Hello Social, goodbye Project! #msproject #yammer

Dear Microsoft Project Community, It’s with emotion and excitement that I’d like to announce a career change from the Project marketing team to the SharePoint marketing team as the Social product manager effective on December 10th. Looking back it’s been a fun 5 years on the Project marketing team and it’s hard to find words to summarize the amazing journey I’ve lived during that time… Some random stats: launched two product releases, a TFS connector, delivered over 80 sessions at various Microsoft events (TechEd, SharePoint Conference & Project Conference), released a dozen CodePlex solutions including the famous timesheet statusing code sample, wrote over 700 blog Project posts since December 2006 on various MSFT blogs, responded to countless emails/Forum posts/Twits, spent hours talking to customers and partners, compete, and more… Bottom line you have kept me busy, smiling, and most importantly I have learned something new every day from you all, so from the bottom of my Project heart THANK YOU/MERCI! You might be wondering why leave now with a historical Project Online release just around the corner and plenty more Project Portfolio Management (PPM) innovations from Microsoft in the future. The answer revolves around two factors: new challenge and timing. As you might have noticed I am fairly passionate and I felt I was ready for a new challenge & learnings in my career and like many things in life the timing was right to make this move now. Following SharePoint conference, Microsoft’s Yammer acquisition last summer and the general trend around Enterprise Social Networking (ESN) in the industry, I felt I had a very good new challenge in front of me that I had to take. Au revoir Project et Bonjour Social, Christophe, November 29th, 2012. PS: if you or know someone who knows their PPM and is interested in joining an awesome marketing team with a leading product and a landmark release please let me know ASAP, we are hiring.

