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The Enterprise
Global works essentially the same way that it
does in 2007. There are three types of
enterprise objects associated with the
Enterprise Global. Two of the object types,
Enterprise Fields and Enterprise Calendars are
found under Server Setting in Project Web App.
Enterprise Elements can be added by opening the
Enterprise Global (similar to opening a
project file) from Microsoft Project or also
from Server Settings in PWA.
 Experience:
Clunky, counter intuitive, confusing, awkward,
glitchy, and problematic, are adjectives that
come to mind when talking about the Enterprise
Global. Eyes glaze over in a classroom when you
try to review this functionality and almost
everyone will initially ask "Couldn't have
Microsoft figured out a better way to do this?"
User experience is poor and technical evaluation
a solid bad. Being able to create an unlimited
number of enterprise fields, enterprise
calendars and elements is of high value and well
worth the cost of a poorly functioning and oddly
assembled feature.
The biggest pain in
the behind as a Project Server administrator is
having to close Microsoft Project, and re-cache
your Global.MPT with the Enterprise Global to
test your edits to Enterprise Project, Task and
Resource fields. For example, let's say that you
just edited a lookup table like the RBS and you
added some new enterprise resources and you want
to make the correct RBS selection from the RBS
table. You checkout the enterprise resource pool
in Microsoft Project and want to assign the
correct item from the table. You can see your
new resources but you can't see the changes to
the table - not until you exit Microsoft
Project, login again, so the software can
re-cache your Enterprise Global. Not that big of
an idea, unless you are trying to figure out a
formula. Think about it. It will drive you crazy
exiting and opening Microsoft Project to test
new Enterprise Fields and Elements.
 Note:
When you need to write a formula for an
Enterprise Field, write it in Microsoft Project
first
 (Format
| Custom Fields). When you get it right,
copy the formula to the Enterprise Field to
test. Oh yeah, don't forget to exit Project and
open it again to test.
Note:
Use
the Organizer when you are adding custom
elements to the Checked-out Enterprise Global.
Rationale for
creating Enterprise Elements: Consistency and
standards. Project managers can use whatever
Element is in the Enterprise Global and
temporarily make changes to the element but not
permanent changes. Let's say that for all of the
projects that come under the supervision of the
PMO, there are four or five basic ways that you review those
projects. Part of the way you view those
projects might be by analyzing data that meets a
particular criteria like a data range and
schedule status by one of your formulas. Likely,
through the use of Views, Tables and Filters,
you are able to quickly see the information you
are interested in. Save the appropriate Elements to
the Enterprise Global and they are always going
to be there.
Project managers
will get a message that say edits will not be saved
to an enterprise global template item and it
tells them to check-out the enterprise global.
They won't have a clue what that message means
and no Project Server administrator in their
right mind would give them the ability to
check-out the Enterprise Global.
Steps to creating
Enterprise Elements:
1) Create the View,
Table, Report, etc. in Microsoft Project with a
project open.
2) Once you
have the elements the way you want them, open
the Enterprise Global (File | Info | Manage
Global Template | Open Enterprise Global).
3) Open the
Organizer (File | Info | Manage Global
Template | Organizer)
4) Select the
project (A) that contains the Element(s). Select
the Element (B) and Copy (C) over to the
Checked-out Enterprise Global. Cancel the
Organizer. Recommendation: The elements
that are Views and Tables are not re-named
default Elements from the Global.MPT and that
the naming convention used is likely to be
unique; used only in the Enterprise
Global and not by any project manager on their
own custom Elements they use with their
projects.
5) Save the
Enterprise Global just like a project file.
Close it and check it in.
6) Oh, and yeah,
exit Project and then open Project again and
login again to test.
Note:
If
you save an element to the Enterprise Global
that has a naming convention that a project
manager has used in any of their projects, when
they open the project they will get a message
that instructs them to rename the particular
element or they can not open their project.
Note:
When you are making changes to the Enterprise
Global. Project managers that are logged in to
Project Server "may" get this message when they
open a project.
Exercise
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In this
exercise you are going to be making changes
to the Enterprise Global and we recommend
you not do this exercise in your production
environment.
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Complete this
exercise first:
Exercise Global.
But do not delete the custom elements from
the Global.mpt.
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Open
(Check-out) the Enterprise Global (File | Info | Manage
Global Template | Open Enterprise Global).
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Copy the five
custom elements in the prior exercise
from the Global (+non-cached enterprise) to
the right, or checked out Enterprise Global.
-
Close the
Organizer, Save the Enterprise Global and
check it back in.
Note:
You
do not need to Publish the Enterprise Global.
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Delete the five
custom elements from the left hand side of
of the Organizer. Note, you have to have a
project open to open the Organizer.
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Open any
project and note that the custom views are
not available. That is because you are using
elements that were cached when you last
logged in to Project Server, you will need
to re-cache to see the elements.
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Exit Microsoft
Project and then open Project again to
re-cache the Enterprise Global with your
local Global.MPT.
-
Open any
project and apply the Exercise View. If the
view is not there, or the view does not
apply correctly, repeat the steps above.
-
Clean up the
Enterprise Global by checking it out,
deleting all five custom elements (three
views, one table and one filter). Save the
checked out Enterprise Global and check it
back in. Clean up the Global.MPT by deleting
all five custom elements.
Note:
You
don't have to exit Microsoft Project to save
changes to the Global.MPT. Press Alt+F11 to open
the Visual Basic for Applications Editor. Select
the Global.MPT and click the save button. Exit
the VBA Editor.
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