• Review Microsoft's EPM architecture (MS Project Server and WSS on the application tier, MS Project Professional and Project Web Access on the client tier, and SQL on the database tier) Work hard to understand all of the system components and be realistic about the hardware requirements before you start.

Get help. Seriously, even 30 minutes talking to someone who has installed Project Server dozens of times could save you a lot of frustration and time.

• Conduct interviews. Determine how your organization currently uses Microsoft Project and the skill levels of users. Perhaps review Microsoft's EIF (Enterprise Implementation Framework) questionnaire for EPM 2003 to guide some of your thinking around your organization's current abilities and skills.

   

• Use code structures for projects, tasks and resources. Coding structures provide the foundation for analysis across task, project and resource information. Consider the differences between codes and user defined fields and their effective use.
   

• Enforce standards across your project plans. Use the Enterprise Project Global template to provide views, filters, tables, etc., for all of your project managers who connect to Project Server.

• Enforce standards across your resource pool. If resource information is maintained in a different system, consider integrating MS Office Project Server with the respective system. Use code structures to define resource attributes and when using resource user defined fields, design it with a list selection, versus free form text entry.

• Determine Enterprise Project Template definition and use. Use Enterprise Project Templates to guide users in project creation and planning. Ensure generic resources are defined and assigned to tasks in the Enterprise Project template. Provide all information regarding static elements of your projects. When implemented properly, Enterprise Project Templates can enable a quick initial assessment of project schedule and budget, which then facilitates enhanced 'what-if' planning
   

• Create your enterprise resource pool. Resolve naming issues across project plans.

   

  Generic Resources. Generic resource skill sets should match human and/or material resource skill sets.

   

  Human Resources. Your ability to search and find individuals with the right attributes to perform work will depend on how you establish your resource code structures and your skill sets.

   

  Material Resources. If you are going to do real project costing, you will likely need to define material resources.

   

  Note: Do not use Cost type resources in Project 2007.

• Import historical data. Be careful to ensure consistency in the resources and tasks across the project plans being imported to enable immediate reporting across your portfolio of historical projects.
   

• Use the Portfolio Analyzer (2003) or Data Analysis (2007). This OLAP SQL service provides the core for much of your EPM reporting. Coding structures for projects and resources will determine the reporting effectiveness of the OLAP cube views. Evaluate your organizational reporting requirements and structure to help determine Portfolio Analyzer views that facilitate corporate initiatives
   

• Manage the administration and maintenance of project forms, resource skill sets, security, and other maintenance requirements. Consider the options in the role-based security model and outline the desired functionality. Don't accept the defaults; investigate the security access you are providing. Determine who will act as administrators and what areas they will administer, i.e. Resource Skill Sets.
   

• Archive Project Information. How will your firm archive and access project data. Use of the version functionality in MS Office Project Server, data warehousing, and backup/restore features are all vehicles to consider when determining archival methods for project information.

EPM does not provide any mechanism (even with the archive database in 2007 for archiving your projects).

• Implement across two servers (at a minimum). While MS Project Server and all components will run on one server, we strongly suggest a minimum of two servers for excellent performance even for prototype and small deployments. EPM is a three tier system, it wasn't made to run on one box.
   

• Establish alert notification vehicles, i.e. email, Project Web Views with graphical indicators, dashboards, etc. Provide alert notifications based on project and resource attributes, i.e. overallocation of resources, cost overruns, project slippage. Prove the tools to drill-down to analyze the details.
   

• Role-based training. Users must be trained or the system will not be effective. Role-based training is our recommended solution. We provide the level of training that ensures each "user" understands exactly what their "role" is in the Enterprise Project Management Environment. This includes process, procedure and "tool" training. Don't implement MS Project Server without having a valid and realistic training program defined and ready to go.
   

• Support (on-site, phone, remote administration) your users. Your users will need support. Count on it. Questions will come up. Our solution is on-site, phone, and remote support. You focus on your core business and we save you money by having a staff of experts available to help you when you need it.

Our EPM Support Information

• EPM Solutions & MS Project Server Solutions. Carefully evaluate all MS Project Server consulting services, enterprise project management specialists, products, and add-ins. Microsoft boasts of more than 1800 partners that provide EPM Solutions. Experts with the system would provide a very short list of individuals, companies that can support the claim of "MS Project Experts." Time and money spent initially finding the right support, solutions, and MS Project Server consulting will pay off handsomely during the final phases of deployment.

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   813.282.8246

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  813.282.8246

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  877.240.9777

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