We are currently evaluating P6 in our main production facility for managing resources across projects, however, our smaller offices use Microsoft project. Will Project Server give us the same level of resource analysis capability as Primavera? We would prefer to use one PM tool across the organization, if possible.
Microsoft Project Server, along with its Project client software, are a good choice for small-midrange businesses or projects. But Project Server is not a good choice for Portfolio and Resource Management. It accommodates some Resource Management across multiple projects, but it does not include any significant Portfolio or Resource Management capabilities.
I have implemented and used Project Server, CA PPM, Planview Enterprise, and ServiceNow over the past 10 years. I have also used Primavera many years ago. They all do a fine job for basic to advanced project management. But, for Portfolio and Resource Management, I would rank them as follows:
1. Planview Enterprise. Planview was already very strong overall, but since they acquired ProjectPlace, Innotas, and Troux, they've successfully filled any gaps they had in Agile Methods and Enterprise Architecture as well. They have also done well with integrating these very different tools. They have also integrated well with Microsoft Project, so for firms which want to continue using that tool, it's a good fit.
2. Primavera. This is really a Project Management ERP. It's expensive, and probably overkill for smaller firms. If you do large construction projects or build Space Shuttles, it's a good choice.
3. CA PPM. A solid system, just doesn't cover all of the areas Planview does.
4. ServiceNow. The latest versions have greatly expanded and improved functions, and it's well integrated with other IT Service Management tools, if that's of interest.
5. Project Server. It's well integrated with other Microsoft products, like SharePoint, Office Suite, Outlook, and Team Foundation Server. It is also offered as a hosted service via Office 365. All of this integration is very powerful, but there is very little focus on enterprise-level Resource and Portfolio Management.
I hope that helps!
You can opt for CA PPM, this will be the best option for your organisation to manage Projects and Resources.
This single tool can be used for all different kind of management, like you can configure it to help your organisation getting timesheet filled by resources by login on there system and also from mobile app.
Also by defining Rate Matrix of all resources and diferent kind of roles, you can do financial management.
User, Manager and Higher managements can use this tool to generate different kind of reports like project status report, resource planning, cost forecast and financial planning reports.
Microsoft Project Server can manage enterprise resources across multiple projects. Its resource analysis is primarily focused on Resource Capacity vs. Demand and Resource Utilization.
Most PPM solutions have some degree of resource management, but the differences range from simplistic to comprehensive capabilities. Ultimately it comes down to what is important to your company. I represent CA PPM and it is my experience that customers consider the following for resource analysis.
1. User Experience
2. Reporting and Analysis
This is a key factor in selecting a solution.
* How many out of the box reports / dashboards are included in the latest release? Do the reports or dashboards suit your needs? I don’t consider Microsoft Project Server to be robust with out of the box reporting. Although Microsoft Power BI is a nice visualization tool that is compatible with Microsoft Project Server.
* How easy is it to build your own report or dashboard? What if you want to add a custom field and consider it in your resource analysis? Do you have to hire someone to write a custom query or create an OLAP cube? Does it have end user ad-hoc reporting capability? All things to consider.
* Does the solution provide resource analysis specific to different roles, such as Project Manager vs a Resource Manager?
* Is What-If analysis supported?
3. Resource Profile Information
* What type of information do you want to track for a Resource? Primavera and Microsoft Project Server have an OBS/RBS and a primary role which are useful attributes for resource analysis. Do you also want to be able to capture and report on other resource profile attributes, for instance, Department, Employee Type, Start Date, Skills, etc.? Each of these attributes could be another slice on your resource analysis. Confirm that the desired resource profile attributes are available for comprehensive resource analysis.
I hope this gives you a few ideas on what to consider.
Hi,
You'd better choose Plansiware for Resource Management purposes.
It is way more effetive and can provide you all needed metrics.
Thank you for reaching out to me on this. As I’m working with CA Technologies (CA PPM) I do not have deep insight into the
metrics that Project Server provides on Resources across projects, nor do I have that info on Primavera.
Based on a competitive analysis that was executed by a 3rd party on behalf of CA, by interviewing “users” in the market, this is what we got back on Microsoft Project Server and Resource mgt.
§ Limited automated resource mgt = estimates only without the ability to support chargeback
§ Uses “red/green” coloring for over/underutilization by time percentage only
§ Does not incorporate non-project hours
§ No resource leveling
§ No skillset proficiency alignment
§ No searching by skillset
Where the opinion on CA PPM was: ( sorry I have pushed this into being a CA PPM advocate ☺ )
Has strong capacity planning capabilities
§ Deep capacity analytics; analyze resource & capacity demand
§ CA has utilization capability; need to proactively highlight utilization capabilities
For your colleague’s information CA PPM is used by multiple companies in the aerospace/defense vertical, amongst which the Airforce Research Laboratory.
I trust this can be of value, let me know if there is anything else I can do.