The release of Project Server 2010 is interesting from an architectural perspective. When Project Server 2002 was first released, it was a completely new environment. The quality however was a challenge. It is perhaps not a surprise given how much of the underpinnings had to be created from scratch.
A year and a half later Project Server 2003 was released and users were delighted with the quality of the release. The angst of the 2002 release was soon forgotten. Project Server 2003 was not an architectural release. It was written on top of the basic structure of the 2002 product but took the interface and functionality forward.
Project Server 2007 was an architectural release. The basic connection to the database switched to the new PSI from the PDS that had been in Project Server 2002/2003. The Desktop connected through the PSI rather than directly through the database, the Project Queue was created, as was the Project Cache. The architecture was an incredible hurdle and even though it was under the surface, it represented the majority of work on the new product.
As an architectural release, users complained about the stability of Project Server 2007 when it was first released. With the release of Service Pack 1, this got a lot better and Service Pack 2 has made things even better. But with the sting of that experience not that old, many are wondering if they can expect something similar from Project 2010.
Project 2010 is not a change in architecture and therefore it is entirely likely that the stability of the product upon release will be much better than 2007’s. Even now, several months before release, we know that there are a number of beta clients who have been able to use the new product in a production mode prior to release. This was not possible with 2007. By the time of release, testing in the field with clients had been very limited.
So the experience of the stability of Project and Project Server is likely to be much more like the experience of 2003 than 2007.
