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Plan your work in Microsoft Project with the Project Service Automation add-in

Important

Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation has evolved into Dynamics 365 Project Operations. For more information, see Project Service Automation Transition.

Applies to Project Service app version 3.x

Project Service makes it easier to do project planning, including estimates. You can define the work so that costs, effort, and sales value are clear as the final proposal is submitted.

You can install the Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Add-in for Microsoft Project and do your planning work in the familiar Microsoft Project environment. Use the robust planning and management capabilities of Microsoft Project, and then update your project plan in Project Service Automation.

Important

  • Before you can use SharePoint document management to store your Microsoft Project files for Project Service projects, your Microsoft Project admin must turn on document management.
  • The Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Add-in for Microsoft Project is compatible only with Microsoft Project 2016 Professional Edition.

Download and install the Project Service Automation add-in

Have your Project Service sign-in information ready. You need this information to connect from Microsoft Project to Project Service.

To download and install the Project Service Automation add-in, follow these steps.

  1. From the Download Center, download the add-in for your supported version of Project Service, either version 2.X or version 3.4 and later.
  2. Select the download link.
  3. When the download is completed, select Yes to install the add-in.

Configure the Project Service Automation add-in

To configure the Project Service Automation add-in, follow these steps.

  1. Open Microsoft Project.
  2. On the Project Service tab, select Connect.
  3. Enter your sign-in information, and then select Sign in.

You can now start to use the add-in.

Read from a template

To start your project planning, read from a template that you created in Project Service and copied into Microsoft Project. More information: Create a project template (Project Service Automation)

To read from a template, follow these steps.

  1. From the Project Service tab, select Read > Project Service Automation Project Template.

  2. Select a project template in the list, and then select Open.

    Note

    By default, the tasks that are copied from the template into Project are set as manually scheduled.

Assign Project Service roles to project resources

To assign Project Service roles to project resources, follow these steps.

  1. Open a project, and select the Task ribbon.
  2. Select the Gantt Chart menu, and then select Resource Sheet.
  3. On the resource sheet, select the Project Service Resource Role dropdown menu, and then select a Project Service Automation role.

Staff your project with resources

To staff your project with resources, follow these steps.

  1. On the Project Service tab, select a row, and then select Find Resources.
  2. On the Book Resource page, select the resource to use for the project.
  3. Select Book, and then select OK.

Publish your project

When your project planning is completed, the next step is to import and publish the project in Project Service.

The project is imported into Project Service. The pricing and team generation processes are applied. Open the project in Project Service to confirm that the team, project estimates, and work breakdown structure have been generated. The following table shows where to find the results.

Microsoft Project Project Service Automation
Microsoft Project Gantt Chart Imported into the Project Service Work Breakdown Structure page.
Microsoft Project Resource Sheet Imported into the Project Service Project Team Members page.
Microsoft Project Use Usage Imported into the Project Service Project Estimates page.

Import and publish your project

To import and publish your project, follow these steps.

  1. On the Project Service tab, go to Publish > New Project Service Automation Project.

  2. In the Publish to a new project in Project Service dialog box, enter the project name, and select the customer.

  3. Optional: Select Link project plan to Project Service Automation to link the plan's Project file to Project Service Automation.

  4. Select Publish.

    By linking the Project file to Project Service, you make the Project file the master and set the work breakdown structure in Project Service to read-only. To change the project plan, you must make your changes in Microsoft Project and then publish them as updates to Project Service.

Edit a project that has been imported

To make changes to a project plan that has been imported into Project Service, you have two options:

  • Open the master file, and edit it in Microsoft Project.
  • Unlink the file, and edit it directly in Project Service. By default, a project that has been uploaded from Microsoft Project is locked and can be edited only in Microsoft Project. To edit the file in Project Service, you must unlink it.

Edit in Microsoft Project

To edit in Microsoft Project, follow these steps.

  1. On the main menu, go to Project Service > Projects.
  2. From the list of projects, open the project that you created in Microsoft Project.
  3. On the ribbon, select Open in MS Project. The linked master file is opened in Microsoft Project.

Unlink a file and edit in Microsoft Project Service

To unlink a file and edit it in Microsoft Project Service, follow these steps.

  1. On the main menu, go to Project Service > Projects.
  2. From the list of projects, open the project that you created in Microsoft Project.
  3. On the ribbon, select Unlink from MS Project.

