The Project Network - MPUG › wp-content › uploads › documents › ProjectNetwork... · 2016-08-30 · Page 2 The Project Network Greetings, If you are reading this message,

2 From the President.

3 Eli Goldratt Live!

4 MPUG Meetings-Calendar.

5 Chapter Relations Director’sReport.

6 MPUG Meetings-Perspectives fromthe Chapters.

6 SE Louisiana Chapter Inaugural.

7 MSP 2000 & Project Central.

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Western New York Chapter Inaugural Scheduled forJanuary 24 Submitted by Ken Jamison

MPUG is pleased to announce the inauguration of the Western New York Chapter. Founded inSeptember 1999, the Chapter supports New York State from Buffalo to Albany. Located in Rochester, nearthe center of the old Erie Canal route (now the NYS Thruway), the WNY Chapter welcomes members froma cross section of industries, including Imaging, Information Technology, Chemicals, Utilities, Govern-ment, Construction, and Education.

The Western New York Chapter’s purpose is to increase the capability of its MS Project users by creatinga forum for discussion of ideas, problems, techniques and developments relative to the use of MicrosoftProject as a project management tool. The Chapter will operate in concert with the MPUG globalorganization, Microsoft, product vendors, consultants, and trainers to develop the skill level of its memberssuch that those members become effective users of the latest versions of MS Project.

Our primary focus will be the practical application of MS Project to solving the project managementneeds of our members. We intend to meet three or four times each year to serve these needs and will attemptto address the range of usage levels represented within our business communities. Each meeting willinclude a specific case study or solution presentation, as well as a general discussion that covers specificissues of the individual members. Chapter members will have access to meeting documents and sharedsolutions through the Chapter Web site.

Our inaugural meeting, planned for Monday January 24, will include an introduction of MPUG andour Chapter’s sponsors and officers, a presentation on extending MS Project by using the Web, and generaldiscussion and networking. We look forward to the start of this organization in Western New York andencourage all in our area to attend. To obtain more information or to register for the first meeting, pleasecontact the founders:

Earl Shepherd ([email protected] or call 716-671-3820)Scott Shoemaker ([email protected] or call 716-482-3730).

15 Add Your Logo to Project 98 Reports.

16 Ask Brian? MSP Questions andAnswers.

19 MPUG Application.

20 Just for Fun.

Join Dallas/Ft. Worth ChapterFebruary 3rd Inaugural

Submitted by Matt PiazzaFebruary 3rd marks the inaugural meeting of the

Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of MPUGlobal. All users ofMicrosoft Project and project management professionalsare invited to attend this exciting launch featuring apresentation and demo of Microsoft Project 2000. Theevent will be held at the Microsoft office, 5080 SpectrumDrive, Suite 115E in Addison, TX from 7-9 pm.Registration and refreshments begin at 6:30 pm. Pleasee-mail [email protected] to reserve your space.

Founded in November 1999, the DFW Chapter willsupport the growing quantity of Microsoft Project users inthe surrounding metroplex. The DFW Chapter intends tobe recognized as a reliable forum and opportunity forinformation sharing and networking among projectmanagement professionals using Microsoft Project.

“MPUG is an organization with an ‘open door’ policyto all professional practitioners and project managers,”says Matt Piazza, MPUG-DFW Chapter President. “Itsdesign is to learn about project management principles,practices and tools. We are not an extension of Microsoft.We are a professional organization that explores projectmanagement processes by way of the world’s leadingproject management tool, Microsoft Project.”

The Chapter’s primary goal is to create anenvironment in the DFW area for idea sharing, technicalreviews, problem solving, technical support andinterpersonal networking for project managers, programmanagers, Project Management Professionals andpractitioners who use Microsoft Project and relatedsoftware tools. The DFW Chapter will also provide anopportunity for sharing and examination of topics closelyrelated to the application of Microsoft Project including,but not limited to, Microsoft Project Best Practices,interface and add-on products, user modifications andalternate Microsoft Project templates.

Corporate sponsors include Microsoft (Dallas),Keane, Inc. and Sage U.S. Holdings, Inc.

To contact the DFW MPUG Chapter for membershipinformation or general announcements, [email protected]. We will also have information postedunder the “Chapter News” and “2000 Chapter Events”portion of the MPUGlobal Web site, www.mpug.org.

This issue is dedicated to the announcement ofMicrosoft® Project 2000 and Project Central:

The Newsletter of the Microsoft Project Users Group—Global Volume 4, Issue 1—2000

TTTTThe Prhe Prhe Prhe Prhe Project Netwoject Netwoject Netwoject Netwoject Networororororkkkkk

Program PlanningProfessionals, Inc.Co

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Page 2 The Project Network

Greetings,If you are reading this message, then

I guess the consequences of the two-digityear programming feature (aka, the Y2Kbug) were not as dire as some hadsuggested. Unless you are reading it inthe year 2011 while tossing handfuls ofthe never-delivered newsletter on thecampfire that is the only thing keepingyour small tribe of humans alive. Inwhich case, I would recommend StephenKing as a much more entertaining use of your time. It would probablyburn longer, too.

If, however, Microsoft Project, and not flint knives, remains one ofyour primary daily tools, I welcome you to the latest installment of thenewsletter, and to the new year. A number of positive developments andevents have occurred since the last letter. The number of chapters iscontinuing to grow. The Board is defining the organizational staffingneeds, and executing plans to address those needs. Also, MPUGparticipated in the COMDEX conference.

Addressing the last item first, MPUG participated in the COMDEXconference as part of the booth set up by our joint sponsors, Microsoftand Pcubed, in the Microsoft Partner Pavilion. This was anotherindication of the recognition that MPUG is receiving from both sponsorsas an integral part of their plans for the Microsoft Project tool. GailStopar, Communications Director, represented MPUG at the conference,and made the most of her connections with both sponsors to reinforcethe value of the organization. Kudos to Gail for the latest in hernever-ending efforts to maximize the benefits of MPUG to the members.

On the topic of organizational staffing needs, the board agreed to aproposal by Gail to acquire an MPUGlobal staff member to focus onmembership and data analysis. We hope to bring to the membershiparea the high quality of work that Christine Buonocore, the ChapterRelations Director, has done in solidifying the processes and standardsfor chapter formation and management. As a result, we expect to beable to translate the information the Board collects at the Chapter meet-ings and from new member surveys into specific action items that theBoard can address. I mentioned in my letter a year ago (my how timeflies) our affiliation with APCUG, an organization of computer usergroups, and their positive assessment of our use of technology to supportour organization. This action to strengthen our understanding ofmembership information should keep us in the vanguard of user groupsleveraging technology.

In additional staffing news, MPUG has a new IT Director. DavidMyers has taken over the reins from Doug Thiele. Mr. Myers is the headof IT at Pcubed, and has been responsible for numerous improvementsto the IT infrastructure for that organization. We welcome hisknowledge and skills in addressing MPUG’s IT needs. At the same time,we want to thank Doug for the many contributions he has made toMPUG during his tenure. He gave MPUG a Web presence when there

Microsoft Project Users Group—From the President

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Pat McMurtryMPUG President

was barely an organization, and put into place many of the things thatearned MPUG recognition as being advanced in the use of technology.He personally answered many of the MS Project technical questions thatmembers submitted, wrote numerous newsletter articles, and presentedat a number of regional meetings. Doug’s contributions wereconsiderable at a critical period of the organization’s development. Thankyou, Doug, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Lastly, but not least, the number of chapters continues to grow. Texasnow has two chapters where once there was only one. The smallerchapters should provide improved local support to the members in thoseareas. Chapters have also kicked off, or will soon, in Atlanta, New YorkCity, Southeast Louisiana, and Western New York. On top of that, 15additional chapter charter requests have been made. Kudos to Christine.

If you are in the area of one of the existing chapters, please supportit by attending meetings, sharing experiences and expertise inpresentations, and holding office. If you don’t have a chapter in yourarea, consider starting one. These chapters are a key source of thebenefits of being a member of MPUG.

Also, please feel free to contact the members of the Board. We needyour feedback and appreciate hearing from you. We want theorganization to meet your expectations.

