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We’re happy to announce the publish of a new white paper by Chris Vanderluis of HMS Software for the “From the Trenches” column in the Project Server 2010 TechCenter and the Project Server 2007 TechCenter . This latest white paper –  “Dashboard directions” –  describes some of the common challenges you may face when deciding to use dashboards in your EPM environment. It describes how the prettiness of a professional-looking dashboard might sometimes hide the need for users to look into the quality of the data — “pedigree” and updated data, for example.  It mentions how data for dashboards should go through an approval process to ensure high data quality and completeness.  It includes a few techniques to prevent people from skewing data under their control to misrepresent the data that is displayed in the dashboard.  Additionally, it states some basic rules you should take into consideration when you create dashboards for EPM.   Make sure to look at this and other white papers in the From the Trenches column, as they are sure to provide you helpful insight into deploying and using Project Server in your environment. Here is some bio information about the author: Chris Vandersluis is the president and founder of Montreal, Canada–based HMS Software , a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. He has an economics degree from McGill University and over 27 years’ experience in the automation of project control systems. He is a long-standing member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and helped found the Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec chapters of the Microsoft Project Users Group (MPUGA). Publications for which Chris has written include Fortune , Heavy Construction News , Computing Canada magazine, and PMI’s PMNetwork , and he is a regular columnist for Project Times . He teaches Advanced Project Management at McGill University and often speaks at project management association functions across North America and around the world. HMS Software is the publisher of the TimeControl project-oriented timekeeping system and has been a Microsoft Project Solution Partner since 1995.  Chris Vandersluis can be contacted by e-mail at: chris.vandersluis@hms.ca . If you would like to read more Enterprise Project Management related articles by Chris Vandersluis, see his blog: EPM Guidance .

In a little over an hour, at 8:00 AM PST, the first of the post SP1 webcasts will start – presented by Adrian Jenkins and me.  The SP1 webcast delivered in July also included coverage of the June Cumulative Update.  We will be talking about both Project Professional and Project Server, and the 2007 and 2010 releases. Here is the link for the August 2011 Cumulative Update TechNet webcast titled Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server August 2011 Software Update  – https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493921&Culture=en-US And the rest of the series can be found at the following links. Here’s the URL for the  11/8/2011 8:00:00 AM – Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server October 2011 Software Update https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493962&Culture=en-US Here’s the URL for the  1/10/2012 8:00:00 AM – Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server December 2011 Software Update https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493964&Culture=en-US Here’s the URL for the  3/13/2012 8:00:00 AM – Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server February 2012 Software Update https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493966&Culture=en-US Here’s the URL for the  5/8/2012 8:00:00 AM – Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server April 2012 Software Update https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032493968&Culture=en-US Join us if you can – or listen to the recording if you can’t make it – available later on the same URL.

It is our pleasure to host Catalin Olteanu , Chief Product and Technology Officer, UMT and former Principal Development Lead for Microsoft Project to talk about extending Microsoft Project 2010! Webcast Description: Now that Microsoft Project Server 2010 is built on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, developers can take advantage of a rich platform and familiar tools to effectively build integrated applications and provide customers with shrink-wrapped solutions to common problems. Join Catalin Olteanu to hear lessons learned from developing UMT Project Financial Server 2010 in parallel with the Project 2010 release cycle. Project Financial Server 2010 is a complex, three-tier application that seamlessly integrates with Project Server 2010 and extends many of the out-of-the box components including demand management, the ribbon, the queue service, permissions, web parts, and the reporting infrastructure. Date: Starts: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 8:00 AM Time zone: (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) Duration: 1 hour(s) Register for Event today!

