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Microsoft project 2010 manual pdf free.Manual Microsoft Project 2010 |
Microsoft project 2010 manual pdf free.Microsoft Project 2010 manual
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CourseSmart CourseSmart goes beyond traditional expectations—providing instant, online access to the textbooks and course materials you need at a lower cost option. You can save time and hassle with a digital eTextbook that allows you to search for the most relevant content at the very moment you need it. To learn more, go to: www. See your instructor for details. By using the practice files, you will not waste time creating the samples used in the lessons, and you can concentrate on learning how to use Microsoft Office With the files and the step-by-step instructions in the lessons, you will learn by doing, which is an easy and effective way to acquire and remember new skills.
Copying the Practice Files Your instructor might already have copied the practice files before you arrive in class. However, your instructor might ask you to copy the practice files on your own at the start of class. Also, if you want to work through any of the exercises in this book on your own at home or at your place of business after class, you may want to copy the practice files.
In Internet Explorer, go to the student companion site: www. Search for your book title in the upper-right corner. Select Student Companion Site from the pop-up box. Now select Student Data Files from the center of the screen.
Remember the drive name that you saved your files to. Traylor, St. Susan Evans Jennings, Stephen F. He has more than 30 years of experience in the field of project management, working on projects on almost every continent. It was here that his love for both teaching and project management was discovered and developed. He began instructing in and has taught more than five thousand people, in classroom environments, and publicly spoken to groups as large as a thousand. Creating a Project Schedule Open a new project schedule.
Specify a start date. Save the project schedule. Defining Project Calendars Define the project calendar. Entering Tasks and Task Details Enter tasks. Enter task durations. Create a milestone. Organizing Tasks into Phases Create summary tasks. Linking Tasks Link two tasks. Link several tasks at once. Link milestone tasks. Documenting Tasks Enter a task note.
Southridge Video is a video production and editing agency that works primarily with clients in the music industry to produce promotional videos for tours and full-length music videos for television play. Microsoft Project is the perfect tool for managing a project such as this.
In this lesson, you will learn how to create a new project schedule in Microsoft Project ; enter tasks, durations, and milestones into that schedule; and organize the tasks in the schedule. As in other Office applications, commands in Project are no longer driven by menu commands on the menu bar. Instead, project commands are collected in tabs, such as the File, Task, Resource, Project, and View tabs.
Selecting any of these tabs activates the Ribbon. Within the Ribbon for each tab, individual commands are organized into groups, and each command has its own button, which you activate by clicking with the mouse. This new user interface makes it easy to find the commands you need more quickly. The features and options on this screen are those typically seen when starting Microsoft Project.
Use this figure as a reference for this lesson and throughout the rest of this book. A project schedule is a model of a real project—including what you want to happen or what you think will happen throughout the project. The schedule contains all the tasks, resources, time frames, and costs that might be associated with the project. You can modify this schedule or any other project template to fit your specific needs. Later in this lesson, you will learn how to create a project schedule from a blank template.
But first, you must know how to launch Microsoft Project and how to open a template. Starting Microsoft Project In this exercise, you learn how to start Microsoft Project and open a template. Notice that when you launch Project, the Gantt Chart View appears. Before you begin these steps, be sure to turn on or log on to your computer. On the Windows taskbar, click the Start button. The Start menu appears. Microsoft Project opens. Click the File tab to open Backstage view, then click New.
This launches the New Project screen, as shown in Figure This screen allows you to create a new file from various templates, including a blank project template; create a new file from an existing Project file, Excel workbook, or SharePoint list; or create a file from a template available at www.
In the Office. The Customer Feedback Monitoring template is displayed, and a preview appears on the right side of the screen, as in Figure Click the Download button. The template is downloaded to your system, a new project based on the Customer Feedback Monitoring template opens in the Gantt chart view, and the New Project screen closes. Close the Customer Feedback Monitoring project schedule by clicking the small white X in the upper-right corner of your screen.
Click No when prompted to save the file. In the preceding exercise, you opened a project schedule from a template in Microsoft Project. Recall that a project schedule is a model of a real project, including the associated tasks, resources, time frames, and costs. Opening a New Project Schedule Instead of using a project schedule template, you may opt to create a new, blank project schedule that you can fine-tune to your specific needs.
