Migrate from Deltek Project Portfolio Management to Microsoft Project

Deltek Projects map as top-level containers in Microsoft Project. We extract the project header from the Project List Export report (project name, project manager, status, billing type, start date, finish date) and import as a Microsoft Project file or Project Online project. The Deltek project number becomes the Project Summary Task Name or a custom Text field for cross-reference. Projects without a valid start date in Deltek are held for manual date entry before migration proceeds.

Deltek WBS elements export via the Planning Data Export CSV with their numeric and text identifiers intact. We preserve the WBS numbering sequence so that rollup totals compute correctly in Microsoft Project. Summary tasks in Microsoft Project correspond to parent WBS levels; detailed WBS tasks correspond to the lowest-level deliverables. WBS rollup validation confirms that task duration and effort totals in the destination match the Deltek planning CSV to within 0.01%.

Deltek Resources (employees, consultants, equipment) export via the Planning Data Export CSV with utilization rates and cost-per-hour or cost-per-unit data. We create a corresponding resource in Microsoft Project for each unique Deltek Resource ID, preserving the resource type (Labor, Material, or Cost), standard rate, and calendar. Resource calendars in Deltek map to Microsoft Project resource calendars with any exceptions noted as custom fields.

Task-to-resource assignments are available in the planning CSV as rows linking a WBS element to a resource with hours and dates. We import assignments by resolving the task ID (from WBS hierarchy) and the resource ID (from resource pool) at migration time. Assignment hours and dates migrate directly. Deltek-specific scheduling nuances such as effort-driven versus duration-driven scheduling do not have a direct Microsoft Project equivalent and default to duration-driven, which is the Microsoft Project default.

Deltek stores baselines as distinct plan snapshots. We export the current published baseline for both schedule (task start and finish dates) and budget curves (planned labor, expenses, consultant costs). In Microsoft Project, baselines are stored as Baseline, Baseline1-Baseline10 variants. We import the current published baseline as Baseline. If the customer requires multiple historical baselines, we map additional published snapshots to Baseline1 and subsequent variants. Unpublished baselines are not available in the export.

Planning Data Export provides planned labor hours, expense amounts, and consultant costs in separate columns. We transform these into Microsoft Project resource assignments by type: labor hours become assignments on Labor resources, expenses become assignments on Material resources with unit costs, and consultant costs become Cost resources or cost entries on the appropriate assignment. The Deltek cost code taxonomy requires an explicit mapping table during scoping because there is no universal mapping from Deltek cost codes to any destination PM tool's standard cost schema. We validate that the post-migration budget rollup totals match the Deltek source totals to within 0.01%.

User-Defined Data fields defined in the Deltek Admin console export with the Project List Export as text, number, date, or picklist types. We create matching custom fields in Microsoft Project Online (Text1-Text30, Number1-Number20, Date1-Date10, or custom enterprise custom fields). Deltek picklist values require manual entry into the Microsoft Project picklist because the CSV export provides the value text but not the picklist definition structure. We provide the full picklist value list during the mapping phase so the customer admin can pre-populate before migration.

Deltek PIM exports documents in a folder structure mirroring the PIM pool. If SQL Server FileStream is enabled, we extract the binary archive, reconstruct the project-relative folder tree, and attach files to their parent Project in Microsoft Project. If FileStream is not enabled, document binaries are silently omitted and we instead extract PIM URLs in a separate file noting that file binaries require manual retrieval from the Deltek document repository. Microsoft Project Online connected to SharePoint provides the most durable document management outcome post-migration.

Deltek Risk registers export as structured data with risk score, probability, and impact. Microsoft Project does not have a native Risk object. We import risks as Tasks with a custom flag field (Risk Flag: Yes) and custom Number fields for Risk Score, Probability, and Impact. This preserves the data for visibility but does not produce a native risk dashboard; Power BI templates can be built post-migration to surface the risk data in portfolio views. Firms requiring formal EVM risk integration with Acumen or Cobra must plan for third-party rebuild.

Milestones export via the Project List Export with dates, names, and deliverables. We import them as Milestone tasks (zero-duration milestones) in Microsoft Project with the constraint type preserved as a custom field. Flagged milestones and deliverable statuses migrate as a custom Text field on the milestone task. Milestone date accuracy is validated by comparing the imported milestone date against the Deltek source record for every milestone in the portfolio.