Background Information
In Project Server 2007, the Timesheets for each resource must be submitted to
the person designated as each resource's Timesheet approver, who must then
approve or reject the Timesheet. It is easy to set up a single person as the
Timesheet approver for any resource by editing the resource in the Resource
Center page and selecting any resource manager as that resource's Timesheet
Manager. What is more difficult, however, is to set up a "chain" of Timesheet
approvers.
Resolution
Before I show you how to set up the chain of Timesheet approvers, consider
the following list of people:
Senior Manager A
Resource Manager A
Team Member A
In the preceding list, Team Member A must submit a Timesheet
to Resource Manager A for approval. Once approved, Resource Manager A must
submit Team Member A’s timesheet to Senior Manager A for final approval. To
set up this process, the Project Server administrator must create a new custom
Group named something like Timesheet Reviewers using the following steps:
1. Log into PWA with administrator permissions.
2. Click Server
Settings > Manage Groups.
3. Click the
New Group button.
4. Name the Group
something like Timesheet Reviewers.
5. Add Resource
Manager A to the new Group.
6. In the Categories
section, add the My Resources category to the list on the right.
7. In the Permissions
for My Resources grid, select the Resource Managers template and click the
Apply button.
8. In the Permissions
for My Resources grid, DESELECT the Allow option for the Approve Timesheets
permission (DO NOT select either Allow or Deny; leave them both unchecked).
9. In the Global
Permissions grid, select the Resource Managers template and then click the
Apply button.
10. Click the
Save button.
The above set of steps allows Resource Manager A to accept
Timesheets from his/her resources and give interim approval to Timesheets.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If Resource Manager A is also in the Resource Managers
group, the Project Server administrator MUST remove him/her from the Resource
Managers group.
Next, the Project Server administrator must set up the
"chain" of approvals as follows:
1. Navigate to the
Resource Center page.
2. Select Senior
Manager A, Resource Manager A, and Team Member A.
3. Click the
Edit Details button.
4. For Senior Manager
A, add her to the Resource Managers group and the Executives group, and then
click the Save and Continue button.
5. For Resource
Manager A, add him to the Timesheet Reviewers group and set Senior Manager A as
his Timesheet Manager.
6. Click the
Save and Continue button.
7. For Team Member A,
set Resource Manager A as her Timesheet Manager, then click the Save
button.
Adding Senior Manager A to the Resource Managers group makes
her the final Timesheet approver. Adding
Resource Manager A to the new Timesheet Reviewers makes him an interim Timesheet
approver who must submit the Timesheet to Senior Manager A for final approval.