In this exercise, you learn how to open this type of file. Microsoft Project should be open. On the Ribbon, click the File tab, then click New. The New Project screen appears. On the right side of the screen, under Blank Project, click the Create button. A new blank project schedule appears, and you are briefly notified that new tasks will be created in the new Manually Scheduled Mode which is discussed in greater detail in the Appendix.
Your screen will look like Figure Figure Manual scheduling notification 3. In the Status Bar at the bottom of the screen, click New Tasks: Manually Scheduled, then click the Auto Scheduled option from the pop-up menu that appears. Now you will begin to add details to the project schedule, such as a start date, tasks, and calendars. This book presents a process for ensuring that such information is entered into the software in the proper order.
Entering information out of sequence could result in inaccurate information or re-entry of data. In this exercise, you enter a start date for the new project you created in the previous activity. On the Ribbon, click the Project tab. Then, in the Properties group, click the Project Information button.
The Project Information dialog box appears. Click the arrow in the Start Date text box. A small monthly calendar appears. For this exercise, you will change the project start date to January 10, In the calendar, click January Click OK at the bottom of the pane.
In this exercise, you specified a start date for your project. You can schedule a project from either its start date or its end date, but not both. Most projects should be scheduled from their start date. Scheduling from a start date causes all tasks to begin as soon as possible, and it gives you the greatest scheduling flexibility.
However, scheduling from a finish date can be helpful in determining when a project must start if the finish date is fixed.
Project Basics 7 Saving the Newly Created Project Schedule Once you have created a new project schedule and specified the start date, you need to save the file. On the Ribbon, click the File tab, then click the Save button.
Because you have not previously saved the project schedule, the Save As dialog box appears. By default, the My Documents folder is displayed. Locate and select the solutions folder for this lesson as directed by your instructor. Click Save. In this exercise, you named and saved your project file. It is important to get into the habit of saving your files frequently so that minimal information is lost should you experience a software or hardware malfunction.
Under the File tab, click Options in the navigation bar, then select Save. In the Save Options dialog box, under Save Projects, select the Auto Save Every check box and then specify the time interval at which you want Microsoft Project to automatically save your file.
You can set a project calendar to reflect the working days and hours of your project, as well as nonworking times such as evenings, weekends, and holidays. Defining Project Calendars In this exercise, you define the calendar for your project and set up exception time here, a holiday. In the Properties group, select the Change Working Time button.
The Change Working Time dialog box is displayed. Click the For Calendar drop-down arrow; in the menu that appears, select Standard, if it is not already selected. Using the scroll control at the right of the calendar, navigate until the calendar displays January Click the date box for January Click the first Start field.
Also note that the finish date is automatically entered. Scroll control to select specific month and year. Details button 6.
Click the Details button. Under Recurrence Pattern, click Yearly. Click the The button, and use the arrows next to each selection box to select Third, Monday, and January. In this exercise, you both defined the calendar for this project and set up exception time a holiday.
A calendar is a scheduling tool that determines the standard working time and nonworking time such as evenings or holidays for a project and its associated resources and tasks. Calendars are used to determine how tasks and the resources assigned to these tasks are scheduled.
It can serve as a project calendar or a task calendar. It defines the normal working and nonworking times. A task calendar defines working and nonworking times for a task, regardless of the settings in the project calendar.
Base calendars can be created and assigned to a project, a resource, or a task. Project, resource, and task calendars are all used in scheduling tasks. For instance, if resources are assigned to a task, the task is scheduled based upon the resource calendar. In Project, the tasks you define contain details about each activity or event that must occur in order for your project to be completed. These details include the order and duration of tasks, critical tasks, and resource requirements.
Tasks are the basic building blocks of any project schedule. In this exercise, you will enter a single task in each row of the Entry table. Click the first blank cell directly below the Task Name column heading. Key Review screenplay and press Enter. Enter the following task names below the Review screenplay task name. Press Enter after each task name: Develop scene and blocking schedule Develop production layouts Identify and reserve locations Book musicians Book dancers Reserve audio recording equipment Reserve video recording equipment 4.
As you enter new tasks, they are assigned a default duration of one day, and they are not linked. You can remove this by entering an actual duration, or you can remove it in the Task Options dialog box, as discussed later in the lesson. You just added eight tasks to your project schedule.
