ops time in Administrative bucket in PWA 2007?

[anovak]

Well, I thought I had found a solution for keeping track of
operational items (database backups, customer support, etc.) by just
creating a full list of those categories as Administrative lines and
uncheck the box that displays them all the time (most won't apply to
all). Then just use Timesheets for reporting time on operational
activities and non-work (use My Task for project progress only).

To my dismay, I was unable to add a line to the timesheet from one of
the Administrative items I added. What then is the correct approach
to building buckets for tracking operational activities?

Thanks,
Andy Novak
UNT

 

[Marc Soester [MVP]]

Have you ensured that the Status of the admin tasks are open?
Let me know

 

[anovak]

Have you ensured that the Status of the admin tasks are open?
Let me know
--
Marc Soester [MVP]
State Manager: EPMhttp://marcsoester.blogspot.com







- Show quoted text -

Yes, Status is open. I'd also like to configure this to where you
don't have to obtain pre-approval prior to submitting time for any of
these items.

Thanks ahead of time for help on this.

Andy Novak
UNT

 

[Bill Busby]

Andy, you should consider using an activity plan for operational support. One
caveat is that if you define tasks on an activity plan you'll be limited to
one resource per task. This is by design but is one of the many poor design
aspects of Project Server 2007. A workaround that we've adopted is to never
add tasks to activity plans, just leave them bare and build a team for it.
Anyone assigned as a resource can add the activity plan to their timesheet.
Those not assigned won't see the plan in their list of 'add lines' options.
This way you can add as many resources as you want. The only downside, and
we've found this acceptable for the level of flexibility is you may have a
lot of activity plans.

 

[Mike]

Andy, you should consider using an activity plan for operational support. One
caveat is that if you define tasks on an activity plan you'll be limited to
one resource per task. This is by design but is one of the many poor design
aspects of Project Server 2007. A workaround that we've adopted is to never
add tasks to activity plans, just leave them bare and build a team for it.
Anyone assigned as a resource can add the activity plan to their timesheet.
Those not assigned won't see the plan in their list of 'add lines' options.
This way you can add as many resources as you want. The only downside, and
we've found this acceptable for the level of flexibility is you may have a
lot of activity plans.
--
William Busby
Project Management







- Show quoted text -

Andy

You can add any administrative item to your timesheet by using "Plan
Administrative Time" function. You clearly have to do this before you
open the timesheet or after you have closed - not a great process.

regards

Mike

 

[anovak]

Andy, you should consider using an activity plan for operational support. One
caveat is that if you define tasks on an activity plan you'll be limited to
one resource per task. This is by design but is one of the many poor design
aspects of Project Server 2007. A workaround that we've adopted is to never
add tasks to activity plans, just leave them bare and build a team for it.
Anyone assigned as a resource can add the activity plan to their timesheet.
Those not assigned won't see the plan in their list of 'add lines' options.
This way you can add as many resources as you want. The only downside, and
we've found this acceptable for the level of flexibility is you may have a
lot of activity plans.

Bill, do I have to use a resource plan in order to do this or is it
just a matter of building a team for the activity? I had followed a
BLOG example earlier that suggested the use of an activity plan in
conjunction with a resource plan and I could never seem to get it to
work (buggy).
Then this only shows up in the timesheets, not My Tasks? If so, it
will be quite a chore for folks to go one place to record progress (My
Tasks) and another place to enter time for operational stuff.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[Astro Boy]

Andy, the best process I've found for capturing time is this:

1. A resource enters ALL of their time on the Timesheet.
2. The resource then goes to My Tasks and uses "Import Timesheet" to
populate the task updates.
3. The resource adjusts Remaining Work on My Tasks and submits.

This solution, while certainly less than perfect, does offer the ability to
add "Admin" tasks (best handled by using the Activity/Resource Plan approach
outlined by someone above) to the Timesheet, as well as do things like total
your entries to ensure you've got 40 hours per week.

On the down side: It can be confusing for resources, and it really precludes
you from using the Outlook add-in.

However, it seems to be the solution that is the least distasteful. It will
be interesting to see if SP1 addresses this dreadful design in any way.