5 New Apps for Microsoft Project That Have Enhanced the Platform

Microsoft has acquired many apps and add-ins for Project Online.  Sensei Project Solutions Inc. and Projectum ApS are Microsoft partners who developed these apps and add-ins.  The latest additions are being provided by Microsoft to enhance Project for their customers.

The apps are the Sensei Task Master, the Sensei Project Dashboard, and the Sensei Portfolio Dashboard.  The Task master is compatible for Android, iPhone, and of course Windows phones and is useful for timesheets and updating tasks while away from your computer.  Project Dashboard is an app for iPad designed to help customers stay on top of all their projects.  Portfolio Dashboard is an app for Project Online and iPad that offers multiple project and portfolio (PPM) reports.

Recent add-ins include Project Financials and Project Snapshot.  These were developed by Projectum ApS and enable users to work with cost data that is time phased and is used to manage costs, benefits, and forecasts.  This add-in also enables managers to make a snapshot of various project information to include actual cost, KPIs, budget, etc.

The acquisition of these new products will benefit Project Online users by offering a customized experience in the Cloud to aid in project management from basic to advanced tasks and projects anywhere you are connected on virtually any device.  Microsoft’s partners have been developing mobile and Cloud solutions for Office 365 so Project Online users can experience the latest innovations.

More about their partners

Sensei Project Solutions Inc. won the Microsoft PPM Partner of the Year award in 2014.  This Microsoft partner has developed PPM solutions for Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project.  Sensei Project Solutions offers process-centered support for multiple industry standards and best practices.  Sensei’s credentials come from the Project Management Institute as a Registered Education Provider and also offers Professional Development Units for all PMI training.

Sensei offers Building Blocks for PPM which offer processes, procedures, configurations, and techniques as a comprehensive approach to PPM.  Their building blocks include: Project Status and Portfolio Reporting, Project Planning and Collaboration, Budgeting and Cost Tracking, Resource Capacity/Demand Management, and Project Intake & Prioritization.

Sensei’s project solutions are pre-configured and reusable for many applications.  These solutions include Report Packs, Jumpstart Solutions, and Agile PPM Templates.  The Report Packs are pre-configured reports and dashboards designed for Microsoft Project Server for resource managers, project managers, portfolio managers, and company executives.  Jumpstart solutions are aligned with PMI’s practice standards and consist of configuration components from proven PPM solutions.  Agile PPM templates offer a single tool you can use for all Scrum/Agile project management framework projects.

Projectum ApS is a Northern European company founded in 2004.  Awarded Microsoft’s Partner of the Year award in 2015 for their innovations in project and portfolio management, the Danish consulting company continues to develop innovative business solutions.

Projectum helps Microsoft to shape Microsoft Project and has developed Projectum Timesheet Daily Comments and Projectum Resource Manager.  The company has developed over 200 PPM implementations.  Technologies developed for Microsoft under Office 365 include Project Server and Project Online.

Projectum’s products include: Projectum Resource Manager, Projectum Timesheet Daily Comments, Projectum Snapshot, and Projectum Project Financials.  Resource Manager offers a solution that provides a resource overview to help you complete your portfolio and capacity.  This product helps provide resource requests and allocations and a single view for line managers while maintaining control of non-project time.

With the Timesheet Daily Comments add-on for Project Server, users can add comments on their timesheets.  This add-on enables detailed invoicing, a dialogue between the PM and employee, and a better overview of reported consumption.  In addition, Timesheet Daily also provides an interface that is integrated with Project Server Timesheet, sample reports, and data storage that is integrated into Project Server.

Projectum Snapshot is an app you can download directly from the SharePoint store.  This app freezes data values in snapshots you can take throughout the life of your project.  You can configure this app to store metadata at any given time interval from monthly to quarterly in a detailed workflow.  This is useful for budget functionality and scalability.

Projectum Project Financials is another app you can download directly from the SharePoint Store.  The purpose of this app is to enable Microsoft Project users to time phase financial information without the need for adding several custom fields that can affect performance.  You can also customize the Project Detail Page within the app and use it for multiple financial functions to include cost, forecast, and benefit analysis.

With such care, dedication, and attention to detail in project management, Microsoft’s partners strive to develop the latest integrated solutions for Project Online.