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Introduction to Microsoft Office Project 2003 – Training Guide Module IIAbstractThis “Introduction to Microsoft Office Project 2003” training guide will enable you to use Project 2003 and benefit from its project management functionality. The training imparted applies to Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003 and Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003. It is designed for project managers just beginning to use Project 2003, and for those still searching for an effective project management tool. This training guide does not cover all the functionalities in Project Standard 2003 and Project Professional 2003 and is intended to be a quick training to get you started on using Project.

July 2005The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

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Introduction to Microsoft Office Project 2003 – Training Guide (Module 2)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MODULE II................................................................................................31 UPDATE THE PLAN...............................................................................3

1.1 REVISE AND UPDATE PROJECT STRUCTURE AND GROUPING............................................31.2 DETERMINE BASELINE............................................................................................51.3 UPDATE TASK PROGRESS.......................................................................................61.4 HOW PROJECT DYNAMICALLY UPDATES THE PLAN........................................................7

2 TRACK PROJECT PROGRESS..................................................................92.1 ACCESSING SPECIFIC INFORMATION..........................................................................92.2 CONTROLLING PLAN VS. BASELINE.........................................................................102.3 BRINGING THE PROJECT BACK ON TRACK.................................................................12

3 REPORTING PROJECT DATA................................................................134 NEXT STEPS......................................................................................21

4.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT RULE OF THREE..................................................................214.2 TASK TYPE........................................................................................................214.3 ESTIMATE EFFORT..............................................................................................214.4 DEFINE CONSTRAINTS.........................................................................................224.5 OTHER TYPES OF TASK DEPENDENCIES..................................................................224.6 USE GRAPHICAL INDICATORS FOR FAST CONTROLLING...............................................22

APPENDIX A: Additional Reference Resources............................................................23

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. of 22


Module IIAs noted in Module I, Module II addresses the execution of your project as it describes how to update the project plan, track project progress and generate reports. Please make sure you review the Module I of this training before using Module II. Chapter 1 shows you how to update your project plan, including such tasks as determine baseline and updating progress. Chapter 2 and 3 cover controlling the current project status and reporting possibilities. Chapter 4 provides a brief overview of how you can benefit from Project’s project management methodology in the future. Of course, Project has additional functionality not covered by this training guide; once you feel comfortable with the features presented here, you may want to explore the tool’s more advanced features. At the end of this section, you will see an overview of next steps you can take to further improve your Project skills.To enhance the effectiveness of this training guide, MPP files are included for you to practice each concept. To begin using Project, simply read through this guide and repeat the steps yourself in Project. The following symbols will make using this Training Guide even more effective:

An MPP file is available for you to review the presented concepts

Additional information will be presented

Helpful hint

Highlights some of the advantages of using Project

1 Update the PlanAs your project is executed, there are usually deviations from the project plan. This chapter shows you how you can use Project to update project progress.

1.1 Revise and update project structure and groupingYour planning team advises you that it’s time to make a decision about your destination. Evaluate how changes in summary tasks and subtasks can help you do this. Modify your project by inserting a new summary task “Select a destination for the

business trip”.o In the grey area of the Entry table, click on the ID of the task “Create

participants list for the business trip” to select the entire row.o Point the mouse at the bottom edge of the box; the mouse pointer

changes to a cross with arrowheads and a move cursor.



o Click, then drag and drop the task to its new position - place the task “Create participants list for the business trip” between the task 0 and task 1. A grey indicator bar shows where the task row will be positioned. All the information about this task, including its subtasks, will move to the new location.

o Rename the summary task “Create participants list for the business trip” as “Select a destination for the business trip”.

Add a new task “Choose destination and communicate it to the participants”.o In the Entry table, click on the task “Participants selected”, where the

new task is to be inserted.o Press the INSERT key on the keyboard; an empty row will appear

above the highlighted row.o Name the new task “Choose destination and communicate it to the

participants”, and assign a duration of 1 day (see Fig. 1). Assign Aaron Con to this task.

Fig. 1: New task “Choose destination and communicate it to the participants”

o Rename the milestone “Participants selected” as “Destination selected”.

o Select the header of the task “Define destination for the business trip” (see Fig. 2) and press the DELETE key.

