Managing Project with only Project Server and not Project Professi

[Karrybelle]

My company is currently testing Project Server 2007. While we also have the
desk top client Microsoft Office Project Professional our Portfilio Manager
would like to know if it is possible to also have projects managed using only
the web face applicaiton. While we have Project Managers here we also have
other positions here that will manage task like projects who have never used
the desk top applicaiton. Rather than having to have the application
installed on everyone's computer and training half our department my manager
wanted to know if it could be done just using web.
Thanks in advance for answering my question. Also if I need to post this in
a different location, please let me know.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Karrybelle --

In the future, please post your Project Server questions in the
microsoft.public.project.server newsgroup, as this newsgroup is dedicated to
the Microsoft Project desktop application only. To answer your question,
no, your PMs cannot manage their projects only using the Project Web Access
interface. Your PMs will need to use Microsoft Project Professional 2007 to
create and manage their projects. If they do not know how to use this tool
already, I would strongly encourage you to enlist the aid of a competent
Project Partner that specializes in training as a part of a Project Server
implementation (such as my company, for example). You should NOT attempt to
implement this tool with PMs who do not know how to create and manage
enterprise projects in Microsoft Project 2007, as doing so is a recipe for
failure.

On the other hand, you should also know that team members do NOT use
Microsoft Project at all. They submit their progress on their assigned
tasks using the My Tasks page in PWA. The PMs then need to approve the task
updates and then the system "pushes" the task updates into the Microsoft
Project plan. Hope this helps.

 

[Karrybelle]

As I stated we have other positions here in my company that manage
"project-like" tasks. We have three different levels in our IT department.
We have the high end projects that only our project managers/leaders take
care of, the high level work request that are treated like projects in which
our BRMs take care of and then we have the low level work request that our
SMEs work on. ALL of the those levels utilize the same resources. Our PMs
already had training long before on the desk top application from PCubed.

However, a no and a helpful suggestion on maybe how to make it easier on
people who are not familar with the desk top application would have been
appreciated rather than coming across very condenscending. And just for your
information, my company has been using Project Server for over five years
now, we are only in the process of testing 2007 for an upgrade.

 

[MTuck]

Activity plans and project proposals
Activity plans are designed to track work with minimal tasks or maintenance
projects

Proposals are similar to activity plans but must go through a workflow
approval process, either a manual workflow or integrated to Windows Workflow
Foundation

Simple, Web-based user interface for creating project proposals and activity
plans

Takes advantage of all Office Project Server 2007 features, including
reporting, timesheet, and project workspaces

Supports calendars, limited dependencies, server-side custom fields

Supports server-side scheduling but not leveling

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Karrybelle --

My response was not condescending and I do not appreciate your comment as
such. At no point did you ever mention the fact that your company is
presently using Project Server 2003. I am not a mind reader, so how could I
know?

Furthermore, there is no easy way to help people to quickly and easily use
Microsoft Project 2007 with enterprise projects. My advice was not
condescending; it was based on a painful reality that some companies do not
like to hear, but need to hear. Believe me, I would prefer that your
company succeed, rather than fail, with Project Server 2007!

So, to answer your original question, there is no way to create enterprise
projects without using Project Professional 2007. Hope this helps.