RE: How to tell if a project plan has been published - IMPORTANT WARNING

From: ITG_Mike ("ITG_Mike")
Date: 02/05/04 

Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 14:21:06 -0800

Pam, et al,

I determine which projects are published by going into the SQL database and querying the Web Tables for projects without assignments. This method is not perfect, as projects that happen to have NO assignments (i.e. the resources will self-assign) appear the same as projects that have assignments but have not been published.

WARNING...
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Based on personal experience, projects that are saved, but not published, can cause HUGE problems in PS 2003 (if users are allowed to self-assign). Here is what happens. The PM assigns a resource to a task, saves, but does not publish the assignments. Then, after the project is saved, the resource adds themself to the same task (assign myself to an existing task) and begins to enter time. Later, the PM opens the schedule and publishes new and changed.

At this point, the resource has two assignments on their time*** for the same task. One of the two has time entered (the one they added). When the resource does an "Update All" this task is sent to the PM for approval. When the PM approves the task and updates the project, they will receive a message that some changes cannot be updated in project (it does not say so, but the change being referenced is the duplicate assignment). PWA then tells the PM to save the project file.

If the file is saved (and PWA told the PM to save it) the duplicate assignment is made permanent and from then forward, any update or publication of the project returns a SYSTEM ERROR in the spooler.

I have found to way to fix the project at this point. We have been forced to delete and recreate projects because of this.

This problem has been reported to Microsoft and they agree what I describe can happen. One of their responses is that PM's should NEVER save without publishing. Though this is problematic for a PM that is making extensive project changes over a period of hours or days as they will be creating and deleting assignments which should not really be made visible to resources until the PM is done.

Mike