Microsoft Office Project 2003 Page 9
Microsoft Office Project 2003
Frequently Asked Questions
PRODUCT LINEUP
What is Microsoft® Office Project 2003?
Microsoft Office Project 2003 is a family of products — Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 and Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 — that are designed to address the work- and people-management needs of today’s organizations.
Who can benefit from using Microsoft Office Project?
Business professionals and organizations can benefit from using Microsoft Office Project 2003. Business professionals include business managers, project managers, resource managers, IT professionals, consultants, project team members and executives.
Microsoft Office Project Standard helps these users plan, manage and communicate project information, resulting in increased productivity. For organizations that need visibility into their work portfolio, the Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution provides the tools to make well-informed decisions, optimize resources and establish repeatable processes, and helps ensure widespread participation by offering familiar, integrated tools.
Why did Microsoft change Project to Microsoft Office Project?
The name change is to confirm and identify Project’s place in the Microsoft Office System, a collection of programs, servers and services that connect people and organizations to information, business processes and each other, and help ensure that they derive the most value out of their information.
What is Microsoft Office Project Standard?
Microsoft Office Project Standard is the most popular desktop project management program for effectively planning, managing and communicating project information.
What is Microsoft Office Project Professional?
Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 is a desktop enterprise project management (EPM) program that is used with Project Server2003 and Project Web Access for the Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution.
What is the difference between Project Standard and Project Professional?
Project Professional provides all the core project management tools in Project Standard, and when used with Project Server and Project Web Access it also provides powerful EPM capabilities such as portfolio management and modeling, skill-based resource management, and project collaboration.
What is the Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution?
The Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution brings together client, server and Web-based technology to give users everything they need to manage companywide projects:
· Microsoft Office Project Professional. Project Professional is the project management program for enterprise project management. It can be used to connect to Microsoft Project Server for enterprise project management functionality.
· Microsoft Office Project Server. Project Server provides a central repository to publish project and resource information. Either the Project Professional edition or Project Web Access can be used to connect to Project Server. Users should note that the e-mail based workgroup features, though still in the product, are hidden by default in this release, and may be completely removed in future releases depending on customer feedback. In addition, Microsoft Project Server does not install Windows® SharePoint™ Services (formerly called SharePoint Team Services) by default. Windows SharePoint Services requires Windows Server™ 2003 and is included as a component of the operating system.
· Microsoft Office Project Web Access. Project Web Access gives project managers and team members the ability to view and update project information on Project Server using just a Web browser.
With Project Professional, Project Server and Project Web Access, users gain visibility across their portfolio of projects, increase resource utilization, and enhance collaboration with team members to reduce costs, improve quality and shorten time to market.
PROJECT STANDARD
Why should I use Project Standard?
Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003 is the easy-to-use Microsoft Office tool for effective planning, tracking and communication of project information. Project Standard is for Microsoft Office users who want to make an impact at work. It helps them plan, manage and communicate project information, resulting in increased productivity and effectiveness.
Organized Work
Microsoft Office Project helps users better organize and manage work and people to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget. Users enjoy the following capabilities:
· Better organize their work with the scheduling power and capabilities of Microsoft Project
· Track and evaluate the impact of schedule and resource changes to their overall project plans
· Customize plans to capture information specific to their projects
· Display the exact information they want to review
· Focus on information that needs their attention with filters and groups
Compelling Communications
Microsoft Office Project helps users effectively and succinctly convey their project plans and status. Users can do the following:
· Increase their impact by communicating and presenting ideas and information more effectively in Microsoft Office applications
· Communicate more clearly by using new printing enhancements to effectively print one-page printouts of project schedules
· Share project information with team members through Windows SharePoint Services
Ease of Use
Users can easily learn and apply project management practices to enhance their productivity and effectiveness, including these:
· Use Project tools to assist with project management methodology, helping them set up schedules and manage resources more effectively
· Use familiar tools to create more sophisticated and effective work with little additional training
· Save time by transferring already-created project plans between Project and other Microsoft Office applications
· Navigate and learn the program quickly with an updated interface that is consistent with Microsoft Office 2003
· Take advantage of online help and training to access relevant and up-to-date support and assistance
· Download a template from the Template Gallery to start projects rather than starting from scratch
What’s new in Project Standard 2003?
Some of the new features in Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003 include these:
· Presentation Wizard. The new Copy Picture to Microsoft Office wizard helps create new presentations of Project data in Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint® and Microsoft Visio®.
· Printing Wizard. Project Standard 2003 now has a wizard to help users effectively print one-page summaries of project schedules.
· Online Help. Users can easily get up-to-date help through the Assistance Center and the Help Pane. The Assistance Center is the online help environment for Project Standard. It provides current Help resources for Microsoft Project 2003 and Office 2003 applications. The Help Pane displays the expanded set of Help alternatives, including the ability to search or browse the Web to find the information users need.
· Shared Workspaces. Shared Workspaces allow users to store Project files and other documents centrally and share them with others who do not need the power of Microsoft Project Server. Shared Workspaces are based on Windows SharePoint Services. Windows SharePoint Services requires Windows Server 2003 and ships with it as a component of the operating system.
MICROSOFT OFFICE ENTERPRISE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION
Why should I use EPM?
EPM is for organizations that need visibility into their work portfolio, providing the tools they need to make well-informed decisions, optimize resources and establish repeatable processes. Project 2003 is unique among project management systems because it ensures widespread participation by offering familiar, integrated tools.
