How to synchronize acutal date with PWA?

[Rabbit]

Hi All,

Team members update the actual working hours on timesheet through PWA, but
PM also can update the actual working hours on .mpp file, in this case,
there are data consistency issues between .mpp and timesheet, how does PM
synchronize data once PM opens .mpp file from project server?

Here are the case:

1. PM changes actual working hours on .MPP
2. Save and publish it WITHOUT checking "overwrite actuals in the resource's
timesheet""
3. Team members update timesheet on PWA
4. The data in .mpp file may not be consistent with timesheet when PM opens
..mpp now.

Does project server have any mechanism to avoid this data consistent issue?
Such as prompting warning message, or automatically synchronize data when
opening .mpp from project server.

Thanks in advance,

Rabbit

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Rabbit --

Your PM's are making a serious mistake when they enter actuals in the
Microsoft Project plan and then republish the assignments without selecting
the "Overwrite actual work entered by resources" option. This flawed
practice is the source of data being "out of synch" between the Microsoft
Project plan and PWA, and this practice should be discontinued.

If the PM enters actuals on behalf of one or more team members, and wants to
republish only those assignments that were updated manually in the Microsoft
Project plan, the PM should apply the Resource Usage view, select the
assignments updated manually, and then republish the assignments using the
"Overwrite actual work entered by resources" option. Hope this helps.

 

[Rabbit\(163\)]

Dale Howard,

Thanks for your answer.

If date is "out of synch" between the Microsoft project plan and PWA, can PM
synchronize the data from PWA to .mpp file? In this case, we assume PWA data
is correct.

Thanks,

Rabbit.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Rabbit --

I'm totally confused. You are using the word "date" but do you mean "data"
instead. Also, I am confused about how your organization is tracking
progress in Project Server. If progress is being entered by team members in
PWA, the project manager needs to make sure that he/she has processed all
task updates in the Updates page of PWA. This will ensure that the data
between the Microsoft Project plan and PWA are always "in synch."

If the project manager is entered progress manually in the Microsoft Project
plan, then he/she needs to make sure to follow the steps I detailed in my
previous post (republish assignments and overwrite actuals). This will also
ensure that the data between the Microsoft Project plan and PWA are always
"in synch."

If the project manager is manually entering progress on a task in the
Microsoft Project plan while a team member is entering progress on the same
task in PWA, then you have a real problem. Whose progress is correct in
this situation? The project manager? The team member? And why is the
project manager manually entering progress when the team member is using PWA
for this purpose? Do you see why you have a problem here? Project Server
can't solve this problem for you, as the problem is a process and procedure
problem. Let us know if this helps.