The Task ID is a unique number that is assigned to each task in a project. However, you can redefine the duration of days, weeks, and months for your project. To do so, click the File tab, click the Schedule option, and then look under Calendar options for this project see Figure Because different tasks usually take different amounts of time to complete, each task is assigned a separate duration.
Do not confuse duration with elapsed time or work effort. In contrast, another task could have four work resources assigned to it and equate to 24 hours of effort in a single eight-hour work day. Click the first cell in the Duration column, next to task 1, Review screenplay. The Duration field for task 1 is selected. Key 3w and press Enter. The value 3 wks appears in the Duration field. Recall that when you set up your project calendar in the previous exercise, the working times for your project were Monday through Friday from a.
For example, if you estimate that a task will take 24 hours of working time, you would enter its duration as 3d to schedule the task over three eight-hour workdays. If this task were to start at a.
Remember, no work is scheduled on evenings or weekends because these have been defined as nonworking times. You can also schedule tasks to occur over both working and nonworking time by assigning an elapsed duration to a task. Elapsed duration is the total length of working and nonworking time you expect it will take to complete a task.
Suppose you own an automobile body shop. If the undercoat takes 24 hours to cure, you would enter the duration for this task as 1ed or 1 elapsed day. If you scheduled this task to start at 11 a. Table shows the abbreviations and meanings for both actual and elapsed times in Microsoft Project. If you have a multiyear project, it is probably not practical or even possible to track tasks that are measured in minutes or hours.
You should measure task durations at the lowest level of detail or control necessary, but no lower. Although you are supplied with task durations for the exercises in this book, you will have to estimate these durations in most real-world projects. Risk is an event or condition that, if it occurs, will have an impact on your project, either positive or negative. Risk decreases the likelihood of completing a project on time, within budget, and to specification. Making good estimates is therefore worth the time and effort it requires.
Creating a Milestone A milestone represents a major event or a significant point in a project. In Microsoft Project, milestones are represented as a task with zero duration. In the Task Name column, click the empty cell below the name of task 8, Reserve video recording equipment.
Key Pre-production complete and press Tab to move to the Duration field. Key 0 for the duration. In the Task Name column, click the name of task 1, Review screenplay. Click the Task tab; then, in the Insert group, click Task. Microsoft Project inserts and numbers a new task 1.
Notice that the other tasks after the new task insertion point are renumbered. To insert multiple new tasks, select a number of existing tasks equal to the number of new tasks you want to add, then press Insert. For instance, if you want to add three new tasks, select three existing tasks; then, when you press Insert, three blank tasks will appear above the existing tasks you selected.
Key Pre-production begins and press the right arrow key to move to the Duration field. Key 0 for the duration and press Enter. It includes three phases named Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production, all of which are summary tasks. Create Summary Tasks After you enter tasks in a project, it can be helpful to organize your project by grouping related tasks into phases, or groups of closely related tasks that encompass a major section of your project.
In Microsoft Project, these phases are represented by summary tasks. A summary task consists of and summarizes all the tasks within its hierarchical structure, which could also include other summary tasks, detail tasks, or subtasks that fall below it. Click the name of task 1, Pre-production begins. Press the Insert key. A new row is inserted, and the subsequent tasks are shifted down and renumbered. In the Task Name field for the new task, key Pre-production and press Enter.
Project Basics 15 4. Key the following task names below task 11, Pre-production complete. Press Enter after each task name: Production Post-production 5. Click the name of task 13, Post-production, and press Insert twice. Two blank tasks are inserted above the Post-production task. Key the following task names and durations below task 12, Production: Task Name Production begins Production complete Duration 0d 0d 7.
Key the following task names and durations below task 15, Post-production: Task Name Post-production begins Post-production complete Duration 0d 0d 8. Click and hold the name for task 2, Pre-production begins. While holding down the mouse button, drag your cursor to task 11, Pre-production complete, to highlight and select tasks 2 through ANOTHER WAY To quickly select a range of tasks to be indented under a summary task, click the name of the first task to be indented, hold down the Shift key, then click the name of the last task to be indented.
All the tasks between the two you clicked will be selected. On the Ribbon, click the Task tab; then, in the Schedule group, click the Indent button. Tasks 2 through 11 are indented, and task 1 becomes a summary task. Click the name of task 13, Production begins. While holding down the mouse button, drag your cursor to the name of task 14, Production complete.
