The Marshall University Experience with Implementing Project Server 2003 August 9, 2005

1. The Marshall University Experience with Implementing Project Server 2003 August 9, 2005 Presented by: Chuck Elliott, M.S. Associate Director, Customer Services Marshall University Computing Services Yanzhi Wu, M.B.A. Senior Office Administrator Marshall University IT Administration This presentation is online at: www.marshall.edu/it/content/seminar/EPM.htm

2. Agenda • Introduction • Marshall IT Project Management • Demo • Known problems • Concerns and Challenges • Recommendations • Recommended Online Resources • Conclusion • Q&A, Discussion, and Next Steps West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

3. Introduction • The Marshall Environment • A Microsoft Campus • 16,000 students including graduate and medical school • 1100+ faculty and staff • 200 plus departments • 4400+ computers • 4 campuses and numerous satellites West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

4. Marshall IT Project Management • Lacking an enterprise project management system, Marshall IT Administration created a centralized repository for project information. • IT Projects Page. • Pros • centralized information store • sharing of information • increased visibility • Cons • difficult to maintain • lack of a centralized comparative view West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

5. What do other schools use? • Spreadsheets • Databases • Decentralized project management software • Enterprise project management software • other methods West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

6. Demo • Simple project demonstrating the Microsoft EPM solution • Project Plan Development • Enterprise Resource Pool • Enterprise Global template • Publishing a project to Project Server • Project Web Access integration with Outlook • Project Management using Project Server West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

7. Known Problems • Outlook integration • Tasks show as appointments, it was designed this way and takes getting used to • Updating tasks in Project Web Access can generate conflicting data in Outlook • Outlook integration may not be best solution • Migrating database to new project server • Requires SQL Server and WSS expertise • Permissions administration • Very important to understand roles and needs West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

8. Concerns and Challenges • Enterprise Resource Pool • The larger and more complex the pool, the more resources are required to administer and maintain • Enterprise level Portfolio management, and Resource management, are dependent on standards and consistency • Establishing and enforcing organizational standards • Maintenance of the data, adding new types of data • new people, new skill sets, new coding schemes • Tracking leave, sick-leave, training, travel etc. • Will this be a centralized or dispersed responsibility? West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

9. Concerns and Challenges • Enterprise Global template • Allows published projects to use the same custom settings • fields, tables • views, reports • groups, calendars • enterprise-only fields • Better organization-wide reporting and analysis • Standardizes organization breakdown structures • Planning is important • What standards do we need? West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

10. Concerns and Challenges • Hardware • Our current single-server environment may support up to 250 users and/or projects • Licensing • An issue mostly for use on non-MU equipment • consultants • third-party team members • Client Access License (CAL) required to use Project Web Access without Project Professional West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

11. Concerns and Challenges • Training • Role based is preferred. • Costs – both dollars and staff time • Project Management Office (real or virtual) members should be “expert” at using Project Professional • Project Managers and team members will benefit from training • Just-in-time training for team members • Knowing Project Professional not all that helpful to learning Project Server • Systems Admin skills very helpful on Project Server admin West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

12. Concerns and Challenges • Organizational Culture • Effective implementation will require a change in culture (positive ones) • PMs will have to use prescribed calendars, global template, and work within the system • An effective PMO can control and negotiate standards • Performance Analysis • Earned Value analysis – Project supports only Percent Complete and Physical Percent Complete West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

13. Recommendations: Implementation • Full implementation • Phased process • Prototype • Test the prototype • Develop training materials • Pilot test • Identify new groups to train and bring into the system • Establish a test environment • Hardware costs • Administration • Testing Plan and staffing • Disaster Recovery • Strategies, planning, backup and recovery testing, hardware costs West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

14. Recommendations: PMO • Consider establishing a Project Management Office (real or virtual) with appropriate FTE • Advise executives on project-prioritization • Advise executives on at-risk projects, provide early-warning • Maintain documentation on the environment, policies, and procedures • Administer and coordinate Enterprise Resource Pool and Enterprise Global template • Support Projects and Project Managers • Recommend server configuration changes • Design or assist Executives in the design of Views and Reports • Provide training or training resources West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

15. Recommended Online Resources • Webcasts • TechNet Webcast: A Proven Approach for Success: An Introduction to the EPM Workshop Series (Level 200) • Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Building a PMO with Microsoft's Enterprise Project Management Solution • Other Microsoft Project Events and Webcasts • Documentation • The Project Server 2003 Resource Kit • Web Pages • Project 2003 Home Page • Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Solution Overview • Planning your EPM Solution implementation • MPA - the Official Industry Association for Microsoft Project • Project Management Institute West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

16. Conclusion • Microsoft Project Server 2003 may be a good solution for your environment • It’s not perfect • As a Microsoft Campus, it may be a bargain for Marshall • Project Server environment will continue at Marshall for the foreseeable future • Project management can be successful without high-end project management software • Each organization is different and should consider options West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

17. Q&A and Discussion, Next Steps • Q&A and Discussion • Next Steps West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005

18. Thank You !! This presentation is online at: www.marshall.edu/it/content/seminar/EPM.htm or via e-mail to wu@marshall.edu West Virginia Statewide Technology Conference 2005