Project plan updates

[David]

Is there any possibility of the PM viewing the project
plan with the updates received from consultants in a
different colour. Currently when PM accepts an update in
PWA, then Project Prof is opened & project plan is
updated. In order, to view which task has been updated he
has to view the full project plan & find out the task.
Any ideas would be appreciated?
Regards,
David.

 

[John]

David,
Several ideas come to mind, some may be realatively simple while others
are more sophisticated.

Let me start with the simple. Although I've never used this field, there
is a field called "Update needed". Depending on how well the file is
maintained, all that may be necessary is to monitor this field to see if
the update has been made by the consultant(s). It is possible there is
one or more other fields that through clever monitoring could detect an
update but I quite honestly don't know what fields those might be and it
would take some time to figure out a monitoring scheme.

The next level of sophistication (and more robust) is to first save the
file just prior to sending out for update. Then after updates are
returned, run the "compare Project versions" add-in to see the changes.
If you do not have the add-in, it is available from the MS webpage at:
http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate
If you try this method and it just doesn't quite give you the output you
need or like there are other compare macros that may be available (i.e.
output in color). If interested, write me direct for more information.

The third method is similar to the above but is a little less robust.
Use spare fields to store a snapshot of relevent project data. For
example, use Start1 and Finish1 to store Start and Finish, Duration1 to
store Duration, etc. You can then run a relatively simple macro to test
these values when the updated file is returned. The macro can even
highlight the changed values in color.

There are a few ideas to get you started.

John

 

[Jack D.]

David,
Several ideas come to mind, some may be realatively simple while others
are more sophisticated.

Let me start with the simple. Although I've never used this field, there
is a field called "Update needed". Depending on how well the file is
maintained, all that may be necessary is to monitor this field to see if
the update has been made by the consultant(s). It is possible there is
one or more other fields that through clever monitoring could detect an
update but I quite honestly don't know what fields those might be and it
would take some time to figure out a monitoring scheme.

The next level of sophistication (and more robust) is to first save the
file just prior to sending out for update. Then after updates are
returned, run the "compare Project versions" add-in to see the changes.
If you do not have the add-in, it is available from the MS webpage at:
http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate
If you try this method and it just doesn't quite give you the output you
need or like there are other compare macros that may be available (i.e.
output in color). If interested, write me direct for more information.

The third method is similar to the above but is a little less robust.
Use spare fields to store a snapshot of relevent project data. For
example, use Start1 and Finish1 to store Start and Finish, Duration1 to
store Duration, etc. You can then run a relatively simple macro to test
these values when the updated file is returned. The macro can even
highlight the changed values in color.

There are a few ideas to get you started.

John

I would second the third approach, however instead of start/finish I'd
compare actual and remaining work. A simple change to a task can change the
start and finish of all the successors so those dates are not very useful to
look at except in a narrow range about the status date.
You can do all the comparison and highlighting using a customized flag field
and a bar style based on that field.

--
Please try to keep replies in this group. I do check e-mail, but only
infrequently. For Macros and other things check http://masamiki.com/project

-Jack Dahlgren, Project MVP
email: J -at- eM Vee Pee S dot COM


+++++++++++++++++++

 

[John]

Jack,
I agree with your assessment depending on what information is desired as
a result of the update. If the full impact of a simple change is
desireable than a visual indication of the complete ripple effect can be
of benefit. I think the bottom line is for David to identify exactly
which fields are importnat and the impact thereon and then tailor the
comparison accordingly.

John

 

[Jack D.]

Jack,
I agree with your assessment depending on what information is desired as
a result of the update. If the full impact of a simple change is
desireable than a visual indication of the complete ripple effect can be
of benefit. I think the bottom line is for David to identify exactly
which fields are importnat and the impact thereon and then tailor the
comparison accordingly.

John

Sure. I think that simply saving an interim baseline and setting a bar style
to display any variation from it is tremendously useful even when doing
updates by hand. It will tell you when you have done something which matters
and highlights any accidental changes.

--
Please try to keep replies in this group. I do check e-mail, but only
infrequently. For Macros and other things check http://masamiki.com/project

-Jack Dahlgren, Project MVP
email: J -at- eM Vee Pee S dot COM


+++++++++++++++++++

 

[John]

Jack,
It looks like you and I have had a good dialogue. I sure hope David (or
others) have read and gotten some benefit out of it.

John

 

[Mike Glen]

I'm sure some have, but as a general rule, people seldom read previous posts
looking for similar subjects. You can gage this on the number of posts
asking for a Project Viewer!


Mike Glen
MS Project MVP