There is more to ensuring the success of a project than collecting actuals and checking for resource overallocations. Putting faces on the people assigned to the tasks in your project is often forgotten in the maze of software functionality. OK, tweeting, facebooking, blogging, and the rest may seem like unbillable downtime, even if the subject matter is work related. But workers and their executives are beginning to appreciate the extent to which non-work related social bantering improves morale, and thus productivity, just as much as feeling invested in a project does. Some might even see a dependency of the two on each other. Social networking tools also help uncover hidden knowledge that has difficulty surfacing through normal conversations and e-mail. And when the hidden knowledge is surfaced, it tends to stay surfaced and not disappear when team members move on. Tip

I am back among the productive now. I have taken a position with forProject Technology Inc . They have been doing some exciting things with addins to Project for things like reporting, Earned Value and data integration and are working on some pretty cool stuff for the future. They are also now doing Project Server deployment consulting as well which is where I will fit in. I am pretty happy because I will be working with Scott Daley from my old Microsoft Project Server team at MCS and with Colby Africa and Ken Inglis from my Pacific Edge days. I was never happier at Microsoft than when I was working for Scott and my fondest memories of Pacific Edge were sitting in Ken’s office with a huge whiteboard figuring out all the various issues around integrating an application with Project 2000. 🙂 I am going to be doing Project Server consulting as well as working with the forProject development team on their addin products. I can still be reached at brian.kennemer@live.com for personal stuff but if you need to talk to me about Project Server or about working with the cool applications that forProject has been famous for you can get me at brian.kennemer@forproject.com

I have a new email address. I can now be reached at brian.kennemer@projectified.com

There are a number of reasons why you might want to work offline from Project Server. One, you might want to work on a project while flying across the country (but don’t take your eyes off the instrument panel). Two, the network you are using goes down unexpectedly while you’re are in the middle of managing an important project. Three, you want to share a project in Project Server using e-mail. Let’s look at these more closely. Work on a project offline Step 1: Check out a project Start Project Professional 2010 and connect to Project Server. On the File tab, click Open . In the Open dialog box, click Retrieve the list of all projects from Project Server. The Open dialog box displays a list of projects in Project Server. Click the project you want to open, and then click Open After the file opens, set Project to work offline from the server. On the File tab, click Info . On the right, click Manage Accounts , and then click Work Offline . When you have finished working on the project offline, close Microsoft Project. Keep in mind, that when you open Project Professional again to continue working on the project offline, you need to select the server to which it was initially saved, and then click Work Offline in the Login dialog box.

As some of you may already know, I am no longer with Microsoft. So I will be blogging from here once again. I like TypePad better than the Telligent platform that Microsoft used anyway (so there!). 🙂   I hope to continue sharing information about how best to configure and use Project Server. I’m still a Project Server nerd. I will just be nerding for someone else now. Who that someone else is, is not yet known so if anyone wants to rent me and me for a while give me a shout at brian.kennemer@live.com and we can talk it out. 🙂

Reposting from Jan’s original post

Office.com has a great set of Help content to get you started using the version of Project Web App that comes with Project Server 2010. What’s new in Project Web App? If you’ve used Project Server before, this article provides an overview of what’s new in this version of Project Web App. Up to speed with Project Web App

The new Timeline in Project 2010 has become an very popular way to present Project information quickly and attractively. Problem is, you can get a little carried away putting all your tasks on the Timeline, and then have trouble selecting only a few tasks to copy into another program, like PowerPoint or Word. Here is what you can do to copy selected tasks on the Timeline for copying and pasting. 1

