Author: Tim Runcie PMP, MCP, MCTS, P-TSP, MVP

Tim Runcie, PMP, MCP, MCTS, P-TSP, MVP is one of 6 Microsoft Project MVP’s in North America and has held that title for 17 years in a row.  A seasoned veteran of complex programs, and portfolio management systems, Tim works with companies like Microsoft on next generations of Project, Program, and portfolio technologies.  Tim is an accomplished speaker, consultant, and educator, supporting the project management community for over 25 years. As the President and founder of Advisicon, Tim has written over 38 books on PM methodologies and technologies. Advisicon has recently added a non-profit division focused on helping faith-based and 501-C3 organizations with implementing and training on available business solutions and providing business coaching or process automation with the mission of “Serving those who Serve.” Free resources are available at www.YouTube.com/Advisicon or on Tim’s LMS, www.Advisicon.thinkific.com

Misconception #4: Managing Resources in Project is Too Hard

Managing resources in Project is certainly not simple. If you’ve worked in Primavera or other scheduling tools, you know there’s even more complexity for how to utilize resources. Of course, there are also automatic types of updates that come with scheduling technologies for project managers. Remember, there are layers to managing resources. Some of the things I hear are: When I add or take away a resource, the project schedule moves around, and I don’t know why. When I add a resource, I expect “xyz” behavior and get something else. Having resources come in and update the schedule doesn’t work. This list goes on, but, needless to say, I believe people just need a little education about how to approach resource challenges. In fact, I think that adding resources is one of the GREAT things about working with a schedule, especially in MS Project. Project has options to address the challenges project managers are facing. I won’t detail all of them, but there are some really simple best practices that you can take a look at, and MPUG has some great videos and presentations, including mine on how to effectively manage schedules when using resources. Furthermore, let’s break it down into a list of key questions: Decide whether hours and work are important to track vs. just knowing who is responsible and when the schedule needs to be completed. Get clear about if you want others to come in and update their tasks, or if that is something you will manage. Decide what is most important. When you add and take away resources, what do you want to happen? Do you want the schedule to stay in place? Do you want the hours to remain static? Do you want the units to remain constant (what % a person is assigned to)? Utilize views that help you best manage, assign, and progress work. These key questions and answers really help to line out what more advanced scheduling people know and apply when using any version of MS Project. Do note that Project for the web still only has a simplified effort driven scheduling model and will be evolving this more over time, so if you have advanced resource management needs (contouring, Timesheeting, etc.), you will need to use either the Project Accelerator or be using Project Online. I’ll now go into more detail on the four key issues identified above. Define Schedule / Assignment vs. Tracking and Managing Work (Hours) If you don’t need to track hours, but just have the timeline and assignments you have several options: You could use Manual vs. Auto scheduling. This basically gives the option of using Project like Excel, where the Scheduling Engine is turned off and you can drag, drop, and change durations without the resource or scheduling engine changing things. You may also want to set your tasks to all be Fixed Duration, meaning that the scheduling engine, regardless of hours, won’t move the dates around. I’ll explain little more about this, but basically you are telling Project’s scheduling engine not to move dates around regardless of work or units. You could use Project in the Task Board view or work in the Team Planner View (for assignments and scheduling). This is again another optimized view for managing assignments of multiple resources across tasks. Another method I have seen project managers use with great success for simplified work management is that the actual Task Name will be the Person as a Summary Task and the effort will simply be their work assignments. Set up this way, there is no need to actually make a resource assignment. Yes, I know this is a low tech and limited approach, but in many organizations people just need visibility to vacation and track key projects or other things that a resource is doing, not actually have grouped by assignment. How Do You Want to Get Progress on People’s Assignments into your Project Schedule? The premise here is that when managing people, you can either re-key their time in your schedule or allow them to be co-authors and edit their information directly in the plan. Letting your team do it themselves inherently has some dangers, but the question is, “How do you want to get your updates in?” Here are some approaches that can give you an idea of how to utilize settings based on your choice: If you are using Project for the web, people all have native co-authorship once you assign a license. People can update their assignments in the browser. If you are using Project Professional or Project Online, you have additional options. Project Professional has the ability to publish a schedule to a SharePoint list, and you can allow end users to edit that list. The updates will flow to your MS Project File. (this itself deserves it’s own article). If one of the above options doesn’t meet your needs and if you are using Project Professional for Office 365, you have the ability to put your data into an Enterprise Environment (Project Online), which comes with your license, but needs some of its own setup. Basically, you can get a lesser license (Project Essentials), which allows people via mobile app or through a web interface to progress their assignments and then send updates to you. The PM has the option to accept/reject, and/or have the data automatically flow to your Project Schedule. This is done one of two ways—through My Tasks or through Timesheets. My Tasks is only for the end users to see their assignments and progress them using %, Hours, or Updating Remaining work (checking the box that it’s done). Define the Scheduling Engine Behavior (Fixed Work, Units, Duration) to match your priorities The idea here is that you would set your default task behavior in the File / Options settings (as displayed above) choosing how you want the scheduling engine of Project to behave. Here are some explanations, but do understand this is just the overview into how MS Project’s scheduling engine works: Fixed Units = “As you add or Take Away Resources or Change work, Project won’t re-adjust a person’s level of % assigned to the task” Fixed Duration = “As you add or take away resources or change the work on the task, Project’s scheduling engine won’t change the duration” Fixed Work = “Work is the constant. As you add or take away resources or change the duration of the task, the work remains constant, so, if you add more resources, the duration would shorten, but the hours remain constant” In many cases these settings can be changed over time. For example, you might start with Fixed Duration as you build and plan your schedule. When you’ve added resources and tuned the effort, you would switch the schedule, some, or all of the tasks over to Fixed Work, and let your team progress their work letting that drive the overall duration. There is a lot here, but the bottom line is to tame MS Project’s scheduling engine to behave the way you want vs. it just doing what its defaults are set to. Do you Struggle to Find Simpler and Better Views for Seeing and Managing Resources, Assignments, and Progress? As discussed earlier, there are many views. The key to managing and making MS Project work for you in any form, is to switch to the views that help you the most. There many, but I’ll highlight some views that will help speed you up in this regard: If you are managing primarily tasks and resources, you can use Task Usage or Resource Usage Views (I highlighted some of the views here that are common in managing resources. Basically, the far-left side of Project has the View Bar. If you right-click this, it will give you a speedy way to change views. Once in any of these views, you can continue managing the work and toggle back to another view for managing tasks (like Gantt or Task Board). If you are progressing tasks, you can quickly make edits to the Actuals by selecting the Mark on Track button on the Task Tab. Choose Update Tasks. This will allow you to readily manage actual start, finish, % complete, actual durations, and remaining durations. There are many other types of views, so I recommend perusing some of these to see what will work best for you. We are getting close to my upcoming live panel, in which we will have an open discussion (taking audience questions) to address both the direction Microsoft is taking to improve and guide their Project PPM technologies, as well as addressing common misconceptions people have using Microsoft Project. In the meantime, you can read the other articles in my series. Comments are always welcome. The misconception of “Project is Not for Agile or An Agile Tool“ The misconception of “P4W Can’t Be Customized” The misconception of “Project Desktop is Going Away and PWA with It” The misconception of “Project Doesn’t have Reporting”

