Marquette University Project Server 2010 Case Study
1 like509 views
Marquette University improved its project management practices by implementing Microsoft Project Server 2010, enabling better prioritization and resource management across its IT department. The solution enhanced business intelligence through dashboards, allowing for effective communication with finance and better tracking of project status. As a result, the university has seen increased demand for its project management services, with success attributed to a combination of expertise, processes, and technology integration.
Marquette University Project Server 2010 Case Study
- 1. Microsoft Project Server 2010 Customer Solution Case Study University Identifies IT Project Priorities, Delivers Results to CIO and VP of Finance Overview ―For the first time, this year we were able to send the Country or Region: United States Industry: Education—Universities Office of Finance a list of projects prioritized using a methodology in Project Server 2010, rather than using Customer Profile Marquette University is a coeducational our best guess of what the priority should be.‖ Jesuit university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dan Smith, Senior Director of IT Services, Marquette University It has 11,500 students and 2,200 faculty, staff, and administrators. Business Situation Marquette University—a large Jesuit university in Milwaukee, Marquette wanted to expand its project Wisconsin—wanted to expand its project management practices. management practices so it could better prioritize potential projects, effectively Although Marquette successfully managed projects inside and manage resources, and improve business outside the IT department, it wanted to better track and intelligence. prioritize potential projects and improve its resource Solution management. Marquette implemented Microsoft Project Marquette implemented Microsoft Project Server 2010 and Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010, which the Professional 2010. university uses to maintain an integrated database of potential Benefits and existing projects and to prioritize projects based on business One source for all projects rules. With the solution, the university has improved its resource Ability to prioritize Tools for resource management management, and it uses dashboards to communicate business Dashboards for business intelligence intelligence to internal customers and senior management. Ability to service increased demand Demand for project management services across the university is increasing due to the effectiveness of its project management processes and tools.
- 2. Situation better resource management—for example, Marquette University is a nationally ranked to see when a database analyst was busy so private, coeducational university we could avoid overloading him or her. But established in 1881 in Milwaukee, we discovered that this requires a fairly Wisconsin. With 11,500 students, including mature project methodology—a project 8,000 undergraduates, it is one of the schedule with tasks outlined in sufficient largest Jesuit universities in the United detail that the task durations are States. meaningful.‖ Marquette has a centralized IT Services To communicate with the wider university department that includes six project community, project managers generated a managers, four of whom are certified weekly status report that was sent out by e- Project Management Professionals. ―We run mail. Smith also created lists of projects, all IT-related projects—not just internal potential projects, and potential issues and ones, but those that affect the university as risks, and then handed the lists to a Web a whole,‖ says Dan Smith, Senior Director of developer, who generated Web pages to IT Services at Marquette. ―For example, we inform the appropriate university managed the implementation of a new audiences. The process worked smoothly student system and an upgrade for the but did involve some manual labor, and the financial and human resources application. business intelligence in the reports was We also act as a subsidiary project static—neither automatically updated nor management office to the Office of the easy for users to probe. University Architect for building projects.‖ Marquette wanted a means to include and Marquette was managing these projects prioritize both active and potential projects, using Microsoft Office Project Server 2007. provide tools for more effective resource ―We enjoyed the collaborative aspects of management, and expand and automate the software, including workspaces that project business intelligence across the could serve as the focal point for all university. projects, capturing documents, issues, and risks,‖ says Smith. ―But we had some Solution projects that were not covered because The university decided to participate in the they were not yet ‗projects‘: they were Technology Adoption Program for pending, or in planning and awaiting a Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and budget, or submitted for budget approval.‖ Microsoft Project Server 2010. Marquette deployed Project Server 2010 in a virtual Smith tracked these potential projects in a environment on an HP ProLiant BL460c G1 separate database using Microsoft Office blade server computer and used the Access 2007 database software. His office features of Project Server 2010 to expand had no way to prioritize these projects. project and portfolio management ―Furthermore, when the CIO asked, ‗Do you practices. have project X on your list?‘ I would have to open that Office Access 2007 database to Project Server 2010 enhances reporting and find out,‖ Smith says. project execution. It also incorporates and improves the functions of Office Project Smith was also concerned about resource Portfolio Server 2007. ―‗Integration‘ is not management. ―We have long wanted to do even the right word anymore, because it‘s
