New Features in Project Server 2002 Web Access

Successful projects require extensive communication between project team members. Microsoft Project 95 and 98 introduced the ability for workgroups to communicate by using email and Web communication. Project 2000 expanded the Web-based communication abilities by including the companion product Project Central.

Project 2002 has again increased the utility of Web-based communication, extending the functionality from the individual project to the program and enterprise levels. A number of new scalability and compatibility features have been introduced for this purpose, and the companion product has been renamed Project Web Access, to describe its functions and use more accurately.

Microsoft Project Server Web Access supports collaborative planning among team members, project managers, and others, and it lets stakeholders view, update, and analyze project information through Web browsers.

Project managers can use Microsoft Project Server with Microsoft Project to publish assignments to team members and to incorporate information from team members into the project plan. Using the Enterprise version of Microsoft Project Server, managers can use Project Web Access to analyze portfolios of projects for better resource distribution among projects.

Project Server includes several new features, including support for multiple project managers, the ability to create multiple profiles if more than one server is available, and compatibility between Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project 2000 (and vice versa), so organizations can choose to upgrade to Microsoft Project Server and Web Access while still using Project 2000 as the client.

This chapter describes the features of Microsoft Project Web Access that project managers and team members can use for enhanced communication and collaboration.