TimeandTaskManagement

Todaymo orethanever, ,organization nsneedaccur rate,uptoda ateinformatio ontomakein nformedbusiness decisions. .Manyorganizationsuset timereportingsystemsto capturework kandnonworkingtimefor payroll,in nvoicing,andotherbusinesspurposes.Similarly,pro ojectmanagersneedtoeff ficientlycaptu ure andcomm municatestatusonproject tworktohelp pgaugeprogr ressandtoan nticipatetheeffectonplanned effort,cos st,andtimefr rames.Althou ughthetypeandsourceo finformation nissimilar,divergentusesand requireme entsmakeitd difficultfororganizationst tohaveacen ntralizedandcommonapp proachtotime reportingandtaskman nagement. Timecapt tureandproje ectprogressreportingpos sesseveralch hallengestoo organizations, ,andtheyne eedto havethef followingcha aracteristics.

Anea asytouseint terface.Timeentrysystem mstendtobe widelyusedacrossorganizationsandn need tobesimpleandin ntuitiveforth hosewhoregularlyentera andapproveu updates.Usersexpecta consis pport stentandfam miliarinterfacethatshowscurrentand relevanttime ecapturecate egoriestosup accuratereporting goftimeandprojectprogr ress. Single esource,tor reportworkin ngandnonwo orkingtime. Organizationswantstream mlinedproces sses thatc captureandu updateinform mationusedfo oroperations s,analysis,an ndcontrol.Dif fferentbusine ess that applic cationscanbe eusedforpro ojectmanage ement,financ cialreporting, ,oroperation nalprocesses collec cttimeworke edbyindividu ualsasthebas sisforreportiingandproje ections. Ablet tocapturepr rojects,opera ations,andad dministrative etime.Projec ctbasedorga anizationsnee edto beabletocaptureprogressand dstatusonta asksatthesam metimethattheyaregath heringnonpr roject emsmaintena anceworkandadministrat tivetime,includingnonwo orkingtimefo or time,suchassyste vacation,sickleave e,orotherpa aidtimeoff(P PTO). Suppo orthighuseinshort,recu urringtimepe eriods.Unlike eotherbusine essprocesses s,timeandta ask status sreportingte endstoinvolv vearecurringcycleoflarge enumbersof factivitiesperformedat period dicintervals.Timereportin ngsystemsne eedtoscalet tosupporthig ghvolumeso oftransactionsat theen ndofthewor rkingweekor rtheendofth hemonth. Offerflexiblechoicesforhowy youandyour rorganization nwork.Time captureandprojectprogress rtingactivities sreflectthea approachandlevelofdeta ailthatenterp prisesneedto osupportthe eir repor businessdecisiona activities.The erefore,timereportingsollutionsneedf flexibleappro oachestosup pport collection,sys stemsintegra ation,busines ssrules,excep ptionhandlin ng,andinform mationreport ting datac requir rements. Integr ratewithline eofbusiness s(LOB)system ms.Enterprise eswouldpreferonesystemforcapturi ing timea andprojectta askprogressinformationt thatcanthen beintegrate edwithotherLOBapplications, sucha aspayroll,pro ojectcostacc counting,and dfinancialma anagementsy ystems.

MicrosoftProjectServ t ver2010prov videsorganiza ationswithth heflexibilityt theyneedtocentralizetim me capture,s streamlineprocesses,auto omatetaskmanagement,a andincreasetheaccuracy yofproject

forecastin ng.Organizati ionscanselec cthowtheyw wanttocaptu ureworkingandnonworkingtimeneed ded forstatutorytimereco ordingandpro ogressupdatestoproject managers.Ti imereporting gcapabilitieshave dinProjectSe erver2010to oprovideane ewSingleEnt tryModetou unifytimeand dtask beenfurtherenhanced dates.TheWebbaseduse erinterfacefo ortimesheet entryandtas skmanageme enthasbeen statusupd standardizedtospeedlearningandenhanceexp perience.Use erscanquickly yseeandfind drelevanttas sks ycompleteco ommonactivities.Timeentrycaninclud denonworkin ngtimeandb billingcategor ries andeasily tosuppor rtpayroll,invo oicing,andpr rojectcosting gapplications s.ProjectServ ver2010also oprovidesasi ingle screenfor rmanagingapprovalsfort timesheets,p projectupdate es,andadmin nistrativeapp provals.The informatio oncapturedi inthetimesheetandtaskmanagement tprocesscanbesharedw withLOB applicatio onsthatusetimeandprog gressinformat tionforproce essing.