Tasks 13 and 14 are highlighted and selected. Tasks 13 and 14 are indented, and task 12 becomes a summary task. Click the name of task 16, Post-production begins. While holding down the mouse button, drag your cursor to the name of task 17, Post-production complete. Tasks 16 and 17 are highlighted and selected. Tasks 16 and 17 are indented, and task 15 becomes a summary task. The appearance of the Production and Post-production summary tasks will change when you add additional tasks in later lessons.
You have just organized your tasks into phases. Working with phases and tasks in Microsoft Project is similar to working with an outline in Microsoft Word. This approach works from general to specific. This approach works from specific to general.
In Auto Scheduled mode, the links create a sequential dependency in which one task depends on the start or completion of another task in order to begin or end.
Linking Two Tasks When you created your project, all of the tasks in the project schedule were scheduled to start on the same date—the project start date. As you fill out your project schedule, you must link or create a relationship between various tasks to correctly reflect the order in which work must be completed. In this exercise, you will link two tasks to reflect the actual order in which they will occur.
Select the names of tasks 2 and 3. On the Ribbon, click the Task tab. Next, click the Link Tasks button in the Schedule group. Tasks 2 and 3 are now linked with a finish-to-start relationship. Select the names of tasks 3 and 4. Microsoft Project changes the start date of task 4 to the next working day following the completion of task 3. If necessary, scroll the Gantt chart to January 24 so that the link you just created is visible. When you started the exercise in this section, all of the tasks in the project schedule were scheduled to start on the same date—the project start date.
Then, in the exercise, you linked two tasks to reflect the actual order in which they will occur. A link is a logical connection between two or more tasks that controls their sequence and defines their relationship. The two tasks that you linked in this exercise have a finish-to-start relationship.
The first task is called the predecessor, a task whose start or end date determines the start or finish of another task or tasks. Any task can be a predecessor for one or more tasks. The second task is called the successor, a task whose start or finish is driven by another task or tasks. Again, any task can be a successor to one or more predecessor tasks.
The second task occurs after the first task. This is called a sequence, or the chronological order in which tasks must occur. Tasks can have only one of four types of task relationships, as shown in Table A music track must be recorded before it can be edited. Start-to-start SS The start date of the predecessor task determines the start date of the successor task. Booking musicians and Booking dancers are related tasks and can occur simultaneously. Finish-to-finish FF The finish date of the predecessor task determines the finish date of the successor task.
Tasks that require the use of specific equipment must end when the equipment rental ends. Start-to-finish SF The start date of the predecessor task determines the finish date of the successor task. The time when the production sound studio becomes available determines when rehearsals must end. This relationship type is rarely used. A dependency is a need or a condition that exists between two elements. Knowing dependencies is an important factor in defining the task relationships.
Here, the first task must be done before the second task e. Dependencies of this type usually have relationships of FS, but they can also be SS with a lag applied. Lags are described in a later lesson. It is preferred that the first task be finished first, but it is not absolutely necessary.
Dependencies of this type can have any type of task relationship. Linking Several Tasks In the previous exercise, you linked only two tasks. In this exercise, you use Microsoft Project to link several tasks at once. Select the names of tasks 4 through Tasks 4 through 11 are now linked with a finish-to-start relationship.
Click the minus sign on the zoom slider two or three times to see less detail in the Gantt chart. Start by clicking the name of the task you wish to set as the successor. Next, on the Task tab, click the Information button, then click the Predecessors tab. Click the first cell in the Task Name column, and then click the arrow to select the task you wish to set as the predecessor. USE the project schedule you created in the previous exercise. Select the name of task 11, Pre-production complete, and, while holding down the Ctrl key, select the name of task 13, Production begins.
This is the general method for selecting nonadjacent tasks in a table in Microsoft Project. On the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click the Link Tasks button. Tasks 11 and 13 are linked with a finish-to-start relationship. Select the name of task 14, Production complete, and, while holding down the Ctrl key, select the name of task 16, Post-production begins. Tasks 14 and 16 are linked with a finish-to-start relationship. Scroll the chart section of the Gantt chart view to the right until the later portion of the project schedule is visible.
