(Many thanks to Chris Fiessinger for sharing this information on his blog!)
No, Report Pack II is not a late summer feature at the local movieplex. It is, however, an essential tool for existing Microsoft Project Server 2007 installations. [Almost as exciting!]
Microsoft released the original report pack as a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) Business Intelligence (BI) Visual Studio project [2005 version]. The original version included a handful of reports on project data, resource and timesheet utilization, and deliverables. It gave us a great example of how to reach into the reporting database and Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes to extend and build our own reports. As a result, many of us in the Project Server community have built and customized dozens of detailed reports and dashboards after reviewing these reports.
Microsoft's latest set of reports is a far more polished and comprehensive offering. They've provided about 30 reports, grouped into two broad areas:
- Project Oversight [data on project execution, timesheets, resources, tasks and assignments]
- Technical Oversight [system utilization, database health, security, customizations]
These reports can be most useful when integrated their end user reports directly to the WSS/MOSS interface of Project Server, rather than just using adding a link to the native SSRS web site.
I'll be adapting these reports to some of our internal and client needs in the coming months, and will continue to share any observations as they come up. Please let us know if you've started using these reports and what you like (or not!). Remember, there can always be another sequel....
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