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PROJECT KNOWLEDGE |
the project learning
newsletter |
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Dear Project Manager, |
Volume 7, number
3 |
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Welcome to the third Project Learning newsletter
of 2009. A number of
subscribers have told us that
they like the updated newsletter
format - which is much more
Outlook-friendly.
To help improve our newsletters,
I'd like some feedback from you.
When I write the newsletter, I
have to balance content and
frequency; aiming to provide as
much content as possible, as
often as possible. I'd
therefore like to know if you'd
like to receive newsletters on a
monthly basis with as much
content as I have that month, or
would you prefer less-frequent
newsletters containing a lot of
content. Please use
this email link to let me
know your opinion.
In this newsletter, there's a
lot of Microsoft Project-related
material. You can find out
about the new 2010
version of Project and visit
the forthcoming
Project Conference.
You can also find out how to
update to Service
Pack 2 of Project 2007; try
your hand at a
Microsoft Project Quiz and
work your way through a host of
technical tips and
tricks. |
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Sincerely
Andy Jessop
CEO and Founder
andyj@projectlearning.net |
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Technical
Tips and Tricks |
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In
conjunction with Microsoft, we
recently delivered a series
of high-impact tips and tricks
to a wide and varied audience of
Microsoft Project users in
Wellington and Auckland, NZ. Within the
session, we covered subjects
that included:
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Calendarising your projects
to match the way that you
work.
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Create flexible, structured
schedules that plan what you
need to do and how you need
to do it.
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Identify schedule changes
quickly and easily,
reviewing their impact on
your project’s key
deliverables.
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Plan, allocate and delegate
work to your team more
effectively.
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Create meaningful reports
that meet the varying needs
of all your project’s
stakeholders.
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Capture actuals, evaluate
variances and re-plan work
to keep your project on
track.
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Create programmes of work
and manage key dependencies
and resource utilisation
across multiple projects.
We
received some excellent feedback
from the attendees, so we'd like
to share these tips and tricks
with you. We've broken
down the delegate handouts into
three parts;
following a typical project's
lifecycle. If you've
already downloaded part 1, just click on
the link below for part 2:
Microsoft Project Tips and
Tricks #2
To download part 1, just click
on this link:
Microsoft Project Tips and Tricks #1
All of these tips and tricks
come from Project Mentor, the
computer based training package
for Microsoft Project.
Why not...
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Project 2007
service pack 2 |
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Project 2010 |
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On
April 28th 2009, Microsoft
announced the availability of
Service Pack 2 (SP2) for its
Office 2007 applications.
As this includes Project 2007
Standard, Professional and
Project Server, it's a very
worthwhile and effective
upgrade.
Key changes include:
Desktop:
The scheduling engine,
Active Cache, and Gantt
charts all have
improvements. There is
additional reliability with
earlier versions of the .mpp
format. Project Server:
Server:
Better memory management in
the queue service.
Performance to certain
database table indexes is
improved. Active Cache
issues have been resolved.
Checkin Pending problems
have been rectified. Resource plans,
build team, cost resources,
and the server scheduling
engine have been improved.
If you're just using the desktop
application (Standard/Pro), you
should find that the update
happens automatically. If
you are using Project Server,
you'll need to follow detailed
steps to ensure your systems are
updated correctly. Take a
look at
Christophe Fiessinger's blog for more details. For a
detailed explanation about this
update, review this
pdf deck from the April 2009
webcast.
For
compatibility in an EPM
environment, ensure that both
the server all all client
applications are to the SP2
standard.
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It's now official.
Microsoft is starting to take
the wraps off its next major
release of Project - 2010.
Formerly known as Project 14,
this new release promises much.
Detailed functionality is still
being closely guarded, but
here's a teaser list of what's
in store...
Desktop:
User interface will be the
'ribbon bar' style similar
to Word 2007, Excel 2007.
Additional scheduling
functionality is to be
expected also.
Server:
Will use MOSS instead of WSS.
Much tighter integration
between Project Server and
Portfolio Server.
System requirements:
- Project Server 2010 will be
64-bit only.
- Project Server 2010 will
require 64-bit
- Windows
Server 2008 or 64-bit
- Windows Server 2008 R2.
- Project Server 2010 will
require 64-bit SQL 2005 or
2008.
- Project Server 2010 will
only support Internet
Explorer 7 or 8 (IE 6 will
not be supported nor other
browsers).
Microsoft is stating that the
RTM (Release to Manufacturing)
will be during the first half of
2010.
Disclaimer: The above
information has been gleaned
from blogs and newsgroups.
Much information about Project
2010 is still unofficial as
Microsoft is looking to make
public disclosures at the
Microsoft Project Conference
(see below). |
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Microsoft Project
conference |
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Make a date in your diary.
From September 14-17, Microsoft will be showcasing its forthcoming Project 2010
solution in Phoenix, Arizona at the 2009 Microsoft Project Conference. |
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With several keynotes and 5
breakout tracks, the conference will provide invaluable information for
individuals and organisations looking to harness the power and capabilities of
the forthcoming Microsoft Project release. A preliminary list of
sessions includes:
- Connecting the Worlds of
Project Portfolio Management & Application Development.
- Introducing Microsoft’s
Innovation Process Management (IPM) Solution.
- Microsoft Enterprise Project
Management 2010 Migration Deep Dive.
- Project Desktop 2010 Overview.
- Project Server 2010 - Demand
Management.
- Application Lifecycle
Management with Project Server 2010.
For a detailed agenda, just click
on this link to the Microsoft Project Conference sessions list.
There won’t be another worldwide
Project Conference elsewhere or during the next year so the Phoenix event will
provide the 'inside track' on all that is happening with Microsoft Project 2010.
Rest assured that we'll keep you up to date with Project 2010 news as we get to
know it. |
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Whoops - this
link appears to be broken |
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Prize draw winners |
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In
our last newsletter you were
invited to test your Microsoft
Project knowledge by trying out
a simple quiz.
Unfortunately a link to the quiz
had an error and people were
diverted to the wrong page.
We've since rectified the link,
so if you want to try out the
quiz, just click on this new
link:
Take
the quiz
With only ten questions we
cannot guarantee this assessment
is an exhaustive one, although
it should provide you with a
reasonable test of what you
currently know. Just click
on the link above to give the
quiz a try. |
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The
winners of the draw of new
newsletter subscribers are:
April
2009
- Yoanda Nahan, Indonesia
- Lynsey Dalvarez, UK
- Michael Wilkinson, UK
- Nguyen Thai Ha, Vietnam
- Rich Gilmartin, U.S.A.
May 2009
- Julio Romero, Chile
- Michael Hough, Australia
- G T Stevenson, U.S.A.
- Gretchen Coghill, U.S.A.
- Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan
Each of them will receive a $10
Amazon voucher with the
compliments of Project Learning. |
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This newsletter is published by: |
Project Learning International Limited, PO Box 41-143, Lower Hutt, 5047, New Zealand. |
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(c) 2000-2009 Project Learning International Limited.. |
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