Task updates "stuck"

[Ed]

This is starting to be really annoying.
Some (most) of the PM's using project server are getting problemswhere task
updates "stick" in the updates area.
In all cases after the update they get a message saying that not all updates
could be processed - clicking details names the project files and the neatly
unhelpfull error message "Unknown error".
Atfer that the updates remain in the updates page but you cannot now change
the status from accept to anything, the drop down does not appear. There is
also now a message top right that says "<red flag> save your project file
with this task change".
saving the file again doesn't seem to help, running update again reproduces
the error.
There's nothing in the event log.

Any ideas gratefully recieved!

 

[Vadim Bogdanov]

Hi Ed,

do they save project file immediately after pressing Accept? Project Pro
offers saving file and they must press Yes.

 

[Ed]

Yes they do, but coming back to the updates page still shows these stuck tasks.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

There are two main reasons I've seen this happen:

1) Project managers delete tasks incorrectly leaving orphaned assignments on
the users timesheets whereby Project Web Access is out of synch with Project

2) Project managers use one URL to access PWA, but their Project Server
account in Project uses a different URL.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Make sure you've got the SP1 applied as well.

 

[Herbgarden]

I have this problem too Ed, I've had it twice and once it suddenly
disappeared and all was well. I've read through Gary's responses but none
seem to apply to me.

Make sure you've got the SP1 applied as well.

 

[Dan]

Anyone want to let me know how to "delete tasks incorrectly" per Gary's post?

Seems to me if Project Pro let's you do it, it's not "incorrect" and that
it's the app that has a bug?????

--
Dan Beebe
Manager, Technology & Development
Vision2Reality

There are two main reasons I've seen this happen:

1) Project managers delete tasks incorrectly leaving orphaned assignments on
the users timesheets whereby Project Web Access is out of synch with Project

2) Project managers use one URL to access PWA, but their Project Server
account in Project uses a different URL.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Dan:

You want to know how to do it incorrectly? OK, Go into your project and
delete a task with a published assignment on it and do nothing else. That's
all there is to it. Next, you wait for the resource to report time against
that task which is still in the timesheet.

 

[Dan]

Gary,

Believe me, we have PMs (mostly ones on our Sr. Mgt. team) that can't seem
to consistantly follow a 5-6 step process just to delete an assigned task
from a project. The process has been documented, the PMs have been trained
and we are constantly having problems that require manual cleanup in SQL
Server (OK - most of these 'fixes' are automated now).

Why not prompt the user at the point the task is deleted (or perhaps when
the plan is re/published) as to the disposition of the task assignments for
deleted tasks? Just because they are stored in different tables doesn't
justify the amount of manual work required to keep large/complex and dynamic
plans up to date.

Seems to me that the user is being punished because the app developers have
not bothered to look at how 'regular' users use the system. Based on the
number of posts on this board, it would appear that a few MS Human Factors
people need to take a look at this issue.

Just because you can describe how to make a system work the way you want it
to, doesn't mean that the system design is without fault. We wouldn't be
using MS Project if we didn't think it was the best fit for our needs,
however, being a 'best fit' is a lot different than being a 'perfect fit'.

--
Dan Beebe
Manager, Technology & Development
Vision2Reality

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Dan:

I can't disagree with anything you say. I think we may be several
generations from anything near perfect, but I do see significant progress in
the next version.

 

[Paige]

So how do you fix this? We seem to have the same problem with those orphaned
issues...

There are two main reasons I've seen this happen:

1) Project managers delete tasks incorrectly leaving orphaned assignments on
the users timesheets whereby Project Web Access is out of synch with Project

2) Project managers use one URL to access PWA, but their Project Server
account in Project uses a different URL.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Paige:

The quickest and easiest (subjective) way to do this is to save the plan as
an mpp file, delete it from the server, use Tools > Enterprise Options >
Import Project to Enterprise, and republish all your assignments after
importing. You may need to backup and restore your SharePoint contents if
you're making use of them.

 

[Paige]

Thank you for that quick response!!!

I was afraid of that answer... my concern is the actuals that the folks have
been entering in this project from PWA. How will that effect those actuals
and the ones that have been entered but never actually saved?

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Paige:

When you republish the plan, select the checkbox to overwrite actual work in
the timesheets. This will push the actuals back to PWA so the users can see
them. The actual work is preserved in the plan. If you're using managed time
periods, you'll need to turn this feature off to do this. The updates that
won't process will be lost. You'll need to ask your resources to resubmit
them, or enter them directly into the plan before republishing.

 

[Paige]

Thank you Gary. I appreciate the assistance!

Paige:

When you republish the plan, select the checkbox to overwrite actual work in
the timesheets. This will push the actuals back to PWA so the users can see
them. The actual work is preserved in the plan. If you're using managed time
periods, you'll need to turn this feature off to do this. The updates that
won't process will be lost. You'll need to ask your resources to resubmit
them, or enter them directly into the plan before republishing.