Pro Project Management with SharePoint 2010

Many successful project managers are beginning to utilize Microsoft SharePoint to drive their projects and operational initiatives. SharePoint Server provides teams with a centralized location for project information and facilitates collaboration between project team members. The intention of this book is to provide a hands-on case study that you can follow to create a complete project management information system (PMIS) using SharePoint Server 2010.

Each chapter is focused on a typical project management activity and demonstrates techniques that can be used to facilitate that activity. The book covers all project phases from managing requirements, implementation, testing and post production support. By the end of the book you’ll have a toolbox full of solutions and plenty of working examples. With these you’ll be able to build your own PMIS uniquely suited to your organization.

What you’ll learn

• Create custom lists and content types
• Handle incoming emails
• Use web parts to customize your SharePoint portal
• Implement key performance indicators (KPI)
• Integrate Excel charting capability
• Build a state machine workflow
• Create custom forms using InfoPath
• Develop a simple approach for prioritizing requirements
• Provide tools for managing agile development (sprints, backlog, burn down, etc.)
• Communicate development and testing metrics

Who this book is for

This book is intended primarily for project managers and IT professionals that would like to leverage Microsoft’s SharePoint technologies to help manage projects within their organization. Also, developers who are responsible for implementing a PMIS will find this book invaluable. Most of the projects presented in this book can be implemented without writing any code.

Mark Collins has developed software for over 25 years, mostly using the Microsoft stack. He has served many roles including development manager, architect, team lead, database administrator, and project manager. He has extensive experience in retail (point-of-sale and inventory) and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Mark currently serves as a senior software engineer for a nonprofit organization, providing a custom CRM, mail processing, and fulfillment system.

Mark Weinstein has over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. In addition to writing and teaching, he serves as a consultant specializing in enterprise messaging and groupware collaboration. In addition to being a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Mark holds certifications as a Microsoft MCP, MCSA, MCSA+Security, MCSA+Messaging, MCSE, MCSE+Security, and MCSE+Messaging.

Beginning with Exchange Server 4.0 in 1996, Mark has been working with Microsoft's messaging platforms since their earliest incarnations and has managed messaging environments ranging in size from fifty to hundreds of thousands of user accounts. Since 2005, Mark has served as the author and course director for several Exchange Server 2003 and 2007 classes.

Since the general release of SharePoint 2007 in late 2006, Mark has authored five SharePoint related courses and continues to be an evangelistic SharePoint enthusiast for large enterprise deployments. Courses include:

• Fundamentals of Microsoft SharePoint 2007
• Hands-On Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Administration
• SharePoint 2007 Deployment & Architecture
• Utilizing Microsoft SharePoint for Project Management
• Hands-On Mastering SharePoint Customization

When he is not basking in the glow of his widescreen monitor, Mark can usually be found cruising on his motorcycle, flying his Cessna, or catering to his artistic side by enjoying photography or playing a guitar.