Fig. 2: Header mark

Revise task dependencieso Double click the successor “Invite participants to go on a business

trip” to see the Task Information dialog box. Click the Predecessors tab, select the task ID or task Name of the predecessor “Basic conditions checked”, and press the DELETE key.

o Double click the following successors: “Book hotel rooms for all participants” “Double-check presentation rooms and equipment for business

meeting (workshop/ presentation material, projector)”o In the Task Information dialog box, click the Predecessors tab, select

the task ID or task Name of the predecessor “Destination selected” and press the DELETE key.

o Double click the following tasks: “Book hotel rooms for all participants”



“Double-check presentation rooms and equipment for business meeting (workshop/ presentation material, projector)”

o In the Task Information dialog box, click the Predecessors tab, enter the task ID or task Name of the predecessor “Basic conditions checked”, and define the dependency type as Finish-to-Start for each of these two tasks, and click OK.

o Double click the successor “Define leisure time activities at the business trip destination”. In the Task Information dialog box, click the Predecessors tab, enter the task ID or task Name of the predecessor “Destination selected”, define the dependency type as Finish-to-Start, and click OK.

Open the Project file Planning a business trip 5.1.mpp and compare it to your project plan.

1.2 Determine baselineYou want to be able to immediately review the effects of any changes in your project plan. However, you may also want to access previous data to see where your project has deviated from the initial plan. Project allows you to save a baseline of your project for this purpose. Saving a baseline is like taking a snapshot of the project. As the project progresses and actual data is entered, this information can be compared with the baseline.Save a baseline of your project plan once the plan is “approved” and ready to begin. From the Tools menu, select Tracking, and then click Save Baseline (see Fig. 3). You can save up to 11 baselines per project. The Save Baseline dialog box has a

drop-down list for each of the 11 baselines. When a baseline is saved, the last date saved is stored with the baseline.

Fig. 3: Save BaselineNote: Project enables you to save intermediate results, which can easily be compared to actual data at a later date.


Save a baseline


1.3 Update task progressA project manager must be aware of actual task progress when managing a project. In our example, you want to keep track of the progress of the task “Invite participants to go on a business trip”, so you will need to specify the actual duration of tasks. The following chapter demonstrates how task progress is updated in Project. Update the duration of the task “Review responses and finalize participants list”.

o Revise the duration of the task “Review responses and finalize participants list” from one day to two days.

o You can immediately see the impact of this change, both numerically

and graphically. Use the Zoom In ( ) and Zoom Out ( ) buttons in the Standard toolbar to get a better look at these changes in the Gantt Chart.

o Fig. 4 shows how Project graphically shows the effects of changes.

Fig. 4: Visualized changes Update the task progress of the task “Invite participants to go on a business trip”.

o To quickly update the Percent Complete field for selected tasks, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Tracking (see Fig. 5).

o Select the task “Invite participants to go on a business trip” and

update it by clicking a percentage, such as 25% complete .o The following buttons indicate different stages of completion:

25% complete

50% complete .

75% complete

100% complete . You can also enter Percent Complete manually by clicking the

Update Tasks button ( ) on the Tracking toolbar.


Activate Trackin

g Toolbar


Fig. 5: Tracking ToolbarNote: Project immediately shows how changes affect the project plan. Task dates are instantly updated within the scope of previously defined task dependencies. Open the Project file Planning a business trip 5.3.mpp and compare it to your

project plan.

1.4 How Project dynamically updates the plan

Project provides a critical service as it instantly updates data following any changes. The start dates of all related successors to a changed task occur immediately.You will better understand Project’s scheduling engine as we revise the duration of the task “Review responses and finalize participants list” from one day to two days.The task “Review responses and finalize participants list” is scheduled to take one day, beginning and ending on May 24th. The successor is the task “Choose destination and communicate it to the participants”, with a scheduled duration of one day, and a start and finish date of May 24th. What will Project do if you update the duration of the predecessor task to two days? The Duration of two days means that the task will finish one day later, on May

25th. The start date of the successor (“Choose destination and communicate it to the

participants”) depends on the finish date of the predecessor task. Therefore, Project will adjust the finish date of the successor task to May 26th (see Fig. 6).

The successor task is also a predecessor task to another successor task, and this successor task will also be delayed. The process will continue through the project plan.

Project automatically updates the Gantt Chart.

Fig. 6: Before and after the duration updateAnother useful feature in Project is the Auto Link functionality, which allows you to easily add a task in a hierarchical structure. After you insert a new task, Project recognizes the hierarchical level of the task and automatically creates dependencies to existing predecessors and successors of the new task.



2 Track project progress

2.1 Accessing specific information This chapter gives you a short introduction to Project’s standard views and tables. These project views and tables enable you to display the information you need to see.