Figure Gantt chart showing milestones linked with finish-to-start relationships Link milestones between phases rather than summary tasks. They will move to the right side of the Gantt bar chart once you add and link more subtasks in a future lesson. Point to the predecessor task until the pointer changes to a four-arrow star. Then drag the pointer up or down to the task bar of the successor task. Microsoft Project will link the two tasks. Notice that while you are dragging, the pointer image changes to a chain link.
Be aware, however, that this method requires precise mouse control. In this exercise, you linked milestones across summary tasks. When you link milestones, you set up the natural flow of the project—when one phase finishes, the next phase begins.
In this particular project, you have not yet entered all of the subtasks for the Production and Post-production phases, so the graphical representation of the milestones and links on the Gantt chart may look a bit strange. Once you begin to enter and link these tasks, the project will begin to look more like the Pre-production section of the Gantt chart. Any additional task information that is important to the project can be recorded in a note.
You can also provide more information about a task by linking it to another file, an intranet page, or an Internet page through a hyperlink. Entering Task Notes A note is supplemental text that you can attach to a task, resource, or assignment. Attaching a note to a task in a project schedule allows you to document important information while keeping your project schedule succinct.
In this exercise, you enter a task note. Select task 7, Book musicians, by clicking the task number 7. On the Task tab, in the Properties group, click the Task Notes icon. The Task Information dialog box appears with the Notes tab displayed. A note icon appears in the Indicators column for task 7. Project Basics 21 4. Point to the note icon. The note appears in a ScreenTip.
For longer notes or to see other task information, you can double-click the note icon and the Task Information box will display the full text of the note. The note icon and a ScreenTip are shown in Figure Figure Task note icon Task note displayed as a tool tip. Note displays as a ScreenTip 5. As you saw in this activity, you enter and review task notes on the Notes tab in the Task Information dialog box. Project also allows you to enter a wide variety of additional information to help clarify or enhance your project schedule.
You can also attach a file, paste text and graphics from other Microsoft programs, insert sound or video files, or add photos to link faces with resource names , company logos, PowerPoint slides, or organizational charts. To review these values, you can either view the project statistics or look at the Gantt chart for the entire project.
Click the Project tab, then click Project Information in the Properties group. The Project Information dialog box appears, as shown in Figure Figure Project Information dialog box 2.
Click the Statistics button. The Project Statistics dialog box appears and displays information including the project start and finish dates and duration. Click the Close button to close the Project Statistics dialog box. The graphical portion of the Gantt chart is now compressed so that the entire project is visible onscreen. Your screen should appear similar to Figure Figure Gantt chart view of an entire project 6. If you are continuing to the next lesson, keep Project open.
If you are not continuing to additional lessons, close Project. Start Microsoft Project. To create a project schedule. Open a new project schedule. To define project calendars. Define the project calendar. To enter tasks and task details. Enter tasks. To organize tasks into phases. Create summary tasks. To link tasks.
Link two tasks. To document tasks. Enter a task note. Knowledge Assessment Fill in the Blank Complete the following sentences by writing the correct word or words in the blanks provided.
It is always best to schedule a project from a finish date. When you initially enter tasks into Project, they are linked in a finish-to-start relationship that can be changed later. The task note field can contain only words and not pictures. A milestone can be imposed on a project or developed and used by the project team to track progress. This section describes each of these features. Open Project Alternatively, a shortcut or icon might be available on the desktop; in this case, double-click the icon to start the software.
Maximize Project If the Project window does not fill the entire screen as shown in Figure A-3, click the Maximize button in the upper-right corner of the window. Project is now running and ready to use. Look at some of the elements of the screen. The Ribbon, tabs, and Quick Access toolbar are similar to other Office or applications.
The timeline view is displayed below the ribbon. The default manual scheduling for new tasks is on the lower left of the screen. You can click that option to switch to automatic scheduling.
You can access other views by clicking the View command button on the far left side of the ribbon. The areas where you enter information in a spreadsheet-like table are part of the Entry table.
You can make the Entry table more or less wide by using the Split bar. When you move the mouse over the split bar, your cursor changes to the resize pointer. Clicking and dragging the split bar to the right reveals other task information in the Entry table, including Predecessors, Resource Names, and Add New columns. The column to the left of the Task Name column in the Entry table is the Indicators column.
The Indicators column displays indicators or symbols related to items associated with each task, such as task notes or hyperlinks to other files. Notice that when Project starts, it opens a new file named Project1, as shown in the title bar. If you open a second file, the name will be Project2, and so on, until you save and rename the file. Figure A4 shows the detailed list of topics available from Project Help.
