SharePoint (and Project Server) Shenanigans

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

******************** This is a guest blog post by Lee Mather ********************

So, after an eventful week in Orlando at Microsoft Ignite I thought I would share with you a summary of my first day! With over 26,000 attendees it was always going to be a busy event with lots going on, we would need a team here to take in all of the information being presented to us. I am hoping to have a chance to share the other days ASAP.

Day One

During the first day I attended several sessions and would like to share the following takeaways.

Keynote

The mission statement from Microsoft is to “Empower every person and every organisation to achieve more”

The keynote focused on digital transformation which is aligned to the four key areas below:

· Modern Workplace

· Business Applications

· Application & Infrastructure

· Data & AI

Following on from the keynote session, I had a day packed of sessions mainly focusing on creating a modern workplace.

Session 1: Create a modern workplace with Microsoft 365

The session focused on the following key areas:

· Flexibility to work on any device, anywhere

· Improvements to Office application including PowerPoint Designer using AI.

· Teamwork

o Microsoft Teams will be the hub for teamwork including chat, calls and meetings.

o Microsoft Teams will replace the Skype for Business client over the next year

Other worthwhile mentions from the session included Cortana Calendars. Cortana Calendars is a new feature that is currently in “Exclusive” preview but essentially this service will help intelligently schedule meetings on your behalf, simply by adding Cortana in the CC field. The service will support Office 365, Outlook.com or Google calendar. Additional information can be found here http://bit.ly/2fVrysp

“With the speed of artificial intelligence and the personal touch of a human assistant, Calendar.help takes care of business.”

The session also focused on the modern device management and deployment. Windows Autopilot will allow new device deployment in a few simple steps, straight from the vendor to your desk without involving IT. Working with Windows Autopilot and a device management solution such as Intune, the device will be deployed, Azure AD joined or Offline domain join to Active Directory, configured with all policies defined by IT and app deployment. More on this over the coming days.

Device Co-Management was also announced as a new feature, this is the “Hybrid” device management that will support a transition from System Centre Configuration Manager (SCCM) to Intune. Co-Management will allow a device to be managed by both SCCM and Intune allowing a gradual migration to modern management whilst supporting legacy devices and applications.

Finally, a couple of new offerings from Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Education and Microsoft 365 F1. Additional details can be found here http://bit.ly/2y2QWTh and http://bit.ly/2fUOZSz

Session 2: Use MDM migration tools to accelerate move from GPO to MDM

This session focused on accelerating a move to MDM and moving away from GPO to MDM policies. GPO has been around for years with many legacy policies in the workplace that may or may not be required today. Microsoft are continually releasing new device configuration policies to Intune. To support the migration away from GPO to MDM, the following PowerShell script can be executed that will output a report. http://bit.ly/2y2nYTy

The tool is being regularly updated to align with new features available in Intune.

Session 3: Cloud infrastructure: Enabling new possibilities together

The Cloud Infrastructure session focused on using Azure for all workloads, big and small.

The session explained how you can setup a SAP HANA platform in minutes using Azure instead of weeks using on-premises hardware. Microsoft are continually providing more options for scaling in Azure, currently offering up to 20TB RAM for large SAP HANA deployments.

It was also recommended to use the DevTest labs to reduce costs for non-production workloads. For more information on DevTest lab please take a look here http://bit.ly/2fUG4kb

The Azure Security Centre is now Hybrid too, allowing for non-Azure machines to be onboarded to take full advantage of the security monitoring and recommendations built into Azure.

This is a great additional to Azure Security Centre for a single unified view of your servers, either on-premises or running in Azure.

Currently Azure have 42 regions with 100’s of data centres, 4500+ peering locations and 130+ edge sites making the Azure network one of the largest in the world.

Microsoft, in conjunction with Facebook, also completed the first transatlantic cable which is approx. 4000 miles long and can support 160TB/sec of data.