Microsoft Project Online frequently asked questions #ProjectOnline #Office365

Following the recent worldwide Project Ignite tour my colleague Jan Kalis organized as well as presentations at events like SharePoint Conference 2012 last week, please find below a summary of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Microsoft Project Online I have been asked by customers and partners. Before I start please note that this is a journey and I’m sure you have plenty more questions and yes we will have plenty more answers and content to help you understand the value of Project Online and how it can bring value to your organization. Also please note that the 8 questions below are not sorted in any specific order, and yes if you have additional questions please leverage the Project Online forum on TechNet . Delivers full Project Portfolio Management (PPM) in the cloud Yes Microsoft Project Online delivers full project portfolio management capabilities in the Office 365 cloud. Project Online delivers all key scenarios/functionality expected from a PPM solution such as demand management , resource management, financial management, time management, collaboration & social, etc. As mentioned during the Ignite tour the product team only built and shipped one product called Project Server 2013 which gets delivered in different channels like online in Office 365 or on-premise like TechNet & MSDN subscribers. So yes there is full PPM functional feature parity in Online and on-premise whether you want to be firing on all 12 cylinders with a maturity level 3 or if you are just starting with a PPM system. We are also working on document that will be published on TechNet that describes some of the technical differences. Achieve on-premise to Online migration A very common request from many customers, how can I move to Project Online from my existing PPM system whether it’s an older version of Project Server or whether it’s from a online competitor? Again we will provide guidance, but at a high level you can either do it manually once depending on the amount of data, or you can automate the process using third party tools such as: FluentPro Cloud Migrator Pro ( Want to test-drive Project Online? How to migrate data from on-premises to Online? ); please also remember that you will also have to migrate the SharePoint content to SharePoint Online (plenty of tools available today to help you achieve this, BING them!). Connect Online to on-premise Line Of Business Apps Moving to Project Online does not isolate you from your mission critical on-premise line of business applications such as an ERP, CRM, ticketing, etc. SharePoint Online and Project Online provide a very rich extensibility model to help you connect the two world regardless of your needs. It could as simple as leveraging existing API such as OData or CSOM, or you could leverage Business Connectivity Services for instance. We are working on whitepaper that will get published early next year that will demonstrate the integration (how to push data from on-premise to Online and how to retrieve data on-premise from Online) and provide starting points to enable it. Track using ODATA and customize using CSOM In an Online world we cannot give you direct database access for obvious security reasons! and hence the protocol/mechanism to access all your beloved PPM data (yes including timephased data) is via the OData protocol. To build apps and do any custom code the API of choice is CSOM, please check the Project & SharePoint Software Development Kit (SDK) on MSDN to learn about each. Preview is for temporary use only (see Preview FAQ ) The preview has been available since July 16th 2012, when Steve Ballmer disclosed the new version of Microsoft Office (which Project desktop, Project Server and Project Online is part of!). The Preview is free but it’s for temporary use only until the commercial service is available, you read the Preview FAQ and navigate to the very end which says: “the Preview will expire approximately 60 days after the next version of Office becomes available in your market. As the date approaches, you will receive notifications in the Office applications alerting you to the pending expiration. Once the Preview has expired, the applications enter read-only mode, which means that you can view or print documents only, it isn’t possible to create new documents, edit, or save them. You must uninstall the Preview version of Office before installing a newer version of Office.” So yes, please kick the tires, try it out, check out some some of the cool new scenario and features (I love this one …: Microsoft Project Online on Xbox ) but please remember that at the end of the Preview all the data will be lost unless you save it locally. With that in mind and specially with a PPM system, a lot of learning and processes needs to be put in place before a production rollout, so treat this as a free proof of concepts environment! Office 365 is an evergreen service. Customers need to stay current What started with a Preview in our Office 365 worldwide data centers (aka a beta/pre-released version of Project Server 2013), and since the RTM announcement last month and the availability of the products on TechNet/MSDN/Volume Licensing/Trials, the online service has been updated with the RTM products during the past month. So yes it’s a Preview offer but with the latest version of the product! Yes we are still all learning and we are continuously updating the services until it’s ready for general availability (GA). So back to my point earlier, please try it out because it contains the latest fit and polish not to mention the latest bug fixes. In the end, one of the key value of online is that it will always have the latest and greatest version of Microsoft’s PPM, and that includes Exchange, Lync, SharePoint, Office, hence think of the “evergreen PPM”! Azure VM (IaaS) vs. Project Online (SaaS) Azure Virtual Machine (VM) which a preview was disclosed last May, is an upcoming offer from the Windows Azure team which will give you the ability to purchase CPU, memory, and storage in the cloud to run your application in a virtualized environment such as  SharePoint and Project Server for instance. As announced last may, SharePoint 2010 is supported on Azure VM (see SharePoint Deployment on Windows Azure Virtual Machines ), and yes Project Server 2010 will also be supported initially and later 2013 will be. The question one need to think about is whether to go with Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or other options such as software as a service (SaaS) or partner hosted or on-premise. Bottom line, Microsoft PPM is about choice and we will provide plenty of options to deploy and use it! Again we are working on a white paper and guidance on these options and how they can fulfill your needs today and tomorrow. Use the Project Online Forum and Wiki for Questions & Answers As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I’ve only covered a few question above and I’m sure you have a few more based on some the answers provided above and also based on other Project Online questions you might have so from this point forward I want you to start leveraging the following resources to get answers: Project Online forum , yes it’s monitored by Microsoft product experts, by Microsoft support personnel, by Microsoft Project MVPs and many others so don’t be shy, it’s free! Project Online Preview Wiki Portal , going forward our wiki will get richer and richer with key service information. Other valuable Microsoft Online resources : Steve Ballmer’s letter on October 9, 2012:  TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS, CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES Global Foundation Services (and their blog ) Office 365 Trust Center (check out the industry standards for instance) Service Updates for Office 365 for enterprises (check out monthly updates)

