Project for the web is a Microsoft cloud-based solution that gets new features regularly, as you might know from my YouTube serries on the topic. This blog series is about the Feedback portal that we can use to let Microsoft know which new features to include in the product.
This is the first update since the introduction post. I will briefly look at the progress on previously mentioned feature requests and I will take a look at two additional features that might be interesting for Project for the web.
Update on the Feedback portal
Last time I mentioned the top 3 items on the feedback portal list. You can find the portal here and have a look for yourself. Here is the update on the list we discussed then:
| Item name | Votes then | Votes now (28-02-2022) |
| A “My Tasks” View | 51 | 106 |
| Increase number of tasks | 47 | 68 |
| Deeper integration with Planner | 39 | 70 |
So, the numbers 2 and 3 switched places and we do see an increase in numbers on all 3 topics. This is great because now we know that users find the portal and are engaging with Microsoft.
The first topic is being considered. That tells us that the core product team is actively investigating how to facilitate this request within the product. The same can be said about the increasing number of tasks. It would be great to have both features in the tool!
Two new topics on the Feedback portal
But wait, there is more on the Project for the web feedback portal that you could look into. Here are two additional topics that might interest you.
Add Baselines to Project for the Web (59 votes)
Baselines are a core concept, not only for Project Management but also on TPC. I cover the topic in multiple articles and videos and I think it should be part of every scheduler’s vocabulary.
The topic is set to “we need more details”. And I think that is right. Are we in need of the same feature we know (and love) from MS Project? Or did that version have its issues as well and should we find an improved version for Project for the web?
I believe in the second, for all its functionality the baseline in MS Project didn’t live up to its potential. Not enough people were using it, not enough people knew about it. This means to me that there should be a better approach available.
You can vote on the topic through this link. And if you have a strong opinion on how the baseline could improve, please share it in the comments on the topic.
Integrate Project for the Web with Project Online desktop client (54 votes)
Yes! Yes, Yes, YES! Please make this a thing!
Glad to get that out of the way. Now on to a more serious response. I think the application Microsoft Project Desktop Client is the very best planning tool Microsoft has to offer. Full stop!
I am also very aware of the current limitations of Project for the web. That said, wouldn’t it be great to see an “open in MS Project” button appear in the browser? A couple of things need to be resolved on the integration part though. How should P4W respond to the things MSP can do, but P4W currently can’t? And for that matter, how should Project respond to the things it cannot do? Such as building an M365 group when adding more resources. Or finding resources in the organization for that matter?
The topic needs a lot more votes for sure, vote yourself if you have not yet done so. And while you are at it, please provide your 5 cents of feedback on the topic as well.
Final notes
This series will get a bi-monthly update. Because I think the votes will come in slowly, and too much focus on a feedback portal and no other topics would make this blog grow tiresome very soon.
Feel free to subscribe to my (also bi-monthly) newsletter, in which I focus on all the new content from the last 2 months as well as discuss topics I found interesting on the web.
These are “draft” topics for my next article. Which one would you look forward to the most?
- Article: Cumulative and running totals using DAX
- Article: Creating a program schedule using Project for the web
- Page: The best from TPC (a request from a newsletter follower, due to the 100+ articles and 80+ video’s it could be difficult to get the best content)
You can let me know through Twitter or Linked-In. TPC has it’s own page now a days: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-project-corner and I created a link tree for ease of reference: https://linktr.ee/TheProjectCorner.
Hope to have you back soon, Kind regards. Erik van Hurck