MS Project
l Mid-market leader
l Has approx. 50% overall market share
l 70-80% MS Project users never used automated project
tracking prior
l Not a mid/high-end tool for EPM (Enterprise Project Mgmt.)
Project Pros
l Easy outlining of tasks
l Resource management
l Accuracy: baseline vs. actual; various calculations
l Easy charting and graphics
l Cost management
l Capture historical data
Project Cons
l Illusion of control
l No estimation features
l Remember:
– Being a MS Project expert does not make you an expert project
manager!
– No more so than knowing MS Word makes you a good writer
Steps for Using MS Project
l Enter tasks and durations
l Establish dependencies
l Find the critical path
l Add resources (team members or roles)
l Add costs for resources
l Assign resources to tasks
l Refine and optimize
l Create baseline
l Track progress (enter actuals, etc.)
Editing Project Information
l Scheduling from a start date
– Click Project, Project Information
– The project information dialog box appears
– In the “Start date” box, enter the project start date
– In the “Schedule from”, box, click “Project Start Date”
l Scheduling from a finish date
– Click Project, Project Information
– The project information dialog box appears
– In the “Schedule from”, box, click “Project Finish Date”
– In the “Finish date” box, enter the project finish date
Setting Your Project Calendar
l Working with base calendars
– MSProject 2010 – Click “Project”, “Change Working Time”
– Three base calendars
l Standard (default): 8 am – 5:00 pm, 5 days a week
l Night shift: 11:00 pm – 8:00 am, 5 days a week
l 24 hours: 24 hours every days of the week
l Modify an existing base calendar
– To change the working time of a single day, click that day
and make changes in the Exceptions part
Setting Your Project Calendar
l Create a new calendar
– MSProject 2010 – Click “Project”, “Change Working Time”
– Click the “New…” button
– In the “Name” box, type the name you want
– Select “Create new base calendar” or “make copy of” option
– Make changes
– Click OK
Setting Your Project Calendar
l Delete an existing calendar
– MSProject 2010 – Click “File Tab”, “Organizer”
– Select the “Calendars” tab
– Click the calendar that you want to delete on the right panel
– Click the “Delete” button
– Be careful! There is no undo!
Entering Tasks
l Adding tasks
– Make sure that you are working in the Gantt chart
– Type the name of the task in the “Task Name” field
– Enter the duration information
– Do not enter both start or finish date (Microsoft Project
automatically calculates these fields based on the duration)
Entering Tasks
l Entering tasks with the Task Information dialog box
– Select a row and double click, task Information dialog box
appears
– Or in MSProject 2010 – Select a row then, click “Task”,
“Information”
– Enter the data in the General tab
Entering Tasks
l Enter a milestone
– In the duration field
– Set the value to zero
– Notice that a symbol added to the Gantt chart
– Or, click “Task”, “Mile Stone”
Entering Tasks
l Inserting a task
– Select a task which the new task will be immediately above
it
– Click “Insert”, “New Task”
l Delete a task
– Select a row, right click, “Delete Task”
– You can undo the delete (Ctrl + Z)
l Move a task
– Select a row, move it up or down by
– You can undo the move (Ctrl + Z)
Linking Tasks
l Define task predecessors
– Select a task and open the Task Information dialog box
– Select the Predecessors tab
– In the task name field, select the predeceasing task
– Enter the linkage type
l Finish-Start
l Start-Start
l Start-Finish
l Finish-Finish
Linking Tasks
l Define a lag
– Lag time follows a task, i.e. paint walls and add a lag time
for drying
– Open the task information dialog box
– Select the Predecessors tab
– Enter value in the Lag field
Example # 1 – Echelon Project
Immediate Duration
Task Description Predecessor(s) (work days)
A Finalize product feature specification - 2
B Feature 1 Engine Development A 8
C Feature 1 Component Development B 13
D Feature 1 Web/Interface Development C 10
E Feature 2 Engine Development A 15
F Feature 2 Component Development E 7
G Feature 2 Web/Interface Development F 4
H Integrate code D,G 4
I Test and Fix H 21
J Prepare Marketing Message A 5
K Train PSO and Pre-Sales J, H 2
L Educate Sales Force J 2
M Prepare Marketing Material J 10
N Announce Release I,K,L,M 1
Entering Tasks
l Showing the project summary task
– Click Format, Project Summary Task
Views
l Click Views in the standard menu
l Choose one of the following views
– Calendar
– Gantt chart
– Network Diagram
– We cover other views later
Copy a Picture of Project
l Select the part of the Gantt chart that you want to get
a picture
l Click Task, Copy, Copy Picture
l Copy picture dialog box appears
l Select “For Screen” in the Render Image part
l Click OK
l Open a Word file
l Click Paste
Outline Tasks
l Create a sub task
– Select a task immediately underneath the task you are
identifying as a summary task
– Click the Indent button
– Or Select a group of tasks you want to enter as sub tasks
and click Task, Summary
NutriStar Project
