” but, I don’t think that is true of Project Management.

Depending on our job/career, there are activities we do and knowledge we gain that can be used to enhance our daily lives as well.  For example, a mechanic can use their skills at work and at home or an IT employee may be able to use some of their knowledge to troubleshoot (or get into trouble) with their home computer (and, seemingly, their friends’ computers).  Likewise, a Project Manager can use their knowledge in their “real life”.  I would argue that everybody uses some form of Project Management in their daily lives – we just don’t call it that.  When a person starts their day and determines all of the errands, picking up and dropping off of kids and other duties that need to be done, they are creating a task list, building dependencies (or confirming that none exist), deadlines, time allotments and putting them in some order.  And, they are assigning a resource – usually themselves. 

Now, some would consider this just part of “life” and not necessarily Project Management.  My point is that the knowledge and skill sets learned from work can be used in our daily lives.  Just like a mechanic may obtain experience and abilities at work that they can use on their own vehicle I think that the Project Management profession can teach us some lessons for “life”.

One of the mantra’s of Project Management is COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION.  This is probably a pretty good philosophy at home too.  Situations caused by poor communication in life are almost a constant issue.  We constantly are dealing with poor communication – from waiting for friends or family to meet us at one location at a certain time while they are at another place or think it is a different time to not knowing the price of an item we want to purchase at the store.

So, the answer, straight from PMBOK, is to have regular stakeholder meetings, take notes, distribute those notes, and hold everybody accountable.  Well, maybe that isn’t realistic in our non-work lives, but, I know that in my life we send texts to update each other on our current status – where we are, what we are doing and what time we expect to be at certain locations.  We used to write notes and stick them on the counter, but I guess those days are over.

In the PMBOK, Fourth Edition, there are nine Project Management Knowledge Areas, five Project Management Process Groups and twenty-three Project Management processes.  Once you have your friends and family memorize them all and implement them in their daily lives, you will be set!  Well, maybe not (you might get some pushback).   However, of all that information, there are at least a few things that you can implement in your daily life to make yourself a bit more effective.

I think that there are others that agree with me – just look at Project Management sites and look at the types of templates that they have available.  Yes, there are the ones about constructing a building and implementing IT.  But, there are also templates for taking a vacation, planning a wedding and one for the steps required for a colonoscopy.

By: Collin Quiring

I am being asked by customers about whether Project Server and upgrading.  Should they upgrade to Project Server 2007 now, or should they wait for 2010 to come out?

I know that in these tough economic times, there is a tendency to wait on upgrading and there is a temptation to “skip a release”.  In the short term, this might seem to be the prudent thing to do from a pure dollars and cents view.  However, I think that this ends up costing more in the long run.   I will summarize why at the end of this post.

My recommendation is to upgrade from 2003 to 2007.  And, while every customer sees specific benefits from an upgrade, I think that the following short list applies to many organizations.

Reasons to upgrade from 2003 to 2007 and not wait for 2010:

1.        Project Server 2003 is now 6 year old technology (which is probably 35 years in tech/dog years)

a.       It still is a great product, but, compatibility with other technology gets harder every year as other hardware and software is updated within the enterprise

b.      Users within organizations have become used to the concept of “most recent” – they have the latest iPhone’s and software programs that have standard features they have come to expect from their work software

2.       Project Server 2003 is no longer part of mainstream support from Microsoft

a.       April, 2009 was the retire date

b.      This means that fewer and fewer people (Microsoft or consultants) will have the expertise needed to help with any serious issues that may arise

3.       New Features of Project Server 2007

a.       I won’t go into the list here, but there are a number of features that make 2007 just a better product

b.      This means that you could be using these features now – improving productivity and reducing labor costs now

4.       Compatibility of 2007

a.       Some of the new features of 2007 only work with more recent technology – Office 2007, SQl 2005, etc.

5.       Project Server 20007 – knowns

a.       The ability, knowledge, documentation and experience to upgrade from 2003 to 2007 is available in the marketplace

b.      The hardware and software requirements are also known entities

c.       The database modifications from 2003 to 2007 are fairly significant but are also known entities

6.       Project Server 2010 – knowns and unknowns

a.       2010 uses 64 bit technology only

                                                               i.      This means that there will most likely be a need to purchase new hardware

                                                             ii.      Based on what I am being told by most customers, new hardware purchases are not at the top of the list

                                                            iii.      There are great new capabilities that 64 bit provides and there are benefits to customers with this technology so this shouldn’t be viewed as a negative

b.      2010 will be compatible with SharePoint 2010, SQL 2008, Windows Server 2008 and other new technology

                                                               i.      This indicates that an upgrade to Project 2010 should be accompanied with an upgrade of other technology

                                                             ii.      This could mean licensing issues as well

c.       Unknowns:

                                                               i.      I am hoping to be one of those that Microsoft deems worthy to be given an opportunity to test Project Server 2010 before RTM, but at this point, there are lots of unknowns

1.       How different is the user experience?

2.       What new features are available?

3.       Etc. Etc.

4.       Release Date – while the current date for release is early 2010, it could be mid to late 2010 before it is actually released

5.       Upgrade path – I have no idea about this but with some past releases you still had to upgrade to the previous version before going to the most recent version – which would mean making you go to 2007 anyway (if only for the conversion process itself)

In summary, I think that going to Project Server 2007 from Project Server 2003 now is important because waiting for Project Server 2010 will cost more in the long run.  If the release date is late 2010, and you have to buy the appropriate hardware, software and licensing, it could easily be 2011 before you implement.  That means that your Project Server 2003 implementation will be 8 years old (about 42 in technology dog years).  Some customers prefer to wait for SP1 to come out, that would be early 2010 or mid 2011 for Project Server 2010.  That would mean that your Project Server 2003 implementation would be 9 years old.  Productivity increases, newer software capability, support and expertise are all critical aspects that make Project Server 2007 less expensive now than waiting.

UPDATE:  As of today (September 1, 2009), it is my understanding that to get to Project Server 2010 from 2003 you will have to upgrade to 2007 first.  Now, before that causes too much consternation – there is also a path to do so that Microsoft is providing to some of the Certified Partners, like PMP Specialists, that will allow us to help customers go from 2003 to 2010 without having to purchase and implement 2007.  BUT, in my mind, this is another reason to go to 2007 now – because I wonder about the known/unknown data issues that each specific company has when going from 2003 to 2007, let alone from 2003 to 2007 to 2010.  Just more food for thought.