Warmest regards,Pat McMurtry

MPUG President

Letters, Case Studies, or Wish List itemsintended for publication in future issues ofThe Project Network should be addessed to:Readers Insight, The Project Network3923 Ranchero Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Letters may also be faxed to: 734-741-1343or e-mailed to: [email protected]

Please limit letters to one page and include a name, address, anddaytime telephone number. Case Studies, of any length, are alwayswelcome, and Wish List memos will be incorporated into amembers’ list and discussed on the Web before publication. Entriesmay be edited for clarity and length. Due to the volume of letters wemay receive, we cannot guarantee a response.

The MPUG newsletter is a quarterly publication dedicated toinform, serve and entertain its membership. The informationpublished herein is believed to be reliable; however, the editor andother individuals associated with this periodical assume noresponsibility for inaccuracies or omissions. Publication ofadvertisements in this newsletter do not necessarily constitute anendorsement by MPUG. Signed columns are the opinion of itswriter(s), and not necessarily the opinion of the publishers.

Last Issue Mistake: The article, Taking the Mystery Out of MultipleProjects, was written by Ira Brown, not Irqa Brown. Sorry Ira!!

Volume 4, Issue 1, Winter 2000 Page 3

MPUG Meetings—Eli Goldratt Live!

Eli Goldratt Live! Tips & Quips from Top Expert By Christine Buonocore

On behalf of MPUGlobal, I had the privilege of attending a three-hourexecutive workshop featuring Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, world-renownedauthor of such breakthrough works as The Goal and Critical Chain.The International Institute of Learning, Inc. (IIL) hosted “Deciding on TOC:The holistic approach to business”—an introduction to Dr. Goldratt’slatest research.

Since The Goal’s publication in 1984, Dr. Goldratt has spent the last15 years developing the answer to the question: What does it entail to put not justproduction, but the entire organization on a process of ongoingimprovement? Dr. Goldratt’s core message: “The only prudent way tomanage a business is never to lose sight of the global picture.” Other keymessages included:• “Never look at a problem in isolation.”• “Core problem of operations: the erroneous assumption that a resource

standing idle is a major waste.”• “Core problem of organizations: the erroneous assumption that a local

impact is equal to the impact on the organization.”• “Core problem in managing people: when authority does not match the

responsibility given to an employee.”• And a surprise to many, “Marketing and sales are totally different!”

Although this represents only the tip of the iceberg, MPUGlobal is pleased toshare with its members such “common sense” and “unencumberedintuition” as Dr. Goldratt refers to his wise lessons. Much thanks to IIL forinviting MPUGlobal to be part of this remarkable learning opportunity. Formore information on Dr. Goldratt’s workshops during the year 2000, pleasecontact IIL at 1.800.385.4350. Visit Eli’s personal Web site at www.eligoldratt.com.

Holistic Approach to Business“The only prudent way to manage a business is never to

lose sight of the global picture.”

*************************Murphy exists!

Q: What is the chance of a piece of bread fallingbuttered-side down?

A: Directly proportional to the price of the carpet.

*************************Analogy for How Companies Try

to Solve Their Problems:Stranger: What are you doing?

Man: I’m looking for a dime that I lost.

Stranger: Did you lose it on this street?Man: No, I lost it one street over.

Stranger: Then why are you looking here?Man: Here, there is light.

—Quotes from Dr. Eli Goldratt at the IIL workshopin Troy, MI on December 13, 1999.

Edwards Industries provides comprehensive project management training and consulting services to the U.S.Government, Government agencies and commercial clients. Consultation and training provided in the following areas:

! Program/Project Management Support" Program/Project Planning

• Setting Up Project Work Packages• Earned Value Tracking Systems

" Program/Project Scheduling• Project Schedule Development• Schedule Updating, Review, and Analysis

" Program/Project Execution and Analysis• Action Item Tracking• Project Review Support• Earned Value Analysis Systems

! Program/Project Management Training Programs" Program/Project Management Processes

• Project Planning and Scope Management• Project Time and Cost Management• Project Communication and Risk Management

" Program/Project Scheduling• Planning and Scheduling for a Successful Project• MS Project 98, A Scheduling Tool to Successfully

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• Project Metrics and Earned Value Analysis Systems

For more information about how the project management professionals at Edwards Industries may be able to assist yourorganization, please contact us at.

Voice: (800) 556-2506 (Toll Free) #### (410) 313-9370 (Baltimore MD Area) #### Fax: (410) 313-8133Email: [email protected] #### Website: http://www.Edwards-Ind.com


MPUG Meetings—Calendar

Mark Your 2000 Calendars!!Refer to the MPUG Web site for directions and chapter meeting details. Be sure to contact

the MPUG office at (734) 741-0841 for your reservation, as these meetings are sure to fill! Ifyou don’t have access to the Web site, please feel free to call for more details.

Schedule of Events

• Jan 17 — New York City Formation Meeting.• Jan 19 — Mid-Atlantic (Vienna) Chapter Meeting.• Jan 20 — San Diego Formation Meeting.• Jan 24 — Western New York (Rochester) Inaugural Meeting.• Jan 27 — Rocky Mountain (Denver) Chapter Meeting.

• Feb 2 — Southeast Michigan (Southfield) Chapter Meeting.• Feb 3 — Dallas/Ft. Worth (Addison) Inaugural Meeting.• Feb 8 — New South Wales (Australia) Chapter Meeting.• Feb 17 — Houston Chapter Meeting.• Feb 17 — Chicago Formation Meeting.

• Mar 2 — Los Angeles-Metro (Santa Monica) Chapter Meeting.• Mar 16 — Southeast Louisiana (New Orleans) Inaugural Meeting.• Mar 21 — Atlanta Chapter Meeting.

• April 6 — Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter Meeting.• April 12 — Hong Kong Chapter Meeting (tentative).• April 24 — Western New York (Rochester) Chapter Meeting (tentative).

Atlanta LaunchThe Atlanta MPUG Chapter was launched on October

26th to an enthusiastic group at the office of localcorporate sponsor Microsoft. Sam Brooks (bottom), aMicrosoft regional director, delivered the keynote address“Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty”—humorous, butwise advice for what all project managers need to do tostay on-top of the latest technology. Dan Waters (top),

with Atlanta PMI, stressed the importance of forming an affiliation.Chapter President Eric Norman and the other four officers receivedaccolades from attendees. Look for an encore in March.

LA-Metro SuccessfulThe Los Angeles-Metro Chapter celebrated its inaugural

meeting on November 4th to nearly 40 users at the SantaMonica Microsoft office. Ara Kermanikian (right) of Microsoftdemonstrated tips and tricks in MS Project 98 includingimporting and exporting data, consolidating multiple projects,and using workgroup communications systems. John Cole and Dennis Lightbourne fromBusiness Engine also explained how to automate resource mangement. Congratulationsgo to Chapter organizer Beverly Barnett and her team for an excellent launch.

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Chapter Relations Director’s Report

Chapter News: 1999 In ReviewBy Christine Buonocore, MPUG Chapter Relations Director

Triple Growth Rate

Exponential chapter growth was the theme in 1999—yielding triplethe amount of MPUGlobal charters from a year ago. Launchesincluded: Atlanta, Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles Metro, New SouthWales-Australia, Rocky Mountain, and Southeast Michigan! And, thekick-off meetings of the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Southeast Louisiana, andWestern New York Chapters are in place for first quarter 2000.

What contributed to this surge in growth? Could it be the five millionusers of MS Project worldwide? Or, maybe it’s because the PM toolscategory has been growing at a rate of 25% per year, with MS Projectcapturing the lion’s share of the market? Certainly these stats set the stage;however, a strong foundation built by co-sponsors Microsoft and Pcubed,in combination with key initiatives launched in 1999, helped MPUGcapitalize on these market conditions.