Misconception #3: “Project Desktop is Going Away and PWA with It”

We are about halfway through a list of common MS Project misconceptions that I’ve identified through my experience of working as a Microsoft Project user, teacher, and consultant for the last 27 years. We’ve looked at Misconception #1, “Project is Not for Agile or An Agile Tool,” and Misconception #2, “P4W Can’t Be Customized.” In anticipation of my upcoming webinar on these misconceptions and more, today I’d like to cover the misconception that some folks have in thinking that Project Desktop is going away. In case you were wondering, it’s not! Microsoft, in November of 2019, launched Project for the web (P4W) to kick off their next chapter in re-designing the MS Project experience from the group up. What you have to understand is that MS Project has been around since 1980’s in its DOS form. It moved into the windows (3.0) platform in the early 1990’s, which means that Project Desktop was a staple for project managers for close to 20 years before Project Server 2002 and 2003 were launched. Project Server introduced a little know application / collaboration portal called SharePoint. From then until today’s version of Project Online, we see another almost 20 years of strong investment and integration with an Enterprise approach. Microsoft has and continues to work towards pulling all projects and resources into a single platform. So, with over 30 million licenses of Project Standard, Project Professional, and Project Online, it will be a long time before MS Project Desktop goes anywhere. In fact, there is not intent to end the largest single project scheduling tool used world-wide. The fate of Project Desktop also holds sway over Project Online / Project Server. Many organizations want the full power, flexibility, and customizability that Project gives them, and, they don’t want it just for individuals, but in an enterprise capacity. This is where Azure (Cloud Server Based), or On-premise Project Server still meet a strong need for many customers. If I may speak for them, I’d say that Microsoft recognizes they’ve have created a bit of confusion with their current messaging. I happen to know that they will be working to ease back a bit in their push towards newer platforms. Needless to say, while Microsoft has turned its marketing engine focus on the cloud and Project for the web, it still understands customer needs and plans to support its current legacy tools. If you have more questions, don’t hesitate reach out to me. I know many have found it hard to get answers from the sales reps at Microsoft, but that is where myself and my senior staff can help provide clear information on vision, direction, and options you might be considering. Leave your comments below, and check out my event on MS Project Misconceptions. Other articles in this series are listed below: The misconception of “Project is Not for Agile or An Agile Tool” The misconception of “P4W Can’t Be Customized” The misconception of “Managing Resources in Project is Too Hard” The misconception of “Project Doesn’t have Reporting” Register now for the upcoming live event on MS Project Misconceptions

