Adding New Features to Your Sites

In EPM Live you have the ability to add custom features to your sites.  You must first add the feature to your site collection from the top level site before you have the ability to add it to any sites in the collection.  You must be a site collection administrator in order to perform the next steps.

1.  From the top level site in the site collection click “Site Actions” and choose the “Site Settings” option.

2.  Choose the “Site collection features” option in the Site Collection Administration section.

3.  Click the “Activate” button to activate the feature you want.

4.  Once you have activated all your features that you want click the “Site Actions” button and then “Site Settings” option again.

5.  In the “Galleries” section choose “List Templates“.

6.  You should now see a list of the EPM Live Features that you activated in step 3.  Click the edit icon next to the feature. 

7.  Provide a Title and Description (optional) for the feature and click the “OK” button

8.  Now, if you click the “Create” link from the “Site Actions” menu, you will see your Feature in the list of available templates.  Keep in mind that depending on the type of Feature it is, the Feature will show up under different sections on the create page.

Release Notes

The following are the relase notes for Project Publisher Build: 1.0.3019.29370 that was released on 4/7/08 at approximately 3:00pm PST

- Bug fixes to address task update issues
- Added Proxy Server Support
- Once pending tasks are Accepted or Rejected in the Project Publisher, only the status is updated in SharePoint, as opposed to Start, Finish, Actual Start, Actual Finish and Percent Complete as it was with the previous release
- Updates remain in Pending state until either Rejected or Accepted
- Notification when you attempt to publish to a Site Collection

EPM Live Workgroup Service Fills the Microsoft Office Project Collaborative Gap

EPM Live Workgroup solutions respond to this need for collaboration and communication tools by offering a lightweight version of Enterprise Project Management functionality to the workgroup level of the company.  The EPM Live Workgroup solutions are a lightweight version of project planning and collaborative tools that have been tried and tested in enterprise level workplaces. This brings high level coordination technology options down into the day-to-day work level of the office workspace.  These tools transform the world’s leading project planning software, Microsoft® Office Project 2007, into a living, working, and interactive landscape.

The EPM Live Workgroup solution works in a three step dynamic methodology:

1. Planning. Develop successful project plans with Microsoft® Office Project 2007. This industry preferred tool brings the right blend of usability, power, and flexibility to create a roadmap to success. Create schedules, tasks, project timelines, and milestones that help teams work together toward important goals. Use industry specific project templates that help jumpstart the project management process.

1. Communication. Collaborate with new or existing plans using the Project Publisher add-on for Microsoft® Office Project 2007 and any Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 site or users who don’t own SharePoint can select an online hosted version.  Share responsibilities using the flexible Task or Assignment based publishing. Individual contributors can update and share key information in a collaborative work environment.

1. Tracking and Analyzing. Project managers use reporting tools to guide the project toward a successful outcome from the centralized Workgroup dashboard. Track project-specific information with reports that allow quick access to needed information. Identify risks and issues, formulate course corrections, and instantly communicate project adjustments to the entire team.

This cycle repeats until the project is successful!

EPM Live Workgroup completes this winning cycle linking proven desktop technology to online collaboration functionality.  This “EPM Workgroup” solution empowers individual contributors to take greater responsibility for their roles in the project and enables the project manager and planner to guide the entire team in more collaborative ways than have been possible before. The tools allow the project manager to loop in valuable but hesitant performers, better leverage the strengths of top performers, and improve the workflow of all involved.  By standardizing project information flows, everyone on the team can update the status of their individual contributions, understand key issues and risks, and maintain up to date ownership of their responsibilities so that the project stays on course. 

Leveraging the EPM Live Workgroup solution will help Project Managers plan effectively, communicate the plan with the team, and track and analyze success.  Using this iterative process and the collaborative tools that go with it allows the plan to be adjusted to keep the projects on track to completion.

The EPM Live Workgroup solution is available with two affordable deployment options:

• EPM Live Workgroup SaaS or Software + Service. Organizations looking to combine the power of online services with the richness of their everyday Microsoft® Office Project 2007 application can leverage the EPM Live Workgroup service.  Visit http://www.epmlive.com/ for more information and a 30 day free trial

• EPM Live Workgroup On-premise. Organizations already using Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft® Office Project 2007 can leverage the power of collaboration with the Project Publisher add-on. A quick and easy installation adds a publishing menu to Microsoft Office Project’s menu bar creating a simple one-click step to synchronize .mpp files with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 sites. Visit http://www.projectpublisher.com/ for more information and a 30 day free trial

The New EPM Live List Rollup Web Part

Introducing a List Rollup Web Part that will allow you to roll up any number of Lists and Columns and create as many views as your heart desires.  This type of view is extremely valuable for when you are trying to get a view of all work (Tasks, Issues, Action Items) from a top level site.

