Category: Brainstorm

Sometimes I have a brainstorm session with friends/coworkers and it sticks with me. When that is the case I will sometimes start writing a post that grows on me as it progresses. These Brainstorm sessions I have with myself mostly will gather information from other sources around the web, and might contain best practices. But I don’t want to categorize the posts as best practices because I’m not sure about what the actual best practice is. Good examples of a Brainstorm posts are called The deal with Project Failure and What are workdays in Microsoft Project.

There is also a special kind of brainstorming I do, these are the About posts. Big, content rich articles about specific items or subjects related to Microsoft Project or Project Management.

But there’s sure to come more brainstorms in the future. I hope you like the content that’s already here. And if you are interested in doing a brainstorming session with me please let me know in one of the comments.

What are Workback Plans in Planner and Teams?

Wedged between other new features on the planner blog, we read about “Workback Plans” in public preview. But not much more is shared, which is odd because it can be a cool feature. Well, there is an image, and a one liner with another link:

Workback Plan generation is now available in channels, helping teams quickly create reverse timelines based on a target deadline.

On the second page we get:

Workback Plans in Teams channels: Project Manager Agent and the Channel Agent together now support the creation of AI-powered Workback Plans, automatically generating a reverse timeline of tasks and milestones based on the target deadline and goal provided.

Asking the Channel Agent what it can do. Note: the channel is called Planner

The end of Project Online

30 September 2026, that is the day that all Project Online Services stop working. Microsoft anounced this date today in their official blog article. Let’s take a moment and discuss what this means for organizations that work with the product today.

Project Online retires on the 30th of September 2026. — The Project Online, PWA homepage. In case you didn’t change it.

Maximizing PMO Efficiency with Microsoft Loop

Let’s return to this great new tool: Microsoft Loop. It’s a really fun, easy and fast way to collaborate. But I think there’s even more potential to maximize the PMO’s efficiency. But first, is it a bird? Is it a plane? No… it’s Microsoft Lodds?! (Gen AI has a way with words, doesn’t it?).

Aim for the flagship, but implement the rubber boat

What’s this, Erik? Did you switch profession and go for the open seas? No, no, don’t worry, this is still very much a “help the PMO succeed” article. Let’s dig in, to a topic that comes up in a shape or form in every customer engagement.

Cover image for implementing the rubber boat instead of the flagship. — Obviously, it’s a chatGPT generated image.

The short path to AI success in the PMO

It’s 2024, we’ve passed the point of getting LinkedIn feed posts in the style of “120 productivity AIs that will help you gain a better life”. Or, at least I hope so. Just imagine you working with 120 different AIs during the day to become better. I just can’t see that happening.

So, what would be the short path to AI success for the Project Management Office (PMO)?

A project manager, standing with his back to the viewer, looking at a forked road. One into a dark forrest, the other path leads to a wonderfully designed office building. — Prompt sent to Bing.com/create: A project manager, standing with his back to the viewer, looking at a forked road. One into a dark forest, the other path leads to a wonderfully designed office building.

The logistical advantage of a PPM system

While reading Superintelligence, I came across the term collective intelligence. This article is a brainstorm regarding why, and how, this is an interesting term in regards to the PMO. It’s also a sequel to the article regarding the difference between Excel and Project Online.

Here is a schematic overview image representing the logistics between people, featuring a network of interconnected nodes and lines that illustrate the flow of information and resources. AI generated with Bing.create — Here is a schematic overview image representing the logistics between people, featuring a network of interconnected nodes and lines that illustrate the flow of information and resources. DALL-E3

The difference between Project Online and Excel

I recently received 3 questions on my “Ask Me Anything” form. In this article, I’ll address the questions and provide my answers. It would be good to state that these questions came from a Project Online administrator who works for a large organization.