I am pleased to announced the release of two Microsoft Project Server 2010 reporting solutions on TechNet Gallery: Project Burn and Forecast Report and Project Spend Report . Both solutions can be deployed and tested with the Microsoft Project Server 2010 v2 Demo Virtual Machine . These reporting solutions leverages Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services and were created by Emmanuel Fadullon, a Principal Consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS). The User Guide for the Contoso Project Burn and Forecast Report demonstrates how to use the Project Burn and Forecast Report to estimate the projected spend rate (“Average Monthly Burn Rate”) based on the current spend plan, and it also allows you to forecast a spend plan based on a what-if spend rate in a budget-reduction scenario. The Contoso Project Spend Report User Guide walks you through using the Project Spend Report particularly the use of a key concept — a unifying Expense Code, to track Project Total Actual Cost.  The Total Actual Cost is then categorized into its component costs by project work alongside sustainment and common services activities maintained in associated projects in lieu of Administrative Time and Timesheet entries in order to facilitate cost categorization by Expense Code. Please note that these reporting solutions are not supported by Microsoft Premier Support and instead are meant to demonstrated the rich reporting capabilities of Project Server 2010. We recommend working with Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) Partners or MCS to modify these solutions to meet your specific reporting needs. PS: while on the reporting topic, I also recommend to check Alex Burton’s recent post: SQL Server 2012 & Project Server, Part 2– Business data visualisation with PowerView

Following yesterday’s announcement on the main Microsoft Project blog: Microsoft Project Conference 2012 Session Recordings Are Live! please find below the full list of sessions (by code, presenter’s company and title). I have also attached an Excel spreadsheet with this list to this post (navigate to the end). Grab you favorite beverage and snacks and enjoy the shows! PS: there are four outstanding recordings we are still in the process of publishing and I will update this list once they are live. PC200, AMD Corp,Detangling project demand, resource supply and capacity with Project Server PC201, AXTEL, X-treme EPMO:   Creating the Enterprise Project Management Office and Culture at AXTEL PC202, Exxaro, Exxaro Resource: Project 2010 Case Study in Mining Industry PC203, Kemira Oyj, Rapid Implementation of the Microsoft PPM solution and SAP-integration in a global Chemical company PC204, Marquette University, Project and Project Portfolio Management that Works PC205, Pioneer Hybred, Doing More with Less: Effective Capacity Planning and Reporting PC206, Shire, Microsoft Project replaces Primavera:   Why Shire made the switch and trusts Microsoft Project Server 2010 to manage $300M PC207, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPM@EPA: Accelerating Maturity in the Cloud PC208, Verizon Communications, How Verizon saved millions with Microsoft PPM: Turning data into useful information PC210, Project Step by Step, Care and Feeding of the Zealots: Why Project users are disproportionately invested in their product, and how you can help spread the love PC211, Applepark Ltd, Project Server REAL LIFE (not Second Life!) customer case studies PC212, Advisicon, Landing Strategy in 3 Steps PC213, BrightWork, The Phoenix Shoot Out – Which is the best solution for Project Management – Excel or SharePoint or Project Desktop or Project Server? PC214, FOXit (Pty) LTD, Extending PPM to more than project and portfolio management, operationalize your business PC215, Innovative-e, Deliver SharePoint Success: Key Steps to Reap The Business Benefits PC216, Novant Health, Portfolio Management – Just what the Doctor Ordered PC217, SharkPro Software, Microsoft PPM Total Cost and Benefit Workshop – Finding YOUR ROI PC218, SharkPro Software, Moving on Up!   Migrating from other PPM tools to Microsoft Project Server 2010 PC219, The Project Group, 10 “Golden Rules” to work with Microsoft Project! PC220, The Project Group, Leveraging Microsoft PPM for Capital Project Management within the Utility and Construction Industries PC221, Tribridge, Achieve Complete Project Cost Planning & Insight: Integrating Microsoft Project Server 2010 with financial systems like Dynamics AX PC222, UMT, Quickly Build Governance Workflows & Effectively Control Financials with UMT Project Essentials Pro   PC223, UMT, Gartner Perspectives – Going Beyond PPM – Effectively Manage Your Entire IT Portfolio Decisions with Project Server 2010 PC224, SBS Group, The Integration of ProjectManagement and Project Accounting with Dynamics SL PC226, Gartner, The Gartner perspective: PPM Industry Trends and Adoption Best