When: Monday, December 12, 2011 at 9:30 AM – Tuesday, December 13, 2011 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 ten Microsoft Competencies under our belt, including ISV status, 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://taips2010admin121211-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Description: This course is designed to cover all the features and aspects of Project Server 2010 Administration. Attendance on the Introductory Project Professional 2010 course is an essential pre-requisite. Attendance on an advanced course with at least two to six weeks as a consolidation period is highly desirable . A ttendees ideally will have some experi ence of SQL Server, IIS, and SharePoint Server . Knowledge of network permissions, active directory and security models would be an advantage. Who Should Attend: Users who have a good knowledge of Microsoft Project 2010 and will be responsible for managing, maintaining and updating the Project 2010 Server database and user information. Course Content: Upon completion of the course, delegates will be able to: Understand EPM 2010 Administration Concepts & Setup ·          Understand the different areas of the PWA Home page and links from it. ·          Understand authentication – types and logins. ·          Understand how to set up e-mail notifications for users and their teams. ·          Demonstrate how to save Microsoft Project information offline. ·          Demonstrate how to view, edit, and update projects & tasks ·          Understand how to reject, create, and delegate task assignments. ·          Understand how to link documents , issues, risks and documents to tasks. ·          Describe the Outlook integration. ·          Show how to view projects in the Project Center & how to create and maintain the views. ·          Show how to view resources in the Resource Center & how to create the views. ·          Demonstrate how to view resource and assignment data related to one or more projects. ·          Understand how to edit enterprise resource information. ·          Describe how to revi ew an archive of object data. ·          View and update task changes to a Microsoft Project plan. ·          View and update calend ar changes. ·          Set up rules to automatically update projects. ·          View a historical archive of task updates. ·          Understand Check In/Check Out of Projects and resources. ·          Understand Outlook integration. ·          Understand Categories/Groups/Permissions & Security Templates and how to use these to configure the system. Essential for analyzing the business and how EPM can be adopted. ·          Understand how d ata is stored in Project Server Databases and in SharePoint. Project 2010 Server Administration ·          Understand the different Administration options. ·          Understand the communication and messaging process. ·          Understand the Task Views, Time Periods, Fiscal Periods and options. ·          Describe the provisioning process for creating workspaces. ·          Understand how to view and upload documents for projects and public documents. ·          Demonstrate searching of documents in the document libraries. ·          Understand how to create and edit an issue or risk. ·          Understand how to customize Issue and risk fields and views. ·          Describe what Microsoft Project Server is and what it is used for. ·          Demonstrate connecting Microsoft Project to Microsoft Project Server. ·          Understand the functionality of Microsoft Project Server. ·          Understand the different user types and the how they interact with Microsoft Project Server and the functionality of each, as well as how to modify permissions. ·          Understand the responsibilities of a Microsoft Project Server Administrator and adopt best practices. ·          Discuss the various views available, their purpose and how to customize them. ·          Understand the integration of SharePoint fr om the Microsoft administration perspective. ·          Understand the Databases in Project Server and how they interact. ·          Understand Reporting and Business Intelligence capabilities in EPM 2010. ·          Understand the Dashboard capability. ·          Understand customization of the Microsoft Project Web Access Client. ·          Describe license manag ement within Project Server 2010 ·          Discuss maintenance of clean data in the Microsoft Project Server database. ·          Understand how security works within Microsoft Project Server. ·          Demonstrate the process for setting permissions. ·          Under stand the process for time track ing and progressing updates. ·          Understand and edit the Resource Breakdown Structure. ·          Understand the Administration options in Project Server and how to use them. ·          Demonstrate and understand the significance of Outline code fields at Project, Task and Resource level. ·          Understand and apply the Portfolio capabilities and administer the settings in Project Server. ·          Understand ULS, Messaging logs, and the Queue services in Project Server. ·          Describe, understand and be able to apply Multi-value fields. ·          Recognise what the Active Cache is and how it works . ·          Understand the concept of web parts and SharePoint as a platform for Project Server.

