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We recently published a series of nine articles about how to test a Microsoft Project Server 2010 deployment as an enterprise project management system administrator or solution tester. Use the series as a guide to test the functionality of a newly deployed Project Server 2010 instance. The articles in this series discuss the functionalities that are on the Server Settings page, and some initial tests that you can run to connect and check server communications by using the Project Professional 2010 client application. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg502592.aspx

The Can’t-Miss Conference of the Year With just 3.5 months before Microsoft Project Conference 2012, excitement over Microsoft Project Conference 2012 has been through the roof! Come celebrate the phenomenal momentum of Project 2010 with us at the conference. There will be a concentration of learning, networking, and growth opportunities you can’t get anywhere else. Remember, Microsoft Project Conference doesn’t happen every year (the last one was in 2009) so you definitely don’t want to miss this.  We’ve got Over 100+ hours of Sessions! We received over 170 submissions (note: over 200 hours of great community content!)through our Call for Content. Here are some content highlights over the three tracks (Business Value & Insights, Product Sessions, and Deployment, Administration & Developer):  15 customer-led sessions (representing 6 verticals)  where customers share personal success stories using Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management (PPM). Project desktop best practices for scheduling, program management, Earned Value, and more. Project Server best practices for Demand Management, Portfolio Analysis, Resource Management, Time Management, Business Intelligence, and more. Key solutions overviews and case studies for Application Lifecycle Management, Innovation Process Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Dynamics AX integration, ERP integration, and more. Technical best practices for IT Professionals and Developers. A full list of session titles and abstracts will be available in mid-December on the official conference website .  Get hands-on Project 2010 Training at the Conference Whether you are currently using or looking to invest in Project 2010, Microsoft Project Conference 2012 provides awesome computer-based and instructor-led training opportunities. On-site at the conference, you can begin your mastery of Project 2010 and make the most of your investment through: Project Professional 2010 (Managing Projects 70-178) desktop training Project Server 2010 (Configuring 70-177) computer-based training with your Project Conference 2012 registration (Hurry: limited seats are available for this hands-on training session.) Instructor-led training sessions Fantastic Sponsor and Exhibitor Excitement The Sponsor and Exhibitor momentum has also been wonderful! We’d like to thank these partners for their support and continued dedication to Microsoft Project. Check out the list of sponsors and exhibitors . If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor, it’s not too late! Contact ProjConf@microsoft.com for details. This is the event for You and the Project Community! Great content and a wealth of training are just some of the reasons for you to attend Microsoft Project Conference 2012. This is also the key event for the worldwide community to see, share, and evolve. With such richness of expertise and depth of knowledge in the community, you’ll be able to discover ways to take your project management success to the next level. Tell us what excites you about the event on Twitter or facebook .

When: Monday, January 9, 2012 at 9:30 AM – Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House Shottery Brook Office Park Timothy’s Bridge Road CV37 9NR Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom Hosted By: Technology Associates International Limited Technology Associates International Limited is one of the leading global project management consultancies specialising in Microsoft Office Project and Enterprise Project Management Solutions. Since 1990, Technology Associates have provided deployment, consultancy, development and training services to more than 500 organisations including some of the world’s leading companies, and we have an international presence throughout the world.     Technology Associates have deployed hundreds of EPM solutions and deployed more than 2,000 Microsoft Project solutions. With twelve Microsoft Competencies under our belt, and three at Gold level including PPM, ISV and Application Integration, we have built a solid reputation for delivering high quality services and solutions, and providing exceptional value for money. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with Offices in New York, San Francisco, India and Barcelona, and a strategic partner network covering AsiaPac, Middle East and ROW, we work internationally in delivering EPM and SharePoint solutions to our customer base in over 39 countries. Register for this event now at: https://taiprojdes2010090112-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Outline: The goal of this two-day instructor-led course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively manage projects with Microsoft Project 2010 Standard or Professional Editions. Who Should Attend: This course is intended for Project Managers, Project Schedulers, Managers, Supervisors, Team Leads and other people responsible for managing projects. These individuals are involved in or responsible for scheduling, estimating, coordinating, controlling, budgeting and staffing of projects and supporting other users of Microsoft Project. Typical products and technologies that are used include Microsoft Project 2010, Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Server. Pre-requisites: Students should have a working knowledge of the following: • Basic project management concepts and terminology. • Basic Windows navigation skills.   Objectives: After completing this course, students will be able to: • Explain the new user interface of Microsoft Project 2010. • Initialize Microsoft Project settings. • Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) • Create task relationships in a project schedule. • Configure advanced task information and use the Task Inspector. • Create and manage resources. • Assign and level work resources. • Review and finalize the project schedule. • Track and update project schedules. • Customize Project 2010 features. • Communicate project information in your organization. • Manage multiple projects and resource pools.  

