Project Operations Winter Wrap-Up: 5 Improvements you may have missed

Sebastian Sieber
46 minutes ago
3 min read

aaargh - streeetch - just trying to clear myself from the dust of the past months. Moving places, adopting a puppy, and new challenges at work kept me busy.

But Microsoft was busy, too. They released significant updates for Dynamics 365 Project Operations Core (new name! no longer called "Lite") between September and now. These changes focus on usability in time entry, project management, billing and more.

And I thought, "Hey! Let's go for a little spin through the features that matter most to your daily work."

1. Time Entry: Duration Support (HH:MM)

Release: January 2026 - 4.162.0.228

A newly added duration field "Duration (HH:MM)" allows now end users to enter the duration for time entries directly as HH:MM.

For example, 01:30, representing 1,5 hours.

A high-value update for end users. Previously, entering time required decimal inputs in some contexts or specific formats. It reduces data entry errors. Users know their hours in minutes, not decimals. The system automatically syncs this with the decimal "Duration" field.

Time entry form showing date 2/16/2026, 1.5 hours duration. Highlighted "Duration (HH:MM)" field reads 01:30. Type: Work. Project listed.

2. Project Management: Grid Usability

Released: January 2026

Some round up of new Task Grid features - next to some performance improvements we can see rolling out since January.

Bulk Expand / Collapse: The Task Grid allows to bulk expand and collapse all sub tasks at once, for improved maintainability
Edit Effort Remaining: The column Remaining Effort is no longer read only - it can now be edited to reflect better insights
Outline Numbers: For a better visibility the Task numbers are shown in the Resource Assignments grid
Baseline support: Project Operations now supports the creation and comparison of a Baseline. With the integrated filter option, it highlights late tasks and improves visibility

Project management dashboard shows tasks' status with color-coded indicators. A sidebar notes the plan is 146 days behind schedule.

Custom Task pane: After the ability to add custom columns to the plan, users can now have access to the full Dynamics Form instead of the limited in grid planner form

Project management dashboard showing tasks for a BlueOps Implementation. Task details include priority, bucket, and dates.

3. Billing Hub Updates

Released: November 2025

The Billing Hub is becoming the central workspace for invoicing. Phase 3 fixes visibility gaps.

Not Ready to Invoice: You can now view transactions marked "Not Ready to Invoice" directly in the hub.
Streamlined Creation: Invoice creation requires fewer clicks.
Instant Calculations: The system calculates amounts immediately. You do not need to wait for a refresh to see totals.

Invoice interface showing Dynamics 365 Sales, total amount $2,082.94, pending $7,730.56. Draft status, various financial details listed.

4. Improved Approval UI

Released: In preview

A new calendar-based view for Project Approvals improves visibility and overview for Project Managers for approving submitted Time Entries

Dynamics 365 dashboard showing a time approval calendar for projects. Includes project names, tasks, NTE status, resources, and billing type.

5. Task Import and Copy Enhancements

Released: October & November 2025

Microsoft improved how you build new projects from existing data.

Import Tasks: You can import tasks from other projects into a target project. Even if the target project already has a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The Project Manager can choose from all available Projects and import full structures, only some couple of tasks or multiple structures from multiple Projects.
Copy Project: The "Copy Project" experience is now configurable. You select which components (Calendar, Currency, Contracting Unit) to copy. You can also copy a project to a new destination that has no WBS.

Project task import interface with task list for BlueOps Implementation Phase 1. Tasks include meetings, approvals, and customer-facing activities.

Additional: Field Service now integrates with Project Operations

In Phase 1 of a deeper integration between Field Service and Project Operations, Field Service Users receive additional permissions to access and leverage Project Operations related functionality. With naturally overlapping features, this imitative enables a better end-to-end visibility into cost, revenue, and profitability for service work - from planning to execution and billing:

A table lists various actions and user rights for team members and contractors. Rows with projects are highlighted in red.

Conclusion

So if we zoom out for a moment, these are some solid extensions. Small improvements here and there. Making lives just a bit easier for the Project Team Member and Project Manager - but that's kinda the point, isn't it?

Of course, there is Copilot, AI, Copilot and AI, Agents and Copilot Cowork, but Microsoft isn't chasing novelty for Project Operations - they're step by step fixing and extending where projects tend to bleed. Time, money, and trust.

So if Project Operations Core - it's Core now, not "Lite" anymore - has been sitting on your roadmap as a "we'll get to it eventually" item, these updates are worth a serious look.

The product is clearly moving forward in the right direction, and it gets more exciting with each update.