Remember this feature requires an Internet connection. They provide product information, help and how-to guides on various versions of Project, training information, and templates.
Microsofts Web site for Project www. Figure A-5 shows a screen shot of this Web site from March See the companion Web site for this text for updated information on Project and other resources. Microsoft Office Project web site www. For example, to collapse or expand tasks, click the appropriate symbols to the left of the task name. To access shortcut items, right-click in either the Entry table area or the Gantt chart.
Many of the Entry table operations in Project are very similar to operations in Excel. For example, to adjust a column width, click and drag or double-click between the column heading titles.
Next, you will get some hands-on experience by opening an existing file to explore various screen elements. Project comes with several template files, and you can also access templates from Microsoft Office Online or other Web sites. Open an existing file. Click the File tab, then select Open, and browse to find the file named Customer Feedback. This file is a template file that comes with Project where it is called Customer Feedback Monitoring.
Your screen should resemble Figure A Customer Feedback. Widen the Task Name column. Move the cursor between the Task Name and Duration column, then double-click to widen the Task Name column so all of the text shows.
Move the Split Bar. Move the Split Bar to the right so only the entire Task Name column is visible. View the first Note.
Move your mouse over the yellow Notes symbol in the Indicators column for Task 2and read its contents. It is a good idea to provide a short note describing the purpose of project files. Add the Timeline and a task to it. Check the Timeline box under the View tab, Split View group.
If you cannot see the entire project schedule, as shown in Figure A-7, click the Zoom button or Zoom slider to make adjustments. Open navigation menu. Close suggestions Search Search. User Settings. Skip carousel. Carousel Previous. Carousel Next. What is Scribd?
Explore Ebooks. Bestsellers Editors' Picks All Ebooks. Explore Audiobooks. Bestsellers Editors' Picks All audiobooks. Explore Magazines. Editors' Picks All magazines. Explore Podcasts All podcasts. Difficulty Beginner Intermediate Advanced. Explore Documents. Tutorial Ms Project Uploaded by pirqro. Document Information click to expand document information Original Title tutorial ms project Did you find this document useful? Is this content inappropriate? Report this Document. Flag for inappropriate content.
Download now. Save Save tutorial ms project For Later. Original Title: tutorial ms project Jump to Page. Search inside document. Project main screen Project is now running and ready to use. MS Project Tutorial. Project Management. Microsoft Project Server Product Guide. MS Project Manual. Microsoft Project Dependencies are shown by connecting lines or arrows indicating the work flow.
In dependency relationships, the predecessor is the task that must be started or completed first. Best defined as a body of knowledge, a set of principles, or techniques dealing with the planning and control of projects. Any person, group of people, item or equipment, service or material used in accomplishing a project task. The process of resolving resource conflicts. Most project management programs offer an automated resource levelling routine that delays tasks until the resources assigned to them are available.
Task durations determined by the program and based on the number of an allocation of resources, rather than the time available. Both individual tasks and entire projects can be resource-driven. A group of activities which are treated as a single task in a master project schedule.
Subprojects are a way of working with multiple projects that keep all the data in one file rather than in independent files. In a dependency relationship between two tasks, the successor is the task that must await the start or completion of the other.
Work Breakdown Structure codes are used to identify tasks in a hierarchy. Many project management applications associate these codes with an outline structure. WBS codes can be used to filter the project schedule for tracking and reporting purposes. Consciously or sub consciously we all apply these skills in the daily administration of our work. Where a major undertaking has to be completed, these skills are not only brought into focus but must be applied in a much more structured format.
We must take on the jargon and techniques of the Project Manager as well as become familiar with the "Tools of the trade". To review the skills that are relevant to project management The ability to define the Goal, Objective, Specifications and Limitations of a project.
The ability to define the individual tasks in sufficient detail and sequence to meet the objective with the minimum of problems, and within the defined time scale. Task attributes should include some or all of the following Objectives Time constraints Milestones Task s on which this Task is Dependant Estimated Duration: - Task s that are dependent on this task Optimistic estimate Itemised task Budget Pessimistic estimate Resources required completing the Task.
