Updating Project Status

 Server  Any authorized team member can use Web Access to submit status reports for the projects they’re assigned. Managers can use Web Access to both request and view status reports. In fact, for many team members and managers, Web Access is the only program they need; you don’t have to open Project Standard or Professional if all you’re doing is updating project status.

When you select the Status Reports tab from anywhere within Web Access, you’re taken to the Status Reports Overview page (also called the Status Reports Center), shown in Figure 22.36. From here, managers can request status reports from team members, and team members can complete and submit status reports to their managers.

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Figure 22.36: Use Web Access for all your status report activities.

Note 

The content of the Status Reports Overview page changes depending on whether new requests have been sent are or due, or whether any completed status reports have been received.

Requesting Status Reports

If you’re a project manager, you can use Web Access to set up regular status report requests. You can use Web Access to send one-off requests, as well.

To set up a recurring status report request, follow these steps:

  1. From the Status Reports Overview page, select Request a Status Report.

  2. When the next screen appears, choose the Set Up New Status Report option; then click OK.

  3. Web Access now launches a four-step wizard. The first step, shown in Figure 22.37, asks you for the following information:

    • Name of the report

    • Make your choices and then click Next.

    • How often the report is due (weekly, monthly, or yearly)

    • What day of the week the report is due

    • When you want the first reporting period to begin.

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      Figure 22.37 : Specify how often and when you'll request a new status report.

  4. On the second page of the wizard, shown in Figure 22.38, select the resources to which you want the request sent. Click Next to continue.

  5. On page three of the wizard, shown in Figure 22.39, you select the topics for your resources’ reports. You can accept the three default topics (Major Accomplishment, Objectives of the Next Period); delete the default topics (select a topic and then click Delete Row); or add new topics (click Insert Row and then enter a Name and Description for the new topic). You can also use the Up and Down buttons to change the order of the topics. Select Next to continue.

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    Figure 22.38: Choose who should respond to your request.

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    Figure 22.39: Choose which topics to include in the status report.

  6. The final page of the wizard is the Finished! page. Click Send to save the new report and send a request for the new status report now. Click Save to save this report without sending an immediate request. (The first report will be requested as configured in the wizard.)

Responding to a Status Report Request

When you’ve been requested to submit a status report, you’ll be notified in two ways. First, your Web Access Home page will be updated to include a Status Reports section, with the new report request noted.

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Also, when you select the Status Reports tab, you’ll see an Upcoming Status Reports section with any pending status reports listed.

To respond to a request, all you have to do is click the link to the report on either the Home page or the Status Reports Overview page. You’re now taken to the Submit a Status Report page, shown in Figure 22.40. This page contains sections for each topic defined in the status report request. Enter your comments in each section.

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Figure 22.40: Complete your status report, as requested.

You can enter your comments manually, or automatically insert tasks from your timesheet into the status report. Click Insert Tasks from Timesheet to display your personal timesheet. Check those tasks you want to insert and then click the Insert Tasks button.

When you’re done completing the status report, click the Send button to send the report to your manager.

Tip 

If you want to add your own personal section to this report, click the Click Here to Add Section button.

Submitting an Unrequested Status Report

As a team member, you will most often be submitting status reports in response to status report requests from your manager. You can, however, submit your own unrequested status report—which is might be necessary if you’re planning to go on vacation before the next status report is due, or if you’ve completed some extraordinary task, or run into a particularly vexing issue.

To submit an unrequested status report, follow these steps:

  1. From the Status Report Overview page, click Submit a Status Report in the Activities pane.

  2. When the next page appears, click Submit an Unrequested Status Report in the Activities pane.

  3. When the Submit a Status Report page appears, enter a report name; select to whom you want to send the report; select any additional recipients from the Cc list; and use the From and To lists to enter a period for this report.

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  4. Click the Click Here to Add Section button to add a section to your report. Enter a title for the section, click OK, and enter your comments into the section. Repeat this step to add additional sections to your report.

  5. Click the Send button when you’re ready to send the report.

Viewing Status Reports

As a manager, you’ll know that your team members have completed their status reports in two ways. Your Home page will include a notice of a New Status Report in the Status Reports section.

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Also, your Status Reports Overview will include a list of reports received in the Requested Reports section of the Group Status Reports section.

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To view a status report, go to the Status Reports Overview page and then click the link to one of the received reports in the Requested Reports section. This takes you to the page specific to that particular status report, as shown in Figure 22.41. Reports that have been received are listed with a “full” icon in the table; reports not yet received have a “ghosted” icon with a question mark. (In Figure 22.41, the administrator has not yet returned his report; the user named mmiller has.) Click the icon to view the report.

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Figure 22.41 : View all status reports that have been received.

When a report is received, it is automatically merged into a compiled group report. This report is indicated by an icon with both a sheet of paper and a group of people. (In Figure 22.41, the first row of the table—Team Status Report—includes two compiled group reports.) Click the icon to read the compiled report, similar to the one in Figure 22.42.

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Figure 22.42 : Read a report compiled from all members of your team.

Tip 

Any unrequested reports that have been received from your team members are listed on the Miscellaneous Reports page. Access this page by clicking Miscellaneous Reports in the Activities pane.



Mastering Microsoft Project 2002
Mastering Microsoft Project 2002
ISBN: 0782141471
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 241

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