Collaborating with Team Members on Task Updates
by Teresa S. Stover, Bonnie Biafore, and Andreea Marinescu
Microsoft® Project 2010 Inside Out
- Microsoft® Project 2010 Inside Out
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
- A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
- Introduction
- I. Project Fundamentals
- 1. Introducing Microsoft Project 2010
- 2. Understanding Projects and Project Management
- II. Developing the Project Plan
- 3. Starting a New Project
- Getting from Idea to Proposal to Project
- Focusing the Project Vision
- Creating a New Project Plan
- Entering Tasks
- Sequencing and Organizing Tasks
- Organizing Tasks into an Outline
- Setting Up Your Work Breakdown Structure
- Adding Supplementary Information to Tasks
- 4. Viewing Project Information
- Understanding Project Information Categories
- Accessing Your Project Information
- Switching Between Views
- Using Views
- Scheduling with Gantt Charts
- Highlighting Tasks with the Timeline
- Flowcharting with Network Diagrams
- Visualizing the Project with the Calendar
- Reviewing Assignments with the Team Planner
- Charting Team Availability with the Resource Graph
- Tabling with Sheet Views
- Timesheeting with Usage Views
- Seeing Details with Forms
- Cross-Referencing with Combination Views
- Using Tables
- Using Fields
- Arranging Your Project 2010 Window
- Navigating to a Specific Location in a View
- Rearranging Your Project Information
- 5. Scheduling Tasks Manually or Automatically
- 6. Building Your Schedule
- 7. Setting Up Resources in the Project
- Understanding the Impact of Resources in the Plan
- Adding Resources to the Project
- Removing a Resource from the Project
- Identifying Tentative, Generic, or Budget Resources
- Setting When Resources Are Available for Work
- Adding Detailed Resource Information
- 8. Assigning Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Work Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Material Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Cost Resources to Tasks
- Reviewing Assignment Information
- Changing Resource Assignments
- Contouring Resource Assignments
- 9. Planning Resource and Task Costs
- 10. Checking and Adjusting the Project Plan
- Working with the Critical Path and Critical Tasks
- Controlling Schedule Changes with Task Types
- Bringing in the Project Finish Date
- Reducing Project Costs
- Balancing Resource Workloads
- Changing Project Scope
- Reviewing the Impact of Changes
- Obtaining Buyoff on the Project Plan
- 3. Starting a New Project
- III. Tracking Progress
- 11. Setting a Baseline and Updating Progress
- Saving Original Plan Information Using a Baseline
- Updating Task Progress
- Updating Actual Costs
- 12. Responding to Changes in Your Project
- 11. Setting a Baseline and Updating Progress
- IV. Reporting and Analyzing Project Information
- 13. Reporting Project Information
- Establishing Your Communications Plan
- Using Views to Report Project Information
- Generating Text and Visual Reports
- Generating the Right Reports
- Summarizing with Overview Reports
- Focusing on Tasks with Schedule Progress Reports
- Using the Unstarted Tasks Report
- Using the Tasks Starting Soon Report
- Using the Tasks In Progress Report
- Using the Completed Tasks Report
- Using the Should Have Started Tasks Report
- Using the Slipping Tasks Report
- Using the Baseline Report in Visio
- Using the Baseline Work Report in Excel
- Using the Task Status Report in Visio
- Using the Budget Work Report in Excel
- Analyzing Budget Status with Cost Reports
- Using the Cash Flow Report
- Using the Cash Flow Report in Excel
- Using the Cash Flow Report in Visio
- Using the Baseline Cost Report in Excel
- Using the Budget Report
- Using the Budget Cost Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Cost Summary Report in Excel
- Using the Overbudget Tasks Report
- Using the Overbudget Resources Report
- Using the Earned Value Report
- Using the Earned Value Over Time Report in Excel
- Evaluating Resource Allocation with Assignment Reports
- Using the Who Does What Report
- Using the Who Does What When Report
- Using the To-Do List
- Using the Overallocated Resources Report
- Using the Resource Availability Report in Visio
- Using the Resource Work Availability Report in Excel
- Using the Task Usage Report
- Using the Resource Usage Report
- Using the Resource Work Summary Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Remaining Work Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Status Report in Visio
