Multiple PMs in same project at the same time

[John D.]

Saw the post on this from 2006. Wanted to ask again however.

How can myself and two other project managers work on building the same
project at the same time? Eventually we'd want maybe 20 - 30 key PMs and
leads to be able to access and update the schedule.

It is a large 20,000 line plus program plan that is not really divisible
into different projects. It could be, but there are hundreds of linked tasks
between what you might consider projects.

We are looking at several outsourced / hosted / SAAS providers currently so
I'm not sure how much control we will have over the environment. Point being
whatever the solution is will have to be pretty vanilla I guess.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

John D --

In the future, please let us know what version of Project Server you are
using. 2002, 2003, or 2007? Since you didn't say, I will assume you are
using Project Server 2007.

The answer to your question is yes and no. Yes, you can have multiple PMs
who will each manage their own sets of tasks. Each of the PMs must
obviously have security permissions that allow them Read/Write access to the
project. Each PM must open the project, set him/herself as the Status
Manager of the tasks he/she will manage, and then publish the project.

The "no" part of the answer is no, multiple PMs cannot open and edit the
project simultaneously. This means that when one PM has the project open
for editing, no one else can edit it. Hope this helps.

 

[John D.]

Dale:

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry about the version. I don't honestly know
right now but I'm 99% sure it will be 2007 since the hosted solutions we are
looking at all appear to be 2007.

So, to clarify, it sounds like the status manager concept is really just for
updating existing tasks. Duration changes, actual dates, actual durations and
such.

For purposes of building the schedule, adding new tasks, linking tasks,
deleting tasks, and such it sound like it's one PM at a time?

Do I have that basically right?

Are these topics covered in your book "Managing Enterprise Projects using
Microsoft Office Project Server 2007"? Hate to take up your time if its
already published.

Thanks,
John

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

John --

No, you are wrong on several assumptions. The Status Manager is the person
to whom task updates go for approval when team members submit the updates
from PWA. Anyone who can open a project Read/Write can do any of the normal
procedures in the project, such as adding new tasks, linking tasks, etc.

And yes, you will find our "Managing Enterprise Projects..." books to be a
treasure trove of information about how to effectively use Project Server
2007. Hope this helps.