Project Server 2007: Issue installing the October 2012 Cumulative Update

The release of the Project Server 2007 Cumulative Update for October 2012 appears to have a problem with the digital signing of one of the files and the installation will fail.  This issue affects both the Project Server 2007 – Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp-x-none.msp; Pjsrvwfe-x-none.msp): October 30, 2012 – KB 2687536, and also the SharePoint Server roll-up package – SharePoint Server 2007 cumulative update server hotfix package (MOSS server-package): October 30, 2012 KB 2687533.  It also affects both the x86 and x64 versions.  This DOES NOT affect the individual SharePoint Server 2007 CU – KB 2760381, or the WSS 3.0 CU KB 2687535 – so if you need to update WSS or SharePoint Server then these packages can be used – but this will still leave Project Server un-patched. Thanks to Stéphane Deschênes of gp3 in Quebec City for bringing this to my attention. The problem file is the DATAEDIT.dll (assembly dataedit.dll.x64 or dataedit.dll.x86) and the message you will get will be “The installation of this package failed”: The KB in the title bar will be either the Project Server one here Hotfix for Office (KB2687536) – or Hotfix for Office (KB2687533) if you are trying to load the SharePoint Server roll-up. In the Application event log you will see two Error events, 11937 and 1023 both with a source of MsiInstaller.  The text will be: Log Name:      Application Source:        MsiInstaller Date:          11/14/2012 8:33:32 AM Event ID:      11937 Task Category: None Level:         Error Keywords:      Classic User:          DOMAINUser Computer:      Description: Product: Microsoft Office Project Server Application Server — Error 1937. An error occurred during the installation of assembly ‘DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL”‘. The signature or catalog could not be verified or is not valid. HRESULT: 0x80131045. assembly interface: IAssemblyCacheItem, function: Commit, component: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} Log Name:      Application Source:        MsiInstaller Date:          11/14/2012 8:33:34 AM Event ID:      1023 Task Category: None Level:         Error Keywords:      Classic User:          REDMONDbrismith Computer:      BriSmith2007.redmond.corp.microsoft.com Description: Product: Microsoft Office Project Server Application Server – Update ‘Hotfix for Office (KB2687533)’ could not be installed. Error code 1603. Additional information is available in the log file C:Users AppDataLocalTemppjsrvapp-x-none_MSPLOG.LOG. The log file mentioned in the second event will give more information – the key piece will be the following: …. MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Assembly Error:Strong name signature verification failed for assembly ‘%1’.  The assembly may have been tampered with, or it was delay signed but not fully signed with the correct private key. MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 1937 2: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} 3: 0x80131045 4: IAssemblyCacheItem 5: Commit 6: DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL” MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 2205 2:  3: Error MSI (s) (3C:88) [08:40:11:480]: Note: 1: 2228 2:  3: Error 4: SELECT `Message` FROM `Error` WHERE `Error` = 1937 Error 1937. An error occurred during the installation of assembly ‘DataEdit,fileVersion=”12.0.6668.5000″,version=”12.0.0.0000000″,culture=”neutral”,publicKeyToken=”71E9BCE111E9429C”,processorArchitecture=”MSIL”‘. The signature or catalog could not be verified or is not valid. HRESULT: 0x80131045. assembly interface: IAssemblyCacheItem, function: Commit, component: {AD9A0847-F41E-41F3-9B3C-CA9952D6D7E2} …. At this time I don’t have any details of when the packages will be rebuilt – I will update this posting as soon as I have more information.

Planning, Deploying and Managing Microsoft Project Server 2010 (£1800 + VAT)

When: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 9:30 AM – Friday, December 14, 2012 at 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 Technology Associates is one of the leading IT solutions companies specialising in Microsoft 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 in countries in EMEA, USA, and APAC.     Technology Associates have deployed hundreds of EPM solutions and deployed more than 2,000 Microsoft Project solutions. The company holds Microsoft Gold Competencies in Project & Portfolio Management, Application Integration and as an ISV, along with eight other silver competencies. With such a stong technical tour-de-force 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 IT solutions to our customer base in over 39 countries. Find out more at www.techassoc.com Follow us on Twitter – https://www.twitter.com /TechAssoc   Register for this event now at: https://talmanagingps2010101212-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

