Project management is one of the core administrative functions in both service-based and product-based organisations. To respond to project management demands, Microsoft created MS Project.
The latest version of MS Project includes these key features:
Now, let's take a look at what you need to know to prepare for an installation.
To provide the full range of features offered by Project 2003, you will need to implement several technologies and applications.
Front-end applications
The front-end applications that you need for your implementation include:
Integrated/back-end technologies
The integrated/back-end technologies that you need for your implementation of Project 2003 include:
Implementation scenario
The Project 2003 solution is designed to run in a multiserver environment for better performance, scalability, and availability. At a minimum, Microsoft recommends having at least two servers. The first server should include the following components:
The second server should include the following components:
A server running in a larger environment should include at least a 550-MHz, Pentium III processor with 256 MB of RAM and a 4-GB hard drive. For best performance, I would double the specifications for both the processor and RAM and get at least a 20-GB hard drive.
For those environments with smaller needs, a single server with all the aforementioned components installed will work. A single Pentium 4 server with dual processors and 1 GB of RAM should service more than 100 users easily at one time. If your needs are smaller than this, you can certainly look at reducing the hardware baseline.
For all installations, you will want to refer to the Project Server 2003 Installation Guide for detailed instructions. There are many tasks involved, so don't be surprised if it takes you a day or more to get everything configured, even a test environment. If you're implementing anything beyond a single-server configuration, you'll also want to review the Project Server 2003 Configuration Planning Guide.
Licencing issues
Since the Project 2003 solution involves several Microsoft technologies, you should have a thorough understanding of the impact licencing will have on your implementation. The following provides an overview of client licencing parameters for each product, but be sure to check the Microsoft product pages for special situations.
Pricing issues
The cost to implement Project Server 2003 can become hefty for small organisations, which typically need to start from scratch. Here's a quick breakdown of the costs:
Another factor to consider is the cost of implementation and maintenance. However, if the project is big enough in scope, then these initial cost hurdles should be easy to justify based on what you can do with this powerful software. My next five articles will delve further into many of Project 2003's new features.
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