A tutorial on MS Project

James Burns

Learning Objectives

Entering Tasks in the Gantt View

Task subordination
Linking of Tasks
Setting start & stop dates
Assigning resources
Calculating costs
2

More Learning Objectives

Recurring tasks
STATISTICS
Zoom out/zoom in
Precedence relationships
Lags between links

PM Software in general

PopularProjectManagement
SoftwarePackages
CA-SuperProject
Microsoft Project
Project Scheduler
SureTrak Project Manager
Time Line
High-End Project Management Software

Criteria for Selecting Project

Management Software
Capacity
Documentation and on-line help facilities
Ease of use
Features available
Integration with other systems

Additional Criteria
Installation requirements
Reporting capabilities
Security
Vendor Support

Advantages of Using Project

Management Software
Accuracy
Affordability
Ease of use
Ability to handle complexity
Maintainability and modifiability
Record keeping
Speed
What-if analysis

Concerns about Using Project

Management Software
Becoming distracted by the software
A false sense of security
Information overload
The learning curve
Over-reliance on software

Must start with

A list of tasks
Or
A Work Breakdown Structure
Always make your first task a

PROJECT
summary task to which all other tasks are
subordinate

Bring up MS Project
Start in the Gantt View
Enter task detail in the entry table to the left
Subordinate tasks appropriately
Link Tasks as appropriate

Project Information Box

Project Information Box

Can schedule from a start date or backward from

a stop date
Can choose a particular calendar typethat
makes assumptions about when people will be
working

The Main Window of MS Project

Entering Tasks in the Gantt

View
Enter Tasks into the entry table on the

GANTT view
Entry table is behind the GANTT chart and
works just like a spreadsheet
Can also enter tasks in the network diagram
or the task usage views

Tables
You can choose a variety of tables to view in

conjunction with the Gantt view

Entry, Cost, Schedule, Tracking, Earned value,
Usage, Variance, Work, Hyperlink are just some of
the tables you can choose from
Click on View on the Menu bar and then click on
Table
To view all the tables, click on More Tables

Columns
You can add columns to any table in the Gantt view
Click on Insert and then Columns
Select the column you want included in the table by
clicking on the dropdown arrow associated with the first
box and selecting the desired column name
Click on OK
That column will be included in the table to the left of
the point where the selected cell appears

Predefined Reports
MS Project provides a number of predefined,

static reports that can be displayed and printed

Click on View and the Reports
The categories are Overview, Current
Activities, Costs, Assignments, Workload
and Custom

Task subordination
Use indent arrow
MS Proj has a WBS understanding and

assigns a WBS code even though it does not

explicitly exhibit a WBS chart

Linking of Tasks
Select tasks to be linked
Click on the chain-link icon
Decide on precedence relationship:

FF, SF

FS, SS,

Setting start & stop dates

When you set a date in the entry table of the

Gantt view, MS Project treats it as if it were a

hard constraint
It schedules everything around such hard
dates

Assigning resources
Resources have to be created before they can be
assigned
You can use the faces icon in the Gantt view to
both create and assign resources

Resources are created once they are named

Alternatively, you can create resources in the

Resources Sheet view
Simply click on this view in the column on the left.

Calculating costs
Fixed costs

Enter these in the cost table

From the VIEW menu item change to the cost table
Enter fixed costs

Variable costs

Enter resource hourly rates

MS Project will calculate

Project Management Software

Features
Budgeting and cost control
Calendars
Email
Graphics
Importing/exporting data
Handling multiple projects and subprojects
Report generation
3

Project Management Software

Additional Features
Resource management
Planning
Project monitoring and tracking
Scheduling
Security
Sorting and filtering
What-if analysis