Table of Contents

Migration Overview

Background

On 5 September 2025, Microsoft announced it had brought forward the retirement of Project Online from 2030 to 30 September 2026. From that date, Project Online will be shut down and no longer accessible. All Project Web App (PWA) access, data, and integrations will stop working.

What is being retired?

Project Online will be fully decommissioned. This includes the SharePoint Online project subsites where users store list-based information such as Risks, Issues, Actions, and Project Documentation.

What will remain available?

The following applications will remain available to new and existing customers:

  • Project Desktop (Stand-alone and M365 versions).
  • Project Server Subscription Edition.

Why is Microsoft retiring Project Online?

Microsoft has stated that the Project Online legacy architecture (built on older SharePoint services) limits the ability to deliver modern cloud, AI, and integration features. Investment is now focused on newer platforms built on the Microsoft Power Platform, Dataverse, and AI-enabled capabilities such as Planner Premium / Project Manager Agent.

The call to action

It is imperative that Partners and customers work quickly and diligently to migrate their data out of Project Online to avoid loss of valuable corporate data.

Altus Migration Solution

Altus has created scripts and a documented approach that enable customers to retain their Project Online data when migrating to Altus PPM.

Data that will be migrated

Source Data Details
Project Online Projects Including custom field data and lookup tables
Project Online Resources Including custom field data and lookup tables
Project Online Schedules Including custom field data, resource rates, and baselines
SharePoint Online List items Including risks, issues, and custom lists
SharePoint Online Documents Exported for upload to Teams or SharePoint

Data that won't be migrated

  • Workflow History – Captures the history of project approvals as projects progress through stage gates. Given the relatively low frequency of these transactions and small data volumes, this is best addressed as a post-migration activity by aligning projects to the appropriate stage in the Altus Business Process Flow.
  • Timesheets – Avoided to prevent significant Dataverse storage cost. Existing actuals are preserved in the .MPP using an assignment-level date field, Protected Actuals Before. This is the date when approved Altus timesheet actuals are first imported to the .MPP file. Setting it at assignment level (rather than task level) caters for actuals being processed by different resources at different dates.
  • Portfolio Analyses – The Portfolio Analyser data structure differs significantly from the Altus Strategic Prioritisation module. The effort to re-create this data in Altus is small.

Migration Approach

The end-to-end migration has three key stages:

  1. Prerequisites – software, accounts, licenses, solution layers, custom fields, and forms must be in place. See Prerequisites.
  2. Project Online data migration – export Project Online data and import to Altus.
  3. SharePoint Online data migration – export SharePoint Online list items and documents and import to Altus.

See Migration Process for the full procedure.

Migration Outcomes

After the migration, the following will be in Altus:

  • Enterprise resources created as Bookable Resources.
  • Projects created in the Initiatives section.
  • Schedules migrated to the Tasks section within each Altus project.
  • List data migrated to the relevant Altus register (Risks, Issues, custom registers).
  • Documents exported and ready for upload to Teams or a SharePoint document library.

OOTB Data Mapping

The OOTB data that is migrated is summarised below. Each table can be extended by modifying the migration scripts (see Migration Reference).

Tables

.MPP Table Altus Table
Task Entry (Task Level 0) sensei_project
Resource Entry sensei_bookableresource
Task Entry sensei_task

Projects

.MPP Field Altus Field Details Example
Task Name sensei_name Where TaskID = 0 Adelaide Fitness Project
N/A sensei_projecttype Default value set Major Project
N/A sensei_externalprojectid Set the GUID = Project Online GUID ProjectDesktop_d14bae12-39b3-e911-b07b-00155d9c3f18

Resources

.MPP Field Altus Field Details Example
Name sensei_name First name, surname Lucius Fox
User Logon Account sensei_user First name, surname Lucius Fox
Max. Units sensei_targetutilization Default value set 100
Type sensei_resourcetype Default value set Named
Role sensei_primaryrole Default value set Unclassified
Calendar GUID sensei_enterprisecalendar Default value set Default Calendar

Tasks

.MPP Field Altus Field Example
Task Name Name Identify Goals and Objectives
Resource Names Assigned To Project Manager
Start Start 2-12-19
Finish Finish 6-12-19
% Complete Percent Complete 25%
Work Effort (Hours) 40
Remaining Work Effort Remaining (Hours) 30
Actual Work Effort Completed (Hours) 10
Duration Duration (Days) 5 days
Type Task Type Fixed Units
Task Mode Manually Schedule Yes
Notes Notes Goals were discussed
Deadline Due Date 6-12-19
Summary Summary No
Milestone Milestone No
Locked Locked No

SharePoint List data

SharePoint List Altus Table
Risks sensei_risk
Issues sensei_issue

OOTB field mappings for Risks and Issues are listed in Migration Reference. Custom lists can be migrated by extending the scripts.

Constraints

Constraint Details
Bookable Resources The resource creation process only creates new bookable resources where there is a matching System User in Dataverse. If no system user exists, the bookable resource is not created and any task assignments to that resource will appear unassigned in Altus. Ensure system user records exist in the Power Platform environment where Altus is deployed.
Non-text Lookup tables The Microsoft export scripts do not output data for non-text lookup tables, so these cannot be imported by the Altus scripts. They must be migrated manually.
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