Increased Sponsor Support

• Local Microsoft Leadership/Support: MPUG has enjoyed thesupport of Microsoft corporate from Day One. However, the focus thisyear was to foster the partnerships between MPUGlobal’s chapters andthe Microsoft district offices. The effort paid off, with local chaptersattracting substantial attention and support. Specifically, the Atlantaand DFW Chapters both enlisted their local MS offices as corporatesponsors of the local chapters and recruited MS staff to serve as officerson their local Boards. In addition, more than ten MS offices haveprovided facilities, catering and speakers for meetings, as well asmarketing in terms of direct mail invitations, Web and e-mailannouncements, newsletter articles, press lists and MPUG flyers atMS events.

• Co-sponsor Pcubed Funds New Position & Other Investments:This one hits a personal note—MPUG’s Chapter Relations Directorrole was born this past March. Pcubed not only funds the staffpositions for MPUGlobal, but also provides for operational supportincluding office space, materials and travel expenses. This year, Pcubedalso allotted an annual budget for each chapter to help offset the costof chapter meetings and expenses. Thanks to Pcubed for investing inthese vital improvements!

Other Key Initiatives• MPUG Goes Global: MPUG launched its first international chapters

this past summer in Hong Kong and Sydney. Our name changefollowed suit, evolving to MPUGlobal.

• Metro Chapters: Implementing the key lesson learned from memberfeedback drove growth. Specifically, three of the large regionalchapters re-chartered to form local metro chapters. The benefits weretwo-fold: 1) members gained stronger, more active chapters; and2) the opportunities for new chapters have been created.

• Tighter Charter Requirements: More was better in this case. Wewere a little nervous that stricter chartering requirements might

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impede growth—but we found the opposite to be true. In an effort toensure that chapters are viable and provide value to members, thechartering requirements were increased to include at least fourvolunteer officers along with one corporate sponsor, preferably more.In the early days, an individual could charter a chapter—butactually running the chapter solo proved too much work. Today, theDFW Chapter boasts eight volunteer officers and five corporate spon-sors! The level of chapter activity and member involvement corre-sponds directly. With MPUG’s track record this year, recruiting localsupport has been an easy sell.

What Can You Expect in 2000?

• NYC Metro Chapter: Expect MPUG to debut in the Big Apple.Contact chapter organizers Laura DiLaura ([email protected]) orValerie Palamountain ([email protected]) toget involved.

• San Diego Chapter: Hot on the heels of the LA Chapter, this 2nd

California chapter is now forming. Contact Chapter organizer TonyaBowers ([email protected]) to get involved.

• WDC Metro Chapter: Founders of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, TedMarcus and Eric Allen, are now re-chartering for a Washington, DCMetro Chapter. Taking their current achievements to new heights,the WDC Chapter will benefit from increased support from the localMicrosoft office and well as more volunteers and sponsors. To getinvolved, contact Ted ([email protected]) or Eric([email protected]).

• Chapter Media Kits: Targeted media lists and sample press releaseswith instructions on how to gain publicity for your chapter events arebeing created. Media kits will be e-mailed to chapter officers earlyJanuary. Take advantage of this new tool to increase membership,meeting attendance and publicity for your chapter’s activities.

• MPUG Speakers Bureau: MPUG is now working to develop anetwork of speakers nationwide who would be willing to present atchapter meetings. This enables chapters to expand programofferings by not having to rely solely on local expertise. Chapters maytap their annual budgets to cover the speakers’ travel expenses. Thelist will be compiled and disseminated to chapter officers duringfirst quarter.

Despite these initiatives, MPUG’s success into the new millenniumhinges on two things: 1) member involvement; and 2) local support.Members: I encourage you to attend the meetings, contribute ideas and tapyour MPUG network. It won’t work without you. Officers and sponsors:Thanks for the leadership, support, cooperation and countless hours. Ithas been a pleasure watching your accomplishments this past year.

A Free Launch?For those of you that now have a chapter in your backyard, make sure

you attend the meetings and bring a guest!

Continued on page 6


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MPUG Meetings—Perspectives from the Chapters

Don’t miss these inaugural launches:• Western New York Chapter —January 24• Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter—February 3• Southeast Louisiana Chapter—March 16

Check out “2000 Chapter Events” on the MPUG Web site(www.mpug.org) for more details or to register for any MPUG chapterevent. Meetings are free for members and first-time guests. Southeast Louisiana Chapter Inaugural

The Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the Microsoft Project UsersGroup (MPUG) is proud to announce its formation. The Chapter waschartered late summer and will hold meetings three to four times a year.The Chapter will focus its attentions on the needs of MS Project users inthe Southeast Louisiana area, ranging from the Baton Rouge vicinityeast to the Mississippi border, including the City of New Orleans.

The inaugural meeting of the Southeast Louisiana Chapter will beheld on March 16, 2000, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The agenda isshaping up nicely to include a demonstration of the brand new (yet to bereleased) MS Project 2000, as well as a presentation of what MPUGGlobal is all about by a member of the MPUG Global staff. We also willinclude time during each meeting, where attendees can share questionsand potential solutions about the use of the product.

Two companies sponsor the Chapter, both dedicated to helping projectplanners and schedulers: PMCC, Inc. (Project Management and CostConsultants) is a consulting firm based in Slidell, Louisiana, with aheavy presence in the oil and energy sector, along with providingtraining for potential Project Management Professionals (PMP), locallyand globally. PMM (Project Management Methodologies) is also aconsulting and training firm with heavy involvement in the aerospaceand IT sectors, providing training and consulting in projectmanagement processes, as well as Microsoft Project. Both sponsoringcompanies are driven to support methods that have good projectmanagement practices as a foundation, with a solid knowledge of thetools to do the job.

To that end, the Chapter’s focus and mission will be to provide aforum for users in the area to collect and share information, as wellas provide additional support. The meetings will focus on threemajor areas: 1) MS Project and its use, 2) Project Managementprocesses, and 3) High-end MS Project use: add-ons. Some of thepotential agenda items for the coming year’s meetings are: MS Project2000 demonstration, resource management, customizing MS Project tofit the organization’s needs, enterprise-wide management, creatingmacros, Microsoft Project add-ons, and project management processes.

We are very excited about this brand new opportunity to form aMicrosoft Project User Group. This will provide an opportunity for thiscommunity to share information about this very powerful and helpfulproject management tool. Come join us in March for a fun andeducational inaugural event. For more information, contact either LauraWilliams, PMP, President – Southeast Louisiana MPUG Chapter, at504-288-8150, [email protected], or Richard Marcotte, VicePresident-Southeast Louisiana MPUG Chapter, at 504-364-7959,[email protected]. By Laura Williams, Chapter President

PMI/MPUG Joint Meeting – Nov. 17As MPUG Hong Kong (HK) turns five-months old, we are happy to

see a healthy shape and steady growth established. Sharing similarinterests in promoting project management principles, project manage-ment as a profession, and knowledge exchange; MPUG HK and PMI HKreached consensus that more co-operation between the twoorganizations will benefit both groups of members. This is the first timeboth parties have partnered together, and it is anticipated to be on along-term basis.

The first joint meeting was successfully held on 17th of Nov. 1999 atMicrosoft’s office. The topic “Get the Best out of Your ProjectInvestment – Using Microsoft Project” presented by Program PlanningProfessionals, was targeted for project management oriented executives.It gave both PMI and MPUG organizers a delightful surprise whenregistration exceeded expectation and set a new record high—withpeople from top to middle level management planning to attend.

There is no doubt that the attention and recognition of professionalproject management is rising, especially when organizations startprojects faster than they finish them. Quality, speed, cost... all counts,andthat just puts project management as a discipline into the core cycle ofstrategic skills. MPUG HK is committed to not only demonstrate howMicrosoft Project can help execute your project, but also provide a broadpicture of the integration between projects and business.

MPUG HK is young and we are proud of being young. We are notonly good listeners to your needs, but more important, we are flexibleand willing to meet your needs.

Clala Cheng, President of MPUG HK Chapter

MPUG Speakers Bureau: Calling All Experts!Are you comfortable sharing your knowledge of MS Project with an

eager audience? Do you have a friend or colleague who doesn’t mindthe spotlight? We are now in the process of creating an MPUG SpeakersBureau—a listing of potential speakers who would be willing present atchapter meetings.

