ms project handbook

8/12/2019 Ms Project Handbook

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Unive rs i t y o f Eng ineer i ng & Techno logy , Karach iCentre for Continuing Engineering Education (CCEE)

HAN DS -ON W ORKSHOP ON

MASTERING MICROSOFT PROJECTPROFESSIONAL

Trainers

Mr. Rizwan Ul Haque Farooqui

Assist. Prof., Department of Civil Engineering, NEDUniversity Karachi

Ph.D. Construction Project Management (in progress)

FIU, USA

MS (Construction Engineering & Management) NUS,Singapore

Mr. Muhammad Saqib

Assistant Professor,

Department of Civil Engineering, NED University,Karachi

M.Engg (Civil) Specialization in Construction

Management, NED University

MCS University of Karachi

COURSE HANDBOOK

COMPUTER AIDED PROJECT MANAGEMENT USING MICROSOFT PROJECT


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Mastering Microsoft PROJECT Professional

Instructed By: Organized By:Rizwan U Farooqui & Muhammad Saqib CCEE, NED (2008)

2

(How MS Project 2007 Facilitates Project Management)

Establishing realistic schedules and budgets for projects that support business objectivesand meet client expectations is one of the most challenging aspects of project planning.Delivering on those results within the agreed time, cost and quality constraints are a

critical success factor.

Study after study shows the majority of projects finish "late" or "over budget". This

makes them failures in the eyes of key stakeholders. Further, attempting to meetimpossible deadlines and budgets leads to unplanned project shortfalls that cause longterm support and utilization problems!

Project Planners should recognize the contribution that viable schedules and costestimates make to influence the business success of projects, products and theorganizations that perform and own them.

This course focuses on tools and techniques that have proven to lead to establishingschedules and cost estimates that are realistic. Quite simply, they work!

This is an exercise-driven, no-nonsense practice focused workshop, positioning theparticipants for immediate action when they get to work.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

Describe the purpose of Time, Resource and Cost Management Use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) as a foundation for estimating and

control

Use tools for effective time, resource & cost management Establish a comprehensive baseline Evaluate and measure time, resource and cost Identify the characteristics of troubled projects Use effective negotiation strategies for time and cost

Who Should Attend

Anyone who wants to get the most out of this incredible project management softwarepackage, including:

Experienced project managers who want to learn more about projectmanagement software

New project managers who want to stay on the cutting edge of projectmanagement technology

Users of other project management software programs who want to convertto Microsoft Project, or users of older versions of Project who want to stay up

to date

Candidates for project management certification who want to broaden theirtechnology background

Anyone responsible for managing projects (or parts of projects) of any size ordegree of complexity

Course Duration: 14 hrs

Course Overview


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Day 1: Understanding MSP; Structuring your projects in MSP

SESSION 1: The essentials of project management

SESSION 2: Customizing Microsoft Project Professional

SESSION 3: Defining the project

SESSION 4: Planning and organizing project tasks (in WBS)

Day 2: Developing and optimizing project schedules

SESSION 5: Defining task dependencies

SESSION 6: Developing project schedule

SESSION 7: Analyzing & refining project schedule

SESSION 8: Setting schedule constraints

Day 3: Planning and optimizing project resources and cost; Laying out your project

data and reports

SESSION 9: Defining project resources & costs

SESSION 10: Assigning resources & costs to activities

SESSION 11: Resource leveling schedule optimization

SESSION 12: Developing customized views and reports

Day 4: Tracking and controlling your projects; Advanced project and program

management with MSP

SESSION 13: Developing baselines & tracking projects

SESSION 14: Evaluating & controlling project progress

SESSION 15: Integrating Project with other Office applications

SESSION 16: Working with multiple projects and programs


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LIST OF CONTENTS

Pg. No.

CHAPTER 1: SETTING UP A NEW PROJECT

1.1 Introduction 5

1.2 Entering Project Parameters 5

1.3 Set the Project Calendar 6

1.4 Set Various Microsoft Project Option 8

1.5 Identify Deliverables 15

CHAPTER 2: ENTER AND MODIFY TASKS

2.1 Organize Deliverables and Tasks in a Work Break down Structure 17

2.2 Create Summary tasks, detail tasks and Milestone 18

2.3 Insert/Delete and Indent/out dent tasks 24

2.4 Enter Estimates 24

CHAPTER 3: SCHEDULE TASKS

3.1 Establish Relationships between Tasks 273.2 Edit Task Relationship Types and Lag 27

3.3 Entering Deadlines and Constraints 27

CHAPTER 4: SPECIFY AND ASSIGN RESOURCES

4.1 Create a Resource List 29

4.2 Modify Resource Calendars 29

4.3 Assign Resources to Tasks 29

CHAPTER 5: OPTIMIZE THE SCHEDULE

5.1 Display the Critical Path 30

5.2 Display Specific Information by Using a Filter 30

5.3 Identify the Slack on Tasks 31

5.4 Shorten the Project Schedule 31

5.5 Display Resource Assignments and Workloads 31

5.6 Level the Workloads of the resources 31

CHAPTER 6: APPLY AND MODIFY VIEWS AND REPORTS

6.1 Select and Modify Views 34

6.2 Select and Modify Reports 36

6.3 Publish Project Information to the Web 37

CHAPTER 7: ENTER AND TRACK PROGRESS

7.1 Save a Baseline for the Entire Project or for Selected Tasks 38

7.2 Set Project Status Date 38

7.3 Enter Actual/ Remaining Duration or Work on the Task Level 40

7.4 View Percent Complete 41

7.5 Reschedule Uncompleted Work 41


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CHAPTER NO.1SETTING UP ANEW PROJECT

1 .1 I n t r o d u c t i o n :

Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing tasks and

resources to accomplish a defined objective, usually within constraints on time,

resources, and cost. A project plan can be simple, for example, a list of tasks and their

start and finish dates written on a notepad. Or it can be complex, for example,

thousands of tasks and resources and a project budget of millions of dollars. Most

projects share common activities, including breaking the project into easily manageable

tasks, scheduling the tasks, communicating with the team, and tracking the tasks as

work progresses.

Microsoft Project 2007 comes with a rich collection of new features especially designed to

enhance your ability to schedule, collaborate with resources, track progress, and

communicate status on your projects.

1 . 2 En t e r i n g P r o j e c t P a r a m e t e r s :

Set the Project start date or finish date:

The first step in creating a schedule are starting a new file, designating a project start or

finish date, and entering general project information. If you dont enter a project start or

finish date, Ms Project automatically uses the current date as the start date.

1. Click New on the standard tool bar2. Enter a start date orfinish date.Enter the Project properties:

You can enter a variety of file propertiesfor your project including a descriptive title, the

subject, the manager and the comments.

1. On the Filemenu, click Properties.2.

Click on Summarytab and enter the relevant information in the file properties boxesrelated to your project.

Project Information:

To open this dialog box, on the Project menu, click Project Information. Use this

dialog box to enter, review, or change initial information for a new project. You can:


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Choose whether you want the project to be scheduled from the start date or thefinish date.

Enter the start date for a project to be scheduled from the start date. Enter the finish date for a project to be scheduled from the finish date. Set the project calendar by specifying which base calendar is to be used as the

project calendar.

If you choose to schedule from the finish date, the Start date box becomes unavailable.

You set the finish date, and Microsoft Project calculates the start date based on your task

information. Also, if you schedule from the start date, all new tasks have a default

constraint type of As Soon As Possible(ASAP). If you schedule from the finish date, all

new tasks have a default constraint type of As Late As Possible(ALAP).

