Using MSP with CA PPM is a supported method. This doesn't eliminate the pitfalls that one can get into. In my opinion, there is no perfect solution:
- MSP is expensive and has its share of pitfalls.
- OWB is fast, avoids the pitfalls, is free - but looks/operates very differently that MSP and doesn't keep pace with rest of industry; and, can't share files with customers/suppliers that aren't on OWB - it doesn't produce an XML export that can be imported by other Gantt apps.
- CA PPM Gantt is fast, simple to use, but lacks practically everything that one wants in a Gantt tool and can't be shared with customers, suppliers. Building a complex project in this web-app is rather complicated and slow. Best for simple projects and projects created from templates, where the complex work was completed in MSP or OWB.
And, my personal beef - none of these solutions include Critical Chain (TOC) capabilities. There is an add-in for MSP from ProChain, but it is incompatible with the CA PPM/MSP Interface due to shared attribute use. Everyone is going nuts over Agile, but there are plenty of projects in the world that aren't well suited. For waterfall projects planned using the methods all taught in the early 19th century, PMI continues to report the same, failing on-time performance numbers. Haven't yet heard why most PPM vendors continue to ignore the better, proven Critical Chain methods. Putting such methods, I believe, into CA PPM would really set the app apart from it's competition. (Also, a major improvement in Financials for international companies is needed - here, CA PPM is behind.)
My biggest issue with MSP is that it has no means of turning of the calculation process when importing from non-MS apps. This isn't necessarily a problem for single projects, built and managed well. But put many projects in a hierarchy AND manage them poorly (put 100 resources on a ~rmw task for 4 years....) and the import process drags to a crawl. It's gotten faster over the years - but, unfortunately, I still have many examples of things being done poorly, today. How to get PM's with bad projects moving in CA PPM if their projects won't open in MSP? Close and start over.
A partner of CA might have a solution - not best case, but maybe good enough - an export only ability for producing an MSP XML file from an Action link on the "Open from Scheduler" menu. Purpose would be to move or PMs to OWB, let them work fast, avoid pitfalls, yet retain ability to produce a file that our customers and vendors can use.
Currently, trying to get this running in our training environment. Ping me if you don't hear back from me. If it works well, I'll have an alternative way forward. Will it be accepted? Don't know. I'm just trying to remove obstacles.
With 400 users on MSP, you're spending about USD 200,000 every time there is an upgrade to MSP. If you're big enough, you may negotiate MSP "free" as part of your Office 365 package. I don't know of anyway to use the CA PPM/MSP interface with the online version of MSP, but Office 365 will allow one to download a client version to one's local machine, just like one downloads PPT, Word and other apps from Office 365, so that one can work offline. The CA PPM/MPS interface still works with this client version of MSP from Office 365.
For those with the wherewithal to drop MSP and go with OWB, I've heard good things - maybe not perfection, but good enough. Hopefully, some of these rogue elements will comment.