microsoft project training - plan communicate

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Focus on Training Tel: 0845 450 6120 Web: www.focus-on-training.co.uk

Microsoft, Windows, PowerPoint, Excel and Sharepoint are registered trade marks of Microsoft Corporation

2008 Focus on Training

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Microsoft Project is the worlds most popular project management software but evenregular users would often benefit from a better understanding of its full capabilities.

Non users know it might be handy for drawing project schedules but make do with anExcel imitation and fail to appreciate the powerful planning and tracking functionality.

As project management becomes a core methodology underpinning most modernorganisations it is time for companies and individuals to learn just how much moreeffective they could be by using Microsoft Project, alongside other everyday tools suchas Word and PowerPoint.

This Guide provides an overview of Microsoft Project and explains the range of trainingoptions that are available

For those new to Microsoft Project, this Focus Factsheet introduces key aspects of thesoftware package and explains the associated training and qualifications that areavailable. If you need any further help or advice, you will find our Project Managementstaff a knowledgeable, independent and friendly source of advice.

Prepared by:

Steve TwineManaging Director Focus On Training

Version 1.01 May 2008

About:

Focus on Training specialises in provision of Best Practice training within the fieldsof Project Management and IT Service Management. A comprehensive range ofMicrosoft Project, PRINCE2, MSP, PMI, MoR, PMI, APM and ITIL courses from leadingaccredited training organisations can be booked at our project management site:

www.focusprojects.co.uk

With a network of over 40 high quality training partners Focus specialises in offeringyou the widest choice of accredited Project and Programme Management courses inthe UK, helping you achieve Best Practice performance and certification as an

individual or an organisation.

Steve Twine is Managing Director and leads the Project Management team at Focus.He has deep experience of complex and high profile international projects within theautomotive industry

[email protected]


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Contents

1. What is Microsoft Project?

2. How will MS Project help my Organisation?

3. How will MS Project help me?

4. What are the Different Versions of MS Project?

5. Microsoft Project Training Where do I start?

6. Introductory Courses Level 1

7. Advanced Courses Level 2

8. Microsoft Certified Training & Qualifications

9. Specialist Courses

10. Why Focus?

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1. What is Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Office Project is a member of the Microsoft Office family. It is a powerful

toolkit designed to help project managers and others involved with projects. It helps

you to:

Visualise your project plan

Schedule tasks and resources

Track tasks, duration and resources

Exchange project information

Communicate with other stakeholders

Control your projects

These elements correspond to all commonly used project methodologies and techniques.

Moreover, the same basic approach is applicable from stand alone desktop versions

through to server based enterprise systems.

Microsoft Project enables you to break down project tasks and relate them to resources

and timescales in a logical manner. Information can be analysed, displayed and

distributed in a variety of ways including the ubiquitous bar (or Gantt) chart. As a

project management software tool MS Project is not unique but as with other Microsoft

Office programmes it has been progressively improved and is familiar and available to

a very wide audience.


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2. How will MS Project help my Organisation?

In engineering and construction, project management has long been used to deliver

complex, one-off, cross functional capital investment projects. Today, project

management techniques are used to drive nearly every IT investment or business

change initiative. Having the right project management skill sets and support tools

becomes a core competency for many organisations.

Whether you are looking to find you way through a garden maze, or you are planning a

significant business transformation you will find it much easier if you map your path

from the end goal and if you gain a vantage point where you can explore options and

potential hazards. In essence, this is what Microsoft Project helps you to do.

For organisations the end result of better project planning and control will be more

consistent achievement of project objectives within time and budget constraints. The

characteristics of such projects will include:

Realistic estimates of resources required

Full appreciation of critical path activities

Clarity of responsibilities for all team members

Early warning of potential deviation from plan

Confidence in project delivery

3. How will MS Project help me?

There is great demand for Project Managers who are organised, consistently aware of

project progress and who deliver on time and within budget. Leading Project Managers

have (at least) 3 areas of competency:

Core skill sets such as planning, communication and risk management

(based on experience and training inputs such as APM)

Understanding of project management methodology

(based on company specific approaches or generic models such as PRINCE2) Knowledge of project management tools and techniques

(including Microsoft Project)

Experience of using Microsoft Project will demonstrate your professionalism and

awareness of applying project management techniques in a systematic and practical

way. There are also new Microsoft qualifications which will come to provide recognition

for specialist project planners and PPSO (programme and project support office) staff.


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4. What are the Different Versions of MS Project?

First launched in 1990, Microsoft Project has been through a series of releases. The

most widely used is 2003 and the most recent is 2007. The Microsoft charts appended

highlight features of these two versions.