When: Monday, August 16, 2010 at 9:30 AM – Friday, August 20, 2010 at 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House Shottery Brook Office Park Timothy’s Bridge Road CV37 9NR Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom Hosted By: Technology Associates International Limited Technology Associates International Limited is one of the leading global project management consultancies specialising in Microsoft Office Project and Enterprise Project Management Solutions. Since 1990, Technology Associates have provided deployment, consultancy, development and training services to more than 500 organisations including some of the world’s leading companies, and we have an international presence throughout the world.   Technology Associates have deployed hundreds of EPM solutions and deployed more than 2,000 Microsoft Project solutions. With ten Microsoft Competencies under our belt, including ISV status, we have built a solid reputation for delivering high quality services and solutions, and providing exceptional value for money. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, with Offices in New York, San Francisco, India and Barcelona, and a strategic partner network covering AsiaPac, Middle East and ROW, we work internationally in delivering EPM and SharePoint solutions to our customer base in over 39 countries. Register for this event now at: https://taipdmprojserver2010160810-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Description The goal of this five-day instructor-led course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively plan, deploy and manage Microsoft Project Server 2010. Target Audience This course is intended for Administrators, Systems Engineers, PMO Managers, Project Managers, Consultants and other people responsible for the deployment and management of a Microsoft EPM Solution using Project Server 2010 in medium to very large computing environments that use the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 operating system. Typical environments in which they work have the following characteristics: Supported users ranging from 50 to 2,000+ Multiple physical locations Typical products and technologies include Windows Server 2008, Active Directory, Network Internet Information Services (IIS), Load Balancing, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Analysis Services, Failover Clustering, Microsoft Exchange 2007, Microsoft SharePoint Technologies, Microsoft Project Server 2010, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2010, Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, Office Web components, messaging and collaboration platforms, and network security products and technologies. Pre-requisites: Students should have a working knowledge of the following: Microsoft Windows Server 2003/2008 networking. Microsoft Office Project Professional. Basic project management concepts. Course Outline:        Module 1: Planning to Deploy Project Server 2010 Module 2: Installing and Configuring Prerequisites Module 3: Deploying SharePoint and Project Server 2010 Module 4: Configuring Project Server 2010 Module 5: Configuring Project Server Clients Module 6: Defining Project Server Settings Module 7: Managing Project Server Security Module 8: Managing Time and Task Management Settings Module 9: Customizing Project Workspaces Module 10: Administrating Project Server Tasks Module 11: Configuring Demand Management and Portfolio Analysis Module 12: Configuring Project Server Business Intelligence Module 13: Backing up and Restoring Project Server 2010 Module 14: Upgrading and Migrating to Project Server 2010

When: Monday, June 21, 2010 at 9:00 AM – Friday, June 25, 2010 at 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House Shottery Brook Office Park Timothy’s Bridge Road CV37 9NR Stratford Upon Avon United Kingdom Hosted By: Technology Associates International Ltd Technology Associates International ( www.techassoc.com ) is an Approved Training Organisation (ATO), accredited by the APM Group – the leading accreditation, certification and examination body – to deliver PRINCE2® courses.    As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we have over 18 years experience of delivering training solutions.   Our PRINCE2® trainers are skilled experts who take pride in guiding delegates through the PRINCE2® methodology and help them understand how the material applies to their specific personal and organisational circumstances. Register for this event now at: https://prtai21stjune2010th-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: The course provides a balance between a learning experience about structured project management and PRINCE2®, and maximising the delegates’ chances of passing the Practitioner exam.   On p assing the examination, a delegate becomes a Registered PRINCE2 ® Practitioner.   The course starts with a period of directed self-study commencing approximately 2 weeks before the classroom event.   This brings everyone up to a common standard of basic familiarity with the language and underlying principles of PRINCE2®, and ensures that the course gets off to a smooth start. Delegates should plan their time for this self-study to ensure that they gain maximum benefit from this essential element of the course.   A minimum of 10 hours should be scheduled if at all possible. The first three days in the classroom follow the lifecycle of a project, explaining the use and benefits of the PRINCE2® processes, themes and techniques, and how these can be adapted to suit a variety of project types and scenarios.   Approximately 30% of this time is spent on practical work and discussion using a “continuous” case study as a basis for exercises that help to reinforce delegate learning.   The following two days are dedicated to reinforcing what has been learnt and to preparing for the Practitioner examination that takes place on the last afternoon.   Full explanation is provided of the types of question used in the examination, together with guidance on how to answer them to best effect. Evening work is provided (approximately one-hour) to enable revision and practice of what has been learned each day. Terms & Conditions of Booking: Payment is due on booking.   Cancellations and Transfers More than 20 working days notice before course commences – £50 cancellation fee is payable From 0 to 20 working days inclusive before course commences – 100 % of the course fee is payable   VERY IMPORTANT: If you are unable to complete a course due to illness or any other reason, you will have to pay the full course fee to attend a future course. No refund will be offered for failing to attend any part of the whole course.   A full copy of our terms and conditions of sale is available on request.                 PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.