This list will be disseminated to all MPUG chapter officers. Based onthe topics requested by members, the officers will contact the relevantspeakers directly to check availability and make arrangements. Thechapters are funded to cover meeting costs, including speaker travelexpenses. If you prove to be an effective speaker, you may find yourselfjet-setting from LA to NY, with MPUG picking up the tab.

Member feedback heavily favors presentations that cover MS Projectcase studies; tips, tricks and traps; advanced features; building macros;

etc. rather than vendor products. The difficulty is finding people who arewilling to explain what they know about Project.

If you or someone you know is interested, please e-mail the speaker’scontact info and the topic(s) he/she would be willing to present [email protected] or call Christine Buonocore at 734.741.0841to discuss.


Feature Article—Announcing Microsoft Project 2000 and Project Central

This Issue’s Center Section isDedicated to the Announcement of

Microsoft Project 2000 and It’sCompanion, Project Central

In This Section: 7 Project Central adn Team Productivity.

8 Project 2000 Announcement from Steve Ballmer: COMDEX/Fall 99.

9 How to Get Your Beta Version of Project 2000.

10 Overview of Project 2000 New Features.

14 Project 2000 Technology Guarantee.

14 Project 2000 Reviews-—What Are Others saying?

The MPUGlobal Mission

To provide the installed user baseof Microsoft Project with a forumto exchange ideas, support, andexperience, to better understand andutilize all Microsoft® Project relatedproducts. MPUG is an independentusers group formed with the supportand recognition of Microsoft®. We will

actively seek out related organizations,both nationally and internation-

ally, and collaborate withthem to encourage the

appropriate exchangeof information toMPUG membership

for all levels of Microsoft Projectexperience.

Microsoft Project Central: Increased Team ProductivityMicrosoft Project Central, the new Web-based companion product for

Microsoft Project, significantly improves team productivity by including teammembers in the project management process without requiring them tobecome project management experts or endure lengthy learning curves. Bydelivering collaborative features on a Web-based platform, Microsoft ProjectCentral allows team members to easily participate in project planning andtracking, leading to more accurate and up-to-date project plans. For example,team members can identify missing tasks or suggest new tasks and easilysubmit them to the project manager for inclusion in the plan. They canprovide more accurate estimates for how long it will take to accomplish tasks,and they can reassign tasks better carried out by other members of their team.

By allowing team members to more actively participate in projectplanning, Microsoft Project Central increases the accuracy of informationavailable to the project manager. As a result, the project managercan ensure that tasks stay on schedule and are completed efficiently andwithin budget.

Microsoft Project Central also provides the project manager with betterreporting tools. For example, the project manager can request a status report,and Microsoft Project Central will take all the feedback team members submitand consolidate it into a single report, without the project manager having tocut and paste various responses. The project manager can also share projectinformation with company executives who want to follow the progress of projectswithout having to become project management experts. Using Microsoft ProjectCentral, executives can easily view the status of a single project or multipleprojects throughout the organization from a single view and provide feedbackon organizational plans.

“As companies increasingly depend on teamwork to achieve greatersuccess, it is essential that all people in an organization have access to criticalproject information,” said Kathleen Hebert, general manager of the OfficeFamily Division at Microsoft. “Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft ProjectCentral meet this need by making it possible for groups, as well as individuals,to track projects from beginning to end.”

Reprinted from http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1999/nov99/projectcentralPR.htm


Project 2000 Announcement from Steve Ballmer: COMDEX/Fall ‘99

Remarks by Steve BallmerCOMDEX/Fall ’99 -Project 2000 AnnouncementNovember 15, 1999Las Vegas, NV

MR. BALLMER: Well, it’s my pleasurehave a chance to chat with you today. Ihave to admit that that when the guyssuggested doing a product launch in themiddle of the booth at Comdex, I thought itwas purely insane. I actually now think it maybe crazier yet than that. (Laughter.)

What I’m going to try to do in the next 15minutes is give you a sense of the projectmanagement category and some of the newthings that we’ve got coming. And for me, it isa particular pleasure, because in some senses Iwould say project management is probablythe least well-understood category of software,at least that we participate in. Projectmanagement software is over a billion-dollarbusiness. Most people would be surprised tolearn that Microsoft Project is actually the fifthlargest-selling software product at Microsoft.It’s a substantive business for us, and I thinkthere’s a lot of important and interestingchange coming in the project managementcategory that I want to summarize for you.

The first thing that’s important tohighlight is, for many of us, that projectmanagement remains an unknown category.Project management has become kind of thepurview of the elite, the project managers whosit there and print out huge PERC charts andCAD charts and other kinds of charts that noneof us really understand and love in the sameway as the project managers. But even withthat fairly narrow focus, this is a business that’sbeen growing about 25 percent a year.

We think, though, that the bigopportunity, in addition to providing morecapability to the project manager, is to be ableto enlist more and more people into the projectmanagement process; to make projectmanagement accessible to mere mortals; togive mere mortals the tools that they need, theinput status about their project and to get backthe kind of simple, clean, status reports thatpeople will want on a given project. ○

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We have over 5million MicrosoftProject users aroundthe globe today, andfor that communityand all of the peoplethat they reach andtouch, but can’t reachand touch directly,I do think that thisis an important,important day.

We’ve done a lot of work over the lastseveral years to really integrate Microsoft Projectin the fabric of the rest of what we do in Officeand in Back Office to store project summaryinformation inside to SQL Server database, tomake sure that it’s easy to extract informationon a project scheduled for analysis in Excel orreporting in Access, but really, the next step isopening this up to a broader world.

There’s been a lot of work done to integrateMicrosoft Project in with the kinds of Webapplications people are building. The projectspeople are deploying, in IT the ERPapplications in which essentially much of theline of business data is stored; but we’ve got tounlock that and open that up for a broadercommunity of users.

If you track the history of Microsoft Project,and I think it reflects the project managementcategory, we started out very focused in on theneeds of the power users, much the wayspreadsheets and word processors did. WithProject 98, which shipped a couple of yearsago, we went through a transformation inwhich, at least in small ways, you could getinformation out of the project managementpackage and integrate it with the task list, theto-dos could get sent and mailed and notifiedby people through the email system. But still,it’s just a casual connection between what theproject management people do and the overallknowledge that most people need to get theirjob done.

Virtually every one of us is part of a project.Very few of us, though, ever interact with a projectmanagement system, and you could say, “Do Ineed to?” And the answer must certainly be“Yes!” — (laughter) — and it’s only theinterference from the gods that is getting in the

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way! (Laughter.)So the real question is, what can we do to

open that information up to people in a very,very reasonable way? This whole focus onknowledge workers — people who use theirbrains, people for whom information is thecritical resource that they use to do their jobseffectively, is a huge focus for us at Microsoft.We find most workers in most companiesthink that it’s too hard to find theinformation people need to do their jobs. It’svery hard to filter information so that peopleget the right information at the right time tomake a decision. And it’s also nighimpossible from time to time to easily sharethe information that people need on a project.And when you throw in the fact that peoplemore and more want to be able to do this onany device, including pocket-size devices, anytime, you get a whole new and important setof needs.

So if you take these key things in theproject management category and you say,what does it take to make it very easy in acertain sense to focus in on findinginformation, we’ve got to make it easy enoughto collect that information. How manyresources — how many people are availableto work on a project in a given department?How many people have already been applied?How much work is left to be done? Thatinformation must first be sourced in someoriginal way. Then you want to give peoplethe tools to analyze it: What are the costsreally going to be? Geez, this department isway behind schedule, what are we going todo to allow them to catch up? Is there a wayto fit that into the overall project schedule?How do we share the best practices from thesetwo departments? And how — perhaps mostimportantly — do we keep people informedabout project status, budget status?