- 3. ―In Project Professional one product,‖ says Smith. ―You don‘t have Approximately 370 team members (people to move or manipulate anything—it all working on projects, inside or outside the 2010, you can see where works together seamlessly.‖ IT Services department) and upper- management staff access information in a person is Furthermore, Smith uses Project Server Project Server 2010 through the Microsoft overallocated, go to the 2010 to incorporate the database of Project Web App technology. ―They can potential projects and to prioritize them. view their tasks, look at their projects, or go project manager, and ―We can define business rules on how to project workspaces to update their projects should be ranked,‖ Smith says. issues—all through a Web browser,‖ Smith say, ‗Can you free this Currently the rules are IT-focused: how a says. person up for me?‘ project aligns with the existing technology stack, the current system state (whether it‘s Marquette has instituted synchronization of That‘s huge for us.‖ replacing something at the end of its life), Project Server 2010 task data with the stakeholders and beneficiaries, and the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Enterprise. Dan Smith, Senior Director of IT Services, Marquette University effect on the university. He adds, ―In the With this synchronization, users can see future, we want to get other departments and update tasks in the Microsoft Outlook more involved in setting these rules.‖ 2010 messaging and collaboration client instead of having to open Project Web App. The six project managers perform their duties using Project Professional 2010. ―The Marquette has deployed Microsoft full-blown client provides a rich feature set SharePoint Server 2010 to take advantage for managing projects,‖ Smith says. For of the software‘s workflows. And because example, managers frequently use visual Project Server 2010 is built on SharePoint scheduling features to identify Server 2010, interoperation is seamless. For overallocations. As a manager sets up tasks, example, a SharePoint Server 2010 resources, and the amount of time a workflow automatically routes change resource can be dedicated to a project, orders to the appropriate approval Project Professional 2010 identifies in red authorities. Indeed, because Marquette the time periods where the resource has stores project workspace documents in too much to do. ―You see a little red person SharePoint Server 2010, it gains cross- on the screen, and on the Resource page platform compatibility—for example, with the tasks also show up in red. It‘s a strong Macintosh users at the law school. visual way to see your potential problems,‖ Smith says. The manager can then use Finally, Marquette is working on building Project Professional 2010 to apply resource executive-level dashboards, using Project leveling, which uses task priorities to Server 2010 to show high-level metrics determine which tasks should be such as the number of projects in progress, performed in which order. in planning, and behind schedule. With another popular feature enhanced in Benefits Project 2010, the Timeline View, managers Marquette uses Microsoft Project Server can easily create a high-level view of a 2010 to be a source for all project-related project plan. They can drag and drop tasks information, to prioritize projects, and to into the timeline and paste the timeline more effectively manage resources. IT into presentations or e-mail messages. ―We Services has plans to improve business use Timeline View all the time,‖ says Smith. intelligence and is doing its job so ―It alone is worth the price of admission.‖
- 4. ―Our success comes from effectively that demands for its services are ultimate goal of having all key players increasing. contribute to ranking the projects.‖ a combination of our One Source for All Projects Tools for Resource Management expertise, the processes The Marquette IT services department no Project Server 2010 and Project we use to run projects, longer has to maintain its separate Office Professional 2010 provide valuable tools that Marquette can combine with its Access 2007 database of potential projects. and the tools—such as When Smith‘s supervisors want to find out mature project processes to achieve if he‘s aware of an upcoming project, they effective resource management. ―The Project 2010—that help can see the Project Server 2010 data Resource pane in Project Professional 2010 shows a manager with the appropriate us take full advantage of themselves using Project Web App. ―One of permissions all of the resources and the the biggest wins we got out of the the expertise and Microsoft Project 2010 upgrade was the projects they‘re on,‖ says Smith. ―So in Project Professional 2010, you can see ability to have all of our projects in one processes.