Another Common MS Project Misconception: “P4W Can’t Be Customized”

As I explained in my previous article, with all the updates Microsoft has made as of late, it’s no wonder people have misconceptions or don’t fully realize the strategy Microsoft has around growing and supporting tools for project management. In a series of articles, I am diving into some of the more common misconceptions that are out there about MS Project. This is the second in a series that explores the top five misconceptions that surface on a regular basis. I hope you find this in depth look at these misconceptions helpful. Please reach out to me directly with questions, comments, or even to just check back in to see if some of the new feature releases address your needs. I am looking forward to my upcoming live webinar on the topic of these misconceptions and more. Check back soon for my details. Misconception #2: “P4W Can’t Be Customized” I hear this quite frequently from people who are starting to use Project for the web (P4W) and have come from the experience of using Microsoft Legacy PM tools (Project Professional or Project Online). In fact, there is a lot of buzz over Microsoft’s latest and easiest to use project scheduling tool! Remember the goal of the MSP product team was to provide an easy way to start, edit, and build schedules and assign resources, without a lot of setup. Project for the web’s purpose is to be simple and not require a lot of customization, although the trade off, at least today, and until Microsoft continues to release new features, is a more limited level of customization options. That said, users do have some flexibility around local customizations, and you certainly can customize Project for the web. Now I know that many of you love using Excel (infinitely customizable), but we are working with a scheduling engine that is available for connection with Power BI and Dynamics. P4W has a grid view that allows for Excel-like work. What’s nice about it is that you can easily move the way that you want to. While there aren’t too many columns available, custom columns (shown later) can be added, and the ability to organize what you see in the order you want is possible. The key is to hover your mouse between the columns—a double line and the split arrows will appear. Just drag and drop, and this will widen, or if you want to move the column, put your mouse directly over the it and drag it to where you want it to go. Another common trick for customizing and creating visualization in P4W is to insert symbols and icons to emphasize or draw attention to a particular grouping. By making sure that you are in the right location (where text is entered), just press the Windows Key + the semicolon (;) or period (.) keys. A list of options (different categories and symbols) to choose from will populate. This works great in most Windows 10 environments, and if you wanted to try this in your Office 365 browser view of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, you’ll see they will show up there in the tabs or as other structured text objects. Customizing P4W in the Gantt View Usually basic columns work just fine; however, there are times you want to add more information or structure to your project schedule. To “tell the story,” having the ability to add additional columns is very helpful. Just scroll to the end of any of the views (typically the Gantt View). Remember you can add custom columns to any view and have them show everywhere. Find + Add Column and select + New field. Once selected you will be prompted for what type of field you want to add: Once you select the type of field you want, you can go ahead and use it. A common option is to leverage a choice field to create a KPI view. Add your field choices, and then use the Windows Icon key to find the symbols you wish to utilize. In this case, Red, Yellow, and Green are common stoplight reporting selections, but you really aren’t limited to them. Just remember to erase the default text that Project puts in there. Customizing P4W in the Board View Think of each task as a “card” or a post-it-note. You may wish to visualize and organize these cards or notes and their connections to each other. Literally in the past, we used to use cork boards, 3” x 5” cards, and yarn with punch pins to create and show links to the tasks within a project. Now that’s old school! For those who haven’t worked within Office 365 Planner, you may not know that you have the ability to customize the Board view by grouping the information similarly as that old school method (by the columns you have in your tasks). If you want to customize how you are looking at the Board view, find, to the right of your screen just past filters, the “Group by Bucket” option. Click this, and select how you want to group or line up your tasks.  From there, you can quickly organize or re-organize project work. Buckets commonly are organized by phase, priority, sprints, etc. Custom Reporting Options for P4W Many people ask, what about reports? Microsoft uses Power BI to connect to the data and provide a very rich environment to allow for reporting. In fact, Microsoft has built, or pre-built, some Power BI Report Packs for you to use. It’s as simple as downloading and plugging them right against your Projects. To get these, you will need to download them from GitHub, or reach out to me for the most updated and free versions (we keep them updated and have improved them for our customers). Advanced Customizing or Creating Enterprise Level Structure for P4W Many organizations are looking for the simplicity of Project for the web, but also need to book resources, do demand and capacity planning, and manage programs and portfolios. To do this, Microsoft has provided the Power Platform to help you extend your P4W experience. Leverage both Power BI and Power Apps, possibly even Power Automate to help create workflows, customize columns, and establish a Project Lifecycle process around managing, starting, and delivering. Microsoft has also deployed a quick custom app (Called the Project Accelerator or the Project App) for you to get started with. If you want to go beyond the basics, then build and customize with Power Apps. A couple of key points to remember: A model drive Power App allows you to start with an intake process and organize projects by programs. It extends the ability to organize costs, budget, resources, and bookings for projects. Remember Microsoft still has Project Online (PWA), which is fully formed and has strong resource, costs, and portfolio selection and prioritization capabilities. However, its scheduling tool is much deeper and heavier, which may be more than you are looking for. I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to read more about MS Project Misconceptions (listed) or join me for my upcoming live discussion on these misconceptions and more.

