How do you create a Master Project Plan in MS-Project Server?

[neostar77]

If I have five project files on Project Server, how can I create a Master
Project Plan based on that?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

neostar77--

Assuming you are using Project Server 2007, do the following:

1. Navigate to the Project Center in PWA.
2. Using the Control key on your keyboard, click the light blue row header
for each of the five projects (DO NOT click the name of the project).
3. Release the Control key.
4. Click the Edit button.

The system will launch Project Professional 2007, open a new blank project,
and insert all five projects as subprojects. You can now save and publish
the master project. Before you do any of this, you may want to refer to the
following FAQ about Project Workspaces for the master project and
subprojects:

http://www.projectserverexperts.com/ProjectServerFAQKnowledgeBase/PublishMasterProjectWorkspace.aspx

You should also refer to the following Project Server Help blog post as
well:

http://www.projectserverhelp.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=14

Hope this helps.

 

[neostar77]

Hi,

I still can't get it working.

When I click on "Edit" after selecting a single project, it gives me the
error:

"You've selected more than one project. Please try again."

And when I select multiple projects, and click "Edit", it gives me the error:

"You cannot edit details for a non-enterprise project in to-do list. Please
try again."

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

neostar77-

Are you using Project Server 2003 or 2007? I guess I should have asked you
before I answered your question originally. It sounds like you are using
Project Server 2003. Is that correct? Assuming so, then you need to click
the Open button in the Project Center after you select the projects in
question.

The second error message indicates that your Project Server administrator
has erroneously allowed PMs to publish non-enterprise projects, or that you
have selected a To-Do list in your list of projects that you want to open.
Which is it? Let us know.

 

[oldbradfordian]

Please can you clarify, is it possible to have different Owners (Project
Managers) for each of the sub-projects, and is the Owner of the Master
project the Project Manager who created it? Or must all sub-projects have the
same owner as the master project? Also, must all team members of all
sub-projects also be team members of the master project?

In other words, if one structures a master project with multiple
sub-projects below it, what differences in operational behavior, permissions,
notifications, etc are required or can be expected versus having the
sub-projects all just as separate regular projects, each with their own
project manager and team, with no master above them?

Thank you.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

oldbradfordian --

In a master project, the subprojects do not need to have the same Owner.
And you don't even need to build a team in the master project since each
subproject has its own team members.

I don't really think there any "gotchas" when using a master project. To
create a master project, the user must have permissions to open and edit
each subproject, and must have permission to view all the resources in all
of the subprojects. In a very locked down environment, that could present
issues. On the other hand, the nice things about master projects in Project
Server 2007 are:

1. Executives can select the master project in the Project Center view and
then expand the subprojects in the Detailed Project view.
2. You can safely publish a master project without doubling the resource
assignments (a problem in 2003).
3. When you publish a master project, the system automatically publishes
all subprojects as well.
4. You can create subworkspaces for each subproject under a single master
project workspace.
5. You can set up navigation tabs in the master project's workspace for
each subworkspace. To do this, refer to the following FAQ and Blog:

http://www.projectserverexperts.com/ProjectServerFAQKnowledgeBase/PublishMasterProjectWorkspace.aspx

http://www.projectserverhelp.com/Li...ojectserverhelp.com/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx

Hope this helps.

 

[oldbradfordian]

Thank you, Dale. Very helpful as usual. The only issue I see with our setup
is that only the Owner can edit their project schedule; other Project
Managers only have read (Open) permissions on each others projects, so they
can create cross-project links between them. I'll need to do some evaluating
here.

Thanks again.