And it’s this set of problems that we’rereally trying to attack with Project 2000 andthe newly introduced — the product we’reintroducing for the first time today, ProjectCentral, which is a companion product toMicrosoft Project 2000 that is for the rest of us.The project management elite may continueto use Project 2000, but Project Central will

Continued on page 9

Steve BallmerMicrosoft President and CEO


Project 2000 Announcement from Steve Ballmer: COMDEX/Fall ‘99, Continued

help the rest of us with these tasks.So Project 2000 then becomes a tool that

makes it easier to collect information withintegrated emails, a fundamental funnel intothe data collection project for Microsoft Project.We’ve taken some things that we knowpeople want to do and built very explicittemplates that will help people with a prescribedset of tasks build the project that they want inMicrosoft Project. We’ve made it easier toanalyze information inside Microsoft Projectdatabases using Access. We’ve improved theformula support in the product. And aswe’ve already done in Excel and PowerPoint,Word we have a variety of new tools forgrouping and outlining that let you collapseinformation and expand it so that you don’thave to weed through copious amounts ofinformation which simply aren’t interestingto you.

Many people don’t understand all of thechart types, which are important to the projectmanager. The new network diagram approachthat we put at the center of Project Centralmakes it so that most people will have a verygood, integrated view of their project with newgraphical indications and the ability to sharethat information out to people through thisnew Project Central offering.

Project Central itself, the product for therest of us, makes it easy to do the things we alldo: create and delegate tasks; have thatintegrated with the task list in MicrosoftOutlook; tracking actual reported hours andstatus; grouping; filtering; looking at task andproject data to find out where things are, andat least if I speak for myself, I like to be able totrack things that I delegate, and we give

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tracking functionality back to the average user.So today we’re announcing the

availability of the Beta release of Project 2000and the new Project Central. We’reannouncing a specific template that we knowwill interest anybody who sits in this theater,which is a project template designed to helppeople who are going to do Windows 2000deployment. And we’re announcing atechnology guarantee so that anybody whobuys Microsoft Project 98 between now andthe end of April next year will have anautomatic guarantee of an upgrade up toProject 2000. The final Project 2000 productwill be available by the end of the first quarterof next year, and really the star of the showtoday will be the product itself. I’ll invite ToddWarren and team to come back up and showyou Microsoft Project 2000.

I’m super excited. I will admit that I havenot been an active project management user.With the new Project Central extension, withthe work I think our team has done to reallymake project management more accessible,we’ll really take a step forward into giving allof us better visibility and some of the mostimportant information we need to do ourbusinesses. And certainly, I think, today we’llsort of mark as the day where — hopefullyyou’ll agree with us — we make projectmanagement better available for the rest of us.

(Applause.)

Reprinted from http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/exec/steve/11-15project2k.htm

©1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rightsreserved. Terms of Use.

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Continued from page 8

Project Management for Business ResultsThe beta versions of Microsoft Project 2000

and its companion product, Microsoft ProjectCentral, are now available on CD. TheMicrosoft Project 2000 Beta CD also containsthe Product Enhancements Guide, a templatefor Microsoft Windows® deployment projects,and the Enterprise Planning Workbook forWindows 2000.

Visit the Microsoft Project 2000 Beta CDpage (http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/Beta2000/default.htm) for more informationon how to register and order the Beta CD.

What’s on the MS Project 2000 Beta CD:• Microsoft Project 2000 Beta offers

collaboration functionality, flexibleanalysis, new viewing features, andimproved performance to provide a totalproject management solution that cangrow with your organization. We’ve alsomade it easier for managers who don’thave extensive project managementexperience to begin using MicrosoftProject 2000 without expensive trainingor coursework.

• Microsoft Project Central, the newWeb-based companion product forMicrosoft Project 2000, helps teammembers provide input in projectplanning and tracking, and providessenior management with an easy way tolook at the status of multiple projectsunderway in their organization—allwithout having to become projectmanagement experts. Be sure to check outthe Microsoft Project Central white paper.

• Product Enhancements Guideprovides a comprehensive overview ofthe new collaboration, analysis, andviewing features included in both MicrosoftProject and Microsoft Project Central. TheProduct Enhancements Guide is alsoavailable for download.

Reprinted from http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/Beta2000/default.htm


Overview of Microsoft Project 2000 New Features

Overview of New Features Taken from http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/Beta2000/peg.htm

Improve team productivity by involving team members and other stakeholders in project management

Microsoft Project Central will improve an organization’s productivity by involving everyone in project planning and tracking. Even team memberswithout Microsoft Project 2000 can view and interact with project information using Microsoft Internet Explorer browser software (version 4.x or later) ora browser module for Microsoft Project Central (a Win32® API-based application shipped with the product for those using other browsers).

Feature Description

Collaborative Planning With Microsoft Project Central

New Personal Gantt Chart This renders Gantt views like(See figure at right) those in Microsoft Project to

outline each team member’s owntasks across multiple projects.

New New Task Team members can create tasks;the project manager can approvethose new tasks before addingthem to the project plan.

New Task Delegation Once assigned by the projectmanger, tasks may be delegatedfrom leads to team members orfrom peer to peer. Delegation can be disabled.

New Show Microsoft Outlook® Tasks Team members can show entries from their task list in the Outlook messaging and collaboration client sothey can see all their project and nonproject tasks in a single location.

New View Nonworking Time Team members can report nonworking time to the project manager or can report nonproject time, such asvacation or sick leave.

Improved Workgroup Project managers can assign task responsibilities and track project status across workgroups to keep theproject on track. Users can use e-mail alone, or with Microsoft Project Central, they can exchange projectinformation at a Web site on their intranet or the Internet.

Collaborative Tracking With Microsoft Project Central

Improved Timesheet This is where team members(See figure at right) can see their assignments

across projects, enter updatesand easily send them tothe project manager.

Improved Actual Hours and % Complete Tracking Team members can track andreport actual hours spent oneach assigned task. Or, theycan simply estimate what %of the task is complete whenit’s difficult or unnecessaryto track the actual number ofhours spent on each task.

New Auto-Accept Rules Managers can reduce time spent in administrative activities by establishing rules to automatically acceptactual hours, percent complete or any information in a custom field.

New Status Reports Users can create custom report formats and request and receive team member status updates that MicrosoftProject Central automatically rolls into a group report.

New Administration Module This provides project administrators with more control over definitions of nonproject time, views, formattingstyles and security to ensure consistency in project-management approaches and organization structure.


Overview of Microsoft Project 2000 New Features, Continued


Easy Access to Project Information

New Views Senior executives, managers(See figure at right) and team members can access

different views of projects,such as View Your Portfolio,View Your Project andView Assignments.

New Offline Capabilities Team members can taketheir timesheets and statusreports offline and continueworking on them fromwherever they are.

Increase the usefulness of Microsoft Project data for users

Users can group, sort and filter their data based on the specific needs of their project to create exactly the views and reports they need.

Flexible Viewing

New Grouping Users can quickly categorize(See figure at right) and view rolled-up task and

resource information in anyway they need.

New Outline Codes Users can define their ownoutline codes instead of havingto tie them to the outlinestructure of their project.They can use their customoutline codes to create alternatehierarchical structures fortasks or resources (e.g.with outline codes based oncost or job codes).

New Graphical Indicators Users can associate graphical indicators with the data in a custom field, so a particular image can bedisplayed in place of the actual data to easily spot potential problems.

Improved Network Diagram Formerly the PERT Chart, this(See figure at right) view lets users customize

network diagrams with newfiltering and layout options,increased formatting featuresand enhanced box styles.

New Fiscal Year in Timescale Users can independently set theuse of the fiscal year for bothmajor and minor timescalesto display data in the specifictimescale combination they need.

Improved Rollup Gantt Users can display Gantt bars forall subtasks on a single tasksummary line. They can alsodisplay all Gantt bars rolled up for a summary task without having to select bars individually to roll them upto the summary task bar.

Continued on page 12




Flexible Analysis

Improved Task Outline Level It is now much easier to expand and collapse the task outline structure from the Show button on theFormatting toolbar.

New Task Calendars Task-specific calendars let users create schedules that affect only selected tasks.

New Materials Resources Users can specify consumable resources such as lumber or concrete and assign them to tasks.

New Deadline Dates Users can remind the team of deadlines and alert them visually if deadlines cannot be met.

Improved Cross-Project Critical Path Users can calculate the critical path within each inserted project or across all inserted projects to see a singlecritical path for the overall master project.

New Custom Fields: Value Lists Users can employ user-defined pick-lists to restrict the values that can be entered into a custom field andsimplify data entry with just a mouse click.