- Revising a Built-In Report
- Building a Custom Report
- Saving Project Data Fields
- Sharing Project Reports Electronically
- 14. Analyzing Progress Using Earned Value
- 13. Reporting Project Information
- V. Managing Multiple Projects
- 15. Managing Master Projects and Resource Pools
- Structuring Master Projects with Subprojects
- Consolidating Project Information
- Opening Multiple Project Files as a Set
- Sharing Resources by Using a Resource Pool
- 16. Exchanging Information Between Project Plans
- 15. Managing Master Projects and Resource Pools
- VI. Integrating Project 2010 with Other Programs
- 17. Exchanging Information with Other Applications
- 18. Integrating Project 2010 with Excel
- 19. Integrating Project 2010 with Visio
- 20. Integrating Project 2010 with Outlook
- 21. Collaborating as a Team by Using SharePoint
- Creating a Project Tasks List on a SharePoint Site
- Exchanging Project Information with SharePoint
- Synchronizing Changes Between Project and SharePoint
- Opening and Viewing Connected Project Information
- Collaborating with Team Members on Task Updates
- Assigning Tasks to Team Members
- Updating Task Progress
- Updating Task Progress in SharePoint
- Updating Task Progress in Project
- VII. Managing Projects Across Your Enterprise
- 22. Understanding Enterprise Project Management
- 23. Administering Your Enterprise Project Management Solution
- Signing In and Out
- Configuring Project Server Security
- Administering the Enterprise Resource Pool
- Establishing the Enterprise Portfolio
- Setting Up Project Workflows
- Standardizing Enterprise Project Elements
- Setting Up Team Member Work Pages
- Managing Pages, Views, and Reports
- 24. Managing Enterprise Projects and Resources
- Connecting to Your Project Server
- Working with Enterprise Projects
- Following a Project Workflow
- Building Your Enterprise Project Team
- Finding Resources to Meet Your Needs
- Building Your Project Team in Project Professional
- Building Your Project Team in Project Web App
- Identifying Resource Attributes by Using Custom Enterprise Fields
- Using Generic Resources as Placeholders
- Adding a Team Assignment Pool to Your Project Resource List
- Finding Enterprise Resources That Meet Specific Criteria
- Review Resource Assignments and Availability
- Replacing an Existing Project Resource with an Enterprise Resource
- Matching an Existing Project Resource
- Matching and Replacing Generic Resources
- Proposing Tentative Resources
- Assigning Tasks to Enterprise Resources
- Finding Resources to Meet Your Needs
- Collaborating with Your Project Team
- 25. Participating on a Team Using Project Web App
- Getting Started with Project Web App
- Working with Your Assignments
- Submitting Text-Based Status Reports
- Logging Time by Using Timesheets
- Working with Issues and Risks
- Setting Up E-Mail Reminders and Outlook Tasks
- Managing Resources in Project Web App
- 26. Making Executive Decisions Using Project Web App
- 27. Managing and Analyzing Project Portfolios
- VIII. Customizing and Managing Project Files
- 28. Customizing Your View of Project Information
- Customizing Views
- Changing the Content of a View
- Creating a New View
- Saving a View
- Changing Text Formatting in Views
- Formatting a Gantt Chart View
- Modifying the Timescale
- Modifying a Network Diagram
- Modifying the Timeline
- Modifying the Team Planner
- Modifying the Resource Graph
- Modifying the Calendar
- Modifying a Sheet View
- Modifying a Usage View
- Customizing Tables
- Customizing Fields
- Working with Outline Codes
- Customizing Groups
- Customizing Filters
- Sharing Customized Elements Among Projects
- Customizing Views
- 29. Customizing the Project 2010 Interface
- 30. Automating Your Work with Macros
- 31. Standardizing Projects by Using Templates
- 32. Managing Project Files
- Saving Project Files
- Opening Project Files
- Saving and Opening with Different File Formats
- Comparing Project Plans Side by Side
- Safeguarding Your Project Files
- 28. Customizing Your View of Project Information
- IX. Appendixes
- D. Index to Troubleshooting Topics
- E. About the Authors
- Index
- About the Authors
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
The convenience of synchronizing project information between Project and SharePoint becomes evident when you assign tasks to team members and start tracking progress on those assigned tasks.
