Item: Microsoft Project Server
Rating: 10
Author: Amanda Bourdeaux

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Project Server

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Microsoft Project Server to track project information on a large scale (several hundred projects across many different organizations). Although each department uses Microsoft Project Server in different ways, it is incredibly useful to us because it allows for accurate, up to date, information to be available to the numerous people who interact with different projects. Project managers and team members are able to collaborate more effectively and make changes in real time. Managers are then able to easily run reports to view these changes, or see projects across the board with out having to open projects individually.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Creates a single source of truth for all projects - All users interacting with the project can view the most recent copy.
Visibility - Project Managers are able to see all their projects at once, Managers/Admins are able to view all project information without having to open each project individually.
Customization - Easy to customize project attributes/fields.
Backup - If someone accidentally publishes something incorrectly, past publishes can be restored.

Cons

Speed - It can be slow at times, but this varies depending on how many projects/users/etc you have.
Workflows - there are more intuitive solutions available.
Costs/Resource structure could have more flexibility.
More customization at the program level.

Return on Investment

More efficient way to run reports.
More efficient way to make changes across all projects as enterprise fields change.
More efficient way to manage resources across all departments.

Alternatives Considered

I was not involved in the process of selecting Microsoft Project Server, and this is the only product I have used.

However, the multiplatform integration I think is what makes it so valuable. The access to such a wide variety of products from Microsoft that all work well together make it a tool that is both useful and user friendly enough for people of all skill/experience levels to learn quickly.

Other Software Used

Microsoft Project, MS SharePoint, Nintex Workflow

Likelihood to Recommend

I think Microsoft Project server is probably better for larger companies - if you're only tracking a handful of projects, the cost may not be worth it if you have a faster/more cost efficient way of tracking project information. However, when you're trying to track many different projects across many different departments, then I think Microsoft Project server is very helpful. Same thing if you only have one person responsible for project information - it might be more cost efficient to track information another way. If you have many people collaborating on projects then Microsoft Project Server is great for having a unified source to pull project information.

Comments

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Project Server - Great for Large Orgs