Migrate from SP Project Tracker to Microsoft Project

SP Project Tracker projects map to Microsoft Project project files (MPP) or Project for the web plans depending on the destination tier selected. Project name, description, start date, end date, and status carry directly. We preserve project-level custom fields as key-value pairs, creating custom fields in the destination project during the schema pass. If the destination is Project for the web, the project becomes a Plan; if the destination is desktop MPP, we create a new project file and write the metadata to its project summary task.

SP Project Tracker task rows map to Microsoft Project task rows at the corresponding outline level. Task name, start date, finish date, duration, priority, and percent complete transfer directly. The completion percentage from SP Project Tracker sets the Physical Percent Complete on the destination task. We flag any tasks with missing due dates for manual date assignment before the final load pass.

SP Project Tracker exports subtasks as flat rows with a non-null parent_task_id column. We detect these rows in staging, sort them by parent chain, and reconstruct the WBS hierarchy by setting the Outline Level and WBS code on each destination task in the correct sequence. The parent-child relationship is established by inserting each child row beneath its parent in the ordered task list before writing. We validate the reconstructed hierarchy row count against the source subtask row count before closing the migration.

SP Project Tracker does not model explicit task dependencies. If the source data contains any implied ordering (tasks with the same parent and sequential due dates), we surface those as potential Finish-to-Start dependencies for the customer PM to confirm and assign in Microsoft Project. This is a written handoff item; we do not fabricate dependency relationships without customer sign-off.

SP Project Tracker exports owner names as display text without email or user ID. We cross-reference the Team Members export against task assignee display names and match by email where available. Names that do not resolve to an email are flagged for manual user mapping. Resolved owners are created as Resources in Microsoft Project (type: Material or Work depending on the source record), and task assignments are created as Assignment rows on each task. Unresolved owners are held in a reconciliation queue until the customer's admin provides a mapping.

Time entries in SP Project Tracker attach to a task and record hours worked. We aggregate total hours per task and write them to the destination task's Actual Work field in Microsoft Project. If SP Project Tracker records include an hourly rate or cost field, we write to the Assignment's Actual Cost. SP Project Tracker's inconsistent billable/non-billable flag is preserved in a custom field on the assignment. Tasks without time entries retain zero actual work.

SP Project Tracker stores some attachments as session-scoped internal URLs that expire after export. We request elevated access credentials to the platform's file store during the attachment phase, validate each URL resolves to a downloadable file, and either attach as a hyperlink on the destination task or upload to the customer's designated SharePoint or OneDrive location with the link inserted on the task. Attachments that return a 403 or 404 are logged separately for manual resolution.

SP Project Tracker task comments are stored as threaded notes with author name and timestamp. We import them as a chronological sequence in the Microsoft Project task's Notes field, formatted as '[Author] on [Date]: [body]'. Threaded nesting does not carry over since Microsoft Project's Notes field is flat. Comments exceeding the Notes field character limit are split across a primary note and a secondary note on the next task row.

SP Project Tracker tags are flat string labels on tasks. We map them to a Microsoft Project custom Flag field (Flag1 through Flag20) or a custom Text field, depending on whether the customer wants multi-value or single-value tag representation. Tags containing special characters are converted to a slug-safe format before insertion. The customer selects the tag strategy during scoping.

SP Project Tracker custom fields are key-value property bags at the project or task level with no type enforcement. During the schema pass, we inspect each key's value format and create the corresponding typed Microsoft Project custom field (Text, Number, Cost, Date, or Flag) in the destination project. Values that do not match the inferred type are written as Text with a warning flag in the migration report.

SP Project Tracker team members are referenced by name and email across tasks and time entries. We extract the Team Members export, resolve each by email match against the destination resource list, and create Microsoft Project Resource records for any that do not yet exist. Resource type (Work vs Material) is inferred from the source user's activity pattern: users with time entries map to Work resources; users with no time entries map as Material resources by default, confirmed by the customer during scoping.