Pulling Actual Work from TimeSheet

[MichaelDBang]

Hello,

I currently have Project Server setup to calculate % of task done based off
of actual work and work remaining.

However, right now I have to:
1) Enter in my timesheet hours under Timesheet tab.
2) Update the Actual Work in Task Management tab.

I'm wondering if there's a way to have Project calculate Actual Work from
the hours entered in Timesheet? Would be nice.

Thank you!
Michael

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Michael --

When you enter the time on project tasks on the My Timesheet page, you can
import the time directly to the My Tasks page. This will calculate the
Actual Work on each task automatically. Hope this helps.

 

[MichaelDBang]

Hmmm... is this functionality in the Outlook add-in? That's what I'm using
to enter in time.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

MichaelDBang --

When you double-click a task from PWA in Outlook and then click the PWA tab,
do you see two separate tabes for My Tasks and My Timesheet? Or do you see
a single page only in which to enter actual progress? If you see two tabs,
this means that your Project Server administrator set up Timesheet periods
that differ from the reporting periods used on the My Tasks page. If this
is the case, then I guess that means you need to enter the numbers twice.
Let us know and we will try to help.

 

[MichaelDBang]

It just so happens that I have admin privs on this server (ya, I'm a newb
) so I will be able to adjust settings accordingly.

When you say "double-click a task from PWA in Outlook"... what do you mean?
I see tasks in my To-Do bar, and when I open one of these, I see two tabs:
Task Management and Timesheet.

Preferrably, I'd like to just enter in time in the timesheet tab and have
everything else auto-calculate from that.

Thanks for your assistance Dale!

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

MichaelDBang --

If users see two tabs in Outlook, then this means that you have set up the
My Timesheet options different from the My Tasks options in PWA. If you set
them up the same, with both to start on Sunday for example, and both to run
the same length of time, such as a week, the users should see only a single
PWA tab in Outlook. Hope this helps.

 

[MichaelDBang]

Hm. I'm checking both the "Timsheet Settings and Defaults" and "Task
Settings and Dislpay" and I'm not seeing any settings that are common between
the two.

Is there a resource somewhere that you can point me to that outlines exactly
which settings I need to set so that I can get the 1-tab view?

Finally, is this one tab-view just the timesheet tab? That would be perfect!

Thanks again,
Michael

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Michael --

Are your Timesheet Periods one week long, starting on Sunday? On your
Timesheet Settings and Defaults page, did you select the "Days" option in
the Timesheet Grid Column Units section? On your Task Settings and Display
page, did you select the "Hours of work done per period" option and the
"Resources should report their hours worked every day" option as well? And
did you set the Week Starts on value to Sunday? Let us know and we will try
to help.

 

[MichaelDBang]

Dale,

Thanks for helping me out with this. Too bad there isn't a resource already
out there that helps out with this.

I've checked what you've specified and "Hours of work done per period" was
indeed not set. I set that and re-published the project, but my outlook
forms still show one tab. Is there something else I'm supposed to do to make
that update?

 

[Rod Gill]

"Too bad there isn't a resource already out there that helps out with this"

Dale is one of the Guru's who has written THE books on administrating
Project Server!!! For more tips you should buy their Implementing and
Administrating book ASAP!

See http://projectserverbooks.com/

--

Rod Gill
Microsoft MVP for Project

Author of the only book on Project VBA, see:
http://www.projectvbabook.com

 

[MichaelDBang]

OK! I had to delete all my tasks and re-import. BEAUTIFUL! Now I can
update how much time I spent on each task and can report how much more I have
to do before it's complete. AWESOME!

One last question: Is there a way to update my project in Project
Professional that doesn't involve closing/reopening?

Michael

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Michael --

As the PM, you need to accept task updates from your team members. You can
do this directly within Project Professional 2007, or from the Task Updates
page in PWA. If you use the Task Updates page in PWA, this action will push
the accepted task updates into the Microsoft Project plan automatically, but
it will not publish the latest project schedule. You would actually need to
open the project to publish it. Because of that, I recommend you accept
task updates from within Project Professional 2007, as this allows you to
immediately move into variance analysis and plan revision, and then to
publish the latest changes to the project. Regarding resources about
Project Server 2007, refer to the following:

http://www.projectserverbooks.com

The "Managing Enterprise Projects..." book is specifically for project
managers, while the "Implementing and Administering..." book is for the
Project Server administrator. Hope this helps.

 

[MichaelDBang]

I just ordered my copy of Managing Enterprise Projects via Amazon.

Thanks!

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

MichaelDBang --

Thanks for buying our book. And you are more than welcome for the help, my
friend!

 

[Gary Chefetz]

Michael:

Do yourself a favor and get Implementing and Administering Microsoft Office
Project Server 2007 as well.