‖ spot,‖ Smith says. where a person is overallocated, go to the project manager, and say, ‗Can you free this Dan Smith, Senior Director of IT Services, person up for me?‘ That‘s huge for us.‖ Marquette University Furthermore, it‘s easy to filter and sort those projects. ―You can put your own Meanwhile, Project Server 2010 supports fields into the Project Server 2010 the increasingly mature project database,‖ says Smith. ―That‘s what I did management processes at Marquette. ―You with our ‗gates,‘ such as Pending or can‘t have a four-line project and expect to Awaiting Budget Approval. With the click of do resource management,‖ says Smith. ―But a button I can go from a view of all my we‘re just now at the maturity level where projects and their various gates to a view we can start taking advantage of the that shows only active projects assigned to features in Project Server 2010. And when a certain project manager. The software is you do it right—with tasks, resource customizable to display what you want, assignments, and durations that are when you want it.‖ detailed and meaningful—you can actually look at a schedule and say, ‗Victor is Ability to Prioritize overworked this week but not next week. The Marquette IT Services department uses Maybe I can move this task to next week Project Server 2010 to rank its potential and see what that does to the rest of the projects. ―For the first time, this year we schedule.‘‖ were able to send the Office of Finance a list of projects prioritized using a Dashboards for Business Intelligence methodology in Project Server 2010, rather The executive-level dashboards will than using our best guess of what the increase effective business intelligence. priority should be,‖ Smith says. ―We can ―With the new business intelligence show Finance a ranked list of the projects features of Project Server 2010, you can get we want to see funded.‖ more information out more easily than you could before,‖ Smith says. ―The dashboards The financial office appreciates the ranking. will automate some of the reporting steps ―Our Vice President for Finance wants to do that we take right now, freeing up a few things in a more organized manner,‖ Smith hours per month. But more importantly, the says. ―Right now we use Project Server 2010 information will be timely and available.‖ to develop an internal IT ranking, but he From dashboards, users will be able to drill sees this as the first step toward an
- 5. For More Information down to find out more about what they‘re Microsoft Project Server 2010 For more information about Microsoft interested in. Microsoft Project Server 2010 brings products and services, call the Microsoft together the business collaboration Sales Information Center at (800) 426- Ability to Service Increased Demand platform services of Microsoft SharePoint 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Smith measures his department‘s Server 2010 with structured execution Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- performance partly by the satisfaction of IT capabilities to provide flexible work 2495. Customers in the United States and and non-IT project sponsors and their management solutions. Project Server 2010 Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing demand for project management services. unifies project and portfolio management can reach Microsoft text telephone ―People keep coming to ask us to run to help organizations align resources and investments with business priorities, gain (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. projects for them. They say, ‗You did a control across all types of work, and Outside the 50 United States and good job last time and we want you to do visualize performance through powerful Canada, please contact your local so again.‘ That‘s very gratifying for us.‖ He dashboards. Microsoft subsidiary. To access says that the number of projects his office information using the World Wide Web, is managing has increased by 5–7 over the For more information about Microsoft go to: last year—and they‘ve increased in size and Project Server 2010, go to: www.microsoft.com importance as well. www.microsoft.com/project/2010 For more information about Marquette Smith continues, ―Our success comes from University, call (414) 288-7250 or visit the a combination of our expertise, the Web site at: processes we use to run projects, and the www.mu.edu tools—such as Project 2010—that help us take full advantage of the expertise and processes.‖ Software and Services Technologies Microsoft Server Product Portfolio − Microsoft Project Web App − Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Enterprise Hardware − Microsoft Project Server 2010 HP ProLiant BL460c G1 blade server − Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 computer Microsoft Office − Microsoft Outlook 2010 Microsoft Project Professional 2010 This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published May 2010