Project View Information Provided When to use?

Gantt Chart The Gantt Chart View provides information about the duration and start and finish values of your tasks, as well as dependencies between the tasks. This information is also provided graphically in the Gantt chart.

Use this view as your central project cockpit. You can instantly see how changes affect your project plan.

Resource Sheet This view provides a table with information about each project team member.

Use the Resource Sheet to create and view your project team.

Tracking Gantt View The Tracking Gantt view presents two task bars, one on top of the other, for each task. The lower, grey bar shows baseline start date, baseline finish date and baseline duration; the upper bar shows scheduled start and finish dates as well as the actual duration.

The Tracking Gantt view provides insight into how tasks progress over time; you can see if projected start and finish dates are slipping.

Calendar View This view displays a calendar, with all tasks noted on the day(s) they are to be accomplished.

Use this view to see what is to be accomplished on a specific day.

In Chapter 5 you updated the project plan. Now some indicators warn you that finish dates for some tasks are scheduled to occur later than deadlines that have been set for these tasks; these tasks are behind schedule. In the following sections you will learn how you can adjust your schedule to complete these tasks on time.



2.2 Controlling plan vs. baselineHow do you check for tasks that are behind schedule? Project offers you a view just for this purpose, to compare actual data to planned data that was saved as the baseline. The Tracking Gantt view provides insight into how tasks are progressing over time; you can see if start and finish dates are slipping. You can further specify the information you need to see by using filters in this (and most other) view. Compare the project baseline to the actual plan, and review project progress

using the Tracking Gantt view.o From the View menu, click Tracking Gantt. o This Gantt view allows you to see deviations of the actual plan from the

project baseline. The Tracking Gantt view displays two task bars, one on top of

the other, for each task. The lower, grey bar shows the baseline start date, baseline finish date and baseline duration for each task, and the upper bar shows the scheduled start and finish dates as well as the actual duration.

The gap between the upper und lower bars reveals the change between the planned schedule and actual schedule (see Fig. 7).

Fig. 7: Deviation between baseline schedule and actual scheduleo The degree of completion of each task appears to the right of each bar

in the Tracking Gantt view (see Fig. 8).

Fig. 8: Degree of completion Insert columns to compare baseline data with actual data

o Right mouse click on the column header Duration, which will be located to the right of the new column.

o Select Insert column…, and then select the field Actual Duration. o Right mouse click on the column header Actual Duration, select

Insert column…, and then select the field Baseline Finish.o See the new columns in Fig. 9.


Activate the

Tracking Gantt

view


Fig. 9: New fields

Project offers several filters which allow you to refine the information you see in predefined views. Filters deliver specific information about your project plan, which is helpful as you manage the project. Activate the Slipping Tasks filter to see tasks in your plan that are behind

schedule.o From the Formatting Toolbar, select the Slipping Tasks filter from the

Filter Field drop-down list (see Fig. 10).

Fig. 10: Filter Buttono Notice the first task, “Invite participants to go on a business trip“,

disappears. o The Slipping Tasks filter shows all tasks with a variance between the

Basline Finish and Finish fields. In Section 1.3 you changed the duration of the task “Review responses and finalize participants list”. Because of this change, all tasks below the task “Invite participants to go on a business trip” have been delayed, which creates a variance between Baseline Finish and Finish. You can see these variances in Fig.11.

Fig. 11: Slipping Tasks Filter Activate the Milestones filter to get a concise view of all project milestones (see

Fig. 12).



o From the Formatting Toolbar, select the Milestones filter from the Filter Field drop-down list.

Fig. 12: Milestones filter

Note: Project allows you to visually and numerically compare baseline data with actual data, without having to manually enter additional data Open the Project file Planning a business trip 6.2.mpp and compare it to your

project plan.

2.3 Bringing the project back on trackThe project finish date has been delayed for one day as a result of the delay of the task “Review responses and finalize participants list” (Chapter 1.3). You must take action to get the project back on schedule. Aaron Con agreed to perform the task “Clarify all legal requirements to go to the business trip destination”, which is assigned to Steve Masters. Eric Lang felt he could work faster on the task “Double-check presentation rooms and equipment for business meeting (workshop/ presentation material, projector)”. Choose the Gantt View. Modify the duration of the task “Double-check presentation rooms and equipment

for business meeting (workshop/ presentation material, projector)”.o Select the Duration field of the task “Double-check presentation

rooms and equipment for business meeting (workshop/ presentation material, projector)” and change the duration to one day.