1 . 3 S e t t h e P r o j e c t Ca l e n d a r s :

Change Working Time Option: To open this dialog box, on the Tools menu, click

Change Working Time. Or, in any resource view (Resource Sheet, Resource Usage, or

Resource Graph), click the resource name, and then click Resource Information.

Click the Working Time tab. If you open this dialog box with the Tools menu, all

resource calendars are listed with the base calendars. If you open this dialog box with

the Resource Information dialog box, youll see only the resource calendar for the

selected resource.

Use this dialog box to enter, review, or change base calendars and resource calendars.

You can:

Review and modify the working days and times in the project calendar. Review and modify the working days and times in any base calendar or resource

calendar.

Create a new base calendar for use as the default hours for a set of resources or as atask calendar.

Change a resources working times and days off.

Choose the calendar that you want to review or modify. By default, Standard (Project

Calendar)is selected. (The project calendar is set in the Project Information dialog box,

available on the Project menu.) This list includes the base calendars that come with

Microsoft Project, as well as any new base calendars you create and all the resource

calendars, which are automatically created as soon as the resource is created. You can


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distinguish a resource calendar from a base calendar because a resource calendar not

only takes the name of the resource, but a notation such as based on Standard calendar

appears next to the For box. The base calendars and their working times that come with

Microsoft Project is as follows. If you create additional bases calendars or modify the

working times for existing base calendars, your changes are reflected in this list.

Standard: The base calendar that has a standard work day and work week ofMonday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M. of

nonworking time for a break.

24 Hours:The base calendar that has no non working time. All time, from Sundaythrough Saturday, 12:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M., is set as working time.

Night Shift:The base calendar that is set up for a graveyard shift. Working timesare Monday night through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M., with 3:00

A.M. to 4:00 A.M. of nonworking time for a break.

Customize the calendar: By default, tasks are scheduled based on the project

calendar. When scheduling individual tasks, task calendars define unique or specific

exceptions, such as machinery that runs during nonworking time.

On the Toolsmenu, click Change Working Time.

Click New. In the Name box, type a name for your new calendar. To create a new base

calendar based on an existing calendar, click Make a copy of, and then click the

calendar name in the calendar box.

Click OK. Select the days you want to change on the calendar. To select adjacent days, hold down SHIFT, and then click the abbreviation for the

first and last days you want. To select nonadjacent days, hold down CTRL, and

then click the abbreviation for the days you want.

To change a day of the week for the entire calendar, click the abbreviation for theday in the top row of the calendar. Under Set selected date(s) to, click Use

default, Nonworking time, or Nondefault working time.

To change Nondefault working time, type the times you want work to start in theFromboxes and the times you want work to end in the Toboxes.


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1 . 4 S e t v a r i o u s M i c r o s o f t P r o j e c t O p t i o n s :

Options dialog box: To open this dialog box and tab, on the Tools menu, clickOptions.

Use the Options dialog box to enter, review, or change preferences controlling the

general operation and appearance of Microsoft Project. You can change the default used

for some local settings by changing the setting and then clicking Set As Default, which

appears on some tabs of the Options dialog box. This makes the settings you have

selected for this project the default for any new project file you create.

Throughout the tabs of the Options dialog box, some options will be unavailable,

depending on the active view. For example, on the View tab, the outline options are only

available if a task sheet is displayed.

Options dialog box, View tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for the way Microsoft Project

displays different types of project information. You can:

Change the default view that appears when you create a new project Change the date format used throughout the project. Specify which screen elements are to be shown or hidden. Specify how external links are shown. (External dependency is a relationship in

which the start or finish date of a task depends on a task in another project.)

Specify how currency information is to be displayed. Specify how outline information is to be displayed.

Currency options are local settings. That is, this preference is set for the current project

only. Choices for outline options can change depending on which view is currently

displayed.

Options dialog box, General tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change your preferences for the general operation of

Microsoft Project. You can:

Set general options globally for Microsoft Project as a whole. Set options globally regarding the Planning Wizards. Set general options locally for the current project.


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Options dialog box, Edit tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change how Microsoft Project edits and displays data.

You can:

Change the way you manipulate data with the mouse and keyboard. Specify abbreviations for time units. Specify the appearance of hyperlinks in the project.

Options dialog box, Calendar tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change date and time settings in Microsoft Project.

These are all local settings saved with the current project, rather than global settings.

You can:

Specify when this projects week and fiscal year begin. Specify the default start and end time for task constraint dates in which you enter

a date but do not include a time.

Specify how many hours are in a day or week, and how many days are in amonth when entering values for duration or work.

Changing options in this dialog box does not affect the project calendar or resource

working times calendars. It only affects how Microsoft Project converts the durations into

related time amounts used throughout your project. For example, if the Hours per day

box is set at the default of 8 hours, and then if you enter 2din the Duration field, this

shows on the Gantt bars as 16 hours of duration. If you set Hours per day to 5, and then

enter a 2-day duration, this translates to a 10-hour duration. The time amounts you set

here also apply to the translation of duration to work amounts. The translation of time

amounts operates the same way with the Hours per week and Days per month boxes. To

control how the work is actually scheduled, change the appropriate working times

calendars. Also, if you change the number of hours per day, hours per week, or days per

month, you might want to update the project calendar to match, so that times and

durations are properly synchronized.

Options dialog box, Schedule tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for how Microsoft Project schedules

tasks. You can:

Specify global scheduling options for Microsoft Project in general.


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Specify local scheduling options for the current project, including which date newtasks should start on, which time unit is used for duration and work, and the

default task type.

Specify options for task dependencies, constraints, and estimated durations.

Default task type: Specify the effect that editing existing assignment information

work, assignment units, or durationhas on the calculation of the other two fields for

assignments to this task. This setting controls the default for all new task types. To

change the task type for individual tasks, click the task, click Task Information, click the

advanced tab, and then click an option in the Task type box.

Fixed Duration:Set the task to Fixed Duration if you want the task duration to remain

constant, regardless of any change in assignment units or work for the task. For fixed-

duration tasks:

If you revise units, Microsoft Project recalculates work. If you revise duration in a fixed-duration task, Microsoft Project recalculates work. If you revise the amount of work, Microsoft Project recalculates the units.

Fixed Units:Setthe task to Fixed Units if you want the number of assignment units to

remain constant, regardless of any change in duration or work for the task. This is the

default. For fixed-unit tasks:

If you revise units in a fixed-unit task, Microsoft Project recalculates duration.

If you revise duration, Microsoft Project recalculates work. If you revise the amount of work, Microsoft Project recalculates the duration.

Fixed Work: Set the task to Fixed Work if you want the amount of work to remain

constant, regardless of any change in duration or resource assignment units for the task.

Because, by definition, fixed-work tasks are effort-driven, the Effort driven check box is

automatically selected for fixed-work tasks. For fixed-work tasks:

If you revise units, Microsoft Project recalculates duration. If you revise duration, Microsoft Project recalculates units. If you revise the amount of work in a fixed-work task, Microsoft Project

recalculates the duration.

