OK... for some of you, this may be considered a given, but I will consider it my first "Bambooby trap," or lesson learned, whichever you prefer. In all fairness, I should note that this is probably more of a SharePoint issue than a PM Central issue. Whichever the case, however, it is not a step you want to overlook when getting started with PM Central. So here it is...
Consult with my SharePoint Administrator before "Getting started" with testing any third-party SharePoint product such as PM Central. Such a consultation will save me and my SharePoint Admin some unnecessary surprises, headaches, and rework.
In my case, I neglected this important step before creating my first test project site from the Top Level Site page where a summary of all the projects in our portfolio will be displayed. Needless to say, this did not go unnoticed. In fact, this action sent a shockwave all the way through our entire production SharePoint Project Management website when the unique permissions for the new project I created took priority over all existing permission groups which had been previously created from our Active Directory! And, as I quickly discovered, that's a Bad Thing.
Here are some questions to cover in advance with your SharePoint Admin (yourself, if you are the SP Admin), which will certainly get you started off better than I did:
- Will I be testing PM Central in a production or test environment?
- If in a test environment... (which is the better choice of the two)
- What data storage limits should I be aware of, if any?
- How frequent are data backups performed, if any?
- What, if any, test data exists that I can use in this testing?
- What permission level do I have, and is it enough to perform appropriate testing?
- If in a production environment... same questions as above, plus:
- How do I set up user permissions for new project sites so it will not interfere with other permission groups?
- What rules should I be aware of when assigning permission levels to other users?
- Rules when deleting Groups, or Sites?
- When in doubt, or I suspect or know a mistake has been made, who do I contact before taking any action to fix anything?
- What other concerns are there that I should know about before I begin?
For now, this is what I will cover in my meeting today with our SP Admin. If you can think of any other points to include, I welcome your feedback, comments, or suggestions.
'Til next time...
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Posted
Feb 11 2010, 01:10 PM
by
Mike Womack
Mike has over 25 years combined experience in academia and business relating to project based learning, information technology, project management, and the commercial arts. Currently, he is co-founder and Managing Director of Experi-ED Learning Concepts, specializing in linking business with education to provide enhanced learning opportunities to higher ed students through project-based learning. Concurrently, Mike is serving on a contract basis, part-time, as a Business Analyst for the County of Roanoke. He has been a member of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the Project Management Institute since 2004 and received his certification in Project Management (PMP) in 2005. He received his Associate’s degree at VWCC (Virginia Western Community College), a Bachelors of Science degree in Information Technology from Capella University, and is continuing his advanced studies toward his MBA at Capella University. Mike and his family have happily lived in the beautiful Roanoke Valley for over 35 years.