Common Misconceptions about MS Project that People Get Wrong

I’ve been a Microsoft Project user, teacher, and consultant for the last 27 years. I’ve become very familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of this software product. As a 17+ year Project MVP, I have come to learn about and work with the Microsoft Engineering and Marketing teams for many MSP releases, and I am a constant champion for  improvements. I’ve also seen and heard many misconceptions people have about what Microsoft Project can and can’t do. Microsoft is changing their Project PPM toolsets (adding, blending, and centralizing). We see MS ToDo, O365 Planner, Project Desktop, Project Online, Project Server, Project for the web, and Project Operations, blending with MS Teams and other office/task hub capabilities. No wonder people sometimes get mixed up or don’t fully realize the strategy Microsoft has around growing and supporting these tools for project management. Today, I wanted to begin to clear up some of the misconceptions that are out there. I am touching on just a few, but this is the first in a series that will explore the top five issues that surface on a regular basis. I hope you find my in depth look at these misconceptions helpful. Please reach out to me directly with questions, comments, or even to just check back to see if new feature releases address your needs. I am looking forward to a MPUG hosted live panel discussion on the topic of these misconceptions and more in December of this year. Stay tuned! Here is the first of five top misconceptions that people make when using MS Project (in all its forms). Misconception #1: “Project is Not for Agile or An Agile Tool” This is one of the more common statements I hear from people. In fact, I have been hearing this since Agile became a hot topic. Scrum masters say things like: “We don’t use project because it isn’t “Agile,” or “Project Doesn’t have any Agile features, it’s a “Waterfall tool.” To set the record straight, MS Project Isn’t an Agile tool…go ahead, read that again! Correct, it’s not an Agile tool, but neither is it a Waterfall tool. MSP is actually a relational database. Yes, that’s right, all of those “Agile” tools out there (well, the good ones) work within a relational database framework, MS Project included. While Microsoft may have taken a while to add some “Agile” view options, many of us have been using it across all types of methodologies (i.e. Prince2, Waterfall, Agile, Lean, and many others). We have the capability to add columns and views to sort, filter, and group data ITIL, etc. Microsoft may yell at me for not just saying, “Project is Agile,” but I want to explain exactly what it is and what it is not. The bottom line is that Project has some amazing flexibility, and now that all the versions have the ability to work more agile-y, it’s far from just a Waterfall tool anymore. Project Desktop Agile Features Microsoft Project Desktop has native Sprint and Agile capabilities, as shown below. You can add columns, filters, groupings, and custom fields to manage sprints, even from within a Waterfall overall schedule. If you don’t have a template like the one shown below, reach out to me directly and I’d be happy to share one with you. You can also shift to a Task Board (more of a Kanban model or what you would find in O365 Planner with task cards) and manage your project’s work with buckets. Just find the Task Board on the View menu (there is a Sprint board there, as well). Easily manage tasks by dragging and dropping between categories, buckets, or columns. Even set the % complete as you drag tasks to/from their categories. I enjoy using more of a Sprint view to keep tasks organized, as shown. Generate sprints based on the length of your project or edit the duration of them and manage your backlog and velocity based on work archived (or story points) accomplished per sprint. This method will behave like a Task Board. Simply drag, drop, or double click to edit more of the details, and then switch to the Sprint or Task Board Sheet views or the Gantt Chart view based on your preference. Regardless of what view you are using, remember MSP is a relational database. It’s an umbrella that will hold all native project views and data, plus organize it in a more Agile fashion. MPUG has many how to articles on this topic, and I also have free articles and videos linked to in my bio. Project for the web Agile Features Certainly the new addition to the Project family, Project for the web (P4W), would have the native Board view for end users, right? In fact, one of the intents of this tool is to allow users to migrate from Office 365 Planner to Project for the web. This capability is soon to be released, but MSP couldn’t do this without having a Task board that behaves and operates the same way that Planner does. You can switch from the Timeline or Grid view to the Board view and continue managing in a much more Kanban-esque or “card view” way. It’s quick, easy, and provides an option for transitioning between grid, timeline, and/or Board view. There is a mass of users in MS Teams and Planner now, so moving to a more mature story option method for project management and way from simple work management is an important part of the Microsoft PPM tool agenda. I’d love to hear from you in the comment section. If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to read more about MS Project misconceptions (listed below) or join me for my upcoming live discussion on these misconceptions and more.

