Implementing Resource
Management within EPM
Roy Kayahara
Program Manager
Microsoft Office Project
Microsoft Corporation
Today You Will Learn
How to set up and administer your
enterprise resource pool
How to use resource custom fields to
help Project Managers and Resource
Managers
How to use the RBS to control security
Ideas for provisioning your resource
pool and custom field look-up tables
Implementation Planning
Who will use the system?
Project Managers? Resource Managers?
Other?
Understand their expectations and needs
Security needs
Who is allowed to see what data about
which resources?
Who is allowed to perform which
functions?
Planning Your Data
What are the requirements for resource
data?
Code fields for reporting and OLAP
Skills or other attributes for project
staffing
Which resources should be in the
resource pool?
Who will be used as a project team
member?
Sources of resource data
Manual entry vs. synchronizing with LOB
system
Terminology and Concepts
Enterprise resource pool
Custom fields
Users vs. resources
Security
RBS
Capacity and availability
Enterprise Resource Pool
Common pool of resources that can be
shared by all projects on the server
Maintained in the Project Server database
Contains named resources (people),
material resources and Generic
resources
Added to project teams:
Using Team Builder (Project Pro or PWA)
By mapping local resources to existing
enterprise resources
Resource Custom Fields
User-defined fields can be specified for
resources and used for:
Reports, PWA views and OLAP views
e.g. Department, cost center, etc.
Finding resources for a project
e.g. Position or role, job category, skills,
location, etc.
Enterprise custom fields can enforce
standardization
EROCs
EROC = Enterprise Resource Outline
Code
EROC 30 reserved for RBS
EROCs 1-29 available for your use
Great for hierarchical data needed for
reporting roll-ups
Organizational affiliation
Geographic regions
Financial accounting system codes
ERMVs
ERMV = Enterprise Resource MultiValue code
EROCs 20-29 can have multiple values
Useful for representing skills,
certifications, etc. where a resource
can have multiple values
e.g. “Department Manager” and “Project
Manager”
Sample Data Sources
Corporate HR System
Project Server Administrator
Financial Accounting System
CRM Application
• Resource pool data
• Skills
• Organizational structure
• Custom field definitions
• Generic resources
• Financial codes
• Sales regions
• etc.
Project Server
Users versus Resources
Users:
Can login to and use the system
Are granted permissions
Can receive email and alerts
Resources:
Can be used on project teams
Can be assigned to tasks
Often the same … but not always
e.g. Executive users, material resources
Resource Breakdown Structure
RBS is stored in EROC 30
Security rules controlling access to
projects and resources are based on
the RBS
Timesheet RM approval is based on the
RBS
RBS-Based Security Rules
Resource rules based on RBS:
Resources I manage
Resources I manage directly
Project rules based on RBS:
Projects managed by resources I manage
Projects assigned to resources I manage
Resource Object Permissions
Assign Resource
Controls who can assign a resource to a
project
Edit Enterprise Resource Data
Controls who can update enterprise
resource data
See Enterprise Resource Data
Controls who can view (but not update)
enterprise resource data
Sample Org Structure
Chandra
Manager
Design & Dev
Mick
Planning Lead
Luba
Design Lead
Sandy
Ira
Planner 1 … Planner n
Chantal
Steve
… Designer n
Designer 1
Resource Custom Fields
Generic Resources
Placeholder used for planning
Usually based on roles or skills
Resources with similar attributes
Generic resource
Generic Resources
Active Directory Sync
AD can be used to manage
membership in Project Server security
groups
Synchronize PS security groups with AD
groups
AD can be an alternate source of
resource data
Synchronize the enterprise resource pool
with an AD group
Using AD for PS Security
2
1
Assign
Determine users for
Project Server 2003
3
Project Server 2003 security groups and
Enterprise Resource Pool
Team Members
Project Managers
Determine which
users to assign to
Project Server 2003
security groups
Determine groups
to create in Active
Directory
Using AD Synchronization
Tips for Using AD Sync
Project Server administrator defines
the security groups and associated
permissions
AD administrator defines which users
belong to which groups
AD Sync propagates group membership
and creates PS users if necessary
Avoid running it concurrent with
normal user access
Things You Should Know
Enterprise resource names must be
unique
EROCs and ERMVs have character set
restrictions
Don’t use prohibited special characters
/";:<>|[],.'?~`!$%^&*()-+={}\,
Don’t use the Windows list separator
character in field values
Bigger lookup tables means slower
project loading
Final Tips
Advanced resource data must be
maintained via Project Pro or direct
database edits
All resource data (including cost rates
and custom fields) are visible in
projects using those resources
Don’t include data that Project Pro users
aren’t supposed to see
Take-Aways
Use resource custom fields for reporting and
Project Manager data needs
Define processes for keeping look-up tables
updated and synchronized with LOB systems
Establish procedures to handle EPM
security changes for new hires, transfers,
etc.
Consider using AD sync to manage security
groups
Use the RBS for security and approval
workflow
Use other outline codes for reporting rollups
Related Sessions
DC175: Configuring the Microsoft Office
Project Server from Scratch: What You
Should Know and Why
DC220: Enterprise Outline Codes: what are
they and how do I use them?
OPR275 How to organize and plan your
people and resources for EPM
D300,D301 Project Data Service (PDS)
PO320: Reporting - A best practices look at
reporting with in the EPM Solution
DC440 Security: Logons, permissions and
views
© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
This presentation is for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary.