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Construction Project Management Software Solutions

PMIS

Microsoft 365 Loop will change your work day. Are you ready?

Microsoft News |

You might be wondering what Microsoft 365 Loop is. Microsoft Loop is a little difficult to define, so let’s use a typical office work scenario. You start your work day by opening Outlook to check your email and Teams so that you can chat with your coworkers. Next, you select a file to work on, such as updating your cost report in Excel, finishing a PowerPoint presentation for senior management, or maybe creating a status report in Word.

All of the above files reside in separate applications with their own file extensions. Wouldn’t it be easier if you started your day in a freeform workspace where you could include all of those applications, and more, without needing to go anywhere else?

Microsoft Loop is the one ring to rule them all. Loop organizes your work into workspaces like books. A workspace could be a project or re-occurring meeting like a monthly status update. The app further divides Workspaces into pages (like pages within the book).

Where Loop gets interesting is the ability to turn parts of the pages into shareable components, letting you share your workspaces, pages, and components with others to get their real-time feedback. Suddenly your work day is organized like a diary with real-time interactions without the need to switch applications.

How is Microsoft Loop different than One Note?

In theory, Loop could be the next evolution of One Note. Loop adds live integrations with Office and the ability to create shareable components.

Is there something similar to Microsoft Loop on the market?

Yes, there is a software product called Notion:

"Notion is a single space where you can think, write, and plan. Capture thoughts, manage projects, or even run an entire company — and do it exactly the way you want."

The difference between Notion and Loop is the ability to integrate with the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite.

Where does Microsoft Loop save data?

You would think Loop would save data in the Dataverse, but it actually saves to SharePoint. Here’s an article explaining the details - The SharePoint storage platform supports the Loop app - Components, pages, and workspaces (microsoft.com). This is great news for our Construction Viz product which deploys to SharePoint Lists and Libraries. I can see a day where we embed Loop components into Construction Viz, potentially even bi-directionally.😊

Microsoft Loop sounds great. When can I use it?

As of March 2023, Loop is still in preview and a little underwhelming since it only integrates with Outlook for the web and Teams. Still, Microsoft has done the heavy lifting, and you can see the potential of this cross-application tool.

We’ll monitor Microsoft Loop and provide updates on how construction project teams can use it in their daily workflows. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter in the footer below not to miss future updates about Loop and other technologies essential for the construction industry.

You can also schedule a no-obligation consultation to learn more about using Microsoft 365 to manage your construction projects.

The Great Metadata Convergence with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive

How-To |

Microsoft is unifying metadata handling between Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Here is what you need to know.

What is metadata?

First, let’s start with a definition. Metadata is “data that provides information about other data.” In the case of SharePoint, metadata can include using the term store or adding unique columns to lists and libraries. The advantage of metadata over folders is that you gain more robust search and reporting capabilities.

What’s the issue with folders?

Organizing by folders is popular because it builds on the familiar. File folders are similar to how we store paper documents in file cabinets. Folders also mirror a standard shared drive. So, users find this approach intuitive and easy.

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One downside of folders is upkeep. Documents have to be moved from one folder to another to be re-classified. The organization scheme of several levels of folders can be confusing. Documents can get misfiled in incorrect or redundant folders over time.

Here’s an article that further explains the topic - 3 Ways to Organize Your Documents in SharePoint - Lydon Solutions

How does metadata currently work with Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint?

Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint are three applications in Microsoft 365 where you can effectively manage documents. Until recently, each application has its strengths and weaknesses regarding file organization:

  • The Teams application is great for collaborating and has a files tab in a channel where you can upload files into folders. However, you could not add metadata.
  • OneDrive has a local client that allows for working with files offline. It is also easy to use and navigate since it has an explorer-like view that we all know from a PC, but it also lacks metadata.
  • SharePoint is an enterprise content management system (ECMS) that provides the ultimate flexibility to use metadata and folders for lists and document libraries.

What has changed with metadata in Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint?

With this recent Microsoft 365 update, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint can share metadata, not just folders. If I add columns in the files tab of a Teams channel, those columns will appear in SharePoint and OneDrive. If I add columns in the SharePoint Documents library, they will be available in Teams and OneDrive. At this point, you cannot add columns (metadata) in OneDrive, but you can view them. Also, you can now create views in Teams using metadata linked to SharePoint, keeping both systems in sync. Let’s get into why this update is important.

