Create Project status update Part 1

Today we will work on a very basic and easy way to create a Project status update report without the need for a complicated info-path forms or creating multiple lists and workflows. 

so the issue i was working on a very basic implementation for a client who wanted a straight forward Project Online implementation, the only non standard feature they asked for is a weekly status update report. i have done that before using infopath and suctom code but this is Project Online things are a bit different. so i did some search didn't take me long to find a post by Andrew Lavinsky  creating status reports with project online and sharepoint designer and i wanted to start working with it but it was a bit longer than i wanted and i thought there might be a way to simplify it it took me a while but i got there :) , a simple and quick to implement solution so lets start in this part we will create all the.

Keep in mind in this case the client do not require a workflow for their projects (with some creativity it can be incorporated)

Step 1 : The list 

we start with the basic create a share point custom list and add all the fields that you wish to report on, make sure that you include the Project GUID in that list 

Step 2:  The PDP 

Go to your PWA and create a new PDP give it a name , and add the following items to it 

a query string filter to capture the project guid from the URL. then add the list that we just created above, In the Query string webpart create capture the ProjUID from the URL

Create Status update PDP

next send the captured Project UID to the list to make sure only project related items will be in display, form the query string webpart create a connection to the list on the page 

Link the Project uid filter 

Save the PDP and then change its type to Workflow Status,That all we need from this PDP at this stage save it and we will get back to it later. 

Step 3: The Stage

Go to your PWA and create a stage, i have created a stage and called it status update stage under a phase that i also called status update (feel free to name it as you wish) 

Create Project status update Stage 

That is it , in the post i will write on how we will put the pieces together and have a nice and simple way of logging our status updates

Part 2 is now available