Leveraging the Latest Office 365 Project Tools & Capabilities

  Project Management Institute (PMI)® Professional Development Units (PDUs): This Webinar is eligible for 1 PMI® PDU in the Technical category of the Talent Triangle.   Event Description: Microsoft keeps adding new project, work and task management capabilities.  Come learn the latest tools, tips and tricks to rapidly accelerate your productivity in managing work, projects and teams.  Or just come and learn how to impress your friends with all the latest approaches the Office 365 technology now is offering.   Presenter Info: Tim Runcie, PMP, MCP, MCTS, P-TSP, MVP is one of 6 Microsoft Project MVPs in North America for 17 years in a row.  A veteran of complex programs, and PM systems, Tim works with companies like Microsoft on their next two generations of technologies. Tim is an accomplished speaker, consultant, educator, and PMO expert, supporting PMI for over 25 years. As CEO & founder of Advisicon, Tim has written 38 books on PM Methodologies & Technologies. Advisicon also has a nonprofit division helping organizations leverage & train on business solutions & providing coaching with the mission “Serving those who Serve.”   Have you watched this webinar recording? Tell MPUG viewers what you think! [WPCR_INSERT]  

Task Management Tools: Why Hybrid is a Good Thing

I’d like to start this piece with a statement, “Hybrid is good.” Today’s business is one dominated by productivity demand and compounded with tight budgets and a remote workforce. People are needing better and easier-to-use tools to help keep them on track and productive, while centralizing their project information, documentation, and collaboration spaces for the support of multiple projects and programs. So, how might a hybrid solution be the right approach, asks the Project MVP, who firmly believes in the centralization of data and a “One Version of the Truth” approach to managing information. A hybrid model doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up the centralized reporting. Instead, it’s the concept of using the right tools for the job. Many use the Office 365 platform to weave together a solution which increases productivity for their organization. Those who know me well are likely shocked to hear me even utter the phrase, “Hybrid is good.” “How can this be?” they might say, “We never thought we’d see Indy car racer, Tim Runcie, driving a hybrid! He loves the roar of a good 8-cylinder muscle car. He would never utter these words… He’s a MOPAR favoring, motorcycle racing, and muscle car driving guy, this just can’t be!” Well, yes, I’m here to utter these blasphemous words… “Hybrid is good.” It’s true, I raced motorcycles for years and the phrase from Top Gun, “I feel the Need for Speed,” didn’t die when I left the movie theatre with the Kenny Loggins tune “Danger Zone” ringing in my ears. If you want a glimpse into my love for anything but “hybrid” and then to understand where my mindset began to change, a small glimpse into my past will help. I can trace my roots of disdain for hybrid or electric cars back to Benson Polytechnic High School. My alma mater was founded by Simon Benson, a notable timber baron who wanted to help keep the blue-collar trades alive. Classes covering machine shop, engineering, pattern, foundry, automotive, electric, electronics, and building construction were the norm, and Simon Benson dedicated a portion of his fortune to not only having a school built that taught the arts and sciences, but the love of trade skills to his students. Over the years this included welding, printing, mechanical and architectural drafting, medical, dental, and radio careers. In high school, I was in heaven. I learned how to build houses, enjoyed the smell of acetylene, and got my hands greasy in automotive class, all while still learning reading, writing, and arithmetic. There was something raw and powerful about studying history, after just donning protective heat shields and fire retarding clothing and turning metal to liquid at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The bigger, louder, and hotter, the better, right? Again, why would I ever think that hybrid was good? Wasn’t I the guy who, when speaking to a police officer late one night at a traffic stop, couldn’t resist asking about the new Dodge Charger pursuit cars and “if he liked all that power.” I watched his face change from the boring doldrum of ticket writing to an impish grin of delight and excitement which revealed just how much power that charger had under the hood and how much torque was to be had. What stuck with me most wasn’t the fact that I got out of a ticket, but the disdainful laugh and answer I got from the officer when I asked, “How’s the gas mileage?” and he answered, “Who cares?” From that moment on, I wanted to have a Dodge Charger or Challenger, something with a Hemi, or at least over 420 horsepower to drive. I wanted something that growled when you turned it, roared when you stepped on the gas, and if necessary, would single handedly keep the oil and gas companies financed fueling my dark steed of thunderous power. Again, why would I suddenly be saying, “Hybrid is good”? Well, I can think back to where this thought came into being. It wasn’t in high school when the only electric car was a green box with four-wheels that could go about 20 miles after charging it for 20 days. It wasn’t from seeing one of very best friends (some people still think we are brothers to this day) buy a three wheeled electric car that looked like something out of a carnival or circus. What slowly eroded my rock wall opinion of “more power is better” was an idea that started slowly and grew incrementally when I made a friend who owned one of the first hybrid cars. Watching him use the braking system to power the battery and see how far he could go before having to refuel or recharge was quite fun. He could only go a few hundred miles before having to find a charge, but the gamification of trying to extend the number of miles really had us all paying close attention to our driving. Further down the road (and years later), I sat in a TESLA with one of my Microsoft Project colleagues and felt the instant g-force acceleration like whiplash, along with the complete stealth and silence that accompanies that driving experience. Yes, this had an impact on my deeply rooted belief that speed and fun only came from 8 cylinders or more. What slowly began changing it for me was the realization that you can find fun and excitement with a hybrid, too. It’s now always just about power and a roaring engine. Speed, quietness, and eco friendliness are important, too.  