Overview: Set up and submit project proposals (Project Server 2010)

 

Applies to: Project Server 2010

Topic Last Modified: 2011-04-13

Microsoft Project Server 2010 includes new features to help guide you through the process of proposing new projects and sending them through a workflow. Before you can propose new projects, the portfolio manager and site administrator must work together to set up the workflow, project detail pages, and templates used during the process. Your first run through the process may be a little intimidating, but it is more straightforward than it looks.

In this article:

• Set up the proposal process

  • Workflows

  • Project detail pages

  • Enterprise project types

  • Approvals

• Propose a new project

Set up the proposal process

Before users can begin proposing projects, the portfolio manager and the site administrator must work together to set up the proposal process. This process has several parts: workflows, project detail pages, enterprise project types, and approvals.

Workflows

Let's back up a bit. In Microsoft Project Web App, when a project is proposed, it goes through a workflow to determine whether it fits in with the strategic and financial goals of the organization, and, ultimately, to determine whether it is approved as a viable project. Before projects can be proposed, the portfolio manager must work with the site administrator to set up Project Web App with an infrastructure that corresponds to the way your organization works. Sound complicated? Really what you are doing is taking the way that you evaluate project proposals now, and turning that process into the more formal phases and stages supported by Project Web App. The result is a seamless process that takes you from a simple proposal all the way to a working project that you can capture time and report against.

Task	Description
Workflow Phases (Project Server 2010 settings)	The portfolio manager works with the site administrator to set up a workflow for proposals in your organization.

Note

Want more information on workflows? Try watching this series of webcasts:

• Webcast: Project Server 2010 Demand Management (Part 1 of 4): Overview (Level 200)

• Webcast: Project Server 2010 Demand Management (Part 2 of 4): Create and Select Phases (Level 200)

• Webcast: Project Server 2010 Demand Management (Part 3 of 4): Plan, Manage, and Close Phases (Level 200)

• Webcast: Project Server 2010 Demand Management (Part 4 of 4): Test the Theory and Review (Level 200)

Project detail pages

Next, the portfolio manager creates project detail pages. That is a fancy way of referring to the forms people fill out when they are proposing a project. The portfolio manager chooses which fields are included where, and may create more than one page to use during different parts of the workflow. For example, you might have one very simple page that people can fill out to submit a proposal, or you might have another, more complicated page for approvers to fill out to add information to the proposal during the review process. It is just a way of slicing and dicing when and where information is added and who is adding it during the workflow.

Task	Description
Create a Web page to submit proposals	The portfolio manager creates the forms that will be used to gather information about the proposal throughout the workflow.

Enterprise project types

Next, portfolio managers need to set up enterprise project types. These are the templates that users choose from when creating a new project or proposal. Enterprise project types are the way Project Web App brings together workflows with project detail pages. You may have several enterprise project types in your organization. For example, the HR department might have one enterprise project type, with its own set of project detail pages and its own workflow, while the Sales department may have a separate enterprise project type, with a separate workflow and set of project detail pages. This ensures a proposal experience that really hones in on what the user is trying to accomplish.

Task	Description
Enterprise Project Types (Project Server 2010 settings)	The portfolio manager sets up an enterprise project type, which is the template that people use to propose projects.

Approvals

Finally, the portfolio manager needs to set up the approval process. When a project is proposed, certain individuals in your organization have to review the proposal and accept it or reject it. The portfolio manager has to identify who those reviewers are, and in what order they should receive the proposal for review. Once this approval chain is set up, users can begin submitting proposals.

Task	Description
Create the approval process for a proposal (Project Server 2010)	The portfolio manager sets up the approval process, identifying which users have to review submitted proposals, in what order.

Propose a new project

Once the portfolio manager and site administrator have set up the proposal process, submitting a new project proposal is quite simple. Once a project is proposed, the workflow begins, and the approvers are notified that a proposal is ready for review. The review process may include several steps, including the more complex steps involved with portfolio analysis. To learn more about this process, see Overview: Analyze and approve project proposals (Project Server 2010).

Task	Description
Create or edit a project or proposal (Project Server 2010)	You can use the project detail pages, set up by the portfolio manager, to create a new project or proposal.