Packaged solutions for every level of PPM maturity

Microsoft Project for the Web | Project Web

Project for the web, formerly known as Project service, is Microsoft's most recent offering for cloud-based work and project management. Project for the web provides simple, powerful work management capabilities and can be used by project managers and team members to plan and manage work of any size. “The new Project is designed to be both simple and powerful, so anyone can get started quickly and take control of any project right away.” View makes a difference Project offers a fresh new user experience in views. When you start at project home, you have a grid view, the idea is to come in build out these project schedules, include dependencies, update status and assign users tasks, etc. Apart from this, we have two different views, the Board and the Timeline views. The Board view gives you a card-based view of the tasks just like in Planner. If you follow an agile approach to project management, you should use a Board view. Next, we have is the Timeline view which displays as the name suggests tasks in a timeline; however, it does not just display the tasks it allows you to work with it. You can include dependencies with drag and drop connectors, extend timeline etc. The timeline view works best with the waterfall model. Choose what’s best suits you. Roadmaps Roadmap is a visually exciting way to combine information from multiple Waterfall and Agile projects and share it with co-workers. Best suited for portfolio directors who would love to visually and interactive way to view project status across a program or portfolio. Building roadmaps in Project is very simple with the intuitive UI, add rows, connect projects, choose tasks milestones, features or initiative and you are done. Collaboration within Teams Project is part of the Microsoft 365 family; it works cohesively with Microsoft Teams. You can add Project for the web in a Teams tab with its full fidelity, no need to switch between apps. To help teams stay on track, Project also offers an automated scheduling engine based on effort, duration, and resources. Save time, collaborate more no matter where you are. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/project-blog/announcing-project-roadmaps/ba-p/268466Insights are all we need The new Project provides greater insights across all the projects. You can create stunning interactive dashboards in Power BI to visualize every aspect of each project at a glance."The Microsoft Project is changing, and the future of Project is here."Connectivity makes things easy Everything on Microsoft Cloud is based on what we call as the Common Data Service (CDS) for Apps. This gives one secure common repository and one common source of all Microsoft data. Now Microsoft project for the web is included into the project component of CDS for apps. This means we can easily build custom apps that include information of Project, Power BI, Dynamics etc. The platform, or the group or the way we can include people will help work in a more connected basis. Project bridges the gap between Planner and Project Professional Up until the introduction of project for the web to the Microsoft project product family, we had basic work management addressed through Office 365 Planner. People could do simple task management but not a lot of things project management folks would do. To get into full project management, dependencies, schedule algorithms and other things they required a Project Professional subscription plan. With this new offering that is, Project for web, the occasional or accidental project manager or anybody who is not trained to be a project manager, can go in and do simple tasks, plan schedules and be able to use an intuitive interface that feeds into overall project and work management process. Project for the web gives the right tools in the right hands to get things done.In conclusion, Project for the web, formerly known as Project service, is Microsoft's most recent offering for cloud-based work and project management. Project provides straightforward, powerful work management capabilities that are simple yet powerful. It can be used by both team members and project managers alike for the management of work. Project may be limited for resource management, program or portfolio management; however, it offers the perfect “grow-up” tool for individuals and teams using Planner who find they need things like a grid view, dependencies, scheduling, and a timeline view.

