Planned Information

In Project Management, you can create major milestones. Microsoft Project does not have this ability.

In Project Management-controlled mode, major milestones are synchronized as standard milestones in Microsoft Project.

All predecessor relationships between tasks are synchronized. Both Project Management and Microsoft Project support Finish-Start, Start-Finish, Start-Start, and Finish-Finish predecessor relationships between tasks.

A Microsoft Project predecessor relationship may have a lag or lead (a positive or negative offset to the normal predecessor relationship). Microsoft Project adjusts the start and finish dates of the successor task accordingly. Project Management supports the lag and lead offsets.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, the adjusted start and finish dates are synchronized. to the Project Management scheduled start and scheduled finish dates.

In Project Management-controlled mode, scheduled start and finish dates are synchronized from Project Management to Microsoft Project but may be adjusted by Microsoft Project.

Project Management supports predecessor relationships with dependencies on external tasks (for example, a task from a separate project) while Microsoft Project does not.

In Project Management-controlled mode, the task with the dependency on an external task is synchronized, but the dependency on the external task is not synchronized.(Microsoft Project ignores the dependency).

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, if dependencies are added between projects in Project Management, these dependencies are lost during synchronization.

If the synchronization mode is changed from Project Management-controlled mode to Microsoft Project-controlled or shared control mode, the dependency on the external task is lost. The task with the dependency is recognized by Microsoft Project, but the dependency is not.

Microsoft Project cannot add dependencies on requests. In Project Management-controlled mode and shared control mode, predecessors on requests in Project Management are synchronized but ignored by Microsoft Project.

When a Project Management task has a Finish-Finish predecessor relationship with an open Demand Management request, the task can be 100% complete but not fully finished. Referenced tasks of this open request acquire a Complete (Pending Request) status in Project Management until the request is completed. Microsoft Project does not support Finish-Finish predecessor relationships with requests.

In Project Management-controlled mode and shared control mode, when synchronizing tasks in this condition, Microsoft Project reports the task percent complete as 100%. Finish-Finish predecessor relationships on requests in Project Management are synchronized but ignored by Microsoft Project because Microsoft Project cannot add dependencies on requests.

If the Priority field for a task in Project Management is set to greater than 1,000, when the work plan information is sent to Microsoft Project, the priority is set to 1,000. Neither Project Management nor Microsoft Project allow a task priority to be greater than 1,000.

In project planning, the concept of resources can have multiple definitions. A resource can be a team member, time on a mainframe computer, or construction materials. A resource in Project Management is a Project Management user capable of performing tasks. Resources are chosen from the staffing profile associated with the project, from the resource pools managed by the project manager, or from any resource pool when the RM_OVERRIDE_ASSIGNMENT_CONTROLS parameter is set to TRUE. Microsoft Project supports tracking and costing of both human and material resources. Project Management supports only human resources.

A project can contain resources that have not been assigned. In Microsoft Project, unassigned resources appear in some resource-centric project views but have little functional significance. In Project Management, unassigned resources are Project Management users listed in the staffing profile who have no task assignments.

In Project Management-controlled mode, resource mapping is determined by the Microsoft Project Integration policy settings. See Transferring PPM Information to Microsoft for more information.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, during synchronization, all assigned human resources in Microsoft Project are mapped automatically to defined users in Project Management. Automatic resource mapping is based on the following factors, in order of precedence:

• A match between the Microsoft Project resource name and the Project Management username.

• A match between the Microsoft Project resource name and the concatenation of the Project Management user's first and last name.

• A match between the Microsoft Project resource name and the concatenation of the Project Management user's last and first name.

In general, the following should be taken into consideration:

• PPM does not automatically create users for unmatched resources. The project manager should note the list of unmatched resources and work with his system administrator to create these users.

• In Project Management, the mapping does not guarantee that all assigned resources are part of the staffing profile. If the staffing profile needs to be maintained, then this must be done manually.

• Material resources are not passed to Project Management.

• Microsoft Project does not allow commas in resource names.

• Automatic resource mapping is not always 100% successful. The integration allows you to manually map resources across applications, or intentionally unmap resources that are irrelevant or have been erroneously mapped. This manual adjustment occurs as part of the synchronization process or can be run from the PPM menu (see Manually map resources between applications and Manually Mapping Enterprise Resources Between Applications for more information).

In PPM, a resource called a summary task owner is a person named on summary tasks who has oversight over that section of the work plan.

In Microsoft Project, while there is no specific field named summary task owner, the concept of a summary task owner exists. That is, in Microsoft Project, a Microsoft Project resource assigned as the owner of a summary task can be considered a summary task owner.

Therefore, when resources are synchronized, a summary task owner in PPM may be mapped to a resource in Microsoft Project or a resource in Microsoft Project may be mapped to a summary task owner in PPM.

Project Management and Microsoft Project calculate scheduled duration differently. Both calculations are based on scheduled start and scheduled finish dates (in Microsoft Project, if a task has a fixed duration, the start and finish dates are recalculated). Each calculation can also be affected by resource calendars and how hours per day in the work schedule is defined.

Because Project Management and Microsoft Project do not synchronize resource calendars, you may see discrepancies in a task's scheduled duration. See Other Synchronization Considerations for more information.

Project Management uses a 10 hour/day work schedule. Most Microsoft Project plans are built using an 8 hour/day work schedule. In general, Project Management considers a Microsoft Project task to have ended two hours before the end of the work day. (Although the Microsoft Project interface does not display the start and finish times, this information is tracked in order to allow tasks with durations less than one whole day.) Tasks in Microsoft Project are shown in Project Management as .2 days shorter.

