MS Project Server 2003 / 2007 Project Manager Course

Project Managers are those individuals within an organization who create, track and manage project schedules with Microsoft Project Professional and Project Server.  This course trains participants how to create and manage project schedules and templates, allocate and manage resources and resource pools, customize fields, management metrics and reporting; as well as how to use Project Web Access.

This course is designed for both project managers and project team leaders who lead projects and use Microsoft Project.  It is also for Project managers new to using MS Project Professional or who would like to get a better handle on managing MS Project for planning and schedule management.

Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
>Build MS Project plans integrating Project Management Best Practices for Scheduling, Resource Planning and Deliverables Management
>Publish projects to MS Project server
>Define project roles
>Customize Timesheet and Gantt views using filters, sorting, and grouping features
>Update project plans
>Use Web access in an on-line and off-line modes
>Report on projects in an enterprise context
>Collaborate on a project with others
>Set up information for team member web access
>Customize Microsoft Project Server to reflect specific organizational needs
>Manage the project databases
>Use Windows SharePoint Services to enable Issue and Document Management
>Exchange project plan data with other applications
>Re-use existing project plan information
>Setup of project for Portfolio Analyzer use

Lesson 1: Overview and Review of MS Project Professional and Project Management
This first lesson reviews the basic functions of MS project Professional including the common pitfalls of the application that can hinder the successful use of project server.  It also addresses the basics of Project Management and the Project Management Lifecycle based upon the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

Lesson 2: Overview Project Server and MS Project Professional
Describe what the Server is and what it is used for, how to connect to the Server, understand the different components of the Server interface (MS Project, Project Sever, Web Access and SharePoint services), understand the basic functionality of Project Server, discuss the different user types and their role in the Project Server. Learn how to administer Web Access.
>Project Pitfall avoidance and other common mistakes in building project schedules
>Building and managing a project schedule
>Resource utilization from the Resource Pool
>Working with custom enterprise fields and project templates

Lesson 3: Project Component Configuration
Even though the server administrator in collaboration with the project manager will perform Project Server and IIS configuration, Project Mangers and Project team leads still have project level configuration responsibilities.  In this lesson the participants will learn how to configure team schedules, team member communications and SharePoint services access.

Lesson 4: Project Server and Web access
In this lesson the participants will learn the Web interface. Participants will learn:
>The process of publishing Project task information to the web
>Interaction with the web interface
>Accepting / Declining assigned tasks
>Managing web responses
>Updating the project with team information

Lesson 5: Managing Documents with SharePoint Services
Project documentation management, (Scope, Requirements, Risks, Issues) are difficult to manage and organize.  In this lesson the participants will learn document management with MS SharePoint services and associating documents to the project plan.

Lesson 6: Project reporting and Portfolio basics
The participants will learn techniques of using the web interface and other applications to report on project progress, issues and risks.  This lesson will also introduce the learners to the portfolio analysis capabilities of MS Project Server.

>Familiarity with Project terminology required
>Familiarity with MS Project professional required