Hi Craig

Yes I think you should bother.

MSP is a lightweight piece of kit and there are much better software packages out there.

PowerProject is one of the better ones and I would suggest you download a trial version and play with it for a while before you make any pitch to your employers.

You can import from MPX which works OK from MSP but not too good back again.

Powerproject will send out a sales team to clinch any changeover.

Best regards

Mike Testro

Hi Craig

Please find points below :

1100% DESIGNED FOR CONSTRUCTION
 First released in 1988, Asta Powerproject was the brainchild of Richard
Ormerod, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building and holder of a first
class BSc (Hons) degree in Class Construction Technology.
Development of the software has been driven since then by feedback from
construction professionals via regular user group meetings.
 Help desk support is tailored to the needs of construction customers, with
a dedicated team providing Asta Powerproject support.
 Customise the borders around your plan with
flexible header and footer page surrounds,
including your own logos and references.
 Show only those parts of the plan that are
relevant by turning different aspects of the bar
chart on and off, e.g. float, critical path,
holidays, links, etc.
 Highlight important information by adding
annotations such as text, pictures, colour
shading and Windows® objects (Excel®
spreadsheets, AutoCAD drawings, etc.).
 Gain total control over printouts: you define
where you want the page to break; what you
see on screen is what ‘is printed’; and there is
no ‘white space’ on printouts.
2 EASIER TO USE
 Construction-specific project templates are provided with
pre-set reporting codes, calendars, resources, standard
reports etc. so you can get up and running quickly.
 Draw in tasks quickly and easily using the mouse.
 Perform unlimited ‘undos’, even after a ‘save’ or
‘reschedule’.
Three founders of Asta (l-r)
Richard Pleace, Michael McCullen, Richard Ormerod
Save Asta Powerproject
files in Microsoft
Project format
Communicate plans clearly
4 FREE PROJECT VIEWER – SHARE PLANS WITH ANYONE
 You don’t have to pay anything to look at Asta Powerproject files. The free Asta
Project Viewer enables anyone to open and print Asta Powerproject plans at no cost.
 Use Asta Project Viewer to read Microsoft Project files (MPX and XML formats) and
Primavera files (XER and P3 Batch formats) for free too!
5 IMPORT/EXPORT INTO MICROSOFT® PROJECT
 Excellent data interchange with Microsoft Project – you can use Asta
Powerproject even if your project partners are using Microsoft Project:
- Export your project data from Asta Powerproject in
Microsoft Project format.
- Import Microsoft Project files into Asta Powerproject.
 Microsoft Project file formats supported are XML (compatible with
Microsoft Project 2000 and up) and MPX (compatible with Microsoft
Project 1998).
TOP QUALITY PRESENTATION OF PROJECT PLANS
“Asta Powerproject is
very powerful but also
very easy to use.” Phil Solomon,
Planning Operations Director, Mace
7
8
www.astadev.com/msp
 Highlight the work of different trade contractors with
colour codes. The colour codes are shown as a
legend on the output and allow specific task lists for
each subcontractor to be created quickly.
 Trade contractors do not need Asta Powerproject to
read their task lists – you can email them the Asta
Powerproject file which they can open using the free
Asta Project Viewer.
 Ask trade contractors to update the plan in either
Asta Powerproject or Asta Easyplan, the entry-level
sister product. You can then automatically update
their changes in your main Asta Powerproject plan
without any data re-entry.
BETTER PROTECTION AGAINST DELAY EVENTS
 Progress in each Progress Period is displayed in a separate colour.
You decide the lengths of the Progress Periods: weeks, months etc.
 Information on how much progress was recorded in a specific
Progress Period is kept, even when the task is completed.
 Create an unlimited number of baselines as a ‘snapshot’ of the
project, so you can compare the evolving plan against an
original version.
 The baselines are a copy of the whole project and not just key
data, so changes to calendar working time can be demonstrated
and not lost.
Progress in each Progress Period is
displayed in a separate colour
The Asta training centre
Order free comparison demo
CD at: www.astadev.com/msp
EASIER TO MANAGE TRADE CONTRACTORS
9 CONSTRUCTION-SPECIFIC TRAINING COURSES
