Determine project management requirements in Project Server
Summary: Learn about Project Server feature usage for Enterprise Project Management, timesheet, and demand management scenarios.
Applies to: Project Server Subscription Edition, Project Server 2019, Project Server 2016, Project Server 2013
It is important to determine the project management needs and requirements for your organization. Your configuration will vary according to the kind of work that your organization performs and whether you use Project Server for time tracking, collaboration, or portfolio management. After you characterize the typical projects for your organization, determine which Project Server scenarios that you have to support.
Characterize your projects
Understanding the characteristics of the projects in your organization enables you to plan your Project Server configuration. The following characteristics have a significant effect on your configuration:
The number of projects that your organization is working on at a particular time
The size of your projects, which varies with the number of tasks and assignments that your projects include
The length of time that is required to complete a project
The number of team members that are assigned tasks in projects
Most organizations manage projects that vary in size and duration, but the degree to which they vary is a function of the size of the organization and the kind of work that it performs. For example, a large consulting company might manage several thousand projects that range from small, 10-task projects that last two weeks to large projects that include 1,500 tasks and last for over a year.
Organizations typically have many projects that range in size from small to medium to large. For planning, make sure that you can adequately support the kind of project that your organization works on most frequently.
Determine your Project Server scenario
Your project management needs and requirements vary according to the kind of work that your organization performs. As part of your configuration planning process, determine which scenario that you need to support. For example, you can use Project Server to support the following kinds of scenarios:
Enterprise Project Management
Time tracking
Demand management
Using Project Server for Enterprise Project Management
The Project Server scenario for EPM applies to a large organization whose area of focus is top-down planning driven through the Project Management Office (PMO). This scenario is more frequently seen in the product development and manufacturing markets. It has the following characteristics:
A small number of large projects that are often related
Focus on the PMO
Extensive use of Project Professional 2016
Work Tracker usage
Critical considerations for this kind of deployment include the following:
The level of detail to track
Using leveling as a process
How to prioritize capacity
How to use skill tracking
In this scenario, client usage is as follows:
| Client application | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Project Professional |
High |
| Project Web App |
High |
In this scenario, server usage is as follows:
| Project Web App feature | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Work Tracker |
High |
| Programs |
High |
| Timesheets |
Medium |
| Portfolio management |
Medium |
| Master projects |
High |
| Project workspaces |
Low |
| Risk management |
Medium |
| Issues management |
High |
| Document management |
Medium |
| Resource management |
Medium |
| Task management |
Medium |
Using Project Server for time tracking
The Project Server scenario for professional services/timesheet deployment can apply to a large organization that wants to use Project Server mainly to capture and report time. In this scenario, employees and contractors use Project Server timesheet functionality to submit hours worked on tasks during specific time periods. This scenario has the following characteristics:
Minimal use of Project Professional
Time and material billing
A large number of projects that have fairly few tasks
A predictable peak period of usage that corresponds to scheduled timesheet entry in Project Web App
Organizations that support this scenario typically use a limited set of Project Professional features to track time and costs by using timesheets to capture information. This scenario presents scalability issues, because, when many timesheets are submitted in a short period of time, system resources can become severely strained.
Critical considerations for this kind of deployment include the following:
What time classifications to use
What time periods to use
Calendars and overtime setup
What fiscal periods to use
Source of cost data
Custom field configuration — process control custom fields vs. reporting custom fields
Currency configuration
Auditing
There are additional factors that can be affected by the processes that are used within your organization, including the following:
Types of usage
What the project update cycle is
What the reporting cycle is
In this scenario, client usage is as follows:
| Client application | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Project Professional |
Medium |
| Project Web App |
High |
In this scenario, server usage is as follows:
| Project Web App feature | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Work Tracker |
High |
| Programs |
Low |
| Timesheets |
High |
| Portfolio management |
Low |
| Master projects |
Low |
| Project workspaces |
Low |
| Risk management |
Low |
| Issues management |
Low |
| Document management |
Low |
| Resource management |
High |
| Task management |
Medium |
Using Project Server for Demand Management
The Project Server scenario for Demand Management deployment can apply to any medium-to-large organization that wants to use Project Server to manage project portfolios. These organizations typically have the following characteristics:
A large number of projects that have many assignments
A high percentage of project managers
Frequent use of Project Professional
Organizations that support this scenario typically use the breadth of Project Server features that include timesheets, document libraries, issues, risks, the Enterprise Global Template, and the Enterprise Resource Pool.
The organization to which this scenario can apply can be as small as a medium-size organization (or a department in a larger organization) whose users all share the same physical location on the same LAN, or it can be a large organization whose users work in several different physical locations.
These organizations use Project Professional and Project Web App daily to publish or update projects to Project Server, and they use Project Web App to view assignments; report actuals; and access documents, issues, and risks. Additionally, these organizations generate online analytical processing (OLAP) cubes weekly.
Critical considerations for this kind of deployment include the following:
Level of resource data to track
What project nomination process to use
What kind of review process to use
What the report cycle will be
Workflow requirements
What kind of work to track
Who manages the process
What demand is captured
In this scenario, client usage is as follows:
| Client application | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Project Professional |
Medium |
| Project Web App |
High |
In this scenario, server usage is as follows:
| Project Web App feature | Rate of usage |
|---|---|
| Work Tracker |
Low |
| Timesheets |
Medium |
| Portfolio management |
High |
| Programs |
Low |
| Administrative projects |
Low |
| Collaboration |
Medium |
| Document management |
Medium |
| Risk management |
Medium |
| Issues management |
Medium |
| Resource management |
Medium |
| Project workspace sites |
Medium |