Practices PC227, Microsoft, The 411 on Office 365 PC228, Microsoft, Cloud Bursting Techniques with SharePoint Online PC229, Microsoft, Microsoft Project 2010 Desktop Overview PC230, Microsoft, Microsoft Project Server 2010 Overview PC231, Microsoft, Tracking a Microsoft Project Release Using Project PC232, Microsoft, Microsoft Project 2010 Desktop Reporting Overview PC233, Jornata, Critical Success Factors for a Successful SharePoint Deployment PC234, Jornata, Managing and Finding Content in SharePoint 2010 PC235, LehnertCS, LLC, A Successful implementation with Microsoft Project Server is more than technical? PC236, msProjectExperts, Microsoft Project 2010 Mania PC237, Projectum, Manage your resources without Excel – yes it is possible! PC238, The Versatile Company, Modeling Traditional, Serial and SCRUM Techniques in Project 2010 PC239, Innovative-e, Leveraging Project 2010 with Office 365 for Project Management Success PC240, PlanFurther LLC, The painters, the policemen and the Pope… understanding task movement in   Microsoft Project 2010 PC241, PMP Specialists, Resource Management – Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together! PC242, PTC, Maximize Visibility & Accountability in New Product Development Portfolios PC300, Ameren, YOU CAN DO IT: How to Implement Project 2010 Server Yourself (with Little or NO Consulting $$) PC301, ARM, 8 Billion Reasons why ARM chose ProjectServer 2010 PC302, AT&T Business Services, Pearls and Pitfalls – Realizing Real Business Benefits with Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint PC303, Microsoft, Leverage the capabilities of SharePoint to light up Microsoft Project Server PC304, Ingersoll-Rand, Across Divisions, IT, Engineering and the World; a true Enterprise-wide PPM client case study with Ingersoll Rand PC305, WilmerHale, Critical Chain Project Management using Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Prochain: Implementing Project Portfolio Management PC307, Microsoft, Lessons learned implementing Enterprise Innovation Programs PC308, Bogdanov & Associates, Delivering Microsoft EPM Success: Essential Steps to Map People, Process and Tools PC309, Campana & Schott, 3 steps to cut the Gordian knot in resource management PC310, Campana & Schott, Deliver successful program results in matrix organizations PC311, Expit, Bridging Project Management and IT Service Management domains using Microsoft Project Professional 2010 PC312, msProjectExperts, Implementing PMI’s Practice Standard for Scheduling in Microsoft Project PC313, Pcubed, Project Scheduling Revisited: Performance Tuning Your Scheduling Practices PC314, Revlon, Practical TFS and Project Server integration in mid size enterprise PC315, Meijer, Journey from 2007 to 2010 PC316, Microsoft, Migration Best practices from Project Server previous versions PC317, Microsoft, Everything you want to know about designing and implementing Project Server Security Model PC318, Microsoft, Take Control of the Timesheet and Tasks Updates in your Project Server 2010 Environment PC319, Microsoft, Best Practices Troubleshooting Project 2010 Deployments – Part 1 PC320, Microsoft, Getting up to speed with Project2010 Extensibility PC321, Microsoft, Exploring Project Server Technical Content PC322, Advisicon, Integrating Data from External LOB Systems (SAP, ClickSoft, etc.) for Strategic Resource Planning & Forecasting PC323, PMO Logistics Inc., Everything You Wanted To Know About Administering Project Server 2010 But Were Afraid To Ask PC324, Corporate Project Solutions, Integrating SharePoint and Project Server 2010 – Deployment Approaches, Integration Options and making the most of the SharePoint Enterprise Features. PC325, FluentPro, Project Server 2010 configuration management, migration, merge and documenting PC327, Project Hosts, Going online with PPM — what you need to know PC328, Microsoft, Project Server and Dynamics AX – Completing the Lifecycle from Project Estimation to Revenue Recognition PC329, Microsoft, Take Your Project Reporting To The Next Level: Dashboards And Other Tools PC330, SOLVIN, Breaking the Boundaries of Time Tracking in Project Server: TrackTimesheet a seamlessly integrated extension for time reporting PC331, msProjectExperts, Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Using Project Server 2010 PC332, Nintex, Building advanced Project Server workflows with Nintex Workflow for Project Server PC333, ProjectPro Corporation, Critical Path 2.0 PC334, UMT, Turning Project Data into Real World Reports: An Overview of Business Intelligence Options PC335, UMT, Unleashing the Value of Earned Value: Applying Schedule and Cost Controls to Measure ProjectPerformance PC336, Advisicon, Making the Most of Project Professional When Managing Multiple Projects PC337, Agora Consulting Partners, Be Loved By Your Development Teams: Using the Team Foundation Server – Project Server Connector PC338, SharePoint911, SharePoint Governance isn’t just for Grandma PC339, EPM Architects, Managing Resource Supply and Demand with Microsoft Project Server 2010 PC341, QuantumPM, Plannin