Change assignments and align tasks to shorten the duration of the entire project.

o Click the Assign Resource button ( ) from the Standard Toolbar. o Select the task “Clarify all legal requirements to go to the business

trip destination” and select Steve Masters.o In the Assign Resources dialog box, choose Replace.o Select Aaron Con and confirm the replacement with OK; click Close.o Double click the task “Clarify all legal requirements to go to the

business trip destination”. In the Task Information dialog box, click the Predecessors tab, select the task “Destination selected” as the Predecessor, define the dependency type as Finish-to-Start, and click OK.

Examine the Gantt Chart to see the effect of these actions on the project finish date (see Fig. 13).



Fig. 13: New finish date Open the Project file Planning a business trip 6.3.mpp and compare it to your

project plan.

3 Reporting project dataProject provides many predefined reports to supply your stakeholders’ information needs. In this section you will learn four ways to use Project to create a report: Copy Picture to Office Wizard Visio WBS Chart Wizard Reports functionality Project Guide (Print current view as a report)

You can use the Copy Picture to Office Wizard to display Project information in Microsoft Office PowerPoint®, Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Visio®. Steve Masters wants to create a PowerPoint presentation for potential trip participants.

o Select the view with the information you want to report. Every Project view can be printed. For this example, open the Gantt Chart view.

o Make sure the Analysis toolbar is displayed. From the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Analysis.

o On the Analysis toolbar, click Copy Picture to Office Wizard (see Fig.14).

Fig. 14: Analysis toolbaro Follow the instructions in the Copy Picture to Office Wizard.

Click Next.o Step 1 of 4: Select an Outline Level.

Select the default value, Keep my original outline level.


Display Analysi

s Toolbar


Click Next.

Fig. 15: Step 1 of 4o Step 2 of 4: Specify the image creation options.

Choose All rows in view to include all rows from your project’s current view in your image

Choose As shown on screen to include the entire section of your current view’s timescale in your image.

Choose the Default Image Size. Click Next.

o Step 3 of 4: Preview Image and select Application and Orientation. Choose the default application PowerPoint and the default

orientation landscape. Click Next.

o Step 4 of 4: Select Microsoft Office Project Fields to Export. Accept the default fields suggested by the wizard and click

Finish. Project will inform you that the Copy Picture to Office process

has been completed successfully. Click Close. PowerPoint will open. Review the prepared presentation.

o See the result in PowerPoint and Word. Remember, you select the output application in Step 3 of the wizard – see Fig. 16 and Fig. 17.



Fig. 16: Picture in PowerPoint

Fig. 17: Picture in Word

Note: Project managers are often asked to provide reports without much warning. The Copy Picture to Office Wizard meets this requirement by allowing you to easily and quickly export project information to other office documents.

To provide information about your project’s WBS (work breakdown structure), you can use the Visio WBS Chart Wizard on the Analysis Toolbar.

o On the Analysis toolbar, click Visio WBS Chart Wizard (see Fig. 18) and then Launch Wizard.



Fig. 18: Visio WBS Chart Wizardo Follow the instructions in the Visio WBS Chart Wizard. o Step 1 of 3: Click on Next.o Step 2 of 3: Select level 2, adjacent to All Tasks less then or equal to

outline level (see Fig. 19).

Fig. 19: Step 2 of 3o Step 3 of 3: Click Finish.o See the result in Fig. 20.



Fig. 20: WBS in Visio Another team member, Eric Lang, needs hardcopies of specific project

information for a team meeting. He is interested in seeing the status of the project’s milestones. Use the printing wizard functionality to report selected project data.

o From the View menu, point to Reports...

o Now you can choose from several groups of reports.

Fig. 21: Report Overview


Print Reports


Note: Project prepares selected project information in a printable report format.

The Project Guide offers the function Print current view as a report. Using this tool, you can print any Project view.

o On the Project Guide toolbar, click Report (see Fig. 22) and then click Print current view as a report.

Fig. 22: Print current view as a reporto Step 1 of 4: Click Save and go to Step 2 (see Fig. 23)

Fig. 23: Print Current View: Step 1 of 4o Step 2 of 4: Choose The timescale date range and click Save and go

to Step 3.



o Step 3 of 4: Choose Header and click Save and go to Step 3

o Step 3 of 4: Choose Modify width of margins and click Print Preview to preview your report (see Fig. 24).

