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An explanation of Project for the Web, what it is and why it is useful.

Quick reference

What is Project for the Web?

Understand what Project for the Web is and why it might be the best choice for your team. 

When to use

It's important to understand what Project for the Web is, how it differs from other Project offerings and why the application was developed so we can make an informed choice when selecting a project management tool for our team. 

Instructions

What is Project for the Web?

Project for the Web is the latest offering from Microsoft for cloud-based project management. It has a simple-to-use interface that is perfect for anyone looking to manage individual and team tasks in a collaborative, online environment. 

Project for the Web is part of the Microsoft Project family of applications that includes Project Online Desktop, Project Online, and Project Server. It bridges that gap between basic task management in Microsoft Planner and complex project management in Project Online. 

Project for the Web is built on the Power Platform. The Power Platform consists of Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. Due to this integration, we can harness the strength of the Power Platform to extend the capabilities of Project for the Web. For example, we can create stunning, interactive reports and dashboards using our project data in Power BI. 

Project for the Web is also integrated with Microsoft 365 groups which opens up more functionality and allows us to work with our project data in applications like Microsoft Teams. 

Project for the Web has two parts: Project Home and Project Roadmap. Project Home is where we create and manage individual projects and Project Roadmap allows us to monitor key tasks across multiple projects. 

All data entered into Project is stored in the Dataverse in a series of tables. 

The History of Project for the Web

It's important to understand how and why Project for the Web was developed. 

There's a forum on the Microsoft website called 'User Voice' more recently renamed to 'Feedback'. This forum allows the Microsoft community of users to give feedback on applications and submit ideas for improvements. 

The feedback in the Microsoft Planner forum was that users loved the application but required a bit more functionality such as the ability to see Gantt charts, create summary tasks and add custom fields. 

Microsoft took this feedback and created Project for the Web to fill the gap between Microsoft Planner and Project Professional. 

The result was an application that is much simpler to use but contains the core functionality that most people who manage small to mid-size projects will need.