The ability to manage the progression of the tasks in terms of their resources, start times and finish times. The production of appropriate progress reports. As the complexities of these undertakings increase so the importance of discipline and structure increase and the Project Manager must look to the tools that can help which is where Microsoft Project comes into the picture. Setting out the Goal and the Objectives together with the Specification and Limitations within which the undertaking must be completed.
Plan The Project Planning of all the activities, resources, and estimation of materials and time scales. Some of this planning may have to be done at an appropriate level for cost estimation before the project can be agreed.
Once the decision to go ahead has been taken the skills of the Project Manager are used to define the details of the planning stage. When this has been completed and agreed it will become the "Plan" or the base line against which progress can be measured.
Implementation A leap into the void! Notes: A poorly planned project will take three times longer than the original plan. A wellplanned project will only take twice as long. A project that will be completed without changes, on time and within budget has never been known in the past and will never happen in the future. Microsoft Project will help!
Monitoring And Adjusting Recording Actual Progress Once the project is under way, the progress of each activity is recorded. This information can then be compared against the Plan and the differences highlighted. Revising The Schedule The process of minimising the effect of problems and delays on meeting project deadlines is achieved by adjusting and updating the Schedule to meet the changed circumstances. As the project progresses and when it has been completed the process of evaluation should be used to learn the lessons for the next time.
Microsoft Project - Operational Basics Microsoft Project Has The Following Capabilities: Highlights 1 million tasks per project depending on free RAM 1 million resources per project Calendar dates from to Gantt charts to show project schedules graphically on a time scale with scaling from minutes to years.
Network Diagrams to show task relationships. Outlining to group and arrange project tasks in hierarchical order. Filters to view selected information. Resource usage and Graph views and reports to quickly identify resource availability and costs. Custom fields so you can track additional information unique to your project. If time, money, or what your project accomplished were unlimited, you wouldn't need to do project management.
Unfortunately, most projects have a specific time limit, budget, and scope. It is this combination of elements time, money, and scope that we refer to as the project triangle. These competing elements are also known as the triple constraints of a project. Understanding the project triangle will enable you to make better choices when you must make trade-offs. For example, if you decide to adjust the project plan to: Bring in the scheduled finish date, you might end up with increased costs and a decreased scope.
Meet the project budget, the result might be a longer schedule and a decreased scope. Increase scope, your project might take more time and cost more money in the form of resources, such as workers. Changes to your plan can affect the triangle in various ways, depending on your specific circumstances and the nature of your project.
For example, in some instances, shortening your schedule might increase costs. In other instances, it might actually decrease costs. In terms of the project triangle, resources are considered a cost item. So as you adjust resources to accommodate more or less work or to reflect their availability, your costs go up or down correspondingly. These costs are based on resource pay rates. You also may notice that as you adjust resources, your schedule changes.
For example, if you have several resources over allocations and you level the project, the schedule might now include split tasks and delays that extend the finish date. In most projects, at least one side of the triangle is "stuck," meaning that you can't change it. On some projects, it's the budget. No matter what, you won't get more money for the project. On others, it's the schedule;; the dates can't change. Or it's the scope;; there will be no change in deliverables The trick is in finding the "stuck" or fixed sides of your project's triangle.
That tells you what you can change and where you can adjust if there's a problem. Phrasing the problem as a statement can help you clarify which side of the triangle is in trouble. Knowing which side of your triangle can't be changed will help you know where you can adjust. So when you begin optimizing, consider the following order of decisions. First, decide which of the three elements is fixed. This is typically the element most important to the success of your project finishing on time, on budget, or with the agreed-upon scope.
Then, determine which side your current problem occurs on. Once you've done that, you'll know what elements you have to work with to get your project back on track. If the problem side and the fixed side are the same, you have the remaining two sides of the triangle to work with. For example, if your project has to finish on time and your problem is that it's taking too long, you can adjust resources or adjust scope to get the project back on track.
If the problem side is different from the fixed side, you'll want to optimize by adjusting the remaining side. For example, if your project has to finish on time and it's grown in scope, you only have the cost side to play with by, for example, by adding resources. Know that when you adjust one side of the triangle of time, money, and scope, the other two sides are likely to be affected.
They can be affected positively or negatively, depending on the nature of your project. For example, if you adjusted your plan to bring in costs, check whether your finish date is still acceptable Lead and Lag Times Edit tables by adding and removing columns Change column labels Create a table The system will allow the user to organise these tables so they can be used to maximum effect.