When rescheduling the project in Project Management, the .2 days (or two hour) difference can have an impact. The Project Management scheduling algorithm attempts to compact your plan to use up all available time, including the apparently unused two hours at the end of tasks. To prevent this, the project manager should make the durations whole numbers only, for the portions on the project plan that are rescheduled using Project Management.

In Project Management, a task can have actual start and actual finish dates that are earlier or later than the scheduled start and scheduled finish dates. In Microsoft Project, if a task has an actual start or finish date earlier or later than the scheduled dates (start/finish), the scheduled dates are automatically overridden. For example, if a task was scheduled to start on May 1st but is reported to have actually started on May 2nd, Microsoft Project automatically changes the task scheduled start date to May 2nd.

In Project Management-controlled mode, both the actual and scheduled dates are updated in Microsoft Project. After synchronization, Microsoft project adjusts the scheduled dates according to its rules. After this adjustment, the scheduled dates in Microsoft Project may not match the scheduled dates in Project Management.

In shared control mode, Actual dates are updated in Microsoft Project and scheduled dates are updated in Project Management. After synchronization, Microsoft project adjusts the scheduled dates according to its rules. After this adjustment, the scheduled dates in Microsoft Project may not match the scheduled dates in Project Management.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode, both the actual and scheduled dates are updated in Project Management. Because Project Management does not automatically adjust dates, the scheduled dates in Project Management match the scheduled dates in Microsoft Project.

A split task is work on a task in Microsoft Project that is scheduled to start and stop multiple times (multiple start and finish dates) because a resource has been overallocated. Project Management tracks a task with a single start and finish date.

Tasks may be split automatically (instead of resource units being adjusted) based on settings in the Microsoft Project resource leveling feature. Therefore, in Project Management-controlled mode, a split task may automatically be generated in Microsoft Project during synchronization.

In Project Management-controlled mode, if a split task is generated, the scheduled start date is synchronized to the earliest Microsoft Project split start date. Likewise, the scheduled finish date is synchronized to the latest Microsoft Project split finish date. Scheduled duration is recalculated according to these dates.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, the earliest split start date is synchronized to the Project Management scheduled start date, and the latest split finish date is synchronized to the Project Management scheduled finish date. The Project Management scheduled duration is synchronized to the Microsoft Project duration.

A delayed task is work on a task in Microsoft Project that is scheduled to start at a later time because a resource has been overallocated and cannot start the task until this time. Project Management tracks a task's scheduled start date and actual start date.

Tasks may be delayed automatically based on settings in the Microsoft Project resource leveling feature. Therefore, in Project Management-controlled mode, a delayed task may automatically be generated in Microsoft Project during synchronization.

In Project Management-controlled mode and shared control mode, if a delayed task is generated, the scheduled start date is synchronized to the Microsoft Project delayed start date. Likewise, the scheduled finish date is synchronized to the Microsoft Project delayed finish date.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode, the delayed start date is synchronized to the Project Management scheduled start date and the delayed finish date is synchronized to the Project Management scheduled finish date.

A Microsoft Project work contour controls the work schedule of a resource.  Project Management does not include a similar feature.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, the start and finish dates of a schedule with a work contour are simply synchronized to the Project Management scheduled start and scheduled finish dates.

Alternatively, a project manager can create a similar project plan without a work contour by dividing the task into several subtasks that have distinct non-contoured assignments. This gives better visibility from project views and is easier to explain to resources.

Both Project Management and Microsoft Project define a scheduling constraint by a constraint type and a constraint date. Some constraint types (for example, as soon as possible) do not require a constraint date.

In Project Management-controlled mode and shared control mode, all     Project Management scheduling constraints are synchronized in Microsoft Project.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode, all Microsoft Project scheduling constraints are synchronized in Project Management.

Project Management evaluates scheduling constraints selectively when the project manager chooses to schedule all or part of the project. The project manager may choose to leave the project dates out of compliance with a defined scheduling constraint instead of adjusting the project plan definition to comply with a constraint. However, Microsoft Project (in automatic calculation mode) automatically shifts a task to comply with a scheduling constraint.

During synchronization, and only when the synchronization mode is Project Management-controlled, Microsoft Project is placed in manual calculation mode. In manual calculation mode, Microsoft Project does not force the project dates to meet its scheduling rules for task relationships.

To change the calculation mode in Microsoft Project, click Tools > Options and select the Calculation tab.

While Microsoft Project includes tasks with statuses, Microsoft Project does not have as many distinct statuses as Project Management. For example, in Microsoft Project, all unstarted tasks share a common state and there are no task statuses to recognize tasks that have been cancelled or bypassed. Also, Microsoft Project does not distinguish between tasks that are pending predecessors, tasks that are ready, and tasks in progress where no percent complete has been reported.

In Project Management-controlled mode and shared control mode, when a cancelled or bypassed Project Management task is synchronized, the word Cancelled or Bypassed is prepended to the task name in Microsoft Project to indicate the task status.

See % Complete for Tasks that are Cancelled or On Hold (Bypassed) for information on how % complete is calculated for cancelled and bypassed tasks in Microsoft Project.

Microsoft Project allows unnamed tasks while Project Management does not.

In Microsoft Project-controlled mode and shared control mode, during synchronization, tasks that do not have names in Microsoft Project are assigned default names such as MS Blank Task #1. The project manager should review and update these names. After synchronization, unnamed tasks appear in the Warnings tab of the Show Info dialog (from Microsoft Project, click Show Info).