Balancing distance before refueling or recharging can also actually be something you can gamify to make the driving experience more enjoyable. So, how does this analogy reflect in our current world of project, program, and portfolio management?  We certainly have a drive to help increase personal and professional productivity! In today’s new topsy-turvy world, a hybrid solution for some of us is an option, but for many others, it is the only solution to improving team and organizational productivity. In fact, many companies, agencies, governments, and non-profits are using a “hybrid” approach for task and work management. It increases their productivity and accountability, especially now that we have a work force that is almost 100% remote or sequestered away due to COVID-19. Microsoft has been quietly releasing key tools and solutions to better give productivity focused workers ways to manage, track, and report on progress, while simultaneously centralizing communications, collaboration, and documentation. There are three key areas being looked at: Task Management Work Management Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Toolsets break down under these areas with an ever-increasing layering, and include Project, Planner, MS ToDo, and MS Teams. We also see Dynamics and the Project Operations product included. Finding the right tool for your organization isn’t just about doing one thing. It’s about continuity in productivity and blending the right suite of features and capabilities to deliver what it is you are being called to fulfill. From a simple team formed to solve a single problem to a global team tackling strategic planning and managing new and existing portfolios of work, the need for common task management, tracking, and reporting is essential. What that looks like will vary based on your culture, budget, and/or the need for a low complexity solution. All of this is possible with a myriad of solutions, or a “hybrid” approach, and this becomes much easier to leverage using the Office 365 platform. Think of Office 365 as the tool shop. The type of hammer you may need will be different depending on which job you are trying to accomplish. Pick up the right tool for the job, while knowing that if you need something larger or smaller, you can just pull it off the shelf or out of the drawer and keep on going. Keeping track of resource utilization, burndowns of tasks, productivity, and resource availability emerge when using the current and new task and work management solutions coming out for Project Teams. Microsoft is also connecting non-Microsoft tools to their environment through Power BI and MS Teams, so the hub of work again becomes a “hybrid” of tools, consolidated into one collaboration portal. This is done simply by adding the apps to the Teams interface. Microsoft is actively surfacing their roadmap of both features and product releases that support task, work, and project management. George Bullock, Senior PMM with the Project Team, provided a good overview at his ignite session, Project Roadmap at MS Ignite. He also laid out some about Project Accelerator. Do note that not everyone will want to purchase all of the licensing needed for some of these solutions, but a hybrid approach will give you many options. Here is a snapshot of Roadmap and some of the key features around supporting task, work, and collaboration management. What is key is to find the balance of the Power Platform along with the right productivity tools. You’ve got plenty to choose from, ranging from @Mention capability coming in MS Office tools to capture tasks and push them to a planner board/group from right within the documents you are working in, to the newly released Project for the Web (Microsoft’s latest evolution and add for managing time phased schedules, but with a lighter footprint than Microsoft Project). I still love the feeling of my muscle car (I take mine out only in the spring, summer, and fall because the wheels are always spinning due to the wet ground), but I also enjoy the game of guessing how far I can go with a hybrid or electric model before it needs a charge. Mixing up my ride solution depending on my next speaking trip, conference, or event is always a good time. Even the Microsoft Project and Planner Teams enjoy a good race and often “… feel the need, the need for speed.” This photo shows a group of Project MVPs along with some of the Microsoft Project Team all together at K1. Notice me in the Winner’s Circle (center and right) with my trophy. 😊 You, too, can find a blend of the right tools and technology for your team using what Microsoft currently has available, as well as what they are looking to release later this year. Be sure to watch my on-demand MPUG webinar, Leveraging the Latest Office 365 Project Tools & Capabilities. I go into more tactical approaches of what I’ve mentioned here, as well as some of the specifics about what will soon be coming into your hands to use. There are some great capabilities on deck, enabling you to be personally and professional productive in managing your workload and tasks. Reach out and let me know how hybrids have worked for you, or if you need some coaching on what is the right “hybrid for your budget.” I love hearing your stories on how you met your productivity challenges and empower your work culture using various project management task and work management tools. Warmest regards!  