 

If you are using a newer EPM Live Site Collection template, your EPM Live List Rollup Web Part is located on your Site Collection.  You can access it by clicking the “All My Work” link in the Quick Launch bar.  If you are working with an older EPM Live Site Collection template and do not see the All My Work link in your Site Collection Quick Launch Bar, please add the “EPM Live Site Collection” Web Part to your site using the following steps:

1.  On the page where you want to add the roll up Web Part, click the Edit Page link from the Site Actions menu.

2.  Click “Add a Web Part” on the orange bar of the section where you want to add your Web Part.

3.  From the “Add Web Parts” screen, select the “EPM Live – My Work Rollup” from the “All Web Parts” section and then click the Add button.

4.  The Web Part should now be displayed on your page and you should see a message:

“This webpart needs to be manually upgraded. Please contact EPM Live support: (866) 391-3700.” 

This message is ok for now.

5.  Assuming you are still in edit mode, click Modify Shared Web Part from the edit dropdown list on the Web Part title bar.

6.  Paste the following XML in the text box:

<Views>

                <View Name=”My Active Work” Default=”True”>

                                <Columns>

                                                <Column Name=”DueDate” DisplayName=”Due Date” Format=”DateOnly”/>

                                                <Column Name=”PercentComplete” DisplayName=”% Complete” Format=”Percent”/>

                                </Columns>

                                <Lists>

                                                <List Name=”Task Center” DisplayName=”Tasks” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='AssignedTo'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><Neq><FieldRef Name='PercentComplete'/><Value Type='Number'>1</Value></Neq></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <OrderBy>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<FieldRef Name="taskorder"/>]]>

                                                                </OrderBy>

                                                </List>

                                                <List Name=”Issues” DisplayName=”Issues” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='AssignedTo'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><Eq><FieldRef Name='Status'/><Value Type='Choice'>Active</Value></Eq></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <Columns>

                                                                                <Notes Map=”V3Comments”/>

                                                                </Columns>

                                                </List>

                                                <List Name=”Action Items” DisplayName=”Action Items” Scope=”Site”>

                                                                <Query><![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='AssignedTo'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><Eq><FieldRef Name='Status'/><Value Type='Choice'>In Progress</Value></Eq></And>]]></Query>

                                                               

                                                </List>

                                                <List Name=”Risks” DisplayName=”Risks” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='Assigned_x0020_To'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><Eq><FieldRef Name='Status'/><Value Type='Choice'>Active</Value></Eq></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <Columns>

                                                                                <DueDate Map=”Due_x0020_Date”/>

                                                                </Columns>

                                                </List>

                                </Lists>

                </View>

                <View Name=”My Overdue Work”>

                                <Columns>

                                                <Column Name=”DueDate” DisplayName=”Due Date”/>

                                                <Column Name=”PercentComplete” DisplayName=”% Complete”/>     

                                </Columns>

                                <Lists>

                                                <List Name=”Task Center” DisplayName=”Tasks” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='AssignedTo'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><And><Neq><FieldRef Name='PercentComplete'/><Value Type='Number'>1</Value></Neq><Lt><FieldRef Name='DueDate'/><Value Type='Text'><Today/></Value></Lt></And></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <OrderBy>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<OrderBy><FieldRef Name="taskorder"/></OrderBy>]]>

                                                                </OrderBy>

                                                </List>

                                                <List Name=”Issues” DisplayName=”Issues” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='AssignedTo'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><And><Eq><FieldRef Name='Status'/><Value Type='Choice'>Active</Value></Eq><Lt><FieldRef Name='DueDate'/><Value Type='Text'><Today/></Value></Lt></And></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <Columns>

                                                                                <Notes Map=”Comments”/>

                                                                </Columns>

                                                </List>

                                                <List Name=”Risks” DisplayName=”Risks” Scope=”Project”>

                                                                <Query>

                                                                                <![CDATA[<And><Eq><FieldRef Name='Assigned_x0020_To'/><Value Type='Integer'><UserID/></Value></Eq><And><Eq><FieldRef Name='Status'/><Value Type='Choice'>Active</Value></Eq><Lt><FieldRef Name='Due_x0020_Date'/><Value Type='Text'><Today/></Value></Lt></And></And>]]>

