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Below are a selection of questions that we get asked by people interested in buying Project Administrator.
Q. Will PA run on Access 2003 or later?
A. PA runs on Access 2003. You need to ensure that you set “Tools”, “Options”, “Advanced”, “Default File Format” to “Access 2000”. This setting is the factory default for Access 2003 but we have had some situations where it has been changed and will cause problems.
Q. Can I use a Microsoft SQL Server database as the back end?
A. Not yet. The ability to use SQL Server is planned for the next release due in 2005.
Q. Can I write my own reports?
A. PA comes with over 100 standard reports. If the exact report you want is not available there is another option. One of the big advantages of running under Microsoft Access is that it allows you to produce custom reports and screens with only a minimal understanding of Access.
To do this, you create a new Access Database and link it to the tables in PA. When you purchase PA it comes as one file for the tables or data, and another for the application. You link the application to the tables.
Once you set up the link you can write any reports to suit your own requirements. The tables have been designed to be user friendly. Field names are easy to understand and table names are descriptive. If all else fails, we are happy to give some guidance as to what information you may need on a particular report.
Q. Can I link people's names in PA to Microsoft Project
A. Resources are set up within Project Administrator. They are not linked to resource names in MSP for a number of reasons.
In MSP, anyone can enter any name. If we were to try and link names in MSP to names in PA, the only way to do it would be a one on one manual basis. You then have the following problems:
In PA, the system administrator can elect to allow people to enter new names, or restrict new resource names to the sys admin to enter. The names can be tightly controlled so that you don't end up with J. Smith, John Smith, and John J Smith all being the one person.
For these reasons, we decided not to try and link the two resource name sets.
Q. In terms of licensing, are users
A. The answer is neither. PA is licensed for the number of logons. A single user license allows one logon. A five user license allows five logons.
Q. Is there a cost to upgrade from the version for Access 97, to Access 2000 or later?
A. No. We provide both versions when you purchase the software.
Q. What about future releases? Is there an upgrade cost?
A. Our policy is to provide minor releases free of charge to existing users. For example the “3” series is now up to version 3.3 (in beta release at December 2004). All “”3” series users get the upgrade for free.
Q. Is there a maintenance charge?
A. No. We did offer a maintenance option when the product was released, but the number of people who needed to make use of it was insignificant. Most technical support questions – and they are very few – relate to installation issues.
Q. How does the real version differ from the trial version?
A. The real version comes with the database (or tables) in a separate file. This allows you to store the data on a server where it is backed up regularly, and run the application on desktops. It reduces network traffic and also makes your application more secure.
In addition, the real version has two sets of tables. One is a blank set for you to enter your own information, and the other a set of example tables that illustrate how the application can be used. The example tables have the same sample data as the trial version.
The version you purchase also has a User Manual which is over 100 pages and a 30+ page System Administrator Manual.
Q. The amount of functionality is overwhelming. I will never use everything?
A. None of our clients use everything. Typically people start off using Issues and Risks and move on from there in different directions. For example, one organisation may have their own time sheeting system. There is no good reason to use something else. Another may have a project budgeting system so they don’t use the budget and expenditure functionality of PA. Typically they will never use more than 60% or 70%.
PA has been designed so that as soon as you enter a project name, you can use any other part of the application without interdependencies. Use some, and not other parts.
Think of it as a toolbox. Only use the tools that suit your situation. If it makes sense, use it. If not, don’t use it.
Q. Can I modify the screens?
A. The design of the screens cannot be modified unless we do a customisation for you. We can quote on any specific changes you require.
Many of the fields can however be customised. Most selectable fields can be configured by the System Administrator. For example if you want to set your priorities for Issues to 1, 2 and 3 the System Administrator can do this through the Administration function.
Q. Does the information in the time sheets automatically update the budget with resource costs?
A. We have dabbled in the area of extrapolating time to cost with a number of clients and have backed away from it for a number of reasons. The main one is the diverse arrangements people have for charging. For example, in one organisation we looked at some of the conditions they wanted us to cater for were:
Q. Can I expect any installation problems?
A. After many years of having people install the software, we have yet to have someone who failed. We must admit that one recent purchaser came close and we were considering a refund until they discovered after many emails and phone calls they had a corrupt installation of Microsoft Access. They re-installed Access and PA installed first time. We find about one in ten people need to contact us, and usually we just point them to something in the installation instructions that they have not read.
It will typically take about 15 minutes to do the install, and set up the main variables such as company name and password. After that you are set to use the software. Both our System Administrator Manual and our User Manual are chock full of screen prints to guide you through all stages of installing and using the software.
Q. Is it a limitation that the application is written in Access?
A. On the contrary. Application written in other languages need to integrate with your operating system, email, printers etc. As we use Microsoft Access, all that integration is done by Microsoft when they developed Access. You can expect less integration problems and have to carry out less configuration because most of the work is carried out by Access.
Q. Does everyone who receives reports from the system have to have Access installed?
A. No. A report output in standard Access format (snapshot) can be viewed by anyone as long as they have a program called Snapshot Viewer installed. Snapshot Viewer is a free download from Microsoft. Alternatively all reports can be output to Word or Excel. Whilst most convert seamlessly, occasionally there are problems with headers and footers that may need to be manually corrected before distributing.
