Project Service Automation With Microsoft Project Add-In

In this blog, we would be talking about integrating Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation and Microsoft Project to facilitate the users to do your planning work in the familiar environment of Microsoft Project. Use the robust planning and management capabilities of Microsoft Project and then update your project plan in Project Service Automation.

Pre-requisites for using this feature

• This feature is supported in December 2016 Update for Microsoft Dynamics 365 (online).
• To use the SharePoint document management feature in Dynamics 365 to store your Microsoft Project files for Project Service Automation projects, your Dynamics 365 admin will need to turn on document management.
• The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Add-in for Microsoft Project is only compatible with Microsoft Project 2016 Professional Edition.

Link to Add-in: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54299

To configure the Add-in:

• Open Microsoft Project and click the Project Service tab.
• Click Connect.
• Enter your sign-in information and then click Sign in.
• Now you can start using the add-in.

Using a Project from PSA in Microsoft Project

To Read from a PSA Project or PSA Project Template that you have created in Project Service Automation can be copied into Microsoft Project to start your project planning.

• From the Project Service tab, click Read > Project Service Automation Project Template.
• Choose a project template from the list and then click Open.
• To link the Project you need to check the Option provided.
• Linking the Project file to Project Service Automation makes the Project file the master and sets the work breakdown structure in Project Service Automation to read-only. In order to make changes to the project plan, you need to make them in Microsoft Project and publish them as updates to Project Service Automation.

Assign Project Service Automation roles to project resources

• Open a project and click the Task ribbon.
• Click the Gantt Chart menu and then choose Resource Sheet.
• On the Resource Sheet, click the Project Service Resource Role drop-down menu and choose a Project Service Automation role.

Upload a Project file to SharePoint or Office Groups

You need to upload the MS Project File to SharePoint or one drive so that the PSA remembers the file location and link and find it under the Associated Documents for your Project Service Automation project. You need to have your administrator configure SharePoint document management for Dynamics 365 and turn it on for the Project entity.

Publish your project

When your project planning is complete, the next step is to import and publish the project into Project Service Automation.

The project will import into Project Service Automation. The pricing and team generation process is applied. Open the project in Project Service Automation to see that the team, project estimates, and work breakdown structure have been generated.

• Microsoft Project Gantt Chart info imports into the Project Service Automation Work Breakdown Structure screen.
• Microsoft Project Resource Sheet info imports into the Project Service Automation Project Team Members screen.
• Microsoft Project Use Usage info imports into the Project Service Automation Project Estimates screen.

New Project creation from MS Project

You can also create Projects in MS Project or you may choose the existing MS Projects data to import into PSA using this Add-in, in case Project Managers are already using MS Projects till date.

• From the Project Service tab, click Publish > New Project Service Automation Project.
• On Publish to a new project in Project Service dialog box, enter the Project Name and select the Customer.
• Optionally check the Link project plan to Project Service Automation to link the plan Project file to Project Service Automation.
• Click Publish.

Creation of Team

• Having created my draft project plan in PSA, I wanted to build a project team. To do that I would build the team in Dynamics 365 PSA.
• When you have created the Project in MS Project instead of using Generating Team Members from WBS, we add Team Members to the Project from PSA.
• Once the Team Members are added in PSA, we will now be able to view/edit resources in MS Project tool

Edit a project that’s been imported

To make changes to a project plan that’s been imported into Project Service Automation, you have two options:

• Open the master file and edit it in Microsoft Project
• Unlink the file and edit it directly in Project Service. By default, a project that’s been uploaded from Microsoft Project is locked and can only be edited in Project. To edit the file in Project Service Automation, the file has to be unlinked.

Unlink a file and edit in Microsoft Project Service

• From the main menu, click Project Service > Projects.
• From the list of projects, open the one you created in Microsoft Project.
• Click Unlink from Microsoft Project from the ribbon.

This was all from this blog, please stay tuned for the upcoming blogs and enjoy working with Microsoft Project with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (PSA).

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