If you use the Update Project dialog box to reschedule uncompleted work, make sure

that the Split in-progress tasks check box is selected here. This check box controls

whether uncompleted tasks with any progress reported on them can be split to


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reschedule remaining work from a new selected date. Also, if there is progress reported

on a successor task before the predecessor task is completed, the remaining work on the

successor task can be shown as a split, using the same task dependency with the

predecessor on remaining work. If you use many constraints, as well as task

dependencies, throughout your project, you might consider which should take

precedence in the event of a conflict. By default, constraint dates are always honored,

even if they cause negative slack. This can happen, for example, if Task A has a finish-

to-start dependency with Task B, but Task B has a Must Start On constraint thats earlier

than the finish date of Task A. If you always want task dependencies to take precedence

over constraints, then clear the Tasks will always honor their constraint dates check box.

Differentiate work from Duration:

Duration: The total span of active working time required to complete a task. This is

generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the

project and resource calendar. Elapsed duration is the amount of time a task will take to

finish, based on a 24-hour day and a 7-day week, including holidays and other

nonworking days; minutes, hours, days, and weeks can be entered in elapsed duration.

Work: For tasks, the total labor or "person-hours" required (in terms of minutes, hours,

days, weeks, or months) for all resources to complete a task. For assignments, the

amount of work to which a resource is assigned for a specific task. For resources, the

total amount of work to which a resource is assigned for all tasks. Work is different from

task duration. For example, a resource may require 32hours of work to complete a task,

but the task may be scheduled with duration of 2days. This indicates that more than one

resource needs to be assigned to this task, namely two. Working 8hours a day on the

task, two people would complete the task in 2days.

Options dialog box, Calculation tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for how Microsoft Project calculates

dates and costs.

You can:

Indicate whether calculation should be automatic or manual throughout MicrosoftProject.

For manual calculation, give the command to calculate now. Set options for status and cost calculation. Indicate the default cost accrual method. Set preferences for critical task and critical path calculation.


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Updating task status updates resource status. Select this check box if you want resource

status to be updated to correspond with any updated task status. Likewise, if this check

box is selected, task status will also be updated to correspond with any updated resource

status. For example, if you update the percentage of completion for a task, the percent

complete field for the resource and the assignment are automatically calculated to reflect

that tasks percentage completion.

Typically, because it is the most convenient, automatic calculation is the default.

However, if your project is very large or complex, you might find that performance

improves when you opt for manual calculation. You can set calculation to manual at all

times, and then click Calculate one time during each work session. Or you can set

calculation to automatic usually, but change it to manual when youre making many

changes that affect dates, duration, work, or costs. When your project is set to manual

calculation, if you make a change that requires recalculation, the status bar shows

"Calculate," to remind you to calculate the project when you're done making changes.

Options dialog box, Spelling tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for the way Microsoft Project checks

for spelling errors. You can:

Specify which fields you want the spelling checker to check. Indicate which types of words should be ignored by the spelling checker. Set your preferences for suggested spelling corrections.

Options dialog box, Collaborate tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for the way you communicate

project information with resources. The check box under Collaboration options for

Microsoft Project applies to all projects. The options under Collaboration options for

'project name' are local settings for the current project. You can:

Set the default collaboration communication method. Indicate account, location information, and the project manager's e-mail address

if you use Microsoft Project Server.

Specify when to update resources' assignments. Specify the information to publish to Microsoft Project Server when you save. Indicate preferences for working with Microsoft Project Server.


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The Collaborate using list provides choices for the collaboration method you want to use,

by default, to communicate with project resources. Note that the setting in this field is

the default, and that you can change the collaboration method with the Workgroup field

in the Resource Sheet view for each individual resource. The options are:

Microsoft Project Server:Indicates that you typically use Microsoft Project Server to

communicate with project teams.

Email only: Indicates that you typically use your company MAPI-compliant e-mail

system to communicate with project teams.

None:Indicates that you don't use collaboration in your project.

Options dialog box, Save tab:

Use this tab to enter, review, or change preferences for the way Microsoft Project saves

files. You can:

Indicate the default file format that you want to use to save Microsoft Projectfiles.

Specify default file locations for projects, templates, databases, and more. Set Auto Save options.

The following are details about the File Locations list, which defines the default, save and

open locations for four different types of files. These are the locations that open when

you click Open or Save As on the File menu.

File types: Lists the types of files used in Microsoft Project. In addition to standard

projects and templates, you can set the default file type to be a database.

Projects: Standard project files.

User templates:Boilerplate project files that come with Microsoft Project, or that you

create yourself. Templates are saved with the .Mt filename extension. When you click

New on the File menu, available templates from the location you specify are listed on the

Project Templates tab in the New dialog box.

Workgroup templates:Boilerplate project files that are used for work in a workgroup.


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ODBC Database:ODBC data sources that you can use to access data in a database that

contains Microsoft Project information. In the Save Microsoft Project files as box, click

ODBC Database, click Modify, and then click the data source.

Locations:

Lists the default location in the computer system for the corresponding file type. These

are the default locations that appear when you choose this file type in the Open or Save

As dialog box. Click Modify to browse through the computers filing system to find and

specify a different default location.

Options dialog box, Interface tab:

Use this tab to control the Project Guide and the way that Microsoft Project responds to

changes in the Task Entry portion of the Gantt chart view. You can:

Specify whether the Project Guide appears when you start Microsoft Project orchange views.

Specify whether Microsoft Project uses a default functional layout page anddefault content for the Project Guide or a page and content your organization has

developed.

Control the appearance of special prompts when you make changes to resourceassignments; start and finish dates; and work, units, or duration; or when you

delete a task in the Task Name field.

The check boxes under Show indicators and option buttons for control the display of

graphical indicators that contain a menu of edit options. For example, when you delete

text in the Task Name field, an indicator appears with a menu containing options that let

you choose whether to delete only the task name or the entire task. Clear the check box

if you don't want the indicators to appear.

On this tab you can control the appearance and content of the Project Guide, which

provides explanations and tasks to help you start and manage a project. If your

organization has created its own Project Guide start page or added custom information

for the start page, you can specify the custom start page and content file. If you are

using the start page and content that Microsoft Project provides, you can leave the

defaults.


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1 . 5 I d e n t i f y D e l iv e r a b l e s :

What is a deliverable?

A deliverable is a tangible, verifiable outcome of work done to produce a product or a

service. To be verifiable, the deliverable must meet predetermined standards for its

completion, such as design specifications for a product (such as a new car) or a checklist

of steps that is completed as part of a service (such as maintenance of factory

machinery).

Who does the deliverable affect?

Deliverables have stakeholders. Stakeholders who receive the finished product or service

are external, such as another team that depends on the deliverable to do their own work

or a company's customers. And stakeholders who work on the deliverable directly are

internal, such as project manager and team members. The stakeholders must accept the

finished state of the deliverable

What do the stakeholders need from the deliverable?

Deliverables have an agreed upon grade and quality that set appropriate expectations

for its completion. For example, the agreed upon grade for the new car might be an

inexpensive commuter model as opposed to a luxury sedan. Quality is the degree of

defect and workmanship within the agreed upon grade. For example, the grade of a

luxury sedan and commuter car may be different, but the same high standards may be

set for the quality of both vehicles. Grade and quality are two standards that

stakeholders must agree on in order to complete a deliverable that will meet its

objectives.

How do you create a schedule focused on deliverables?

A project may have only one deliverable, but it can have many deliverables. You can

organize your project's tasks around the deliverables in several ways:

Divide each deliverable into a separate phase of the project, and use a milestoneto represents both the completion of the deliverable and phase simultaneously.

Each deliverable can be linked to a separate phase of the project. For example, a

project to construct a building may have one phase with a deliverable of "finish

exterior of building," and the deliverable for a later phase may be "landscaping

complete."