Yes you can thanks to Brian and Brian: Impress the family: Make Thanksgiving Day a success with Project 2010 On a separate note check out these recent announcements from Jan: Project 2010 Demo Pack Version 2 NOW available to Microsoft Partners! IMPORTANT: PPM Competency Transition Period PCU3ED, TPG and UMT –Three Project Conference 2012 Premier Sponsors I wish all of that are based in the US a happy thanksgiving week-end!  

Quick note to save someone down the road some time and frustration. 🙂 When working with VBA TimeScaleValue collections in Microsoft Project 2007 or Microsoft Project 2010 remember that timescaled values that fall on nonworking days are not zeros. They are also not NULLs. They are in that shadow world between numbers and NULLs. They are “”. Why is this important you ask? It is NOT important if you are just going to set the Value directly as in: TSV(Counter).Value = $400.00 It is VERY important if you are doing a running total of creating a rollup inside of a loop (in my case a For…Next looping through sets of Tasks, as in: TSV(Counter).Value = TSV(Counter).Value + TaskObject.Cost10 If you fire that second line of code off and the TSV(Counter).StartDate is a nonworking day AND there is not already a number in that value then the value that is there by default is that crazy shadow “” value. The result is a Type Mismatch error because you are trying to add your TaskObject.Cost10 to a non number. So to get around this you have to test the current value of TSV(Counter).Value to see if it is numeric: If IsNumeric(TSV(Counter).Value) = True then TSV(Counter).Value = TSV(Counter).Value + TaskObject.Cost10 Else TSV(Counter.Value = TaskObject.Cost10 End If Now the first pass through this TSV ‘slice’ will show a nonnumeric value and it will just set the value to be the Cost10 value for the TaskObject. But on the second pass through this slice it will be a numeric value since you just set it on the first pass and then it can start your ‘rollup’.

Brian Kennemer over at Deltabahn , a Microsoft Partner specializing in Project Server deployment consulting, recently updated his Thanksgiving dinner project plan and we wanted to share it with you all. You can download the .mpp file here . This is just a guide, but a great example of how flexible the tool can be and how it can be used to improve everyday activities. If you don’t already have a copy of Project 2010 be sure to  download the trial here , give it a try, and tell us what you think! And you can learn more about the US holiday on Wikipedia . Start with the Resource Sheet view in Project 2010. You may want to track your cooking tools and supplies along with the overall budget. Here’s a generic view where ” Helper 1 ” could be your partner, a friend, or even one of the kids. Inactive Tasks is a great way to think about the unexpected and plan for surprises. Maybe your brother/sister decides to bring a +1 or the kids invite their friends from college. Notes in Task Information is a great place to keep all your important information in one place. Copy over your planning notes from OneNote and add comments on what to do differently next year. Special thanks to Brian ( briank@deltabahn.com)  for sharing his Project plan with us. Whether you’re a seasoned Thanksgiving veteran or hosting Thanksgiving dinner with the family for the first time, a well crafted project plan can help you minimize the stress of organizing such an important event. You can use Project to plan larger scale catering events, festivals, or even a wedding. Unfortunately, you may be on your own with the in-laws. Microsoft Project can only do so much. We encourage you to share your Thanksgiving plans and experiences with us in the comments. And, if you have other ideas on what we should plan with Project or a template of your own, please share as well. You can “Like” us on Facebook and share your thoughts there, too. Check out an earlier post by Heather on where to find great templates for Project . Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us on the Microsoft Project team to you!

