tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83366435465692625682012-02-17T03:42:09.497+01:00Blog about project, programme and portfolio management softwareMaciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-45396844719248238412012-02-01T20:54:00.000+01:002012-02-02T09:42:26.742+01:00

All customers with P2ware Planner 2008 and Product Based Planner project management software can upgrade their licences to Planner 2011! New Planner 2011 versions There are new licences for Planner 2011 software. Versions are divided into two categories: Licences for desktop only project management solutions - these cannot connect to Planner Server and work in environment that enable users to

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-86395103972000188982012-01-30T21:43:00.000+01:002012-01-31T09:23:35.968+01:00

By Wiesław Kosieradzki. Introduction Effective project managers focus on planning and controlling the activities of teams or individuals delivering project products but also on their own activities within the project. This first area is described in numerous textbooks, in PM training and is supported by many tools. Very little has been written on the second area.  The PM neglecting a key

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-8172936522733565372012-01-26T19:01:00.003+01:002012-01-27T09:09:07.940+01:00

A couple of months ago P2ware published new version of its successful project, programme and portfolio management software - P2ware Planner Suite 2011 or short Planner 2011. The version is heavily based on Planner 2008 and introduces many various changes based on customers feedback. I am not able to list them all because there are many important ones and lots of small and very small changes and

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-71669216034963143752011-06-02T22:47:00.002+02:002011-09-06T14:00:44.879+02:00

Yes, P2ware Planner Suite 2008 is about to retire soon! P2ware is going to release Planner Suite 2011 in a several weeks - end of August or early September.  This is improved and much enhanced version of Planner - I published major changes below.  Also it is important to let you know that we are introducing some changes in product versions (more details below), but the end result is that more

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-19878094338869320112011-03-24T21:34:00.070+01:002011-03-24T21:34:00.626+01:00

Quite recently I received an email with a question how to solve this problem: There is, quite often, a need to send issues to some external stakeholders. I've got a report in P2ware Planner that creates for me whole dump of issues and saves it into one file (pdf, rtf...). The problem is that I do not want to send whole issue log but just one issue to this particular person.The problem may be

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-17651335110286186562011-02-25T17:10:00.001+01:002011-02-25T17:11:42.010+01:00

Not may P2ware Planner users know that they may customize template that is used to generate document sent as a work package description. There is of course default template but quite often you may require some additional fields or would simply want to have alternative format (e.g. more information but same "paper" usage). This post pertains two options used when sending work packages, both

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-65040728131465923512011-01-03T19:58:00.000+01:002011-01-03T19:58:00.290+01:00

P2ware Planner Suite is full and standalone project management software with support for programme and portfolio management. And as such it supports lots of project management processes. This time I'll write about risk management support. I heard once that if there weren't any risks (threats or opportunities) we would not have a project management, because every thing once planned would be

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-22008641898673504632010-12-30T19:54:00.025+01:002010-12-30T19:54:00.378+01:00

P2ware Planner desktop reports are extremely useful feature. Application has built-in reports but you can design your own report templates. The designer is pretty handy and allows to create report templates that have access to any data stored in a plan. Quite recently I wrote the post Creating P2ware Planner desktop reports and I was asked a question about formatting report template: how do I

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-52438131676759416172010-12-22T21:02:00.002+01:002010-12-22T21:02:00.219+01:00

P2ware Planner Suite has all required logs and registers that are used in project management. One of them is an Issue Register. So what is the purpose of an Issue Register? The Issue Register is used to store information on problems, suggestions, requests for change and any other issues of importance to the plan and its execution. Key features of Issue Register predefined set of useful

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-88841848912747699032010-12-14T17:57:00.004+01:002010-12-14T18:07:40.571+01:00

P2ware Planner Professional and higher versions can import and export data to/from Microsoft Excel. This turns out to be really cool feature which allows to: Import data in a bulk into plans - when you've got a lot of data in spreadsheets (e.g. products, risks, cost items) Update lots of plan elements in just one import - when you sent some data for a review and updates and would like to

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-83722810031951737322010-11-14T18:06:00.001+01:002010-11-15T13:41:53.092+01:00

Product Based Planner 2.3 is no longer in sale. It's been so for 2 years now! Quite recently I figured out that many of P2ware customers that upgraded Product Based Planner 2.x applications to latest P2ware project management software do not know that they can convert PBP 2.x (Product Based Planner 2.x) plans to P2ware Planner Suite 2008 plans! In this post I am writing on how to do that. How

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-63816215203053528342010-11-06T10:46:00.004+01:002010-11-08T11:44:26.210+01:00