g Innovation Adoption with IPM : Tips for a Successful Pilot PC342, Milestone Consulting Group, YJTJ (Your Job Tool’s Job)™ – Working in Concert with Microsoft Project PC343, Symnoian, LLC, Closing the Status Loop with Windows 8 Metro and Project Server’s Task Update Feature PC349, Microsoft, Best Practices Troubleshooting Project 2010 Deployments – Part 2 PC400, Allianz Life, Bean Counting in the Cloud: Merging hosted EPM and internal GL data to optimize financial reporting. PC401, Ubisoft, Tracking Historical Project Activity Data using the Microsoft Business Intelligence Suite PC402, DeltaBahn, Planning and Executing a Multi-Instance, Multi-Version Project Server Migration PC403, Milestone Consulting Group, Extending and Customizing the Project Server 2010 Timesheet to Drive Adoption and Achieve Business Results

In the February Cumulative Update for Project 2010 we fixed an issue described as: You create an .mpp file that was saved from a Project server by using the Save for Sharing command. When you try to resave the .mpp file back to the Project server in Project 2010, the save process fails, and you receive the following error message: Project Server was unable to find the specified resource. If the problem continues, contact your server administrator. This issue occurs when the list separator character that is contained in resource names within the .mpp file on the client differs from the list separator character on the server. We are now finding that in fixing this, we broke a couple of other things that you may be running into if you are using a list separator that is a semi-colon (;).  This is most likely in Europe or Canada, but I’m sure there are plenty of other places that could see this too.  The issues are all related and we are working on a fix for them all, but just wanted to share some workarounds in case you are hitting these.  The different scenarios I have seen so far are:   Using Task Information dialog to remove or add resource assignments to a task Using the Assign Resources dialog to add multiple resource assignments Using the Task Information Dialog to set predecessors or successor information So here are some examples of what can go wrong – and these examples need certain settings to be in place before you would ever see them, so don’t feel left out if you don’t experience any of these issues. This first example assumes you have the semi-colon as list separator and also this is used in your resource names as a separator between first and last names.  So you have a task that is already assigned to Smith; Brian and Jenkins; Adrian, and you want to add Fiessinger; Christophe.  So initially your Task Information dialog looks like this: Then you add Fiessinger; Christophe – and click OK – then you will see this: That doesn’t look quite right?  Opening up the Task Information dialog again I see: It has split each name in two, and created 6 new local resources – and assigned them.  A couple of things here – it will not lose actual work – any assignments that already have work will be OK – and will not get un-assigned – but the extra local resource will still get created.  Undo will also put things right.  The same thing can occur even if you are removing a resource using this same dialog.  If I removed Jenkins; Adrian, it would create Smith and  Brian as two local resources.  The workaround here is to use the Resource Names column in one of the views such as the Gantt view – and select/deselect from the drop down. The second issue is with the Assign Resources dialog (which is why it isn’t a good workaround for the first issues) and it has a couple of different scenarios depending on your use of the list separator in the resource names.  If you do have the separator – like the example above – then you cannot assign from the Assign Resources dialog – the Assign button is disabled – as I show here.   However, if I choose a resource with no list separator in the name the Assign button is active: The further issue with the Assign Resources comes when you make multiple selections that do not contain the list separator, such as the following: When I click Assign – I see an extra resource in my list, with a very cool name – “adrian jenkins;brian smith;christophe fiessinger” – and he/they has/have been assigned to the task. If I look at the resource sheet I can see “adrian jenkins;brian smith;christophe fiessinger” has been added as a new local resource.  The workaround here, assuming you do not have the list separator in the name, is to assign one at a time, or of course the Resource Name column in the Gantt view can be used as for the previous example. The last scenario is back to the Task Information dialog, but this time we are looking at the Predecessors tab.  