This is just a snippet of T-SQL to return the Project Name, Task Name, Task Start, and Task Finish dates for all tasks in the Project Server Reporting Database that are scheduled to start between the current SQL Server system time and the current system time plus 7 days. The core of this is really just the use of SysDateTime and the DateAdd functions. Other than that it is a very basic query. This gets asked for every once in a while so I will put it out here for those searching.   1: SELECT MSP_EpmProject_UserView.ProjectName, MSP_EpmTask_UserView.TaskName, 2: MSP_EpmTask_UserView.TaskStartDate,MSP_EpmTask_UserView.TaskFinishDate 3: FROM MSP_EpmProject_UserView INNER JOIN 4: MSP_EpmTask_UserView ON MSP_EpmProject_UserView.ProjectUID = 5: MSP_EpmTask_UserView.ProjectUID 6: WHERE (MSP_EpmTask_UserView.TaskStartDate > sysdatetime()) AND 7: (MSP_EpmTask_UserView.TaskStartDate < DATEADD(dd, 7, sysdatetime()))

Hi All, it appears we have some issues around the download of ActiveX controls for the Project Center and other pages in Project Web Access for Project Server 2007 after loading the October 2011 Cumulative Update.  Thanks to Alex for his work on this one and especially to Marc for for quickly coming up with a temporary fix.  We are already working on an update to resolve this issue – but for now Marc’s fix will help you overcome the problem. The symptom will be that you are given a message to download the ActiveX controls, which can be perfectly normal if we have updated them in a CU – however in this case the download will not complete and all the usual workarounds of manually removing and deploying etc. do not resolve the problem.  The cause is that we did not deploy new ActiveX controls with this release – but we updated a version check as if we had done.  So Marc’s temporary fix is just to ignore the result of the version comparison.  If you happen to be upgrading from a much older SP or CU and we have since updated the ActiveX then this may give unexpected results – but certainly if you are already at a recent CU this is a good temporary solution.  And of course – if you are not seeing this issue then you don’t need to make this change. Once we have more information I will update this posting – particular around the behavior when we do fix the problem and whether you would need to revert the change first (as otherwise we may not replace the ‘updated’ file). On to the workaround: Navigate to C:Program FilesCommon FilesMicrosoft Sharedweb server extensions12TEMPLATELAYOUTSPWALIBRARY Make a safe copy of the file SHELL.JS (you may need to put this back in place before future updates) Open the file SHELL.JS with NOTEPAD and modify the following lines: function PJ_CompareBuildVersion(clientBuildVersion, serverBuildVersion) {    var rgClientBuildVersion = clientBuildVersion.split(“,”);    var rgServerBuildVersion = serverBuildVersion.split(“,”);    for(var i = 0; i rgServerBuildVersion[i])            return 0;      if(rgClientBuildVersion[i] < rgServerBuildVersion[i])            return 0;    }    return 0 Save the file SHELL.JS In Internet Explorer reload any of the PWA pages with the ActiveX grid and all should be good! Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused – and don’t hesitate to contact Microsoft if you have any further issues with this cumulative update.

Thanks to everyone who attended the webcast covering details of the Project and Project Server 2007 and 2010 cumulative updates for October 2011 – as well as some brief comments on Project and Project Server 2007 SP3.  The recorded webcast can be viewed here – https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493963&Culture=en-US .  Mark your calendars for the next one about the December 2011 CU on 1/10/2012 – https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493964&culture=en-us . I’m posting the questions that were asked both during and at the end of the webcast – in some cases I’ve found out more complete answers since the webcast and have included the detail here too. Q.   Adrian mentioned an anti-virus package had slowed down Project Professional – which one? A.   We not going to name names here – and really the same could apply to any of the packages that scan what winproj is doing.  It is really up to the customers to decide if they feel they can exclude the project executable from the virus scanner – balancing the virus risk against the performance gain. Q.   Ref fix 30990 (Modifying time-phased work in Project Professional moves actual work; additionally, the “Out of Sync” message does not occur), will this fix work if you are on a server with August 2011CU+SP1, and client with SP1 + October 2011CU? (i.e. out of sync client server CUs) A.   Yes, this is a client side fix and not dependent on the server CU or SP level. Q.   Project Server 2010…Graphical indicators – we have had lots of issues with graphical indicators not displaying correctly. The issue is random (as far as we can tell) and it doesn’t matter whether the custom field references a formula or lookup table. Both can be affected. Sometimes (not always) opening, modifying, saving and publishing the project in PWA resolves the issue, but on next publishing from ProjectPro the indicators disappear again. This problem is well over 18 months old and was supposed to be fixed in the Dec 2010 update, but wasn’t. When will this be fixed ??? Customers (as well as ourselves) are finding this incredibly frustrating. A.   Had some dialog on this after the webcast with a couple of the attendees (Thanks Kelvin and Marc!).  Looks like we have specific issues where the first publish does not show the indicator – just the text.  We have a fix coming in December that should address the publish from