Teams adding columns to a files tab for a channel
SharePoint adding columns in the Documents library
OneDrive viewing columns from a Documents library

What’s the big deal with this metadata change?

Metadata is critical to organizing files more consistently. Until now, metadata was only useful in SharePoint since you couldn’t add or view it in Teams or OneDrive. This update keeps all three applications in sync with both folders and metadata when you use the Documents library. You are not restricted to just using folders!

Also, you don’t need to manually sync the Documents library across Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint for this to work; Microsoft does this for you automatically. If you check out one of our recent posts, Microsoft 365 OneDrive and Teams for Your Construction PMIS (lydonsolutions.com), you will see how Microsoft has done this behind the scenes.

Great news, but there is a catch

Unfortunately, you currently cannot see the metadata if you are using the mobile apps for SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive.

Also, this metadata feature is related to the SharePoint Documents library created when you create a new Team. To use other SharePoint libraries to manage metadata, you must manually link to that SharePoint site from Teams or OneDrive.

Take away

In summary, by making metadata available across Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint, Microsoft has brought all three applications closer together for document management with fewer trade-offs. So, deciding where you want to manage your project documents is not an either-or application decision. You could start in Teams and use SharePoint or OneDrive at a later date based on the use case without having to give up search and reporting.

Microsoft 365 is a powerful platform for managing all aspects of your business and operations. Due to its scale and breadth, it can be a little intimidating. You can reach out to Lydon solutions for a free one-hour consultation where we can help you on the right path for your organization.

What Microsoft 365 @mentions Mean for Construction Communications

How-To |

@Mentions are frequently used on social media platforms to share content. You can type @ and select a username from a list of available users to notify them of your post. Mentions provide an efficient way to identify a user while writing so that you don't have to jump into another application, such as email, to notify them. Mentions are heavily used in most social media platforms, and rightly so, for their ease of use.

As with many social media innovations, @mentions have made their way to Microsoft 365. Read on to find out what mentions can do in Microsoft 365 for construction projects and where Microsoft might take this feature.

How @mentions work in Microsoft 365

Microsoft has added @mentions across Teams and Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. You can even add mentions to SharePoint lists and libraries. While this is great news for Microsoft 365 users, there are some differences and disconnects with mentions between Teams and the rest of the Microsoft 365 applications.

How mentions work in Teams

Teams is a modern application in Microsoft 365, so Microsoft seamlessly integrated @mentions across the application. You can mention a team member in a chat, and a notification will show in their activity feed. In the same chat, you can even use a mention to call on a bot which could add in an application or a workflow if needed.

Mentions_1

You can mention a channel member, team, or channel in a channel post, which is handy if you want to notify everyone in a team or channel.

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Unfortunately, mentions in Teams do not integrate with mentions in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and even SharePoint. Mentions are their own communication island in Teams unless you incorporate a custom Power Automate workflow or the Graph API to send mentions into Teams from the office apps.

How mentions work in Excel, Word, PowerPoint,Outlook, and SharePoint

To add a mention to Outlook just type @ and select the team member.

Mentions_3

To add a mention to Excel, Word, or PowerPoint files online, click the comments button to insert an @mention into the document.

Mentions_4

You can add mentions to SharePoint list and document library records by editing a record and scrolling down to the More Details section of the fly out panel:

Mentions_5

Mentions made in  Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and SharePoint will show in the notifications bell of the person assigned for both the online and desktop versions of Outlook.

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Mentions_7

Once again, these mentions do not link to the mentions in Teams.

For more information, refer to these Microsoft support articles:

What could be Microsoft's plan for mentions?

Email is still the preferred method of communication. With Teams, users can minimize emails by using chat with mentions. At some point, Microsoft could bridge the gap across all its Microsoft 365 applications so they can use a universal @mentions feature to notify users. An integrated @mentions approach could centralize the communication stream so that if I create a Teams chat, Microsoft 365 automatically sends off email notifications from Outlook. Or, if I was in Outlook, I could mention a person in an email, and that email would then show in a chat, team, or channel. No more bouncing around between mentions in Teams and the rest of Microsoft 365. No more trying to decide if I should use Teams or Outlook.

