MS Project Very Slow and Project Files Large when Using Shared Resource Pool

Question

Hello,
We are using MS Project 2010 Professional in our organization and using a shared resource pool so we can easily identify resource conflicts.  When we started this process many months ago the resource pool worked great.  Now that we have nearly
all of our projects (~40) using the resource pool, it has become essentially unusable.  Each project file that is sharing the resource pool is 12 MB or greater in file size, and most of the project files contain less than 100 lines.  Saving any file
takes ~4 minutes.  As a result, many of the resource managers and project managers are starting to avoid using MS Project which is undermining our original intent.
Any thoughts on what we could try to regain the usability, make the file sizes smaller, improve save times, etc.?  Will MS Project Server fix all of these issues?
Thanks,
Josh

Answer 1

If any of your PMs renamed, moved or over-wrote their project file whilst linked to the Resource Pool or a master, then the file may well have corrupted itself or the pool or both. With 40 files, you can guarantee one or more PMs will do one of the above,
so file corruption is a when, not if (2days or 2 years or more).
For 40 projects Project Server or any solution that copies data to a database so the resource data can be consolidated is needed. Project Server is not a simple application, it's a full server and requires proper training and processes to add value. And
it needs configuring by someone who knows what they're doing!
In the mean time try unattaching all project files from the pool, then create a new blank pool and re-attach.You will also need to File, Save as to repair each project file if needed. For bad corruption save as to a .xml format then re-import to a blank
project.
Or, create a new master each time by inserting all projects into a new blank project, but deselecting the Link option. All tasks are then copied and the resource data consolidated. Record a macro to make creating this very quick and easy (provided your network
isn't too slow).
<p>Rod Gill</p> <p><a href="http://www.project-systems.co.nz/project-vba-book/index.html/">The one and only Project VBA Book</a> <a href="http://www.project-systems.co.nz/"></p> <p>Rod
Gill Project Management</a></p>