They Finally Did It! Microsoft Releases a Brand-New Version of Microsoft Project

Project Management Institute (PMI)® Professional Development Units (PDUs):This Webinar is eligible for 1 PMI® PDU in the Technical category of the Talent Triangle. Event Description: Come see the brand new version of Microsoft Project (Called Project for The Web) and learn its role within the existing Project Online and Project Desktop. See what its capabilities are, and are not, so you can leverage it to increase you or your team’s productivity. Presenter Info: Tim Runcie, PMP, MCP, MCTS, P-TSP, MVP is one of 6 Microsoft Project MVP’s in North America and has held that title for 16 years in a row. A seasoned veteran of complex programs, and portfolio management systems, Tim works with companies like Microsoft on next generations of Project, Program and portfolio technologies. Tim is an accomplished speaker, consultant, and educator, supporting the project management community for over 25 years. As the President and founder of Advisicon, Tim has written over 38 books on PM methodologies and technologies. Advisicon has added a nonprofit division focused on helping faith-based and 501-C3 organizations with implementing and training on business solutions available and provide business coaching or process automation with the mission of “Serving those who Serve.”   Have you watched this webinar recording? Tell MPUG viewers what you think! [WPCR_INSERT]

Microsoft’s Latest Version of Project is Finally Here!

Microsoft Releases the New Microsoft Project for the Web The new version of Project, is being called by some “Modern Project,” or as I’ll refer to it “P4W” or Project for the Web.” It’s an entirely new product that is being built from the ground up to work completely in the cloud (Office 365 and through any browser). Its focus is to help provide a bridge between O365 Planner and the current version of Microsoft Project / Project Online, sometimes called “Legacy Project.” At some point in the distant future, this product may overtake and fully replace the current version of Project Desktop (Professional) and Project Online, but not any time soon. This new, sleek, and easy to use version of Project isn’t as powerful as it’s predecessor— that’s the beauty of it! Many people struggle with the horsepower and vast capabilities that the current version of Project / Project Online has. This new version provides the best features, those that meet the needs of 80% of people today. Let’s take a look at this new version. Project Experience Reimagined When you purchase Project or enable your licensing, you will go to your Project Home Page when selecting this from the web. At this time, you are presented with the choice to start a new project. By default, this will launch Project for the Web with a clean, sleek, and new environment that works through your browser. Notice that you can immediately start typing a Project Name, you have just a few columns (eleven as of right now to be exact), and you can leverage three types of views. The views are: When adding resources, you don’t first build a resource pool. Instead, you draw from your contacts in exchange or Office 365. Behind the scenes, Project for the Web creates your security group (like we see in Teams and other Office 365 tools), and you can easily continue adding resources to tasks. Project for the Web also notifies you and your resources that you have joined a group/project. I like seeing this, as it also gives you options to view the group in Outlook and stay updated with any new task assignments. This will tie directly into MS To-Do (Outlook Tasks), keeping you abreast of any work assignments that you have, and even do it from your mobile devices. Using the Grid View The Grid view in Project for the Web functions as a spreadsheet layout view for you to quickly type, add, and modify information about your projects. You can also easily add more columns to this view, define what elements you’d like to see, and/or remove what’s not essential. Notice that the columns list (pre-defined) has different terms than the Legacy version of Project: These changes are pretty significant as barriers for people who are already working on or managing projects, but they’re expected to make life easier. Microsoft wants everyone to get in quickly and use this tool without the need for a deeper understanding of Earned Value or Process / Project Management lingo. I’m especially excited about this for non-profit or NGO organizations who are very informal, as they won’t have to learn the lingo or understand the traditional parts of a business (like finance, marketing, etc.)  to manage projects quickly. You can quickly move columns by dragging them or going in between the columns to resize them. Adding Tasks while in the grid view keeps you moving as you type, so you don’t have to move and grab a mouse. If you are already using your mouse, you can easily click add a new task at the bottom left. As seen above, you can just as easily manage the hierarchy by outlining your new tasks. Just copy, paste, or remove them by clicking on the ellipsis. At any time, you can also pull more people into your project without having to add them to a task manually. This allows you to have others collaborate on your project without assigning them work. You can, at any time, add them to tasks, but you can quickly add and remove your team members, as well as provide access to your project with just a few clicks. Using the Timeline (Formerly Gantt) If you prefer using a more visual approach, Project for the Web gives you a Timeline View, which was called Gantt Chart in Legacy Project. The