Displaying Additional Key Metrics on the PM Central Portfolio Site By Adding Additional Columns to the Project Health List

I'm sorry; that's a long blog title, especially so early on a Monday morning, but what can I say? I'm bringing the big guns today.

PM Central's Project Health List displays important information about your project, including the project name, the start and end dates, who's managing the project, and the status of risks, issues or schedules, so that you can track and monitor your project with just a quick glance. But what if your organization needs to measure and track other key metrics? Is it possible to add those metrics and display them on your portfolio site? Yes, it is; you just need to make some additional customizations to your Project Health List.

You can customize the Project Health List by adding additional columns to the list and using the List Rollup Web Part to display the new columns on the portfolio site.

Before I get started, here's what the Project Health List looks like before I customize it:

1. Add the New Column to the Project Health List

The new column has to be the same in all of the Project Health Lists, at both the portfolio and the project sites. You also need to add the column to all of the views.

To create the new column, go to the Project Health List in your portfolio and project sites. Select Central Actions > Lists > Project Health > Settings > Create Column.

Add your column and click OK. I created the column Documents for this example.

To add the column to all of the views, select Central Actions > View All Site Content > Customize Project Health. Scroll down to Views and click each view to add the new column.

Click OK. The column now shows in the view.

2. View the Data View for the List Rollup Web Part

Return to the portfolio site. Click the arrow next to Project Summary and select Modify Shared Web Part.

In the configuration tool pane under Data Source Settings, find the URL for the List Rollup Web Part's data view.

Copy the URL. Open a new browser window and type in your server name and top site, then paste in the URL and hit Enter to view the data view of the List Rollup Web Part—for example, http://moss1.topsite/PMCentralPages/ActiveView.aspx. Now you can see the data view.

3. Add the List Rollup Web Part to the Page

Edit the page by selecting Site Actions > Edit Page. Add the List Rollup Web Part by clicking Add a Web Part. Select Bamboo List Rollup Web Part from the list.

Under Available Templates on the right, click Active, then Load Template.

Click Preview.

Scroll down a bit on the page. You can see that the new column is displayed.

Click Create (located next to Preview), then click Preview. You can leave the new template name as is—Copy of Active—or you can create a new name, like Active 2. I left the name as is.

The new data view is hidden, so you need to change it so that it shows up. Modify the Web Part, expand Layout in the configuration tool pane and uncheck Hidden. Click Apply and then OK.

4. Reconfigure the Data-Viewer Web Part to Display Updated Data

Select the new Master List by navigating to the portfolio site. Click the arrow next to Project Summary and select Modify Shared Web Part. In the configuration tool pane under Data Source Settings, select the new Master List from the drop-down menu.

Choose the columns that you want to be shown. You can also set the order of the columns. Click Apply and then OK.

The new column is displayed in the Project Health List.

Warning: In PM Central R1.8 and older, after you upgrade your version of PM Central, you need to follow steps 3-4 again in order to recreate the new data view of the List Rollup Web Part and so that the Data-Viewer Web Part can consume this new data view.