Group similar deliverables or deliverables with the same stakeholders in a phase.This method allows you to schedule a team to work on a project until the


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deliverable is handed off. Then they can move on to other projects. For example,

all routine maintenance tasks can be organized in one phase of the project

corresponding to the dates they need to be performed. The maintenance

engineers can be assigned to multiple projects containing the different

maintenance jobs they are assigned to.

Group deliverables worked on during the same time period in phases spanningthat time period. This is useful for projects where tradeoffs can be made in the

scope and quality of the deliverable in order to meet a fixed finish date. For

example, if conversion of a factory production line must be completed by the date

the first product is delivered to suppliers, there may be phases for each month

leading up to the finish date containing the tasks that must be started or

completed during that month. So that slipped tasks don't affect the overall

progress of the project, tasks that are not finished by the end of the phase are

often completed separately after the team has moved on to the next phase.


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CHAPTERNO.2ENTER AND MODIFY TASKS

2 . 1 O r g a n i z e d e l iv e r a b l e s a n d t a s k s i n a W o r k Br e a k d o w n S t r u c t u r e :

A phase is a group of tasks that represents a distinct time period, intermediate goal, or

some other logical division within a project. A phase usually results in the completion of

a deliverable. In Microsoft Project, a summary task and its subtasks make up a phase. If

your project consists of relatively few tasks, you may not want to group them into

phases. However, for larger projects, phases can visually break a long task list into

fewer, more manageable chunks and can give you an overview of the major steps you

need to take to reach your project goals.

You can show the structure of your project in a variety of ways using built-in or

customized work breakdown structure (WBS) codes or outline codes. For example, you

can simply view the hierarchy of tasks and subtasks that you created when entering your

task list, or you can use custom WBS codes or outline codes to organize your task list

based on a variety of coding systems, such as accounting codes or your organizational

breakdown structure.

A work breakdown structure, or WBS, is the hierarchy of tasks in your project

represented by a series of numbers, letters, or a combination of both

To display WBS codes, select a sheet view displaying tasks.

To display the Task Sheet, on the View menu, click More Views. In the Views box,click Task Sheet, and then click Apply.

To display the Gantt chart, on the View menu, click Gantt Chart. Click the field to the right of which you want to insert a column for the WBS code,

such as the Task Name field to insert outline codes immediately to the left of the

task names.

On the Insert menu, click Column.

In the Field name box, click WBS. In the Align Data box, click Left. Click Best Fit.


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2 . 2 Cr e a t e s u m m a r y t a s k s , d e t a i l t a s k s a n d m i le s t o n e s :

Summary Tasks:A summary task is made up of subtasks and summarizes those

subtasks. Summary tasks are shown by default and can be shown independent of

project-level summary tasks.

On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the View tab. Under Outline options, select the Show summary tasks check boxTask:A typical project is a series of related tasks. A task represents an amount of work

with a clear deliverable; it should be short enough to track its progress regularly. Tasks

should generally be between one day and two weeks long.

Enter tasks in the order they will occur. Then estimate how long it will take to complete

each task, and enter your estimate as the duration. Microsoft Project uses durations to

calculate the amount of work to be done on the task.

To define your tasks most effectively, take into account the following guidelines:

Break down tasks to the level of detail that you want to track. You should breakthem down in greater detail for riskier areas.

Make sure that tasks have clear completion criteria. Define tasks that are short compared with the overall project duration. Shorter

tasks allow you to more easily estimate time and resources.

You can enter tasks as follows:

On the View menu, click Gantt Chart. In the Task Name field, type a task name, and then press TAB. Microsoft Project enters an estimated duration of one day for the task followed by a

question mark.

In the Duration field, type the amount of time each task will take in months, weeks,days, hours, or minutes, not counting nonworking time. You can use the following

abbreviations:

months = mo weeks = w days = d hours = h minutes = m

Note To show an estimated duration, type a question mark after the duration.


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Task Information:

Use the Task Information dialog box to enter, review, or change detailed information

about a selected task. When you click a single task and open the Task Information dialog

box, the title bar reads Task Information, and all five tabs are available. If you click

multiple tasks to make the same change to several tasks at once, the title bar reads

Multiple Task Information, and the Predecessors tab is not available. If you click a

summary task or the project summary task, the title bar reads Summary Task

Information.

Task Information dialog box, General tab

Use this tab to enter, review, or change basic information about the selected task. You

can:

Enter task duration and indicate whether the duration are estimated or set. Track progress on a task by entering the percentage of completion. Enter the task start or finish date to set a Start No Earlier Than or Finish No

Earlier Than constraint.

Percent complete: Type the percentage of the task that is complete to indicate the

actual progress of the task. Microsoft Project calculates the task's actual and remaining

duration using this number. If you enter a percentage for summary tasks, the progress

is distributed to its subtasks.

Priority: You can set task priorities to indicate their availability for resource leveling.

You can sort tasks by priority using the Sort command on the Project menu. You can

also use priority to filter tasks. Set the priority to 1000 (meaning Do Not Level) if you

don't want Microsoft Project to delay this task at all when leveling.

Task Information dialog box, Predecessors tab

While you can select and change multiple tasks at once with the other Task Information

tabs, the Predecessors tab is available only if a single task is selected.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change predecessor information about the selected task.

You can:

Enter a predecessor for the current task. Click the predecessor type: Finish-To-Start (the default), Start-To-Start, Finish-

To-Finish, and Start-To-Finish.

Enter a lag time indicating a delay between linked tasks.


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Enter lead-time indicating overlap between tasks.

ID:Type the identification number of the task's predecessor. Type the ID of only one

predecessor per row and enter information about that predecessor in the remainder of

the row. If you don't know the ID, you can click the name of the task in the Task Name

column. You can only enter the ID of a task that already exists. If you want to link to a

task in another project, with the other project open, you can type the project name and

the task ID.

Task Name:Click the name of the predecessor task from the list. All other tasks in the

project are listed. If you typed an ID in the ID column, Microsoft Project automatically

enters the task name in this column.

Type:Specify a task dependency. You can click the dependency type from the list. Or

you can type it, using the two-letter combination shown in parentheses below:

Finish-To-Start (FS): The successor task cannot start until the predecessor task

finishes. This is the default task dependency.

Start-To-Start (SS):The successor task cannot start until the predecessor task starts.

Finish-To-Finish (FF): The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor task

finishes.

Start-To-Finish (SF): The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor task

starts.

Lag:Type the lead time or lag time between the tasks. Enter an amount followed by a

time unit abbreviation. You can also enter lead or lag as a percentage. Indicate lead-timewith a negative number and indicate lag time with a positive number.

Task Information dialog box, Resources tab

Use this tab to enter, review, or change resource assignments and assignment units for

the selected task.

Resource Name:Enter the name of a resource you want to assign to the task. Enter

the name of only one resource per row. You can replace one resource assignment with

another. You can also delete a resource assignment by clicking the row and then

pressing DELETE.

Units: Type the number of assignment units that you are allocating to the task. For

example, to assign a work resource to work half-time on a task, type 50%. The default

for assignment units is the same as the resource's maximum units, up to 100%. That is:

If a resource's maximum units is set to 100%, the default assignment unitssetting is 100%.


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If a resource's maximum units is set to 50%, the default assignment units settingis 50%.

If a resource's maximum units is 300%, the default assignment units setting isstill 100%.

