Configure Progress for Microsoft Project

Before configuring progress, confirm that you have correctly Configured PM Compass for Microsoft Project Integration.

Entering schedule progress and having it approved requires several steps and usually involves multiple people. In order for the process to function correctly, you need to complete the following steps:

  1. Confirm that your Progress tab settings are correct

  2. Identify the assignee and approver

  3. Create Progress entries and notifications

  4. Confirm the creation of the progress entries

  5. Next steps

Confirm that your Progress tab settings are correct

Related Topics

You can use the System Settings Progress tab or the Projects form Progress tab to define progress settings.

  • Use the System Settings Progress tab to define the system-level settings for viewing and updating the progress for schedules and costs.

  • Use the Projects form Progress tab to configure project-level settings applicable for updating progress.

You should review all of these settings prior to working with progress.

The "Allow Resource Percent Complete" Progress Tab Setting

When you use MSP/MSP Server as your scheduling tool, you can enter Physical % Complete (called Work % Complete or % Complete in MSP/MSP Server) OR Remaining Quantity, not both. 

When you select the Allow Resource Percent Complete option on the Progress tab, Remaining Quantity is disabled and Physical % Complete is enabled on the Resources tab of the Enter Schedule Progress form.

 

Learn more about...

Progress Tab of the System Settings Form

Progress Tab of the Projects Form

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Identify the assignee and approver

Related Topics

The assignee is the person who enters the progress. The approver is the person who approves the progress.

The Assignment Mapping grid on the PM Compass System Settings Progress tab identifies the assignee and approver for each update progress record type. The Assignment Mapping grid identifies who is notified and who else can enter or approve progress.

Check your cost and schedule projects to confirm that these fields on the activity, work package or control account contain user IDs that match user IDs found in PM Compass. It is the assignments in the project data that drives who is notified and has access rights to progress or approve progress entries.

Enter/Approve Progress for a Workflow that is Not Assigned to you

If you are part of the Progress Admin Group (set on the Progress tab in System Settings), you can enter or approve progress for all projects to which you have access. You can use the Enter/Approve Progress Search dialog box to select the activity/work package. For a VAR or other workflow type, you will need to reassign the task to yourself before entering or approving progress.

The Progress Admin Group field is on the System Settings Progress tab and the group is defined in EPM SA.

Review the Progress System Settings

Use the Progress tab of the System Settings form to define the system-level settings for viewing and updating the progress for schedules and costs.

How to...

Specify the Assignee and Approver for Progress Entries

 

Learn more about...

Assignment Mapping Grid

System Settings

System Settings Progress tab

 

 

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Create Progress entries and notifications

Related Topics

After progress is entered but before it is approved, the progress entered is stored in a Progress entry. To make it simpler to find the activities you should be working on and improve performance, Deltek recommends that you create a scheduled process that automatically creates Progress entries. If you do not create Progress entries, the Enter Schedule progress view is blank when you access the view.

The process to create Progress entries automatically displays all activities assigned to the user that are either in progress or planned to start before the end of the next progress cycle.  This makes it much simpler for the person entering progress to know which activities they should be working on.

When are Progress Entries Created?

For schedule data and in progress work packages, the recurring scheduled alert checks if today is the day that progress entries need to be created. This is determined by subtracting Number of Days Before Period End to Create Progress Entries from the Period End Date and comparing that date with today's date (based on the application server’s system date). If the dates match, then existing progress entries for the project are deleted and new ones are created.

For planned work packages, the system compares the next period end date to the forecast date. If the cost set is selected in the Project Details view and the class in the cost set uses an alternate date set, the alternate date is compared to the next period end date. For more information, see Period End Date in Related Topics.

Using a Profile

You must run the integration with Microsoft Project before creating Progress entries, therefore, Deltek strongly recommends that you create a profile so that you can specify the order in which the processes occur.

After you schedule the processes, you can view them in the Profile Editor.

Creating Progress Entries

You can click the Run Now button to create progress entries for a single project, or you can schedule the creation of Progress entries in Workflow Type Configuration. 

You need to schedule the creation of progress entries, regardless of whether or not you choose to automatically create progress entries, because this process advances the Period End Date.

You can schedule the creation of progress entries with a reoccurring scheduled alert that runs daily. You do this by clicking the Schedule button on the Projects Schedule Integration tab (per-project setting) or the Workflow Type Configuration Scheduling tab (system-wide setting).