Critical path scheduling has remained the core element while successive releases have

added functionality and communications capability. Important features of Project 2007

include:

Task Drivers tool to determine prerequisites and resource constraints

Reverse changes tool to experiment with what-if scenarios

Change Highlights tool to quickly assess all impacts of a change

Greater options for budget allocation and cost assignment

Scope to tailor reports and easily interface with Excel and Visio

Most project managers will use Microsoft Project Standard 2007. There is a

Professional edition which provides collaborative enterprise project management

capabilities. In conjunction with Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 and Windows

SharePoint, multiple authorised users can access timesheets, graphical resource

analysis and administrative tools across the Internet.

Green highlights indicate the effect ofchanges The Visual Reports window with anExcel report


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5. Microsoft Project Training Where do I Start?

There is no simple answer! It depends very much on your current familiarity withprojects and project management software tools. You also need to take into account

the skill sets that you are looking to achieve.

Basic Awareness

- You want to be able to set up project timelines using Microsoft Project and

understand the basic tracking and reporting functionality

- If you are starting from scratch we would recommend a 2 day Introductory

(Level 1) course.

- If you already have some familiarity with the software (perhaps from an earlierrelease) then a 1 day course would be appropriate

- If you are totally new to a project environment then introductory project

management training may be a useful start point. This will help you to

understand project organisation and timelines

Advanced User

- You already know how to set up a project but you want to be confident in using

Microsoft Project to update plans, produce custom reports and interface

effectively with other programmes- You have probably already been on a Level 1 course and should now choose an

Advanced (Level 2) course

- Depending on your level of existing knowledge choose a 1 or 2 day course

Certified Professional

- If you need certification or you require the expertise to deploy Microsoft Project

in an enterprise environment then follow the official Microsoft courses

- These will prepare you to take the relevant Microsoft exam


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The content of these courses is explained in the following sections.


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6. Introductory Courses Level 1If you need to understand how to build and manage project plans, an Introduction, or

"Level 1", course in Microsoft Project will get you started. Courses cover the essential

skills necessary to create and modify a project plan including tasks and resources. The

emphasis will be on creating the initial plan. There are versions of these training

courses tailored to align with both 2003 and 2007 releases of Microsoft Project.

Build and edit a project plan

Create and assign resources

Manage project costs Track progress

Filter and print project plans

Communicate your plans

Produce reports

There are options of one or two day courses depending upon your previous knowledge

and experience. The one day course assumes basic awareness of projects and project

planning - perhaps from an earlier version of Microsoft Project.

If you are completely new to project management you will find it beneficial to attend a

general project management introduction course first.

Please check the different training course outlines which may have a slightly different

content.

The Level 1 training is not accredited by Microsoft or associated with an exam.

However, all Focus courses are developed and delivered by Microsoft partner companies

with a deep knowledge of the subject.


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7. Advanced Courses Level 2

Advanced or "Level 2" Microsoft Project training courses are designed for existing MSProject users who want to add to their basic skills. They will also benefit Project

Managers wishing to learn how to customise Microsoft Project to their own specific

requirements. You will learn to use advanced features to plan, track and analyse

variances from plan. The emphasis is on how you work with a plan in the

implementation phase.

Resolve resource over-allocations

Manage multiple projects

Integrate MS Project with other Office applications Customise the MS Project interface (fields, tables, views, filters and reports)

Record and run simple macros

Exchange project plan data with other applications including Excel & Word

Create and print custom reports

Import data

Track project progress

There are versions of these training courses tailored to align with both 2003 and 2007

releases of Microsoft Project. There are also options of one or two day coursesdepending upon your previous knowledge and experience.

Please check the different training course outlines which may have slightly different

course content.

The Level 2 training is not accredited by Microsoft or associated with an exam.

However, all Focus courses are developed and delivered by Microsoft partner companies

with a deep knowledge of the subject.


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8. Microsoft Certified Training & QualificationsMicrosoft operates a comprehensive structure of internationally recognised

certifications. Project 2007 skills have recently been incorporated into the MCTS

(Certified Technology Specialist) and MCITP (Certified IT Professional) framework.

9. Specialist Courses

For those looking to apply Microsoft Project to specific environments there are other

specialist courses available. Amongst them is one which relates specially to use ofMicrosoft Project to manage PRINCE2TM projects. This covers similar topics to the Level

1 course but includes guidance on how to model PRINCE2TM processes within MS

Project.

The MS5927 Managing Projects course is a 3 day course which

provides the entry point for the other Project 2007 training. A basic

knowledge of project management and experience of using MS Project

to create project schedules are pre-requisites. These are new courses

and there is little scheduled availabilit at this sta e.


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10. Why Focus?

Focus is the leading UK training organisation specialising in Project Management.Working in conjunction with high quality training companies throughout the UK we can

arrange the right Microsoft Project training for you at a location and on a date which is

convenient.

As well as Microsoft Project, Focus offers accredited training for courses including

PRINCE2, APM and ITIL.