When: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 5:30 PM (GMT) Where: Central London Hosted By: Technology Associates Technology Associates International Limited is one of the leading global project management consultancies specialising in Microsoft Office Project and Enterprise Project Management Solutions. Since 1990, Technology Associates have provided deployment, consultancy, development and training services to more than 500 organisations including some of the world’s leading companies, and we have an international presence throughout the world.   Technology Associates is proud to partner with RMC Project Management Inc . Technology Associates brings the highly acclaimed courses developed by Rita Mulcahy and her organisation to the UK. Courses are run using the same structure and RMC materials as used on the RMC courses in the USA and utilise experienced RMC PMP Exam Prep instructors so that delegates get the full benefit of these courses without having to travel to the USA! Register for this event now at: https://taipmp2day210512-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: PMP® Exam Prep Course (2 days) This accelerated learning course is designed to help you prepare for the PMP ® Exam—and gain the most understanding   with the least amount of study. Developed by Rita Mulcahy, this course is designed to decrease your after-class study time from hundreds of hours to less than forty. We offer unique activities and exercises designed specifically to increase learning and knowledge retention—without rote memorization. The course materials include Rita Mulcahy’s entire PMP ® Exam Prep System (retail value $399). Please contact us if you would like information on in-company courses. Course Learning Objectives This course will also assist you in finding and documenting the gaps in your knowledge, so you can leave the class knowing exactly what you know, and exactly what you need to work on prior to sitting for the exam. By the end of this course you will: Have focused training on areas where students have the most difficulty with the current exam. Have the latest information from over 19 years of experience helping thousands of project managers pass the exam. Be ready to take the exam – this is a preparation and review course. Have learned “what you don’t know”. Develop a personalised study plan to help reduce your follow on study time to less than forty hours. Why Take This Course? Study Time Only 40 hours of study or less needed after this course. That is 70% less study than is usually necessary with other courses. Retention Students recently scored an incredible average 83.25% on a sample PMP ® exam after taking this course, before they even began studying. Passing level is 61% for the PMP ® exam. Materials and Extras A comprehensive education system. These materials include the best-selling book PMP ® Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, PM FASTrack ® Exam Simulation Software, and Hot Topics flashcards. Also included in this course are materials not available to the general public. Instruction This course uses accelerated learning techniques . Project managers who are also expert trainers teach our courses! We hear, “This was the best class I have EVER attended on ANY topic!” On completion of the course, you will be awarded 16 contact hours (16 PDU’s). Course Outline Overview of the exam: How to study and create a study plan Tricks for memorizing formulas Tricks to help you understand how the PMP ® questions are written Tricks for shortening your study time Tricks for taking the exam Tricks for finding holes in your project management knowledge Reasons people fail the exam and how to make sure you do not do the same Exercises to help you understand, memorize and conceptualize the information you need to know Understanding PMI ® -isms Detailed coverage of: The process of project management The framework of project management Integration management Scope management Time management Cost management Quality management Human resources management Communications management Risk management Procurement management Professional responsibilities Develop a personalised Study Plan Course Materials You will receive the following exceptional training products which were developed by Rita Mulcahy, p ublished by RMC Publications, Inc: ·          JumpStart ~ E-learning course (pre-course work up to four hours) ·          PMP ® Exam Prep Book ·          Hot Topics PMP® Exam Flashcards ·          PM FASTrack® PMP® Exam Simulation Software   Created with the assistance of a psychometrician (just like the actual exam) PM FASTrack ® is designed to simulate the actual exam in every detail. The program’s database of 1,500+ questions allows you to take exams by knowledge area, process group or keyword/concept.