P2ware Planner Suite is not only desktop software designed for single users. It is a set of applications (desktop and server) that can be used for planning and execution of projects, programmes and portfolios. It is also a set of applications that can be a base for creating integrated system for a whole enterprise. In most of my posts I am writing about desktop versions. This time I am clarifying

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-89574395206911599902010-11-04T19:36:00.002+01:002010-11-05T10:00:17.050+01:00

In this post I'm going to describe how to create a report template in P2ware Planner Professional or Developer - desktop versions of P2ware Planner. This is going to be a quite simple report listing all issues and related activities. Note: Reports view is available in Planner Professional and higher (Developer too). Reports view Report designer overview Report templates are created in

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-38530421426812726072010-10-05T14:24:00.000+02:002010-10-05T14:24:26.453+02:00

We are going to present latest news on P2ware Planner Suite project management software, demonstrate how to use it, use effectively to manage PRINCE2 and other projects, how plan effectively using P2ware Planner and execute plans.  If you are attending one of these two events below don't forget to visit us. 1. PMI Sweden Chapter conference “Project Management Tools“ - October 26th 2010, Lund,

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-60206662175461714922010-09-01T07:25:00.078+02:002010-09-01T07:25:00.224+02:00

Plan Parts - it is one of the cool features allowing to save some time. It's true that similar projects have common products, risks, maybe some issues, activities etc. So why not create some mechanism allowing to reuse them? P2ware Planner has two features that speed up plan creation: templates and plan parts. Templates are generally used to create company-wide standards (share common properties,

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-36727269289777004362010-08-27T16:21:00.002+02:002010-08-27T16:29:18.759+02:00

Planner supports importing and exporting data from/to various formats. One notable is export to Microsoft Project. The best and recommended way is to use Microsoft Project XML file format. Exporting plan to MS Project To open such an xml file created using Planner in Microsoft Project From file menu select Open Select .xml file format Find .xml file and open it

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-49375824696593392832010-07-23T18:58:00.000+02:002010-07-23T18:58:43.921+02:00

Customization options are among top additional features of P2ware Planner. You can add properties, formulas, create perspectives, configure tables and configure objects' editors (user interface of these editors).However you may ask a question: do I have to customize my plan every time I create a new one? Do I have to repeat all the steps again and again? The answer for both questions is: no and

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-88101740486777800712010-07-22T17:59:00.001+02:002010-07-22T18:04:54.168+02:00

In this post I'm going to describe fundamentals of adding properties and formulas to P2ware Planner plan using Planner Developer. Properties & FormulasWhat they have in common is that they can be added to every plan object (e.g. Activity, Checkpoint, Issue, Risk, Resource, etc.), can be of many popular data types (e.g. text, number, date & time, money, spreadsheet, image, drop down list, check

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-89041252853834569412010-07-21T17:02:00.031+02:002010-07-21T19:08:53.758+02:00

By default product breakdown structure in P2ware Planner looks similar to the one below. It displays products names. Product Breakdown Structure However there are applications where you would like to display its WBS code, PBS code, stage, or any other piece of information useful when printing the diagram.Let’s assume we want to display PBS code (product breakdown structure code) with its name

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-23782281902640582192010-07-21T13:23:00.004+02:002010-07-21T13:46:35.168+02:00

Yes, P2ware Planner applications are also available for free! At least some of them :-) P2ware Planner Viewer and Personal Learning Edition are available for free.First, Planner Viewer opens plans in a read-only mode. It has most views of Planner Professional. If you have someone in your team that needs to read your plans but not edit, you simply have to send him Planner Viewer.Second, if you are

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-74701849548306636942010-05-24T12:18:00.004+02:002010-05-24T12:27:52.758+02:00

If you are attending International Conference in Project Management, Heraklion, Crete, 29-31 May 2010 you will be able to get for free P2ware Planner Developer license. One license will be given by P2ware as a prize for a delegate visiting the conference.Planner Developer has all of the Planner Professional’s features. Furthermore it allows for plan template modification by adding your own

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-80592958440025798032010-04-23T14:28:00.007+02:002010-04-23T15:01:41.178+02:00

Today I published first video about P2ware Planner on youtube.com This 5 minutes presentation introduces P2ware Planner Suite applications. You can watch it in HD.

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-27451989716414991782010-04-22T20:48:00.000+02:002010-04-22T20:48:01.186+02:00

Going to PMI® Global Congress 2010 in Milano, Italy, 10-12 May? I am inviting you to visit stand number 15. There will be an opportunity to talk to P2ware team exhibiting at the congress, learn a lot of about Planner Suite and discuss how to enhance your project management with computer software.