New Custom Fields: Formulas Users can add custom(See figure at right) formulas for arithmetic

calculations, conditionaltesting and functions to beapplied to custom field data.

New OLE DB With OLE DB (read only),other applications can accessMicrosoft Project data,making it much easier tointegrate project dataacross the enterprise.

New Estimated Durations Users can indicate that the duration of a given task is tentative by simply entering the duration followed by a“?” and return to the task at a later time to enter a confirmed duration.

New Month Duration Microsoft Project now supports months as a unit of duration.

New Contoured Resource Availability Users can create plans that incorporate time-phased resource availability information. For example, they canshow that a resource’s availability increases from 50 to 100 percent from one period of time to another.

Improved Leveling Users can gain better control and faster performance when leveling resources by taking advantage of newscheduling features such as Task Calendars, a wider range of priority values, project-level priority andcontoured resource availability.

Improved Task and Project Priority Now there are 1,000 unique priority levels for tasks. The ability to assign project priority levels is new inMicrosoft 2000.

Improved Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Users can format and number their WBS(See figure at right) to ensure consistency and meet their

project’s unique needs.

New Clear Baseline This clears the baseline or interim plandata for selected tasks or an entire project.

Easier Reporting

Improved Scaling and Printing Users can print documents moreefficiently and easily with new printingand scaling options and improvedbehavior of existing options.

Improved Copy Picture Users can create higher-quality images with larger allowable sizes and better scaling.Continued on page 13



Enhanced User Confidence

Improved HTML Help HTML Help is Microsoft’s new standard for help systems. It provides easier interaction with procedural helpand the application at the same time. Microsoft Project 2000 also allows users to add their own content to theexisting help system.

New Adaptive Menus Just as in Microsoft Office 2000, only the items that users use most often are prominently featured on themenu. Menus are easily expanded to reveal all commands and also expand automatically based onIntelliSense® technology rules.

Improved Tooltips More Tooltips now help users to discover features more easily.

New Templates Microsoft Project Templates(See figure at right) are easy to create and access.

New Variable Row Height Users can drag the row linebetween tasks to set individualrows to differing row heights.

New In-Cell Editing Users can view the context ofa task while editing it.

New Fill Handle Users can select the cells theywant to populate, and thefill-handle feature makes fillup or down operations much easier.

New AutoSave Microsoft Project can automatically save users’ work at a chosen time interval so they won’t lose valuable dataif their computer inadvertently shuts down.

New Office Server Extensions Support Users can save to Web servers just as they save to network locations. For workgroup users, this feature providesanother way to share Microsoft Project files globally.

New Single Document Interface Similar to Microsoft Office 2000 applications, Microsoft Project 2000 supports the Single Document Interface.Since each open project is an entry on the task bar, switching between individual projects is no different fromswitching between mail messages or Web pages.

Improved Project Open and Save The Open and Save dialog boxes have Microsoft Office 2000 look and functionality.

Improved Hyperlinks The new Microsoft Office 2000(See figure at right) Hyperlink dialog box is easier

to use with the option oflinking to frequentlybrowsed pages or frequentlyused files.

New Default Save Format and Path Users can specify a defaultsave format (such as MicrosoftProject 98) and default savepath to easily save project datawhere and how they want it.

New Accessibility Microsoft Project now supportsthird-party accessibility aidsthrough Microsoft Active Accessibility® programming interfaces.

project management across the organization

Microsoft Project 2000 has the tools users need to seamlessly manage projects across multiple teams, departments or organizations.


Continued on page 14



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Microsoft Project 2000 Technology Guarantee Taken from http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/Beta2000/guarantee.htm

If you acquire Microsoft Project 98 between November 1, 1999, andApril 30, 2000, you can upgrade Microsoft Project 98 to Microsoft Project2000 for the cost of shipping and handling (approximately $5.00US/$7.50 CAN), plus applicable tax. Your Technology Guaranteerequest must be received no later than May 31, 2000.

To take advantage of this special offer:1. Acquire Microsoft Project 98 between

November 1, 1999, and April 30, 2000. Makesure you retain your proof of purchase.

2. Download the Microsoft Project 2000 Technology Guaranteecoupon by clicking the file icon to the right, print it, and fillout the requested information. This document also providesfurther details about eligibility.

3. Mail in the completed coupon, your proof of purchase, andthe cost of shipping and handling and applicable sales tax(see the coupon for the amounts).

International CustomersIf you are outside of the United States or Canada, consult your local

Microsoft subsidiary to find out if a Microsoft Project 2000 TechnologyGuarantee program is available in your country.

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Microsoft Project 2000 ReviewsWhat are others saying about Project 2000? Visit the Web sites below.

Project Your Plans Online --http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/stories/firstlooks/0,6763,2394270,00.htmlPC Magazine: “By itself, Microsoft Project 2000 is a worthy upgrade; combined withProject Central it isn’t just an upgrade but a shift in approach to collaborative projectmanagement.” (15 Nov 99)

Microsoft Project 2000 Gets Your Team Working Together --http://www.pcworld.com/top400/article/0,1361,13940,00.htmlPC World Online: “[Microsoft] Project 2000’s improvements provide enormous powerfor managing projects from simple to complex—and at the same time, it doesn’tforget the occasional or novice user. If you can use Project Central, you’ll benefit froma whole new range of collaborative features. This version is a winner—plan onmaking the upgrade.” (19 Nov 99)

Microsoft Shows off Project 2000 Upgrade --http://www.seattletimes.com/news/technology/html98/proj_19991116.htmlSeattle Times: “Over the din of the computer industry’s noisiest convention floor,Microsoft introduced the latest version of its project-management software, Project2000. The product, though little known outside the businesses that use it, is Microsoft’sfifth-biggest revenue generator.” (16 Nov 99)

Microsoft Adds Teamwork to Projects --http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW19991115S0010InternetWeek: “Microsoft today announced beta availability of Project 2000,promising to turn large-scale project management into a collaborative process. Project2000, the upgrade of Project 98, features improved scalability, speed, and enhancedanalytic and reporting capabilities, the company said.” (15 Nov 99)


Improve Capacity and Performance

Improved Database Performance Database changes have been made to improve performance and access to data.

Improved Resource Pooling Using a resource pool over the network has substantially improved performance.

Improved Inserted Projects Users can create master projects with confidence that links to subprojects will be maintained if they move aproject.

Keep Users Up and Running

New Install on Demand Microsoft Project 2000 only installs the components users need — when they need them.

New Roaming User Support Enhanced portability gives users the ability to log on to any machine in a networked environment andmaintain their own personal settings and preferences.

New Windows Terminal Server Support Microsoft Project can run on Terminal Server.

New Pluggable Language User Interface A single executable worldwide makes deployment easy in multinational companies.

Improved Events Microsoft Project 2000 provides many new application-level events for task, resource and assignment actions.This makes it easier for project managers to control what happens and what users see when attemptingcertain operations.

New COM Add-ins Similar to Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Project 2000 supports COM Add-ins to extend Microsoft Projectfunctionality.

Improved Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) Microsoft Project Object Model continues to provide even more ways to customize.


Feature Article—Add Your Logo to Project 98 Reports

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Add Your Logo to Project 98’s Printouts for a Professional LookWhen submitting reports and schedules to clients

or reviewing them with the project team, you canenhance your presentation by adding your company’s

logo. Including a logo transforms your header, footer, or legend fromgeneric to customized. Project 98 generates reports and charts that arecritical documents for a project manager or a client; they should standout as your product. Adding your company’s logo will differentiate yourproject plans from your competitor’s.

Microsoft has expanded its available tools to make it easy tocustomize headers, footers, and chart legends. For our example, we’llinsert a logo in the header of a Gantt Chart. The steps we’ll show you aresimple. The result is another means to promote your company andincrease brand recognition.

In PreparationFor this example, you’ll need to have a logo available electronically.

Project 98 accepts any picture, including a scanned image, clip art, or animage that’s been downloaded from the Internet. It will be easier tomanipulate the header if your logo is adjusted to its final size.

You can use the techniques in this article to add your own logo. Ifyou don’t already have an electronic version of your logo, follow theinstructions and drawing in Table A to create a sample logo. We’ll use thissample logo in our example.

