Category: Best Practices

In the category Best Practices you will get introduced with ways of working that I’ve found to generate the best results. Most of these best practices are related to Microsoft Project and Project Online. But might sometimes cover more tools as well such as the Best tools for Project Managers series on TPC.

The content I write about is gathered from own experiences and things I read or hear about in the field. And it started all with a series you might want to start with called the 5 incorrect ways of using Microsoft Project Stand alone.

Take your time and soak in that Best Practices goodness. Then you will make sure you do not fall into traps others have already fallen into. Let me know if there’s a best practice you don’t agree to or if you have a practice of your own by reaching out to me in the comments.

Backwards scheduling vs Deadlines

Hi readers,

Every now and then this question pops-up: “Can I schedule from the end of the project, backwards?”, or any variation of this question. Most of the time I am able to persuade the people in the training of the hardships you will endure when scheduling backwards. But then, sometimes it leaves me with this nagging feeling: Why do people keep asking this? Am I doing it wrong?

This post will explore the option of Backwards scheduling and the alternative I discuss during the training sessions. If you use backward scheduling or the alternative and would like to share your experiences please leave a comment in the comments section below.
Continue reading Backwards scheduling vs Deadlines

About Earned Value Management

Hello readers,

By popular demand I write this post about a very interesting and already well documented technique within Project Management; called Earned Value Management or EVM for short. In the post I will focus on EVM in combination of Microsoft Project, Project Server and Project Online, because that’s what this blog is all about. Continue reading About Earned Value Management

Windows 10, Cisco VPN and Surface tablets

Hi readers,

This post is a bit of topic for my frequent readers but I wanted to share some insights on my Windows 10 installation adventure, because I think more people will run into this. On the plus side: it all worked out in the end, and everything is awesome! Continue reading Windows 10, Cisco VPN and Surface tablets

Best tools for project management: Project Server

In this final post in the best tools for project management series I will take a close look at the Microsoft flagship; Project and Portfolio Management or PPM. This product comes in two variations: Project Server and Project Online, more on the difference between the two later. Earlier posts were about Excel, and Microsoft Project Professional. Continue reading Best tools for project management: Project Server

Best tools for project management: Microsoft Project

Hi Readers,

Microsoft Project 2016 logo Welcome to the second post about the best tools for project management. In the last post I discussed Excel. In this post I will take a closer look at Microsoft Project. To be precise, I will take a look at the tool Microsoft Project Professional 2013. The professional edition of the tool should always be used, Standard just doesn’t provide the same power and functionality. Continue reading Best tools for project management: Microsoft Project

Best tools for project management: Microsoft Excel

Hi there,

Microsoft Excel logo Welcome to the first post in a new series. In this series I take a close look at 3 Microsoft applications that help people in their Project Management efforts. As a consultant for Microsoft Project (Server) I come across the different maturity levels and I wanted to share my thoughts on the applications and their usefulness in different scenarios. Today I take a look at Microsoft Excel. Continue reading Best tools for project management: Microsoft Excel

What are the best tools for project management?

This is the introductory post of a three part series. In it I will give my view on what (Microsoft) product matches your expectations on Project Management software. I will include my own experience and links to Microsoft pages or other blogs to give you a complete overview.

Edition 26-10-2016: I did another review, this time for Microsoft Planner. Please find the link in the list below.

Continue reading What are the best tools for project management?

Using units instead of the resource calendar

Hi Readers, This is it, the third (and final?) post related to Max. Units in Microsoft Project. I wrote two posts already that can be accessed through these links: Post 1 and post 2. This is a Do it Yourself post and will teach you how to use Max. Units correctly in the situation where you want to accurately portray the resource availability, but don’t care about specific days off or non project work. I frequently use this method at municipals or companies that do high level capacity management. Continue reading Using units instead of the resource calendar

Units vs Peak units in Microsoft Project

Hi readers,

Here is a follow up post related to the post Using max units in Microsoft Project. In that post I talk about the max units of a resource in length. However as the post got bigger and bigger I knew I needed to do some follow up posts. This will be the first follow up.

I try to keep the post short because there is a lot of great content already available on the subject (to which I will happily refer at the end of the post). Continue reading Units vs Peak units in Microsoft Project

Using max units in Microsoft Project

Hey readers, Here is another post for you to bite into. This post is about using Max units in Microsoft Project. And if you are not familiar with the term max units, don’t worry I’ll start with a little explanation. Here we go. Continue reading Using max units in Microsoft Project