OK this post is actually about sharing an issue i came across lately, with the hope to get a fix through any of the coming CUs. And the hope is high, with the recent news of getting scheduled CU more frequently now :)
Out of lot of improvements we are enjoying with Project Server 2013, one of them is having a scheduling capabilities built within PWA, and now PWA schedule webpart do all the formula processing as well without open/publish the same project from Ms Project. Unlike its predecessor, where any formula field requires MS Project push to get populated, and hence we had dependency to Ms Project even in the presence of web client and it was nightmare sometimes to explain to end user that why they need to buy more Ms Projects licenses to cope up with web based client limitations.
But recently i found that 'Task level number type roll up formula field, if copied to Project level number type formula field - doesnt work' :(
Now let me try to illustrate above through an example to make it more clearer:
And before i start, note that my server is patched with SP1 (re-released) + Jul 2014 CU.
1. Create a task level number type field, lets name it: %Weight
2. Create a task level number type formula field, with roll up Sum calculation for summary rows:
Lets name it: %WeightedProgress = ([% Complete] * [%Weight]) / 100
Here %complete is a default field, and %Weight is the one we have created at step-1 and will be manually updated by users.
3. Create a project level number type formula field:
Lets Name it %ProjectProgress = %WeightedProgress
As you can see, i am only copying data of task level formula field to project level field in order to show the data in project center.
Using PWA web scheduler:
1. I have entered %Weight for following 2 tasks, %Weighted Progress is 0 for each task because %Complete is 0, and hence at project level roll up value is also 0.
2. Update %Complete of first task with 50%, and %Weighted Progress will be calculated using formula and became 10 at task level and Project roll up level. Publish project.
3. Open Project Center and observe % Weighted Progress, its showing 0 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made any changes.
4. Open project, and update %Complete of 2nd task with 50% and that will change %Weighted Progress value to 25. Publish project.
5. Open Project Center, and observe %Weighted Progress, its showing 10 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made change to 2nd task.
By now you may have learnt that its following a unique pattern while updating project level custom field. That its showing you previous value at project center level once you publish your project, although at Project level it updates at the same time.
So the first time when at Project level it was 0, in Project Center it was appearing blank.
Second time when at Project level it was 10, in Project Center it was appearing 0.
Third time when at Project level it was 25, in Project Center it was appearing 10.
Lets update our project plan one more time to assure our conclusion.
6. Open project, and update %Complete of Task A with 100% and that will change %Weighted Progress value to 35. Publish project.
7. Open Project Center, and observe %Weighted Progress, its showing 25 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made change to Task A.
So Fourth time when at Project level it was 35, in Project Center it was appearing 25.
I hope an issue is clear, now a workaround to this is to open/publish using Ms Project and everything will work like a charm, just like old times (Project Server 2010).
Though its not workable in my current scenario because not all the end user have Ms Project on their PCs.
With the hope that we get fix to this issue soon :), see ya next time.
Out of lot of improvements we are enjoying with Project Server 2013, one of them is having a scheduling capabilities built within PWA, and now PWA schedule webpart do all the formula processing as well without open/publish the same project from Ms Project. Unlike its predecessor, where any formula field requires MS Project push to get populated, and hence we had dependency to Ms Project even in the presence of web client and it was nightmare sometimes to explain to end user that why they need to buy more Ms Projects licenses to cope up with web based client limitations.
But recently i found that 'Task level number type roll up formula field, if copied to Project level number type formula field - doesnt work' :(
Now let me try to illustrate above through an example to make it more clearer:
And before i start, note that my server is patched with SP1 (re-released) + Jul 2014 CU.
1. Create a task level number type field, lets name it: %Weight
2. Create a task level number type formula field, with roll up Sum calculation for summary rows:
Lets name it: %WeightedProgress = ([% Complete] * [%Weight]) / 100
Here %complete is a default field, and %Weight is the one we have created at step-1 and will be manually updated by users.
3. Create a project level number type formula field:
Lets Name it %ProjectProgress = %WeightedProgress
As you can see, i am only copying data of task level formula field to project level field in order to show the data in project center.
Using PWA web scheduler:
1. I have entered %Weight for following 2 tasks, %Weighted Progress is 0 for each task because %Complete is 0, and hence at project level roll up value is also 0.
2. Update %Complete of first task with 50%, and %Weighted Progress will be calculated using formula and became 10 at task level and Project roll up level. Publish project.
3. Open Project Center and observe % Weighted Progress, its showing 0 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made any changes.
4. Open project, and update %Complete of 2nd task with 50% and that will change %Weighted Progress value to 25. Publish project.
5. Open Project Center, and observe %Weighted Progress, its showing 10 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made change to 2nd task.
By now you may have learnt that its following a unique pattern while updating project level custom field. That its showing you previous value at project center level once you publish your project, although at Project level it updates at the same time.
So the first time when at Project level it was 0, in Project Center it was appearing blank.
Second time when at Project level it was 10, in Project Center it was appearing 0.
Third time when at Project level it was 25, in Project Center it was appearing 10.
Lets update our project plan one more time to assure our conclusion.
6. Open project, and update %Complete of Task A with 100% and that will change %Weighted Progress value to 35. Publish project.
7. Open Project Center, and observe %Weighted Progress, its showing 25 which was the task roll up at project level before we have made change to Task A.
So Fourth time when at Project level it was 35, in Project Center it was appearing 25.
I hope an issue is clear, now a workaround to this is to open/publish using Ms Project and everything will work like a charm, just like old times (Project Server 2010).
Though its not workable in my current scenario because not all the end user have Ms Project on their PCs.
With the hope that we get fix to this issue soon :), see ya next time.