                                                                </Query>

                                                                <Columns>

                                                                                <DueDate Map=”Due_x0020_Date”/>

                                                                </Columns>

                                                </List>

                                </Lists>

                </View>

</Views>

7.  Now just click the OK button and then click the “Exit Edit Mode” link in the upper right corner of the page.

The XML specified above will get you set up; however, if you want to customize your queries, views, or columns, you will have to edit the XML to do so.  I will cover this in a later Blog article.  For now, please call EPM Live Support and we will help you configure the views you want.

How to create rollup KPI (Key Performance Indicators) in your EPM Live environment

Key Perfomance Indicators (KPIs), by definition, are financial and non-financial metrics used to help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals and define the present state.  History has shown that managing projects in SharePoint has long been problimatic in that it was always difficult to view project status accross multiple sites from one central location.  EPM Live now offers the ability to create KPIs that are based off of rolled up project and task information.  Examples include:

% of Late Tasks, Task Status, Budget Status, Issue Status, Risk Status

Keep reading to learn how you can build KPIs in your EPM Live SharePoint environment.  Click here to learn more about EPM Live.

 

This article builds off of a previously written article that discusses how to add custom columns to your Project Center Rollup list within EPM Live.  You can now create nearly any rollup KPI dashboard imaginable.  Follow the guidelines below to create your KPIs within the Project Center Rollup List.  The new EPM Live templates already include these indicators, so if you already have these indicators in your site but want to change the thresholds, keep reading and you will learn how and of course, if you do not have one of the new templates, this article addresses creating KPIs from scratch as well.

Example:  Task Status Indicator

Indicator Requirement:  Management has asked to see the percentage of late tasks for a given project in the form of a red, yellow and green indicator. 

 % of Late Tasks >= .20 show RED

% of Late Tasks >= .10 show YELLOW

ELSE GREEN

Given that we only want to include tasks that are still active (not 100% complete), the formula for the % of Late Tasks is:

= Active Late Tasks/All Active Tasks

Given this formula, we need to add two columns to our Project Center Rollup list; one for Late Tasks and another for All Tasks.

1.       Create a new column in the Project Center list entitled “Late Tasks”.

2.       Choose the “Total Rollup” column type and enter the following CAML query string in the text box:

 

 

 

 

<And><Lt><FieldRef Name=’DueDate’/><Value Type=’DateTime’><Today /></Value></Lt><Neq><FieldRef Name=’PercentComplete’/><Value Type=’Number’>1</Value></Neq></And>

 

 

 

 

Please refer to another Blog article on writing CAML queries for more info

 

 

 

 

3.       Make sure to uncheck the “Show in Default View” checkbox.

4.       Click the OK button when finished.

5.       Click “Refresh Data” in the Project Center list menu.  Doing this will crawl the appropriate sites using the query you provided in step 2.  The results will be displayed in your newly created column.

Now we need to create the Active Tasks column.

6.       Create a new column in the Project Center list entitled “Active Tasks”.

7.       Choose the “Total Rollup” column type and enter the following CAML query string in the text box:

 

 

 

 

<Neq><FieldRef Name=’PercentComplete’/><Value Type=’Number’>1</Value></Neq>

 

 

 

 

Please refer to another Blog article on writing CAML queries for more info

 

 

 

 

8.       Make sure to uncheck the “Show in Default View” checkbox.

9.       Click the OK button when finished.

10.   Click “Refresh Data” in the Project Center list menu.  Doing this will crawl the appropriate sites using the query you provided in step 2.  The results will be displayed in your newly created column.

Now we are ready to create the % of Late Tasks column that will use the two columns we just created in its formula.

11.   Create a new column in the Project Center list entitled “% of Late Tasks”.

12.   Choose the “Formula” column type and enter the following formula in the text box:

 

 

 

 

=IF([Active Tasks]>0,[ Late Tasks]/[ Active Tasks],0)

Note:  The first IF statement in the formula above is to ensure that we do not divide by zero and cause an error.

 

 

 

 

13.   Click the OK button when finished.

Finally, we will create the actual indicator column that will show the red, yellow, or green KPI.