Say we have 3 tasks, T1, T2, and, you guessed it, T3.  We open the Task Information dialog for T3, go to the Predecessors tab and enter either the IDs of the first two tasks, or select them in the drop down like this, then press OK, we get the following error message.  There is a problem with the predecessor information. The workaround for this one is to go to a view such as the Gantt view, and use the Predecessors column, and enter 1,2. For each of these you could also work around them by setting your list separator to not be the semi-colon – but I appreciate that might give you some issues elsewhere – as it is a global setting on your PC.  If you wish to try this you can go to Control Panel – Clock, Language and Region – Change the date, time or number format, then select Additional Settings then change the List Separator from a semi-colon to a comma, for example.  Sorry for any inconvenience this problem has caused you – and I will update this posting once I find out when a fix will be coming along – and potentially any other scenarios that I am made aware of where this bug rears its ugly head, and thanks to the customers that have quickly brought this to our attention.

Brian Ru just published a blog post over on the main Project blog announcing the release of all the recorded content from the Project Conference 2012 – on the Project Channel of Microsoft Showcase .  So if you didn’t get to Project Conference 2012 this is a great chance to catch up with all the great content.  For good support topics see PC319 and PC349 – as recently “leaked” on this very blog… Enjoy!

When: Monday, May 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 5:30 PM (GMT) Where: Central London Hosted By: Technology Associates 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 is proud to partner with RMC Project Management Inc . Technology Associates brings the highly acclaimed courses developed by Rita Mulcahy and her organisation to the UK. Courses are run using the same structure and RMC materials as used on the RMC courses in the USA and utilise experienced RMC PMP Exam Prep instructors so that delegates get the full benefit of these courses without having to travel to the USA! Register for this event now at: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/3565906723/rss Event Details: PMP® Exam Prep Course (2 days) This accelerated learning course is designed to help you prepare for the PMP ® Exam—and gain the most understanding   with the least amount of study. Developed by Rita Mulcahy, this course is designed to decrease your after-class study time from hundreds of hours to less than forty. We offer unique activities and exercises designed specifically to increase learning and knowledge retention—without rote memorization. The course materials include Rita Mulcahy’s entire PMP ® Exam Prep System (retail value $399). Please contact us if you would like information on in-company courses. Course Learning Objectives This course will also assist you in finding and documenting the gaps in your knowledge, so you can leave the class knowing exactly what you know, and exactly what you need to work on prior to sitting for the exam. By the end of this course you will: Have focused training on areas where students have the most difficulty with the current exam. Have the latest information from over 19 years of experience helping thousands of project managers pass the exam. Be ready to take the exam – this is a preparation and review course. Have learned “what you don’t know”. Develop a personalised study plan to help reduce your follow on study time to less than forty hours. Why Take This Course? Study Time Only 40 hours of study or less needed after this course. That is 70% less study than is usually necessary with other courses. Retention Students recently scored an incredible average 83.25% on a sample PMP ® exam after taking this course, before they even began studying. Passing level is 61% for the PMP ® exam. Materials and Extras A comprehensive education system. These materials include the best-selling book PMP ® Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, PM FASTrack ® Exam Simulation Software, and Hot Topics flashcards. Also included in this course are materials not available to the general public. Instruction This course uses accelerated learning techniques . Project managers who are also expert trainers teach our courses! We hear, “This was the best class I have EVER attended on ANY topic!” On completion of the course, you will be awarded 16 contact hours (16 PDU’s). Course Outline Overview of the exam: How to study and create a study plan Tricks for memorizing formulas Tricks to help you understand how the PMP ® questions are written Tricks for shortening your study time Tricks for taking the exam Tricks for finding holes in your project management knowledge Reasons people fail the exam and how to make sure you do not do the same Exercises to help you