When: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 9:30 AM – Friday, October 21, 2011 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 ten Microsoft Competencies under our belt, including ISV status, 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://taips2010admin201011-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Description: This course is designed to cover all the features and aspects of Project Server 2010 Administration. Attendance on the Introductory Project Professional 2010 course is an essential pre-requisite. Attendance on an advanced course with at least two to six weeks as a consolidation period is highly desirable . A ttendees ideally will have some experi ence of SQL Server, IIS, and SharePoint Server . Knowledge of network permissions, active directory and security models would be an advantage. Who Should Attend: Users who have a good knowledge of Microsoft Project 2010 and will be responsible for managing, maintaining and updating the Project 2010 Server database and user information. Course Content: Upon completion of the course, delegates will be able to: Understand EPM 2010 Administration Concepts & Setup ·          Understand the different areas of the PWA Home page and links from it. ·          Understand authentication – types and logins. ·          Understand how to set up e-mail notifications for users and their teams. ·          Demonstrate how to save Microsoft Project information offline. ·          Demonstrate how to view, edit, and update projects & tasks ·          Understand how to reject, create, and delegate task assignments. ·          Understand how to link documents , issues, risks and documents to tasks. ·          Describe the Outlook integration. ·          Show how to view projects in the Project Center & how to create and maintain the views. ·          Show how to view resources in the Resource Center & how to create the views. ·          Demonstrate how to view resource and assignment data related to one or more projects. ·          Understand how to edit enterprise resource information. ·          Describe how to revi ew an archive of object data. ·          View and update task changes to a Microsoft Project plan. ·          View and update calend ar changes. ·          Set up rules to automatically update projects. ·          View a historical archive of task updates. ·          Understand Check In/Check Out of Projects and resources. ·          Understand Outlook integration. ·          Understand Categories/Groups/Permissions & Security Templates and how to use these to configure the system. Essential for analyzing the business and how EPM can be adopted. ·          Understand how d ata is stored in Project Server Databases and in SharePoint. Project 2010 Server Administration ·          Understand the different Administration options. ·          Understand the communication and messaging process. ·          Understand the Task Views, Time Periods, Fiscal Periods and options. ·          Describe the provisioning process for creating workspaces. ·          Understand how to view and upload documents for projects and public documents. ·          Demonstrate searching of documents in the document libraries. ·          Understand how to create and edit an issue or risk. ·          Understand how to customize Issue and risk fields and views. ·          Describe what Microsoft Project Server is and what it is used for. ·          Demonstrate connecting Microsoft Project to Microsoft Project Server. ·          Understand the functionality of Microsoft Project Server. ·          Understand the different user types and the how they interact with Microsoft Project Server and the functionality of each, as well as how to modify permissions. ·          Understand the responsibilities of a Microsoft Project Server Administrator and adopt best practices. ·          Discuss the various views available, their purpose and how to customize them. ·          Understand the integration of SharePoint fr om the Microsoft administration perspective. ·          Understand the Databases in Project Server and how they interact. ·          Understand Reporting and Business Intelligence capabilities in EPM 2010. ·          Understand the Dashboard capability. ·          Understand customization of the Microsoft Project Web Access Client. ·          Describe license manag ement within Project Server 2010 ·          Discuss maintenance of clean data in the Microsoft Project Server database. ·          Understand how security works within Microsoft Project Server. ·          Demonstrate the process for setting permissions. ·          Under stand the process for time track ing and progressing updates. ·          Understand and edit the Resource Breakdown Structure. ·          Understand the Administration options in Project Server and how to use them. ·          Demonstrate and understand the significance of Outline code fields at Project, Task and Resource level. ·          Understand and apply the Portfolio capabilities and administer the settings in Project Server. ·          Understand ULS, Messaging logs, and the Queue services in Project Server. ·          Describe, understand and be able to apply Multi-value fields. ·          Recognise what the Active Cache is and how it works . ·          Understand the concept of web parts and SharePoint as a platform for Project Server.

I love the creativity from France (yes I’m objective) with this new contest targeted a students. You basically have 17 billion to build your own island with its hotels etc.… the goal is to have the best return on investment (ROI) all using Project & Project Server 2010, and you get to speak French. Winning team will get a trip to an exotic destination! Student life is good, isn’t it?

What a week so far! Yes in case you have missed it, major announcements were made at the developer-focused BUILD conference this week in California, beside watching the keynote here: https://www.buildwindows.com/ it’s exciting to see preliminary releases ( Developer Preview ) of Windows 8 & Visual Studio 11 & Team Foundation Server 11. Happy download and install! More info here: Microsoft Reimagines Windows, Presents Windows 8 Developer Preview Building Windows 8 : https://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/ Announcing Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview

