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

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More Learning Objectives
 Recurring tasks
 STATISTICS
 Zoom out/zoom in
 Precedence relationships
 Lags between links
PM Software in general
Popular Project Management
Software Packages
 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

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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

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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

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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 type—that
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: FS, SS,
FF, SF
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
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Project Management Software
Additional Features
 Resource management
 Planning
 Project monitoring and tracking
 Scheduling
 Security
 Sorting and filtering
 What-if analysis