The assignment units percentage is based on the working time available as set in the

resource calendar. If the resource calendar indicates that the resource is available for 8

hours on Monday, then 100% on a task scheduled for Monday means 8 hours of work on

the task. If the resource calendar indicates that the resource is available for 4 hours on

Tuesday, however, then 100% on a task scheduled for Tuesday means 4 hours of work

on the task.

To assign a material resource to a task, type the quantity of material to be used. The

unit of measurement label (tons, boxes, yards, and so on) that you used to define the

material resource appears in the Units field, and the default is 1.

Task Information dialog box, Advanced tab

Use this tab to enter, review, or change supplemental task information. You can:

Enter a deadline for the task if you want be alerted about missed deadlines. Change the constraint on the task to affect schedule dates. Specify the task type for the task to affect how changes to task information affect

scheduling.

Specify the task calendar for the task. Mark the task as effort-driven, or as a milestone.

Deadline:Enter a date that indicates when you want this task to be completed. Setting

a deadline does not set a date constraint or affect the task scheduling. Instead, it

displays an indicator if the deadline passes and the task is not completed. It also

displays an arrow on the chart portion of the Gantt Chart view.

Constraint type: Specify any restriction on the allowable start or finish date for the

task. You can assign one constraint per task. If you specify a constraint other than As

Soon As Possible or As Late As Possible, enter the appropriate date in the Constraint

date box.

Effort Driven Scheduling: When you assign or remove people from a task, Microsoft

Project will extend or shorten the duration of the task to accommodate the additional or

fewer resources applied to the task, but it will not change the total work for the task.


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This is called effort-driven scheduling and is the default Microsoft Project uses when you

assign resources to tasks. As resources are added to a task, the total work on the task

stays the same. The amount of work distributed to the resources assigned to the task,

however, will change.

Effort-driven scheduling only takes effect when resources are added to or removed from

a task. Effort-driven calculation rules are not applied when you change work, duration,

and unit values for resources already assigned to a task.

When working with effort-driven scheduling, keep the following in mind:

The effort-driven calculations will apply only after the first resource is assigned tothe task. Once a resource is assigned, the work value will not change as new

resources are assigned to or removed from the same task.

The effort-driven calculations will not be applied to multiple resources that areassigned at the same time and that are the first assignments on a task. After this

initial assignment of multiple resources, however, the work value will not change

as new resources are assigned to or removed from the same task.

If the assigned task type is Fixed Units, then assigning additional resources willshorten the duration of the task.

If the assigned task type is Fixed Duration, then assigning additional resourceswill decrease the individual unit values for resources.

If the assigned task type is Fixed Work, then assigning additional resources willshorten the duration of the task.

Summary tasks and inserted projects cannot have the effort-driven setting turnedon.

Earned Value method:Specify whether you want earned value calculated by using %

Complete or Physical % Complete.

% Complete:Calculates basic cost of work performed (BCWP) by using the percentage

of the task duration that has been completed.

Physical % Complete:Calculates BCWP by using the percentage of the task that is

complete independent of the actual duration/total duration of the task.

Task Information dialog box, Notes tab

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task and then click Task

Information, Click the Notes tab. Use this tab to enter or review notes for a selected

task. You can:

Add new notes about a task.


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Revise or add to existing notes. Format the font and alignment of notes. Insert objects into a note.

Task Information dialog box, Custom Fields tab

Use this dialog box to view and assign values to task custom fields and outline codes.

You can also use this dialog box to view and assign values to task enterprise custom

fields and enterprise outline codes.

Custom Field Name:Task custom fields that you have created in the Customize Fields

dialog box are displayed in this column.

Value:Values for the task custom fields or task custom outline codes for the selected

tasks are displayed in this column. You can enter or change values in the entry bar or

directly in the table.You can edit values but not the custom fields or custom outline codes themselves on the

Custom Fields tab of the Task Information dialog box. To make changes to custom fields

(or to change values for custom outline codes that are limited to lookup table values),

you must do so in the Customize Fields dialog box.

Milestones: References point marking a major event in a project and used to monitor

the project's progress. Any task with zero duration is automatically displayed as a

milestone; you can also mark any other task of any duration a milestone.

Create a milestone to represent an external dependency:

On the View menu, click Gantt Chart. In the Task Name field, type the name of the external event or task that you want to

track and then press TAB to move to the Duration field.

In the Duration field, type 0 days, and then press ENTER.Some milestones may need duration. For example, your project has an approval

milestone at the end of a phase and you know that the approval process will take a

week. To mark a task as a milestone with duration of more than 0 days, click Task

Information, and then click the Advanced tab. In the Duration box, enter the task

duration, and then select the Mark task as milestone check box.

2 . 3 I n s e r t / D e le t e a n d i n d e n t / o u t d e n t t a s k s :

INSERT:A typical project is a series of related tasks. A task represents an amount of

work with a clear deliverable; it should be short enough to track its progress regularly.


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Tasks should generally be between one day and two weeks long. Enter tasks in the order

they will occur. Then estimate how long it will take to complete each task, and enter

your estimate as the duration. Microsoft Project uses durations to calculate the amount

of work to be done on the task.

DELETE: As you create a task list, you will probably want to break large tasks into

smaller tasks and rearrange tasks. You may want to copy, delete, or move tasks in your

project.

INDENT/OUTDENT:You can indent related tasks under a more general task, creating a

hierarchy. The general tasks are called summary tasks; the indented tasks below the

summary task are subtasks, and the outdented tasks are hidden subtasks.

2 . 4 En t e r E st i m a t e s :

Duration Estimates:You can enter an accurate duration for a task or a new estimated

duration to replace the estimated duration that Microsoft Project assigns to each task by

default.

On the View menu, click Gantt Chart. In the Duration field of the task you want to change, type the duration you want. You can enter durations in minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months. Note To assign the task an elapsed duration, type an e before the time unit. For

example, to assign an elapsed duration of 3 days, type 3ed. To indicate or flag the new duration as an estimate, type a question mark after it. Press ENTER.

Cost Estimates:

Microsoft Project allows you to assign rates to human and material resources so you can

manage project costs accurately. You can assign standard rates, overtime rates, or per-

use rates to resources.

On the View menu, click Resource Sheet. On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Entry. In the Resource Name field, select a resource or type a new resource . In the Type field, click Work if the resource is a worker or machine, or Material if the

resource is material or supplies (such as cement).


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For a work resource, in the Std. Rate, Ovt. Rate, or Cost/Use fields, type theresource rates.

For a material resource, in the Material Label field, type a measurement unit for thematerial resource (such as ton), and in the Std. Rate or Cost/Use fields, type a rate

Press ENTER.

Fixed Cost: Fixed costs are set costs for a task that remain constant regardless of the

task duration, the work performed by a resource, or the number of assigned resource

units. A rate-based resource cost may increase when a task takes more time, but a fixed

cost does not. For example, if a carpenter is paid hourly and is scheduled to complete a

task in five days, but the task takes seven days, the carpenter will be paid more than

planned. If the carpenter is paid a fixed cost for the work, then the cost will be the same

no matter how

long the task takes. Fixed costs can be assigned to a task in addition to rate-based

resource costs. For instance, if a resource assigned to a task would also incur travel

costs, the travel costs can be added as a fixed amount to the same task. Fixed costs are

included in the cost totals of phases (on summary tasks) and the entire project.

