PWA accepts time even if period is closed.

[tilt]

Project Pro 2003, Project Server 2003, PWA, Managed Time Periods.

We would like to temporarily prevent people from entering time when we
are making plan updates on the server. So we try to close the current
open time period and go ahead with making updates to the plan.

Unfortunately this does not seem to prevent people from still being
able to enter time for the current period (which is supposedly
closed).

Any ideas why this happens?

By the way, in our installation there are a lot of things in Project
and Project Server that do not work as they are supposed to work, so
this might be just one more case like that.

Cheers

 

[Project Server Slave]

Have you attempted to use the "close task for updates" feature? This
should accomplish your goal.

 

[tilt]

Have you attempted to use the "close task for updates" feature? This
should accomplish your goal.

Thanks, I shall try that. However I should mention that there are
around 18 workplans and when consolidated, there will be around 8000+
lines in the plan. Therefore clsoing each of those tasks individually
might present a logistics challenge.

Just out of academic interest, would anyone hazard a guess as to why
people are able to enter time into a closed period? Or could it be
that in Managed Time Periods it is not possible to close all the
periods, that one period absolutely has to remain open?

Cheers

 

[Michelle.ATL]

Thanks, I shall try that. However I should mention that there are
around 18 workplans and when consolidated, there will be around 8000+
lines in the plan. Therefore clsoing each of those tasks individually
might present a logistics challenge.

Just out of academic interest, would anyone hazard a guess as to why
people are able to enter time into a closed period? Or could it be
that in Managed Time Periods it is not possible to close all the
periods, that one period absolutely has to remain open?

Cheers

Hi:

Are you talking about entering Task Updates or Timesheet updates?
Also, please verify that you using 2003 or 2007? Closing Tasks to
update will only disable people from entering task updates on each
specific Task - it won't lock it down for a period of time. It will
literally not let anyone update the task anymore, regardless of the
date.

If you can give me your specific steps to repro, I'd be happy to look
into this for you. We used Time Periods in 2003 for years, and are
also using them in 2007. When we lock them, it is so the resources
cannot adjust their timesheets, as we run billing from them. I
haven't seen an issue with this specific problem yet, but let me know,
and I will troubleshoot it for you.

Thanks!

Michelle Thomas, MCP
Avitus Technologies

 

[tilt]

Hi:

Are you talking about entering Task Updates or Timesheet updates?
Also, please verify that you using 2003 or 2007?
*SNIP*
If you can give me your specific steps to repro, I'd be happy to look
into this for you.

Thanks Michelle,

We are on Project Pro 2003, Project Server 2003 and use PWA for time
entry.

Steps:

1. Close the current time period to prevent time entry (meaning not a
single period is open)
2. Accept time from PWA into the plan
3. Check PWA to see that there are no pending updates to accept (there
is none)
4. Archive the plan to run metrics (we have an in-house macro to
calculate CPI, SPI, EV etc.)
5. Check PWA to see if there are any updates pending acceptance (now
there are some even though the period is still closed!)

I am not at work today, but when I get back on Monday I shall try to
reproduce this myself. I suspect that the Administrator in question (I
am not the Administrator, I am just the local PMO-SME and the go-to
person when people have issues - the one-eyed man in the land of the
blind so to speak) had one more step in between that he has forgotten
to inform me about.

Thanks again and cheers

 

[tilt]

Thanks Michelle,

We are on Project Pro 2003, Project Server 2003 and use PWA for time
entry.

Steps:

1. Close the current time period to prevent time entry (meaning not a
single period is open)
2. Accept time from PWA into the plan
3. Check PWA to see that there are no pending updates to accept (there
is none)
4. Archive the plan to run metrics (we have an in-house macro to
calculate CPI, SPI, EV etc.)
5. Check PWA to see if there are any updates pending acceptance (now
there are some even though the period is still closed!)

I am not at work today, but when I get back on Monday I shall try to
reproduce this myself. I suspect that the Administrator in question (I
am not the Administrator, I am just the local PMO-SME and the go-to
person when people have issues - the one-eyed man in the land of the
blind so to speak) had one more step in between that he has forgotten
to inform me about.

Thanks again and cheers- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

OK, Monday update: I have not been able to replicate the issue. IF the
period is closed, I am unable to enter time, just as it should be.

So, either it was a one-time problem (as I mentiond in an earlier
post, Project does misbehave off and on) or - the more likely cause -
the Administrator did have one more step in between and forgot about
it.

Thank you all for your patience and help.

Cheers