Make sure that you select the Submit to a Profile checkbox on the Schedule dialog box Main tab, and select the profile.

Since the alert checks to see if today is the day progress entries are created for a project, Deltek highly recommends scheduling the alert to recur every day. You do this on the Recurrence tab of the Schedule dialog box.

In addition, it is helpful to schedule the alert to run early in the morning, for example, 2:00am. This ensures that records are created at the start of the workday and system resources are used when users are not on the system.

See Schedule the Creation of Progress Entries and Create Progress Entries for a Single Project in Related Topics for more information.

Automatically Create Progress Entries

You can set PM Compass to automatically create progress entries. This provides a default list of records that the person entering progress should be focusing on — those records (activities or work packages) that are in progress or planned to start before the end of the next period. These records are used to notify the person who should be entering the progress and the Pending Progress report so you can tell when all progress has been submitted.

If you do not automatically create progress entries, the Enter Progress view is blank when you access the view.

See Automatically Create Progress Entries in Related Topics for more information.

New Vs. Existing Progress Entries

When new progress entries are created for a project, all existing progress entries are deleted regardless of their workflow status. For example, if a user submits progress but it is not approved, the submitted progress will be deleted when new progress entries are created.

Notifications

Notifications (an email or dashboard alert) let the assignee or approver know that there is something they need to do. After you schedule the creation of progress entries, you need to schedule the alerts that send out the notifications.

  • Notify to Enter Progress alert — This alert sends an assignee a single email for all activities that need progress. By default, the notification is sent out three days before progress is due.

  • Assuming the default notification alert is scheduled to run daily, a CAM will receive an email if they have assignments and today's date is within 3 days of progress being due. (3 days is the default Days Allocated total on the Progress tab.)

  • Notify to Approve Progress alert — After a user enters and submits progress, this alert sends the approver a notification that progress has been submitted that they need to approve.

Since the alert checks to see if today is the day notifications need to be sent, Deltek recommends scheduling the alerts to recur every day. You do this on the Recurrence tab of the Schedule dialog box. In addition, it is helpful to schedule the alerts to run early in the morning, for example, 2:00am. This ensures that notifications are created at the start of the workday and system resources are used when users are not on the system.

For more information about scheduling and editing these alerts, see Schedule a Notify to Enter Progress Alert and Schedule a Notify to Approve Progress Alert in Related Topics.

Project-level vs. System-level Settings

You can configure settings for viewing and updating the progress for schedules and costs for all projects (system-level) or on a project-by-project basis (project-level).

  • Progress tab of the System Settings form — Use this tab to configure the progress settings for all projects. For more information, see Define system-level progress settings in Related Topics.

  • Progress tab of the Project Details view — Use this tab to configure progress settings on a per-project basis. For more information, see Project form Progress tab field descriptions in Related Topics.

How to...

Create a profile

Schedule the creation of MSP progress entries using a profile

Define system-level progress settings

Schedule the Creation of Progress Entries

Create Progress Entries for a Single Project

Schedule a Notify to Enter Progress alert

Schedule a Notify to Approve Progress alert

Automatically Create Progress Entries

 

Learn more about...

Profile Editor

Scheduling tab

Project form Progress tab

Workflow Steps tab

Progress Scheduling tab

How Cost and Schedule progress entries are created

Alternate Date Set

Pending Progress report

Schedule dialog box

Period End Date

 

 

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Confirm the creation of Progress entries

Related Topics

Now that you have configured the system and created the progress entries, use the Pending Progress report to confirm that the progress settings are correct. Run the Pending Progress report and select to view All Progress. The report shows all progress entries that are created.  

In the Assignee/Approver column, you can see the user that the assignment mapping grid resolved to be assigned to record. It is this user who will receive the notifications in the workflow. Parent rows in the assignment mapping grid will also be able see the progress entries, but they will not receive notifications.  

Learn more about...

Pending Progress report

Reports

Assignment Mapping Grid

 

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Next steps

Related Topics

You are now ready to submit and approve progress.

For information about how the MSP file gets updated after progress is submitted and approved, see Sync PM Compass with Microsoft Project in Related Topics.

 

How to....

Enter and Submit Schedule Progress

Approve Schedule Progress

Approve Progress for a Workflow that is not Assigned to you

 

Learn more about...

Sync PM Compass with MS Project

How PM Compass retrieves and stores MSP/Project Server progress data