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Chapter 1

Introducing Microsoft Project Central

The concept of collaboration is vital to successful project management. Collaboration is gaining momentum throughout the industry, causing a shift from traditional, top-down hierarchies toward team structures. As these new workgroup models become popular, organizations that lead the transition will experience an increased demand for planning and scheduling tools that support collaborative environments. The creators of Microsoft® Project have long been committed to providing tools that support collaborative planning. Earlier versions of Microsoft Project and Microsoft Team Manager introduced collaboration via e-mail and the Web. With the release of Microsoft Project Central, Microsoft delivers a much needed set of collaborative planning and scheduling tools. As a Web-based companion to Microsoft Project 2000, Microsoft Project Central takes advantage of the accessibility and availability of information on Windows®-based intranets. Microsoft Project Central makes it easy for all members of a project team to participate, and it provides unprecedented access to project information. Together, Microsoft Project 2000 and Microsoft Project Central provides a powerful project management solution for the entire organization.

Figure 1. The Microsoft Project Central logon screen

Increase your productivity by involving everyone in the project communication hierarchy

Microsoft Project Central contributes to the success of a project by enabling clear communication of project data throughout the layers of management. Microsoft Project Central also allows project managers to capture the expertise of resources. The involvement of both team members and senior management in the planning process is achieved through the Microsoft Project Central client. The Microsoft Project Central client allows workers at all levels of the organization to view up-to-date project information and interact with the project planner by providing input to the schedule and project plan. Through Microsoft Project Central, even users with limited knowledge of project management methodology and no familiarity with Microsoft Project, can easily view, update, or provide input on the project plan and schedule.
The following is an overview of the features, benefits, and scenarios that the various types of users of Microsoft Project Central are likely to encounter:
· Project managers are responsible for planning, scheduling, and maintaining the project plan in Microsoft Project 2000. When using Microsoft Project Central to involve the workgroup messaging method, project managers retain complete control of the master project plan. However, they also benefit from the increased involvement of others within the organization, leading to more synergistic planning and informed decision making.
· Team members are workers who are identified as “resources” within a project plan. The primary goal of resources is to deliver on commitments and contribute to a project’s success. Increasingly, resources are expected to help plan tasks, estimate work, and track status. Microsoft Project Central provides resources with a customizable, easy-to-use tool for tracking their tasks and seeing how their efforts contribute to high-level projects or organizations.
· Resource managers and Team managersare responsible for assigning resources to a project and assessing staffing needs. Microsoft Project Central helps this level of management make efficient use of existing resources and anticipate future demands for staffing or headcount. In addition, it enables managers to assign and delegate work to functional teams in support of a larger, multidisciplinary project.
· Senior managers/Stakeholders are those with an interest in the status of one or more projects across the enterprise. Business development managers or managers of project managers may not be concerned with day-to-day project activity. They do, however, need to see how projects are performing in terms of time, budget, and human resources; and they need to be able to view this information at a glance.
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[ 本文发表于 2002年4月19日 15:12:27 ]