I know that unless you load all the bits before running the Configuration Wizard then you will always add Project Server to an existing SharePoint Server farm – but in this blog I am specifically talking about adding Project Server to a farm that has been up and running for a while – and potentially has Service Packs and Cumulative updates loaded. The best way to do this is to create a slipstream installation – and there are plenty of resources out there that explain this process – but basically you extract your various updates and put them in the Updates folder under your install source and these will get applied as the installation proceeds.  However, in researching this topic I learned that this isn’t the only way so thought it was worth sharing.  You can load the original release version of Project Server (RTM – release to manufacture) even if your farm is at the SP1 level plus cumulative updates.  In reality I only tested to August CU, and I am sure there will come a point where this will not be practical (SP2 would block an RTM install) – but for now it certainly works and would be supported.  That said – it would be good practice to bring the farm up to a level where all the components were at the same release level.  For information on the release level of each component you can go to Central Administration, Upgrade and Migration and Check Product and Patch Installation Status.  I have a ton of language packs loaded so I won’t give you a full screen shot(s) but the foot of mine looks like this: So you can see the version installed for each component (usually matching the RTM or last Service Pack, as in this case) as well as the Cumulative Updates (June superseded by August) along with useful links to the KB articles.  In my case I do have Project already loaded and updated to August CU. At the top of the page there is also a link to the latest updates – Click here for the latest information on available updates for SharePoint 2010 Products   Going to that page also has the link for Project updates – which is Updates for Project Server 2010 .  You will also see on this screenshot that the Galician/Galego language pack is still at the original release version of 14.0.4763.1028.  This language pack (and Basque) does not yet have the language pack service pack released – but it is still possible to update to SP1 for the farm without having to update all the language packs. That was just an aside on versions and where to find them – but the main point is that you can load RTM Project Server to a farm and use Project Server.  It will get loaded at the original release version even if you had already loaded the rollup Service Pack (SP) and/or Cumulative Updates (CU) that included Project Server – the Project files will not have been applied.  Once you are ready to load the SP/CU you will need to re-load it and run the configuration wizard.  You will not get any warnings or errors even though you feel are re-installing something you already applied – it correctly recognizes that there is new stuff to update.  The only slight exception are the language pack service packs – which you do not need to reload – and Project Server will benefit from any language packs (and language pack service packs) loaded before it was installed – so no need to re-install those either. Another good thing to check is the database status – once you have run the config wizard all should be good – but if you forget then you will see messages Database is too old and upgrade is required as mentioned in my previous blog posting – Project Server 2010- Can I delay running the SharePoint Configuration Wizard- .

Quick posting today – we had a customer seeing issues when printing from the Project Web App schedule web part where if they went over a certain number of rows (around 42 – spooky!)  the printed page was blank (although the pop-up with just the grid displayed for printing looked just fine).  This was after seeing this warning – which is expected – when you are printing a grid of more than 30 rows: Print Warning – There are more than 30 records in the current grid.  Preparing the print page for this many records may cause the browser to alert that the page is running slowly. In my testing internally I saw the same, I clicked OK on the warning, the new page opened with everything looking good and I could choose my printer – but the print was blank (I did try a large plan and in this case the final 40 or so tasks printed…)  However, if I turned off the compatibility setting under Tools, Compatibility View Settings, so that these were not applied to Intranet sites then all worked as expected and I got a good print.  If you have explicitly set your PWA sites in compatibility you may see the same issue.  If you really need prints though you may find Project Professional more flexible in giving you a good printed page.

OK, so you have a nice view in Project Center and it groups by a given field, we will call it Location. You get all your projects into the system and you notice that the grouping works as expected but the sort of the grouped headings is odd. Not even alphabetical. Now, this is an “issue” that I’m sure has been around for as long as there has been a Project Server but I only just found it because on this engagement I’m on I broke with my normal process and did not prepare my custom field information the way I normally do. Normally, I gather up the lookup table values and set them up in Excel first. By force of an old habit from other systems I would either sort them in Excel or for those that did needed to be in a non-alpha sort I would put numbers in front of the values. Then I would put them into lookup tables. I know that Project Server allows you to control the display order of the lookup table (see  below) but I have always done this and habits are hard to break.   So what was my problem with the sort of my groups? Project Server views sort the group headings according to the display order set in the lookup table of the field you grouped on. My issue was that I had not put numbers in front of the values and I did not pick Sort Ascending. The default is By Row Number and that has always worked for me given my odd ‘pre sorting’ that is part of my normal routine. I went in and changed the sort order or my lookup table and my grouping was correct. The moral of this story could be “Don’t break with your process” or maybe it is “Update your process”. I’m going to go with the idea that it is “Don’t break with your process!” 🙂