The content of the table is also dependent on the area of project management they are used for. There is a difference between tables for Tasks and table for Resources. Modifying Or Editing An Existing Table The idea of changing a table structure is to make its use more appropriate to the needs in terms of what information the user needs to view.
For a task table there are over one hundred possible columns from which the structure can be chosen. For Resources the number of possible columns is approximately thirty. The following dialog box Figure will show a list of the fields that make up the table. A space will appear and the new field can be selected.
The structure of the table is built up by selecting the fields in the appropriate order. When you decide which type of table you would like to create click on the NEW button.
OR Another option which saves time is to copy an existing table and add or remove fields as necessary and rename it. Add, edit or delete fields as covered in the previous section. Click OK to save the table. There is no need to recreate them in other files we have the organiser tool to allow us to transfer these objects for reuse elsewhere The global template is the file that is used every time you create a new project file this works similarly in word and excel.
It stores all the objects necessary to create a file with no data. Using the organiser to transfer any of the objects we create into it every time we create a new project those objects will be available for use in the new file. This includes tables, views, filters, groups, reports, macros, calendars tasks or resource objects Even better when these objects are in the global template any file you open created from another source that lacks the useful objects you have been using you simply transfer them from the global template into the new file and they are then available for use.
If you have several project files open use the drop down arrows in the boxes to correctly identify the files. MPT file if a file from another source is being used copy the other way for your objects to be used in other files. When the transfer of objects is complete click the cross in the top right hand corner of the dialog to close the organiser. Creating any new project now will include the objects you have transferred ready for immediate use.
It is also possible to define in what way these dependencies exist. For example, if you have two tasks, "Dig foundation" and "Pour concrete," the "Pour concrete" task cannot begin until the "Dig foundation" task is complete.
The dependent task can begin any time after the task that it depends on begins. The SS link type does not require that both tasks begin simultaneously. For example, if you have two tasks, "Pour concrete" and "Level concrete," the "Level concrete" task cannot begin until the "Pour concrete" task begins. The dependent task can be completed any time after the task that it depends on is completed.
The FF link type does not require that both tasks be completed simultaneously. For example, if you have two tasks, "Add wiring" and "Inspect electrical," the "Inspect electrical" task cannot be completed until the "Add wiring" task is completed.
The dependent task can be completed any time after the task that it depends on begins. The SF link type does not require that the dependent task be completed concurrent with the beginning of the task on which it depends. For example, the roof trusses for your construction project are built offsite. Two of the tasks in your project are "Truss delivery" and "Assemble roof.
The FS link is by default not shown in the predecessors column but add one of the other link type contractions after the predecessor number and press enter the link will change and the result shown in the Gantt chart.
The picture below shows a start to start relationship. Click OK when you have made the necessary adjustments More Links, Lead And Lag Times From the previous examples you have seen in the task information dialog, predecessors tab and in the task dependency dialog a box called lag this is a box allows you to fine tune these Link relationships by specifying Lag or Lead times as required.
You enter the lead time as a negative value Lag A Lag time is a delay between two tasks that are linked by a dependency. For example, if there must be a two-day delay between the finish of one task and the start of another, you can establish a finish-to-start dependency and specify two days of lag time for the successor task.
You enter the lag time as a positive value. Applying lead and lag time in the dialog boxes should now be easy but the method of entering it in the predecessors column may not be so obvious although it is the most efficient way of working with your links You may return to the standard Gantt view at any time by using the VIEW button and selecting a different view.
From this form the data relating to the specific task can be changed which includes progress information. Where progress data is being entered, Actual should be selected. Actual Start Date and time for the Task. Actual Completion date and time for the Task, if completed. This box can set up a specific constraint on the start or end date for the task. There are a fixed number of choices which are shown in a list for selection.
The priority relates to which tasks can be delayed. If nothing is entered, ID number is shown. This will be looked at in more depth later. It also includes boxes for Rollup and Hide Gantt Bar. Predecessors Shows any predecessors set and allows you to add others, change the relationship and introduce Lag or Lead time. Resources You can add or modify resources plus change the task from being resource driven to fixed duration.
Notes This allows you to add a note. This could be a fuller description of the task, allowing you to use a cryptic title. Custom Fields This allows you to add custom fields to the task.
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