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-72470239281598707462010-04-21T15:18:00.006+02:002010-04-21T16:30:38.353+02:00

Today we've finally published 18 videos presenting P2ware Planner Suite applications. Videos are in a form of screencasts - short videos with P2ware Planner Professional or Developer as the main role. The most important pieces of information are conveyed using captions/arrows/call-outs and other visuals.Videos are available from http://www.p2ware.com/en/Videos.html

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-13784370091282990422010-02-17T16:57:00.013+01:002010-02-17T17:10:39.613+01:00

In this post I’m going to cover four essential P2ware Planner diagramsProduct Breakdown StructureProduct Flow DiagramGantt ChartNetwork DiagramThere are some frequently asked questions about the diagrams which I’m going to answer shortly below.Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)PBS presents structure of products to be developed during execution of the plan. We start from identifying the final

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-9112344110032945892010-02-07T23:49:00.003+01:002010-02-08T15:43:49.087+01:00

This is second part in which I am describing some cool P2ware Planner features that are not necessarily crucial to manage project using P2ware Planner but are of much help and without which it would be not so easy to use the software.Custom properties and formulasOK. This one is necessary and very important. It’s not only supporting but I wanted to mention because it’s very handy. Using P2ware

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-46394190471042068282010-01-29T21:12:00.001+01:002010-02-01T10:56:21.306+01:00

P2ware Planner UI provides a lot of useful features that make every-day work more productive. These functionalities are not necessary to actually manage a project but are of much help in every day of PM. In this and next post I'm going to review the most important enhancements.RibbonRibbon is a new approach to application menus. Instead of traditional drop down menus all functions are grouped

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-50827266123167176142010-01-28T17:20:00.006+01:002010-01-28T18:06:43.771+01:00

I received quite a lot of feedback on posts published so far and was encouraged to continue writing again. Please treat previous posts like a proof of concept blog. Now I can promise I'll be publishing regularly news, how-tos and other interesting information on P2ware Planner. In my next posts I will write about: some cool P2ware Planner non-project management features, product-based planning

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-4283086867225706172009-07-31T19:03:00.002+02:002009-07-31T19:11:55.981+02:00

P2ware is exhibiting at Project Challenge Expo 2009. Project Challenge is leading show for project, programme, process and resource management in UK and Europe. There will be around 40 presentations on project management (and not only on that!) and around 80 exhibiting organizations (project management software, consultancies, process control software, training and many more categories). See us

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-23204838360561765912009-07-29T16:42:00.023+02:002009-07-29T17:05:32.050+02:00

In previous post I wrote about how to create a plan using P2ware Planner. It is really straightforward and effective, see How to create a plan in P2ware Planner. Similar is with plan execution (it is even simpler since planning is in general quite tough but Planner helps immensely). In this post I am going to demonstrate how to execute a plan in Planner.One small note: I am not demonstrating how

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-68459225872554957472009-07-07T17:35:00.029+02:002009-07-29T13:45:23.824+02:00

Plan in Planner can be created in at least two different ways. First way is by making use of product-based planning technique and second using ‘traditional’ WBS approach. In its fundamentals these approaches are quite similar (from 10 000 feet view), lead to the same result (or at least should) but I will stick to the one using product-based planning technique (just wanted to mention that Planner

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-78083520518677934832009-05-27T15:26:00.005+02:002009-05-27T15:44:58.785+02:00

Today we published new Planner evaluation version! Previous P2ware Planner evaluation version was based on Planner Standard. New Planner Personal Learning Edition (which is our free evaluation version) has virtually all functionalities of Planner Professional. For a list of Professional features take o look at Planner Professional – what’s in it for me?Other major improvements areIncreased

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-17614431924106606412009-05-21T17:43:00.006+02:002009-05-26T13:47:33.993+02:00

What are the most useful advantages of Planner Professional that justify purchase of the application? I am asked similar questions quite often. My first answer used to be ‘depends on what you need’ which is no answer at all. So what are these advantages? What are those cool and useful features?Brief feature matrix can be found in post P2ware Planner versions. Planner Professional is Planner

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-49944652810431560662009-05-21T16:28:00.003+02:002009-05-21T17:08:22.763+02:00

It’s obvious that to be an effective project manager (and manager in particular) one does not have to have any software, tool or methodology. Software is only an aid (not a goal) as it is with methodologies (fact quite often forgotten!). To manage projects nobody needs software. There is one catch: it all takes so much time! One can spend whole day of manual reporting, computing, analyzing etc.

Maciejhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15825601553955321663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8336643546569262568.post-47725027911698311102009-05-06T22:30:00.009+02:002009-05-26T14:18:56.959+02:00

Tailoring product versions has always been a challenging task. Products have (in general) entry level, medium and executive versions (sometimes it has more versions – see Windows Vista ;-)). If not speaking of luxurious goods this applies to products from automobiles to furniture to software. Of course software market has its own rules – it’s focused more on functionalities than prestige. The

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