The Project Group GmbH (TPG) based in Munich, Germany, Microsoft's Premier Project and Gold Certified Partner, has extended the range of Microsoft Project add-in products with the addition of TPG Resource Planning. This new product will allow the graphical representation and editing of resource allocations in project portfolios by using drag and drop so the workload of resources in project portfolios can be optimized and so keeping the resource peak as flat as possible, thus eliminating time wasted toggling between different views in Microsoft Project, providing a much clearer overview.

"With TPG Resource Planning we're offering resource managers a totally new tool that significantly reduces the time they spend on allocations in project portfolios; gives them a clearer overview; and supports reporting needs with print options," said development director and managing director at TPG, Johann Strasser.

The distribution of resources within projects and in the project portfolios is accomplished graphically using the drag and drop action within view. Dragging vertically moves a resource to another task, while horizontal dragging moves both the task and the resource along the time axis. When completed, the TPG Resource Planning changes are synchronized with the content of the Microsoft Project files affected, allowing users to immediately switch between the programs. The user is shown the Interface of Resource Planning on the screenshot below.

TPG Resource Planning is available in a server and a client version. The server version is especially useful when generic resources are substituted with real people and it allows the use of Microsoft Project Server and provides resource managers with the coordination and approval process that lets them communicate with superiors and staff within Microsoft Project.

"Our customers asked us over and over again whether there was a way to make resource allocations easier in Microsoft Project," said Strasser. "And that's what prompted us to extend our product portfolio with this tool."

The Project Group, a leading Microsoft Premier Project Partner in German-speaking countries, has a customer base which includes global enterprises like Bosch, DaimlerChrysler and ATLAS, is a member of the Partner Advisory Council, an international advisory committee for the Microsoft Project development team, which consists of only 20 members worldwide.