Migrating From Project to Planner, a Guide for the Panicked Admin

This post is part of my comprehensive series on decommissioning legacy Project systems. Navigating the end-of-life for PWA requires a multi-faceted approach:

For our Project Server readers, July is fast approaching; September is not that much further along for those of us on Project Online. Last month, I went into a little bit of detail about the sunsetting of these apps and what the alternatives might be. We are going to go a bit more into detail about that and the pros and cons of each option later, but today, I want to focus on getting off of the Project platform and onto Microsoft's recommended replacement, Planner. 
Please note that this migration process has some limitations. As of now, Planner is missing several key features, and unfortunately, there are no plans to add them anytime soon. I'll be discussing these missing features in more detail in a future post, which I'll link to here once it's published. However, if you're willing to accept the risks associated with reduced functionality and just want to transition away from the current platform, then this post is intended for you.

The Migration Logic

So you've decided to switch from PWA to the modern Planner, which used to be called Project for the Web. To do this, you'll need to take two steps. The thing is, these two platforms don't work on the same backend, so you'll have to use Microsoft Project Desktop as a kind of middleman to help move your data over and clean it up. This will make the transition a lot smoother.


As of this writing, this migration is currently a manual process. It requires you to export, clean, and import each Project site into PWA. While this is a but painful, there are a few tools we can leverage along the way. 




Step 0: Verify the "Gatekeeper" App

You can't move forward without using the Planner/Project Power App. This app serves as a Project style user interface for Planner and provides portfolio level visibility into your projects. It also includes a method to import whole projects into Planner.

  • Head to make.powerapps.com > Apps > Shared with me.

  • Look for the "Planner" or "Project" app.
  • Once inside, verify you see the Import > Import from MPP option.
  • Troubleshooting: If the app is missing, the app hasn't been shared with your user account or hasn't been installed in your environment yet.


Step 1: Export from Project Web App (PWA)

1.0 Prerequisites

    • You must have permissions to the source project or none of this works.
    • Project Desktop
    • Project Plan 3 or 5 License: This is a requirement for Planner Premium. Make sure you have the right license to perform the import.

1.1 Open and Save Project

    1. Navigate to your PWA site [https://<your tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa].
    2. In the Project Center, click the Project Name to open it.
    3. In the ribbon, select Open > Open in Microsoft Project. 
      • Note: If you get a "connected to a different account" error, close Project Desktop completely and retry.
    1. Once the project fully loads in the Desktop app, go to File > Save As > This PC.
    2. Save the file as a standard .mpp file.
    3. Close Project Desktop Client. You will reopen it to modify your exported .mpp file.
I recommend using two folders, one for exported .mpp files, and another for .mpp files ready for import.

Step 2: Required Cleanup

Because Modern Planner is built on a different schema; you must remove unsupported fields and ensure that Planner required fields are not blank.

2.1 Remove Unsupported Fields

Reopen the Project Desktop Client, open your saved .mpp file and remove the following:

    • Enterprise Custom Fields: These will not map during import.
    • Workflow-dependent fields: These are tied to legacy SharePoint logic.
    • Timesheet-only tasks: These may cause sync conflicts. It is best practice to remove.

2.2 Confirm Required Fields have data.

    • Ensure every task has a valid Start and Finish date.
    • It is highly recommended to set tasks to Fixed Duration via the ribbon.
    • Save the file to the folder you setup for Planner import and close Project Desktop. The import will fail if the file is currently locked by the desktop app.
    • Close Project Desktop Client

Step 3: Import into Planner Premium

  1. Go back to make.powerapps.com.
  2. Ensure your environment picker (top-right) is set to the correct environment (usually Default). Selecting the wrong environment is the top cause of failure in this step.
  3. Open the Planner or Project app you cleaned up in Step 2.
  4. Select Import > Import from MPP, choose your cleaned file, and let it run.


Step 4: Post-Migration Validation

Once imported, verify your data. Ensure that all of your data is present in the destination. Remember, some things aren't going to come over:

What Migrates

What Stays Behind

 

Task Names & Dates

Risks & Issues

Dependencies (Predecessors)

Financial Data & Timesheets

Assignments (mapped to Resources)

Baselines & Enterprise Custom Fields

 

This post is part of my comprehensive series on decommissioning legacy Project systems. Navigating the end-of-life for PWA requires a multi-faceted approach:

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