OLAP and Project Naming Conventions

[Victoria]

Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed" characters, such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the OLAP cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am seeing, among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project pro and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could it also be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or perhaps the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin - Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ] , . '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend that all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate - Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned to the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as well.
Hope this helps.

 

[Victoria]

Thak you once again Dale. I know that updating projects is an ongoing
problem that I am trying to "educate" PM's about. Your other points are also
well taken. Having the managed time periods really throws a wrench in the
system if it isn't managed properly. I see so many quirky little db things,
that I am starting to think that perhaps this is at least part of the problem
(but certainly not all of it)! Baby steps!
cheers, Victoria

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin - Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ] , . '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend that all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate - Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned to the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as well.
Hope this helps.

Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed" characters,
such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the OLAP
cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am seeing,
among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project pro and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could it also
be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or perhaps
the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Victoria --

You are more than welcome, my friend!

Thak you once again Dale. I know that updating projects is an ongoing
problem that I am trying to "educate" PM's about. Your other points are
also
well taken. Having the managed time periods really throws a wrench in the
system if it isn't managed properly. I see so many quirky little db
things,
that I am starting to think that perhaps this is at least part of the
problem
(but certainly not all of it)! Baby steps!
cheers, Victoria

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a
couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource
names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal
characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin - Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ] ,
. '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend that
all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of
processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project
plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate -
Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned to
the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as well.
Hope this helps.

Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed" characters,
such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the
OLAP
cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am seeing,
among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project pro
and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of
the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could it
also
be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or perhaps
the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Victoria]

Hi Dale,
I have a couple more questions, first, when zeroing out tasks to delete
them, etc. if we publish all information, will that not push all of the task
assignments out again? should we be using a different type of publishing?

Secondly, does the "illegal " character problem extend to other areas like
the PWA views, categories, etc.?

thanks,
Victoria

Victoria --

You are more than welcome, my friend!

Thak you once again Dale. I know that updating projects is an ongoing
problem that I am trying to "educate" PM's about. Your other points are
also
well taken. Having the managed time periods really throws a wrench in the
system if it isn't managed properly. I see so many quirky little db
things,
that I am starting to think that perhaps this is at least part of the
problem
(but certainly not all of it)! Baby steps!
cheers, Victoria

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a
couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource
names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal
characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin - Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ] ,
. '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend that
all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of
processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project
plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate -
Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned to
the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as well.
Hope this helps.




Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed" characters,
such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the
OLAP
cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am seeing,
among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project pro
and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of
the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could it
also
be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or perhaps
the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Victoria --

If you need to cancel a task, you should follow all of the steps I
specified, including the publishing. Resources will continue to see
cancelled tasks on their timesheets, denoted by a big black "X" indicator in
the Indicators column. They can hide these cancelled assignments.

Yes, I suppose that illegal characters could impact other areas of PWA, but
I can't cite any examples. Perhaps the others know of specific problems.
Hope this helps.

Hi Dale,
I have a couple more questions, first, when zeroing out tasks to delete
them, etc. if we publish all information, will that not push all of the
task
assignments out again? should we be using a different type of publishing?

Secondly, does the "illegal " character problem extend to other areas like
the PWA views, categories, etc.?

thanks,
Victoria

Victoria --

You are more than welcome, my friend!

Thak you once again Dale. I know that updating projects is an ongoing
problem that I am trying to "educate" PM's about. Your other points
are
also
well taken. Having the managed time periods really throws a wrench in
the
system if it isn't managed properly. I see so many quirky little db
things,
that I am starting to think that perhaps this is at least part of the
problem
(but certainly not all of it)! Baby steps!
cheers, Victoria

:

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in
this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a
couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource
names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal
characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin -
Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ]
,
. '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects
after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend
that
all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of
processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project
plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate -
Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned
to
the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as
well.
Hope this helps.




Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed"
characters,
such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the
OLAP
cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am
seeing,
among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project
pro
and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of
the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could
it
also
be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or
perhaps
the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Victoria]

Thanks Dale!

Victoria --

If you need to cancel a task, you should follow all of the steps I
specified, including the publishing. Resources will continue to see
cancelled tasks on their timesheets, denoted by a big black "X" indicator in
the Indicators column. They can hide these cancelled assignments.

Yes, I suppose that illegal characters could impact other areas of PWA, but
I can't cite any examples. Perhaps the others know of specific problems.
Hope this helps.

Hi Dale,
I have a couple more questions, first, when zeroing out tasks to delete
them, etc. if we publish all information, will that not push all of the
task
assignments out again? should we be using a different type of publishing?

Secondly, does the "illegal " character problem extend to other areas like
the PWA views, categories, etc.?

thanks,
Victoria

Victoria --

You are more than welcome, my friend!




Thak you once again Dale. I know that updating projects is an ongoing
problem that I am trying to "educate" PM's about. Your other points
are
also
well taken. Having the managed time periods really throws a wrench in
the
system if it isn't managed properly. I see so many quirky little db
things,
that I am starting to think that perhaps this is at least part of the
problem
(but certainly not all of it)! Baby steps!
cheers, Victoria

:

Victoria --

Without being able to examine your system, I'm not sure any of us in
this
forum could really troubleshoot your problems. However, here are a
couple
thoughts:

1. The use of illegal characters in either project names or resource
names
can cause errors in the building of the OLAP cube. The illegal
characters
are listed in the "OLAP cube and description" section of the Update
Resources and OLAP Cube page in PWA, accessed by clicking Admin -
Manage
Enterprise Features. These illegal characters are: / " ; : < > | [ ]
,
. '
? ~ ` ! $ % ^ & * ( ) - + = { } \

2. Your managers must be diligent about publishing their projects
after
accepting task updates from PWA. As a best practice, we recommend
that
all
PM's click Collaborate - Publish - All Information at the end of
processing
every set of updates to every project.

3. If your managers manually enter progress in the Microsoft Project
plan
(meaning that they hand type values such as Actual Start, Actual Work,
Actual Duration, or % Complete into the project plan), then they must
republish the assignments to "synch up" the data in the plan with team
member's timesheets. To do this, the PM must click Collaborate -
Publish -
Republish Assignments, select the "Overwrite actual work entered by
resources" option, and then click OK.

4. Your PM's should never delete a task while resources are assigned
to
the
task. The proper sequence is as follows:

A. Set Remaining Work to 0 hours on the task
B. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
C. Remove the resources assigned to the task
D. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information
E. Delete the task
F. Click Collaborate - Publish - All Information

Just a few thoughts. Perhaps the others have some ideas for you as
well.
Hope this helps.




Hi,
I have seen in the past where using one of the "disallowed"
characters,
such
as a hyphen in a project name, seems to affect the integrity of the
OLAP
cube
(which does not allow these characters), is this correct? I am
seeing,
among
many other things, inconsistencies in the project data in project
pro
and
PWA. Could this be a cause? I am thinking that this may be part of
the
ongoing project problems that I have inherited on this site. Could
it
also
be
the views processing service terminating and not restarting, or
perhaps
the
way that project managers are publishing/updating their projects?

thanks,
Victoria

 

[Kathy S]

Dale,
As usual, you are a wealth of knowledge. One quick question on the
below, does the PM have to use the All Information publish method or
can the PM use the New and Changed Assignments publish method? The
reason why I ask, is that the All Information publish method
automatically sends email notifications. Thanks. Kathy

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Kathy --

Good point about the e-mail messages. You can use the New and Changed
Assignments method and then deselect the option to send the e-mail message.
Hope this helps.

 

[Victoria]

Thanks again Dale. I guess that was where I was going with my last question.
I was concerned about team members receiving notification again.

cheers,
Victoria