understand, memorize and conceptualize the information you need to know Understanding PMI ® -isms Detailed coverage of: The process of project management The framework of project management Integration management Scope management Time management Cost management Quality management Human resources management Communications management Risk management Procurement management Professional responsibilities Develop a personalised Study Plan Course Materials You will receive the following exceptional training products which were developed by Rita Mulcahy, p ublished by RMC Publications, Inc: ·          JumpStart ~ E-learning course (pre-course work up to four hours) ·          PMP ® Exam Prep Book ·          Hot Topics PMP® Exam Flashcards ·          PM FASTrack® PMP® Exam Simulation Software   Created with the assistance of a psychometrician (just like the actual exam) PM FASTrack ® is designed to simulate the actual exam in every detail. The program’s database of 1,500+ questions allows you to take exams by knowledge area, process group or keyword/concept.

Today we’re excited to share all session recordings from Project Conference 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona with the greater Project community. Over 1250 people from 44 countries  made the trip–75% for the very first time. The week featured 94 handpicked sessions with 20 delivered by customers eager to share their experiences. Many sessions were standing room only and from the evaluations, many only wished they could have attended more of them. Zach Heisinger, first time attendee, tells us he’s already looking forward to the next Project Conference. His only complaint? “I wish certain sessions could be offered more than once during the conference. That way I wouldn’t have to pick one great session over another great session.” So, we’re excited to share these recordings with all of you as it represents a collection of the best content out there from our customers, partners, and industry leaders. This year’s Conference focused on Project 2010 momentum and offered attendees both networking as well as training opportunities. We’ve said before, 2010 marks the biggest release in over a decade, but product innovation didn’t end with its release. You’ll find 87 recordings totaling over 100 hours of content . We suggest getting started by viewing both keynotes, first from Microsoft Office Division CVP Kirk Koenigsbauer and then from Microsoft Project GM Ludovic Hauduc . Then jump into some of the top rated sessions at the conference: Deliver SharePoint Success: Key Steps to Reap the Business Benefits Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Using Project Server 2010 The painters, the policemen and the Pope…understanding task movement in Microsoft Project 2010 Take Your Project Reporting To the Next Level: Dashboards and Other Tools YJTJ (Your Job Tool’s Job) ™ – Working in Concert with Microsoft Project Unleashing the Value of Earned Value: Applying Schedule and Cost Controls to Measure Project Performance Turning Project Data into Real World Reports: An Overview of Business Intelligence Options Leveraging Project 2010 with Office 365 for Project Management Success Be Loved By Your Development Teams: Using the Team Foundation Server – Project Server Connector Microsoft Project Conference 2012 – Microsoft Project 2010 Desktop Overview From all the social media buzz (2.5 million Twitter impressions) and excitement, the Project community looks to be growing stronger and stronger each day. None of this would have been possible without each of you and we’re thankful for the opportunity to have met many of you in person. A special thank you to those who were able to join us this year. Hope you enjoyed all the parties and the warm weather. We can’t wait for the next one! For those who couldn’t make the trip this year, we hope you find the sessions informative and enough of a reason the join us next time. Let us know what you think in the comments or via Facebook / Twitter . You can view all sessions on the Microsoft Project Showcase Channel

Work typically isn’t difficult to describe. We all do it, and sometimes wish we had less of it. In Microsoft Project, on the other hand, defining work can get a little tricky, especially when setting up the working calendar for the team in your project schedule. Usually, Project considers working time to be Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m ., with weekends off. So far so good, especially the part about the weekends. But you can change this to any time you want. If you want everyone to work Saturdays or all evenings, so be it. The following graphic will show you how to use the Change Working Time dialog box to change the project work calendar. In the example graphic below, Saturday is made into a four-hour working day with, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m . That’s it. And sorry about the weekend part.

