Wow - Outlook Integration with MS Project 2007!
From the Project Management 2.0 Blog
by Dave Garrett
New technologies, concepts, and Web 2.0 tools are popping up everywhere. How can you use them to help your project team collaborate, communicate - or just give your project an extra boost? [Contact Dave]
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Situation: You want to get a lot more out of MS Project with less effortA few weeks ago, the MS Project folks gave our team a briefing on the 2007 version that is now a part of MS Office. There were a lot of terrific improvements. I'll touch on the EPM (UMT) components later, but the most important thing that they've done (IMHO) is integrating Project with Outlook. There's also a timesheet component that's worth considering as part of the whole Outlook-centered world Microsoft has created for you.
What if...
- your project team interacted with you directly from Outlook, where they live every day?
- small project leads werent forced to use full blown MS Project, when they just want to work with a list of tasks?
I think you end up with better data, less administrative overhead, and tools that fit what you really need.
The graphic below shows you how an MS Project Web Access task looks within Outlook 2007.
When you import tasks from Project to Outlook:
- the project name is automatically imported as the category
- like with other Outlook functions, you can work off line and sync tasks later
- time is recorded if you use the included timesheet app
People work in Outlook every day - that's just a fact of life. The "Outlook Today" approach was a nice step forward, but it was a half-step. I think this is a HUGE leap forward.
Here are some additional resources if you want to find out more:
- MSDN Blogs, Project Server/Outlook Integration
- Tasks and Time Management in Outlook Part 1
- Tasks and Time Management in Outlook Part 2
Posted on: January 10, 2007 02:33 PM |
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Comments (4)
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I would certainly agree Dave. I attended the Phoenix Launch event from Microsfot last week and was really delighted with the whole package. I had been exposed to some of the new stuff via MPA (Microsoft Project Association) Phoenix chapter. The second coolest thing they did has to be moving so much of ability to enter data to PWA. Great stuff. Now if I can just get past the infrstructure guy....
 | apezz |
I use EasyTaskSync
www.easytasksync.com
It syncs Microsoft Project with Outlook Tasks and Outlook Calendar.
I'd like to add to this thread and mention a notable update in the world of Outlook and project management integration. In the last few months, AtTask has updated their Outlook plug-in to work with drag-and-drop task management and creation, which is superbly convenient. This new update has been considered by some to be "innovation at its best." To receive and complete tasks, I never have to leave my email, and still my work synchronizes perfectly in AtTask. Here is a summary of some of AtTask's features for
project management in outlook.
Kevin Hartford
Project Manager| Olgoonik Specialty Contractors
Arlington, Va, United States
This is pretty cool. I thought that you could coordinate Microsoft Project tasks through email, but this goes a step further. I can see how this is going to much more useful.
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