Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management: A complex and powerful approach to the best PPM review

9Expert Score

Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (MS PPM) - This software allows the user to create projects, manage a portfolio of projects that align to strategic objectives, track, record, and document progress that each resource makes along the way to project goals. It can handle multiple projects with a different workflow. It has built-in templates, familiar scheduling tools, and access across devices to increase productivity for project managers and teams. It Offers flexibility and choice by providing tailored work management solutions for individuals, teams, and enterprises. The software helps manage multiple projects easily with accuracy. Microsoft PPM is based on a central server. It offers central data storage, central resource management and role-specific use of individual expandability as a platform, Microsoft PPM can be flexibly adapted to the needs of users and business processes.

PROS

Full support for Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse
Can access tasks in multiple ways such as MS Teams, MS Project
Ability to cross-check department status on projects
Avoid overlapping jobs
Easy to use
Enhance visibility and communication

CONS

Managing the scope of implementing PPM can itself be a due diligence lesson in managing projects
Complex
Need strong change management and training to use
Multiple licenses are required for different apps

Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management Quick Info

What is Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management?

A complex and strong approach to best practice Project and Portfolio Management

Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (MS PPM) is a fully centralized system to manage projects and portfolios across a wide range of markets, all while utilising the core MS PPM applications.

You see it is not just the use of Microsoft Project. It is the smart well-thought framework of how Microsoft Project connects to a wide range of Power Apps and Office 365 apps and the education on how to use them to collaborate and work on project tasks.

The result can be a very strong and robust portfolio and programme management system, as you would expect. The road to get there can be a challenging one. So at Total Software Info, we want to share our insight and research and help make it clearer if MS PPM is right for you.

Where do we start? Well, let’s start with Microsoft Power Platform.

What is the Microsoft Power Platform?

The Microsoft Power Platform (MPP) is the workhorse behind the core MS product offering. When configured and set up correctly, you will essential have effective and strong PPM.

The MPP has 3 core services.
Power Bi – ( the power business intelligence offering)
Power Automate – (Previously MS Flow and a powerful automation workflow tool)
Power Apps – Launched with Office 365, Power Apps give you the tools to set up integration and connectors between apps.

What makes Microsoft Project a full MS PPM solution

Using MPP with Microsoft you can start setting up best practice Portfolio and Project Management.

A simple example of this working harmoniously would be this.

All your projects running with MS Project Online.
All resources utilizing MS Teams for communication.
MS Teams connect via Power Apps to collaborate on tasks from within MS Project.
MS OneNote to store the minute meetings of a project task organised in MS Teams.
Using Power Bi to drill down and pull reports. Both natively in Teams, and MS Project. Showcasing data the project managers need, effort, cost, time, workload and so forth.
Using Power Apps and Power Automate to automate responses, creation of tasks, notifications to project members, reminders, project creation, project schedules and many more possibilities.

We did say that in reality there could be gaps. And what we mean by that is, without the right guidance there is a very good chance your team, end-users, project members and stakeholders may be quite overwhelmed by the complexity that MS PPM offers. Has the change management been strong, the training, and the communication?

We have also had customers ask us about pricing, what products do they buy. From our experience, your Microsoft Partner will guide you on best practice software asset management, as part of your Microsoft corporate subscription and help to allocate the right product licenses to users and computers.

So where other tools like Asana and ClickUp rely more on a single application that covers many facets but within say a few different license plans. What MS PPM offers is no limitation to how complex or large your project management requirements are.

This is backed up by the offering only being available to end-user companies via the Microsoft Partner Network. Where you can be sure an approved Microsoft Partner has a strong understanding of what successful PPM implementation looks like.

From our experience, we know that large corporations, government departments and likes will benefit from the power this offers. But in reality, the cost to set up this really will price it out of the small to mid-market completely.

So with that, all cleared up and hopefully, if you weren’t before, you now understand what MS PPM will offer you. Let’s carry on through our Total Software Info review and you see all the information we have researched for MS PPM.

Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management Best Features

Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management Tools Features

Here are what we think are the most popular key features for Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management