Enterprise Resource Allocation with Microsoft Project Online

Resource management is crucial to ensure the allocation of resources to the right projects- projects that are aligned with your company's goals. Portfolio managers must balance capacity while keeping in mind business needs to prioritize, plan and schedule tasks for the right teams, people, and skillsets.With the advent of Microsoft Project Online, portfolio managers can now effectively manage work, cost, and material resources. Read on, as we tell you how Project Online resource management is packed with many exciting features.What Project Online Offers for Resource Management The powerful Microsoft Project Online helps portfolio managers to:Manage resource engagement requestsEffectively plan resource managementPlanning resource capacityBuild teams in line with the demand.Overview of Resource Engagement Requests Project Online gives the portfolio manager a bird’s eye view of a resource which allows them to make an informed decision whether to accept, reject or modify any resource engagement requests. All the resource requests submitted by your project managers will be displayed in the Resource Center section. Here you can view the request along with the fields like name of the resource, project name, percentage capacity, start and end date of engagement. If everything looks fine, you can click on the accept button, and the resource will be released back to the project manager. One of the best features of Project Online is you can swap generic resources for a specific one, and edit the fields related to the resource. You can also reject a resource engagement request so that the project manager can revise and submit it again. Thus, ensuring all the resources are utilized optimally. Manage the Vast Resource Pool When you have a vast resource pool managing them can be tough. Microsoft Project Online has an enterprise resource pool to streamline resource management individually or in bulk. You can easily add a resource to your project and assign multiple attributes such as the need of approval for assignments, base calendar, and start and end dates to it. If there are many resources, you can run an automatic import using an external data file. The file formats supported by Project Online are .mpp, and .mpt for project files.xlsx, .xlsb, and .xls for excel files; and ..txt, csv, and .xml Estimate Resource CapacityAnother crucial part of resource management is knowing a resource’s availability. This prevents over or underutilization of resources. By using Project Online, you can easily view the availability and allocation of a resource. All you have to do is select any resource in the resource center, click on ‘Capacity Planning.’ Then, under the view tab, select ‘Capacity and Engagement Heatmap.’ This gives you a quick visual of that resource’s availability and allocation. Project Online also gives color codes for quick understanding. For example, if a resource is optimally utilized between their engagement and overall capacity, then their hourly capacity will be highlighted in green. If they are underused then, it will be highlighted in blue, and if overused then the hourly capacity will be in red. If you need to drill down more into the under and over-utilized resources, then simply click on ‘Resource Assignments.’ This will give a detailed view of all the tasks associated with that resource, along with the dates and percentage of work done. These details can help you not only in resource forecasting, but also make informed decisions to reassign workload. Build Teams Building a team for a project is quick and simple with Project Online. Go to the ‘Quick Launch menu,’ select the project for which you need to build a team. Next, click on ‘Build Team,’ under Navigate. Once all the possible resources load as a list on the left side of the screen, select the resource you want and transfer it to the project team. You can also view a summary of the type, cost center, and earliest availability of each resource. Once you have created your team, click save and close and now your team is ready to assign tasks. Microsoft ecosystem advantage Another advantage of Microsoft Project online is its seamless integration with other Microsoft tools. Since Project Online is built on Microsoft 365 Groups, it can be easily integrated with collaboration and data visualization tools such as Teams and Power BI. Microsoft teams: Communicating with other resources is simplified through Project Online. If you need to talk to any resource, simply hover over a name and start instant messaging or a video call through Teams. Power BI: With the help of the Resource Center and Power BI content pack, you can create dashboards with several resource management-focused views. This will help you to assess demand vs capacity and view other insights without the need to perform any manual work. Microsoft Project Online is a powerful PPM solution for resource management. Bid goodbye to excel sheets and hours of manual work to sort out resources. With Project Online you can manage, plan and allocate resources with just a few clicks. Interested to know more about Project Online, then visit www.i2econsulting.com or write to us at solutions@i2econsulting.com

Project Online and Power BI- A Dynamic Duo for Making Reports That Matter

Is making reports taking up all your time? Or Are you still wondering the answers to questions such as ‘what is the project’s progress? Or ‘how much will this project cost the company after two years?’ then your business needs a digital makeover. Companies need applications that can quickly analyze huge data sets and come up with trends that can help in decision-making. This is where Project Online and Power BI come into play. In this blog, we will tell you about Microsoft Project Online and Power BI, and how they can become a game-changer for your business? These applications are powered by Microsoft, and i2e can help you with the implementation as well as migration of your existing projects. Are You Already Using Project Online? Along with being a magnificent project management application, Project Online is also a precious data source. Leverage it correctly and it can give a powerful start towards making meaningful reports. This is where Power BI can change the way you look at the data. But doesn’t Project Online come with a reporting module, then why should you integrate Power BI? This is a reasonable doubt, which many of our clients expressed. Read the next section to find out. Why Integrate Power BI to Project Online? Power BI is a reporting tool that can analyze data and convert it into meaningful metrics for the business. Yes, Project Online does generate reports, but if you need customized reports, along with actionable insights, and smart visuals, then Power BI is what you need. Using Power BI, companies can do more than just creating reports, they can dig deep into the data and use the Machine Learning algorithm to predict trends. The best part is you can easily integrate Power BI to Project Online and eliminate the hassle of exporting data and manually generating reports. Integrating Power BI to Project Online will boost your reporting capabilities and help in smart decision-making. Power BI’s Components Using Power Q&A, you can create visuals by just typing in questions. For example, ‘who owns more projects,’ or ‘how many projects are owned per owner.’ Power BI has a Power query option which can structure your data. Once the data is structured, the Data Management Gateway refreshes the data periodically and the new data will follow the same format, saving you time and effort. Power BI also comes with a Quick Insights feature which can churn your data and create subsets to give you valuable insights. For example, it can give you visuals of which project might cost more, or which project can fall out company’s goals in the future. There are other components such as the Power View and the Power Map, the former comes with an easy drag-and-drop interface, and the latter is a 3D geospatial data visualization tool. Both these tools help in creating superior reports. Along with creating impeccable reports, Power BI can accumulate data from various data sources, create visuals and share across global data centers. This helps companies to meet their compliance and regulatory needs. Power BI- The Game Changer Fetch data from various cloud services – helps you in making consolidated reports. Build smart dashboards- gives a holistic view of the business empowering teams to make informed decisions. Ask questions and get real-time answers- gives answers in the form of a graph or chart for quicker understanding. Scan hidden insights in seconds- never miss out any data or trend which can be helpful for the business. Secured live access from any device- easy to access through Power BI mobile apps. If you are looking for a way to make smarter reports, then it is time to adopt artificial intelligence tools that can pull data and allow you to visualize in your own way. If you need assistance in implementing Project Online and Power BI, give us a call. Our team of experts will understand your requirements and provide you with the right solution.