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  • 00:04 Project for the Web is the latest offering from Microsoft for
  • 00:08 cloud-based project management.
  • 00:11 Project for the Web provides simple, easy to use project
  • 00:15 management functionality that can be used by project managers and
  • 00:20 team members to plan and manage projects of any size.
  • 00:25 And Project for the Web is part of the Microsoft Project product family,
  • 00:29 which includes Project Online Desktop Client,
  • 00:33 Project Online, Project Server, and Project Desktop.
  • 00:36 And it's designed to bridge the gap between basic task management
  • 00:41 using Microsoft Planner and
  • 00:42 complex project management using Project Online for desktop.
  • 00:47 Now, Project for the Web lives in the cloud and is built on the Power Platform.
  • 00:52 The Power Platform consists of Power Apps, Power Automate,
  • 00:56 formerly Microsoft Flow, Power BI, and the Microsoft Dataverse.
  • 01:01 So Microsoft have really built core project management functionality on
  • 01:05 the Power Platform.
  • 01:06 So we can leverage the power of this platform
  • 01:09 to seamlessly integrate business processes and powerful reporting.
  • 01:14 Microsoft Project for the Web is also built on Microsoft 365 groups.
  • 01:20 So it works with Microsoft 365 tools that we already use to collaborate with team
  • 01:25 members.
  • 01:25 Now, Project for the Web includes the following.
  • 01:28 Project Home, this gives us an overview of our most important projects.
  • 01:34 Roadmap, this allows us to get a view of our organization's projects and
  • 01:40 drive them together to achieve our business goals.
  • 01:43 And Project for the Web really provides us with a new project experience.
  • 01:48 It's easy to use and its web-based interface is particularly good for
  • 01:52 new project managers.
  • 01:54 So how does Project for the Web, or P4W as it's known,
  • 01:58 fit into the current project management structure?
  • 02:01 It's good to understand the background of Project for the Web first and
  • 02:05 how it came into being.
  • 02:08 Now, there's a little known forum on the Microsoft website called User Voice.
  • 02:13 Now, this forum gives users the opportunity to provide feedback
  • 02:17 on Microsoft's products directly to the teams that develop them.
  • 02:22 And if we look at the feedback related to Microsoft Planner,
  • 02:26 which is a basic tool available in Microsoft 365 to manage tasks,
  • 02:31 users were requesting additional functionality.
  • 02:34 Like creating subtasks of existing tasks,
  • 02:37 requesting a Gantt chart view, and the ability to create custom fields.
  • 02:43 You can also see how many users have requested this functionality.
  • 02:48 So this feedback really allowed Microsoft to zero in on the most
  • 02:53 common tasks that users need to be able to do to manage tasks.
  • 02:58 And it really pushed the project team at Microsoft to extend the capabilities of
  • 03:03 Planner.
  • 03:03 And these days, with modern project management,
  • 03:07 we need our projects to be collaborative.
  • 03:09 And the younger generations of project users demand simple,
  • 03:14 clean interfaces and software that's easy to use.
  • 03:18 So with all of this in mind, Microsoft developed Project for
  • 03:22 the Web to fill the gap between simple task management in Planner and
  • 03:27 full lifecycle project management in Project Online.
  • 03:31 They really wanted to develop an application that lived in the cloud and
  • 03:36 contained the most common project management functionality based on user
  • 03:41 feedback.
  • 03:42 They also wanted an interface that was clean and simple to use for
  • 03:47 novice project managers and accidental project managers.
  • 03:51 Those people who aren't trained PMOs, but
  • 03:53 find themselves in a project management role as part of their job.
  • 03:59 Now, Project Online, and in particular the Project Desktop version,
  • 04:03 is a full-on complex project management tool that requires a lot of training to be
  • 04:08 able to use all of its features effectively.
  • 04:11 It is by far and away the most advanced tool in the Project family.
  • 04:16 But Microsoft have recognized that most people don't necessarily need that
  • 04:21 level of functionality.
  • 04:22 Enter Project for the Web.
  • 04:25 Now, bear in mind that Project for the Web is the latest release from Microsoft.
  • 04:29 And due to this, it is continually evolving and improving.
  • 04:33 So you might find that there are some things that you can't currently do in
  • 04:37 Project for the Web.
  • 04:38 So it's definitely worth bearing that in mind when you're trying
  • 04:42 to decide which application best suits your needs.
  • 04:44 Now, Microsoft have stated that all new innovations will be occurring in
  • 04:49 Project for the Web.
  • 04:51 And whilst there is no date to limit the functionality of Project Online,
  • 04:55 they do encourage customers to plan to transition to Project for
  • 04:59 the Web as soon as possible.
  • 05:01 Now, Project Online subscriptions are not going away at the moment and
  • 05:05 all new capabilities available through Project for
  • 05:08 the Web through your existing Project Online subscriptions.
  • 05:11 So Project Online and Project for
  • 05:14 the Web can effectively run side by side to make that transition easier.
  • 05:19 And you can find out about upcoming Project for
  • 05:22 the Web features by checking the Microsoft 365 Roadmap.
  • 05:26 So if you take a look under Filter, choose Products, then Microsoft Project.
  • 05:31 So how do you get Project for the Web?
  • 05:34 Well, Project for the Web is available in all three Project subscriptions.
  • 05:39 So regardless of if you have Project Plan 1, Project Plan 3, or Project Plan 5,
  • 05:44 you will have access to Project for the Web.
  • 05:47 It's worth noting that Project Plan 1 only gives you access to Project for
  • 05:51 the Web and not Project Online Desktop.
  • 05:54 So if your organization has already purchased Project for the Web,
  • 05:59 you can access it at www.project.microsoft.com.
  • 06:02 Alternatively, you can access it through your Microsoft 365 portal.

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