Other worthy mentions would include:

· Additional Express Route partners

· Azure Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) Protection has just been released to preview. Additional information on the DDos service from Microsoft can be found here http://bit.ly/2y2waDb

· Azure Data Box has been released in preview and would be used to support customer with large data imports to Azure. The device supports 100 TB and a customer can have multiple devices. Additional information can be found here http://bit.ly/2fUrrxq

· Azure File Sync is another new preview release that allows Azure File Share to sync with on-premises file servers. Cloud tiering is implemented that allows storing a certain amount of data locally and store a larger amount of data in the cloud. Azure File Sync is also integrated into Azure Backup. Additional information can be found here http://bit.ly/2y2UgxX

I could go on all day about updates from Ignite so will provide links to everything else announced during the session!

· Azure Policy – http://bit.ly/2fUrt8w

· Azure Migrate – http://bit.ly/2y2UgOt

· FastTrack for Azure – http://bit.ly/2fUrtp2

· Cloudyn – (Cost Management for Azure) http://bit.ly/2y2Uh4Z

Session 4: What’s new and upcoming in AD FS to securely sign-in your users to Office 365 and other applications

The ADFS session focused on what’s new and what’s coming in the future for ADFS for Office 365. As this was a shorter session I would highlight the key takeaways only.

· Passwords could soon be a thing of the past. Password less options for ADFS 2016

· How to get to password less authentication

· Extranet lockout for ADFS with known locations is coming soon. This feature will help user accounts from being locked out from failed external logon attempts.

· Resolve ADFS authentication issues faster using the help site – http://bit.ly/2fUrvNG

· ADFS Rapid Restore tool – http://bit.ly/2y3nQDn

That was enough for one day and it was time to leave the convention centre and head back to the hotel.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

This is a supporting blog post for an example PowerShell script I quickly wrote for Microsoft’s Office 365 SharePoint Online. It was created after a query was posted on the Project Online TechNet forums asking how to easily check what sub sites were being used in PWA.

The code sample can be downloaded from here: http://bit.ly/2wltpK7

To get the script to work, there will need to be some environment variables set and a DLL available, these are detailed below.

Update the environment details:

Add the SharePoint Online / PWA URL, username and password for an account that is a site collection admin on the target site collection.

To get the script to work you will need to reference the DLL as seen in the image below:

This can be installed from the SharePoint Online Client components / management shell. I used the dll from the SharePoint Online Management Shell in this example.

Below you can see the output from the PowerShell ISE when running against my test SharePoint / Project Online site collection:

There are probably easier ways to view this information but I thought I would just try with a simple PowerShell script.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

2 years ago Microsoft released the first Project Online Power BI Content Pack, this week they have released another updated Project Online content pack! This is available now. For details on how to get the content pack see my original post below:

http://bit.ly/211vwx4

The steps are the same to get the new Project Online Content pack. This is version 2.3 as seen below:

Once the data is imported access the Report and Dashboard from the Power BI App > My Workspace navigation. I have set this up against our sales demo instance for Project Online. There are default reports for:

Portfolio Dashboard:

Portfolio Timeline:

Portfolio Costs:

Portfolio Milestones:

Portfolio Risks:

Portfolio Issues:

Resource Availability:

Resource Overview:

Resource Assignments:

Resource Details – you will need to select a resource from the Resource Name filter:

Resource Demand Forecast:

Project Status – you will need to select a project from the Project filter:

Project Risks & Issues – you will need to select a resource from the Project filter:

Report Dashboard:

Together with this content pack and the example report pack I built earlier this year, there are plenty of examples of reports to make Project Online reporting a simple task! A link to my report pack can be seen below:

http://bit.ly/2ivjxct

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

The Office 2016 September 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2w9R0kI

Project 2016 September 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2x0P637

SharePoint Server 2016 / Project Server 2016 September 2017 update: 
http://bit.ly/2w97nxV & http://bit.ly/2x1bYPU

The Office 2013 September 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2w9R0kI

Project Server 2013 September 2017 CU Server Roll up package:
http://bit.ly/2w9R1VO

Project Server 2013 September 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2x0fkmp

Project 2013 September 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2w9R2Jm

Also worth noting, if you haven’t done so already, install Service Pack 1 http://bit.ly/1uorn2C first if installing the September 2017 CU for 2013.