Before you start assigning tasks to team members, set up SharePoint and your project file with the names of all team members. Be sure that the names are in the same form in both places, as SharePoint doesn’t allow any resources to be assigned that are not members of the SharePoint group.
To ensure that you have the same resource names in SharePoint and your project file, it’s best to use one of the following techniques:
Set up all resources in SharePoint, and then copy and paste their names from a table in SharePoint into the Resource Sheet in Project 2010.
Assign resources only in SharePoint, at least at first. When the project tasks list is synchronized, the resources show up in the project plan, not only on the assigned tasks, but also in the Resource Sheet. They can then be used for future task assignments within Project.
Other Types of Resources
You might need to assign tasks to resources other than SharePoint team members. Examples can include the following types of resources:
Generic resources such as “Equipment Technician” or “Marketing Specialist”
Outside consultants or vendors
Equipment resources
Material resources for consumable supplies
Cost resources such as “Airfare” or “Printing”
For such resources, add their names to the SharePoint list to be sure their assignment can be recorded and tracked.
To assign a resource in SharePoint, follow these steps:
In your SharePoint project tasks list, click in the Assigned To cell for the task you want to assign to a team member.
Click the Browse button that appears when you click in the cell.
The Select People And Groups dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 21-10.
If necessary, type a name in the Find box, and then click the Search button. In the list, click the name of the resource you want to assign to the current task.
Instead of browsing in the Select People And Groups dialog box, you can type a resource name directly in the Assigned To box. However, you need to be careful that you use the proper form of the name so that SharePoint recognizes it. If SharePoint doesn’t recognize the name, you’ll see an error on the task, as shown in Figure 21-11.
To assign a resource in your project plan, follow these steps:
In your project plan, first be sure that the Resource Sheet reflects the resource names as they are entered in SharePoint.
Switch to the Gantt Chart or other task sheet.
Select the task to which you want to assign a resource.
On the Resource tab, in the Assignments group, click Assign Resources.
Click the resource name(s) you want to assign to the selected task, and then click Assign.
With the Assign Resources dialog box still open, select other tasks and continue to assign resources to them. (See Figure 21-12.)
When you are finished assigning tasks, click Close.
Whether you assign resources in SharePoint or Project, the next time you give the Sync command, the assignments are synchronized across the two locations.
Note
For more information about working with resources in Project 2010, see Chapter 8.
Although a custom solution could be designed, there is no formal mechanism for using SharePoint to request task updates from team members. However, team members can update their assigned tasks in SharePoint. When you synchronize the project tasks list with Project 2010, the updates can appear in the project plan. Likewise, if you include progress tracking in the project plan, this information can be included in the SharePoint project tasks list. For progress information to appear in both places when synchronized, be sure that the progress fields are mapped and showing in both places.
The default view for the project tasks list shows the % Complete and Task Status columns for entering task updates. To update progress in the SharePoint project tasks list using these fields, follow these steps:
In your SharePoint project tasks list, click in the % Complete cell for the task.
Press Tab to move to the Task Status cell.
Note that the Task Status cell does not change when you enter a percent complete.
Click the arrow in the Task Status cell, and then select one of the choices: In Progress, Completed, Deferred, Waiting On Someone Else.
To update progress in your project plan, first decide what kinds of progress information you want to use. You have many choices, from the very broad to the very detailed, as follows:
Percentage complete
Actual duration and remaining duration
Actual start and actual finish
Percentage work complete
Actual work complete and remaining work
Actual work complete by time period
Your update progress choice is not an all-or-nothing decision; you can use any combination of these methods that suit the purposes of your project, your team, and the individual tasks.
Note
For more information about progress tracking in Project 2010, see Updating Task Progress.
When you decide which types of progress tracking information you and your team want to use, you can map those fields to be sure there are corresponding pairs in Project and SharePoint that always synchronize with each other.
Note
For information about properly synchronizing fields between SharePoint and Project, see Mapping Fields Between Project and SharePoint.
When the fields are mapped, you can add columns as necessary and enter progress information. When you give the Sync command, progress entered in either SharePoint or Project is reflected in both locations.
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