Set a fixed cost for a task or project:

On the View menu, click Gantt Chart On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Cost. In the Task Name field, select the task for which you want to enter a fixed cost. In the Fixed Cost field, type a cost value.Note: If you want to enter a fixed cost for the entire project (for example, if you are

only interested in overall project costs, not task-level costs, or if you want to add project

overhead costs, such as the cost of utilities), click Options on the Tools menu, and then

click the View tab. Under Outline options, select the Project summary task check box,

and then click OK. In the Task Name field, select the project summary task. In the Fixed

Cost field, type a cost for the project.

Overtime: The amount of work on an assignment scheduled beyond an assigned

resource's regular working hours, and charged at the resource's overtime rate. Overtime

work is not additional work on the assignment. Rather, it indicates the amount of the

assignment's work that is specified as overtime work. For example, if an assignment has

40 hours of work and 8 hours of overtime work, the total work on the assignment is

48 hours: 40 hours of regular work and 8 hours of overtime work.. 0 Overtime can be


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entered for a resource assignment to shorten the time it takes for the resource to

complete work on the assignment. This can often affect task duration. When overtime

hours are entered for an assignment, Microsoft Project recalculates the span of the

assignment by subtracting the overtime hours from the total work hours.

Per-use cost:A set fee for the use of a resource. This can be in place of, or in addition

to, a variable, or hourly resource cost. For work resources, a per-use cost accrues each

time the resource is used. For material resources, a per-use cost is accrued only once

when assigned, regardless of units.

Standard Rate: The hourly rate to be accrued for regular work, or straight time, for

this resource.

Cost accrual box: Indicates when resource costs will be incurred. The following are

details about the options for the Cost accrual box.

Start: The cost is incurred at the start of an assigned task.

Prorated: The cost is incurred as prorated over time. This is the default.

End: The cost is incurred at the end of an assigned task.

Change the project's standard and overtime default rates: You can set the default

standard and overtime rates for any new resources you enter. On the Tools menu, click

Options, and then click the General tab. In the Default standard rate and Default

overtime rate boxes, type the new rates. If you want to set this default for all future

projects, click Set as Default.

If the rate for a resource will change over the course of the project or if the resource will

be paid at different rates for different assignments, or if you work with different grades

of material, click Resource Sheet on the View menu. In the Resource Name field, select a

resource and then click Resource Information Then, enter the information on the Costs

tab.


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CHAPTER NO.3SCHEDULE TASKS

3 . 1 Es t a b l is h r e l a t io n s h i p s b e t w e e n t a s k s :

To establish relationships between tasks, use task dependencies. First, select the related

tasks, link them, and then change the dependency type, if necessary. The task whose

start or finish depends on another task is the successor. The task that the successor is

dependent on is the predecessor. For example, if you link "Hang clock" to "Paint wall,"

then "Hang clock" is the successor and "Paint wall" is the predecessor. After the tasks

are linked, changes to the predecessor's dates affect the successor's dates. Microsoft

Project creates a finish-to-start task dependency by default. Because a finish-to-start

dependency does not work in every situation, you can change the task link to start-to-

start, finish-to-finish, or start-to-finish to model your project realistically.

3 . 2 Ed i t t a sk r e la t i o n s h i p t y p e s an d la g :

After you've sequenced tasks by linking them, you can overlap or delay them as well. In

Microsoft Project, delay tasks by adding lag time to the predecessor task, and overlap

tasks by entering lead time. You can also enter lead or lag time as a percentage of the

task.

3 .3 En t e r i n g d e a d l in e s a n d c o n s t r a in t s :Set a specific start or finish date for a task: You can schedule your tasks most

effectively by entering task durations, creating dependencies between tasks, and then

letting Microsoft Project calculate the start and finish dates for you. However, you can

set a specific start or finish date for a task if necessary. Task constraints that tie tasks to

specific dates are called inflexible constraints; the most inflexible constraints are specific

start or finish dates. Because Microsoft Project takes constraints into account when

calculating your schedule, use these inflexible constraints only when tasks must start or

finish on a specific date.

Add a deadline to a task: When you set a deadline for a task, Microsoft Project

displays an indicator if the task is scheduled to finish after the deadline. Setting a

deadline doesn't affect how tasks are scheduled. It's just a way to have Microsoft Project


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inform you that a task will finish past its deadline.You then have the option of adjustingthe schedule to meet that deadline.

Entering Constraints: You can schedule your tasks most effectively by entering task

durations, creating dependencies between tasks, and then letting Microsoft Project

calculate the start and finish dates for you. However, you can set a specific start or finish

date for a task if necessary. Task constraints that tie tasks to specific dates are called

inflexible constraints; the most inflexible constraints are specific start or finish dates.

Because Microsoft Project takes constraints into account when calculating your schedule,

use these inflexible constraints only when tasks must start or finish on a specific date.

See Task Information, Advanced Tab.

Split a task into segments: You can split a task if work on the task is interrupted and

then resumes later in the schedule. This is useful, for example, when you need to

temporarily stop work on a task to work on another task. You can split a task as many

times as necessary.


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CHAPTER NO.4SPECIFY AND ASSIGN RESOURCES

4 . 1 Cr e a t e a r e s o u r c e l i s t : You can use the Resource Sheet in Microsoft Project to

create a list of the people, equipment, and material resources that make up your team

and carry out the project tasks. Your resource list will consist of work resources or

material resources. Work resources are people or equipment; material resources are

consumable materials or supplies, such as concrete, wood, or nails.

4 . 2 M o d i f y r e s o u r c e c a le n d a r s : The working hours and days off defined in the

project calendar are the default working hours and days off for each resource. When an

individual resource works a different schedule entirely, or when you need to account for

vacations or equipment downtime, you can modify an individual resource calendar.

4 . 3 A s s i g n r e s o u r c e s t o t a s k s : When you assign a resource to a task, you create

an assignment. You can assign any resource to any task and change assignments at any

time. You can assign more than one resource to a task and specify whether a resource

works full-time or part-time on a task. If the work assigned to a resource exceeds the

daily full-time allotment indicated in the resource's working times calendar, Microsoft

Project displays the name of the over allocated resource in red in resource views.

Fix the duration of a task:As you assign more resources to a task, Microsoft Project

automatically decreases the duration of the task. For example, a task with a one-day

duration and one assigned resource has 8 hours of work. With effort-driven scheduling, if

you assign a second resource, the task still has 8 hours of work, but its duration is

reduced to half a day. If you want to change the amount of work on the task instead,

you can turn off effort-driven scheduling and assign another resource. The task will then

have 16 hours of work and still have a one-day duration.

Check and edit resource assignments: The Resource Usage view shows project

resources with their assigned tasks grouped underneath them. Using the Resource Usage

view, you can find out how many hours each resource is scheduled to work on specific

tasks and see which resources are over allocated. You can also determine how much

time each resource has available for additional work assignments.


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CHAPTER NO.5OPTIMIZE THE SCHEDULE

5 . 1 D i s p l a y t h e c r i t i c a l p a t h :

The critical path is a series of tasks that must be completed on time for a project to

finish on schedule. Most tasks in a typical project have some slack and can therefore be

delayed a little without affecting the project's finish date. Those tasks that cannot be

delayed without affecting the project finish date are the critical tasks. As you modify

tasks to resolve over allocations or other problems in your schedule, be aware of the

critical tasks; changes to critical tasks will affect your project finish date.

5 . 2 D i sp l a y sp e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n b y u s i n g a f i l t e r :

When you want to focus on certain tasks or resources in the current view, you can apply

a filter to the view. You can specify that the filter show or highlight only those tasks or

resources that meet the filter criteria

On the Project menu, point to Filtered for, and then click the filter you want toapply.

