Last week we talked about which reporting tools are real time in Microsoft Project Online and Microsoft Project Server 2013: Real Time Reporting in Project Online and Project Server 2013.
This week, let’s talk about the data behind that reporting.
Since you are reporting across the enterprise, getting all the data correct at one time is a group effort.
We suggest starting with the delivery date in mind, and tracing back.
- If your weekly portfolio report is due on Tuesday, project managers need to spend Monday afternoons adjusting and publishing their projects.
- If timesheets or tasks are being used, the project managers will need to have all their team members’ updates reviewed for application to the correct project/task, and then accepted, by noon Monday.
- If the project manager is entering the actual work in the schedule, they need to have this completed by noon Monday.
- The team members must, then, update their progress on tasks for the previous week by early Monday morning. We have seen this work better than a Friday deadline, allowing a resource to be out of the office Friday and still update their time on schedule.
Monitoring the timesheet/tasks entry then becomes the next crucial element in this reporting process. Next week, we’ll talk about simple ways to audit timesheets and project updates.
Have questions about how to implement a system that will support great reporting in your environment? Contact MS Project Now. We can help.