As always, fully test these updates on a replica test environment before deploying to production.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

In the latest release of Project Online Desktop Client, depending on the release channel that you are on, you might have noticed the new Planner button in the Task ribbon:

My Office version is on the Office Insider Fast channel so that I get the latest changes first but this will typically be controlled by your IT admins so you might need to wait a while until this feature reaches the Office release channel that you are on.

Hovering over the new button provides the details for this feature:

This feature allows you to create a hyperlink to the linked Planner Plan from the Planner icon in the indicators column. It could be that you have a bucket type task (sprint etc.) in the Project Online project then the detail tasks / activities might be in the linked Planner plan.

Select a task in the project then click the Planner button and a side pane will launch:

Click the “Link to existing Planner plan..” link then you will be able to type the name of the Office 365 Group that contains the Planner plan:

Start typing name of the group then select the correct group, in this example I have one called Pauls Test Plan:

Notice how it also states that it will add the resources assigned to the task into the group. Click the Create Link button:

It then shows that this task is now linked to that Planner plan:

You then get the hyperlink directly to the linked Planner Plan using the Planner icon in the indicators column or using the link in the Link to plan pane.

You can only link one task from the project plan to one Planner plan, if you try and link another task to the same Planner plan you will see this alert:

The resources added to the linked task didn’t get added to the group as suggested but as this feature is only in the Office Insider builds that might come when this is released in the other release channels – maybe!

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

The Office 2016 August 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2uscCUx

Project 2016 August 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2vQPFxV

SharePoint Server 2016 / Project Server 2016 August 2017 update: 
http://bit.ly/2urXhmZ & http://bit.ly/2vRhbLC

The Office 2013 August 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2uscCUx

Project Server 2013 August 2017 CU Server Roll up package:
http://bit.ly/2usJ6OC

Project Server 2013 August 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2vRmN8H

Project 2013 August 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2useIDS

Also worth noting, if you haven’t done so already, install Service Pack 1 http://bit.ly/1uorn2C first if installing the August 2017 CU for 2013.

As always, fully test these updates on a replica test environment before deploying to production.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

Following on from part 1 where I introduced the idea of automating certain Microsoft 365 PPM Project Online customisations using PowerShell, Microsoft Flow / Azure Logic Apps and Azure Functions, in part 2 I will set up an example automation for creating a Project Online event driven snapshot application on project published without having to set up any server or write any complied code! If you missed part 1 where this concept was introduced, see the link below:

http://bit.ly/2v4etma

Firstly I created an Azure Function app in my Azure subscription then created a new function based on the HttpTrigger – PowerShell template:

Give the function a name and set the Authorisation level – set the authorisation level to the correct setting for your function. Click Create. For details on Azure Functions, start here: http://bit.ly/2uVIeD5

You will then be presented with the function and sample code:

We will now create the PowerShell script to create the snapshot. This is based on a script I published a while back: http://bit.ly/2c26nkK

The script has been updated to work in an Azure Function but also modified to use a parameter so that it only captures data for the published project, the PowerShell script can be seen further on in the post.

Firstly upload the SharePoint CSOM DLLs using the upload button:

I used the SharePoint CSOM DLLs from the SharePoint Online Management Shell:

Then enter the PowerShell code – screen shots below and code pasted below the images:

Code sample used in function:

# POST method: $req
$requestBody = Get-Content $req -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
$projID = $requestBody.projID

# GET method: each querystring parameter is its own variable
if ($req_query_name) 
{
    $projID = $req_query_name 
}

#add SharePoint Online DLL - update the location if required
Import-Module "D:\home\site\wwwroot\ProjectSiteUserSyncHTTPTrigger\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll"
Import-Module "D:\home\site\wwwroot\ProjectSiteUserSyncHTTPTrigger\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Runtime.dll"

#set the environment details
$PWAInstanceURL = "http://bit.ly/2uVIdz1;
$username = "admin@MOD497254.onmicrosoft.com" 
$password = "password"
$securePass = ConvertTo-SecureString $password -AsPlainText -Force
#create the SharePoint list on the PWA site and add the correct columns based on the data required
$listname = "ProjectSnapShots"
$results1 = @()

