Every two years, Project Learning runs an online survey to find out how and why people are using Microsoft Project.

This year we're making two important changes:

1. Once all personal identifiable data has been removed we're making the complete data set available to the Microsoft Project community once the survey is completed
2. We're inviting members of the Microsoft Project community to submit their own questions for inclusion into the survey

The survey will be launched in December, so we're looking for suitable questions now.

We're using Google Moderator to collect your questions and our short video with an audio commentary  below shows you how to add your own question.

To submit a question, you need a Google account such as a Gmail or GoogleMail account. While we understand that this may be inconvenient, it allows us to stop people spamming the system.  

Submit your questions now and vote on other suggested questions

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you may not have known that Microsoft has finally taken the wraps of its forthcoming Project 2010 release.  Announced at the recent Worldwide Project Conference in Phoenix Arizona, Project 2010 is probably the most hotly-awaited release of MS Project in a very long time.  

Chris Capossela, a senior VP at Microsoft is quoted as announcing: “Microsoft Project 2010 is the most significant release of Microsoft Project in over a decade.  The fresh, simple and intuitive features of Microsoft Project 2010 will enable teams and organizations of all sizes to select and deliver the right projects on time and on budget.”  Chris is well-qualified to state this, as he led the Project team at Microsoft several years ago.

Having been held under non-disclosure for the last few months, I can now share information and observations of what's on offer.  So what are the new features that will have experienced users beating their way to an upgrade path, or ones that will entice people away from Excel into using Project 2010 to plan their projects?

First (and probably foremost) is the 'Fluent User Interface', commonly known as the Ribbon Bar.  I've been using Office 2007 since its release and, although the ribbon took some getting used to, it does streamline heaps of day-to-day operations.  Having put the Tech Preview of Project 2010 through its paces, I can confirm that ribbon-based navigation is slicker than its menu-based predecessor; especially for really useful features that in previous versions would have been hard to find (especially for less-familiar users).

Secondly, a whole host of new options are available that allow much more user control over how tasks and resources are scheduled.  Some planning purists may see this as heresy, as critical path analysis is not always in charge.  My take on this is that if Project 2010 can get more people planning tasks and work, this must be a good thing.  What's more, planning resource utilisation (which in previous versions could be tricky to say the least) is now seen as a fundamental part of the planning process.  Another good thing.  As these users become more familiar with planning techniques, they will start to use the more traditional planning methods that the product still supports.  Plus, they will want to tell their friends about what they've accomplished.  Another big plus.

Thirdly, collaboration is now much easier.  For organisations that have invested in Project Server, getting information to and from a project team is now much more seamless.  Plus, the ability to edit a plan (and even plan simple projects) on the web is a big leap into getting organisations planning and managing more effectively.  For organisations not yet ready for Project Server, but wanting to have two-way communication between project owners and team members, SharePoint-based collaboration provides the ability to schedule work to those performing it and catch actuals and work estimates at source.

Finally, managing portfolio-wide obectives has also taken a big leap forward. With the 2007 release, Portfolio Server and Project Server were two distinct applications, necessitating migration of data between the two systems.  Now, with everything integrated, making decisions about which projects to invest in, or how many team members need hiring to make projects and programmes a reality will be a much more effective and rewarding process.

Rather than bore you with static screenshots, why not click on the link below.  Here are three demos from Microsoft that introduce the new features and explain how these new features will work:

http://www.microsoft.com/project/2010/en/us/default.aspx

For the official word on Project 2010, here's the Microsoft press release:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/sep09/09-16Project2010PR.mspx

For the thoughts of the Microsoft team that developed Project 2010, take a look at this YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3JGvaJqYBo&feature=related

Lastly, this video shows how users and partners are Project 2010 ready:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oDiZ94LlD4

I can add my voice to this.  We are.

Posted by: Andy Jessop

Don't Project Managers get a bad press as being rather studious, boring perhaps?  Here's a couple of links to prove that there is life beyond the Gantt chart and Earned Value graph.

Firstly, the mad German.  This chap, Bruna Kammerl is slipping and sliding down an alpine hillside as part of a Microsoft Project viral marketing campaign:

Secondly, a crazy Englishman called Geoff Reiss achieving the world speed record for Extreme Ironing:

 Geoff, by the way, is a Fellow of the Association of Project Management in the UK.  He's also an accomplished author, speaker and PM software designer.  Back in 1993 he introduced me to the world of Project Management and petrol (gasoline) heads.

Posted by: Andy Jessop

Did you know that some of our most downloaded tips and tricks postings are ones we made a few years ago?  Neither did we until we found this out from a recent check of website statistics.  Judging by the number of downloads we've received; these tips and tricks seem to be providing lots of people with valuable information.

All these tips come from Project Mentor, the smart way to learn Microsoft Project. Find out more, download an evaluation copy or see how cost effective it is.

Earned Value Analysis Overview
This document provides an introduction into how earned value calculations are made within Microsoft Project and how this valuable information can be interpreted.

Performing Critical Path Analysis
Very few Microsoft Project users understand how Microsoft Project calculates start and finish dates for a project schedule.  This document explains how these calculations are made and how to use the information provided.

Applying Earned Value Analysis
A detailed explanation showing how the Earned Value measurements generated by Microsoft Project can be used to determine the health and status of in-progress projects.

Displaying a Critical Path
This document shows you how you can get more from your Gantt chart view within Microsoft Project.  It explains how you can use Bar Styles and Task Drivers to get a fuller understanding of how your project's schedule is being driven and how to spot opportunities for speeding up or slowing down project tasks.

Changing Task Dependencies
Ever wondered how and why a project's schedule can change dramatically by altering task dependencies?  This document explains the changes that you can make to dependency relationships and how analyze their effect upon the scheduling of tasks and any free time they may possess.

If you want to see the complete list of postings, take a look at our newsletter archive page:

Posted by: Andy Jessop

Back in January, we explained about the UNICEF "Global Parent" initiative that we contribute to.  This initiative funds a project that aims to improve the day-to-day lives of thousands of people in Tanzania by providing ready access to that most precious commodity - water.

As with all projects, especially ones in the developing world; things don't always go exactly to plan.  We're delighted to report however that the project funding is fully in place and benefits from this project are now being realised.

To find out more about this project, and how lives are being transformed, follow this link:

http://www.unicef.org.nz/page/52/Tanzania.html

Due to the great response we've had from a Project Mentor user survey we conducted earlier this year, we've made even more contributions than planned to this very worthwhile cause.

Posted by: Andy Jessop

Over the last two blog posts, we published the first and second instalments in a series of high-impact Microsoft Project tips and tricks that we delivered in conjunction with Microsoft NZ earlier this year.  We've received really positive feedback as it appears that we cover many pain points that users experience in their day-to-day use of the tool.

As promised, we're now posting the third and final installment.  Following on from sets 1 and 2, this 3rd set of tips and tricks looks to close the loop; helping you to optimise, baseline, track and replan your projects and also get an understanding of how to manage programmes of projects that share common resource pools.

Download Part 3 as a PDF file

In these tips and tricks, we'll cover the following topics:

• Viewing, analysing and reporting (continued from part 2)

Notes for Project Mentor users

Within the handout, you'll see links to various Lessons and References.  Just lookup a lesson or reference for step-by-step instructions or detailed explanations about each of the tips and tricks listed.

Posted by: Andy Jessop