Insert Your Company LogoThe first step is to open a new or existing Project file. Using the View

bar, select Gantt Chart. If you’re using a new Project file, you’ll need toenter a task. Otherwise, if you try to preview the header, Project will tellyou that there’s nothing to preview. To follow the example, enter a taskcalled Setup for Logo and then press [Enter].

From the main menu, select View / Header And Footer... and clickthe Header tab in the Page Setup—Gantt Chart dialog box. To placethe logo on the right side of the header, click the Right tab and then, toplace the insertion point marker, click anywhere in the entry box.

Next, select the Insert Picture button ( ). From the InsertPicture dialog box, open the folder containing the logo you’re usingand click Insert.

Now you can add the information you need in the header usingthe buttons and drop down menu. The preview area on the PageSetup dialog box doesn’t show the actual spacing as it appears onthe page. Therefore, to check the header layout, select Print Preview....Once printed, the header will look like Figure A. To put your logoin the footer or legend, select the Footer or Legend tab in the PageSetup—Gantt Chart dialog box. Then, continue to follow theinstructions above.

Other PossibilitiesThe option to easily add pictures to headers, footers, and legends

provides users with other ways to spruce up Project’s printouts. Forinstance, you could add a digital image of a product prototype, acurrent version, or a concept drawing in the header. Or, the legendmight contain a picture of your project team, the corporate office, orother relevant images.

Customizing a headerwith your corporate logo addsa professional quality to yourprintouts that reflects wellupon your company.Combined with yourcompany name, a logo willpromote your companyrecognition on MicrosoftProject printouts.

Reprinted from the discontinuedZiff-Davis Journal, Inside Microsoft

Project, Volume 5, Number 5.

Table A: We’ll use the Paint program, available in Windows 95,

to create a simple logo.

• From the Start Menu, select Programs/Accessories/Paint.

• To size your logo, select Image/Attributes from the main menu. In

the Attributes dialog box, make sure the Inches option button is

selected, and type 0.85 in the Width text box and 0.75 in the

Height text box. When you’ve finished, click OK.

• Select the Rectangle tool ( ) from the Tool Box. When three

rectangle selections are displayed beneath the Tool Box, choose the

one in the middle.

• Place the insertion point marker in the upper-left corner of

the Paint window. Draw four small rectangles similar to

the logo that’s shown above.

• Select the Fill With Color tool ( ) from the Tool Box

and select the light gray box from the color palette at the

bottom of the screen. Then, click in the top-left rectangle.

Using the sample logo as a guide, select the colors for the

rest of the boxes until your logo is completed.

• From the main menu, choose File/Save and then type the

location where you wish to save your document. Name the

file Logo.

• Exit Paint.

Figure A.


Ask Brian?—Microsoft Project Questions and Answers

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Ask Brian?What is a good book or training coursefor Project?

One of the funny things about Projectand it’s place in the fast-growing useof Project Management in business now,

is that what makes it so attractive(ease of use/integration with Office) is one of thethings that contributes to it’s mis-use. It is somuch easier to use than many of its counterparts,and its interface is so very familiar, that people feelcomfortable just jumping in and using the product.It may not be immediately apparent, but this can bea double-edged sword.

Having a tool that is easy to use is great.Everyone likes a straightforward tool that acts theway you expect. Project does this for the most partpretty well but within a certain context. That contextis an understanding of basic project managementprinciples. Project has been so easy to use thatanyone could open it up and understand the verybasics of entering tasks, etc. Unfortunately, thevisual familiarity gets you only so far, and once thenew user gets past the basics without anunderstanding of project management, problemscan occur. Misunderstandings about termdefinitions, understanding about work vs. duration,and resource loading can all lead to a gap betweenwhat a user ‘expects’ and what Project does. Thisgap is where the trouble really starts. People getfrustrated, and when they get frustrated, theybecome unproductive.

What this all boils down to is, when I am askedabout user training for Project, I usually start byasking about how much the users know about thebasics of Project Management. If they have not hadsome coverage of those fundamentals, then Isuggest at least a two day primer on PM beforetaking any class about Project itself. I go so far asto say, if you can only afford one class for you oryour users, then it should be the class on ProjectManagement. Average users can teach themselvesthe basics of software, and with the use of a goodbook, start to delve into the advanced features withpretty good success. However, it is my opinion thatwithout some grounding in PM basics, the class onProject will be MUCH less effective in the long runand the misunderstandings will continue.

I saved my plan into an Access 97database, but when I open it, I do not see

the relationships between the tables.Did my save fail or am I missing something?

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This column will cover questions that haveappeared in the Microsoft Project SupportNewsgroup. It is being brought to The ProjectNetwork newsletter in an attempt to makeall users aware of the type of informationand support available through the MSPnetwork of users. The newsgroup is a placeon the Internet where people with questionsabout how to use Project can come and ‘post’their problems or issues and other people readthem and post answers or solutions. It is agreat interactive community working to helpeach other use Project better.

Brian Kennemer, the author of this column,has been and continues to be a wonderfulvolunteer contributor to MPUGlobal and toMicrosoft Project. Brian has been availablefor presentations in both the Mid-Atlantic andSoutheast Michigan Chapters for informativesessions on Microsoft Project 98 tips andtricks and has been available as a technicalsupport MPUG representative whenmembers have asked for help directly to us.

Brian is an MS Project MVP and ProgramManager for Pacific Edge Software.

Thank you Brian for all your continuedcontributions and all those to follow!!

The structure of the database that Projectcreates when you save it to Access or

SQL Server does not contain any “hard-coded”relationships. Project creates the required“relationships” between the tables by using joinswhen it queries that data. It uses the PrimaryKey information to ensure that the related datafrom each table is “joined” together in the query.If you need to do report generation from theProject database, you should take a look at thedatabase.wri file that is on the Project installationCD. It covers a great deal of database info that will bevery useful to you in your efforts.

It should be noted that you should NOTcreate any relationships between the tables inAccess or SQL server for your Project database.Doing so will adversely affect your database andcause some unexpected results in Project. Youshould structure your queries of the database toperform joins between the tables instead of relyingon relationships.

I have a macro that loops through allof the tasks in my project, but when I

have a blank line in my Gantt Chart, mymacro fails. I like having the blank lines forspacing, and even if I took them out, I cannotguarantee that other users will not add them again.Why does Project do this, and is there a way to fixthis with code?

This is a common issue with those new toVBA (macros) in Project. When there is a

blank row in the Gantt Chart, it still addsa member to the Tasks Collection, except every fieldfor that task is null. This means when you try to actupon that member of the collection (like setting ortesting a field value) Project returns an error.Fortunately, there is an easy way to test for theseblank rows. Just after your For…Next statement,add the following If…Then: If Not (oTask isNothing) Then... for example:

Sub TestingDim oTask as TaskFor each oTask in ActiveProject.Tasks If Not (oTask is Nothing) Then

‘Your Code Here!!! End ifNext oTaskEnd Sub

This condition will fire only if the task objectrepresented by oTask contains “something.” If itcontains “nothing,” then the code contained withinthe If…Then will not fire. Place your code withinthe If…Then, and you will not get the errorsassociated with blank rows.

In the economyof the future,

all work will be project work.

Tom Peters


THE CHARACTER OF A COMPANY

IS DEFINED BY THE QUALITIES

OF ITS PEOPLE.

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results that matter to our clients. If the challenge of

delivering results that make a significant difference

appeals to you, then perhaps you belong at Pinnacle.

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PPPPP I N N A C LI N N A C LI N N A C LI N N A C LI N N A C L EEEEE MMMMMAN A G E M E N TA N A G E M E N TA N A G E M E N TA N A G E M E N TA N A G E M E N TSSSSS Y S T E M SY S T E M SY S T E M SY S T E M SY S T E M S ,,,,, IIIII N CN CN CN CN C .....7998 Donegan DriveManassas, VirginiaUSA 20109-2870Telephone:+1.703.331.1323Facsimile:+1.703.369.9367Email:[email protected]:www.pinnaclemgmt.com

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development and companion products for Microsoft Project.