14.   Create a new column in the Project Center list entitled “Task Status”.

15.   Choose the “Formula” column type and enter the following formula in the text box:

 

 

 

 

= IF([% of Late Tasks]>=20%,”RED.GIF”,IF([% of Late Tasks]>=10%,”YELLOW.GIF”,”GREEN.GIF”))

 

 

 

 

Note:  The formula above outputs a string value that, in the EPM Live environment, will actually display an indicator image as opposed to the actual string.  This is a custom feature that EPM Live offers and is only available in our environment or as a part of our Toolkit.

 

 

 

16.   Click the OK button when finished.

You should now see your KPI column in the Project Center list.

The basics of writing CAML queries

The structure of a simple CAML query is defined as follows:

<[Operator]>
<FieldRef Name=’[FieldTitle]‘/><Value Type=’[FieldType]‘>[Value]</Value>
</[Operator]> 

You can replace the [Operator] placeholder with one of the following operators:

• Eq = equal to
• Neq = not equal to
• BeginsWith = begins with
• Contains = contains
• Lt = less than
• Leq = less than or equal to
• Gt = greater than
• Geq = greater than or equal to
• IsNull = is null
• IsNotNull = is not null

Possible values that can replace [FieldType] are Boolean, Choice, Currency, DateTime, Guid, Integer, Lookup, Note, Text, User.

You can also define a query that contains multiple OR/AND conditions. Here is how you can define a query with two OR conditions, to select all items whose Name field is equal to either “Tony” or “John”:

   <Or>
      <Eq><FieldRef Name=’Name’/><Value Type=’Text’>Tony</Value></Eq>
      <Eq><FieldRef Name=’Name’/><Value Type=’Text’>John</Value></Eq>
   </Or>

A limitation of the <Or> and <And> blocks is that they can contain just two conditions. If you want to have more, you have to define an <Or> / <And> section that contains an inner <Or> / <And> section in place of one of the two conditions. The following examples show how to add a further possible value for the previously described query.

   <Or>
      <Eq><FieldRef Name=’Name’/><Value Type=’Text’>Tony</Value></Eq>
      <Or>
         <Eq><FieldRef Name=’Name’/><Value Type=’Text’>John</Value></Eq>
         <Eq><FieldRef Name=’Name’/><Value Type=’Text’>Mary</Value></Eq>
      </Or>
   </Or>

Configure your EPM Live Project Center Rollup list to roll up any custom columns that you want

Using the new EPM Live Project Center Rollup List, you can configure your columns to roll up matching column information from Project Center lists in sub sites.  Now, you can roll up all of the project information from all of your sub sites and see the status of your projects accross your entire portfolio.

This is pretty simple to configure.  The basic principle is that when you click the “Refresh Data” on the Project Center Rollup List menu, the system will query Project Center sub sites based on the columns you have in your Project Center Rollup list.

For example:  Let’s say that “Department” is a column that exists on all Project Center lists of my sub sites.  If I add a column called Department in my Project Center Rollup List, when I click the “Refresh Data” button, the system will query and pull back all projects in the sub sites along with the “Department” column.  Once again, this is assuming that the Department column exists in all sub site Project Center lists.  If there is a Project Center list in one of the sub sites that doesn’t have the Department column, the Department column will be blank for that project within the Project Center Rollup List.

Let’s first make sure that you have the Project Center Rollup List in your site.  EPM Live Site collections created after 3/6/08 will automatically have this list as a part of the template but if your Site Collection was created prior to 3/6/2008, you will need to perform the following steps.

1.       Browse to your Site Collection.

2.       Choose Site Settings from the Site Actions menu in the upper right corner of your Site Collection.

3.       Click on the Site collection features link under the Site Collection Administration section.

4.       Find the feature titled “EPM Live Project Center Rollup” and make sure that it is “Active”.  If not, click the “Activate” button.

5.       Now, click Create from the Site Actions menu in the upper right corner of the page.

6.       You should now see the EPM Live Project Center Rollup list under the Custom Lists section.  Choose the EPM Live Project Center Rollup List.

7.       Provide a name and description for the list and choose whether you want a link to this list to be created on the Quick Launch bar.

Now that you have your Project Center Rollup list, just add the columns that you want to roll up from sub site Project Center lists.  Next up….creating KPI indicators based off of rolled up information.

Creating SharePoint Reports with Microsoft Office Excel 2003/07

Microsoft Office Excel 2007 has the ability to sync with EPM Live SharePoint workspaces.  By leveraging Microsoft Office Excel 2007 as a reporting tool you have the ability to create several different dynamic reports.  (Click here to see a short video on how to create reports with Microsoft Office Excel 2007)

1.  Open Microsoft Office Excel 2007

2.  From your SharePoint site navigate to the list that you want to create your report from.  (Images indicate Project Center list.)

