Christophe Fiessinger's Blog Updates on Microsoft's Enterprise Social Networking (ESN) and Project Portfolio Management (PPM) offerings
With the recent RTM release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 on July 22, I have updated all my desktops and laptops to Windows 2008 R2, so far no driver issues on any machine (How to upgrade your laptop/desktop to Windows Server 2008 R2?).
One thing I could not figure was how to display a preview of pictures using Windows Explorer and other visual effects that are standard with Windows 7.
Thanks to a Microsoft colleague the solution is simple, go to System Properties –> Advanced –> Performance Settings and check Show thumbnails instead of icons and voila!
This is a blog post that is worth checking out! My colleague Jan Kalis just announced the release of the Project Server 2007 Report Pack II (recorded webcast and demo here). Why is it the best thing since slice bread? Well check out the following list of SQL Server Reporting Services it contains (and to make it easier to use in your environment it all contains full documentation as well as separate Visual Studio packages and directories of ALL T-SQL queries). I’m sure you will find few key nuggets in there that will help you with your day to day activities as well as surface key information from your Project Server 2007 Project Portfolio Management gold mine of information!
We are happy to the announce the release of the August 2009 Cumulative Update (August CU). Cumulative Update (CU) are scheduled every two months, so the next releases will be at the end of October, December, etc. Please note that the August CU does not contain all the fixes from Service Pack 2 (SP2) which was released on 4/48 (more SP2 info here) so you need to install both SP2 and August CU to have all the latest updates (in either order), hence no need to install the April CU nor the June CU (August CU contains fixes from both).
Please refer to this TechNet article for deployment guidance: Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007). After applying the August CU, the database version should be: 12.0.6514.5000 (see article above for instructions on how to verify the installation).
Knowledge Base Articles and Downloads:
Related links:
As a free benefit of attending the Microsoft Project Conference in Phoenix, September 14-17, you can attend this free training opportunity: Project 2010 Ignite. If interested please register rapidly since space is limited and we are almost at capacity!
The goal for the Project 2010 Ignite Program is to prepare EPM professionals for deployment, operations and customization of Project Server 2010.
The Ignite curriculum is targeted at EPM consultants, IT Professionals, Admin Professionals and developers that have experience deploying, operating and customizing Project Server 2007; content will be technical and will range from 300 to 400 level (Experienced to Advanced/Expert); this training is NOT for end users nor EPM sales professionals. With this in mind, the Ignite content will not be designed to cover all Project Server functionality, only the new functionality of Project Server 2010 (in other words, just the deltas compared to 2007) will be presented. The Project 2010 Ignite training in Phoenix will be delivered by the following Microsoft experts: Chris Boyd, Michael Jordan, Jan Kalis, Jean-Francois Lesaux, Brian Smith, and myself.
Event Location
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 340 N 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004
If you have any questions regarding the Microsoft Project 2010 Ignite delivery prior to the Project Conference, please contact us from 8:00am – 5:00pm (PST), Monday through Friday at: +1 (800) 528-1668 - Toll Free Telephone Number - US & Canada only +1 (360) 253-2971 - Registration Telephone Number - Worldwide Email us at: projconf@microsoft.com
Doug just posted this important post: BE A DEMO MASTER – HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE RECOMMENDATIONS NOW AND BEYOND This cowboy looks familiar, I think he’ll be around in Phoenix :)
Following a similar blog post today from Arpan Shah’s entitled: My Top Office 2010 Tech Preview Features I wanted to share my top Microsoft Project 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010 features.
Similarly I have been using it for while to plan programs/projects for this upcoming exciting launch year and I have also demoed it to a lucky few :)
So far my favorite features are (I’m sure I will revisit this list in the futures…)
As you can guess I cannot say much so come over to Phoenix (need reasons to attend see this)!
A good read that was recently published on TechNet, that discusses the role of the Project Management Office for instance: Information Worker Competence Center - Achieving Business Success with your Collaboration Infrastructure (white paper). On a similar topic you might want to read this recently published whitepaper as well: The Project Management System Maturity Model
Abstract
Competence Centers are the standard approach to managing shared business infrastructures such as Enterprise Resource Management and Business Intelligence. With the increasing importance of team and collaborative work we adopt a similar approach. Many organizations are now responding to the growing demand for collaboration by managing their infrastructure in this way. Investments in the collaboration realm are not just about the IT solution but about implementing IT-enabled change especially since “Business Value is generated by what organizations do with IT rather than by the technology itself”. This is especially valid for the latest Web 2.0 technologies providing strong bottom-up elements engaging a broad base of workers through communities, ad-hoc projects, team work and social networking.
This Whitepaper outlines the functions an Information Worker Competence Center should include and in return what contributions to business success you should expect.
In case you have not registered yet and are still looking for reasons to attend, check out this sample of sessions presented by experts around the SharePoint and Project Server themes in Phoenix in three weeks, more info here: http://msprojectconference.com/
Just booked my travel for the Project Conference, I’m arriving Friday September 11th at 6pm and will be staying at the Sheraton. If you are an EPM specialized partner I look forward to see you all during the Ignite training prior to the conference on Sunday and Monday.
If you are still looking for reasons to come to Phoenix (we will have great sessions from great speakers as well as hands on labs for Project and Project Server 2010 not too mention the two days Ignite deep technical training), send me an email :)
Just read this great article from Bob Beauchemin in MSDN Magazine: How Data Access Code Affects Database Performance. It’s a great reminder when you do customization why using stored procedure to access your database is a must compared to building queries on the fly within your C# code for instance. So next time you access the Project Server database create a custom stored procedure it will save you from trouble down the road :)