Microsoft Unveils New MS Office Project 2010

Microsoft has unveiled the next incarnation of its Project Management software. And for the first time, it will be a formal part of the Microsoft Office suite.

The product itself is geared toward corporate users and is designed to understand and control project schedules and finances, effectively communicate and present project information, and get productive quickly. (Source: microsoft.com)

Project 2010: 3 Flavors Offered

Project 2010 will come in three editions: Standard, Professional and Server. A beta edition will be available for testing sometime this year, with the final release expected in the first half of next year. (Source: pcworld.com)

The principle of the software remains the same: it's based around a system of resources and tasks. The user assigns resources to the tasks and gets a constantly updated calculation of the relevant costs so that they can see if there are more efficient ways of organizing a project. The system includes a calendar so that users can see the limitations and use of time as well as money.

Projects And Portfolios

The difference between this new edition and ones in the past is the incorporation of portfolio management. While project management looks at individual projects, portfolio management is a "big picture" tool, revealing how the combined results of various projects are likely to meet an organization's overall goals. (Source: arstechnica.com)

As with recent incarnations of Office products, Project 2010 will use the ribbon system. Officially titled the 'Fluent' user interface, this is an alternative to the traditional drop-down menu system.

Better Integration Promised

The software integrates with other Microsoft products in two different ways. First, the system is based around the Share Point Server 2010 package, meaning it should be easier to co-ordinate it with both Office and Exchange, as well as making it easier to increase the number of users without additional hassles, and to send out updates via Outlook to people involved in a project.

Secondly, the system is specifically set-up so that information from Project can easily be cut and pasted into PowerPoint presentations.

Would-be users can register their interest for receiving a beta edition at: http://www.microsoft.com/project/2010