So how can mentions help me with construction communication?

As discussed above, mentions are still a fragmented solution across Microsoft 365, but @mentions can still be part of your communications strategy, depending on the stakeholders. For internal correspondence, you could use Teams chats and posts. For external communications, you could continue to use Outlook email. Also, until Microsoft delivers a mentions solution across Microsoft 365, you can leverage a Power Automate workflow to capture project-specific external emails and store them into teams and channel chats by referencing the mentions in the workflow.

Finally, if your team actively collaborates in Excel, Word,  PowerPoint, and SharePoint online, you might find it valuable to take advantage of @mentions to alert users when they are assigned to review an entry or a file. Check out this article for more information:  New Notifications pane in Outlook helps you stay on task (office.com).

Learn how to use Microsoft 365 to manage your construction projects

If you need help implementing Microsoft 365 for your construction organization or you are just looking to implement a communication solution, you can request a free one-hour consultation with our Microsoft 365 specialists here.

If a turnkey Microsoft 365 construction PMIS solution might be a better fit, you can request a demo of Construction Viz here. Also, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter to keep up with the latest Microsoft 365 news, tips and tricks, and Construction Viz; you can do so in the footer below.

Tips from the Field: Adding Images to a Power BI Report

Tips from the Field |

Microsoft 365 Power BI is an incredibly powerful reporting tool and is fast becoming the go-to reporting solution in construction. While creating connections to different data sources and building cool reports is relatively straightforward, adding dynamic images is not as simple.

Read on to learn how to add images to your Power BI report.

Two options when adding images to Power BI reports

There are two paths to adding images to a report.

Option 1

Your first option is to insert images directly into the report. This approach is useful if you want to embed a static image into your report, like adding a logo to a project-specific report.

Unfortunately, you need to open Power BI, update the report, and re-publish it to add or edit images.

Note: These embedded images will display when you print a report.

Option 2

Your second option is to link images dynamically from another file location. This approach allows you to connect to images from another file location and display them dynamically in your report.

A good example of this would be a set of project progress photos that are dropped off in a SharePoint image library every month. You could then connect these photos to your report and use a project and time period slicer to display only the images you would like to see in the report.

While this approach provides the most flexibility, since images are read from the image library, the setup in Power BI of the connection is more difficult.

Also, there are a few considerations to be aware of:

  • Viewers must have permission for both the image library and the Power BI report to view the images.
  • Images will not display in Power BI Desktop until you publish the report to Power BI Online.
  • The connected images will not display when you print a report.
Power BI Desktop with both options
  • When images initially display in Power BI, they will appear as small thumbnails, and you will not have many options to format them. You will most likely need to “Get more visuals” and find a third-party image display visual. See the screenshots below for how to do this.

Step 1: Click the three dots and select “Get more visuals” 

Step 2: And then search on images and click on one to add 

So, you might wonder how actually to create a dynamic image connection in your report from SharePoint? There are a bunch of steps to doing this, but I found a great video to get you most of the way there: A little trick for SharePoint Online Images in Power BI.

We hope this blog helps you build out your project status report. If you need a complete reporting solution from building a Power App to collect period data or structuring a Power BI Report that can filter by project and period, you can submit a consultation request here.

Microsoft 365 for Construction Management Case Study Part 2: Project Online

Case Study |

This article is part two of our case study examining how we helped one of our clients manage their construction projects better with Microsoft 365. If you have not read the first installment, you might want to check out part one of the case study before proceeding.

The client in this case study contracted Lydon Solutions to develop a Microsoft 365 project management solution for a multi-billion-dollar program with over eighty active projects. In our first post, we outlined the client’s project needs, including how they currently handled these tasks and how we planned to help them improve their workflows with Microsoft 365 and its related applications.

One primary requirement of our client was integrating Microsoft Project into their overall project management solution. This article will detail our approach to creating a solution centered on Project.