#set the Odata URL with the correct project fields needed
$url = $PWAInstanceURL + "/_api/ProjectData/Projects()?`$Filter=ProjectId eq GUID'$projID'&`$Select=ProjectId,ProjectName,ProjectPercentCompleted"

#get all of the data from the OData URL
while ($url){
    [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials]$spocreds = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($username, $securePass);    
    $webrequest = [System.Net.WebRequest]::Create($url)
    $webrequest.Credentials = $spocreds
    $webrequest.Accept = "application/json;odata=verbose"
    $webrequest.Headers.Add("X-FORMS_BASED_AUTH_ACCEPTED", "f")
    $response = $webrequest.GetResponse()
    $reader = New-Object System.IO.StreamReader $response.GetResponseStream()
    $data = $reader.ReadToEnd()
    $results = ConvertFrom-Json -InputObject $data
    $results1 += $results.d.results
        if ($results.d.__next){
        $url=$results.d.__next.ToString()
    }
    else {
        $url=$null
    }
}

#add data to snapshot list
#get PWA site client context
$ctx = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($PWAInstanceURL) 
$credentials = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($username, $securePass) 
$ctx.Credentials = $credentials 
$ctx.ExecuteQuery()  
 
#get the target list 
$List = $ctx.Web.Lists.GetByTitle($listname) 
$ctx.Load($List) 
$ctx.ExecuteQuery() 

#for each project, create the list item - update the newitem with the correct list columns and project data
foreach ($projectrow in $results1) 
{ 
   $itemcreationInfo = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ListItemCreationInformation 
   $newitem = $List.AddItem($itemcreationInfo) 
   $newitem["Title"] = $projectrow.ProjectName
   $newitem["ProjectId"] = $projectrow.ProjectId
   $newitem["PercentCompleted"] = $projectrow.ProjectPercentCompleted
   $newitem.Update() 
   $ctx.ExecuteQuery() 
} 

The PowerShell code would need to be updated with your environment details: (PWAInstanceUrl, username, password and listname variables). Also the OData URL will need to be updated to include the project level fields that you want to snapshot.The target SharePoint list will also need to be set up in the PWA site collection for the project fields the script uses. This is the list I set up for this example:

SnapshotDate is set to Todays date so we don’t need to set that in the code.

The code is simple to follow but in summary the first part will get the projID from request body – we will pass in the ProjectID for the published project from the Flow / Logic App trigger. Then the SharePoint Online CSOM DLLs are imported in. Then the specific PWA environment details are set for the variables. The OData URL is then added to the url variable. Here notice we are filtering for the ProjectID and passing in the $projID variable we get from the request body. The Select part of the query will need to be updated for your project level fields. Next the code gets the data from the OData feed using the web request and adds the data into the results array. Once we have the data, we connect to the SharePoint list, in the example it is the ProjectSnapShots as set in the $listname variable. Lastly the new item is created in the list using the data from the results array.

Now the Azure Function is ready to be used. It can be tested using the Test option in the right hand panel, update the Request body:

Update it for a valid project ID. Then click Run above the function code:

The Logs window below will help you debug any errors etc.:

Then check the SharePoint list in the PWA site and the new item should have been created:

We now know the Azure Function is working as expected, now we need to call the Azure function when a project is published. All we need from the Azure Function is the URL to use, use the </>Get function URL button:

Select the correct Key, in this example I used the default function key. Copy the URL as it will be needed later.

To call the Azure Function when a project is published, the choice here for a no code option would be Microsoft Flow or Azure Logic App. For this I will use Microsoft Flow but the same steps (triggers , actions etc.) would be used in the Azure Logic App. Create a new Flow and search for Project Online:

Then select the Project Online – When a project is published trigger.

Enter the PWA URL:

Then click the ellipsis and set the connection for the PWA URL or create a new connection if needed:

Click + New step then Add an Action and search Http:

Select HTTP – HTTP:

Complete the HTTP action:

Method is POST, the Uri is the URL for the function that we copied earlier, Headers are not required. The Body is where we pass in the project ID from the published project trigger:

The Flow is now completed:

Now click Save flow.