Our project management website makes finding and booking the right course fast and

simple. The Focus Process is designed to give you all the information you need to makean informed choice. For further help and advice, you will find our project management

staff very knowledgeable and friendly.

Any Questions - Just Ask !

Email our Bookings Team on [email protected] or call on 0845 450 6120

Booking with Focus makes more sense:

A course close to home avoids hotel and travel

We offer more choice than anyone

We can provide independent advice

Booking is online and fast


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Set up projects quickly

= Feature Included = Improved in Office Project Standard 2007 = New in Office Project Standard 2007

Features 2003 2007

Import Outlook Tasks dialog boxEasily import task data from the Microsoft Outlook To-Do Bar to create a Project plan.

Excel Import WizardEasily import and use data from Microsoft Office Excel to start a Project plan.

Resource information importImport resource information from the Active Directory directory service or your

Microsoft Exchange Server address book.

Smart TagsGet automatic, contextual suggestions alerting you to scheduling options.

Built-in online helpUse Microsoft Office Online to get training, templates, and more.

Additional Project templates

Jump-start common projects and promote consistency.

Interactive, step-by-step planning aid

Set up and manage projects effectively with the Project Guide.

Calendar wizard

Simplify the setup process for project calendars and changing working time.

Manage non-working timeNamed vacations and the option of setting up alternative work weeks enable users to

control and understand when resources can work.

Change HighlightingWhen changes are made to a project, all affected task and resource fields are

highlighted. Easily see how your change affects the dates of successor tasks, summarycosts, and more.

Multiple Level UndoReverse the most recent series of changes; that is, undo and redo changes to views,

data and options. This functionality also enables you to undo actions or sets of actions

from macros or third-party applications.


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Present project data and print custom reports


Features 2003 2007

Presentation Wizard

Smoothly transfer Project data to Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office Word, orMicrosoft Office Visio.

Printing Wizard

Easily format and print concise custom Project reports.

Visual Reports for Excel

Use Excel to produce charts and graphs based on Office Project 2007 data. Analyzedifferent dimensions of your project with PivotTable views and charts.

Visual Reports for Visio Professional

Build work breakdown structure (WBS) or resource diagrams in Office Visio Professional.With data-driven diagrams, users can show progress bars, flag important tasks, color-

code on cost, or create custom diagrams to match their project needs.

Report templates

Office Project 2007 offers report templates for Office Visio and Office Excel to help a

user analyze resource availability, understand project progress and costs, and performother tasks. Users can customize these reports or create their own templates in Office

Visio and Office Excel to share with other Office Project users.

Desktop OLAP cube

Create customer reports or archive Project values with data exported from Office Project2007 into a Microsoft Office Access database and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

cubes. Six cubes are generated: task time-phased, task non-time-phased, resource time-phased, resource non-time-phased, assignment time-phased, and assignment non-time-phased.

Background Cell HighlightingHighlight important dates, costs, or tasks by changing the background color of cells in

the table portion of the view.

Easily follow task and resource interdependencies


Features 2003 2007

Gantt charts, calendars, and task sheets

Present Project data in versatile views.

Network Diagram view

Group tasks and display graphical indicators in the Network Diagram view.

Cross-project critical pathCalculate the critical path across all inserted projects to see a single critical path for the

overall master project.Task Driver pane

Shows prerequisites and resource constraints that drive the start date of the selectedtask. The user can click these drivers to link to the relevant information.


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Information to track and analyse projects


Features 2003 2007

Reschedule uncompleted work

Maintain constraints when uncompleted work is rescheduled, and select any rescheduledate.

Assign a deadline to a task

Keep track of when a task finishes without constraining the project plan.

Formulas and graphical indicators

Assign formulas, pick lists, and apply graphical indicators to custom fields to keep track ofprojects.

GroupingConsolidate and report project information in a variety of ways by using predefined groupsor creating custom groups. Group on assignment fields in addition to tasks and resources,

and roll up time-phased data totals to group summary rows in Usage views.

Material resources

Specify consumable resources such as lumber or concrete and assign them to tasks.Allocate these resources in units that make sense, such as tons.

Resource availability graphsEvaluate resource workload and availability using the Graphs button in the AssignResources dialog box to identify the best resource available for the task.

Add-in for comparing Project filesCompare two versions of the same project and report results.

Baseline rollup

Control how baseline data is rolled up to summary tasks to help ensure up-to-datetracking of projects.

Cost ResourcesHelps enable users to define multiple named time-phased fixed costs on a task. These

costs can be grouped and reported as part of a cost type. Supports integration of OfficeProject 2007 with accounting systems.

Budget TrackingDefine a budget at a high level (program or project) so the project manager can allocatefunds and track costs, work, and materials against the budget.

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