Intuiti iveUserInterfac ceforTim meandT TaskEnt try

Theintuit tiveTimeshee etandTasksv viewsinProje ectServer201 10ensuretha atteammemberscan effectively yprovidetaskstatusinformationandp project,nonp project,andn nonworkingtime(seeFigu ure1). ProjectSe erver2010he elpsorganizat tionsstandard dizeandsimp plifytimereportingproces sses,thereby reducingt trainingrequirements.Tea ammembersareprovided dwithaneasy ytouseandresponsive interfacethatcanbecustomizedfo ortheirspecif ficpreference esandneeds. .
Figure 1. Pro oject Server 2010 Time entry and task updates user interface a s

Animprov vedinterfacestandardizes stheexperien ncebetween theTimesheetandTasksviewstoensu ure thatusers scanquicklyc completetim meandtaskup pdatesubmis ssions.Usingt thenewRibb boninterface, ,itis easytoco ompletecomm monactivities,suchaside entifyingover rdueandcom mpletedtasks, ,andtocreat te customfil ltersandgrou upstofindas ssignments.

Efficie entlyRec ceivePro ojectTas sks

Effectivep projectmana agementrequ uireshavingth helateststat usavailablet tobeabletoaccuratelyan nalyze projectpe erformanceandmakeapp propriateadju ustmentstoth heschedule.Organization nsneedflexible methodsforuserstosubmittimeandprovideprojectmanag gerswithrealtimetasksupdates. ProjectSe erver2010off fersvarioust toolsformanagingandcom mmunicating gresourceass signmentsand dfor effectively ygatheringta askupdatesfromteamme emberentries mberscanreceiveandview w s.Teammem theirassig gnmentsthro oughtheWeb bbasedTasks sview,throug ghanemailn notification,o orasMicroso oft Outlook t tasksgrouped dbyproject. Aftercons solidatingthe eirassignmen ntsinaneffec ctiveview,tea ammembers scanchooset theupdate methodandproductiv vitytooltheyprefertouse.ProjectServ ver2010mak kesiteasytop provide whetherteam mmembersch hoosetouset theTasksview wortoupdat tetasksdirec ctlyin assignmentupdates,w Outlook.P ProjectServer2010conne ectswithMicr rosoft Excha ngeServerto oensurethat teammembers canreceiv vetheirproje ecttasksinOu utlookorinM MicrosoftOut look WebAp pp,withoutre equiringan Outlooka addin(seeFig gure2).

Figure 2. Pro oject Server 2010 Project tasks in Outlook Web App s b

TheTasks sviewdisplay ysprojectand dnonprojectworkassigne edtoindividu uals.Inadditio on,userscanview tasksassig gnedtootherresourcesfo orwhichthey yprovideupd dates,suchas scontractors,orteamreso ource assignmentsfortheirp projects(seeFigure3).Ass signmentsint theTasksviewareorganiz zedbytimep period sersfocusoncurrentinfor rmationandp prepareforup vities.Sorting g,filtering,an nd tohelpus pcomingactiv groupingoptionsarea availabletohe elpusersfind drelevanttask ks.Teammem mbersalsoha avetheoptio onof ngtaskstoothersortoselfassigntasks smadetothe eirteamassig gnmentpool. reassignin