Business Insight
The Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution provides visibility into users’ work portfolio across their organization for better analysis and decision-making. It helps users do the following:
· Monitor consistent business metrics through a customizable scorecard view of projects across their portfolio, and drill into the details as needed
· Evaluate and model schedule, resource and cost data over time and across projects to identify trends and address problem areas
· Integrate key Project Server views into the dashboard view of users’ critical business information
· Compile up-to-date, portfolio-related information via better integration with existing systems using industry-standard XML
Work Management
EPM allows users to better manage work, establish repeatable processes and optimize resources across their organization to reduce costs, improve quality and shorten time to market. EPM enables users to the following:
· Effectively assign people to projects, and track and manage across the organization with skill-based resource assignment tools
· Ensure that the organization has the right people and the capacity to take on future projects
· Improve project management processes by establishing standards and best practices across an organization
· Establish processes and rules for reporting and approving time worked on projects to help ensure accuracy of data
Collaboration
EPM enhances information sharing and coordination to empower team members to participate, report progress and collaborate on projects. Users enjoy the following benefits:
· Reduce administrative work while maintaining up-to-date, accurate status on project schedules and budgets through Web-based timesheets and Outlook® calendar integration
· Improve coordination across teams through project Web portals and automated notifications that enable a more efficient and effective work force
· Centrally store, link and share information such as documents, issues and risk-related-to-project plans
· Complete document management capabilities such as check-in/check-out and versioning through integration with Windows SharePoint Services
Extensible Platform
The Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management Solution architecture gives enterprises the flexibility and security to share data with other systems, customize the solution to align with their business processes, and scale as their business needs grow. Project 2003 helps users compile up-to-date portfolio-related information via better integration with existing systems using industry-standard XML and makes it easier to customize and integrate Project Server data through extensive API connectors.
The Microsoft Office EPM Solution can be extended to suit users’ specific business requirements with Project Data Service (PDS) enhancements, Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) object model changes and an improved Project Guide.
Administration
The Microsoft Office EPM Solution reduces the burden of administration with setup improvements, database partitioning and more.
What’s new in EPM?
Some of the new features in the Microsoft Office EPM Solution include these:
· Outlook integration. Project Server integrates with Microsoft Office Outlook to allow Project tasks to appear in the Outlook calendar alongside appointments. This makes it easy for users to update task progress and report status back to their managers, right from Outlook.
· Printing improvements from the browser. To improve the ability to print certain views from the browser, Project Web Access allows users to more easily format and create printable reports from the timesheet, Project Center and Resource Center views.
· Document management. Project Server integrates with Windows SharePoint Services to enable better document management through Project Web Access. Through the Web, users can now better collaborate on project deliverables with versioning control, check-in/check-out functionality, and discussions.
· Additional resource management capabilities within Project Web Access. Resource managers can now use an easy-to-use tool to find and assign enterprise resources to selected projects, right from Project Web Access, without the need to have Microsoft Project on their desktop.
· New Web service to make line-of-business integration easier. Microsoft Office Project 2003 includes new Project Data Service (PDS) APIs for creating projects, creating and editing enterprise resource pools and custom fields and outline codes, and loading and synchronizing resource information from Active Directory® directory service.
Do I need Office 2003 to use the Outlook integration in Microsoft Office Project 2003?
No, users can use Outlook 2000 and Outlook XP (as well as Outlook 2003) to import tasks from Project Server to their Outlook calendar.
AVAILABILITY, PRICING AND LICENSING
When will Project 2003 be available?
Project 2003 will be released in fall 2003 along with the other Microsoft Office System products.
How much will Project 2003 cost?
Pricing information is not available at this time. Microsoft will communicate details about Project 2003 as soon as they are available.
How will Project 2003 be licensed?
Licensing information is not available at this time. Microsoft will communicate details about Project 2003 as soon as they are available.
What languages will Project 2003 be available in?
Languages are being finalized and details will be communicated when that information is available.
SOLUTION PROVIDERS
Can I get help deploying or customizing Project 2003?
For help with deployment, solution providers should see the Project Resource Kit (PRK). For customization, they can use the SDK or visit MSDN®. In addition, Microsoft Office Project solution providers can be located at http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/resources/partners.htm or by contacting or a local Microsoft representative.
How do I join the Microsoft Project partner program?
More information and a membership application can be found at
· http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/resources/partners.htm or
· http://www.msprojectpartner.com/projectpartnerapp.htm.
Where can solution providers go for additional technical information?
MSDN and TechNet are two specific Microsoft sites that provide information for developers and IT professionals who are implementing Microsoft Office Project solutions.
· http://msdn.microsoft.com/project/
· http://www.microsoft.com/technet/project/
PRELIMINARY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
What are the system requirements for Microsoft Project Standard?
To use Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003, users need the following:
· PC with Pentium 233 MHz or higher processor; Pentium III recommended
· Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or later or Microsoft Windows XP or later operating system
· 128 MB of RAM or more recommended
· 130 MB of available hard disk space (hard disk usage will vary depending on configuration; custom installation choices may require more or less hard disk space)
· Super VGA (800x600) or higher resolution monitor
· Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with Service Pack 3 or later, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 with Service Pack 2 or later, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1 or later. For the best experience, Internet Explorer 6.0 is recommended.
Additional items or services required to use certain features:
· Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 with Service Pack 3 or later, or Oracle 8.0.5, Oracle 8i or Oracle 9.2 or later, required for projects stored in databases.
· Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access, provided separately.
· Windows-compatible network and MAPI-compliant mail systems required for
e-mail features.
What are the system requirements for Project Professional (and PWA running on the same machine as Project Professional)?