Fig. 24: Preview of the report



4 Next stepsAfter completing this training course, you are now ready to begin managing a project with Microsoft Office Project Standard 2003 or Microsoft Office Professional 2003. However, Project offers a great deal more functionality than could be covered within the confines of this course. The following chapters briefly discuss this advanced functionality of Project, which builds upon this training and should give you a better idea of how to use Project to better meet your project management needs. There are training courses available which cover these topics in great depth; the following chapters are for informational purposes only.

4.1 Project Management rule of threeTo understand the advanced functionality of Project, it is helpful to first understand the “project management rule of three”. This rule describes the interrelationship among “duration”, “work” and “units”. In this training you have become familiar with only one of these variables - duration. The distinction between units, work and duration is important when it comes to completing a project on schedule. “Units” applies to the amount of resources assigned and the intensity they are working on a task. “Duration” describes how long the task will take to complete and “work” specifies the amount of effort which is needed to complete the task.

W (Work) = D (Duration) * U (Units)

4.2 Task TypeAccording to the project management rule of three, when you make a change to a task’s duration, units, or work, this will cause a change in one of the other two variables, depending on the task type. Three task types exist in Project: fixed work, fixed duration and fixed units. Your planning and project management methodology determines which of these task types you will use in your project.Additionally you can define whether a task is effort driven or not effort driven, which determines whether or not the work will remain constant following a further assignment. For example, the duration of painting the interior of a house will be cut in half if twice as many resources are assigned to this task. On the other hand, a business flight from New York to Los Angeles will take the same duration, no matter how many resources are assigned to the task.

4.3 Estimate effortIn addition to estimating the duration of tasks in your project plan, you also can estimate their effort. In this way you can plan project activities more precisely, and then let Project’s powerful scheduling engine schedule your project plan and allocate your resources as optimally as possible.



4.4 Define ConstraintsOccasionally there are times when you want a task to begin on a fixed date – perhaps because you do not want it to start earlier or later than a specific date. To handle this, Project allows you to set constraints on tasks. There are two types of constraints, flexible and inflexible. By default, Project applies flexible constraints when you enter a specific start or finish date for a task. For example, if you enter a start date of June 13th for a task, Project will assign a Start No Earlier Than constraint to this task; in this way Project will not allow the task to begin before June 13 th, even if the logical structure of the project as defined by established dependencies would otherwise allow the task to begin earlier. Optionally, you can set an inflexible constraint, like Must start on or Must finish on.

4.5 Other Types of Task DependenciesIn addition to the Finish-to-Start (FS) dependency which was introduced in chapter 3.6, Project recognizes three other dependency types: Start-to-Start (SS) - The successor cannot start until the predecessor starts.

o Example: You are baking a cake and cookies. The task “Bake the cookies” (successor) starts when you are starting the task “Bake the cake” (predecessor).

Finish-to-Finish (FF) - The Successor cannot finish until the predecessor finishes.o Example: You are preparing the whipping cream for the cake. The task

“Prepare the whipping cream” (successor) should finish when the task “Baking the cake” (predecessor) finishes.

Start-to-Finish (SF) - The successor cannot finish until the predecessor startso Example: You are setting the table for dessert. The task “Set the table

for dessert” (successor) should finish if the task “Start eating the dessert” (predecessor) has begun.

4.6 Use Graphical Indicators for fast controllingGraphical indicators add much value to Project. These indicators represent compressed project information shown in a scorecard. For example, you might see a red warning sign if a task is delayed for more than 3 days. You can easily define which information is represented by graphical indicators.



APPENDIX A: Additional Reference ResourcesVisit www.microsoft.com/office/project for more information, articles. templates, training and much more on Project 2003.

Resource Web PageDownload or Order a Trial Version of Project Standard 2003

http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/trial.mspx

Project on Office Online www.microsoft.com/office/projectWork Essentials for Project Managers www.microsoft.com/workessentials /

projectmanager The Project Map: Your Roadmap to Project Management

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010745311033.aspx

MPA: Official Industry Association for Microsoft® Office Project

www.mympa.org

Project Discussion Groups http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?lang=en&cr=US&dg=microsoft.public.project

Project 2003 Product Information http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/default.mspx


http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/default.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?lang=en&cr=US&dg=microsoft.public.project



http://www.mympa.org/



http://www.microsoft.com/workessentials/projectmanager

http://www.microsoft.com/workessentials/projectmanager

http://www.microsoft.com/office/project



http://www.microsoft.com/office/project

an introduction to - iil › righttoolforthejob › docs › project... · web viewyou can use the...

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