Figure 3. Pro oject Server 2010 Tasks view

Single eEntryM ModeEnhancesT Timeand dTaskR Reporting g

ProjectSe erver2010off fersasingles solutionforo organizations thatneedtocollecttimes spentonproj jects andtorep portonprojectprogress.T ThenewSingleEntryMod einProjectS Server2010simplifiestime eand taskstatu usreportingb byprovidinga aunifiedtimesheetinterfa ceforcaptur ringandupda atingtimeand d informatio onusedforo operations,an nalysis,andco ontrol. Timeshee etsareamech hanismforreportingtimeinstandardt timeperiods forexample e,aweekth hat canbecat tegorizedand dsummarized dtouseinotherbusiness processes,su uchaspayroll lorinvoicing. .The ProjectSe erver2010Tim mesheetview wincludesent trylinesfora assignedproje ecttaskssoth hatuserscan recordwo orkperformedduringthet timesheetpe eriod.Italsoin ncludesentry ylinesforadm ministrative categoriesthatcancap pturebothwo orkandnonw worktime.Si ngleEntryModesimplifie estimesheet submittal andupdates sbyconsolida atingtaskprogressandtim mereportingd data.Unificat tionoftimeand taskupda ateshelpsuse erscompletet thesubmissio on,reduceer rrors,andsee eresultsquick ker. TheProjectServer201 10Timesheetviewcombin nesprojectan ndadministra ativetimeina aseamlessvie ew, desanadjustableverticalbarbetweenlinedescript ioninformati ionandtheti imeentryare eafor andinclud flexibilityandprecision nwhenenter ringdata.Tim mesheetssupp portafixedca alendarperio od,organizedwith

projectta askslistedatt thetop,anda administrativeitemsbelow wsouserscannavigateto orelevanttime entrylines.Organizatio onscanestab blishpredefinedadministra gandnonwor rkingtime ativeworking gs,vacation,s sickleave,hol lidays,andot theradminist trativecatego ories(seeFigu ure categoriesformeeting 4).

Figure 4. Pro oject Server 2010 Timesheet view

InProject tServer2010timesheetda atacanbecat tegorizedfor integrationw withfinancialsystemsfor payroll,in nvoicing,proje ectcosting,andchargebac cks.Thisinclu udessupportforbillableversusnonbillable time,inad dditiontoreg gularandove ertimetimeen ntry.Timeshe eetsincludea avarietyofad dministrative controlstoenforcetim mereportings standards.ProjectServer2 2010address sesadditional lcomplex portforuserstosubmitsta atusupdates toprojectma anagersinthemiddleofa a scenariossuchassupp tperiodwithoutsubmittin nganentiretimesheetfor approval. timesheet

FlexibleTimeandTaskApprov vals
Manyorganizationsha avedifferentc controlando oversightrequ uirementsfor rtimesheetsandtaskstatus updates.P ProjectServe er2010appro ovalworkflow wsareconfigu urable,tohelp pprojectman nagementoff fices (PMOs)se electtheleve elofreviewan ndcontroltha atisrightfor theirorganiz zation.

ProjectSe erver2010providesadedi icatedApprov valCenterto simplifythereviewoftim mesheet,task updates,a andadministrativetimere equestapprov vals(seeFigu ure5).TheAp pprovalCente erinheritsthe e sameintu uitiveinterfac ceastheTime esheetandTa asksviews,w withoptionsto ogroup,sort, ,andfiltertas sksto helpusers spersonalizeandstreamlinetheirappr rovalactivitie es.

Figure 5. Pro oject Server 2010 Approval Center view

toffices(PMO ProjectSe erver2010giv vesmanagers sandprojectmanagement Os)thechoic ceofrequiring g approvalf fortimesheet tsubmittals,specifyingind dividualappro overs,letting gusersselecttheapprover r,or usingauto omaticappro ovalroutingso othattimesheetsgothrou ughamultile evelworkflow wbasedon organizationalhierarch hy.InProjectServer2010administrativ vetimelikeva acationreque estscanbe vedbyatime esheetmanag ger,usingper rlinetimeshe eetapprovals.Inaddition,ProjectServe er preapprov 2010candelaysending gtimesheetsforapprovaluntilalltasks sonthetime esheethavebeenapproved dby natedproject tortaskstatu usmanager. thedesign Taskupda atescanbero outeddirectly ytotheprojectmanagero ortoadesignatedtaskstatusmanager. . Businessm managersorPMOscancre eateautomat ticapprovalr rulesfortasks s,whichwillh helpreduce administrativeburdensothatproje ectmanagerscanfocuson notherimpor rtantactivities.UsingtheW Web provalPreviewfeature,managerscanm maintaincont trolbyvisuallyassessingt theeffectof basedApp changeso ontheschedu ulebeforeacc ceptingtasku updates(see Figure6).

