Reporting from MS Project 2010

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Dear Loungers,

I have project 2010 and I want to create some reports, it’s reporting is a bit clunky and previously (2003 I thnk) I used to be able to save the file as an access db and report using that. It seems this is no longer possible. Does anyone have any other ideas about how to create good reports from 2010.

By the way, I am operating standalone. it occured to me that Project server might be better and possibly reporting services would work with it? although heaven knows what that would do to the cost.

thank you……………… liz

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I have recently changed over to Project 2010. The differences from Project 2003 as described by you are correct. You can export data to Excel (not to Access) via “save as”. It seems the built-in Reporting allows only for “Text-based” Reports and “Visual” Reports. The former uses MS Word and the latter uses Excel. However, a wide range of comprehensive “pre-defined” reports for these two routes are pre-programmed and available via the applicable menus. I am slowly forming the opinion that once I get used to the new software, it will, infact provide better reporting capability than before…….(Crossed fingers!).

I agree, however, that the new Reporting Process is very “menu intensive”.

Regarding your comment concerning the Project Server version, I quote from “Microsoft Project 2010: The Missing Manual” (see link below):

”In one respect, choosing between Project Standard and Project Professional is easy. Both editions of Project have about the same capabilities if you manage projects independently and aren’t trying to work closely with other project managers, teams, and projects. Project Standard works for most one-person shows, even if you manage several projects at the same time. You can communicate with your team via email and share documents on a network drive, or using a SharePoint website (Updating the Tasks list). However, Project Professional adds the Team Planner and the ability to inactivate tasks and synchronize Project tasks to a task list in SharePoint 2010. However, if you manage project teams with hundreds of resources, share a pool of resources with other project managers, or manage your project as one of many in your organization’s project portfolio, then you’ll need Project Professional, along with Project Server and Project Web App. The difference between Project Standard and Project Professional is that you can turn on the enterprise features in Project Professional and connect it to Project Server and Project Web App to collaborate, communicate, and share across hundreds of projects and people. Setting up an enterprise-wide project management system takes some planning and effort, depending on the size and complexity of your organization. Whether your company is small, medium, or large, you must weigh the benefits of managing projects company-wide against the effort and expense of defining project management policies, setting up the system, and bringing everyone up to speed. Here are some of the advantages that Project Professional and the enterprise project management software offer: Track all projects in one place. You build Project schedules with Project Professional. When a project is ready for prime time, you publish it to Project Server to add it to the overall project portfolio. Then the status for all projects appears in a single view. Share resources enterprise-wide. Instead of playing phone tag with other project managers about when resources are available, Project Server keeps track of all resources and when they work on which project. You can look for the right kind of resources using multilevel resource skill characteristics, and then see who’s available for your projects. Communicate with resources. Project Web App makes it easy for you to communicate with your team, requesting status, sending messages, and so on. It also makes it easy for your team to communicate with you, replying with status, accepting assignments, or providing time worked. Timesheets. Team members can fill out timesheets for project work. The time they submit shoots straight into the Project Server database to update progress on your projects. Track issues, risks, and documents. Projects are more than schedules. Issues crop up that must be resolved; risks lurk that you must watch and manage; and there’s no end to the additional documents produced, like specifications, plans, work packages, and so on. Using SharePoint websites and Project Web App, team members can collaborate on all these elements online.”

So, it seems you will not gain much more, as far as your reporting issue is concerned, by choosing the Server version. (Of course “sharing” will be better/easier)

By the way, The O’Reilly Book referred to above is HIGHLY recommeded. I am finding it invaluable. Purchasing the e-book ($32) is the cheapest way to get it. This also provides access to free example files available for download, including report templates: http://oreilly.com/catalog/0636920001423/

(Edit: Corrected the link)

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Dear peter,

thank you for your comments, I am in a similar position to you and perhaps reporting will be better in teh long run, but I use Project accassionally and expect to be able to pick it up and run so feel like I hasve been put on the back foot and have no time to catch up, oh well!!!

I value all the O’Reilly missing manuals, they are worth their weight in gold. I also recommend the Safari Bookshelf service which allows me to access any book electronically: http://my.safaribooksonline.com, which is related to O’Reilly and invaluable.

thank you…………………. liz

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Hi Lizat,

Have you tried saving Project 2010 in XML format, and then importing the XML data into Access 2010 using the External Data tab | XML File option?

Just a thought….

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By using Microsoft project 2010 you can create reports in Excel or Visio. Follow the steps below:
1. Run Project 2010. Click “Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Project 2010“.
2. Click “ File > Open” and open the project document to make its report.
3. Now, click Project menu, then click Visual Reports button which is in Reports group.
4. Choose the report type to make in Visual Reports window –Create Report.
5. Choose whether you want to make in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Visio in the line of Show report templates created in.
6. In drop down menu of Select level of usage data to include in the report, choose the kind of report to make. Is it report of days, weeks, months, quarters or years.
7. Click “View” button to see its report output.

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By using Microsoft project 2010 you can create reports in Excel or Visio. Follow the steps below:
1. Run Project 2010. Click “Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Project 2010“.
2. Click “ File > Open” and open the project document to make its report.
3. Now, click Project menu, then click Visual Reports button which is in Reports group.
4. Choose the report type to make in Visual Reports window –Create Report.
5. Choose whether you want to make in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Visio in the line of Show report templates created in.
6. In drop down menu of Select level of usage data to include in the report, choose the kind of report to make. Is it report of days, weeks, months, quarters or years.
7. Click “View” button to see its report output.

melissatrozak would you happen to know how to link the visio file and the project file after it has been closed?

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Hi Liz,
If you want to use Access (and make use of your old reports) this is what I am doing:
– In MS Project 2010, goto the “Project” Menu option in the ribbon, then -> Visual Reports -> “Save Data ..” button -> “Save Database …” button. Let’s say you save the file as “Project1.mdb”
– Now you will have to search for the data you need in Project1.mdb. To start off, I would suggest you open the query called “MSP_EpmTask_OlapView”. It has most of the relevant fields that I use.
– To make this further useful, I close this Project1.mdb and create another access db, say, “MyProject1Reports.mdb” which is linked to the “MSP_EpmTask_OlapView” query, and create a simpler query with only a few relevant columns. Why? because now whenever I save my MS Project as “Project1.mdb”, my predefined queries in “MyProjectReports.mdb” are not over-written. I can also link to an excel sheet like this.

Hope it helped.
Ali

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