Upload a Project file to SharePoint or Office Groups

You can upload your Project file to SharePoint and then find it under the associated documents for your Project Service project. You must have your administrator configure SharePoint document management and turn it on for the Project entity.

You can also upload your Project file to OneDrive for Business, if you have Office Groups set up.

Upload a file for SharePoint

To upload a file for SharePoint, follow these steps.

  1. On the main menu, go to Project Service > Upload.

  2. Select To Project Service Automation Project Documents.

  3. In the Enable Open in Microsoft Project dialog box, select Yes or No.

    • If you select Yes, you can select Open in Microsoft Project in Project Service Automation, open Microsoft Project, and load the Project file from the SharePoint document library.
    • If you select No, the Open in Microsoft Project link doesn't work.

  4. In Project Service, you can find the Microsoft Project file under Documents for the specific Project Service project.

Upload a file for Office Groups

To upload a file for Office Groups, follow these steps.

  1. On the main menu, go to Project Service > Upload.

  2. Select To Project Service Automation Project Documents.

  3. In the Enable Open in Microsoft Project dialog box, select Yes or No.

    • If you select Yes, you can select Open in Microsoft Project in Project Service Automation, open Microsoft Project, and load the Project file from the SharePoint document library.
    • If you select No, the Open in Microsoft Project link doesn't work.

  4. In Project Service, you can find the Microsoft Project file under Documents for the specific Project Service project.

Publish your project as a template

You can reuse your project by saving it as a project template in Project Service. Project templates are reusable project plans in Project Service. For more information, see Create a project template (Project Service Automation).

To publish your project as a template, follow these steps.

  1. On the Project Service tab, go to Publish > New Project Service Automation Project Template.
  2. In the Publish to a new project in Project Service template dialog box, enter the project template name.
  3. Optional: Select Link project plan to Project Service Automation to link the Project file to Project Service.
  4. Select Publish.

By linking the Project file to Project Service, you make the Project file the master and set the work breakdown structure in the Project Service template to read-only. To change the project plan, you must make your changes in Microsoft Project and then publish them as updates to Project Service.

Read a resource loaded schedule

When a project is read from Project Service Automation, the resource's calendar isn't synchronized to the desktop client. If there are differences in the task durations, effort, or end, the resources and the desktop client probably don't have the same work hour template calendar applied to the project.

Data synchronization

The tables in this section provide information about the synchronization of entity data between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

Project Task entity table

The following table outlines how Project Task entity data is synchronized between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

Entity Field Microsoft Project to Project Service Automation Project Service Automation to Microsoft Project
Project Task Due Date Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Estimated Effort Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task MS Project Client ID Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Parent Task Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Project Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Project task Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Project Task Name Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Resourcing unit (Deprecated in version 3.0) Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Scheduled Duration Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Start Date Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task WBS ID Synchronized Not synchronized

Team Member entity table

The following table outlines how Team Member entity data is synchronized between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

Entity Field Microsoft Project to Project Service Automation Project Service Automation to Microsoft Project
Team Member MS Project Client ID Synchronized Not synchronized
Team Member Position Name Synchronized Not synchronized
Team Member project Synchronized Synchronized
Team Member Project Team Synchronized Synchronized
Team Member Resourcing Unit Not synchronized Synchronized
Team Member Role Not synchronized Synchronized
Team Member Working Hours Not synchronized Not synchronized

Resource Assignment entity table

The following table outlines how Resource Assignment entity data is synchronized between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

Entity Field Microsoft Project to Project Service Automation Project Service Automation to Microsoft Project
Resource Assignment From Date Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Hours Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment MS Project Client ID Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Planned Work Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Project Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Project Team Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Resource Assignment Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment Task Synchronized Not synchronized
Resource Assignment To Date Synchronized Not synchronized

Project Task Dependencies entity table

The following table outlines how Project Task Dependencies entity data is synchronized between Project Service Automation and the Microsoft Project desktop add-in.

Entity Field Microsoft Project to Project Service Automation Project Service Automation to Microsoft Project
Project Task Dependencies Project Task Dependency Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Dependencies Link Type Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Dependencies Predecessor Task Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Dependencies Project Synchronized Not synchronized
Project Task Dependencies Successor Task Synchronized Not synchronized

Additional resources

Project Manager Guide