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! Integration of Microsoft Project with other systems, such as cost accounting and time tracking software.

! Automating and integrating your organization’s methodologies, documentation, and best practices with MicrosoftProject. Establishing a Project Office based on the use of Microsoft Project.

Need Project Assistance? Call Project Assistants!Give us a toll free call at:

(800) 642-9259or visit us at: www.projectassistants.com


A Little PM Humor For Your EnjoymentA lead hardware engineer, a lead software engineer, and their project manager are taking a walk outdoors during their lunch break, when they come upon an old brass

lamp. They pick it up and dust it off.Poof—out pops a genie!“Thank you for releasing me from my lamp-prison. I can grant you 3 wishes. Since there are three of you, I will grant one wish to each of you.”The hardware engineer thinks a moment and says, “I’d like to be sailing a yacht across the Pacific, racing before the wind, with an all-girl crew.”“It is done”, said the Genie, and poof—the hardware engineer disappears.The software engineer thinks a moment and says, “I’d like to be riding my Harley with a gang of beautiful women throughout the American Southwest.”“It is done”, said the Genie, and poof—the software engineer disappears.The project manager looks at where the other two had been standing and rubs his chin in thought. Then he tells the Genie, “I’d like those two back in the office after

lunch.”Contributed for your enjoyment from a fellow member, Rick Bullock

A Little Project Management Humor

Check the Web at

www.mpug.org

The Project Network Newsletter, Fall 1999Editor-in-Chief Gail StoparCopy Editor David Stopar

Microsoft Project Users Group—Global Board of DirectorsPresident Patrick McMurtryVice-President Jeanne DorleCommunications Director Gail StoparMarketing Director Jerry CusterWish List Administrator David MyersChapter Relations Director Christine Buonocore

Microsoft Project Users Group–Global OfficeTelephone: 734-741-0841Facsimile: 734-741-1343E-mail: [email protected]

Member of...

Advertising is open to any member of the MicrosoftProject Users Group—Global who is an authorized

Microsoft Project Consultant or Service Provider.Costing available on request. For further details of

how to advertise your services in The Project Networknewsletter, send a note to [email protected], or contactthe Editor, Gail Stopar, through the MPUG office.


Application to Join TheMicrosoft Project Users Group—Global

(Please print in the space provided.)

YES! Please enroll me/my company in the Microsoft Project Users Group for one year.

Name of Member/Company Contact: _____________________________________________________

Job Title: ___________________________ Nature/Type of Business: _________________________

Company Name & Address: ____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone Number: _______________________ Fax Number: ____________________________

E-Mail Address: _____________________________________________________________________

Self-employed? _______ How did you hear about us? ____________________________________

If known, which existing Chapter do you wish to be assigned to: ________________________________

I enclose a check* for (circle one) Individual, Student, or Corporate Membership as stated on this application.

Credit Card Information** Number: ______________________________ Exp Date: ________

Card Holder Name (if different than applicant): _________________________________________

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I received a letter of invitation and understand I will be billed for dues on the date indicated in the letter.

No thanks. I don’t wish to become a member at this time and prefer not to receive further communications from MPUG.

Mail or fax to:Microsoft Project Users Group, 3923 Ranchero Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48108Telephone: 734-741-0841 Facsimile: 734-741-1343

E-mail: [email protected]

Please answer the following questions to help us assess your needs more accurately:1. I use the following system(s): Mac Windows UNIX

Other (specify)_________________________________________________

2. What project management software do you use? MS Project Primavera

Other (specify) ______________________________________

3. What professional organizations do you currently belong to? ________________________________________________________________

4. What areas would you be willing to take part in to assist our organization? (Check all that apply) Writing Testing Speaking

Advertising Hosting Editing Sponsorship Consulting Other (specify) ____________________________________

5. Over the course of one year, will you specify, recommend, buy, or approve new software, consulting or contracting services? Yes No

6. If you answered Yes to question #5, estimate the following based on U.S. dollars:

Software: less than $5,000 $5,000 to $9,999 $10,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $149,999 $150,000 or more

People (number of resources): 1-5 6-10 11-20 more than 20

Categories of Membership

All membership dues are pro-rated for the yearof application. This places all renewals into acycle due in January of each year thereafter forthe yearly rate. Joining in Q4 allows membersto take advantage of the discount rates andprovides them with membership through thefollowing full year.

Individual - For a single named user of MicrosoftProject. Member will receive regularcopies of The Project Network and be ableto attend User Group meetings.Q1 (Jan-Mar) = $75 U.S. - yearly rateQ2 (Apr-Jun)= $60Q3 (Jul-Sep) = $40Q4 (Oct-Dec) = $90

Corporate - Corporate membership allows up toten named people from yourcompany to attend user meetings andthe receipt of that many copies of TheProject Network.Q1 (Jan-Mar) = $295 U.S. - yearly rateQ2 (Apr-Jun)= $240Q3 (Jul-Sep) = $165Q4 (Oct-Dec) = $365

For corporations with more than 170potential MPUG members, please call us for aspecial offer.

Student - Student membership is for a singlenamed individual who is currently afull-time student at an accreditedinstitution. Proof of current enrollmentmust be provided at time ofapplication.Q1-Q3 (Jan-Sep) = $35 U.S. - yearly rateQ4 (Oct-Dec) = $40

Note - All memberships will benefit fromfuture newsletter publications, tri-annualprofessional meetings, and a viable andinformative Web site.

Payment mustaccompany applications!

Signed: ___________________________________________ Date: ________________

If choosing Corporate Membership, please attach a listing of all members, their job titles,phone numbers, and e-mails.

*Make checks payable to “Microsoft ProjectUsers Group” or “MPUG”

**Payment by credit card (VISA, MasterCardor American Express) can be done by faxing or

phoning details to the MPUG office.


The Newsletter of the Microsoft Project Users Group—Global

The Project NetworkJust for Fun! “Oh Deer!”

This piece is reprinted from the Huron Towers,December 1999 Newsletter and Metroflow of Green Bay, WI. Be

sure to check your answers against those on the Web sitewww.mpug.org in “Members Only, Check it Out.”

‘Twas the night before Christmas and at the North Pole,the last-minute planning was taking its toll.

As Santa was lastly making a schemefor the placement of deer in his sleigh-pulling team,

the good Mrs. Claus was crocheting bright bowsto be worn by these reindeer—four bucks and four does.

The bows were colored in eight festive hues:ocher, rose, cerise, chartreuse, maroon, magenta, white, & blue.

These helped Santa keep track of who’s who.The deer pulled the toy-laden sleigh in four rows,

arranged so no row held two bucks or two does.The order of pullers was changed year by year,

for Santa was thoroughly fair with his deer.He summoned the elves and instructed them thus:

“Let’s hitch up the reindeer with minimum fuss.”The bow on the buck behind Dasher is white,

while Blitzen, a doe, sees cerise to her right.The blue bow is nearer the sleigh than is Dancer,

but nearer the front of my team than is Prancer.The doe in chartreuse gets a front-of-team honor,

but not on the same side as Cupid or Donner in blue.Now, Comet stands two spots ahead of the rose.

And three deer of four on the right side are does.The cerise bow is worn two in back of maroon,

one of which is beside the bright ocher festoon.Vixen is girlish and behind Dancer.Oh, Cupid in white is in front of a buck by the way.

That’s how they line up for pulling the sleigh.

Can You Figure...Can you figure out where each deer fits in? Who’s a buck? Who’s a doe? Who’s Comet? Who’s Cupid?Where are Donner and Blitzen? Who’s Dancer? Who’s Dancer? Where are Vixen and Prancer? Withlogical thought, you’ll determine the answer and write down the color and place for each deer.

Bulk RateU.S. Postage PAID

Permit #87Ann Arbor, MI

Microsoft Project Users Group3923 Ranchero DriveAnn Arbor, MI 48108

From the Editors

seize the moment.

Program Planning Professionalsshaping the future of program management

3923 Ranchero DriveAnn Arbor, Michigan 48108tel 734.741.7770 fax 734.741.1343http://www.pcubed.com

In today’s global marketplace,moments matter.

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