To apply a filter that isn't on the Filtered for submenu or to apply a highlightingfilter, click More Filters.

Click Apply to apply the filter, or click Highlight to apply a highlighting filter. If you apply an interactive filter, type the requested values, and then click OK. To turn off a filter, point to Filtered for on the Project menu, and then click All

Tasks or All Resources.

Check and adjust a task dependency:A task dependency describes how a task is

related to the start or finish of another task. Microsoft Project provides four task

dependencies you can use to connect a series of tasks in a schedule: finish-to-start (the

most commonly used dependency), start-to-start, start-to-finish, and finish-to-finish. By

using these dependencies effectively, you can modify the critical path and shorten your

project schedule.

Microsoft Project assigns a finish-to-start task dependency when you link tasks. If

another relationship better models your tasks, change the dependency type. For


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example, when two tasks need to start at the same time, you can create a start-to-start

link. When tasks need to finish at the same time, you can use a finish-to-finish link.

5 . 3 I d e n t i f y t h e s l ac k o n t a s k s :

The amount of slack in your schedule tells you how much you can delay tasks before

other tasks or the project end date is affected. If you know where slack exists in your

schedule you can move tasks when certain phases of the schedule have no slack and

other phases have too much.

5 . 4 S h o r t e n t h e p r o j e c t s ch e d u l e : After you've assigned resources to a task,

Microsoft Project recalculates the task's duration if you add or remove additional

resources. For example, if you add another resource to an effort-driven task with a four-

day duration and one assigned resource, the task will be shortened to two days. If you

have more flexibility with your resource assignments than schedule deadlines, adding

resources can be an effective way to shorten your schedule.

5 . 5 D i sp l a y R e so u r c e a s si g n m e n t s a n d w o r k l o a d s :

People and equipment are over allocated when they are assigned more work than they

can complete in their scheduled working hours. Before you can resolve over allocations,

you must determine which resources are over allocated, when they are over allocated,

and what tasks they are assigned to at those times. To resolve the problem, the people

and equipment must be allocated differently or the task must be rescheduled to a time

when the resource is available. Any work resources that are over allocated are displayed

and highlighted in resource usage. After you've assigned a resource to a task, you can

change the total work values for the resource's work on the task or change work values

for a specific time period when the resource works on the task. Tailoring work values this

way can make your schedule more accurate at a finer level of detail. This can be done in

Task Usage.

5 . 6 L ev e l t h e w o r k l o a d s o f t h e Re s o u r c es : Resource leveling is a way to resolve having too much work assigned to resources,

known as resource over allocation.

Generally, resources are leveled in two ways:

By delaying a task until the assigned resource has time to work on it.


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By splitting a task, so that part of a task is done when planned, and the rest of itis done later when the assigned resource has time.

You can level the resources in your project in a number of ways. For example you can

level all over allocated resources or just selected resources. You can allow Microsoft

Project to level resources for you, or you can resolve resource over allocations yourself.

Resolving over allocations yourself can be useful when Microsoft Project's leveling

doesn't result in the schedule or assignment adjustments you want, or when you want

more control over exactly how over allocations are alleviated.

Resource Leveling Dialog Box:

Use this dialog box to set preferences for the way you want resources to be leveled. Also

use this dialog box to start the leveling process. Microsoft Project levels over allocated

resources by delaying and splitting tasks, based on criteria you set in this dialog box.

You can:

Specify whether you want Microsoft Project to level automatically (as soon as itdetects an over allocation) or manually (only when you click Level Now).

Indicate how much a resource needs to be over allocated (for example, by anhour, day, or week) before they should be leveled.

Set the criteria for the order that tasks should be reviewed for over allocationsand leveling.


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Reassign work to another resource: If you have tried to resolve a resource over

allocation using other methods and the over allocation persists, it may be time to

reassign the task to another resource with more time. This is an alternate method of

manually leveling your schedule by reassigning work rather than delaying work.

Delay a task: A simple way to resolve a resource over allocation is to delay a task

assigned to the resource until the resource has time to work on it. You can add delay to

a task, check the effect on the resource's allocation, and then adjust the delay further if

necessary. Delaying a task also delays the start dates of its successors and can affect

the finish date of your schedule. To avoid this, delay tasks with free slack first (no critical

tasks) and only delay them up to the amount of slack that is available for each task.

Experiment with adding delay to different tasks to see the effect on your schedule.

Change a resource's working days and hours:The project calendar designates thedefault work schedule for the project, but you can create a resource calendar to indicate

work hours, vacations, leaves of absence, and sick time for individual resources.


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CHAPTER NO.6APPLY AND MODIFY VIEWS AND REPORTS

6 . 1 S el e ct a n d m o d i f y v i e w s :

A view displays a set of project information in a particular format.

The combination of one or more views (Gantt chart, Resource Sheet, and so on) and, if

applicable, a table and a filter. Using views, you can enter, organize, and examine

information in a variety of formats.

There are three types of views:

Charts or graphs represent information graphically. The Gantt Chart, NetworkDiagram, Resource Graph, and Calendar views are charts or graphs.

Sheets represent information in rows and columns. Each row contains informationabout an individual task or resource. Each column contains a field where you enter

specific information about tasks or resources. (Columns in Microsoft Project are

typically referred to as fields.)

Forms represent information in a format similar to a paper form. Forms showinformation about only one task or resource at a time.

You use views to enter, edit, and display information. A view display closely related

information in a logical and easy-to-read format, enabling you to quickly see and

understand the status of a particular aspect of your project. For example, a bar graph

view of resource allocation shows you, which of your resources are over allocated.

Tools use to change the information in a view.

So that you see only a subset of the information stored in Microsoft Project at one time,

a filter is always applied to each view, and a table or set of details is always applied to

some of the views. A filter is a set of criteria for displaying a particular group of tasks or

resources. The minimum filter applied to a view is either the All Tasks filter or the All

Resources filter. A table is a set of fields displayed in a sheet view as columns and rows.

A set of details consists of closely related fields that are displayed either in a columnar

format, as in a form view, or in a tabular format that shows information over time, as in

a usage view. To see different information, you can apply a different filter, table, or set

of details.


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Display the details you want in a view:

Before you print a view, you can use tables, filtering, grouping, and sorting to organize it

to display the exact information you want.

On the View menu, click the view to which you want to apply a table. To use a viewthat is not on the View menu, click More Views, click the view you want to use in the

Views list, and then click Apply

On the View menu, point to Table, and then click the table you want to apply. Toapply a table that is not on the Table submenu, click More Tables, click the table you

want, and then click Apply.

You can also create or modify existing tables to display the exact information youwant .

1. On the View menu, point to Table, and then click More Tables.2. To create or modify a task table, click Task, and then click a table name in the

Tables list.

To create or modify a resource table, click Resource, and then click a table name

in the Tables list.

3. To create a new table, click New.To modify an existing table, click Edit.

4. In the list of fields, type a new name for the table.5. Under Table, select a field name, data alignment, and column width.6. To add a column title other than the field name, type a title in the Title field and

select a title alignment in the Align Title field.7. In the Date format box, click a date format for date fields.8. In the Row height box, click a number to change the standard row height.9. To prevent the first column from scrolling, select the Lock first column check box.10. Click OK, and then click Apply.

You can apply filter, groups and sorting on any view sheet. On the View menu, clickany sheet view. Click on more views, click More Views, and click the view you want to

use in the Views list, and then click Apply. Now you can apply filter, group by and

sort by options.

