Project Server 2010 Deep Dive v2.0Presentation for MPUGMark E. ReadPrincipalSequence Advisors, Inc.

AgendaReview ArchitectureAssess Key Updates and ImplicationsThink about Implementation

DESIRED OUTCOME: Get excited and afraid, all at the same time

Sequence Advisors, Inc.Founded in 2003Bringing database best practices to Project Management on the Microsoft platformReporting, Development, Integration ServicesTraining, Training, Training

Contact: Mark Read 510 406-4645 mark@sequenceadvisors.com

2010 Physical Architecture

2010 Logical Architecture

Software Landscape

Program DNACO

MPL

EX P

ROJE

CTS • Portfolio

Selection• Workflow• Schedule• Budgets• Metadata• SharePoint• Departmen

ts

MED

IUM

PRO

JECT

S • Workflow• Schedule• Metadata• SharePoint

SIM

PLE

PROJ

ECTS • Schedule

• Metadata

Portfolio Server IntegrationCost and Resource Portfolio Analysis, Business Drivers and PrioritizationVery helpful to have a mature portfolio management process in place first!

Business DriversStrategic Initiatives, Key Goals, etc.

Business Driver Impact Statements

QuantifiableQuantifiableQuantifiable

Prioritizing Projects

Portfolio DependenciesDependency: Select primary project and other projects that are required by the primary projectMutual Inclusion: Select the projects that are ALL dependent on each other. If one project from the set is executed, all other projects from the set must also be executedMutual Exclusion: Select the projects that are ALL exclusive to each other. If one project from the set is executed, all other projects from the set must NOT be executedFinish to Start: Select primary project and other projects that must start after the primary project finishes

Workflows in Phases and StagesProject Detail Pages

associated with an Enterprise Project Type determine workflow phases, stages and custom fieldsBuilt in workflow is simple, others require Visual Studio and LOTS of planning.SharePoint Designer is NOT supported

Project Detail PagesCapturing multi-line custom fields about projects!Can vary by department

Sample WorkflowOut of the boxModify with VSApproval under $1MBroken down into phases and stages

Department FieldMore powerful than RBS but NOT security-relatedGroup sets of custom fields for different “departments”Project Professional displays Custom Fields by DepartmentCubes grouped by DepartmentNo Department means ubiquityVery helpful for larger deployments

Lots of Reporting OptionsExcel ServicesPerformance Point ServerSQL Reporting Services64-bit clients and Power Pivot increase dataset limits

Choose the Data SourceRelational (Reporting DB)Up-to-date dataSuperset of data available in the AS cubesNo drilldown required in report

Decisional (Analysis Services Cubes)

Aggregation across dimension(s)Efficient for reports on time phased dataKey Performance Indicators

Out of the box reportsSample Reports TemplatesDeliverables DependentProjectsIssuesAndRisks IssuesMilestonesDueThisMonth ProjectsAndAssignmentsRejectedProjectList ProjectsAndTasksResourceCapacity ResourcesSimpleProjectList RisksTimesheetActuals TimesheetTopProjectsWorkflowChartWorkflowDrillDown

Excel Services Considerations

Permissions more flexible than before, but not integrated, meaning more workCustom Fields NOT added to Data Connection Objects automatically, meaning more workYou may want SQL or MDX knowledge before wandering into frustration land…

Excel Services –> Author and Consumer

Excel Client does not use Secure Store Service (SSS)

Requires direct authentication against SQL

Setup author group with db_datareader rights to RDB

Excel Services uses Secure Store Service (SSS)

Setup app profile in SSS with service profile that has db_datareader rights

Authenticate the security group of users to use the profile

21

Report ConsumerReport Author

RDB : Combined Work ContoursIn Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, calculating the exact work

assigned to a resource involved decoding application logic in the SQL statement and resulted in complex, non-performant queries

Project Server 2010 has improved storage of time-phased work in RDB

“Combined Work” value in the AssignmentbyDay_UserView

availability = capacity (from resourcebyday) – combined work (from assignmentbyday)

Eliminates need for complex SQL joins to calculate work

Team skills required to implement

Project and Portfolio AnalystSchedulerVisual Studio DeveloperWorkflow ArchitectDatabase AnalystTrainer

Implementation Considerations

Training, Training, TrainingMonths and Years, not Hours or WeeksMore important than ever to have a competent partnerYour Information Architecture is crucial to your success

Implementation ConsiderationsPhysical Architecture

Team and Organizational Maturity Assessment and Subsequent Training PlanProject Plan EvaluationResource Pool Data CollectionLogical Architecture / Custom CodesWorkflows / Project Detail PagesConversion from Excel/SharePoint into ProjectReporting Requirements

WORK=DURATION * RESOURCE UNITS BROKEN? Sort of but not really

2010 tries to make it better but Gantt chart display isn’t sufficient: You need Task Usage and Peak Units

?

More On Assignment Unitshttp://blogs.msdn.com/project/archive/2010/04/29/assignment-units-in-project-2010.aspx“Brian, your explanation is very thorough, however the Microsoft made a wrong design choice in my mind. Microsoft decided that the Assignment Units field should now always reflect what you manually entered. To the user this will appear as if the formula does not work any longer because it does not recalculate the Units any longer as it did in EVERY previous release. Thousands of people have been using this formula and manipulating their schedules with it. Knowing and using the formula gave a sense of mastering the tool.

What should Microsoft have done to solve the issue with the actual hours driving the Assignment Units? Microsoft should have calculated the Assignment Units based on the Remaining Duration part of the task instead of on the entire Duration. This would have taken care of the problem without causing such an upheaval among people who monitor and rely on the formula to manipulate their schedule. I hope Microsoft will still reconsider its poor design choice.” -- ERIC UYTTEWAAL

ConclusionThis release is awesome, and that cuts both waysIt’s the one we’ve been waiting for, pushing for, preparing for…Shared code base with 2007 means more stable than the last releaseYou now have a great deal of capabilities, and with that, potentialWe can help

Questions? Comments?Thank you!