Figure 6. Pro oject Server 2010 Approval Pre eview view

Optim mizedPer rformance,Adm ministrati ion,andLOBInt tegration n

Timerepo ortingsystemsneedtosup pporthighvolumesoftran nsactionsbec causemostte eammembers s completetheirtimeshe eetsatthesa ametimeat ttheendofth heworkweek k.Asinmany yotherareas,in thiswayP ProjectServer r2010scalestosupportth heneedsofth heenterprise e.Timesheets sarequeued separately yfromotherenterprisepr rojectmanagement(EPM) )businesspro ocessestosup pporthighvo olume transactio onperiodsandtominimize eimpactons systemperfor rmance. ProjectSe erver2010tim meandtaskm managementcapabilitiesa arehighlycon nfigurabletomeetthenee edsof velymanagethetimeshee theorgan nization.Byco onfiguringser rversettings,administrato orscanintuitiv et processbydefiningthe eappropriate efiscalaccoun ntingperiods s,creatingtim mesheetperio ods,adding tlineclassific cations,config guringadministrativetime ecategories,a andmore.PM MOscaneasil ly timesheet openandclosetimesheetperiodstofacilitatelo ockdownper iodsandcont troltimeentr ryinopendate Server2010,u userscanactasdelegates onbehalfofotherusers.Thisisextrem mely ranges.UsingProjectS andtaskupda atesforusers swithperiodi corextended dabsencesorwhensubstitutes helpfulfortimesheeta areneede edfortimesheetortaskap pprovalproce esses. TheProjectServer201 10reportingd databasehasbeenexpand dedtoinclude ecomprehens sivedetailsabout tdata.Thisin nformationca anbeusedtoshowthesta atusoftimesh heetsubmitta alsandappro ovals timesheet ataspecif ficpointintim me,orasove eralltrendsto osupportman nagementcomplianceand dperformanc ce reporting. Additiona usewithorb ally,timeshee etandtaskdatacanbesum mmarizedtou beintegratedintootherLO OB systems.O Organizations scaneasilyin ntegratewithotherapplica ationsbyaccessingtimesh heetdatathro ough Webservicesorthroug ghdirectacce esstothetim mesheetschem ma.Thisensu uresthatProjectServer20 010 ollectingandd disseminating ginformation nwithotherL LOBapplicatio ons,suchas willbeyourhubforco ccounting,andfinancialmanagements ystems. payroll,projectcostac

Addit tionalResource es
Forexpan ndedhelp,ste epbystepgu uides,andvideotrainingon nhowtogetthemostofP ProjectServer 2010andtheMicrosof ftEPMSolutio on,visitMicro osoftProject . Tolearnm moreaboutProject2010a andtheMicro osoftEPMSollution,refert tothefollowinglistofrelated links:

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MSDNPro oject2010Be eta Project20 010Blog ProjectTe eamBlog

Interact tiveconten ntVideos s&Session ns&Webca ast

Project20 010VideoSho owcase Enterprise eProjectMan nagementMicrosoftEvent ts ProjectDe eveloperCenter Microsoft tOfficeProjec ctTechNet

ProjectProfession nal2010an ndProjectServer201 10DemoImage:

Download d HostedVi irtualLab

ITProfe essionalrel latedTec chCentera atTechNet t

ProjectSe erver SharePoin nt ProjectAd dministration nBlog

Develop perrelated dDevelop percenteratMSDN

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