Modify a view to display different information:If your current view does not display

the kind of information you want, you can customize it so that it does. For example, you

can modify the Gantt Chart to always appear with the Completed Tasks filter applied

instead of the All Tasks filter.


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Click views, click on more views In the Views list, click the view you want to modify, and then click Edit. The view you

select will determine which options are available in the View Definition dialog box.

To base a new view on an existing view, click an existing view in the Views list, andthen click Copy.

To create a new view from scratch, click New, click Single view or Combination view,and then click OK.

In the Name box, type a name for the custom view. Click the screen type, table, group, and filter options you want. To highlight the filter,

check the Highlight filter check box.

If you selected a combination view, click the view you want to display in the top panein the Top box and click the view you want to display in the bottom pane in the

Bottom box.

To display the custom view on the View menu and View Bar, select the Show in menucheck box.

Click OK, and then click Apply.

6 . 2 S el e ct a n d m o d i f y R e p o r t s :

Report is a format in whichyou can print schedule information that is appropriate for the

intended recipients. You can use the predefined reports provided by Ms Project or create

custom reports.

With Microsoft Project, you can print information about tasks, resources, costs, andprogress in a report that suits your needs. You can change the content displayed in most

reports by changing tables, filters, or both.

Microsoft Project includes many predefined task, resource, and crosstab reports and

categorizes them by overview, current activities, costs, assignments, workload, and

custom reports. Several of these reports, such as the Project Summary, Top Level Tasks,

or Budget reports, are especially useful for printing project status information.

Click on toolbar, click on views and then click on reports. You can view the followings:

1. Overview2. Current activities3. Costs4. Assignments5. Workload6. Custom


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Format a Report:

On the View menu, click Reports. Click the report type you want, and then click Select. If you chose Custom as the report type, click a report in the Reports list, click Edit,

and then go to step 5.

Click the report you want to format, and then click Edit. If you clicked Project Summary or Working Days, go to step 5. Click Text. In the Item to Change box, click the item (category of text) you want to format. Select the font, font style, size, and color you want To underline the item, select the Underline check box. Click OK twice, and then click Select to review the report

6 . 3 P u b l i sh p r o j e c t i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e w e b :

You can include information from a Microsoft Project schedule in an HTML document for

the World Wide Web. Microsoft Project uses import/export maps to determine which

fields are exported to HTML format. You can use a built-in export template to determine

how and where the information is displayed in the HTML file. You can also create your

own export map to specify which Microsoft Project fields are shown in the HTML file.

On the File menu, click Save As Web Page. If necessary, type a name for the exported file in the File name box, and then click

Save. Click Use existing map, and then click Next Select the name of the map you want for the information you want to publish in the

Web page, such as Top Level Tasks or Task "Export Table" map.

Click Finish.


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CHAPTERNO.7ENTER AND TRACK PROGRESS

7 . 1 S a v e a b a s e l i n e f o r t h e e n t i r e p r o j e c t o r f o r s el e c t e d t a s k s :

After you complete the initial process of creating a schedule (that is, entering tasks,

establishing dependencies, assigning resources and possibly costs, and checking and

adjusting your schedule) and before tracking your schedule, you may want to save a

baseline plan. If your project planning stage is especially long, or you have approved

scope changes, you can save multiple baselines to record changing baseline values over

time. You can later compare these against each other and against actual values. When

performing earned value analysis, you can also specify which baseline values to use for

earned value calculations. Each time you save a baseline, the date and time are

recorded. This makes it easier to see if a baseline already has been used and when it

was last saved.

On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Save Baseline. Click Save baseline, and then click the baseline you want to save. Click Entire project.

Check for tasks that are behind schedule:

If you have set a baseline for your project, you can see how tasks progress over timeand see whether their start and finish dates are slipping. You can track progress by

comparing baseline and scheduled or actual start and finish dates.

On the View menu, click Tracking Gantt On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Variance. Press TAB to move to the

variance fields if they are not visible.

The Tracking Gantt view displays two task bars, one on top of the other, for each task.

The lower bar shows baseline start and finish dates, and the upper bar shows scheduled

start and finish dates so that you can see the difference between your plan and the

current schedule.

7 . 2 S et p r o j e c t s t a t u s d a t e :

Status date: A date that you set (rather than the current date) for reporting the time,

cost or performance condition of a project.


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On the Project menu, click Project Information. In the Status date box, type or select the status date you want. Click on Tools, click on Tracking and then on Update Project.

Update Project Dialogue Box:

Use this dialog box to update tasks' percentage of completion or to reschedule

uncompleted work for selected or all tasks in the project. You can:

Update progress information (percentage of completion) for some or all tasks inyour project.

Reschedule uncompleted work to start after a date you specify. Update or reschedule work for either the entire project or for selected tasks.

Update work as complete through Click this option to update the work that has actually

occurred. Enter the date you're updating the schedule to. When you click this option,

Microsoft Project treats your scheduled dates as actual dates and sets the % Complete

field to reflect this.

For the selected tasks, the scheduled start and finish dates are compared with the date

you're updating the schedule to.

If the scheduled start date is after the date you enter in this dialog box, the taskis considered not started, and they are set to 0% complete.

If the scheduled finish date is before the date you enter, the task is consideredcompleted, and it is set to 100% complete.

If the scheduled start date is before the date you enter and the scheduled finishdate is after the date you enter, the task is considered in progress. Microsoft

Project calculates the percentage of completion.

When you update task dates, Microsoft Project updates the % complete field. You can

have Microsoft Project calculate the approximate percentage of the task that has been

completed as of the date you enter in this dialog box. Alternatively, you can have it

leave the percentage of completion set to zero if the task is in progress or set it to 100 if

the task is complete. Microsoft Project also sets the actual start date, which indicates

that the task is in progress.

Reschedule uncompleted work to start after Click this option to have Microsoft Projectreschedule work that remains to be done. This reschedules work by entering a new date

for the work.

If a task has not started by the specified date, the task has slipped. Microsoft Project

reschedules the work, setting the scheduled start date to your specified date and

applying the Start No Earlier Than constraint.


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If the task is in progress but behind schedule, Microsoft Project schedules the remaining

duration to start on your specified date.

When you reschedule tasks with this option, Microsoft Project sets the Stop and Resume

fields. The date of last reported progress is placed into the Stop field, and your specified

date for rescheduling is placed in the Resume field.

7 . 3 En t e r a ct u a l / r e m a in i n g d u r a t i o n o r w o r k o n t h e t a s k l ev e l :

Update actual work:You can track actual work by period using the time phased fields

in Microsoft Project. With this method, you can enter work for a particular day or week in

your schedule.

On the View menu, click Task Usage. On the Format menu, point to Details, and then click Actual Work.

In the time phased portion of the view, in the Act. Work field, type the actual work ofeach assigned resource.

Update actual duration:

You know the number of days a task has been in progress and if it is progressing as

planned, you can track progress by entering the duration that the resource has been

working on the task.

When you enter the actual duration of a task, Microsoft Project updates the actual start

date, the task's percentage of completion, and the duration of the task remaining in the

schedule. On the View menu, click Gantt chart. In the Task Name field, click the task for which you want to enter the actual duration. On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Update Tasks. Use this dialog box to update progress on the selected task. After you enter progress

information, Microsoft Project performs any necessary calculations and changes the

values for the affected fields. You can:

Set the percentage of completi

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