 Training courses are designed specifically for the construction industry, with practical
examples for main contractors, trade contractors, housebuilders, technical
consultants etc.
 A wide range of courses are available to suit all users, from beginners to advanced
users, including specific courses for housebuilders.
 Choose to attend either open courses or bespoke courses. Open courses are
delivered at the Asta training centre in Thame, Oxfordshire, and at regional training
centres around the country. Bespoke courses are delivered at your own premises.
6IMPORT/EXPORT INTO PRIMAVERA®
 Excellent data interchange with Primavera:
- Export your project data from Asta Powerproject in Primavera format.
- Import Primavera files into Asta Powerproject.
 Use Asta Powerproject even when the master program is held in
Primavera – simply save the project in Primavera format before sharing.
 Primavera file formats supported are XER (compatible with P3e versions
3.1, 4.1, P5 and P6) and P3 Batch (compatible with P3).
Save Asta
Powerproject files in
Primavera format
Produce schedules for individual contractors quickly and easily
The Critical Path is
outlined in red 11
12
13
COST-EFFECTIVE LICENSING
 If you have multiple users, you can purchase a concurrent licence. This means that users can access the same licence across the network at
different times. A 10-user concurrent licence could be used by 30 people, so you only need to buy 10 licences not 30. This makes Asta
Powerproject very cost effective.
 You can connect standalone Asta Powerproject licences to Enterprise clients. Microsoft SQL Server® is optional, but not required.
 The free Asta Project Viewer enables you to share plans at no cost.
©2008 Asta Development plc
Asta Powerproject is a registered trademark of Asta Development plc.
Microsoft, Excel and SQL Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries. Primavera® is a registered trademark of Primavera Systems Inc.
All trademarks recognised. E & OE.
Find out more and order free comparison
demo CD at www.astadev.com/msp
* Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) awards, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003…
PLAN AND MANAGE REPEATED TASKS
 Display multiple tasks per line. This saves time and avoids the
need to laboriously create tasks on dozens of different rows
when planning repeated tasks. Information is presented in a
very compact form – use a single sheet rather than multiple
pages.
 For house building each row can represent a house (or flat) and
the tasks represent the stages of construction. This approach is
also highly-effective for the finishing stages of fit-out work or
multi-storey construction.
 The procurement stages for each work package in a plan can
be detailed as events on one row and linked in to the first
construction event. This technique unifies the procurement and
construction phases and provides realistic information about
required dates for the design team.
USED BY 43 OF THE TOP 50 UK MAIN CONTRACTORS AND MANY SMALLER COMPANIES
 Used by 43 of the top 50 UK main contractors and by 13 of the top 15 UK housebuilders.
 Over 40,000 construction users worldwide.
 Rated no. 1 project management software in the UK building industry in a survey by Planning Engineers Organisation.
 Used to deliver 70% of successful UK construction projects, both large and small*. Some of the better-known projects include the
Emirates Stadium, the Eden Project, the Welsh Assembly, the restoration of the HBOS headquarters in Edinburgh (CIOB Project of the Year
2007) the restoration of the Oxford Castle complex (RICS Project of the Year 2007) and Cadogan Hall, the new home for the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra in London.
The build stages for a house
can be shown on one line
10SCHEDULE MORE PRECISELY
 Create and edit links both by typing in the spreadsheet and by
drawing in the bar chart.
 Create links by drawing without having to specify the link type.
This makes it much faster to link tasks.
 Links are clearly displayed between tasks, allowing you to
evaluate the importance of each link by sight.
 Create any type and number of links between two tasks. It is
often important to set a link not just at the start of a task, but
also at the end. So if a task is extended, or partially
progressed, any knock-on impact is shown.
 Produce an accurate Critical Path Analysis every time – with
just one click.
 Navigate the logic and edit existing links quickly and easily.


Hope this helps,

Matt

Hi Craig

All the best with Asta Powerproject,

Regards

Matthew Edwards