3.  Choose the view with the data that you want to report on.

4.  Click the “Actions” button and choose the “Export to Spreadsheet” option.

5.  Click “Open”

6.  Click “Enable” when the security notice window pops up.

7.  Choose the type of chart/table or both that you would like to create and click “OK”.

8.  Chose the data that you want to report on by checking the box next to it.

9.  You can now close the PivotChart Filter Pane and the Pivot Table Field List unless you want to set up a filter.

10. Right click on the chart itself if you want to change the chart type.

11.  Choose your chart type and click “OK”

Note:  You can save your report locally or back to your SharePoint site.

An Update Status Indicator for Microsoft Project

A simple but effective “Update Status Indicator” can be generated using the excellent Custom Fields features available in Microsoft Project 2000 and later versions.

When you need to revise a large project plan, how do you identify those tasks that need updating? By constructing the custom field I describe below, you’ll get red, blue and green indicators that automatically appear against tasks. They indicate, respectively, tasks that should have been completed, that should have been started and that are in progress.

Related Files: To download the Microsoft Project MPP file related to this article, click here.

To generate this custom field:

1. Select Tools/Customize/Fields from the menu.
2. In the Customize Fields dialog box select field Type “Number” and the select a Number field from the list (I used Number20).

3. Click the Rename… button and enter “Update Status” to rename the field.
4. A warning appears that any existing data in the Update Status field will be deleted. Click OK.
5. Click the Formula button and enter the following formula in the Formula for Update Status dialog box:

IIf([Summary]=Yes,0,IIf([% Complete]=100,0,
IIf(([Finish]<=[Status Date] And [% Complete]<100),3,
IIf(([Start]<=[Status Date] And [% Complete]=0),2,
IIf(([Finish]>[Status Date] And [% Complete]>0),1,
IIf([Start]>[Status Date],0,0))))))

6. Click OK.
7. A warning appears that any existing data in the Update Status field will be deleted. Click OK.
8. Under “Calculation for task and group summary rows” click Use Formula.
9. Click the Graphical Indicators button.
10. In the Graphical Indicators for Update Status dialog box enter the following:

Test  “equals” 1.00, Image green button
Test  “equals” 2.00, Image blue button
Test  “equals” 1.00, Image red button

11. Click OK, then click OK in the Customize Fields dialog box.
12. The customized “Update Status” field is now ready and can be included in the table for your view. Enter the Status Date in the Project Information dialog box (Project/Project Information…).

Here’s how the customized field works. The formula first checks to see whether the task is a summary task, a completed task or has a Start date later than the Status Date in the Project Information dialog box. If so, the formula returns a value of 0 in the custom field. If not, it checks to see if the Finish date is earlier than the Status Date but not 100% complete. If it is complete, the formula returns a value of 3. If not, the formula checks to see if the Start date is before the Status Date but is still 0% complete. If so, a value of 2 is returned. If not, the formula checks for tasks started but not due to finish until after the Status Date, in which case a value of 1 is returned. The values 1, 2 and 3 are then displayed as the appropriate green, blue and red indicators.

Educated at the University College of North Wales, Bangor, Mike Theaker graduated with a BSc in electronic engineering. He spent three years in the Engineering Division of the BBC before moving to Pilkington Optronics, first as a project engineer and later as a project manager developing opto-electronic equipment. In 1992 he founded Mike’s Project Service, a consultancy dedicated to providing project management and planning consultancy and training. Contact Mike at mike@mps.u-net.com.

Artcle provide by MPA – http://www.mympa.org

How to configure Project Publisher for use with a Proxy Server

Many of you folks have requested that EPM Live support the use of a Proxy Server when using Project Publisher.  We have developed this functionality into our product but will wait until our next major release to release this to the general community; however, if you have a need for this right now, contact EPM Live support and we will provide you with a hotfix for this issue.

Here is how you configure your Project Publisher to use a Proxy:

1.  From your Project Publisher menu, select Proxy Settings from the Help menu.

 2.  Select “Use Proxy Server” and enter your Proxy Server settings.  If your Proxy Server required authentication, be sure to enter the Username and Password under the “Authentication” section.

 

 Now you should be able to publish and receive updates from SharePoint!