Project Server 2013 Requirements to build an OLAP Cube

There appears to be an error currently on our TechNet documentation at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee662106.aspx indicating that the version of the Analysis Management Objects required when building an OLAP cube from Project Server 2013 depends on the version of SQL Server you have running Analysis Services.  In fact it does not – and like previous versions of Project Server we actually require a specific version that our code talks to – regardless of which version it will actually be building the cube on.  For Project Server 2013 we require the ‘10.xx’ release so anything from RTM SQL Server 2008 Analysis Management Objects – version 10.0.1600.60 through to the SP2 of the SQL Server 2008 R2 10.50.4000.0 will work.  The only one that does not work in my testing is the SQL Server 2012 version. If you have the 2012 version, or if you haven’t loaded any Analysis Management Objects then you will see the following error when trying to build a cube.   [11/12/2012 10:17 AM] Failed to build the OLAP cubes. Error: The attempt to build the OLAP database on server BriSmithSQL failed, the SQL Server Analysis Services Analysis Management Objects (AMO) client software may not be installed on this server, please install/update the client on this server and retry. The underlying exception was: Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.AnalysisServices, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91’ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. The SLQ Server 2008 R2 SP2 version is the most recent and can be found in the feature pack at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30440 and you are looking for SQLSERVER2008_ASOLEDB10_amd64.msi (which is the x64 version).  Direct download link is here . I haven’t tried building a cube against a SQL Server 2008 instance – that may need to use the earlier SQL Server 2008 feature pack – most recent is SP2 if you find the R2 version above doesn’t work. For those still having a hard time finding where we have hidden the cube building option (I admit it – it took me a while…) can find it either by going to Central Administration, Manage Service Applications, Project Server Service Application (or whatever you have called yours) and then use the drop down for the specific PWA site you are interested in and click Manage which will take you to the following page – and OLAP Database Management is the link you need: Or Central Administration, General Application Settings, and click Manage under the PWA Settings header. If you go this root you may need to change the PWA site in the upper right hand corner. And if you are using the preview of Project Online (or you are reading this after the full release) and can’t find the link to OLAP cubes it is because that feature isn’t available in the online version.

Project and Project Server October 2012 Cumulative Update

Just posted at https://blogs.technet.com/b/projectadministration/archive/2012/11/05/microsoft-project-server-and-sharepoint-server-2007-and-2010-october-2012-cu-announcement.aspx Remember, if you didn’t load the 2010 August 2012 Cumulative Update (CU) that the October one will also require SP1 to be installed . Delays on the 2007 SharePoint and Project packages, and also the roll-up SharePoint/Project package for 2010.  No 2007 client CU this cycle.  So if you just need the individual Project Server 2010 October CU you are good to go!  I’ll post again once I have an idea on the targeted release for the others – early indication is a couple of weeks…

See you all at SharePoint Conference 2012 Next Week! #spc12 #msproject

Yes, I am really really really looking forward to see you all next week at SharePoint Conference 2012 in Las Vegas #SPC12! Why you may ask? Well it will be the first Microsoft public event where we will showcase the newly released ( The New Microsoft Project reaches RTM! ) version of Project Online, Project Server 2013, Project Professional 2013, SharePoint 2013, etc. With a new release there is a ton to learn and we have plenty of content for you; starting with a cannot miss pre-SPC free 1 day training on Sunday November 11th , announced by my colleague Jan Kalis on the partner blog: The Best of Project Ignite at SPC12 . Following this packed one day event we have 12 sessions to date on your favorite PPM products, delivered by product experts from Microsoft, MVPs and customers during SPC12: Microsoft Project Sessions at SharePoint Conference 2012 And yes we will have a Project booth staffed by product experts from Microsoft, MVPs and marketing (!) where you can ask all your questions and get some surprises… But wait there is more … SPC12 this year will also have ton of networking opportunities, community initiatives and last but not least, great activities at night to relax and have fun. I’m arriving in Las Vegas Saturday, November 10th and will return to sunny Seattle on Friday, November 16th and I look forward to meet all of you (please leverage MySPC Meetings feature to schedule one)! Trust me, you do not want to miss this historical event… REGISTER TODAY to The Best of the New Project Ignite and SharePoint Conference 2012!

Microsoft Project Server 2013 RTM Available for Download on MSDN

Following last week’s first wave release: Microsoft Project Professional 2013, and SharePoint 2013 are available for download on MSDN ,  Microsoft Project Server 2013 is now available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribes in your favorite language! Happy install… As a reminder there are plenty of Project 2013 resources available today: Product https://www.microsoft.com/project/en-us/preview/project-resources.aspx TechNet https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/projectserver/fp123546 MSDN https:// msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905469 Blog https://blogs.office.com/b/project/ Forums https:// social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/project