timeline view allows you to easily edit and manage links or relationships between tasks, as well as copy and move work around. You can quickly zoom in or out, and you can see the range of duration for any task you hover over (the start and the finish dates are shown). Add resource or mark tasks complete, and quickly have the timeline jump to anywhere a task’s schedule dates are (scroll to task). If you want to see more detail, like effort, bucket information, and dependencies, simply click the ellipsis to view. You’ll see a pop up view of those items that were showing in the Grid view. What you may or may not notice is that you can add Notes (Text, Hyperlinks, and additional details at the top of the details view). It’s definitely a similar experience that we have seen (and end-users love) from O365 Planner. Using the Board View (Being Agile with Boards) If you like the simplicity of using Kanban, White Boards with Sticky Notes, or using AzureDev Ops or Jira cards for quickly moving tasks, work, and assignments around, then look no further. Project for the Web delivers a Board view just for that. You can group or change the view (just like you do in O365 Planner) to present the cards or tasks. Manage them dragging and dropping. In this next example, you can see I’ve set up some sprints and also a “Done Done” bucket (because you never know if something is done until it’s done done… 😊) Edit your dates, mark them complete by checking the little circle, and see the tasks moved to a completed section of your bucket. What I’ve found rather endearing is when you click the circle to mark a task complete, if you have your sound on, it makes a little chime (called a sonic indicator). Every time you get a task complete, it’s like an angel gets its wings! At some point, through the User Voice channel, I think we should lobby the Microsoft Project engineering team to create a score leader board for those who accomplish the most number of tasks (follow my Advisicon Power BI blog for more on this one). Simplicity in Design Project for the Web is designed for simplicity and ease of use. You don’t have to build a separate resource pool, setup complex security groups, or spend days learning how to configure enterprise templates and custom fields, views, and groupings. You just turn it on, start working, and begin adding resources and assignments. No need to save, publish, check-in, or check-out. This allows for multiple people to be working at the same time (refered to as co-authoring), which is standard with Office 365 now and an expected feature for web-based technologies. This re-designed Project experience is just what the end-user needs. Quick, efficient, simple, yet powerful enough to create dependencies and links, allowing work to move forward and backward in time as you progress your schedule. Leveraging Office 365 Security Groups There is much to be said around the topic of security, but I wanted to answer a few initial questions around how Project for the Web handles this apsect. Project for the Web is using Office 365 Groups to handle its security.  This is the same model that is now becoming standard in Office 365.  It’s robust, easy to manage, and aligns with the rigorous security standards set forth by governments, agencies, and other security organizations. What I also like is that if you are using both Project Online (Legacy Project) and Project for the Web (Modern Project), you can leverage tools like Roadmap (above), that come with project and actually have two different security models, but bring information together into a single view based on your permissions to see, share or show project information. Integrate Project for the Web with Teams and Power BI One of the key values of any software or technology is the ability to leverage Machine Learning and predictive analytics to improve performance. The best way for this is through reporting. Now, while you have many tools that can generate reports, Microsoft’s Power BI already has a report pack you can use for both Project/Project Online (Legacy Project) and now for the Modern Project experience with Project for the Web. Here is an example of the native Power BI report pack available for you to connect and use in reading from both the current Project Online AND the new Project for the Web. If you notice on the left-hand side, there are different tabs (these used to be on the bottom of the report window), so you have multiple types of reports as shown below, where it focuses on the Resource Assignments Report. Microsoft’s goal was to continue supporting the use of their new platform CDS (Common Data Service) enabling Project teams and customers to continue to get and surface visibility to work, tasks, issues, risks, and other related items from Project schedules, regardless of what version you were using. Microsoft is supporting multiple scenarios of Project since this out-of-the-box template is a starting place you can continue building and growing your information or fine-tuning this in the standard Office 365 tool set. How to Get Started What is fun about this is that Microsoft Project for the Web will continue to grow in capabilities and features over time. Feel free to reach out to me directly with questions, thoughts, or updates you’ve experienced with this new version of Project. I always love to help professionals find the right tool for the job! Watch my on-demand webinar, They Finally Did It! Microsoft Releases a Brand-New Version of Microsoft Project. I cover and demonstrate the updates mentioned in this article and more. The webinar is eligible for 1 PMI® PDU in the Technical category of the Talent Triangle.