Timesheets and actuals in underlying project plan

[John_JXL]

Hello,
We are shortly switching from a standalone Project 2003 solution to a
Project Server 2007 solution, primarily to take advantage of the time
reporting functionality offered by project server.

At the moment we manually update actuals (on a day-by-day basis) via the
resource usage view ("Actual Work" for actuals)

I just wanted to check that when we use the timesheets, the "actuals" will
be captured via time reporting and will be populated directly into the
relevant underlying .mpp project file - is this how it will work?

Such that if I look at the "resource usage" view going forward, all the
actuals would be automatically populated via the timesheets...?

Thanks,
John.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz]

John:

That's not quite the way it works out of the box, however you can make it
work that way by applying a free "tied mode" solution provided by Microsoft.
Essentially, the My Tasks and My Timesheets functions can run separately or
together. When you first install the solution you can enter time into the
Timesheet, but you must take a second step to import this information into
the My Tasks page where you can then submit it to the Project Manager. This
design provides a lot of flexibility for architecting your solution, but
many people prefer to have the system run in single-entry mode, for which
you must install the additional solution files.

--
----------
Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
Project Server Training: http://www.projectservertraining.com
Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com
Project Server Help Blog: http://www.projectserverhelp.com

 

[John_JXL]

Gary,

Many thanks for the reply... just one point of clarification

If I load up an existing standalone 2003 .mpp plan into project server..and
use the "tied mode" solution...
(a) will all relevant tasks from the underlying plan automatically be
displayed in "my tasks" for that user?
(b) will all tasks from the underlying plan also automatically be displayed
in "my timesheets" for that user?
(c) so will the underlying project plan still effectively be the master such
that any changes made via either "my tasks" or "my timesheets" will
automatically be reflected in the underlying project plan?

Many Thanks,
John.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz]

John:

Answers in line:

If I load up an existing standalone 2003 .mpp plan into project
server..and
use the "tied mode" solution...
(a) will all relevant tasks from the underlying plan automatically be
displayed in "my tasks" for that user?

If your plans are in good shape and you configure your new 2007 system
correctly, and you use the import to enterprise feature, then yes.

(b) will all tasks from the underlying plan also automatically be
displayed
in "my timesheets" for that user?

It depends on what you mean by "automatically." The My Tasks page displays
live data in real time, so the system displays all relevant published tasks
that meet the view settings criteria the user has set for the My Tasks view.
Timesheets, on the other hand, follow the traditional model that users
generate a timesheet when they're ready. One of the options the user has is
to generate their timesheet from "current task assignments. Once they
generate their timesheet, if they then want to add tasks, they can. So, if a
user generates a timesheet and then a PM publishes new assignments for that
same time period, they do not automatically show up in the Timesheet,
however they are automatically available for use in the Timesheet.

(c) so will the underlying project plan still effectively be the master
such
that any changes made via either "my tasks" or "my timesheets" will
automatically be reflected in the underlying project plan?

Yes, the Project Server architecture has not changed in this regard. The
center of the data universe continues to be the project schedule.


--
----------
Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
Project Server Training: http://www.projectservertraining.com
Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com
Project Server Help Blog: http://www.projectserverhelp.com

 

[John_JXL]

Thanks Gary - this is very useful

John:

Answers in line:


If your plans are in good shape and you configure your new 2007 system
correctly, and you use the import to enterprise feature, then yes.


It depends on what you mean by "automatically." The My Tasks page displays
live data in real time, so the system displays all relevant published tasks
that meet the view settings criteria the user has set for the My Tasks view.
Timesheets, on the other hand, follow the traditional model that users
generate a timesheet when they're ready. One of the options the user has is
to generate their timesheet from "current task assignments. Once they
generate their timesheet, if they then want to add tasks, they can. So, if a
user generates a timesheet and then a PM publishes new assignments for that
same time period, they do not automatically show up in the Timesheet,
however they are automatically available for use in the Timesheet.


Yes, the Project Server architecture has not changed in this regard. The
center of the data universe continues to be the project schedule.


--
----------
Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
Project Server Training: http://www.projectservertraining.com
Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com
Project Server Help Blog: http://www.projectserverhelp.com

 

[John_JXL]

sorry, one more related question to this issue...

if I am using the functionality "out of the box":
- I can enter actuals into the timesheets and then import this data into
"my tasks"
- the actuals are correctly updated in "my tasks" as expected.

However when I look at the actual underlying project plan (via MS Pro 2007)
taking the version from the server, the actuals have not been updated here.

Is this possible "out of the box" or do I need to run in "tied" mode to do
this?

Thanks,
John.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz]

After importing the information from My Timesheets to My Tasks, this now
must be submitted. After the updates are submitted to the PM, the PM must
approve the updates. Only then will the project plan reflect the updates.
After the PM accepts the updates, the PM must publish the updated schedule
so that the new information is available to people in PWA.

John, this is Project Server functionality 101. May I suggest that you
acquire Managing Enterprise Projects using Microsoft Office Project Server
2007, which you can find on Amazon or at www.projectserverbooks.com


--
----------
Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
Project Server Training: http://www.projectservertraining.com
Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com
Project Server Help Blog: http://www.projectserverhelp.com

 

[John_JXL]

Thanks Gary - I'll have a look at getting hold of this book. John.

 

[John_JXL]

Thanks Gary - I'll look to get hold of this book, John.