Update Anomalies: How to get yourself into and out of trouble with resources in a Project Server WorldMark Read

AgendaThe Second Law of ThermodynamicsProject and Process ManagementExamples of Data Challenges in Project ServerIntroduction to Sequence AdvisorsQuestions

The Second Law of Thermodynamicsstates that all work processes tend towards a greater entropy (disorder/lower energy density) over time.

Project Management: Order out of ChaosOrderChaos

Process Development: Order out of ChaosSolutionProblem

Project Server: Order out of ChaosProject ManagerUsers

Common Resource Naming IssuesSame Resource, Different Resource NamesHand Typing ResourcesProject Managers not used to a resource pool

Duration with Multiple AssignmentsThe 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.

Smart 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 goneCan help you wrestle with the scheduling engine.

Resource 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.

Complex RollupsUsed 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.

Multi Value FieldsGreat for skills, not for costsTwo Different Groupings with Outline Code 20 and MV 20Flat or Hierarchical with OK rollupsGroup takes first data instance only, filter for others

Data LevelsResources are the only level have multi-value fieldsAny multi-value data that needs to be rolled up or down should be stored at the assignment levelAssignment level fields are hard to get compliance on because there are so many of them

EnterpriseProjectResourceTask or Assignment

Maximum work per dayThe 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.

Published Fields in PWAYou can add fields to your plan and to the PWA timesheetYou must set them to be Published fields (Tools>Customize>Published Fields)You can make them user settable, or NOTMay need VBA on client or SQL on the server to populate formula based fields

Portfolio AnalyzerGreat multiple filter capability.The largest challenge is readability

PermissionsResources inherit rights from their (multiple) group membership(s) and selectively use the RBSThis comes in handy with complex permission requirementsUse View Effective Rights to diagnose issues

SummaryThere is a whole lot of functionality in the base product.With great power comes great responsibilityThe key is to focus on getting the users trained to get the numbers rightDont Panicthere is help out there

Introduction to Sequence AdvisorsFocus on Microsoft Project Management and Knowledge Management Solutions Expertise in MS Project, Project Server and Office Products including Sharepoint products and MapPointBackground in Financial Services, Information Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Consulting, Startups, Telecommunications, ConstructionMicrosoft Certified Partner with Information Worker Competency

Team Members Skill MatrixMark 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

What 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, TrainingLong-term support

What dont we do?We dont provide or license MS software

We dont sell hardware

Quantitative Evaluation 30 Plans

SQL Reporting Services

Recent ProjectsUtilitiesProject 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.InsuranceProject Server 2003 and Project Professional 2003 for 400 people at insurance provider in San Francisco. Financial integration, posting, audit and specialized permissions.FinancialProject 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 ProductsProject Server 2003 and Project Professional 2003 for 80 person Research & Development division for company in Sunnyvale.GovernmentConversion 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. ManufacturingProject Server 2003 for a waste water control system manufacturer field service in the North Bay.Network ServicesProject Server 2003 and Sharepoint Services for 150 people at a leading broadband services provider.ConsultingProject 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.

Last but not leastWe 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.

Contact InformationContact us at:Sequence Advisors1512 La Loma AveBerkeley CA 94708510 406-4645 mark@sequenceadvisors.com