I was recently asked about how to display a custom Gantt bar in one of the PWA Gantt chart views. At first I did not see a way to do it but then tested and verified that the Duration1 –Duration10 bar styles available in several of the bar sets in PWA can be used. I had some some reading on the Internet that implied that they were non-functional but I found that they draw using the StartX-FinishX date sets for tasks. So Duration1 is drawn from Start1-Finish1, Duration9 between Start9 and Finish9. Server Settings | Gantt Chart Formats: Then this project draws like this:

When: Monday, June 11, 2012 from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM (GMT) Where: Technology House 1 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 twelve Microsoft Competencies under our belt, and three at Gold level including PPM, ISV and Application Integration, 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://project201011062012-rss.eventbrite.com Event Details: Course Outline: The goal of this one-day instructor-led course is to provide students with the next stage in the education process. This day is a follow on from the 1 day Introductory course and together provides a complete course for users of Microsoft Project 2010. This day is also suitable for those people who may be already familiar with the basic features of Microsoft Project 2010 but who need a more in depth session on some of the features and useage of the application. Who Should Attend: This course is intended for Project Managers, Project Schedulers, Managers, Supervisors, Team Leads and other people responsible for managing projects. These individuals are involved in or responsible for scheduling, estimating, coordinating, controlling, budgeting and staffing of projects and supporting other users of Microsoft Project. Typical products and technologies that are used include Microsoft Project 2010, Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint Server. Note : Delegates booking both the first day and the second day together at the same time will be entitled to a discount on the cost of the two days. Once the first day is booked, please contact info@techassoc.com to obtain the discount code that can be applied to the second course to obtain your discount. Pre-requisites: Students should have a working knowledge of the following: • Basic project management concepts and terminology. • Basic Windows navigation skills. • Familiarity with the core features of Microsoft Project and/or attendance on the Intrductory course.   Objectives: After completing this course, students will : Understand the scheduling engine in more detail and how Microsoft Project performs calculations Understand how to initiate what-If Analysis and use Multiple Baselines Understand the use of groupings, especially in Task and Resource Usage views  Understand the uses, benefits and limittions of Resource pools    Be able to set up resources correctly and understand multiple cost rates Understand Project, Task and resource Calendars and their interaction be able to set up Project templates Use advanced tracking features of Microsoft Project Understand how to build contingency into project schedules Create effective reports Gain special tips and tricks of using Microsoft Project Understand how to interface to other applications like Excel Word, Sharepoint Present project information in the best possible way Understand how to print and generate effective output from Microsoft project plans    

Now that Project Conference 2012 is behind, I’ve just deployed he recently released April 2012 Cumulative Update (see this post from Brian Smith: Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 and 2010 April 2012 CU Announcement ). I’ve put below a few screenshots of the updated products versions. Don’t forget to attend the webcast tomorrow:  TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft Project and Project Server April 2012 Software Update Central Admin view: 14.0.6120.500 Winproj version: 14.0.6120.500 Reporting database version: 14.0.6119.500