A quick primer on Microsoft Project

Before we get into our client’s challenge, it might be helpful to review the evolution and status of  Microsoft Project since the nuances affect the solution you can implement.

Microsoft Project is several different applications rolled into one:

Microsoft Project desktop application

The desktop version of Project is the application we all have used for years. Most construction companies have Project Standard or Project Professional installed locally on their computers.

The desktop version of Project is the most feature-rich version of the application but is not connected to the internet unless you pay for a Project Online subscription (see below). You need the more robust Project Professional to create complex schedules (beyond predecessor logic) and assign organizational resources and custom fields. You can do project-specific reporting in either desktop version of Microsoft Project.

Microsoft Project Online (Project Web App or PWA)

ProjectCaseStudy_1

Microsoft Project Online is the web-enabled version of the application. With this version, you can manage a portfolio of projects, create Microsoft Project and SharePoint templates and sites, create and share company resources and custom fields, implement timesheets, and connect to the desktop Project application.

ProjectCaseStudy_2

You can update schedules in PWA, but the functionality is limited to predecessor logic. You need Project Standard or Professional for more complex scheduling, organizational resource management, custom fields, and project-specific reporting. Note: PWA schedules do not integrate with Project for the Web (described below) since the app stores schedule data in SharePoint sites. You need Power BI to do multi-project reporting.

Microsoft Project for the Web (PFTW)

ProjectCaseStudy_3

Microsoft Project for the Web is a more flexible, dynamic, and modern scheduling version of Microsoft Project. PFTW appears to be the future of Microsoft Project, but the development roadmap has been moving at a glacial pace.

Organizations trying to use both PWA and PFTW can confuse users since PFTW is a lightweight scheduling tool that looks and behaves differently than PWA, but both are considered Project Online. PFTW has similar functionality as PWA, but it does not integrate with PWA schedules or schedules made in the desktop version. PFTW is a stand-alone modern application that stores data in the dataverse, not SharePoint. You need Power BI to do multi-project reporting.

Now that we got that out of the way, you can see why the complexity of the Project ecosystem and how the various features and differences between the versions can create additional challenges when trying to develop a solution.

How our client used Microsoft Project

Our client was using Microsoft Project Online (PWA) to manage their portfolio of projects. The other factors we had to consider included the following:

  • The client’s project managers (PMs) did not want to use Project to update their schedules and instead leveraged construction coordinators to provide schedule updates on their behalf. Management wanted to change this behavior so that PMs were responsible for their updates but the solution needed to be as easy as possible.
  • The PMs did not have the desktop version of Microsoft Project to update schedules.
  • The PMs wanted to use Project for cash flow forecasting across projects.
  • The PMs wanted weekly reporting on all scheduled milestones and late tasks by Project but had not set up zero-duration milestones in their schedules.
  • There were over 80 active projects in their Project Online project center

Our approach to making Microsoft Project the core of the client’s solution

From experience and discussions with the client, we knew that email was the easiest way for PMs to update schedules.

We designed a solution to aggregate project schedule and task data across all projects from PWA into a centralized SharePoint list daily. We developed a Power Automate workflow to send emails with adaptive cards to the PMs when their tasks were due so that they could update them in Outlook without having to go into Project. The SharePoint list received the task updates, and another Power Automate workflow processed the updates back into PWA. Other parts of the solution leverage this same SharePoint list, providing a single source of truth for projects without users needing to interact with the Project application. We will explain further in a future post.

Next, we needed to use Project schedules for cash flows. For this, we had to be able to assign a cash flow resource to the schedules. Doing so would allow the schedules to drive the cash flow amounts. So, we created new cash flow enterprise resources for the organization in the PWA resource center. We created both budget and generic resource types. We established cost budget resources as the overall project budget at the project summary level (task 0) in Project. We used cost generic resources to assign the cash flow amounts for cash flow milestone activities at the task level.

We then created new cash flow milestones in Project with the schedule logic of how pay apps would be submitted and approved. Since cost generic resources represented our budget at the task level, the actual cost would update automatically when a user marked a cash flow milestone task as 100% complete.

For reporting, we leveraged Power BI to provide cross-project cash flow reports. There is a Power BI web app connection that you can leverage to access PWA data. This connection includes the Microsoft Project data lists so you can generate reports in Power BI. We’ll get into the details of how we developed the reports in a future post.

