EPM, Microsoft Project and You
Enterprise Project Management, Microsoft Project Professional and Microsoft Project Server
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1 Comment
BY: Collin Quiring
For those that don’t know, there is a great organization out there called MPUG – the Microsoft Project User Group. I just wrote a brief article for them in regards to the fact that there is no longer an Active X control in Project Server 2010. This is one article in a series by various Project Server experts about some of the new features in the 2010 version.
View the article at: http://www.mpug.com/News/Pages/MicrosoftProject2010FeatureRallyNoMoreActiveX.aspx , or, here is a copy of it:
Project Server 2010 has many new features, abilities and enhancements that make it a great product. However, there is one modification to the 2010 version that will go unnoticed by new administrators and will hopefully soon be forgotten by administrators that have worked with previous versions. I am referring to the fact that the ActiveX controls are no longer part of Project Server. My non-technical explanation of what an ActiveX control does is that it adds functionality to Project. In the case of Project Server, there are a number of places it is used but the most noticeable is that it allowed you to see the information within Project Center and Resource Center.
I can’t count the number of times I would have a user contact me and tell me that they were getting an error message that looked like this one:
The catch? Well, if the person isn’t an administrator (or high level permissions) on their machine they can’t download the ActiveX control. And, there are other settings that have to be configured in Internet Explorer as well. If the client machines were “locked down” by a central IT group, then they had to administer the installation of these controls. It isn’t always easy to get the controls pushed out from the central IT administration folks! Then, when some system updates (Project or not) are done, the ActiveX controls have to be downloaded/pushed out again. At one client of mine, this is a constant issue and there are always a handful of users that can’t access Project Server due to the hardware and software update cycles and I know for a fact that this has slowed the adoption of the tool overall.
With all of the improvements and new components of Project Server 2010 I hope this now defunct “feature” becomes one of those topics of conversation that “old” administrators tell each other about the “old days” and how much better it is now!
The catch? Well, if the person isn’t an administrator (or high level permissions) on their machine they can’t download the ActiveX control. And, there are other settings that have to be configured in Internet Explorer as well. If the client machines were “locked down” by a central IT group, then they had to administer the installation of these controls. It isn’t always easy to get the controls pushed out from the central IT administration folks! Then, when some system updates (Project or not) are done, the ActiveX controls have to be downloaded/pushed out again. At one client of mine, this is a constant issue and there are always a handful of users that can’t access Project Server due to the hardware and software update cycles and I know for a fact that this has slowed the adoption of the tool overall.
With all of the improvements and new components of Project Server 2010 I hope this now defunct “feature” becomes one of those topics of conversation that “old” administrators tell each other about the “old days” and how much better it is now!
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BY: Collin Quiring
I know that I haven’t blogged as much lately. The reason is simple – I have been busy getting ready for a few different large presetnations. One of them is for Microsoft Project User Group – MPUG – that is a public event on April 28. Just go to www.mpug.com and look for the “Upcoming MPUG WebNLearns” section on the right hand side. Here are the details about the upcoming presentation.
Join us for an introduction and demonstration of Enterprise Resource Management using Microsoft Project Server. Many organizations have Microsoft Project or Microsoft Project Server and yet don’t fully utilize the functionality of them. Our presenter will introduce the concept, review the set up and overall process, then demonstrate the tools.Some of the questions to be addressed are:How does an organization know they have the capacity to complete an existing project?How does an organization know that they have the capacity to take on a new project?What are my Resources working on?Who is currently over-scheduled?When are they over-scheduled?How timely is my information about my Resources?How are my Resources affecting my schedules’ timing?How easy is it for my Resources and Project Managers to keep the system updated?Speaker:Collin Quiring, Managing Partner, PMP Specialists (www.PMPSpecialists.com)Collin Quiring has over 15 years of experience in several industries in Project Management, Resource Management, Product Development, Systems Administration, and Training. He has implemented Project Management Offices in two separate companies. Collin is an expert in Microsoft’s Enterprise Project Management tools. He has worked with Microsoft Project versions 98 through 2010 and with Microsoft Portfolio Server. During that time, he has developed a passion for helping organizations better understand their Resource Management needs and the methodologies to obtain and maintain that information. Combined with that experience, Collin demonstrates how Microsoft Project Server can be used to help an organization better manage their resources.Collin holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Colorado, is a Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist, a Microsoft Certified Professional and a Project Management Professional. -
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BY: Collin Quiring
Day Three of the Microsoft Project Conference had a keynote by Gary Hamel. This was a great talk about management and how companies continue to use outdated management styles. I can’t and won’t try to summarize his speech but I do recommend that you look up some of the material that he has created as his thoughts and discussion were enlightening.
The big question to me that came up for me was whether or not Project and Project Server 2010 should be called “Twenty-Ten” or “Two-Thousand-Ten”. I know, this is a minor thing but it was intriguing since there seemed to be no standard way to say it. I am sure that the other Office 2010 products have the same issue and that a standard way of saying it will eventually emerge.
At the end of the day, the Microsoft Power User Group (MPUG) held their First Annual Community Leader Awards.