In PWA, Publish a project or projects and see the snapshot data created on the configured snapshot list once the Flow has run:

Flow run:

Data added to the list for the project I published – in this example it was the Office 2016 rollout project:

This just shows a simple example and the some of the possibilities for extending the Project Online capability when making use of simple PowerShell scripts and other Microsoft 365 / Azure services for cloud / serverless solutions. Look out for more examples in the future.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

Following on from my last post where I published an example solution starter PowerShell script for adding project team users to the Project Site, here I mentioned about running the script in an Azure Function and even running this sync from a Project Online event. The blog post can be seen below if you missed that:

http://bit.ly/2uzis7i

Whilst I will use that example PowerShell script from my last blog post as an example, the concept will work for any PowerShell script.

I wont cover the details in setting up the Azure Function in part 1 as there is plenty of support out there for this – for this example I created an Http Trigger – PowerShell function.

I then uploaded the SharePoint DLLs and copied in the PowerShell script into the editor:

The project site user sync script didn’t work as is as I had to make some minor changes to get this to run from the Azure Function. This included change the way the SharePoint CSOM DLLs where loaded in. In the example script I used Add-Type to load the DLLs but in the Azure Function I had to switch this out to use Import-Module:

The next change I had to make was to comment out all of the feedback to the console, so all of the write-hosts. I also had to remove the functions within the script so that is was one block. After these changes I could execute the PowerShell script to add the project team members from my example project into the associated project site from the Azure Function. As this was an HTTP Trigger Azure Function, you can get the URL to the function and access that URL to execute the function.

This opens up lots of possibilities to easily execute this Azure Function from other applications that can make the HTTP call. For example you build easily execute this script once the project has been published either using a remote event receiver (RER) or a Microsoft Flow / Azure Logic App. The example script would need to be made generic and pass in a variable into the Azure Function for it to be a workable solution.

In part 2 of this blog post we will look at make a full event driven solution that is fired on project publish then executing the Azure Function and passing in a variable.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

The Office 2016 July 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2uoiHER

Project 2016 July 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2t4YCzC

SharePoint Server 2016 / Project Server 2016 July 2017 update: 
http://bit.ly/2uoorhL & http://bit.ly/2t4SZ4l

The Office 2013 July 2017 updates and cumulative updates are now available, please see the links below:

http://bit.ly/2uoiHER

Project Server 2013 July 2017 CU Server Roll up package:
http://bit.ly/2uohdug

Project Server 2013 July 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2t4U38a

Project 2013 July 2017 update:
http://bit.ly/2uocAAc

Also worth noting, if you haven’t done so already, install Service Pack 1 http://bit.ly/1uorn2C first if installing the July 2017 CU for 2013.

As always, fully test these updates on a replica test environment before deploying to production.

I am a Project Server and SharePoint consultant but my main focus currently is around Project Server. I have been working with Project Server for nearly five years since 2007 for a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the UK, I have also been awared with the Microsoft Community Contributor Award 2011. I am also a certified Prince2 Practitioner. This article has been cross posted from pwmather.wordpress.com (original article)

I wrote the same blog post but for Project Server 2010 over 5 years ago: http://bit.ly/2tO58xu This blog post will cover the same but for Project Online / Project Server 2013 / 2016. This is useful for PWA site collections that are using the Project Permission mode as you can add / remove these permissions as required. Below I have listed the Project Server /Project Online global permissions and the Settings Cog SharePoint menu items that are available when the permissions are allowed.

• Log On
  • Allows access to the following Site Actions menu items:
  • Site contents
• Log On + Manage Lists in Project Web App
  • Allows access to the following Site Actions menu items:
  • Edit page
  • Add an app
  • Site contents
  • Change the look
  • Site Settings (limited options)
• Log on + Manage Lists in Project Web App + Manage SharePoint Foundation
  • Allows access to the following Site Actions menu items:
• Edit page
• Add an app
• Site contents
• Change the look
• Site Settings (all options except Site Collection Admin (SCA) options)