Do more with Microsoft 365 and Project

Find out how to take Microsoft 365 and Project to the next level by submitting a free consultation request. If you prefer a turnkey project management solution powered by Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, check out Construction Viz and our extensive lineup of construction apps.

The 1 tool you should consider for project brainstorming

Reviews |

Microsoft Whiteboard is a brainstorming and collaboration tool for Microsoft 365. It is available as a browser-based application and a standalone tool that integrates with Microsoft Teams. The Whiteboard app allows for real-time collaboration with team members, in an easy to use non-structured way, across devices using a mouse, stylus, keyboard, or even your hands.

To fully appreciate the Whiteboard app, it is interesting to consider the evolution from capturing notes on a chalkboard to show to people in the same room to an easy-to-use app that you can download and within minutes share your ideas with the entire world. Let's consider the history:

  • 1800s – The invention of the chalkboard. Most of us grew up with chalkboards made from slate and written on with sticks of chalk derived from calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate. Chalkboards still find a use today, mainly because they are relatively inexpensive, but the downside is that you still must take notes before someone erases your work.
  • 1960s – The coming of the whiteboard.  Albert Stallion created the dry erase board from enameled coated steel. He went on to start Magiboards, a company selling whiteboards in the mainstream. Whiteboards are relatively low cost and, just like chalkboards, are still in use today. They provide a more natural surface for writing, do not create dust, can be magnetized, and work well with overhead screens but, like the chalkboard, they still require taking notes to retain work.
  • 1990s – PCs and the introduction of SMART Boards. The advent of personal computing created new opportunities for capturing and sharing notes. SMART Technologies introduced the SMART Board, interactive whiteboards using LCD screens attached to computers. Like whiteboards, they are still in use today. When SMART Boards came to market, they were expensive, but they allowed users to save images of the screen and application files and then share them via email or hard copy with participants of the meeting.
  • 2000s – The Internet, touch screens, Microsoft 365, and the Whiteboard app. When all the right technologies line up, you have the opportunity to redefine the space. The Microsoft Whiteboard app leverages the latest technologies to the fullest and addresses all the shortcomings of prior technologies by providing the ability to collaborate in real-time across multiple devices of varying types.

Why Microsoft Whiteboard is great for construction projects

So, what’s so great about the Microsoft Whiteboard, and how would you use it for your construction projects?

The Whiteboard app shines when your team is on Microsoft 365, your users have touch screen devices, and your team needs an easy way to share ideas fluidly.  Getting started is simple. You simply create a canvas and invite your team members. Your team can add images, documents, tasks, notes, text, lists, and freehand drawings. The app saves those files to the cloud automatically, and they can be opened and edited at any time. Further, you can share your canvas with users, with the ability to post to Teams and export as SVG and PNG image files.

For a construction project, you could use the Whiteboard app for the following:

  • Mark up PDF drawings using text and insert notes as needed.
  • Create a plan of the day (POD) for fieldwork, complete with images, maps, documents, and a formal task list.
  • Brainstorm new ideas and processes using free-form text, notes, and related images.
  • Review documents by adding pages from a Word document to your canvas and then using free-form text to insert notes as needed.

Once you create a Whiteboard canvas, you can post it to Microsoft Teams, where a link will display in the Posts tab of a Team. Team members can click the Whiteboard link in the Post, and the canvas will open for viewing and further editing.

Project-Brainstorming_1

While Whiteboard is a powerful tool and a technology revolution since the chalkboard days, there are a couple of concerns to keep in mind. First, you cannot currently access the actual Whiteboard files that the app automatically stores in Microsoft Azure. Second, you do not have the ability to permission control the files outside of the users with whom you have shared the Whiteboard files.

I encourage you to give the Whiteboard app a try. Like any other Microsoft software, they will likely continue to enhance it over time. If you need any help with Microsoft 365, check out our Microsoft 365 Managed Services and sign up for a free consultation.

If you are interested in a prebuilt enterprise-ready project management information system for your Microsoft 365, have a look at Construction Viz. You can submit a demo request there to find out more.